Dalai Lama accuses China of fooling its people

Tawang Town : The Dalai Lama on Saturday accused China of spreading false information about his trip to a monastery near India's border that drew protests from Beijing which claims the Himalayan area as its territory.

"People have the wrong information," the 81-year-old monk told reporters in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang where he took shelter on his flight from Tibet decades ago. 

"I wish one Chinese official would accompany me while I'm visiting here, what I'm doing, what I'm saying. They should know the reality." 

Beijing this week lodged an official protest with the Indian ambassador, accusing New Delhi of arranging a platform for the Dalai Lama to "hold anti-China and separatist activities".

After addressing devotees at the monastery, considered one of the holiest sites in Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama fired back at Beijing, accusing the country's communist officials of misleading its people over the nature of his visit.

"The 1.3-4 billion Chinese people have every right to know the reality.... They only have one-sided information and wrong information is morally wrong, they're fooling their own people."

The Indian government has insisted the trip is purely religious and pointed out that the Dalai Lama has been to Tawang before, accusing China of creating an "artificial controversy".

But some analysts say New Delhi has adopted a firmer approach to China since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in 2014 and invited the head of the India-based Tibetan government-in-exile to attend his swearing-in ceremony.

"The Dalai Lama has always been welcome to travel wherever he wants in India. But this government has been a bit firmer on issues of sovereignty," said Jayadeva Ranade, head of the Delhi-based Centre for China Analysis and Strategy.

Huge crowds, at least 20,000 by some estimates, turned out to hear the monk's nearly three-hour religious discourse.