CTA greets people of India on their 71st Republic Day 

Dharamshala: The Central Tibetan Administration greeted the people of India on their 71st Republic Day at a ceremony held at the CTA headquarters in Dharamshala today. The ceremony was attended by Kalons(Tibetan Ministers), secretaries and senior leadership of the Central Tibetan Administration.

Hoisting the Indian national flag to the tune of the Indian national anthem, Ven Karma Gelek Yuthok, Minister, Department of Religion and Culture greeted the people of India and said: “On this glorious occasion of the 71st Republic Day, the Central Tibetan Administration and the Tibetans around the world would like to congratulate the People and Government of India.”
He added, “Over the course of 71 years, India has garnered worldwide admiration for its booming growth in every field and especially for the thriving democracy and diversity.”

With regards to the India-Tibet relations, Kalon (Minister) said, “The Tibetan people are eternally grateful to the Government and People of India. On this occasion, I take the opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to India for granting political asylum to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, for ensuring the viability and sustainability of the Tibetan freedom struggle and lastly, for supporting the efforts of the Tibetan people in the preservation of its rich ancient culture and unique identity.”

He said “To symbolize our appreciation of India’s kindness and hospitality, the Tibetan people pledge to repay the gratitude through an initiative led by His Holiness the Dalai Lama which is the revival of ancient Indian tradition in contemporary India.”
He added: “His Holiness the Dalai Lama has always expressed profound admiration towards the ancient Indian knowledge for its contribution toward the understanding of the human mind, and the imbibing of practices to tackle negative emotions.”

“On this auspicious occasion, the Tibetan people would like to express our earnest commitment to support and participate in this pursuit.”

Minister also thanked the Indian government for giving recognition to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and culture and conferring India’s highest civilian awards on individuals with extraordinary accomplishments in the Tibetan Buddhism discipline.
On this year’s Republic day celebration, the Government of India has conferred the prestigious Padma Shri award on American Buddhist scholar and Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University.

In 2009, Prof. Geshe Ngawang Samten, the vice-chancellor of the Central University of Tibetan Studies based in Sarnath, India, was honoured with the Padma Shri in literature. In 2018, Dr Yeshi Dhonden, a noted Tibetan medical practitioner and His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s former personal physician was conferred the Padma Shri award for his contribution towards medicine.