Buddhism

The Dalai Lama’s move to anoint the 10th Khalkha has caught Beijing by surprise; experts say the decision is an internal affair of the Dalai Lama-led Tibetan religious order

The Dalai Lama

Tibetans have always zealously guarded their religious hierarchy, something China considers to be its private preserve.

In a recent interview with Japan’s Kyodo News, Penpa Tsering, president of the Tibetan government-in-exile, warned China not to interfere in selecting a successor to the Dalai Lama, the current spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists. “No government should have a role in this spiritual matter and I think it is much wiser for China not to interfere,” he cautioned.

Tsering’s words could well have been prophetic. On March 27, the 14th Dalai Lama, the frail 87-year-old, announced the reincarnation of the third-most-senior Lama or spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and the head of the Gelugpa school in land-locked Mongolia.

The tenth Khalkha, Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche, was anointed by the Tibetan spiritual head in a ceremony attended by some 600 Mongolians, who travelled to Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh to attend an event that has huge ramifications in this running battle between the Dalai Lama and the Communist Party of China, and for the survival of Tibetan Buddhism.

While India may have no role to play in this decision, Beijing believes that by giving shelter to the Dalai Lama, New Delhi is interfering in Beijing’s internal matters. China openly meddles in all matters related to the Dalai Lama and Tibetans, and an already strained bilateral relationship between India and China may get even bumpier.

“I don’t think the Chinese would be surprised by this decision. His Holiness (the Dalai Lama) has said different things about his successor, including a lady successor, at different times, so it is not for anyone to decide who will be taught the scriptures, other than the head of the order,” Gautam Bambawale, former Indian ambassador to China, told Moneycontrol.

Calling the Dalai Lama’s decision on Monday an ‘ace of spades’, the ex-Indian envoy to Beijing said that neither the Indian government nor the people of India have any role to play in the choice, which is strictly speaking, not tantamount to announcing a successor. “I don’t think there is any reason for either China, the US or any other country to object because it is purely an internal decision of the Tibetan Buddhist order,” he said.

The Dalai Lama believes that he will live up to the biological age of 113 and has no immediate plans to announce his reincarnation as head of the influential Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Communist Party of China has traditionally called him a ‘splittist’ as President Xi Jinping pursues his policy of Sinicisation of Tibet with Beijing abrogating the power of official reincarnations of high lamas of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Yet, at this advanced age, the cancer survivor managed to stump Beijing with his decision to anoint the tenth Khalkha this week.

US-born Lama

According to unofficial reports, the eight-year-old boy, who was born in the US in 2015, was anointed as the Tenth Khalka in a ceremony at Mongolia’s Gandantegchinlen Monastery, the country’s biggest monastery, at the end of February. It was attended by the Abbot of the monastery and the high Lamas of Mongolia.

However, experts state that the eight-year-old was accorded legitimacy after he was declared a reincarnation on March 8, at the culmination of the exercise that the Dalai Lama undertook when he visited Ulan Bator in 2016.

The tenth Khalkha is one of the twin boys named Aguidau and Achiltai Attanmar. He belongs to one of the richest business and political empires in Ulan Bator. The Dalai Lama institution in Dharamshala declined to comment over the real identity of the new Mongolian Tibetan leader as they feel he would be targeted by the Chinese regime.

Sandwiched between allies Russia and China, Mongolia has played a key role in the Dalai Lama Institution — often under intense pressure — as it was the Mongolian King Altan Khan who offered the title of Dalai Lama (Ocean of wisdom) to the third Gelugpa, Lama Sonam Gyatso, who in return conferred the title of `Brahma’, the king of religion, on Khan.

Former Indian ambassador to China Vijay Nambiar believes the nomination of the Khalka is a natural decision. “Given that China has taken unilateral decisions regarding Tibet, the Dalai Lama’s decision is to be expected. It is an essential part of the autonomy of the Tibet religious hierarchy,” he told Moneycontrol.

Nothing to do with New Delhi

Asked if it could lead to worsening of already-strained bilateral relations between India and China, he said that while “it would tighten relations between India and China, New Delhi has nothing to do with this decision, which is an independent one.”

China, Nambiar said, has nominated its own Panchen Lama as the man to succeed the Dalai Lama, “but let us also remember that the Dalai Lama has in the past said that he may not have a successor so let us not see this appointment as necessarily his successor.”

Tibetan exiles have traditionally worried that China might just simply appoint its own successor. In 1995, after the Dalai Lama named a boy in Tibet as the reincarnation of the previous Panchen Lama, the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism, China put that boy under house arrest and installed another in his place. Many Tibetans spurn the Chinese-appointed Panchen Lama as a fake.

That the Dalai Lama’s decision could have surprised China is being attributed to the fact that Beijing is yet to offer a reaction a full 24 hours after the anointment.

According to a scholar at the China Tibetology Research Center, the industrialization of Tibet represents Chinese urbanization, and the growth of Tibet and ethnic groups has always been a top priority for the central government.

According to a China Daily piece written by Kelsang Drolma, the central government established a strong base and provided the legal assurance for Tibet’s development by implementing steps for the freedom of social output.

According to the tibetologist, Tibet is currently a communist society where all employees have identical rights and independence in all facets of life.

The Communist Party of China has led the Chinese people, including members of all ethnic groups, in promoting socialist modernization and adopting a modernization path with Chinese characteristics based on the reality of the situation since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, particularly since the launch of reform and opening-up, according to the article.

