(TibetanReview.net, Jul14’25) – Apparently not satisfied with India’s stance of not taking a position on faith or religion, expressed by its ministry of external affairs (MEA) on Jul 4, the Chinese embassy in New Delhi said Jul 13 that the succession of Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, is a thorn in China-India relations. That’s because people within the government as well as the broader civil society have condemned China’s atheist meddling in this centuries-old, intrinsically religious tradition of the Tibetan people.
Yu Jing, a Chinese embassy spokesperson, said on social media app X: “It has been noted that some people from strategic and academic communities, including former officials, have made some improper remarks on the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, contrary to the Indian government’s public stance.”
While Yu did not name anyone, it is all too well known that Indian strategic affairs analysts and a government minister, besides Buddhist and other religious groups have backed the Dalai Lama’s remarks on the issue of his reincarnation.
Targeting analysts in particular, Yu said, “As professionals in foreign affairs, they should be fully cognizant of the sensitivity of issues related to Xizang,” using the colonially Sinicized name for Tibet.
“The reincarnation and succession of the Dalai Lama is inherently an internal affair of China,” she said.
“(The) Xizang-related issue is a thorn in China-India relations and has become a burden for India. Playing the ‘Xizang card’ will definitely end up shooting oneself in the foot.”
China may particularly have been irked by the fact that India’s Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Minister, Mr Kiren Rijiju, sat next to the Dalai Lama during the latter’s 90th birthday commemoration on Jul 6. He had earlier said that as a practising Buddhist, he believed only the spiritual guru and his office – the Gaden Phodrang Trust – had the authority to decide on his reincarnation.
Yu’s remarks came ahead of the Jul 15 attendance by India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at a regional security meeting under the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Tianjin in northern China, with a schedule for a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines.