Paper: GS – II, Subject: International Relations, Topic: India and its neighbourhood, Issue: India’s approach towards succession of Dalai Lama.
Context:
On July 6, 2025, the 14th Dalai Lama, His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, turns 90. This occasion prompts reflection on the succession of the Dalai Lama, a spiritually and politically sensitive issue in Asia, especially in the context of China’s interference.
Key Highlights:
Key Issue: Who Decides the Next Dalai Lama?
- The Gaden Phodrang Trust, set up by the Dalai Lama, will oversee the identification of his reincarnation.
- This is a spiritual and political assertion against China’s longstanding ambition to control the process.
Importance of choosing New Dalai Lama:
- Choosing a Dalai Lama is not political theatre, it is spiritual succession. It is also a matter of Tibetan identity and faith.
- Chinese-selected Dalai Lama will be illegitimate, politically motivated, and lack spiritual legitimacy.
Issues raised:
- Not Just a Religious Issue: This is a civilizational battle between sacred Tibetan Buddhist tradition and China’s authoritarian apparatus. The battle is described as “Dharma versus dictatorship”.
- China’s Interference: China already replaced the Panchen Lama with a CCP-approved version in 1995. It aims to repeat this by selecting a CCP-sanctioned Dalai Lama through Invented rituals, State-approved child and Diplomatic coercion (“Golden Urn” method).
- Tibetan concerns:
- Erasure of Tibetan heritage.
- Undermining centuries of religious autonomy.
- Threat to global religious freedom and spiritual pluralism.
India’s Role:
- Support Tibetan people: India must unequivocally support the Tibetan people’s right to choose their next spiritual leader. It is India’s moral, strategic, and civilizational responsibility.
- Nature of support: Support should be Public, moral, and strategic not just symbolic or private. India must stand with truth, faith, and freedom, even if it involves confronting China.
Conclusion:
The world must not remain ambiguous or silent. The world must ensure his Holiness’s legacy is not distorted or buried. Choosing the next Dalai Lama is a spiritual decision rooted in tradition, not a political move decided by Beijing.
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/draw-a-moral-line-10104903/lite
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