Beijing: China said on Friday that it would be recognized only on the approval of any successor of the current Dalai Lama. Also, refused to recognize anyone named by the Dalai Lama or his followers. An official white paper released by the Chinese government claimed that the Dalai Lama and other spiritual Buddhist leaders have been recognized by the central government since the Qing Dynasty (1677–1911).
The document also states that Tibet has been an inseparable part of China since ancient times. It states, “Since the Gorkha invaders left in 1793, the Qing government restored order in Tibet and approved the ordinance for better governance in Tibet.” According to the document, the ordinance states that the procedure has to be followed in relation to the incarnation of the Dalai Lama and other Buddhist religious leaders and the recognition of select candidates is subject to the central government of China.
The 14th Dalai Lama arrived in India in 1959 after China’s action on the movement of local population in Tibet. India gave him political asylum and the Tibetan government in exile has since been in Himachal’s Dharamshala. The Dalai Lama is now 85 years old and due to his growing age, the issue of his successor has started to arise in the last few years.
This issue came to the headlines in the last few years when the US campaigned that the Dalai Lama and the people of Tibet should have the right to decide the successor of the Dalai Lama.
