New Delhi: The four-day Buddhist meet to be attended by the Dalai Lama started on Sunday, with his aide making it clear that it was a "purely religious" event with no political overtones, against the backdrop of China objecting to the presence of the Tibetan spiritual leader.
India's refusal to accede to Beijing's demand to call off the global Buddhist convention, had led to a last-minute indefinite postponement of the crucial Sino-India border talks which were to be held on Monday.
While China treats the Tibetan spiritual leader as persona non grata, New Delhi has maintained that he is respectable religious leader and in a democratic country there is no restriction on freedom of speech.
When asked to comment on the controversy, the Dalai Lama's representative in New Delhi, Tempa Tshering, said, "This is a purely religious conference. It should not be used by any nation or individual for a political purpose. There is no motivation (for the Dalai Lama) except meeting religious leaders and representatives".
He confirmed that the Dalai Lama will continue his programme as scheduled at the conference. He will lead an all faith prayer meet at Gandhi Smriti and attend a gathering of eminent Buddhist leaders on Wednesday.
Rajya Sabha MP and ICCR chairman Karan Singh, who inaugurated the four-day event, sought to play down the issue.
"What is new in this? The Dalai Lama has been addressing gatherings for the past 50 years," he said when asked to comment on the controversy.
In a written message on the opening day, the Dalai Lama lauded the meet for laying out an opportunity for a confluence of Buddhist thoughts and traditions but chose not to make any mention of the diplomatic row.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, who were scheduled to attend the inaugural session, did not turn up.
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