(TibetanReview.net, Jul16’25) – Veteran Indian Journalist Vijay Kranti, whose association with the Tibet issue and the Dalai Lama began in 1972, has paid a richly reminiscing visual tribute to the exile spiritual leader of Tibet on his 90th birthday, which is being globally marked as “Year of Compassion” by the Central Tibetan Administration.
He held a weeklong exhibition of his rich collection of photographs under the theme of “My 50 Years With Dalai Lama” in the AIFACS (All India Fine Arts & Crafts Society) Art Gallery in New Delhi, beginning Jul 4.
Kranti was 23 years old when he first met the Dalai Lama in 1972, and the association continued through the following decades, which is reflected by the theme of this photo exhibition.
The exhibition was inaugurated by Balbir Punj, senior journalist, columnist, and former Member of Parliament. Punj highlighted the civilisational ties between India and Tibet and emphasised the strategic and cultural importance of a free Tibet. He has condemned China’s meddling in the Dalai Lama-reincarnation process as a continuation of its political overreach into Tibetan religious traditions.
One of Kranti’s iconic photos, dated Jan 23, 1979, shows Indira Gandhi, then out of power, attending the inaugural ceremony of Tibet House, New Delhi, as the Dalai Lama addressed the gathering.
“She just appeared in the crowd next to me. I had to step back to frame both her and His Holiness in the same shot,” Kranti recalls.
A parallel exhibition of Kranti’s collection is being held in Freiburg, Germany, underlining the global interest in the Dalai Lama’s life and the photographer’s visual documentation.
Collections from his archive, spanning 53 years, have been showcased at venues in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, and Australia.
Kranti is a Tibet expert in his own right and has spoken on the issue at various forums over the years.