Vijay Kranti

The occasion was oath ceremony of the re-elected Tibetan Sikyong (President) in Dharamshala on 27^th May. But the Chinese government used this event to threaten India and push it to follow its diktats. On 25^th May Yu Jing, the spokeswoman at New Delhi Chinese embassy, openly threatened the Modi government to not only keep off this event but also to “avoid interference in the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.” For keen observers of China-Tibet-India triangle it was surprising to note not only the aggressive tone of the Chinese diplomat but also using and unconnected event of Dharamshala to threaten India against any move on the reincarnation of present Dalai Lama.

To many observers this outburst of the Chinese diplomat against the host government sounded funny that Beijing funny as it amounted to provoking the Modi government that has been already looking aloof and indifferent to the issue of reincarnation which holds serious potential threat to India’s sovereignty and national security along the Himalayan borders.

Many observers like this writer have been already bewildered to note that the Modi government has been maintaining a stoic silence on this issue despite repeated warnings from Indian security agencies and China watchers that China’s attempts to usurp the next incarnation of Dalai Lama has serious potential of threatening India’s sovereignty and security along its entire Himalayan borders. They have been pointing out that almost all monasteries and Buddhist temples of this over 4000 km long Himalayan belt have been traditionally and overwhelmingly affiliated to their root Gurus and guardian monasteries in Chinese occupied Tibet. In such a situation a puppet Dalai Lama in the hands of China can play havoc in this hitherto ‘first line of defence’ of India — and Nepal and Bhutan too.

This latest Chinese ‘fatwa’ gives us a good reason to probe why a communist government which vociferously rejects and condemns even the concept of religion, is so madly glued to the idea of searching present Dalai Lama’s reincarnation after his death and installing the baby of its own choice as the 15^th Dalai Lama of Tibet under the control and guidance of Chinese Communist Party (CCP)?

The world has been watching the Beijing leaders using the choicest expletives and abusive terms of the Communist lexicon for Dalai Lama since decades. Expressions like ‘Wolf in the skin of a lamb’, ‘Feudal lord of surf owners’, ‘Splitist’, ‘Traitor’ and the ‘Gang leader of the fugitives’ are liberally used to shower contempt on him. The only other parallel one can see in the frustration, obsession and aggression of Beijing leaders is when they speak about Taiwan.

The institution of Dalai Lama of Tibet is six centuries old and is unique in many ways. The title commands both the temporal powers as in a Monarchy or the Presidential and Prime Minister system of democratic governance or one like the Pope and Ayatollah supremacy in theocracy. The title is transferred to the next heir only through reincarnation. In Tibetan Buddhism, it is believed that every sentient being is reborn into one or other life form after end of each life cycle. But enlightened souls like the Dalai Lamas and other learned monks have the virtue of guiding their own rebirth process. Dalai Lama is believed to be reincarnation of ‘Avalokiteshwara’ (Sanskrit) or ‘Chenrizig’ (Tibetan), the compassion manifestation of Buddha.

Following the death of a Dalai Lama, the Tibetans search for, identify and install the next Dalai Lama baby boy through a typical process which involves testing of all boy children born after the death of the Dalai Lama. A major factor which directs this search process is the personal indications and desires indicated by a Dalai Lama during his lifetime about the place, family and other elements of his own choice about his next birth. Present Dalai Lama (90 yrs and personal name Tenzin Gyatso), is 14^th in this tradition. On the issue of his reincarnation Beijing asserts that no one else on the earth shall have any role in the selection and installation of the 15^th Dalai Lama — not even the Dalai Lama himself or his private inner circle, called ‘Ganden Phodrang’ which manages and governs the personal establishment of Dalai Lama as an institution. According to Beijing’s communist bosses this right exclusively tests with CCP.

This obsession of an atheist CCP over this complex religious exercise originates from the significant place Tibet holds in the present day China’s geo-political game plan. Before China’s occupation of Tibet in 1951 ,Tibet was an independent country with its own flag, currency, postal system and international relations – at least since 1913 when Tibet successfully pushed out a two- year long presence of Nationalist China in its capital Lhasa to reassert its independence.

