Dalai Lama congratulates Siddaramaiah on becoming Chief Minister

Dharamshala (IANS) | The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, on Saturday congratulated Siddaramaiah on becoming the Chief Minister of Karnataka once again. The Dalai Lama wrote that last April was the 64th anniversary of our life in exile. In order to find a suitable place to resettle the many Tibetans who had fled to India at that time, Prime Minister Pandit Nehru appealed to the Chief Ministers of various states to provide land.

The most generous response was from the then Chief Minister of your state (Karnataka) S. It came from Nijalingappa. I had actually met him earlier in 1956, when I had come to India. We both have a very clear memory of the meeting.

Subsequently, in the 1960s, more than 30,000 Tibetans were resettled in Karnataka, the largest group of exiled Tibetans. I am grateful to the state of Karnataka. I attended a special function in Bengaluru in August 2018 to thank the state and its people for their friendship and generous support.

Having said that, I would like His Holiness to once again express our deep gratitude to the Government and people of Karnataka for the warm and friendly support they have extended to Tibetans during this critical time.

I take this opportunity to wish you success in meeting the challenges ahead in fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of the people of Karnataka.

–IANS