(TibetanReview.net, Dec12, 2017) – Hundreds of Tibetans and others gathered on the courtyard of the Tsuglakhang, the main Buddhist temple in Dharamshala, India, on Dec 10 to mark the 28th anniversary of the conferment of the Nobel Peace Prize on the Dalai Lama. The chief guest was the BJP MP from the state’s Mandi District Mr Ram Swaroop Sharma, who expressed gratitude to the Dalai Lama for making Dharamshala a special place for people across the world through his messages of love and peace.
He called the 1989 Nobel Peace laureate a beacon of grace and humility and urged New Delhi to bestow on him the nation’s highest civilian honour, ‘the Bharat Ratna’.
He said: “As members of the All Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet led by Shri Shanta Kumar, former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, we call on the Indian government to confer the Bharat Ratna on His Holiness the Dalai Lama. We are also making efforts to invite His Holiness the Dalai Lama to address a joint session of the Indian parliament.”
Former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar too had made a similar call in the past, as had former Indian Member of Parliament from Arunachal Pradesh Mr Rinchen K Khrimey of the Core Group for Tibetan Cause.
Mr Sharma also expressed India’s fervent support for the Tibetan freedom movement. He hoped the day was not far off when the Tibet issue would be resolved and Tibetans and Indians will celebrate the joyous occasion together.
With both the CTA President Sikyong Lobsang Sangay and the Parliament in Exile Speaker being in New York City, the function was addressed by the Officiating President Kalon Sonam Topgyal Khorlatsang and Deputy Speaker Acharya Yeshi Phuntsok.
The 22nd edition of the Himalayan Festival, organized by the Indo-Tibetan Friendship Association, was also held over Dec 10-11, to mark the joyous occasion and as reaffirmation of fraternity between the Tibetan people and the people of the local host community.
On the same day the Dalai Lama gave a public talk on Ancient Indian Nalanda Tradition to over 2000 Indians, Tibetans and other peoples at the Somaiya Vidyavihar in Mumbai. Kalon Karma Yeshi of the CTA’s Department of Finance was among those who attended the public talk.
