Work hard to develop India, Dalai Lama tells people

Monday, January 11, 2010

IANS
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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, right, administers polio vaccine to an infant at the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya, about 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of Patna, India, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2010. India is observing National Immunization Day Sunday to eradicate polio. Every year, the country mobilizes more than 2 million health workers for an immunization day, visiting more than 200 million homes. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

Bhubaneswar, Jan 11-- Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Monday called for the overall development of India and also came up with a development mantra - he urged people to work really hard for the country's betterment.

" India must see development must take place in rural areas and not just in few cities. It should not be like that some areas thrive and other areas remain underdeveloped," the Dalai Lama told reporters at the airport here.

The spiritual leader was headed to Chandragiri, the Tibetan settlement in Orissa's Gajapati district and he suggested several measures for equitable development of India.
"In order to develop we must focus on health, education and training of youths in rural areas," he said.

The Dalai Lama stressed that people should work hard to see a developed India.
"We all should work hard, instead of looking up to the government and officials, people should work hard, then we can see India developed," he said.

During his stay in the Tibetan settlement, the Dalai Lama will inaugurate a five-storey monastery named Padma Sambhav Mahavira. He will also attend several religious discourses.