‘Nobody else has right to decide’: India says only Dalai Lama can choose his successor

India on Thursday affirmed that the successor to the 14th Dalai Lama will be chosen solely by the current spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists himself and in accordance with established religious traditions, the Hindustan Times reported.

“All those who follow the Dalai Lama feel that the incarnation is to be decided by the established convention and as per the wish of the Dalai Lama himself,” Union minister Kiren Rijiju was quoted as saying by PTI. “Nobody else has the right to decide it except him and the conventions in place.”

New Delhi also said that Rijiju, along with Union minister Rajeev Ranjan Singh, would attend the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday celebrations on Sunday, The Indian Express reported.

This came a day after China said that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation needed to be approved by the Chinese government. Beijing said that the succession must follow Chinese laws as well as “religious rituals and historical conventions”.

The statements by New Delhi and Beijing followed remarks from the 14th Dalai Lama, who said on Wednesday that a trust he had founded held the sole prerogative to decide on his successor, and that no one else had the authority to interfere in the matter.

“I hereby reiterate that the Gaden Phodrang Trust has sole authority to recognise the future reincarnation; no one else has any...

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