 "The Dalai Lama. AP File")
China on Monday lodged a formal protest with India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended birthday greetings to the Dalai Lama, warning New Delhi against interfering in its “internal affairs”.
“India should fully appreciate the great sensitivity of Tibet-related issues, recognise the separatist nature, honour the commitments it has made to China related to Tibet-related issues, and act prudently, and stop using these issues to meddle in China’s internal affairs,” South China Morning Post quoted Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning as saying on Monday.
The Chinese reaction comes a day after PM Modi publicly wished the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader on his 89th birthday.
>Taking to X, PM Modi posted, “I join 1.4 billion Indians in extending our warmest wishes to His Holiness the Dalai Lama on his 90th birthday. He has been an enduring symbol of love, compassion, patience and moral discipline. His message has inspired respect and admiration across all faiths. We pray for his continued good health and long life.”
The Dalai Lama, who has lived in India since fleeing Tibet in 1959, remains a deeply contentious figure for Beijing, which considers him a separatist seeking to split Tibet from China.
“The 14th Dalai Lama is a political exile who has long engaged in anti-China separatist activities and has attempted to separate Tibet from China under the cover of religion,” Mao was quoted as saying.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsWhile India officially recognises Tibet as part of China, it has long hosted the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile, prompting recurring tensions between the two neighbours.
This is the second time in a week Beijing has criticised India over its remarks concerning the Dalai Lama.
On Thursday, ahead of his visit to Dharamsala for the Tibetan spiritual leader’s birthday, Minister for Parliamentary and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju said that only the Dalai Lama and the trust he established have the authority to decide his successor.
“No one has the right to interfere or decide who the successor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be. Only he or his institution has the authority to make that decision. His followers believe that deeply,” Rijiju had said.
In response, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Friday urged India to “avoid undermining the improvement and development of China-India relations.”
Last week, the Dalai Lama reiterated that only the Gaden Phodrang Trust has the authority to confirm his successor, reaffirming his earlier stance that the next Dalai Lama would be born outside China.
Beijing has firmly rejected these assertions, insisting that the selection of the Dalai Lama must follow historical traditions, comply with Chinese law, and receive approval from the central government.
In parallel, China has been actively promoting the authority of the Panchen Lama — considered the second-highest-ranking figure in Tibetan Buddhism — as part of its strategy to assert control over Tibetan religious affairs.
According to Xizang Daily, the official newspaper of the Tibet Autonomous Region, the Panchen Lama has recently been performing his duties in Lhasa, leading Buddhist ceremonies and engaging in public religious activities.
In a meeting held on Thursday in Lhasa, the Panchen Lama urged fellow Buddhist leaders to prioritise maintaining religious stability, calling it a “prime political task,” and instructed them to ensure that monks and nuns manage religious affairs in accordance with Chinese law, according to the South China Morning Post.
Lhasa, once the residence of the Dalai Lama before his exile, holds deep religious and political significance in Tibetan Buddhism.
Although the Panchen Lama’s official residence is in Shigatse, another major city in the Tibet Autonomous Region, he has lived in Beijing for many years.
He serves as vice-president of the state-sanctioned Buddhist Association of China and is a standing committee member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, China’s top political advisory body.
Last month, President Xi Jinping met with the Panchen Lama in Beijing and urged continued efforts to advance the “Sinicisation of religion” — China’s push to align religious practices more closely with state ideology.
With inputs from agencies