Dalai Lama, 83, hospitalised with chest infection at Delhi hospital

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama Tuesday underwent a check-up at a hospital in Delhi after some health complications, hospital sources said.

The 83-year-old leader came down here from Dharamshala for the check-up at the Max hospital in Saket, they said.

"Yes, he underwent a check-up at the hospital. He generally visits Max facility for his check-ups," a source said.

However, it could not be immediately confirmed if he was admitted to the hospital.

The Dalai Lama was here for the past few days for attending a global learning conference that ended on April 6. He returned to Dharamshala from New Delhi Monday.

The 14th Dalai Lama had fled to India in early 1959 to escape from the Chinese occupation and lives in exile in the hill town of Dharamshala.

At the event, he had also spoken about his ageing body and reincarnation.

To a question on China's stand on the next Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader had said, "If I live for another 10-15 years, political situation in China will change. But if I die in the next few years, the Chinese government will show the reincarnation must happen in China."

China has said the successor to the Dalai Lama must be chosen according to the religious rituals and historical conventions as well as the backing from the ruling Communist Party. The Dalai Lama has been keeping China on tenterhooks about his successor.