Dalai Lama asks India to let Karmapa Lama stay

The Dalai Lama is asking the Indian government for protection and permanent shelter for the Karmapa Lama. The boy crossed the Himalayas escaping from Tibet to India early in January.

The Dalai Lama has written to the Indian prime minister asking that the 14-year-old be permitted to stay in India.

Though the Karmapa Lama has not formally asked India for asylum, the Dalai Lama's letter is being seen as a request for him to stay permanently.

In the letter, the Dalai Lama says the Karmapa Lama should be allowed to stay to complete his studies.

China had earlier told India not to grant him asylum and warned that his continued stay in India would harm relations between the two countries.

Indian responded by asking China to explain how the Karmapa Lama could have escaped Tibet and travelled across the Himalayas without being spotted or stopped.

The Karmapa Lama's stay in India is likely to further strain relations between the two countries, which remain deeply suspicious of each other.