The builder of the 4 Indian Trump Towers and the Dalai-Lama

Trump Towers in Delhi

For those who want to understand “the full picture and context” before building an opinion, there is yet another side to the story. The boy and his family. As far as the “suck my tongue” is concerned, the boy may be a victim of use/abuse or the Lucky boy that got a kiss from the Dalaï-lama, depending on one’s opinion and sympathy. 

Those who think he was a lucky boy ought to know that luck wasn’t the reason the boy got all the special attention. The boy’s family (mother, father, grandfather) is not just any family. There was a good reason for the boy to be there.

Picture with members of the Bansal family (screencapture)

The boy is the grandson of Basant Bansal the Founder Chairman of M3M Group, “the fastest growing real-estate developer in the country”. and he is the son of Basant Bansal’s daughter, Dr. Payal Kanodia, Trustee of the M3M Group and Director of the M3M Foundation, “the philanthropic arm of M3M India group”. “According to Hurun, the family owns 1.7 billion USD, ranks second in Delhi, 127th in India, 1975th in the world”[1] The iMpower Academy for Skills is a philanthropic project of the M3M Foundation.

Basant Basal offering traditional hat and scarf (screencapture)

On February 28th 2023, the family and a group of graduates of the iMpower Academy for Skills were invited in the yard of the Tsuglagkhang, the Main Tibetan Temple in Dharamsala, adjacent to the Dalaï-lama’s residence. In the Youtube video[2] of the Tibetan Times channel, Basant Bansal welcomes the Dalaï-lama, and greets him again at the beginning of the event, offering him a traditional hat and scarf. Then the mother gives the boy a gift for the Dalai-lama, who summons the boy to come up to the throne. The Dalai-lama gives the boy a hug, tickles him under his chin and then under his arm. The boy presents the gift, seems to touch the Dalai-lama’s feet out of respect, and the Dalai-lama touches heads with the boy as a blessing. He then recalls an anecdote of his elder brother Lobsang Samten Taklha (1933–1985). They used to live together and play together and sometimes they would have a problem (conflict), and fought, with the Dalai-lama using the side of his head "as a weapon", pushing his head against that of his brother. After another blessing, the boy takes leave and the event takes place. At the end of the event the boy asks again for a hug.

On the same day (February 28th 2023), the boy and his mother, as the Director of the M3M Foundation, are interviewed after the event by Voice of Tibet (VOT)[3]. The Suck my tongue viral had not taken place yet. Both speak about the chance to receive blessings from the Dalai-lama. After the viral (10/04/2023) the Office of the Dalai-lama published an apology to the boy and his family.

“A video clip has been circulating that shows a recent meeting when a young boy asked His Holiness the Dalai Lama if he could give him a hug. His Holiness wishes to apologize to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused.
His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras. He regrets the incident.”

Delhi NRC-club entry Trump Tower

The M3M Group and the M3M Foundation clearly have some sort of link with the Dalaï-lama, the nature of which needs to be further determined. The name of the Group and the Foundation, M3M, stands for “Magnificence in the Trinity of Men, Materials & Money”.

“It’s an apt description for the other trinity this Delhi-based company is part of. One that involves the Singh brothers and the spiritual leader of one of India’s leading religious sects—the Radha Saomi Satsang Beas.” 

“The Bansals started their flagship company M3M India Ltd. in 2007 and have since become a leading developer of luxury residential and commercial real estate in the Gurgaon—Haryana area. They are also developing a Trump Tower in the area, at a reported cost of Rs 1,200 crore. The Singhs funded companies associated with Shabnam Dhillon—wife of their spiritual guru Gurinder Singh Dhillon. These entities, in turn, funded companies owned or associated with the Bansals, and then bought them back at astonishing valuations.” (BQ Prime, How The Singh Brothers Enriched A Builder Developing The Next Trump Towers, The link between the Singh brothers, their guru and a Trump Tower developer: Rs 1,100-crore transactions, 25 Oct 2018)

The 4th Trump Tower in India

Another article on NDTV gives further information about the link between M3M and “The Trump Organisation, led by Donald Trump Jr, son of US [ex] President Donald Trump”.

“M3M and Tribeca will develop 250 ultra luxury residences under a brand licence from The Trump Organisation, which is currently led by Donald Trump Jr, son of US President Donald Trump.
In the first phase of sale, the apartments which will have three and four bedroom options, will be sold in a price range of ₹ 5 crore to ₹ 10 crore. The size of the flats is from 3,500 sq ft to 6000 sq ft.
This is the fourth Trump Tower project in India after Pune, Mumbai and Kolkata.” (NDTV)

It’s not excluded that the boy will one day play some role in his grandfather’s Group and the “Magnificence in the Trinity of Men, Materials & Money” or in “its philanthropic arm”. Hopefully he will be able to lead a life of his own choice and this incident will remain a mere souvenir.

Bathroom Trump Tower Delhi

The Dalai-lama may disapprove of Donald Trump’s morals, but maybe not of those of his Organisation.

“Asked about the US president, whom the Tibetan spiritual leader has previously unflatteringly impersonated, he said: “His emotions [are] also a little bit,” and made a gesture waggling his finger near his temple. “One day he says something, another day he says something. But I think [there is a] lack of moral principle. When he became president, he expressed America first. That is wrong. America, they should take the global responsibility.” (Dalai Lama says Donald Trump has a 'lack of moral principle' The Guardian, June 27th 2019)

Luxury Golf Residences, Our experience, your joy

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[1] https://www.financialexpress.com/.../dlfs-rajiv.../3039800/

[2] ༧གོང་ས་མཆོག་གིས་རྒྱ་གར་གྱི་དགེ་སློབ་ཉིས་བརྒྱ་ཙམ་ལ་བཀའ་སློབ་བསྩལ།

[3] Boy: “It was amazing meething His Holiness. I think It is a really great experience meeting someone with such high positive energy. It’s a really nice feeling meeting him, and you get a lot of that positive energy. It’s not just like that, but once you get positive energy, I think you are happier and it’s a better thing and you smile a lot more. It was a really good experience overall.”

Mother: “I am Dr. Payal Kanodia, Trustee, M3M Foundation and we've been working in Dharamsala on this skills center which we started last year. Since then we were seeking blessings from His Holiness. Today we got this opportunity and especially my family was there with me and all the students who graduated from iMpower were also present. We’re totally totally blessed to have got these blessings from His Holiness. He came, addressed us in person, told about peace that the world needs and how everyone needs to feel together like brothers and sisters. I absolutely can not express how I feel getting blessed by him, thank you.”