Dalai Lama among five who have escort police pilot

Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, is among five people in Himachal Pradesh who are to get a police pilot vehicle owing to a threat perception to their life, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh informed the assembly Tuesday.

"There are five distinguished people in the state who have been provided with the police pilot," the chief minister said in a written reply.

Besides the spiritual leader, who has been residing in Dharamsala in Kangra district along with his followers, the others are Governor Urmila Singh, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, Himachal Pradesh High Court Acting Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir, and assembly Speaker B.B.L. Butail.

Official sources told IANS that a number of central security agencies are also involved in the security of Tibetan spiritual leaders, the Dalai Lama, and the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, who also resides in Dharamsala.

Himachal Pradesh has been requesting the central government to fully reimburse the expenditure being incurred on security of the Dalai Lama and the Karmapa.

"Only a small amount of assistance is being provided to the state for the security of the Dalai Lama and the Karmapa. The government of India should also provide liberal assistance for establishing Tibetan refugee units in Shimla and Tibetan refugee cell in Dharamsala," Governor Urmila Singh said at the governors' conference in New Delhi last year.

More than 50 years ago, the Dalai Lama fled into exile and established his government-in-exile in Dharamsala. The government is not recognised by any other country.

A total of 27,542 exiles are in the state, mainly in and around Dharamsala.