Engaging India is an online column analysing the issues, trends and forces behind the business and politics shaping India and its impact on the world. Engaging India appears on Thursday mornings exclusively on FT.com India, a dedicated online section on India, and is written by Jo Johnson, the Financial Times’ South Asia bureau chief; Amy Yee, New Delhi correspondent; and Joe Leahy, Mumbai correspondent.

At the end of a two-hour press conference this week in northern India, the Dalai Lama amiably greeted the crowd of journalists before him. As he turned to me, his face lit up with interest. ”Chinese?” he asked. ”American,” I offered. He nodded with approval and then unexpectedly took my face in his hands and squeezed my cheeks like an affectionate grandfather.