PM Modi speaks to Dalai Lama, conveys birthday greetings

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke to Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on the occasion of his 88th birthday.

"Spoke to His Holiness @DalaiLama and conveyed heartfelt greetings to him on his 88th birthday. Wishing him a long and healthy life," the Prime Minister tweeted.

The Dalai Lama, who resides in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, sent out a video message on the occasion of his birthday.

"Although I am just one human being in the short term, I aspire to contribute to the world peace in thought, word and deed. While in the long term I pray that everyone may reach Buddhahood, the trumpet state of Omnisense, by ascending the paths and grounds (of Bothisattvas), I rejoice that all our different religious traditions make prayers for the benefit of all," he said.

The Dalai Lama was born on July 6, 1935, to a farming family in a small hamlet in Taktser in Amdo province in northeastern Tibet.

Earlier named Lhamo Dhondup, he was recognised as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso, in 1937 when he was two-years-old.

In 1959, the occupying Chinese troops suppressed the Tibetan national uprising in Lhasa and forced the Dalai Lama and over 80,000 Tibetans into exile in India and neighbouring countries.