Dalai Lama regrets remarks on Nehru, thanks him for sheltering Tibetans
Bengaluru, Aug 10: The Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on Friday regretted blaming former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 and thanked him for sheltering thousands of exiled Tibetans after they fled from their motherland.
"My statements (on Nehru) have created a controversy. I apologise if I said something wrong," the 83-year-old Nobel laureate told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.
Speaking to the students at the Goa Institute of Management at Sanquelim in north Goa on August 8, the Dalai Lama had said: "Mahatma Gandhi wanted to give the prime ministership to (Mohammad Ali) Jinnah. But Nehru refused. He was self-centred. He said, 'I wanted to be Prime Minister'. India and Pakistan would have been united (had Jinnah been made Prime Minister at the time)".
The Dalai Lama, however, apologised for the remarks on Friday and thanked Nehru for supporting the Tibetans' cause when thousands of them, including monks, fled their motherland after China annexed the mountain country in 1950.
"I had a close relationship with Nehru, who suggested to have separate schools to preserve the Tibetan thought. He (Nehru) supported the Tibetans' cause," the 14th Dalai Lama said.
He was addressing "Thank You Karnataka" event here, a part of "Thank You India - 2018", organised by the Central Tibetan Administration to mark its community's 60 years of exile in the country.
The Dalai Lama, who was recognised at the age of two as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama Thubten Gyatso, fled to India from Tibet after a failed uprising against the Chinese rule in 1959.
Since then, India has been home to over 100,000 Tibetans majorly settled in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh among other states.
The Tibetans, who were demoralised after turning into refugees in India, grew confident over the years with the help they got from the country to make their living, the Dalai Lama said.
Eventually, Tibetans found support from other countries like the US, Canada and others, he added.
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B'desh: Lawyer killed in clash between security personnel, followers of Hindu leader
Dhaka, Nov 26: A lawyer was killed on Tuesday during clashes between the security personnel and followers of a Hindu community leader, who was denied bail and sent to jail by a Bangladesh court, according to local media reports.
The victim was identified as Saiful Islam, a 35-year-old assistant public prosecutor and a member of the Chattogram District Bar Association, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.
Citing Dr Nibedita Ghosh, a duty doctor at the emergency department of Chittagong Medical College Hospital, the paper said that six others were injured in the clashes that erupted after Chattogram’s Sixth Metropolitan Magistrate court denied bail to prominent Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, arrested on sedition charges.
Nazim Uddin Chowdhury, president of the Chittagong Lawyers' Association, said that protesters dragged a lawyer from beneath his chamber and hacked him to death.
As Das was being taken away in a police van, he addressed the crowd through a hand mike, urging them to remain calm.
Around 3 pm, the law enforcement agencies resorted to sound grenades, tear gas shells, and baton charges, dispersing the protesters.
Deputy Commissioner of City Police Liaquat Ali confirmed one death but said they were still investigating the cause.
The Daily Star newspaper reported that at least 10 people, including journalists, were injured during the clash.
