India best country to uphold religious harmony, tolerance: Dalai Lama

April 7, 2017

Bomdila, Apr 7: Emphasising the need for religious harmony, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Thursday said India is still the best country to uphold religious harmony and tolerance.

"Religious harmony is very essential at a time when the sense of responsibility is lacking. But despite niggles, it is possible in India -- the most-populated democratic country. This country has shown the way for thousands of years," he said while addressing people at the Buddha Park here.

He said all the world's major religions flourished in India.

"We are social animals and without a sense of compassion for each other, we won't be happy. Whether we are religious or not, there is a need for love and compassion in the world," the Dalai Lama said.

Asserting he was disturbed by terrorism committed in the name of religion, the Dalai Lama said: "We hear a lot about Muslim terrorists, and of late of Buddhist terrorists (Myanmar). But as soon as anyone indulges in terrorism, he is no longer a Muslim or a Buddhist. Come to think of it, Chinese officials describe me as a terrorist too."

The Tibetan leader also said it was right to consume the meat of dead animals but not of those slaughtered.

"Buddhists are taught not to harm other creatures and are vegetarian; but Sri Lankan monk told me many years ago that they (monks) depend on begging for their survival... Buddhist monks are neither vegetarian nor non-vegetarian," he said.

"Pope (Francis) said it is better to be a good human being than a stupid Christian. Similarly, it is better to be good human being than a stupid Buddhist," he said.

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Chaos continues as IndiGo cancels more flights including 73 from Bengaluru airport

News Network

December 4,2025

Domestic carrier IndiGo has cancelled over 180 flights from three major airports — Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru — on Thursday, December 4, as the airline struggles to secure the required crew to operate its flights in the wake of new flight-duty and rest-period norms for pilots.

While the number of cancellations at Mumbai airport stands at 86 (41 arrivals and 45 departures) for the day, at Bengaluru, 73 flights have been cancelled, including 41 arrivals, according to a PTI report that quoted sources.

"IndiGo cancelled over 180 flights on Thursday at three airports-Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru," the source told the news agency.

Besides, it had cancelled as many as 33 flights at Delhi airport for Thursday, the source said, adding, "The number of cancellations is expected to be higher by the end of the day."

The Gurugram-based airline's On-Time Performance (OTP) nosedived to 19.7 per cent at six key airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad — on December 3, as it struggled to get the required crew to operate its services, down from almost half of December 2, when it was 35 per cent.

"IndiGo has been facing acute crew shortage since the implementation of the second phase of the FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) norms, leading to cancellations and huge delays in its operations across the airports," a source had told PTI on Wednesday.

Chaos continued at several major airports for the third day on Thursday because of the cancellations.

A spokesperson for the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru said that 73 IndiGo flights had been cancelled on Thursday.

At least 150 flights were cancelled and dozens of others delayed on Wednesday, airport sources said, leaving thousands of travellers stranded, according to news agency Reuters.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said it is investigating IndiGo flight disruptions and has asked the airline to submit the reasons for the current situation, as well as its plans to reduce flight cancellations and delays.

It may be mentioned here that the pilots' body, Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), has alleged that IndiGo, despite getting a two-year preparatory window before the full implementation of new flight duty and rest period norms for cockpit crew, "inexplicably" adopted a "hiring freeze".

The FIP said it has urged the safety regulator, the DGCA, not to approve airlines' seasonal flight schedules unless they have adequate staff to operate their services "safely and reliably" in accordance with the New Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms.

In a letter to the DGCA late on Wednesday, the FIP urged the DGCA to consider re-evaluating and reallocating slots to other airlines, which have the capacity to operate them without disruption during the peak holiday and fog season if IndiGo continues to "fail in delivering on its commitments to passengers due to its own avoidable staffing shortages."

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