Paper: GS – II, Subject: International Relations, Topic: India and its neighbourhood, Issue: Conflict between India and China over Buddhism.
Context:
In the geopolitical competition between India and China in the Himalayan region, Buddhism became a strategic front.
Key Highlights:
Faith as the New Battleground:
- Unlike conventional power struggles over oceans or trade, the real conflict lies in the Himalayas, centred around faith and spiritual legitimacy.
- Monasteries and Buddhist teachings have become instruments of soft power and political assertion.
- Dalai Lama Succession Dispute: The succession of the 14th Dalai Lama is a major flashpoint. While he hinted at reincarnating outside Chinese territory, China insists on controlling the process and appointing its own successor.
- In this context, India faces the challenge of balancing Tibetan hopes, Chinese sensitivities, and Regional Buddhist loyalties.
- China’s Strategy: Tightening Control: China has escalated its campaign by maintaining a reincarnate lama database, monitoring monastery activities and claiming authority over all reincarnations (including the Dalai Lama).
- Beijing declared in 2007 that “Living Buddhas” need state approval, symbolizing a shift of spiritual legitimacy to political control.
- India’s response: India is engaging more seriously with Buddhism to broaden its relations with Asia and beyond:
- Promoting Buddhist heritage (e.g., Bodh Gaya).
- Hosting Tibetan communities and exiled monks.
- Backing Buddhist circuits and infrastructure.
- This approach promotes India’s image as the natural home of Buddhism and counterbalances China’s state-sponsored control.
Implications of the tussle:
- Himalayan contestation: Himalayan regions like Ladakh, Tawang, Sikkim, Bhutan, and Nepal may witness increased militarisation, spiritual contestation, and infrastructure race.
- Power tussle: Beijing’s push in places like Lumbini (Nepal) and Tawang (India) indicates its attempt to expand religious-political control.
- Regional impact: The competition is not just about India-China relations, but also about Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Myanmar where Buddhist communities live.
- Cultural competition: China’s global Buddhist networks challenging India’s cultural ties. In contrast, India’s support for a freely chosen Dalai Lama successor could reshape regional alignments.
Steps to be taken by India:
- Leverage Cultural Diplomacy: India, being the birthplace of Buddhism, holds a moral and spiritual edge. Need to institutionalize Buddhist outreach, strengthen Buddhist diplomacy, and preserve freedom of belief.
- Sub-regional diplomacy: Supporting Tibetan autonomy (symbolically) strengthens India’s strategic grip in borderlands. India can build goodwill by hosting exile Tibetan communities and backing non-coerced succession of the Dalai Lama.
- Countering Chinese Narrative: By hosting the next Dalai Lama, India will offer both spiritual legitimacy and a strategic counterweight to China’s narrative.
Conclusion:
Buddhism, once a symbol of peace and inner harmony, has become part of a new age geopolitical game. India must navigate this space carefully, using a blend of soft power, strategic diplomacy, and cultural authenticity to safeguard its interests and regional influence.
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/china-india-and-the-conflict-over-buddhism/article69843709.ece
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