By Muneeza Naqvi, The Associated Press

TAWANG, India - Joyous Buddhist pilgrims welcomed the Dalai Lama back Sunday to the Himalayan town he first set foot in five decades ago while fleeing Chinese rule in his native Tibet - a rare trip close to his homeland that has angered Beijing.

The Dalai Lama's arrival here highlighted a lingering border dispute between India and China, exposed Beijing's ongoing sensitivities over Tibet and raised questions over who would succeed him as the region's spiritual leader.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said last week that the trip "once again exposes the nature of the Dalai Lama as anti-China."

The Dalai Lama, however, insisted the accusation was "baseless" and that he was only seeking to promote religious values, peace and harmony.

"My visit here is nonpolitical," he said soon after his arrival Sunday morning.

For the residents of Tawang, it seemed purely religious.

The streets were lined with prayer flags and banners welcoming the Dalai Lama and thousands braved the cold temperatures and biting wind to attend his five-day visit of prayer meetings and lectures on Buddhism.

"It made us very happy to catch a glimpse of him. Nobody is more important to us than him. The Dalai Lama is our god," said Karmayacha, who uses one name and travelled with her family from a village 20 miles (32 kilometres) away.

Monks clanged cymbals and sounded traditional Tibetan horns to greet the Dalai Lama as he arrived at the Tawang monastery - filled with fresh orange, white and red flowers - from a nearby helipad.

The Dalai Lama smiled and chatted with the gathered crowds. One monk shaded him with a giant yellow silk umbrella, while scores of others bowed before him as he walked into a hall to lead a prayer session.

The Dalai Lama first came to Tawang, which has close religious and political ties to Tibet, in 1959, when he fled communist rule. He has since made five visits to the town, the last in 2003.

At that time, he was ill, weary and suffering from dysentery, but when he finally made it here, he felt safe, he said Sunday.

In the days leading up to this visit - only his fifth trip here in the last half century - monks and residents painted the monasteries of Tawang and scrubbed the town.

Pilgrims arrived in packed trucks, others walked along narrow paths in the Himalayan foothills for as long as five days to hear a man they revere as a living god speak.

The local administration, which expects 25,000 people, erected a small tent city for pilgrims, while other visitors sought shelter in local monasteries and guesthouses.

China accuses the Dalai Lama of seeking Tibetan independence and is especially sensitive to protests against its control over the Himalayan region following deadly anti-government riots there last year.

It regularly protests the movements of the Dalai Lama, but it is particularly sensitive to this trip, which highlights two issues of special concern to Beijing, Tibetan independence and its disputed border with India, said Srinath Raghavan, a senior fellow at the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi.

"The Chinese are highly distrustful of what the Dalai Lama is doing there," he said.

Tawang is home to the Monpa tribe, who have strong ties to the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. The sixth Dalai Lama came from the region in the 17th century and China fears that if the next one is found here as well, he will be beyond Beijing's grip.

The visit also highlights worsening tensions between India and China, which have been embroiled in a border dispute over this northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh since 1962. The two Asian neighbours are vying for economic and political power in the region.

India's decision to let the Dalai Lama visit Tawang - just weeks after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Arunachal Pradesh - is another declaration of its sovereignty over the disputed border area.

For his part, the Dalai Lama no longer appears concerned about angering China since negotiations over his Himalayan homeland have gone nowhere, Raghavan said.

"The Dalai Lama really has nothing to lose," he said. "The key thing is for him to be able to preserve Tibetan religion and culture."


Associated Press writer Ravi Nessman in New Delhi contributed to this story.