After spending over five decades in exile in India, Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, says he feels at home in the country where his body is being “supported by Indian rice and Indian dollar”. The 14th Dalai Lama, who escaped from Tibet in 1959 after an abortive uprising against the Chinese rule in his Himalayan homeland, says he occasionally conjures up memories of his childhood in Tibet.

But after more than 50 years in India, “my body (is) supported by Indian rice and Indian dollar,” the 74-year-old Buddhist monk told CNN’s ‘Larry King Live’. China calls the Nobel Peace Prize laureate a “separatist” and accuses him of aiming to sever Tibet from China. Asked whether he has love for the Chinese, he answered, “Certainly. We have to practise that.” At the same time, he admitted to “some irritation” with the Chinese hardliners, but insisted they are “small moments.”

Though China claims Tibetans were “very happy” now, the Dalai Lama said his Tibetan government-in-exile has received information indicating “suppression … or restrictions” culturally and religiously of the Tibetan people. He said that Tibetans “are not seeking independence.” “That’s why we are called ‘middle way’,” he said. “We complain (about) the presence of policy in Tibet. It is actually very much damaging. … But (on the) other hand, we also do not want separation from China because … Tibet (is a) landlocked country, materially backward. Every Tibetan want modernised Tibet, so for that reason, (we) remain within the People’s Republic of China.”

China on Tuesday (November 3) said it firmly opposed to the Dalai Lama’s scheduled visit to a disputed Indian border area.

The Dalai Lama is expected to give spiritual lessons beginning on November 8 to his followers in Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh state, which is at the centre of a border dispute between China and India who have been trying to reduce tensions recently.

“We believe this further exposed the anti-China and separatist essence of the Dalai clique. China’s position on the so-called Arunachal Pradesh is consistent and clear and we firmly oppose the Dalai Lama’s visit to the region. We also believe this visit is one of his separatist activities in itself,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told a regular news conference in Beijing.

China claims about 90,000 sq km (35,000 square miles) of Arunachal Pradesh along the border as part of its territory.

With India and China engaged in a race for regional supremacy, Beijing could see the Dalai Lama’s trip as encouraging the Tibetan struggle by undermining Chinese territorial integrity.

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule. He has since lived in Dharamsala, a hill town in northern Indian.

China called for India to reconsider its new visa policy which has driven thousands of Chinese workers out of the South Asian nation. “China has expressed concerns to India many times in regards to this issue. We hope the Indian government can provide convenience for Chinese people to get visas to work in India based on the memorandum of understanding on visa simplifying signed by both countries,” said Ma.

India tightened its visa policy in mid-July to curb unskilled foreign laborers, who are mainly Chinese working in the infrastructure sectors.

Many Chinese workers in India held six-month visas known as a multiple entry business visa, which allowed them to take a wide range of occupations, according to official China Daily.

But with the new visa policy in place, those workers have to apply for a work visa that needs to be approved by India’s Home Ministry and has stricter criteria to apply for. Approximately 25,000 Chinese workers will be affected, said China Daily.

India and China fought a short border war in 1962 and, despite burgeoning trade in recent years, mistrust remains.