After 4 years, Dalai Lama to visit Leh on July 15

This trip is also the Dalai Lama’s first major one since Covid-19 struck in 2020.

It is unclear how long he will stay in Leh. A source in his private office in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, told The Indian Express that the spiritual leader will stay for about a month at Choglamsar village on the bank of the Indus river.

He will impart teachings (known as summer teachings in Leh) to Buddhists as well as people from other communities.

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On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he called up the Dalai Lama to wish him on his 87th birthday. Modi’s public articulation of his call for the second year in a row has diplomatic significance — Beijing calls the Dalai Lama a “splittist”.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing in Beijing on Thursday that “the Indian side should fully recognise the anti-China separatist nature of the 14th Dalai Lama”. It should abide by its “commitment to China, speak and act prudently and stop using Tibet-related issues to interfere in China’s internal affairs,” Zhao said.

India has maintained that the two sides should be mindful of “mutual sensitivities, interests and concerns”.

Responding to Beijing’s comments, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said: “It is a consistent policy of the Government of India to treat His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, as an honoured guest in India and as a respected religious leader who enjoys a large following in India. His Holiness is accorded all due courtesies and freedom to conduct his religious and spiritual activities in India… His Holiness’s birthday is celebrated by many of his followers in India and abroad. The birthday greetings by Hon’ble PM to his Holiness on his 87th birthday should be seen in this overall context”.

Stanzin Konchok, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council councillor from Chushul, eastern Ladakh, told The Indian Express: “His Holiness the Dalai Lama accepted the request of invitation made by the Ladakh Buddhist Association. The entire arrangement is being made by the Ladakh Buddhist Association and the local government.”

“He is expected to give three-day teachings. His Holiness is expected to stay here for about a month, if the weather and his health allows,” Konchok added.

According to sources, former MP Thupten Tsewang and other prominent Buddhist personalities such as Ladakh Buddhist Association president Thupstan Chewang and Thiksay Monastery’s Thiksay Rinpoche had requested the Dalai Lama to visit Leh.