Reportage – 2005

Dalai Lama to address Indian Parliamentarians

DHARAMSHALA, India, 5 December 2005

The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual and political leader, is scheduled to address members of the Indian Parliament at the Parliament Annexe Building in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The address is taking place at the invitation of All Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet.

Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Samdhong Rinpoche, is also accompaying the Dalai Lama.

"His Holiness will speak about the issue of Tibet to the parliamentarians," said Thupten Samphel, the spokesman of the exiled government.

Around 200 parliamentarians are expected to attend the address.

It will be second such occasion that the Dalai Lama addresses the Indian Parliamentarians at the Parliament Annexe Building. His first address to the august gathering was in early '90s.

India has hosted the Dalai Lama since 1959 after the Chinese occupation of his country.

However, politically, India maintains Tibet as a part to China. This policy dates back to April 1954 after India and China signed the ‘Agreement on Trade and Intercourse between the Tibet region of China and India,’ better known as the 'Panchsheel Agreement.' The signatures on the Agreement put an end to the existence of Tibet as a distinct nation.