MEA Pranab criticised for his comment on Dalai Lama

The core group of Cause for Tibet has not taken the Minister of External Affairs (MEA) Pranab Mukherjee’s recent statement about Dalai Lama kindly. Terming it as ‘unfortunate,’ India’s failure to protect its own interests has also been mentioned.

CJ: Arindam Roy, 2 Apr 2008 Views:1264 Comments:0

THE STATEMENT by Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of External Affairs (MEA), asking His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet to keep off political activities and 'not to hurt India-China relations' is unfortunate. In a delicate point of history when the entire world is expressing serious concerns about Chinese government's inhuman response to Tibetan people's peaceful uprising against colonial repression, such remarks have dangerous potential of placing India on the wrong side on issues of freedom, democracy and human rights, stated Vijay Kranti, co-convener of core group of Cause for Tibet, reacting strongly to the minister’s recent statement.

India’s soft stand towards China, at the cost of Tibetan interests, has hurt the co-convener, who lambasted the senior minister. It’s an interesting political development, which is likely to have far-reaching consequences, feel political observers.

Kranti went on to say, “We invite Mukherjee to revisit this basic historic facts that H.H. the Dalai Lama took refuge in India in 1959 not just as the supreme religious leader of Tibet. More than this, he has also been the political leader and the head of state of Tibet before his country was forcibly occupied by People's Republic of China, in 1951. Hence the Dalai Lama's political role cannot be isolated from his responsibilities towards Tibetan people and the Tibetan nation.”

He further stated, “We would also like to hereby underline that since the government of India has perpetually failed in protecting India's national interests against endless mechanisms and bullying of PRC, the government of India or its MEA has no moral authority to stop the leader of an occupied country from performing his own duties towards his people and his country.”

It is important to remind Mukherjee that HH the Dalai Lama has repeatedly made it clear that he believes in non-violence and is keen to solve the Tibetan problem with the leaders of PRC through a peaceful and mutually respectful dialogue, stressed Kranti.

He said, “We there take this opportunity to appeal to the Indian government to make best use of its what so ever influence on the leaders of PRC to convince them to accept H.H. the Dalai Lama's reasonable offer.”

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