Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Friday greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 71st birthday, saying the growing confidence he has brought about, despite challenges like the Covid-19 pandemic. In a letter to Modi, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, wrote: “I offer my heartfelt greetings to you on your birthday. May you continue to live a long and healthy life.
“As someone who cares deeply about this country, I congratulate you on the growing confidence you have brought about, despite challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic that has affected people around the globe. As the most populous democratic nation in the world, India’s success benefits not only the people of India but also contributes to the development of the world as a whole.
Beijing regards the Dalai Lama, who is based in the northern Indian hill town Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh, as a ‘separatist’. It is sensitive to him meeting international leaders, attending official functions, or visiting places at the invitation of the Indian government.
Amid relations between India and China worsening in the recent months and in a strategic shift, Prime Minister Modi on July 6 made a clear-cut departure from the policies of the successive governments of ‘making distance’ of sorts from the Dalai Lama by extending greetings to him on his 86th birthday.