PM Modi greets Dalai Lama on 86th birthday

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday had a telephonic conversation with the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on his 86th birthday and wished him a "long and healthy life".

"Spoke on phone to His Holiness the @DalaiLama to convey greetings on his 86th birthday. We wish him a long and healthy life," Prime Minister Modi tweeted.

The Tibetan spiritual leader is celebrating his 86th birthday on Tuesday.

In a video message, the Dalai Lama hailed India and said "Since I became a refugee and now settled in India, I have taken full advantage of India's freedom and religious harmony."

He added that he had great respect for India's secular values such as "honesty, karuna (compassion), and ahimsa (non-violence)."

The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibet. He was born on 6 July 1935, to a farming family, in a small hamlet located in Taktser, Amdo, northeastern Tibet.

At the age of two, the child, then named Lhamo Dhondup, was recognised as the reincarnation of the previous 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso.

In 1950, after China's invasion of Tibet, he was called upon to assume full political power. In 1959, he was forced to escape into exile. Since then, he has been living in Dharamsala.