Dalai Lama calls on Tibetans to remain united as India drifts towards China

FILE PHOTO: Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama speaks during an interactive session in Bomdila in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, India April 5, 2017. REUTERS/Anuwar Hazarika/File photo

DHARAMSALA, INDIA (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama called on his people to remain united as the Tibetan community gathered on Saturday in a small hill town to mark 60 years of political asylum in India - although just one federal minister appeared at the event.

The "Thank You India" event had been scheduled for India's capital, New Delhi, but was shifted to Dharamsala, a small town in the country's north where Tibetans run a government in exile, as India tries to avoid a confrontation with China, which views the Dalai Lama as a dangerous separatist.