Latest news with #TibetanGovernmentInExile
Al Jazeera
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
China says Tibet-related issues a ‘thorn' in relations with India
The succession of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is a 'thorn' in China-India relations, says the Chinese embassy in New Delhi. The remarks on Sunday came ahead of the first visit by India's foreign minister to China since the deadly border clashes between the South Asian powers in 2020. 'In reality, [the] Xizang-related issue is a thorn in China-India relations and has become a burden for India,' Yu Jing, a Chinese embassy spokesperson, posted on X, referring to 'Xizang', the Chinese name for Tibet. Ahead of celebrations this month for his 90th birthday that were attended by senior Indian ministers, the Dalai Lama angered China again by saying it had no role in his succession. Tibetans believe the soul of any senior Buddhist monk is reincarnated after his death, but China says the succession will also have to be approved by its leaders. The Dalai Lama has been living in exile in India since 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet. Indian foreign relations experts say his presence gives New Delhi leverage against China. India is also home to about 70,000 Tibetans and a Tibetan government-in-exile. In her post, spokesperson Yu, without naming anyone, said some people from strategic and academic communities in India had made 'improper remarks' on the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. 'As professionals in foreign affairs, they should be fully cognizant of the sensitivity of issues related to Xizang,' Yu said. 'The reincarnation and succession of the Dalai Lama is inherently an internal affair of China.' 🔹It has been noted some people from strategic and academic communities, including former officials, have made some improper remarks on the reincarnation of Dalai Lama, contrary to Indian government's public stance.🔹As professionals in foreign affairs, they should be fully… — Yu Jing (@ChinaSpox_India) July 13, 2025 Indian Parliamentary and Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, who sat next to the Dalai Lama during his 90th birthday festivities a week ago, has said that as a practising Buddhist, he believes only the spiritual leader and his office have the authority to decide on his reincarnation. India's Foreign Ministry said on July 4, two days before the Dalai Lama's birthday, that New Delhi does not take any position or speak on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion. India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be attending a regional security meeting under the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Tianjin in northern China on July 15 and hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines. This will be one of the highest-level visits between India and China since their relations nosedived after a deadly border clash in 2020 that killed at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers.
Arab News
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Dalai Lama expected to reveal succession plan during 90th birthday celebrations
NEW DELHI: The Dalai Lama announced on Monday that he was preparing to share details about his succession, as followers gathered to attend a public ceremony ahead of his 90th birthday celebrations in Dharamshala in northern India. The 14th Dalai Lama, the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, has been living in India since 1959, after he fled Tibet with thousands of others following a failed uprising against Chinese rule. His residence is in Dharamshala, a town in the state of Himachal Pradesh, which also hosts the Tibetan government-in-exile. A Nobel peace laureate and one of the world's most influential figures, the Dalai Lama will turn 90 on Sunday. 'The rest of my life I will dedicate ... for the benefit of others, as much as possible,' he told his followers through a translator as they offered prayers for his long life. 'There will be some kind of a framework within which we can talk about the continuation of the institution of the Dalai Lamas.' When a Dalai Lama dies, Tibetan Buddhists believe he is reincarnated. Senior monks and members of the Tibetan government-in-exile search for the child who is the reincarnation, relying on dreams and visions, rituals at sacred lakes, signs at the Dalai Lama's death, and other omens. 'For the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, it's not about succession, it's about reincarnation,' Tenzin Lekshay, spokesperson of the Tibetan government-in-exile, told Arab News. 'There'll be a written statement by his holiness on July 2.' The 14th Dalai Lama was 2 years old when a search party decided he was the 14th reincarnation of Tibet's spiritual leader. Over the years, he has indicated that the continuation of the Dalai Lama institution was ultimately up to the Tibetan people and if they no longer found it relevant, it could cease to exist, and there would be no 15th Dalai Lama. 'His holiness has said many times also that if the Tibetan people wish the Dalai Lama institution to remain, then the Dalai Lama institution will remain,' Lekshay said. In his autobiography published in March 2025, the Dalai Lama said he had been receiving petitions requesting that the lineage be carried on, and that when he turns 90, he would 'consult the high lamas of the Tibetan religious traditions as well as the Tibetan public, and if there is a consensus that the Dalai Lama institution should continue.' If they decide in favor, 'then formal responsibility for the recognition of the 15th Dalai Lama should rest with the Garden Phodrang Trust (the office of the Dalai Lama).'
