Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: India on Thursday issued a clear and unambiguous message to Beijing, stating that the successor to the 14th Dalai Lama can only be chosen by the spiritual leader himself and in accordance with established Buddhist conventions.1 The firm stance serves as a direct rebuttal to China’s insistence that it must approve any future reincarnation.
Dalai Lama’s Will and India’s Support
The diplomatic exchange was triggered by a landmark announcement from the Dalai Lama on Wednesday, just days before his 90th birthday. He affirmed that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue and that his office, the Gaden Phodrang Trust, will have the sole authority to recognize his future reincarnation. Backing this position, India’s Minority Affairs Minister, Kiren Rijiju, told reporters that the Dalai Lama is the “most important and defining institution” for Buddhists. “Nobody else has the right to decide it except him and the conventions in place,” Rijiju said, adding that he and fellow Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh will represent the Government of India at the Dalai Lama’s birthday celebrations in Dharamshala.
China’s Insistence on “Golden Urn” Process
Rejecting the Dalai Lama’s plan, China reiterated its long-held position that any successor must be approved by its central government. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning stated that the process must be carried out “by drawing lots from a golden urn,” a method introduced by a Qing dynasty emperor. The Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhists view this as a political tool to exert control. This standoff has raised fears of a repeat of the 1995 incident when Beijing detained the six-year-old boy recognized by the Dalai Lama as the Panchen Lama and installed its own candidate, who has never been seen in public since.
