China sees red as Dalai Lama attends official event in India

China expressed Monday its discontent to the Indian government after the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama attended a public event in India.

An international conference on Buddhism, organised by India at Rajgir in Bihar, was inaugurated by the Dalai Lama and India's Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma and was also attended by Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, reports Efe news.

"In recent days the Indian side, in total disregard of China's stern representation and strong opposition, insisted on inviting the 14th Dalai Lama to attend the international conference on Buddhism held by the Indian government," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

"We urge the Indian side to clearly see the anti-China nature of the Dalai group and ... respect China's core concerns and avoid China-India relations from being further disrupted and undermined," Hua told the media.

China considers the Dalai Lama a separatist and usually pressurizes other governments from inviting him to official ceremonies or to receive him formally.

The Dalai Lama has been living in exile in the Indian city of Dharamsala since fleeing his homeland in 1959.

In April, the 81-year-old Tibetan leader is scheduled to visit Arunachal Pradesh, an Indian state disputed by the two countries.

India is also home to some 100,000 Tibetan exiles.

--IANS

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