Leh: The resentment against the misinterpretation of a video clip purportedly showing Dalai Lama asking a boy to suck his tongue has been widely spreading with the religious organisations in Leh deciding to hold a protest on Saturday, even as Member of Parliament from Ladakh Jamyang Tsering Namgyal standing in solidarity with His Holiness hit out at those spreading baseless and malicious allegations against the Tibetan spiritual head.
Last week, a two-minute-five-second video went viral showing the Dalai Lama asking a boy to “suck” his tongue, following which Dalai Lama apologised to the boy, his family and friends for the “hurt his words may have caused”.
Lamenting over the ongoing smear campaign against His Holiness the Dalai Lama by certain mainstream media and individuals, the religious organisation in Leh have decided to register their protest on Saturday.
Ladakh Buddhist Association and Ladakh Gonpa Association have announced to organise a peaceful gathering on Saturday,
“A peaceful gathering will be organised on 15th April at 10.30 AM to condemn the conspiracy to defame His Holiness Dalai Lama,” said Thupstan Chhewang, LBA president.
He was addressing a gathering at Polo Ground on the sidelines of the 132nd birth anniversary of Dr. Bhimarao Ambedkar organised by LBA youth Leh.
“The protest will be organised in collaboration with the Tibetan community and all religious Organisations to and extend our support to His Holiness to continue spreading peace, love and compassion,” he said.
Member of Parliament from Ladakh Jamyang Tsering Namgyal was among the notable standing in solidarity with His Holiness hit out at those spreading baseless and malicious allegations against the Tibetan spiritual head.
Thanking the Dalai Lama for his invaluable contributions to promoting peace, compassion, and understanding, Namgyal said that in the midst of the conflicts and divisive rhetoric that plague our world, His Holiness’s message of compassion, love, and empathy is more relevant than ever.
“It is disheartening to see baseless and malicious allegations being levelled against the His Holiness. We must remember that the teachings of Buddhism are grounded in principles of peace and non-violence, and baseless accusations have no place in such principles. We must remain vigilant in upholding the truth and ensuring that justice is served,” said JTN in a long note.
“As the Member of Parliament representing the people of Ladakh, I am proud to stand in solidarity with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and express our gratitude for his continued support and inspiration.
“Let us stand in solidarity with His Holiness and support his efforts towards a more compassionate and peaceful world,” said the MP.
Senior Congress leader Rigzin Jora joined JTN in condemning the manipulated video, saying that the same was being done to tarnish the image of Dalai Lama in the eyes of the world.
“Such malicious propaganda by his detractors will have no impact on his stature as one of the greatest spiritual leaders of our time. His innocent, elderly playful act has been given a salacious angle by sick minds. We wish to express our solidarity with HH the Dalai Lama,” said Zora.
Meanwhile, Sikyong Penpa Tsering of the Central Tibetan Administration said that the video was misinterpreted and tailored.
“The personal integrity of His Holiness was never ever in question in the last 87 years and that his compassion and love are beyond all the misunderstandings that the video has created,” he said, answering a question at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia meeting in New Delhi the previous day.
Lamenting over the ongoing smear campaign against His Holiness the Dalai Lama by certain mainstream media and individuals, he expressed the hurt sentiments of Tibetans caused by these insinuations.
Tibetan Parliament has also issued a statement in response to misinterpreted video of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
“We have been deeply hurt and saddened by the misinterpretation being currently given to an incident in a recent event with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, where without proper research, irresponsible and careless sort of explanations and comments were being given to it in the media,” said Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile.
“His Holiness the Dalai Lama have been uninterrupted targets of vilification by the communist Chinese government. It is a campaign that the Chinese government has kept on pursuing at all times, and in every possible manner, both domestically and internationally, employing various sorts of media, private individuals and so forth. Its vile policy objective continues to attempt to destroy or otherwise degrade Tibetan society. We see it as important to emphasise that whenever such incidents occur, all should, instead of going astray by following misinformation, pay close attention to all aspects of the issue – outward, inner, as well as hidden – with care, caution and steadiness of purpose to be able to counter them effectively,” it added.
Sahil Rasgotra
