SRINAGAR, India – The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, was given a warm welcome Thursday as he arrived in Indian Kashmir’s Buddhist-dominated Ladakh region, officials said.
The exiled Tibetan leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner is to spend three weeks in the Himalayan region.
Large numbers of Buddhists had gathered to welcome the Dalai Lama on the road from the airport in Leh — the capital of Ladakh — some 434 kilometres (269 miles) southeast of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir.
“The nine kilometres (five miles) of road from Leh airport to Choglamsar wore a festive look as people had lined up on both the sides to welcome his excellency,” Tsering Samphel, the president of the influential Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA), told AFP by telephone.
The village of Choglamsar is home to a small Tibetan refugee camp, where the Tibetans have built a rest house for their spiritual leader.
“Even young and old monks had come out in large numbers to welcome the spiritual leader,” Samphel said, adding that at many places people had strung welcome banners across the road.
The Dalai Lama will rest for five days, after which he will tour the Ladakh region, including Muslim-dominated Kargil district.
He is expected to address several gatherings later this month.
Security has been tightened for his visit and police will be guarding him until he leaves on July 3.
Tibetans believe the Dalai Lama to be the 14th reincarnation of the Avalokitesvara, the Buddha of Compassion.
Born in 1935, the Dalai Lama fled Tibet after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule and established a government-in-exile in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala.
Since then, he has lobbied hard on the part of Tibet with world leaders and personalities, efforts that netted him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
