Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted on Tuesday that he called spiritual leader Dalai Lama on his 86th birthday.
This comes only the second time in PM Modi's tenure that he greeted the Dalai Lama. The previous and current ruling governments have generally cornered themselves to make any remark on the Tibetan Leader who has been living in exile in India since 1959.
The sudden change in India's stance comes during the ongoing border tension between India and China. Furthermore, Chinese communist party is celebrating 100 years of its formation.
To appease China, Indian leaders and bureaucrats stumbled in the past to interact with the Dalai Lama and whenever they did China made a strong protest.
In 2017, when the Dalai Lama paid a visit to Arunachal Pradesh, China showed its aggression through the 73 days long Doklam standoff.
Other cabinet ministers, Nitin Gadkari, Hardeep Singh Puri and several chief ministers including Arunachal Pradesh CM wished the Dalai Lama
The persevering struggle for 62 years in exile speaks volumes about the spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Tibetans living around the world
