The reincarnation of the next Dalai Lama will have major geopolitical implications and that China will not have any role to play either in the process of reincarnation, search and training of the next Dalai Lama, the former Sikyong (political leader) of the Central Tibetan Administration Dr. Lobsang Sangay said on Thursday.
Speaking at an event here to deliberate on the continuity of the institution of the Dalai Lama, Dr. Sangay described India as the “closest ally” of the Tibetan people and endorsed the comments made by a high power delegation of U.S. lawmakers who addressed a public event in Dharamshala on Wednesday and spoke in support of “self-determination” for the Tibetans.
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“The next Dalai Lama will not be born in China. His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama has already declared that. In response, the Chinese government launched a major campaign to counter that position. But it is clear that Beijing does not have any role to play in the reincarnation of the next Dalai Lama,” said Dr. Sangay making an elaborate presentation on the idea of reincarnation and why it could have a major geopolitical implication.
Dr. Sangay pointed out that there are many Buddhist dominated countries in Asia and beyond and all these countries could end up being affected if the Chinese interfere with the process of finding a successor to the present Dalai Lama Dalai Lama who will soon be marking his 89th birthday on July 6. The present Dalai Lama who resides mostly in McLeodganj met with the U.S. lawmakers led by the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul and ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The process of reincarnation came into sharp focus on Wednesday when Mr. McCaul in his remarks before the Tibetan community in Dharamshala declared that China is trying to interfere into the “succession” of the present Dalai Lama. In response to the arrival of the U.S. lawmakers in India, Beijing had said that it would take “resolute measures” to defend its sovereignty.
Responding to the Chinese remarks, Dhundup Gyalpo Bawa, Secretary of Bureau of the Dalai Lama supported the remarks made by the visiting U.S. lawmakers and said that the Beijing’s position that Tibet has been part of China since “ancient times” is “inaccurate”.
China has in the recent past insisted that the successor to the present Dalai Lama will require to have its approval and that the successor will have to be found “within the country”. However, in his response to the Chinese position, Dr. Sangay cited from history and showed that the fourth Dalai Lama Yonten Gyatso was born in 1589 in Mongolia and that the sixth Dalai Lama was born in Tawang in 1683 indicating that there are historical precedents that the Dalai Lama was reincarnated on occasions outside of China.
Dr. Sangay also endorsed the comments made by the visiting U.S. lawmakers who met with External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday and appreciated ex-House Speaker Pelosi’s comments on President Xi Jinping as “very strong comments”. He urged the Indian parliament to move a motion in support of maintaining the sanctity and integrity of the process of selecting the next Dalai Lama.
