Dalai Lama recalls SN's help for Tibetans

He was speaking after inaugurating a memorial for Nijalingappa at Sibara near the City.
The Dalai Lama said that he first met Nijalingappa in 1956, when he was the chief minister.

Expressing concern over the happenings in Tibet at that point in time, Nijalingappa had promised all help and support, the Dalai Lama recalled.

In 1959, when thousands of Tibetans were displaced from their homeland, it was Nijalingappa who provided all help, said the Dalai Lama. He described the former chief minister as ‘an honest politician who was wedded to principles.’

Karnataka had 40,000 Tibetan refugees, the Dalai Lama said, adding that the State had become a centre for both spiritual and general studies for Buddhist monks. He stressed the need for real reforms in rural parts. Since rural areas had a higher population than urban areas, development could happen only by improving the lot of the rural populace, he said. The Dalai Lama called for bridging the gap between the rich and the poor.

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Siddaramaiah, Union Minister Mallikarjun Kharge and others were present.

On raids at Karmapa’s offices

Reacting to the police raids on the offices of a trust run by the 17th Karmapa, Ugyen Trinley Dorje, the Dalai Lama said he had no proper information on the matter.

He believed that the money seized during the raids had not come from illegal sources. The money may have been given to him by his followers, the Dalai Lama said.