Dalai Lama reaches Sikkim after 13 years amidst tension with China, know why this visit was special

Tibetan Buddhist guru and spiritual leader Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso reached Sikkim after 13 years on January 22.

The Dalai Lama landed at Army's Libing helipad in East Sikkim. There he was welcomed by Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang.

On the first day of his visit, he also met some members of the Tibetan Parliament in exile, the Tibetan Settlement Office and the local Tibetan Assembly. After this, on Tuesday, he gave knowledge on the book '37 Practices of Bodhisattvas' written by religious guru Acharya Gyalse Thokme Sangpo at Paljor Stadium, about 50 km from the India-China border in Nathula.

As soon as the Dalai Lama reached Sikkim, many discussions started. His visit is also being seen as India giving a strong message to Dragon amid the tension between India and China. Actually, China considers Dalai Lama as an enemy.

When China occupied Tibet, India gave shelter to the Dalai Lama and his supporters. China had become more angry with India since that time. By the way, China is also claiming large parts of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim as its own. Even before this, he had expressed strong objection to the visit of Dalai Lama to these two states.

Tension has been going on between India and China for the last 2 years. Also, meeting people especially related to Tibet during this tour is like directly teasing China. There are speculations through this visit that India has tried to send a message to China that it does not take its claims on Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh seriously. Also he is not afraid of China.