Dalai Lama’s tongue-sucking request was ‘innocent grandfatherly affection’, says Tibetan leader

‘The victim here is His Holiness the Dalai Lama,’ says head of Tibetan government-in-exile, as he blames ‘pro-Chinese’ elements for backlash to incident

The head of the India-based Tibetan government-in-exile has defended the Dalai Lama over a controversial video showing him asking a boy to “suck my tongue”.

The Dalai Lama has issued an apology over the incident, which sparked international condemnation.

Penpa Tsering, the political leader of Tibet’s government-in-exile, known as the Central Tibetan Administration, said the Dalai Lama’s “innocent grandfatherly affectionate demeanour” has been misinterpreted.

Mr Tsering also accused pro-Chinese sources of maligning the spiritual leader’s image, but gave no evidence to back his claims.

“His holiness has always lived in sanctity, (following the life of) a Buddhist monk, including celibacy. His years of spiritual practice have gone beyond sensorial pleasures,” Mr Tsering said while addressing the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia in India’s capital Delhi.

“His holiness is now being labeled all kinds of names.

“The political angle of this incident cannot be ignored,” he said.

The video was taken on 28 February during a question and answer session at the Dalai Lama’s temple in Dharamshala, the Himalayan town in India where the spiritual leader resides, and sparked outrage after it went viral last week.

The Tibetan spiritual leader, in his apology statement, said he “regrets” the incident. The statement also said that “the Dalai Lama often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way”.

Some of those who have defended the Dalai Lama said the exchange can be partly explained by Tibetan culture.

Sticking out your tongue is traditionally a sign of respect or agreement and has also been used as a greeting in Tibetan culture, according to the Institute of East Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

The video, however, showed the Dalai Lama holding the boy’s chin, kissing him and then touching foreheads before he can be heard saying “can you suck my tongue”.

Mr Tsering said the Dalai Lama’s comments were a “jovial prank”.

“And that was meant for amusement for others. Now, who’s the victim? The boy is not complaining, his mother is not complaining. The victim here is His Holiness the Dalai Lama,” he said.

He also said the video that was circulated on social media and seen by millions of people was “tailored” and that one had to see the entire video to understand the context.

“Through our investigation, we found that the initial instigators were pro-Chinese sources. That explains the motivation behind making this video clip viral,” he said.

“Considering the scale and extent of the orchestrated smear campaign, the political angle of this incident cannot be ignored,” Mr Tsering said.