The 17th Karmapa Lama, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, attended the 43rd founding anniversary celebrations of the Tibetan Delek Hospital here on Thursday.
Speaker of Tibetan parliament in-exile, lawmakers and ministers in-exile also participated in the event.
Addressing the gathering, the Karmapa Lama said, "This whole year is being celebrated in honour of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and this is the 43rd founding anniversary of Delek Hospital, which is an allopathic hospital which serves not just the Tibetans but also local Indians."
The Karmapa Lama, 29, is the third highest ranking Lama and lives in Dharamsala, the base of many Tibetan exiles. He is the leader of the Kagyu sect, one of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama is the head of the Gelug sect. The fact that the Karmapa comes from a different sect could hinder any plans to make him a successor to the Dalai Lama.
The Karmapa lives as an exile within an exile. Exiled from China, the Indian Government does not allow him to visit his sect's exiled base in Sikkim.
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Another Tibetan claims he is the rightful "Karmapa" and there have been dynastic battles between the two. He speaks Chinese and Tibetan, and some English.
For years banned from travelling abroad by the Indian Government, the Karmapa made his first trip to the United States in 2008, including visits to New York and San Francisco. The trip was seen by many observers as an attempt to raise his international profile, hinting at a bigger role to come.
The Delek Hospital was founded in 1971 with just two rooms, five staff members and a visiting doctor. Today, the hospital, with a separate TB programme, provides healthcare for thousands of Tibetans and local Indians.
Last year, the World Health Organisation denied Delek Hospital's TB programme the 2013 Kochon prize worth USD 65,000 reportedly under pressure from China.
The award required approval from the director general of World Health Organisation (WHO), Margaret Chan. But days before the award was to be presented to Doctor Tseten Sadutsang, Chinese diplomats had reportedly stormed into the offices of Stop-TB Partnership to object the decision.
