DHARAMSALA, India, June 4 (Reuters) - India broke up a march by Tibetan exiles to China on Wednesday, arresting 260 protesters from a restricted military zone stretching to the international boundary. The exiles began walking on March 10 from the northern town of Dharamsala, the seat of their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, to join in protests against Chinese rule inside Tibet.

The march and other anti-China protests had become an embarrassment for New Delhi's growing trade and cultural relations with China, despite a festering border dispute.

India's foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee is now on a visit to China.

"We have arrested 260 Tibetan marchers as they wanted to cross the inner line," said police officer Puran Singh Rawat referring to the restricted military zone.

The marchers say their action is in solidarity towards Tibetans inside Tibet, but their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has repeatedly said the march was dangerous and pointless.

Many young Tibetans criticise the Dalai Lama's conciliatory approach towards China, calling for a sharper goal of independence for Tibet rather than the "genuine autonomy" he espouses.

On Wednesday, the Dalai Lama led prayers to mourn the deaths of some 70,000 people killed in last week's powerful earthquake in China's Sichuan province.

The Dalai Lama had appealed to Tibetans to stop their protests at a time when China was dealing with such a huge natural disaster. (Reporting by Abhishek Madhukar; Editing by Bappa Majumdar and Jerry Norton)

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