Dharamshala: Ela Ghandi may travel to India to bestow Tibet's spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Gandhi Award for Reconciliation and Peace.
The Dalai Lama was scheduled to travel to South Africa to accept the award in person, however the trip was cancelled after South Africa failed to grant him a visa. Pressure from China, South Africa's largest trading partner, has been blamed for the delay.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama accepted the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace in absentia. He participated in some events by video link from his exiled residence in Dharamshala, India.
The Dalai Lama also engaged in a video discussion with fellow Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Tutu in which he said that "hypocrisy" has become part of the fabric of the Chinese "communist" system.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama's representative in South Africa, Sonam Tenzing, accepted the award on his behalf. However, there would be a formal presentation by Ela Gandhi to the leader in India if he did not come to South Africa within the next six months, according to the Chairman of the Trust, Paddy Kearney.
(with MSN India)
