Leh – The Dalai Lama received a rousing welcome in Leh on Wednesday, with hundreds of Buddhist monks and locals lining up the streets upon his arrival at the town.
Long queues of people in their traditional gear carrying scarves and flowers bowed their head in reverence as his motorcade wound through the town’s by-lanes.
The Dalai Lama who is on a three week visit to the town, was received at the airport by the Science and Technology Minister, Rigzen Jora and the Chief Executive Councillor of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Rigzen Spalbar.
“It is a great joy for the Ladakhis that the Dalai Lama is visiting Ladakh. There were smiles on the faces of people while they were welcoming him, “ said Tundup Sonam, president, Ladakh Buddhist Association, Leh.
The Dalai Lama also addressed a group of people in his Photang Palace later in the day.
The Dalai Lama, the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibetans, is revered as the reincarnation of a long line of Buddhist kings.
Thousands of Tibetans led by the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959, nine years after China’s communist army entered Tibet and overthrew the Buddhist theocracy there. The spiritual leader says he wants a mutually agreeable solution that entails greater autonomy, but not independence, for Tibetan regions. The Dalai Lama also won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for advocating a non-violent campaign for genuine autonomy to preserve Tibetan language and culture.
Situated at a height of 11,500 feet, Leh is the ancient royal capital and currently the headquarters of Ladakh. Though Ladakh is part of Jammu and Kashmir, the life style and culture of the people is very different from the rest of Kashmir.
