Why China-India border thaw faces fresh test from 17th century Dalai Lama

The fragile rapprochement between China and India faces a fresh test as New Delhi looks to promote its links with the sixth Dalai Lama, observers have warned.

India is hosting the first international conference of the 17th century Tibetan spiritual leader at his birthplace in today’s Tawang, a mountain town in an area that India governs as the border state of Arunachal Pradesh and China claims as Zangnan or southern Tibet.

Pema Khandu, the state chief minister, opened the four-day event at Tawang Monastery on Wednesday, watched by local officials and Tibetan literature and Buddhist studies researchers from around the world.

“The world knows little about His Holiness the sixth Dalai Lama … It is now our duty to let the world know about his life, his philosophy and his timeless words,” Khandu had said in announcing the conference last month, according to Indian media reports.

The sixth Dalai Lama, born in 1683 and enthroned in 1697, was an unconventional leader with unique characteristics seen neither before nor since.

He was best known for his romantic poems and songs that are popular to this day, particularly among Tibetan-speaking communities in China, India and Nepal.

South China Morning Post