BENGALURU: Tibetan spiritual leader the 14th Dalai Lama will make an important announcement, most likely on his reincarnation, on July 2, four days before he turns 90 on July 6.
Speaking to TNIE, Sikyong (President), Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), Penpa Tsering said the Dalai Lama will make an “important announcement on July 2. It is likely to be about his reincarnation”.
Dalai Lama is scheduled to meet senior leaders of the four Buddhist sects -- Sakya, Kagyu, Nyingma and Gelug -- between July 2 and 4 at Dharamshala, the headquarters of CTA.
While Dalai Lama’s reincarnation is the most anticipated decision keenly awaited not only by Tibetans but people in the Himalayan region, from Lhasa to Arunachal Pradesh, who look up to him as their spiritual guide, it is heavily contested by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which sees Dalai Lama as a separatist leader and a symbol of Tibetan resistance.
In March 2011, the Dalai Lama relinquished his role as the political head of Tibetans in exile and handed it over to the democratically elected CTA.
He had said his successor, male or female, will be born in a free world, in a clear message to PRC on its long-standing claim on having the sole right to choose the next Dalai Lama.
Year-long celebrations of Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday from July 2
“At a time when China speaks about the ‘sinization’ of Tibetan Buddhism (often called the Nalanda Tradition), which in practice aims at the eradication of the Indian origin of Buddhism on the Tibetan plateau, it is important to remember that the Dalai Lama is not only the leader of all Tibetans, but also of one million Indian Himalayans (from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh),” noted Tibetologist and strategy expert Claude Arpi told TNIE.
Beijing’s nervousness on Dalai Lama’s announcement on his reincarnation is apparent. During a three-day inspection tour of Qinghai, in former Amdo province of Tibet, Chen Wenqing, a member of the 24-strong Politburo responsible for political and legal affairs, had remarked that Qinghai is a “strategic stronghold for maintaining stability in Xinjiang and Tibet”.
“Wenqing’s tour included visits to religious and cultural institutions in Xining, the provincial capital. Interestingly, he spoke of resolutely winning the fight against separatism in Tibet in reference to the Dalai Lama,” remarked the Tibetologist.
Arpi added that “for decades, the presence of the Dalai Lama in India has been a great stabilizing factor for Indian borders. Hopefully, he will soon announce his decision and take this into consideration. It is certainly not up to a Marxist government to decide on this highly esoteric and spiritual issue, but the succession has important implications for Beijing’s control over Tibet,” added Arpi.
Meanwhile, the CTA is planning to hold year-long celebrations of Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday, from July 2, 2025, till July 2026. “We are celebrating the period as the ‘Year of Compassion’ and have scheduled multiple events, from prayers for His Holiness’ long life to religious and cultural events, which will be spread throughout the year,” said Tsering.
For the July 6 celebrations, the guest list includes a Union minister, chief ministers of some states and Members of Parliament (MPs). The CTA has also invited Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara. Karnataka is host to the largest Tibetan diaspora in the world, who are settled in five settlements -- two in Bylakuppe in Mysuru district, and one each in Mundgod in Uttara Kannada district, Hunsur in Mysuru district, and Kollegal in Chamarajanagar district.