Amid LAC tensions, PM calls up Dalai Lama for birthday wish; Captain, others too greet him

In a message to China amid tensions on the Line of Actual Control, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called up His Holiness the Dalai Lama on his birthday and wished him a long and healthy life. Since 2010, this was the first public engagement between an Indian PM and the current Dalai Lama.

“Spoke on phone to His Holiness the @DalaiLama to convey greetings on his 86th birthday. We wish him a long and healthy life,” tweeted the PM.

Several leaders subsequently greeted the Dalai Lama. “Let us all follow his teachings of compassion and caring for others and make the world a better place,” Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh said in a message.


The Dalai Lama thanked his well-wishers and expressed his appreciation for India, where he has lived since he fled his homeland Tibet in 1959. “I want to express my deep appreciation to all my friends who have really shown me love, respect and trust,” the Dalai Lama said in a video message.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen also wished the Dalai Lama, tweeting: “Thank you for teaching us the importance of coming together to help one another through this pandemic.”