The political angle cannot be ignored, says CTA Prez on the Dalai Lama smear campaign

By Tenzin Dharpo

DHARAMSHALA, April 14: The President of the exile Tibetan government, known officially as the Central Tibetan Administration, Sikyong Penpa Tsering said that considering the scale and extent of the orchestrated smear campaign that twisted a playful banter between Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama and a young Indian boy, the political angle of this incident cannot be ignored. President Tsering was speaking at a press event at Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia in Delhi on Thursday.

“Through our investigation and prima facie evidence, we found the primary instigators are pro-Chinese sources. It needs no explanation as to who would gain by maligning the image, reputation and legacy of His Holiness,” he told the press.

The video of the interaction between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and a young Indian boy on February 28, 2023 at Tsuglakhang temple in Dharamshala surfaced on social media suspiciously after close to 2 months and was picked up by mainstream media followed by backlash on social media.

The sentiments of the CTA President was also echoed by the Tibetan Parliament in Exile. “We have been deeply hurt and saddened by the misinterpretation being currently given to an incident in a recent event with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, where without proper research, irresponsible and careless sort of explanations and comments were being given to it in the media,” the statement read.

Among the many dignitaries and Buddhist leaders to defend the Dalai Lama are BJP party MP from Ladakh Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, the 17^th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the 42nd Sakya Trizin Ratna Vajra Rinpoche.