'Thousands' of pilgrims return to China before Dalai Lama event in Bodhgaya due to 'pressure' from their homeland
- Some 7,000 - mostly Tibetan - pilgrims had made the journey to east India state
- But organisers claimed that the Chinese authorities put pressure on them to return home, with allegations of threats to family members
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Nearly 7,000 pilgrims who flocked to India from China for a rare Dalai Lama ceremony have returned home due to pressure from Beijing, it has been claimed.
The pilgrims, who are mostly Tibetan, had made the journey for the Buddhist event later this month which will see the 81-year-old spiritual leader preside over the Kalachakra teachings at Bodhgaya in eastern India.
The Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment there more than 2,000 years ago and tens of thousands of people from all over the world are expected to attend the event.
![Tibetan Spiritual Leader The Dalai Lama will preside over the Kalachakra teachings at Bodhgaya in eastern India later this month](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/01/04/19/1zrjJ454oY48cb872b68d4671cb7-4088664-Tibetan_Spiritual_Leader_The_Dalai_Lama_gestures_as_he_attends_a-a-1_1483557799916.jpg)
Tibetan Spiritual Leader The Dalai Lama will preside over the Kalachakra teachings at Bodhgaya in eastern India later this month
But as preparations got under way on Wednesday for the event held every few years, the chairman of the organising committee Karma Gelek Yuthok said almost 7,000 pilgrims had returned to China, citing pressure from authorities there.
'It is unfortunate, they have returned after Chinese pressure. There are nearly 7,000,' he told journalists in Bodhgaya.
'They planned to end their pilgrimage in Bodhgaya (but) just because of this they have gone back.'
![Tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world are expected to attend the Kalachakra event, which is held only once every few years](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/01/04/19/4ny22JzRuW3d99ee89e3bfe55e3e-4088664-Tens_of_thousands_of_pilgrims_from_all_over_the_world_are_expect-a-2_1483557833954.jpg)
Tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world are expected to attend the Kalachakra event, which is held only once every few years
Yuthok, who is a member of the Tibetan government-in-exile based in the north Indian town of Dharamsala, said some pilgrims had reported receiving threats to relatives in China if they did not return.
In 2012 China detained hundreds of Tibetans after they returned from the Kalachakra in Bodhgaya.
Last month Radio Free Asia reported that many Tibetan pilgrims who travelled to Dharamsala ahead of the Kalachakra had been ordered to return home before the end of the year, preventing them from heading on to Bodhgaya.
![Tibetan Buddhist monks wait to collect boiling milk to distribute to devotees participating in a special religious prayer attended by The Dalai Lama during the Kalachakra event on January 4](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/01/04/19/1zrjJ454oY48cb872b68d467319d-4088664-Tibetan_Buddhist_monks_wait_to_collect_boiling_milk_to_distribut-a-3_1483557872923.jpg)
Tibetan Buddhist monks wait to collect boiling milk to distribute to devotees participating in a special religious prayer attended by The Dalai Lama during the Kalachakra event on January 4
It said the Dalai Lama had held a special audience for them in Dharamsala last month.
The Chinese embassy in Delhi declined to comment when contacted by AFP.
The Dalai Lama fled to India after a failed uprising in 1959 but is still deeply revered by many Tibetans.
Beijing says its troops 'peacefully liberated' Tibet in 1951 and accuses the Nobel Peace laureate of seeking Tibetan independence through 'spiritual terrorism'.
He says he merely wants greater autonomy for his homeland, where many accuse the central government of religious repression and eroding the Tibetan culture.
The Kalachakra opened in Bodhgaya on Tuesday, although the main teaching section will only begin next week.
A spokesman for the Indian government said it was unaware of the issue.