Dalai Lama’s reincarnation decision lies with him, not China: Kiren Rijiju

Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday made it clear that the decision regarding the next incarnation of the Dalai Lama rests solely with the current Dalai Lama and the traditional Tibetan Buddhist institution, not with any foreign government.

“The incarnation is to be decided by the established convention, and as per the wish of the Dalai Lama himself. Nobody else has the right to decide it except him and the conventions in place,” Rijiju told reporters, directly responding to China’s recent remarks rejecting the Tibetan leader’s succession plan.

The comments come amid heightened attention around the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday celebrations in Dharamshala, where Rijiju and fellow Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh will represent the Government of India.

On Wednesday, the Dalai Lama reaffirmed that the centuries-old institution of his spiritual leadership would continue, and only the Gaden Phodrang Trust — the official body overseeing his spiritual and temporal affairs — would hold the authority to recognise his future reincarnation.

Rijiju, who is himself a practising Buddhist, stressed the global spiritual significance of the Dalai Lama’s role. “The Dalai Lama is the most important and defining institution for Buddhists,” he said.

China has insisted that any successor to the 14th Dalai Lama must be approved by its authorities — a position that has drawn criticism from Tibetan groups and human rights advocates, who see it as interference in religious freedom. (PTI)