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Dalai Lama Released From New Delhi Hospital


Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, center, leaves Max Hospital, in New Delhi, India, April 12, 2019.
Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, center, leaves Max Hospital, in New Delhi, India, April 12, 2019.

VOA's Tibetan Service contributed to this report.

The Dalai Lama was released from a New Delhi hospital Friday after three days of treatment for a chest infection.

"I received the necessary medical treatments and now feel kind of normal," the Nobel Peace laureate said in a video recorded by VOA's Tibetan Service as he left Max Hospital.

The 83-year-old Buddhist monk is expected to return this week to the northern Indian town of Dharmsala, where has been based since he fled Tibet in 1959 after an unsuccessful revolt against the Chinese government. He established the Tibetan government-in-exile there and embarked on an effort to reclaim Tibet, which eventually evolved into a quest for more autonomy.

China has refused to recognize the government-in-exile and has not held talks with the Dalai Lama or his representatives since 2010. Branding him as a "wolf in a monk's robe," China contends he is trying to separate Tibet from China. The Dalai Lama denies the charge, maintaining he is simply advocating for considerable autonomy and protection of the region's native Buddhist culture.

His reputation as a purveyor of world peace has grown after decades of interactions with global leaders and celebrities, drawing comparisons to visionaries like Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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