NEW DELHI—Fearing a potential diplomatic row with Beijing, the government advised its ministers and senior functionaries to shun a greeting for the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, here in Delhi on Saturday.
This decision came in the backdrop of Congress President Sonia Gandhi's recent visit to China in October and ahead of the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's proposed visit to Beijing in the coming next month or so.
China had strongly opposed the recent award of the highest civilian honour to Dalai Lama by the U.S. Congress, for which he was honored at a function in New Delhi.
However, government officials said Cabinet Secretary K. M. Chandrasekhar's missive to ministers and government dignitaries to shun the function was not a blanket advisory against all functions conducted or attended by the Dalai Lama.
The Dalai Lama himself attached little importance to the issue saying that it was a private function that had little to do with the presence or absence of ministers and government dignitaries. He also said that he had "excellent" relations with the Indian government.
However, he lashed out at China accusing it of "cultural genocide" and "demographic aggression", adding that the Tibet issue needs to be resolved first for the Sino-Indian ties to become genuinely friendly.
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