India has more claim over Tibet than ChinaJODHPUR: Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said on Thursday that India has a reason to have a claim on Tibet more than China. He said this in reference to the closeness of the Tibetans with India as he said that the Buddhist religion has its roots in India and it is still practiced abundantly along the border right from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh. He was addressing a gathering of Tibetan community during his third day of Jodhpur visit on Thursday. He sought the continuous support of India in the struggle of Tibetans terming this to be an issue of India as well.
He said the Tibetans owe India a lot as this nation has never disappointed them in standing by them. Striking a comparison between India and China, he said that though China is a fast-developing country marked by rapid pace of economic growth, it is devoid of any sort of freedom and morality, which has miserably failed to maintain the communism. On the contrary, India takes a lead from China here in terms of protection of civil rights and freedom and is the most successful and stable democracy in the world. Giving the examples of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Burma and Bangladesh, the spiritual leader said that despite having surrounded by such unstable countries, India has succeeded in maintaining the democratic and human values.
Addressing the gathering in his mother tongue, Dalai Lama called upon them for sticking to their roots and remain determined for keeping their culture, traditions and values alive. "Though it is a huge challenge with a long struggle ahead, we are finding support with the many countries including China, where the intellectuals have started understanding us and have started lending years to our voice," he said.
