Hinting that he was planning to retire, the Dalai Lama has said he has ‘given up’ on efforts to convince China to allow greater autonomy for Tibet after having led the Tibetans' struggle for half a century.

"I have been sincerely pursuing the middle way approach in dealing with China for a long time now but there hasn't been any positive response from the Chinese side," the Tibetan temporal head said at a function in Dharamsala on Sunday ahead of the third round of talks between his envoys and Beijing.

"As far as I'm concerned I have given up," said the 73-year-old noble laureate, according to excerpts of the speech of the Tibetan monk provided by the office of Karma Cheophel, Speaker of Tibetan Parliament in-exile.

The Dalai Lama said he would now ask the Tibetan people to decide on how to take the dialogue forward.

Cheophel, who translated the speech of the Dalai Lama at the function, said, "Earlier he (the Dalai Lama) used to say that he is semi retired but now he says he is almost completely retired."

The Dalai Lama recently underwent a gall bladder surgery in Delhi.

The spiritual leader's spokesman Tenzin Takhla said on Sunday that the Dalai Lama has called a six-day special meeting of Tibetans at Macleodganj starting November 17 to discuss other options for resolving the vexed Tibetan issue.

The meeting is being attached great importance as this is for the third occasion after 1951 and 1959 that such a conclave has been organised.

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