Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], February 3 (ANI): The Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) has strongly criticised China's response to the Dalai Lama's recent Grammy win, calling Beijing's remarks misleading and an attempt to manipulate global opinion.

Responding to China's criticism, Tenzin Lobsang, General Secretary of the Tibetan Youth Congress, told ANI, 'the Tibetan Youth Congress condemns so called People Republic of China's spokesperson statement where he has labelled his holiness the Dalai Lama as anti China, not religious leader and they have tried to defame his holiness the Dalai Lama but in reality it's completely false... China is trying to erase hundreds years of his holiness Dalai Lama's legacy but it can't be erased. Receiving of the Grammy gives a message at global level. I listened his holiness Dalai Lama's album and it has only few words and compassion is the key element and there is no word like anti China or separatists. So this kind of a small valuable message at the global platform creates an image and China is defending themselves unnecessarily whereas it's a very powerful nonviolent message from a Tibetan.'

TYC leaders said the Grammy recognition reflects the Dalai Lama's enduring spiritual message and international standing, adding that efforts to undermine his legacy have failed to diminish his global influence.

Echoing similar views, Tsamchoe, the organisational secretary of TYC, told ANI, ' first of all I would like to extend my congratulations to His Holiness, the Dalai Lama to win the Grammy award. The international recognition reflects his profound spiritual influence and global respect and secondly my message to the Chinese government is that no matter how much his holiness is defamed or no matter how often it is claimed that he is not a religious leader, the truth remains unchanged. He is the religious leader of Tibet and this fact cannot be changed.'

The Dalai Lama received the Grammy Award for his audiobook Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness The Dalai Lama at the prestigious ceremony held on Monday (local time), after being nominated alongside several international titles.

Following the recognition, the Dalai Lama's office shared a message from the spiritual leader, saying, 'I receive this recognition with gratitude and humility. I don't see it as something personal, but as a recognition of our shared universal responsibility. I truly believe that peace, compassion, care for our environment, and an understanding of the oneness of humanity are essential for the collective well-being of all eight billion human beings. I'm grateful that this Grammy recognition can help spread these messages more widely.' (ANI)