China flays Dalai Lama for India links

China on Thursday launched fresh broadside against exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama ridiculing his India links and his assertions that Arunachal Pradesh was part of India.

"A Chinese saying goes that one would lose his dignity if one is fed by others' alms. The Dalai Lama must have forgotten this old Chinese saying as he later even claimed that 'the Tibetan culture originated from India' despite the historical fact that Tibet had been administrated by the China central government ever since Yuan dynasty (1206-1368)," a commentary posted in the ruling Communist Party mouthpiece Peoples Daily said today. The article titled "Son of India goes to dead end" said,

"It is true that cultural and religious exchanges took place frequently in history (with India). However, we may ask: would someone who was influenced by the culture or the religion from another country claim himself a "son" of that country? This doesn't sound reasonable at all," it said criticising his remark that he was also son of India.

"More ridiculously, he began to offer the Chinese territory to a foreign country just for his exile life. In 2009, the Dalai Lama made his way to pleasing his master by saying that the south Tibet (Arunachal Pradesh) belonged to India starting from 1914.

China claims Arunachal Pradesh as its own territory. As a matter of fact, the area ruled by the local Tibetan government covering an area of 90,000 square km was never recognised as a separate part from the Chinese territory," it said.

It also said the Dalai Lama must have forgotten that the Tibetan Buddhism was strongly influenced by the Chinese Zen Buddhism throughout its entire process of development. The statue of Sakyamuni (the other name for Buddha) housed in the Jokhang Temple was originally introduced by the Chinese Princess Wencheng in China's Tang Dynasty.

"In order to curry favour with his master (India), the Dalai Lama even debased the rich Tibetan culture he defended so hard before this time," it said.

"We may ask: if the Dalai Lama is a "son of India", would he be qualified for a talk with the Chinese government? Claiming himself a "son of India", isn't it contradictory for him to represent the Tibetan people? Is this his scheme to trade out the "Greater Tibet" to his master?," it said. China considers Dalai Lama as a separatist, colluding with anti-China forces to separate Tibet from the country. The Dalai Lama is based in Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh which is the seat of Tibetan government in exile.

Representatives of Chinese government and Dalai Lama held several rounds of unsuccessful talks in recent times.

"As a matter of fact, the Dalai Lama's claim as "son of India" shows his own inferiority towards his master because he never knows how long his life in exile will last. Senile as he is, he cannot wait any longer. Therefore, he is determined to favour his master at the expense of the Tibetan culture, the Chinese territorial integrity and the Tibetan people's fundamental interest. Doubtlessly, he has come to a dead end," the article said.