Since the invasion and occupation of Tibet, China has worked assiduously to imprison and kill Tibetans and destroy Tibetan culture to assimilate the Tibetan population into its communist ideology, immune to the genocide and hundreds of monks and Tibetan youth self-immolating in protests.  

Panchen Lama is second to Dalai Lama in spiritual authority, whose key role is to identify reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.  Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, recognised by the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama, was imprisoned by China in 1995 and went missing, probably killed. Instead, China installed its own nominee Gyaincain Norbu as the 11th Panchen Lama. 

According to China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning, "The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama and other great Buddhist figures must be chosen by drawing lots from a golden urn, and approved by the central government. The Chinese government implements a policy of freedom of religious belief, but there are regulations on religious affairs and methods for managing the reincarnation of Tibetan living Buddhas."

The Communist Party of China (CPC) quotes the Chinese emperor in 1792-93 ordering Tibetans use a golden urn to decide between three children identified for reincarnation and after reciting prayers, the winning name be drawn from the urn. But the CPC hides the fact that this wasn’t practiced for 100 years; Manchu emperors believing in urns were Buddhists, and most importantly, where does China’s communist regime figure in this, except claiming illegal authority?

Assertions and Clarifications

The Dalai Lama stated on July 2, 2025, "I hereby reiterate that the Gaden Phodrang Trust (Dalai Lama Trust - founded in 2015) has sole authority to recognise the future reincarnation; no one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter." The next Dalai Lama could be a male or female, and could be from outside China - even in India.
China had responded to the Dalai Lama’s succession plans by asserting that any reincarnation must receive approval from Beijing.

As the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday approached on July 6, 2025, headlines in the mainstream media read: “India Snubs China, Says No One Except Dalai Lama Can Decide His Successor” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nai42wnjrsY). 

After China objected to Indian Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju’s endorsement of the Dalai Lama’s authority to choose his successor, New Delhi said on July 4 that it “does not take any position” on matters of faith, even as Rijiju clarified he was “speaking as a follower” and not “on behalf of the Government of India”.

Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in his press briefing, "We have seen reports relating to the statement made by His Holiness the Dalai Lama about the continuation of the Dalai Lama institution. The government of India does not take any position or speak on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion."

The clarification came as Beijing reacted sharply to Rijiju’s earlier remarks. At the daily media briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning warned that India “should stop interfering in China’s internal affairs” to avoid harming the trajectory of bilateral ties.

Rijiju, a practising Buddhist who had joined the 90th birthday celebrations of the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, a northern Himalayan hill town, had said that no one else, besides the Dalai Lama, had the right to make a decision on his next reincarnation. 

India's Softening Stance 

In May 2014, for the swearing-in ceremony of the Indian government-led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,  members of the Tibetan government-in-exile were invited. Also, during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to India in 2014, pro-Tibet demonstrations were allowed to be held outside Hyderabad House where Modi and Xi were holding discussions.  

In June 2024, India facilitated a US Congressional delegation, led by Michael McCaul, Republican chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, including former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, meeting the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile at Dharamsala, India.

India had abstained from the UNSC vote on the ceasefire in Gaza, as also distancing from the SCO statement condemning Israeli strikes on Iran. These abstentions amount to abdicating moral responsibility and courage of conviction. How then can we expect India to be taken seriously?

China's Leverage 

There are multiple reasons why the MEA doesn’t want to say “no one except Dalai Lama can decide his successor”, some of which could include External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar fears getting snubbed during his coming visit to Beijing; India winning the narrative but losing the war in eastern Ladakh during 2020 by covering up China redrew the LAC; inability to explain why Kailash Range was vacated in our own territory, giving China strategic advantage; India-China bilateral trade about USD 100 billion in China’s favour while in FY 2024 it was USD 99.2 billion; China choking Indian industries by leveraging dominance over supply chains, complex regulations and hidden barriers like denying rare earth for electric vehicles, fertilizers for agriculture, and even tunnelling  machines for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor; and China reducing India to a nonentity in SCO.

The US may not be happy with India’s insensitivity to the Tibetan cause by remaining non-committal about the Dalai Lama’s successor. But notwithstanding India allowing itself to be held ransom by China this will globally be viewed as an act not in consonance with India's  international stature. 

(The author is an Indian Army veteran. Views expressed are personal.)