The former Indian foreign secretary, Nirupama Menon Rao has called for conferring India’s highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna to the Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The former Indian diplomat on Saturday expressed her opinion by tweeting that His Holiness’s service to humanity deserves the highest felicitation.

Nirupama Menon Rao, 69 is the 28th Foreign Secretary of India who served during the Congress reign between 2009 to 2011. The former diplomat tweeted that she feels very strongly now that His Holiness the Dalai Lama should be given the Bharat Ratna Award by India. Her tweet has received an overwhelming support from the netizens.

“I feel more and more that His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama should be given the Bharat Ratna. He deserves it for his service to humanity, his compassion, courage, and his abiding faith in democracy and fundamental freedoms, all values that our Republic upholds.” tweeted the former Indian foreign secretary on Saturday.

I feel more and more that His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama should be given the Bharat Ratna. He deserves it for his service to humanity, his compassion, courage, and his abiding faith in democracy and fundamental freedoms, all values that our Republic upholds. #Tibet #India

— Nirupama Menon Rao, निरुपमा राउ, بینظیر (@NMenonRao) June 20, 2020

Last year, a group of 200 Members of Parliament across party lines from India has filed a signed petition to the government of India to confer the Bharat Ratna award to exiled Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The Parliamentary Forum for Tibet has taken the petition to Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

All India Tibet Support Group’s Conference earlier passed a resolution demanding the Union Government of India to confer India’s highest civilian award to the longest dignitary guest of India, His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The demand is growing stronger with significant impact of the spiritual leader’s messages of peace, compassion and logical thinking resounding ever more relevant today.

The spiritual leader has been conferred the highest honour of Congressional Gold Medal by United States and the Templeton Prize by United Kingdom in the past, among numerous recognition from different countries. It is now high time that India officially take this bold step of honouring the Nobel peace laureate, His Holiness the Dalai Lama resident in the country.

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