Dalai Lama issues apology to boy, his family for asking him to suck his tongue

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama apologised on Monday after a video clip, which showed him asking a young boy to suck his tongue, triggered a sharp backlash on social media.

“A video clip has been circulating that shows a recent meeting when a young boy asked His Holiness the Dalai Lama if he could give him a hug. His Holiness wishes to apologise to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused,” a statement issued by the 87-year-old Dalai Lama’s private office said.

“His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras. He regrets the incident,” the statement, also put out on his Twitter handle and on his website said.

People familiar with the matter said the video clip, which went viral on social media on Sunday, relates to an incident that took place on February 28 at the courtyard of Tsuglagkhang complex, Dalai Lama Temple in McLeodganj.

The boy was part of a group of more than 120 students and officials of a Gurugram-based foundation, who had an audience with the Dalai Lama after their annual convocation at Dharamshala. The person said during the event, the boy aged 10-12 years who was possibly a family member of the foundation official, asked the Dalai Lama if he could hug him. The Dalai Lama then invited the boy up to the platform.

The Dalai Lama apologised in 2019 for saying in an interview with BBC that if his successor were to be a woman, she must be “very, very attractive” otherwise she is “not much use.”