Jalandhar: Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama today in a statement on ‘non-violence’ and ‘tolerance’ said the Bihar election results show that a majority of the Hindus “still believe in peace and amity”.
“India has a long tradition of peace and amity. The people of Bihar in the recent Assembly polls have proved that a large section of the Hindu community still believes in peace and amity,” the 14th Dalai Lama said, without naming any political party or leader.
The BJP reacted to the spiritual leader’s statement, but did not seem to take it personally. Party spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said Bihar has for long seen communal harmony.
“We have ensured that communal harmony in the state is maintained at all costs. We have worked to ensure that any attempt to disrupt the harmony is defeated… we fought the Bihar assembly polls on the agenda of development,” he said.
Dalai Lama has come to India after completing a 15-day journey on foot in the Tibetian capital. He will be travelling extensively in Karnataka before heading to Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh.
The spiritual leader who was speaking at a function in Jalandhar, Punjab, said that India is “known worldwide as a country of religious tolerance and that “All religions and individuals are given equal respect here”.
“Religious tolerance not only means respecting all religions but also the people. Buddhism too started in this nation and because of this, India is the guru and all Buddhists are students,” he said.
When asked about terrorism, the Dalai Lama said, “First we must create an atmosphere of peace and it should be initiated from one’s own home. Encouraging religious tolerance is the need of the hour and should be done through schools and universities.”
PTI
