The succession of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the #DalaiLama, remains a deeply contentious issue in the already strained relationship between #India and #China.
On Sunday, the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi publicly addressed the matter, just as India’s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, prepares to visit China for the first time since the #violent2020clashes along the border that led to the deaths of at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers.
This diplomatic tension is further escalating ahead of the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday celebrations, which saw the participation of high-ranking Indian ministers. During the events, the revered Tibetan leader reiterated that China has no authority over the process of his reincarnation—a statement that once again provoked #Beijing’s ire.
According to traditional Tibetan Buddhist belief, the soul of a senior monk, including the Dalai Lama, is reincarnated after death. However, #China maintains that any reincarnation of the Dalai Lama must receive its formal approval.
Since 1959, the #DalaiLama has been living in exile in India following a failed uprising against Chinese rule in #Tibet. India also hosts approximately 70,000 Tibetan refugees and is the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile.
Indian foreign policy experts have long seen this as strategic leverage for New Delhi in its dealings with Beijing.
Chinese embassy spokesperson Yu Jing took to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to criticize remarks made by some members of India’s strategic and academic circles. Without naming specific individuals, Yu condemned what she termed “improper remarks” regarding the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.
Her statement was clearly in response to recent public endorsements by Indian analysts and at least one minister supporting the Dalai Lama’s assertion that only he and his institution have the authority to determine the process of his succession.
“As professionals in foreign affairs, they should be fully cognizant of the sensitivity of issues related to #Xizang (China’s name for Tibet),” Yu stated, firmly declaring that “the reincarnation and succession of the Dalai Lama is inherently an internal affair of China.”
She further asserted that the issue of Tibet remains a “thorn in China-India relations” and warned that India’s use of the “Xizang card” would ultimately backfire.
Adding to the friction, India’s Minister of Parliamentary and Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, who sat alongside the Dalai Lama during his birthday celebrations, emphasized his personal and spiritual belief that only the Dalai Lama and his institution can decide matters of reincarnation.
In an attempt to distance itself from the controversy, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, on July 4—just two days before the Dalai Lama’s birthday—clarified that the Indian government does not take a position or make comments on matters about religious beliefs and spiritual practices.
Despite the underlying tensions, diplomacy continues. On July 15, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar is scheduled to attend a high-level regional security meeting of the # Organisation (SCO) in Tianjin, northern China. Bilateral discussions with Chinese officials are expected to take place on the sidelines of the gathering.
This marks one of the most significant visits between the two countries since the #GalwanValley confrontation in 2020.
Notably, just weeks earlier, India’s Defence Minister held crucial talks with his Chinese counterpart during a similar SCO defence ministers’ meeting in China—a sign that both sides remain engaged, albeit cautiously, in efforts to stabilize their turbulent bilateral relationship.
