Unfazed by China’s relentless opposition, Tibetan spiritual leader, his Holinessthe 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, finally set foot on the soil of Arunachal Pradesh last week.

The Nobel peace laureate, who was in Guwahati on April 1 where he graced a number of events, was scheduled to fly to Tawang on 4 April but could not due to inclement weather and had to take the land route instead.

The octogenarian Buddhist leader travelled to Bomdila in Arunachal’s West Kameng district via Tezpur town in central Assam. Next day, his party made it to Dirang on their way to Tawang, a Buddhist-concentrated locality of Arunachal, which the Chinese government claims as their area.

Earlier, the Indian external affairs ministry, in a strong statement, commented that “‘no artificial controversy should be created around the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh.

The Indian government has clearly stated on several occasions that the Dalai Lama is a revered religious leader, who is deeply respected as such by the Indian people. Hence no additional colour should be ascribed to his religious and spiritual activities and visits to various states of the country.”

Union minister for state for home, Kiren Rijiju, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh, commented before the Dalai Lama’s arrival in his state, that the Tibetan Buddhist monk’s visit to the Tibet-bordering Indian state was purely religious as such “no political angle behind his visit should be ascribed”.

He continued, “Arunachal is an inseparable part of India and China should not object to his Holiness’ visit to the state. It’s India’s internal affairs.” Rijiju, who practices Buddhism, strongly commented that New Delhi had never interfered in China’s internal affairs and it expected Communist China to reciprocate it.

As various Chinese agencies, including the government-run media outlets opposed the Dalai Lama’s visit to Tawang, the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) also discouraged his visit. It warned the Dalai Lama not to utter a single word against the Beijing administration from the soil of Assam.

However, no one endorsed the separatist militant outfit’s warning. They feel that the Ulfa (Independent) has slowly turned into a puppet of Red China after them shelter along the south China-Myanmar border areas. In a formal letter addressed to the Tibetan religious leader, Dr Abhizeet Asom, the self-styled chairman of Ulfa (I), argued that the Dalai Lama’s visit to Tawang would disturb peace and tranquillity in the state as the Beijing administration was opposed to any high profile individual’s visit to Arunachal, terming it a part of south Tibet.

The Ulfa (I) letter said, “The caveat we would like you (Dalai Lama) to honour upon making the trip is that that nothing against China will be uttered by you in private or public, because China has always been a friendly neighbour of ours and the relationship between China and Assam is truly very deep when it comes to the linguistic and cultural heritage of the two nations,” said Dr Asom.

The militant leader, who is suspected to be based in London, wrongly pointed out that during the 1962 Sino-India war, the Peoples Liberation Army personnel “did not set foot on Assam soil”, but in reality Chinese soldiers crossed Arunachal Pradesh and arrived in Tezpur until the Beijing administration received warnings from the American authorities.

Dr Asom, a practicing physician based in the UK, also criticised the Indians who extend moral support for a Free Tibet and raised voices against the Tibetan government-in-exile along with the Dalai Lama. Saying that former Indian Prime Minister, AB Vajpayee accepted Tibet as an integral part of China, the militant leader also argued that India’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru also officially recognised Tibet as a Chinese region. He asserted that his party was fighting New Delhi for a “Swadhin Asom” (sovereign Assam) for decades.

But the Patriotic People’s Front Assam welcomed the Dalai Lama to the North-east. It said Tibet is not China but rather is the actual northern neighbour of the region. The civil society group expressed the hope that his holiness’ visit would strengthen the bond between the peoples of Tibet and India’s Northeast.

It criticised China for using the armed outfit as a card against New Delhi. It claimed that the Ulfa (I) military head Paresh Barua, who was earlier hiding in Dhaka, is now a tenant of China’s southern province bordering Myanmar. It also quoted intelligence sources that Barua is running an umbrella organisation of Northeastern militant outfits, which the Chinese elements were supporting as an act of revenge for Indian’s continued hospitality to the Dalai Lama. In Guwahati, the Dalai Lama attended the concluding programme of The Assam Tribune’s platinum jubilee and Dainik Asom’s golden jubilee celebrations on 1 April.

Next day, he graced a public function at Gauhati University, where an Assamese translation of his autobiography My Land and My People was also launched in the presence of Assam governor, Banwarilal Purohit and chief minister, Sarbananda Sonowal.

He also joined in the Namami Brahmaputra festival at the heart of the city, which was inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee on 31 March on the bank of the river that originates in Tibet.

The Dalai Lama also visited Dibrugarh University in eastern Assam on 3 April where he addressed a select gathering. He emphasised the need for internal peace for every individual. Preaching ahimsa (non-violence), he pointed out that without karuna (compassion) it cannot emerge. In various interactions in Assam, the Dalai Lama termed himself as the longest guest of India. He recalled those days, when the Hun Chinese invaded Tibet and he had to escape from Lhasa in 1959.

He revealed that now he becomes a messenger of Indian culture to the world like a son of the great country. As the international media reported the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, the Chinese foreign ministry came out with the statement that by hosting the Tibetan spiritual leader “on a contested stretch of land on the India-China border New Delhi has caused serious damage to the relations between the two countries.”

The foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying commented that China firmly opposed the visit by a man (the Dalai Lama) Beijing labels “a dangerous separatist” to the disputed border region and New Delhi would get no benefit out of it. Rejecting the arguments that the Dalai Lama’s trip was solely religious in nature, Chunying said Beijing would lodge a formal protest with New Delhi in this regard.

However, the Dalai Lama clarified during a media interaction at Bomdila that New Delhi had never used him against Beijing. India is a land of peace, harmony and non-violence, he commented. The spiritual leader also urged the Chinese government to offer the Tibetans genuine autonomy and meaningful self-rule (if not independence). Welcoming the Dalai Lama in his state, Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu asked China not to advice India on “what to do and what not to do with His Holiness’s movement inside the country”.

He even asserted that China is not Arunachal’s next-door neighbour but Tibet. The McMahon Line demarcates the boundary between India and Tibet, he claimed. The Dalai Lama previously visited Arunachal Pradesh in 1983, 1997, 2003 and 2009. Every time China reacted sharply and New Delhi made softer arguments, saying that it was very unfortunate.

But this time, with a new regime in New Delhi, there was no official reaction from Prime Minister Narendra Modi even though he was personally targeted by the Chinese government-controlled media outlets.

The writer is the Guwahati-based special representative of The Statesman.