Preparations are in full swing for the celebration of the Dalai Lama’s birthday in July, Penpa Tsering, the Sikyong (elected leader) of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), told The Hindu. All eyes are on a possible announcement by the Dalai Lama on his reincarnation or successor. In a statement in September 2011, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, who handed over his political authority to the CTA, had said that he would take a decision on the subject of his spiritual successor when he was “about 90”, after consulting other Tibetan Buddhist leaders and the Tibetan public.
The Dalai Lama’s next steps will be watched closely by Beijing, which has introduced a law mandating that any successor must be approved by the Chinese government.
Mr. Tsering said the celebratory events, which would go on for a year from July 6, 2025, would be preceded by special prayers and a religious meeting of the heads of all Tibetan Buddhist schools from July 2 to 4 in Dharamshala, when the Dalai Lama is expected to consult them on the reincarnation question.
This is an important year for the Tibetan community everywhere, as the Dalai Lama turns 90. Will he reveal his plans for a reincarnation, and how will the process go forward?
We intend to celebrate the whole year from July 6, 2025 till 2026 as the Year of Compassion. According to the Tibetan calendar, his birthday is on June 30, and there will be a special prayer that day. From July 2-4, we will have the meeting of all the religious heads of all Buddhist traditions — Nyingma, Sakya, Gelug… — all the leaders will be there except the Karmapa Lama (head of the Karma Kagyu sect, who lives in the U.S). It is likely that His Holiness [Dalai Lama] will address the conference, and I am not sure whether he will make a statement on reincarnation… but the statement he made in 2011, is the only one we have to go by, that at the age of 90 he will consult other high lamas and take a decision. The Dalai Lama assures us, however, that he will live to at least 113 years.
How do you see China’s reaction to any such statement — will there be a confrontation ?
No doubt, the biggest concern of the Chinese government is to find the 15th Dalai Lama in Tibet after the 14th Dalai Lama [passes], as while he is alive, there is nothing the Chinese government can do. The Tibetan administration (Dharamshala-based CTA) is working on preparing a rule book on what we should do, what are the procedures we should follow. Beijing will search for a reincarnation inside Tibet or in China… the way they found the Panchen Lama. But he has not been recognised by the Tibetan people, and the successor to the Dalai Lama has to be accepted by the people.
What is your hope from the Indian government for the Tibetan community settled here?
The Government of India is not a signatory to the UN Refugee convention, so these are executive decisions and I would say every Indian government starting from Pandit Nehru has been very, very kind to the Tibetan community. Politically, we would appreciate the government being more vocal but India has to attend to its national interest first. The interest of Tibet is always there, and that is why we look at the Government of India as our saviour — if it wasn’t for India, we wouldn’t exist. I always say, if the next Dalai Lama is reincarnated in India, then he will be an Indian citizen, and so the government must consider what that will mean as well!
Do you think Tibetans will receive international support, given the geopolitical situation, where the international community has not succeeded in stopping major conflicts, like the Russian war in Ukraine, or Israel’s bombardment of Gaza?
Well in a sense, there is one international law, so if Russia violated Ukraine’s sovereignty etc., it is like what happened to Tibet in 1950 [China’s annexation]. If we have to resolve the Sino-Tibet issue through peaceful means, there is no other way but to reach out to the Chinese government. And the resolution isn’t possible till such time that the Chinese government is responsive to resolving it. At present, the Dalai Lama follows the Middle Path, and is not even seeking independence. But the intransigent position the Chinese government has taken — in the form of Sinicisation, erasing Tibetan identity, starting colonial-style boarding schools, ignoring the Tibetan language, mandating the study of Chinese Communist Party ideology — makes it difficult. We do have back-channel talks [with Beijing] but there is nothing of consequence being exchanged in them at present. Even if we have contact, we are not confident of an outcome.
Could talks to normalise ties between India and China at present make a difference?
Let’s see how the talks shape up. But even as the talks began, we heard about the construction of the Brahmaputra dam in Tibet in December 2024, which could have serious consequences for India. The Chinese government says it is only for electricity production and won’t reduce water flows but there are questions over China’s plans to divert water to more parched areas of Tibet. The Tibetan plateau is a highly seismic zone, you can see the recent quakes in Mongolia, Myanmar and other areas around. What would happen if there is damage to the dam, and what effect could that have in Arunachal Pradesh and, then, Bangladesh, where the Zangpo flows to — there could be a human catastrophe.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi did invite the earlier Sikyong to his swearing- in ceremony in 2014, but did not repeat the invitation subsequently in 2019 or 2024. In 2018, an official order said no government official should attend the Tibetan community’s political events. Do you worry about this?
Not at all. On all issues we remain in touch and are advised by the wishes of the Indian government. As we look forward to the celebrations of the Dalai Lama’s birthday, we hope to have an Indian government representation at the event.
You mentioned that the Karmapa Lama will not attend. He has not returned to India since 2017, and has taken up citizenship of Dominica and settled in the U.S. What is holding up his visit?
Well, there are lots of issues over which document the Karmapa will come to India on, and whether he would have the freedom to travel around India. Discussions are on between Karmapa Lama and the government, and CTA would be happy to help in any way. But I have received a message that he will not be able to attend the celebrations this year.
Have the cuts in USAID and other funding cuts by the Donald Trump administration affected Tibetan community projects?
The overall cut in U.S. foreign aid is not only for Tibetans, but around the world, and we hope that these will be reviewed. I am planning to travel to the U.S. at the end of this month and we will be working towards restoring aid and grants from the U.S. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote to me on March 10, Tibetan Uprising Day, and reiterated the U.S. position on Tibet, support for rights, linguistic rights etc., which he has also personally championed as Senator. Even during the first Trump presidency (2017-2021), there was initially no budget for Tibet. But in 2019, the U.S. passed the Tibet Support Policy Act, which says that the U.S. will support a succession or reincarnation decided by the Tibetan Buddhist community, and the U.S. government also appointed a Special Envoy on Tibetan affairs.
Published – April 28, 2025 02:08 am IST