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DHARAMSHALA (AFP) - Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is suffering from exhaustion and has cancelled all his appointments for three weeks, his office said Wednesday.
The 73-year-old monk will not now lead a 12-hour fast intended to ensure attention to the campaign for improved human rights in Tibet did not drop off in the wake of the Olympics, which ended in Beijing on August 24.
"The Dalai Lama has been experiencing some discomfort," said a statement from his office in the Indian hill town of Dharamshala, where the Tibet exile administration is based.
"His personal physicians attributed this to exhaustion and have advised him to cancel his engagements for the time being."
Planned visits to Mexico and the Dominican Republic have been dropped, the statement added, but officials said a fast and prayer session planned for his followers around the world on August 30 will still take place without him.
The spiritual leader's personal secretary said the Dalai Lama would instead head to Mumbai for a medical appointment.
"The Dalai Lama is scheduled to leave for Mumbai for a medical check-up tomorrow (Thursday)," said Chimme R. Chhoekyapa.
The leader had already undergone some tests earlier this month, his office said, without providing further details.
China sent troops into Tibet in 1950 and "liberated" it the following year. The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
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