(TibetanReview.net, Jul05’25) – India has on Jul 4 clarified its position on the Dalai Lama reincarnation issue by saying it does not take any position on matters of faith. The clarification came amid reports that India’s Minister for Minority Affairs (and Parliamentary Affairs), Mr Kiren Rijjju, had said Jul 3 the Dalai Lama alone could decide on his own reincarnation, as per the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and China had criticized India for it.
India’s clarification came in response to the Dalai Lama’s Jul 2 declaration that Rijiju expressed support for.
“We have seen reports relating to the statement made by the Dalai Lama about the continuation of the Dalai Lama institution. The Government of India does not take any position or speak on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion,” the newindianexpress.com Jul 4 quoted India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal as saying.
“The Government has always upheld freedom of religion for all in India and will continue to do so,” Jaiswal was further quoted as saying.
China criticized Rijiju’s remark on Jul 4, calling on New Delhi to stop using Tibet issues to interfere in domestic affairs of China, while spelling out Beijing’s position on the issue.
“We hope India can fully recognise the high sensitivity of issues related to Tibet, and clearly see the anti-China and separatist nature of the 14th Dalai Lama,” the scmp.com Jul 4 quoted ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning as saying.
Reiterating its standard remark on any act of support on Tibet-related matters that it does not like, the ministry has said: “India should honour its commitments on Tibet-related matters, exercise caution in word and deed, stop using Tibet-related issues to interfere in China’s internal affairs, and avoid undermining the improvement and development of China-India relations.”
Earlier. In his remarks, Rijiju, a practicing Buddhist himself, had said only the Dalai Lama and his institution, the Gaden Phodrang Trust, had 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.”