(TibetanReview.net, Sep12’26) – A book on the Dalai Lama, described as a major work that was over 20 years in the works, was launched at the Constitution Club of India in New Delhi on Sep 10 evening, ahead of Chinese President’s Xi Jinping’s arrival for the BRICS summit.
Written by journalist, academic, and author Arvind Yadav, the book, Eternal Light: The Life and Legacy of the 14th Dalai Lama, traces the exile Tibetan leader’s life from his early years in Tibet to his escape to India in 1959, as well as his life in exile.
At the launch event, Politician and author Karan Singh has delivered the presidential address, while Tibetologist and educationist Ngawang Samten has spoken on the Dalai Lama’s legacy.
The 508-page biography was more than two decades in the making, and Singh called it a “very substantial” work, reported theprint.in Sep 11.
Singh has spoken about his own long friendship with the Tibetan spiritual leader. The two first met in 1956, when the Dalai Lama visited India and met with Chinese premier Zhou Enlai, and grew closer after his exile in 1959, the report said.
“What has struck me after reading this book is the courage of the Dalai Lama,” former diplomat Pavan K Varma has said at the event. “Given the circumstances in which he left Tibet, the pressures he was under, and the options before him, his decision to take a great risk was not to save his personal life, but to fight longer, with greater tenacity and substance, for everything he stood for.”
Both Varma and Singh have also spoken about the Dalai Lama’s commitment to non-violence. “For Mahatma Gandhi and the Dalai Lama, ahimsa is central. He stands for non-violence, even in dealings with the Chinese government, placing his emphasis on dialogue,” Varma has stated. “This message is relevant not only to Tibet or China, but to the entire world.”
Referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s scheduled arrival on Sep12 for the BRICS summit, freepressjournal.in Sep 11 said the timing of the event drew attention as the Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile in India since fleeing Chinese rule, remains a key figure in discussions around Tibet’s political and cultural identity.
The book has been published by Westland Books.