(TibetanReview.net, Sep07’24) – Chief Minister Mr Pema Khandu of India’s Tibet-border state of Arunachal Pradesh has on Sep 6 called on His Holiness the Dalai Lama at his exile residence at McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala, to seek his blessing and has gifted to a trust in his name a residence for him built at the spot where he had temporarily resided upon entering India in 1959 to seek asylum. Khandu has again invited the exile spiritual leader of Tibet to visit his state.
“Humbled and grateful for a warm audience with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama at his residence… I felt deeply blessed to receive his compassionate blessings,” Khandu wrote on X.
Khandu also wrote that he had invited the Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh and that the latter said he would visit “whenever he feels the call.”
The chief minister also presented to the Dalai Lama a framed photo of a Phodrang (residence) the state had built for him at Pungteng in Tawang District. The building stands on the spot where the Dalai Lama had spent a few days after arriving in India from Tibet in 1959, reported the timesofindia.com Sep 7.
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The chief minister was visiting Dharamshala in connection with a long-life prayers offering being made by the Monpa community of his state to which he also belongs. The preparatory rituals began on Sep 3 and concluded on Sep 7, when the actual offerings were made.
He was accompanied by Mr Tapir Gao, Lok Sabha member from Arunachal Pradesh and the Co-convener of the All Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet; Mr Pasang Dorjee Sona, the state’s minister for Education and Tourism; and MLA’s from the state.
Also on Sep 7 morning, along with the delegation, the Monpa Community of Arunachal Pradesh, joined by Tibetan residents and other followers of the Dalai Lama, gathered at the Tsuglakhang, the main local Buddhist temple, to celebrate the confluence of three auspicious occasions: the 65th anniversary of His Holiness’s first dharma teaching to the people of Monyul since his arrival in India; the 341st birth anniversary of the 6th Dalai Lama Tsangyang Gyatso, who was born in Tawang; and the 90th birthday of His Holiness as per Tibetan calendar.
After his 1959 escape, the Dalai Lama has visited the state seven times so far, namely in 1983, 1996, 1997, twice in 2003, 2009, and 2017, noted arunachal24.in Sep 6.