DALAI LAMA's VIST TO TAWANG (ARUNACHAL)

Speaking to his followers, the Dalai Lama declared that Arunachal Pradesh was an important part of India, and spoke emotionally about his attachment to the town were he first arrived when he fled China's invasion on Tibet in 1959.
"My stand that Tawang is an integral part of India has not changed," he said, and recalled his relief at being met in the town on his arrival from Tibet by an Indian foreign ministry official.
"There was a feeling of hopelessness when I first came here in 1959. But I felt safe when I saw a long-time friend from the Indian foreign ministry waiting for me at the border. That is why I have visited Tawang so many times. People here take a genuine interest in Tibetan Buddhism and Buddhist culture. Right from Ladakh to Tawang, Tibetan Buddhism is practised traditionally," he said.





His comments will further inflame Beijing's anger at the visit, not least his reference to Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir being areas of strong Tibetan Buddhist influence.
China claims vast swathes of both areas as its own and rejects the 1913 Shimla Convention at which the Tibet government ceded Tawang to British India and agreed the McMahon Line as the border between India and China.
China now regards the McMahon line as its last disputed border and has escalated tensions over the issue to pressurise India to make new concessions.
Beijing renewed its attack on the Dalai Lama's visit yesterday accusing him of visiting the area at India's behest to bolster its claim to the area China calls "Southern Tibet". Its official media has also denounced him as a "liar" for comments on fear among his people in Tibet.