Religion

Saving the 'last' Dalai Lama from pandemic

Dharamshala, Apr 28 (EFE).-The guarded complex with a yellow facade in McLeodganj, a town in India's Himalaya mountain range, is shrouded in silence these days as it protects the "last" Dalai Lama from coronavirus through complete isolation.Since late February, the Tibetan Buddhist leader, who walked across the Himalayas in 1959 after a failed popular uprising in Lhasa against the Chinese rule, has remained confined to his humble residence in permanent exile, this time due to the fear of a virus that, ironically, also originated in China.The rapid spread of the disease has afflicted the densely populated India, his adopted country, and become a threat for everyone, including Lhamo Dhondup, the birth name of the highest leader of Tibetan Buddhism and the last symbol of a legacy whose continuity is increasingly doubtful.His public appearances were officially suspended on Mar. 9, two weeks before India ordered a complete lockdown for its 1.3 billion inhabitants, including those in Himachal Pradesh, the state where the Buddhist guru lives and where more than 40 cases and one death - of a Tibetan who returned from the United States in mid-March - has been reported so far. (Camera: SANJAY BAID).FOOTAGE SHOWS STREETS OF DHARAMSHALA, INDIA, AMID THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.