New Delhi, March 13 -- The Dalai Lama says China under its President Xi Jinping "seems to be" returning to the "oppressive policies" of Mao Zedong's era though more "surveillance and control", a remark that may not be taken too kindly by Beijing which considers him a "separatist" and says "he has not right to represent the people of Tibet"

In a new book titled 'Voice for the Voiceless: Over Seven Decades of Struggle With China For My Land and My People' the Dalai Lama writes, "Judging by Xi's last decade in office, when it comes to individual freedom and everyday life, China seems to be reverting to the oppressive policies of Mao's time, but now enforced through state-of-the-art digital technologies of surveillance and control."

He says...