Dalai Lama apologises to boy's family over 'kissing' video

A video of spiritual guru Dalai Lama asking a boy to “suck his tongue” as he pays his respect has gone viral on social media, triggering a wave of criticism.

In the undated video, the 14th Dalai Lama can be purportedly seen asking the boy to kiss him on his right cheek, to which the kid obliges. Later, the spiritual leader can be seen pulling the boy’s face and touching his forehead. A few seconds after that, the video appears to show Dalai Lama telling him to “suck his tongue”. Notably, all this happened in front of the spectators who apparently didn’t find it offensive.

Since then, the clip has gone viral, shocking the netizenswho have sought tough action against the 87-year-old.

Disclaimer:WION could not verify the authenticity of the video.

Hours after the video went viral, Dalai Lama issued an apology, saying that he "regrets" his actions that may have hurt many.

"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. His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras. He regrets the incident,"the official statement reads.

“Utterly shocked to see this display by the Dalai Lama. In the past, too, he’s had to apologize for his sexist comments. But saying - 'Now suck my tongue' to a small boy is disgusting,” a user tweeted.

Another user said, “What am I seeing? Is this the Dalai Lama? Needs to be arrested for paedophilia. Disgusting.”

“This is absolutely reprehensible behaviour by the Dalai Lama in full public view. It amounts to sexual misconduct and molestation. No child needs to be put in such a situation. Hope the authorities take cognizance. A case needs to be booked under POCSO,” another social media said in Twitter.

This is not the first time that Dalai Lama has landed in controversy. A few years ago, he faced brickbats when he said that if his successor were to be a woman, then “she should be attractive”.

Recently, theDalai Lama announced that an eight-year-old boy from Mongolia is his reincarnation and would be the third most important spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism. He was pictured with the boy taking part in the ceremony in Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, recognising the boy as the 10th Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche.

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