As part of his two-day tour, Dalai Lama left for Jammu from Dharamshala on Thursday morning. He is likely stay in Jammu tonight and will reach Ladakh on Friday.
It will be the Dalai Lama’s first visit to Ladakh in over four years. The Tibetan spiritual leader had last visited Ladakh in 2018.
As his tour begins just two days before the 16th round of Corps Commander-level talks between India and China, the visit is being seen as a signal to China amid an apparent change in India’s Tibet policy.
Beijing had earlier criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for greeting the Dalai Lama on his 87th birthday, saying India should stop using Tibet-related issues to interfere in China’s internal affairs.
“It is a consistent policy of the government of India to treat His Holiness Dalai Lama as an honoured guest in India and as a respected religious leader who enjoys a large following in India,” Bagchi said at a weekly media briefing.
The external affairs ministry spokesperson was responding to questions on the Chinese reaction over Modi’s greetings.
“His Holiness is accorded all due courtesies and freedom to conduct his religious and spiritual activities in India. His birthday is celebrated by many of his followers in India and abroad,” Bagchi said.
“The birthday greetings by the prime minister to his Holiness on his 87th birthday should be seen in this overall context,” he said, noting that Modi greeted him last year as well.
The Chinese reaction came on a day External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held bilateral talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bali on the sidelines of a conclave of G20 foreign ministers’ meeting.