The man passes through the Dalai Lama cutout in Mcleod Ganj, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh 4 July 2025. Photo Credit: PTI
In his first official statement on the announcement of the Dalai succession plan, the Ministry for External Affairs (Mea) said on Friday (July 4, 2025) that the government “does not” host “any position in such religious issues.
This statement seems to have distanced the government from the comments, which was stated on Thursday by the Minister of the Union Kiren Rijiju, who openly supported the right of the Tibetan spiritual leader to decide on his own sequence. On Friday, Mr. Rijia explained that he spoke as “follower and devoted” because he is a practicing Buddhist himself, although the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a strong statement and warned India of “interference” in Chinese “domestic affairs”.
“We have seen reports on the statement of his holiness of the Dalai Lama on the continuation of the Dalai Lama institution,” said Mea Randhir Jaiswal spokesman, adding: “The Indian government does not care or talk about things and faith and religion.”
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The spokesperson also said that the government “always adhered to the freedom of religion in India and will continue to do so”, suggesting that his support for the Tibetan community living in India, led by the Dalai Lama, practices their faith.
The Declaration of Mea, followed by the announcement of the Dalai Lama, who turns 90 in July 90, claims that the line of the Supreme Tibetan Buddhism of the Supreme Pope will continue. In his announcement, the Dalai Lama said Buddhist leaders who gathered to celebrate his birthday in Dharamshala, that his successor or reincarnation would be identified by Gaden Podrang Trust, who set out after consultation with other leaders, as the “only author”. This is the brightest signal that the Tibetan spiritual leader has so far given on this matter and negates the Chinese role in the appointment of another Dalai Lama. The Chinese government insists that any appointment must be approved by the government in Beijing and quotes the traditional process of the “golden urns” dating back to the Qing dynasty.
On Thursday, Mr. Rijija, one of the ministers who attends the Dalai Lama birthday, said that “no one else has the right to decide” on the sequence, with the exception of the Dalai Lama “and established conventions”.
In a sharp response to the statement, as stated in Reuters, Chinese MFA in Beijing said on Friday that China hopes that India “ceases to use Tibet problems to interfere with domestic matters and avoid influencing link development”. A strong reaction indicates the current round of orders between Delhi and Beijing to restore the links after the postponement on the real check line is resolved last October, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping met.
He spoke to journalists on Friday and repeated his support for the Dalai Lama statement, but he added that “those who believe in their holiness of the Dalai Lama, everyone wants him to decide according to his wishes”.
“The Indian government or I don’t have to comment,” he said, adding that he did not want to respond to a statement from China. “I speak as a follower (Anuyayi), I’m devoted,” said Mr. Rijia.
Published – 4 July 2025 22:42 IS IS
