China Has No Rights to Choose the Dalai Lama's Successor: Tawang Monastery's Head

NEW DELHI: The succession plan is totally a spiritual matter and not a political problem for the Tibetan people, according to the head of the Tawang monastery in Arunachal Pradesh. China has no power to become involved in picking the next Dalai Lama since it does not believe in religion.

Regarding China's belligerent posture along the LAC, Rinpoche remarked that while India believes in peace and prosperity, its response to such belligerence must be grounded in truth.

The head of the world's second biggest monastery, after the Potala Palace in Tibet's Lhasa, declared that only the present Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people have the authority to choose the Tibetan spiritual leader's successor, and that China has no say in the subject.

"China has no legal authority to participate in the selection of the next Dalai Lama. The present Dalai Lama and his disciples have exclusive authority over the matter "he stated

The remarks by the Abbot of the monastery, which is located in a Chinese-claimed zone, came while relations between the two nations were strained during the eastern Ladakh border conflict. Arunachal Pradesh, India's state, is considered a vital and inalienable component of the country.

As the 14th Dalai Lama, who has been living in exile in Dharamshala, India, since 1959, approached his 86th birthday in July, the question of a successor gathered pace. The Dalai Lama is said to be a living Buddha who will be reborn once he dies.

The religious leader stated that it is critical to fight China's expansionist policies.

Rinpoche's monastery is located in Tawang, at an elevation of roughly 9,000 feet, in an area of enormous political, spiritual, and geopolitical significance.

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