NEW DELHI: Following remarks by union minister Kiren Rijiju backing the Dalai Lama’s announcement about his succession plan, including the statement that China will have no role in it, India said Friday that it has taken no position on what was an issue concerning faith and religion.
Interestingly, the Chinese foreign ministry after cautioning India at a media briefing, according to agency reports from Beijing, against interfering in Tibetan affairs at the expense of Sino-India ties, omitted its comments objecting to Rijiju’s remarks from the official transcript of the briefing.
“We have seen reports relating to the statement made by His Holiness the Dalai Lama about the continuation of the Dalai Lama institution. Government of India does not take any position or speak on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, responding to media queries on the Dalai Lama’s announcement. He added that the Indian government has always upheld freedom of religion for all in India and will continue to do so.
India’s ties with China have shown signs of improvement in the past 9 months, since they resolved the almost 5-year-long border standoff in eastern Ladakh, leading to resumption of high-level bilateral visits. Amid global uncertainties, both sides seem keen to maintain a steady working relationship. External affairs minister S Jaishankar is likely to visit China on July 13 for a meeting of the SCO foreign ministers for what will be the first bilateral visit by the foreign minister of either country since early 2022 when Wang Yi visited India. Jaishankar has not visited China since the Covid outbreak and the beginning of the military standoff in 2020.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh too visited China last month for a meeting of the SCO defence ministers. NSA Ajit Doval has twice visited China since PM Narendra Modi’s meeting with President Xi Jinping last year in October on the margins of the BRICS summit in Russia. As Special Representative for boundary talks, Wang himself is likely to visit India this month for talks with Doval. India, however, is yet to confirm PM Narendra Modi’s participation in the SCO summit in China in September.
Unlike the US, which officially maintains that China has no role to play in the Dalai Lama’s succession, India has never taken any position on the issue. China maintains that the successor to the 14th Dalai Lama can only be appointed through the “traditional” process that includes approval by the central government. In rare remarks by an Indian minister, Rijiju had backed the spiritual leader’s assertion that no one else other than his Trust will help choose his successor. Rijiju clarified on Friday that he wasn’t speaking on behalf of the Indian government but, as a devotee himself, expressing the perspective of the Dalai Lama’s followers.
“All over the world, the people who follow Buddhism and who believe in the sacred, supreme Dalai Lama ji…it is everyone’s wish that the Dalai Lama ji himself will decide. There is no need for the Government of India or for me to say anything…I am speaking as a follower. I am a devotee. This is the wish of the followers. I am not saying anything on behalf of the government of India or on the Chinese government’s statement,” said the minister.
Interestingly, the Chinese foreign ministry after cautioning India at a media briefing, according to agency reports from Beijing, against interfering in Tibetan affairs at the expense of Sino-India ties, omitted its comments objecting to Rijiju’s remarks from the official transcript of the briefing.
“We have seen reports relating to the statement made by His Holiness the Dalai Lama about the continuation of the Dalai Lama institution. Government of India does not take any position or speak on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, responding to media queries on the Dalai Lama’s announcement. He added that the Indian government has always upheld freedom of religion for all in India and will continue to do so.
India’s ties with China have shown signs of improvement in the past 9 months, since they resolved the almost 5-year-long border standoff in eastern Ladakh, leading to resumption of high-level bilateral visits. Amid global uncertainties, both sides seem keen to maintain a steady working relationship. External affairs minister S Jaishankar is likely to visit China on July 13 for a meeting of the SCO foreign ministers for what will be the first bilateral visit by the foreign minister of either country since early 2022 when Wang Yi visited India. Jaishankar has not visited China since the Covid outbreak and the beginning of the military standoff in 2020.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh too visited China last month for a meeting of the SCO defence ministers. NSA Ajit Doval has twice visited China since PM Narendra Modi’s meeting with President Xi Jinping last year in October on the margins of the BRICS summit in Russia. As Special Representative for boundary talks, Wang himself is likely to visit India this month for talks with Doval. India, however, is yet to confirm PM Narendra Modi’s participation in the SCO summit in China in September.
Unlike the US, which officially maintains that China has no role to play in the Dalai Lama’s succession, India has never taken any position on the issue. China maintains that the successor to the 14th Dalai Lama can only be appointed through the “traditional” process that includes approval by the central government. In rare remarks by an Indian minister, Rijiju had backed the spiritual leader’s assertion that no one else other than his Trust will help choose his successor. Rijiju clarified on Friday that he wasn’t speaking on behalf of the Indian government but, as a devotee himself, expressing the perspective of the Dalai Lama’s followers.
“All over the world, the people who follow Buddhism and who believe in the sacred, supreme Dalai Lama ji…it is everyone’s wish that the Dalai Lama ji himself will decide. There is no need for the Government of India or for me to say anything…I am speaking as a follower. I am a devotee. This is the wish of the followers. I am not saying anything on behalf of the government of India or on the Chinese government’s statement,” said the minister.
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