Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh:
"Prove that Arunachal Pradesh is part of India." That's what the Dalai Lama offered when asked about Chinese objections to his visit to Arunachal Pradesh. Though he is on a spiritual trip, the Tibetan leader addressed the issue of China hardening its stand against him.
Tawang resplendent with prayer flags fluttering across the hills and people burning incense sticks to receive the Dalai Lama who arrived here after two postponements. But for the people here, the visit assumed spiritual significance rather than anything political.
Today, the Dalai Lama will be inaugurating a hospital in Tawang. Then he will address a public gathering.
However, the Dalai Lama surprised everyone with overt political statements on China and recounted his great escape 50 years ago through Tawang.
"The Chinese government... the communist government... it's quite sad that all my movements are interpreted by them as separatist. After the fifth round of talks with China, they acknowledged that I was not seeking separation but soon they intensified their accusations that I am a separatist," said the Dalai Lama.
The Dalai Lama effect is not only felt on his followers who consider his presence auspicious but also on the Sino-Indian dynamics revolving around Tibet.
India may make use of the Dalai Lama to solve the decades-long territorial conflict by encouraging his visit to southern Tibet, a Chinese analyst said on Sunday.
"The Dalai Lama went to southern Tibet at this critical moment probably because of pressure from India," Hu Shisheng, a researcher of Southern Asian studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times Sunday. "By doing so, he can please the country that has hosted him for years."
The appearance and activities of the Dalai Lama in southern Tibet may foment anti-China sentiment among people living in the region, the analyst said.
"When the conflict gets sharper and sharper, the Chinese government will have to face it and solve it in a way India has designed," Hu added.