Dharamshala: The Dalai Lama today set out on a two day visit to Ladakh, the first visit by the spiritual leader of Tibet after the global COVID-19 pandemic broke out in March 2020.
Tibetans and devotees lined up in the street at the break of the dawn to catch a glimpse of the Dalai Lama as he set off for Ladakh early in the morning. The Tibetan leader will stay at Jammu for a night before proceeding to Ladhakh.
In April, the Dalai Lama granted an audience to Thiksay Rinpoche of Thiksay Monastery and former MP Thupten Tsewang, who is the current President of Ladakh Buddhist Association; upon whose request, he agreed to visit Ladakh.
After the breakout of the pandemic, the Dalai Lama for over two years was staying at his residence in McLeodgank and only granted virtual and in-person audiences in Dharamsala only.
Ladakh is administered as a union territory of Indian and is bordered by the Tibet Autonomous Region to the east, Kashmir to the west and Himachal Pradesh to the south.
The visit of the Dalai Lama is being keenly watched as the Ladakh – Tibet Autonomous Region border has two large armies on standby after skirmishes broke out between Indian and Chinese soldiers on 5th May, 2020 with the Chinese army having intruded into the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control that defines the border in the region.
Arvind Sharma is an award winning bi-lingual journalist with more than 20 years of experience.
He has worked with Divya Himachal, Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhasker, Vir Partap, Ajit and PTI.
In 2010, he was conferred the Himachal Kesri journalism award. He reports on the Tibetan Government in Exile, politics, sports, tourism and other topics. He lives in Dharamshala.
