New Delhi. Setting the tone of his India visit with a big political message to China, US top diplomat Antony Blinken on Wednesday met Tibetan Buddhist monk Geshe Dorji Damdul, current director of Tibet House in Delhi.
Damdul, the former interpreter of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, was a part of a group of civil society leaders who met US Secretary of State Blinken early in the day. Blinken is on a two-day visit to India.
Damdul is a director of Tibet House, which was founded in 1965 by the Dalai Lama to preserve and disseminate the unique cultural heritage of Tibet.
The meet is expected to irk Beijing, which considers Tibet as an integral part of China. The meeting took place in the backdrop of strained Beijing and Washington ties.
“I was pleased to meet civil society leaders today. The US and India share a commitment to democratic values; this is part of the bedrock of our relationship and reflective of India’s pluralistic society and history of harmony. Civil society helps advance these values,” Blinken tweeted following the meeting.
Chinese troops occupied Tibet in 1950 and later annexed it.
The 1959 Tibetan uprising saw violent clashes between Tibetan residents and Chinese forces. The 14th Dalai Lama fled to neighbouring India after the failed uprising against Chinese rule. The Dalai Lama, the supreme Tibetan Buddhist leader, established a government-in-exile in India.
There are at present more than 10,000 Tibetans living in Dharamsala alone, and an estimated 160,000 Tibetan exiles around the world.
