India, China must live side by side, says Dalai Lama

New Delhi: India and China have to “live side by side” whether they like it or not, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Sunday said and asserted that the two countries can together work towards making a more compassionate world.

He also said Tibetans are not seeking independence or separation from China but meaningful autonomy, and added that he “admired the European Union spirit”.

The Tibetan spiritual leader appreciated the idea of the “Union of India”. Citing his recent visit to Manipur where he learnt that some politicians wanted independence for the state, he said they needed to “think broadly, more holistically”. He said India and China are more than two billions of people together and though they have differences, Nalanda thoughts are not alien to them.

Nalanda university, the ancient seat of learning in Bihar, attracted scholars from China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia, Turkey, Sri Lanka, among other countries. These scholars have left records about the ambience, architecture and learning of this unique university.

India and China can “do something for a more compassionate world, more compassionate humanity”, the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate said. “And then India and China, at a practical level also, neither one has the ability to destroy others,” he told reporters. Earlier during an interaction with children at an event here organised by the Smile Foundation, the Dalai Lama said many Chinese people appreciate Tibetan scholars’ knowledge of Nalanda.