New Delhi; July 5, 2013: Member of Parliament Rajeev Chandrasekhar met Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama Friday. On a special invitation extended to him by the Central Tibetan administration, Rajeev met HH the Dalai Lama and Dr. Lobsang Sangay, Prime Minister of Tibetan Government in exile, in Bengaluru.
Rajeev was the only dignitary to receive an invitation to meet the Dalai Lama during his brief stay in Bengaluru and spent nearly half an hour with HH Dalai Lama where he discussed various issues on Tibetans in India and pressed for greater engagement of Tibetan administration with the Indian administration, Parliamentarians and media. Rajeev presented to the Dalai Lama the customary Mysore peta, sandalwood garland and a model of Bengaluru Tower.
After the meeting the Dalai Lama said, "I would like to thank Rajeev Chandrasekhar for his sustained support to the Tibetan cause. He has worked in many avenues and has shown genuine compassion for Tibetan people. I am sure that Rajeev will continue his work to increase the love between Tibetan and Indian people. He has always worked at supporting the engagement of the Indian people with Buddhism. I would also like to thank the people of Karnataka for their hospitality and their generosity. The state hosts nearly 50,000 Tibetans."
Rajeev said, "India has ancient and long standing ties with Tibet going all the way back to the 8th century from the time of the Nalanda seat of learning. These ties intimately connect India with the Tibetan people and India is morally bound to support the Tibetan people. This support must extend to the realms of preserving Tibetan culture, its history and the environment. I will continue to raise the issues regarding Tibet in the Parliament. I will further work on for inviting HH the Dalai Lama to address the Indian Parliament. The cultural harmony of Tibet is important not just for the Tibetan people and India but for the entire world."
Meets PM of Tibetan govt in exile
Later, Rajeev Chandrasekhar met Dr. Lonsang Sangay, PM of Tibetan Government in exile and reiterated his support to the Tibetan cause. The PM extended a formal invitation to Rajeev Chandrasekhar to visit Dharamsala, seat of the Tibetan government in exile.
Rajeev - Advocate of Tibetan cause
Rajeev has been a vocal advocate for the Tibetan cause, urging the Government of India, through several interventions, to initiate greater engagement with the Tibetan government in exile. Rajeev has earlier written to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha requesting him to invite HH the Dalai Lama to address the Parliament. Rajeev had also urged the Standing Committee on External Affairs to invite the Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in exile, Mr. Lobsang Sangay to be present before it.
Taking cognizance of the numerous instances of self-immolation by Tibetan youth during the BRICS Summit in New Delhi in 2012, Rajeev had written to the Prime Minister of India requesting him to condemn the human rights violations in Tibet and urging him to take up the issue with his Chinese counterpart during BRICS summit in 2013.
