GUWAHATI, April 2 - Worried over degradation of the environment, particularly water contamination, Tibetan spiritual leader The Dalai Lama today said people have the right to express their concerns over such environmental issues.
Pointing out that some major rivers of Asia have their origin in the Tibetan platue, the Dalai Lama said, �Several crores of people are dependent on the rivers that flow out of Tibet. So people have the right to express their concerns over environmental issues.�
�In Tibet, the rivers are very clear. We can drink the water directly, anywhere. But when we go outside (Tibet), we cannot drink it. I have then realised that the environmental issues are very serious. Water is the basis of our life. All human beings, animals, plants all depend on water,� he said, participating in a programme organised as part of the Namami Brahmaputra Festival at Pragjyoti ITA Centre here.
The Dalai Lama also recounted his connection with the Brahmaputra, which originates in the Tibetan plateau, and which he had crossed while escaping from Tibet to India in 1959.
The spiritual leader also stressed on proper education and said he has involved educationists to formulate a curriculum from KG to PG level for secular, ethical education.
�I will send the draft to Assam. May be the government can implement in one or two schools and see the results and then implement in more schools,� he said.
He said a lot of problems in the world today has been created by the �mind�.
�If we have to change the world, we will have to change our mind. To bring peace, we have to change the human way of thinking... we have to use the brain properly. Our intelligence should not be controlled by negative emotions,� he said.
The Dalai Lama also spoke volumes about Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal as a practical, determined and active leader and expressed confidence that under his leadership the State would make giant strides.
Chief Minister Sonowal, while speaking on the occasion lamented the fact that in spite of enormous contribution and presence, the Brahmaputra is most often negatively projected in the country as the river that causes flood and erosion. �This is a gross injustice to the Brahmaputra,� he said.