It was in 1949 that Mao’s mighty PLA attacked Eastern Tibet and almost annihilated the microscopic Tibetan army. In 1951 Mao threatened and forced the 15 year old Dalai Lama’s government to sign on the dotted lines of a ’17-Point Agreement’ which promised protection of Tibetan culture and Dalai Lama’s privileged position. But Tibetans soon found that all Chinese promises were hollow. In 1959 when the Tibetan masses stood up against the CCP rule the PLA ruthlessly crushed the Tibetan uprising. These events lead to a daring escape of the Dalai Lama to India. Since then he has been residing in the Himalayan town of Dharamshala in northern India where he heads a nominal Central Tibetan Administration which looks after the welfare, political aspirations and cultural identity of about 150,000 Tibetan refugees who are spread over 27 countries today.

Back in Tibet, China has been facing strong resistance from the Tibetan population right from day one. In initial years of occupation, this resistance was open and, at places, predominantly violent. But soon it became dormant and sporadic with the increasing grip of PLA and the CCP. In initial four decades the new communist masters of Tibet tried every tool under their command to suppress religion with the hope that absence of religion will make people understand and accept communism more faithfully. But in massive uprisings in 1987 and 1989 the Beijing leaders were surprised to note that despite three -decades long absence of Dalai Lama and banning of religious activities among masses, the personal devotion of Tibetan masses towards Dalai Lama and their faith in Buddhism remained the most dominant uniting force. This forced Beijing to revise their strategy on Tibet.

In 1991 it was decided to use religion as a tool rather than resisting it. This was followed by loosening religious controls, opening up temples and monasteries and giving freedom to common Tibetans to visit temples. The first public signal of this change in the Chinese strategy of occupying the Tibetan religion from within came in 1992 when Beijing decided to undertake and install the reincarnation of 16^th Karma Pa, who had gone to exile and died in 1981 as a popular Buddhist teacher. The newly found six -year old boy Ogyen Trinley Dorje was enthroned in a colorful Buddhist ceremony at Tsurphu, the Tibetan headquarters of Karma Kagyu sect. A large number of followers of previous Karma Pa were invited from Europe and America and the ceremony was telecast live on the official and national CCTV network.

This process was repeated in 1995 for identification of the incarnation of 10^th Panchen Lama whom Beijing had used as a counter and replacement of the Dalai Lama when the latter fled to exile in India. A committee of senior monks of Tashi Lhunpo, the personal monastery of late Panchen Lama in Shigatse, was formed under the leadership of a communist officer. But the process became controversial when the monks identified a five year old boy Gedhun Choeky Nyima as the new incarnate and secretly took approval of the exiled Dalai Lama about the boy’s authenticity as the real incarnation. This angered Beijing so much that Gedhun and his parents were taken away by the Chinese security personnel and another boy of same age, named Gyaltsen Norbu, was formally installed as the new Panchen Lama a couple of days later.

Since then China has consistently refused to respond or share any information on Gedhun or his parents. It was only 25 years later on 19 May, 2020 that in response to appeals and demands from the UN-related 159 independent organizations from 18 countries, that the Chinese government indicated that Gedhun was “now a college graduate with a stable job”. Beijing’s love for its puppet ‘Panchen Lama’ Gyaltsen is understandable because Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama play important role in certifying incarnation of each other and also work alternately as teacher of others’ incarnation. Beijing has placed high stakes on Gyaltsen with the hope that he will be a useful tool when it comes to installing the next Dalai Lama. Over the years CCP has installed scores of small and high ranking incarnate Lamas across Tibet. While Tibetans use term ‘Tulku’ for the incarnate Lamas, they are called ‘Living Buddha’ in China.

To give this process a legal and institutional look, the Chinese government adopted a special law called “Order-5” in 2007. This law governs the search process, certification and installation of future ‘Living Buddhas’ or ‘Tulkus’. This law gives all powers for the selection of any future ‘Living Buddhas’ to the respective Buddhist Associations of the concerned local, provincial or national government. By design each Buddhist Association is dominated and controlled by senior communist cadres of the concerned jurisdiction. The main reason behind bringing i...

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