India says only Dalai Lama can decide his successor, China responds with warning

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said as quoted by India Today, "The position of the Dalai Lama is of utmost importance, not just for Tibetans but for all his followers across the world. The right to decide on his successor rests solely with the Dalai Lama himself."

After the Parliamentary Affairs Minister's remark, China has issued a warning to India asking New Delhi to not meddle with Beijing's internal matters.

China's Foreign Ministry said it hopes India will skip using the Tibet issue to meddle into Beijing's internal affairs and avoid affecting the bilateral ties, Deccan Herald reported on Friday.

This comes days after Dalai Lama clarified that his institution will continue and his successor will be recognised solely by members of the Gaden Phodrang Trust.

Amid a debate on who will succeed him- he is the current 14th Dalai Lama- , and how the process will be carried out—especially given the geopolitical tensions between the Tibetan exile community and China, the spiritual leader said he took the decision based on the requests he received from various sections to continue with his institution.

In a long statement issued on X, Dalai Lama said, "Although I have had no public discussions on this issue, over the last 14 years leaders of Tibet’s spiritual traditions, members of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile, participants in a Special General Body Meeting, members of the Central Tibetan Administration, NGOs, Buddhists from the Himalayan region, Mongolia, Buddhist republics of the Russian Federation and Buddhists in Asia including mainland China, have written to me with reasons, earnestly requesting that the institution of the Dalai Lama continue.

"In particular, I have received messages through various channels from Tibetans in Tibet making the same appeal. In accordance with all these requests, I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue."

Meanwhile, China insisted that it must approve the reincarnation of the next Dalai Lama, invoking its 1959 “Golden Urn” system and historical precedents.

It has declared that any Dalai Lama chosen without its approval will be considered illegitimate.

This sets the stage for a possible two-Dalai Lama scenario—one selected by Beijing inside Tibet, and another chosen by the exile community.

In his statement, Dalai Lama said the process to recognise his successor will be according to his September 24, 2011 statement that mandates the members of the Trust to consult "Tibetan Buddhist traditions and the reliable oath-bound Dharma Protectors who are linked inseparably to the lineage of the Dalai Lamas".

His statement reads, "The process by which a future Dalai Lama is to be recognized has been clearly established in the 24 September 2011 statement which states that responsibility for doing so will rest exclusively with members of the Gaden Phodrang Trust, the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

"They should consult the various heads of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions and the reliable oath-bound Dharma Protectors who are linked inseparably to the lineage of the Dalai Lamas. They should accordingly carry out the procedures of search and recognition in accordance with past tradition."

"I hereby reiterate that the Gaden Phodrang Trust has sole authority to recognize the future reincarnation; no one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter. "

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th and current Dalai Lama, was born on July 6, 1935, in Taktser, Tibet. He was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama at the age of 2.

He assumed Tibetan political leadership in 1950 when China was asserting control over the region.

After a failed revolt against Chinese rule in 1959, he fled to India and has lived in exile in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, ever since.