Minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday dismissed China’s claim over the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, and said that only the Tibetan spiritual leader and the established religious institution have the authority to decide his successor — “no one else.”
Rijiju, a practising Buddhist, and Rajiv Ranjan Singh, a fellow Union minister, are representing the Government of India on the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday event in Dharamshala on July 6.
"And all those who follow the Dalai Lama feel that the Incarnation is to be decided by the established convention and as per the wish of the Dalai Lama himself. Nobody else has the right to decide it except him and the conventions in place," Rijiju said.
On Wednesday, Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama said that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue and only the Gaden Phodrang Trust will have the authority to recognise his future reincarnation.
“The Dalai Lama’s reincarnation must follow the principles of domestic recognition, the ‘Golden Urn’ process, and approval by the central government, in line with religious traditions and laws,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said in response to the Dalai Lama’s announcement.
Rijiju’s remarks come after China rejection of the Nobel Peace laureate's succession plan.
The 14th Dalai Lama is the most important institution for Tibetans and all those who follow the Nalanda tradition of Buddhism.
Tibetan Buddhists hold that the Dalai Lama has the power to choose the body into which he is reincarnated, a process that has taken place 14 times since the institution began in 1587.
The current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was recognised as the 14th in 1940.
The Dalai Lama caught the attention of the world following his defection to India in 1959 with a large group of Tibetans after the Chinese military under the command of Communist Party founder Mao Zedong annexed Tibet.
Since then, he made Himachal Pradesh’s Dharamsala his “adopted” home, which drew the ire of Beijing and his presence there continue to be a bone of contention between China and India.
Many Tibetan Buddhists, both in exile and inside Tibet, reject China's claims and interference in their religious traditions.
Beijing has in the past accused the Dalai Lama of indulging in “separatist” activities and trying to split Tibet and considers him as a divisive figure.
The Nobel Peace Prize-winning spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism has insisted that he is not seeking independence but “genuine autonomy for all Tibetans living in the three traditional provinces of Tibet” under the “Middle-Way approach”.
The Chinese government held nine rounds of talks with the Dalai Lama’s representatives from 2002 to 2010, without any outcome. No talks were held on record after Xi took over power in 2012.