Urging India to act cautiously on Tibet-related issues to avoid affecting the improvement of bilateral relations, China on Friday objected to Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju’s remarks that the incarnation of the Dalai Lama should follow his own wishes.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said India should be clear about the anti-China separatist nature of the 14th Dalai Lama and honour its commitments on Xizang (Tibet) related issues. She said India should avoid interfering in China’s internal affairs concerning Xizang and avoid impacting the development of China-India relations.
Hours later, the Ministry of External Affairs said India does not take any position on matters concerning practices of faith and religion. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Government has always upheld freedom of religion for all in India and will continue to do so.
“We have seen reports relating to the statement made by His Holiness the Dalai Lama about the continuation of the Dalai Lama institution,” Mr Jaiswal said. “The Government of India does not take any position or speak on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion,” he added.
Mao’s comments related to the improvement and development of relations refer to the efforts by both India and China to normalisation of ties after over four years of freeze following the Eastern Ladakh standoff. The two countries resumed ties after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit at Kazan in Russia last year followed by a series of high-level meetings.
The recent resumption of the Kailash and Mansarovar Yatra for Indian pilgrims is seen as the first step towards normalising ties between the two countries.
Rijiju had asserted on Thursday that the decision on the Dalai Lama’s incarnation would be taken by the established institution and the Tibetan Buddhist leader himself. This was the first reaction from an Indian minister to the Dalai Lama’s comments on his successor.
The minister reiterated on Friday that all the devotees and followers of the Dalai Lama want the Tibetan spiritual leader himself to decide on his successor. He, however, clarified that he was not making the remarks on behalf of the Indian Government and neither was he commenting on a statement made by China, rejecting the Dalai Lama’s succession plan.
“There is no need for any confusion on the Dalai Lama issue. All the people across the world who believe in Buddhism and follow the Dalai Lama want him to decide (on his succession). There is no need for me or the Government to say anything. Who would be the next Dalai Lama, it will be decided by him,” Rijiju told reporters.
Asked about China’s statement on the issue, Rijiju said, “I do not want to react to China’s statement. I speak as a devotee, I have faith in the Dalai Lama, those who follow the Dalai Lama wish that he decides his successor.”
On Wednesday, the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, said the institution would continue and only the Gaden Phodrang Trust, founded by his office in 2015, would have the authority to recognise his future reincarnation. He also stated that his successor would be born in the “free world.”
Rejecting the Nobel Peace laureate’s succession plan, China insisted that any future heir must receive its seal of approval, adding a new chapter to Tibetan Buddhism’s decades-long struggle with the Chinese ruling Communist Party.
Rijiju’s remarks hold significance as he along with Union Minister Ranjan Singh are representing the Indian Government at the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday celebrations in Dharamshala on July 6. A practising Buddhist, the minister has, however, made it clear that the event is a religious function not political.
Reiterating China’s position that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, the second-high priest of Tibetan Buddhism, has to comply with rigorous religious rituals and historical conventions in line with domestic search, lots drawn from a ‘golden urn’ and the central Government’s approval, Mao said the 14th Dalai Lama had followed this procedure and was approved by the then-central Government.
The Dalai Lama’s succession announcement has, however, not dispelled concerns among the Tibetan exile community in Dharamshala, home to more than 20,000 Tibetans and the headquarters of the Tibetan Government-in-exile. “The absence of His Holiness would be a huge setback for the Tibetans,” said Penpa Tsering, president of the Government-in-exile. “The responsibility lies on us as to how we carry forward the legacy of His Holiness.”
Tibetans see the Dalai Lama not only as a spiritual leader but also as a symbol of their struggle for cultural preservation and autonomy from Chinese rule. Senior monks identify the next Dalai Lama through visions, signs, and spiritual consultations. The current Dalai Lama has hinted he may leave written instructions or even name a successor before his death - a step meant to prevent political interference from Beijing.