Dalai Lama admires Apple Messiah American missionary Stokes

Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has paid tribute to American-born Indian missionary Satyanand Stokes, who introduced apples to Himachal Pradesh.

Narkanda (Himachal Pradesh), Aug 21 : Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has paid tribute to American-born Indian missionary Satyanand Stokes, who introduced apples to Himachal Pradesh.

Dalai Lama recalled the contribution of Stokes to the development of Himachal Pradesh's economic progress.

He was speaking on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Stokes on Monday, who brought apples to Himachal Pradesh in the early 20th century.

The function was held at Narkanda, 61 km from Shimla, where Stokes lived and died in 1946.

"He didn't only bring the delicious variety of the apples but also took part in the fight for freedom along with Mahatma Gandhi. He also went to jail for it," said Virbhadra Singh, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister.

Satyanad Stokes was born Samuel Evans Stokes in August 16, 1882 in the house of a millionaire in Philadelphia. He first came to India in 1904 and worked for lepers.

He introduced apples in Himachal Pradesh, which changed the economy of the state giving it the title of 'apple bowl' of the country.

Thousands of Tibetans led by the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959, nine years after China's communist army entered Tibet and overthrew the Buddhist theocracy there.

The spiritual leader of Tibetans draws hordes of followers from across the world including Hollywood celebrities.

"He gave inspiration to the whole world. Hope his inspiration flows to the whole world. This is why I came," said Ruthkatz, a tourist from Israel.

Himachal Pradesh is famous for a large variety of apples. The main varieties of commercially grown apples are Royal Delicious, Rich-A-Red, Red Delicious and Golden Delicious.

Presently, around 2.07 lakh hectares of land in Himachal Pradesh is under horticulture cultivation, which yields approximately five lakh metric tonnes of different kinds of fruits.

Among the horticulture produce, apple is the main crop contributing 200 million rupees to the kitty of the state's fruit based economy.

Quality-wise, apples from Himachal Pradesh meet all export parameters.

Himachal Pradesh exports a considerable amount of quality apples to the Middle East, Sri Lanka, Singapore and the U.K..

ANI