By Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, Feb 28: The north-eastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh will transform the escape trail of the Tibetan spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, into a religious and spiritual tourism circuit. Lumla, a lesser-known region in western Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang district, is set to gain national tourism prominence due to its historical significance as a crucial point on the Dalai Lama’s journey into exile to India in 1959.
Managed by the Public Works Department, the project aims to commemorate the Dalai Lama’s journey by constructing five monoliths at each location where he spent the night during his escape from Tibet to India. “We are developing the escape trail of His Holiness into a religious and spiritual tourism circuit which is going on. As many as five monoliths will be constructed in each place where the Dalai Lama spent the night during his journey to India from Tibet”, Tsering Lhamu, the MLA from Lumla told PTI.
The Dalai Lama escaped from Lhasa to India in 1959 after Chinese PLA soldiers occupied Tibet, destroying thousands of monasteries and killing Tibetans. Travelling through the trade route from Tibet to Khen-Dze-mani in the Zemithang circle of Tawang district, the Dalai Lama and his entourage sought refuge in India.
On March 31, 1959, the Dalai Lama and a group of eight individuals, accompanied by an additional group of eighty people, were officially received at Khen-Dze-Mani by local authorities and the people of Zemithang, and escorted into India by the 5 Assam Rifles.
A landmarks along the trail begins with the ‘Lhasa Dwar,’ a small gate marking the point where the Dalai Lama entered India. Adjacent to it stands the revered ‘Holy Tree,’ believed to have sprouted from a staff planted by the Dalai Lama, now worshipped as a relic symbolising the historic event. Another notable site in the area is the Gorsam Chorten, one of the largest stupas of Buddhism, located 90 km from Tawang. Founded by Monpa monk Lama Pradhar in the 12th century; it holds historical importance as a resting place for the Dalai Lama during his journey.
In addition to the project, efforts are underway to boost tourism in the region further. The construction of a 113 feet Maitreya Buddha statue at Buri, along the Indo-Bhutan border, funded under the NE scheme of Swadesh Darshan by the Union Tourism Ministry, aims to enhance the Bhalukpong-Bomdila-Tawang tourism circuit, adding impetus to the region’s tourism sector.