The development of Tibet has progressed in the right path and over time acquired its own traits. The economic framework of Tibet has experienced a significant change with the long-term backing of the central government and the help of other regions, according to Kelsang Drolma.

The scholar also mentioned how Tibet’s economic foundation is steadily getting better. More than 90% of the population lived as serfs and were subject to extreme economic abuse prior to Tibet’s calm independence in 1951. The Tibetan people were guided by the central government in achieving development through communist industrialization practices, which enabled them to escape destitution and seek high-quality development, in order to improve the situation.

By ensuring that all 74 counties in Tibet, the only contiguous province in China that is plagued by poverty, were lifted out of poverty by the end of 2019, the poverty alleviation program helped the Party realize its promise to leave no one behind on the path to moderate prosperity. According to the story, this also assisted China in achieving its first centennial objective of creating an all-around fairly affluent society.

The Qinghai-Tibet and Sichuan-Tibet roads were built after Tibet was peacefully freed, significantly reducing the distance between Tibet and the rest of the nation. According to Kelsang Drolma in the story, the opening of new schools gave the inhabitants of the region a window into a world of contemporary education.

It further stated that these democratic changes made in the wake of Tibet’s independence contributed to the toppling of the previous order and allowed the Tibetan people to live with respect, practice their freedom of action, and embrace contemporary lifestyles in a communist democratic nation. Today, their requirements are fulfilled and their rights are safeguarded by national laws and rules.

More than 80% of Tibet’s budget is spent on enhancing people’s lives in order to increase the feeling of gain and contentment of the Tibetan people. In actuality, the standard of living for Tibetans has been rising more quickly than the national and central-western averages.

The piece claims that the improvement of healthcare, education, and other areas has particularly enhanced the material and spiritual well-being of the Tibetan people. According to the researcher, Tibetan cultural texts written in the Tibetan script are permitted to be disseminated not only through books and classrooms but also through television and the internet thanks to laws and regulations regarding the protection and development of ethnic languages and scripts included in China’s Constitution.

The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau has the hardest topography and most peculiar species spread in the entire globe. The Tibetan central government has been encouraging environmentally friendly and sustainable growth in order to preserve this beautiful land. According to Kelsang Drolma, it has also started massive environmental protection initiatives, such as converting farmlands into woods and meadows, and given model funding support for Tibet’s green growth.

According to the researcher, Tibet is indeed making significant progress toward modernization that is in tune with nature and adheres to the new Tibet governance policy of the central government, which upholds the Party’s leadership, the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, and the system of regional ethnic autonomy while fostering ethnic unity.

Tibet had the longest streak of double-digit GDP development in the nation at the end of 2017, at 24 years. The traditional barriers to industrial development have been removed, green development enabled by industrial empowerment has accelerated, digital industrialization has evolved rapidly, and technological innovations have become a driver of the region’s development as a result of Tibet’s increased focus on high-quality development since 2018, according to Kelsang Drolma.

The scholar went on to say that while Tibet’s development successes were made possible by the cooperation and diligence of all the ethnic groups residing in the independent region, Tibet’s industrialization serves as an excellent illustration of what the Chinese modernization model is capable of.

Dalai Lama, who is the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, has appointed a Mongolian monk named Khamba Lama as the head of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia. This move is seen as a strategic move by the Dalai Lama to challenge China’s influence in the region, as Mongolia is a close neighbor and ally of China.

China has long been sensitive to any activities that it perceives as challenging its authority in Tibet, which it considers a part of its territory. The appointment of a Mongolian head of Tibetan Buddhism is likely to be viewed by China as a provocative act, as it could be seen as an attempt to expand the influence of Tibetan Buddhism beyond Tibet and into China’s sphere of influence.

The article also notes that the Dalai Lama has been in exile in India since 1959, and has been a vocal critic of China’s policies in Tibet, including its treatment of Tibetan culture and religion. The Dalai Lama has also been a strong advocate for Tibetan autonomy, which China has consistently opposed.

Overall, the appointment of a Mongolian head of Tibetan Buddhism by the Dalai Lama is likely to be seen as a move that will further strain China’s already tense relations with the Tibetan spiritual leader and his supporters.

The present spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama, will be replaced, but the president of the Tibetan government-in-exile has cautioned China not to meddle in the process.

In a recent interview with Kyodo News, Penpa Tsering stated that “no government should have any role in this spiritual matter and I think it is much wiser for China (not to interfere),” adding that the 14th Dalai Lama will eventually decide on the successor.

Tsering questioned “how can China have a hand in that” given that the Tibetan government-in-exile has “nothing to do” with the choosing procedure. But he added that he hadn’t “directly” questioned the Dalai Lama about it.

Tenzin Gyatso, the current Dalai Lama, escaped to India in March 1959, shortly after an unsuccessful revolt by Tibetans against China’s rule over the Buddhist area high in the Himalayas. Later, he created an administration in exile in Dharamsala, India.

One of the main points of contention between Tibetans and Beijing, which views the Dalai Lama as a rebel who seeks to split Tibet from China, is who will succeed the 87-year-old spiritual leader. Tibetan Buddhists believe that the chosen replacement will be a rebirth of the spiritual leader.

As part of a heritage left by its rulers, China claims to have the unique power to determine who the reincarnations of Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders, including the Dalai Lama, are.

The Tibetans, however, will not accept a replacement chosen by China, according to the Dalai Lama.

Tsering, who was chosen to serve as the government-in-exile’s second president in 2021, repeated his demand for communication with the administration of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who was recently voted to an unprecedented third term as president.

Tsering also emphasized the significance of the Dalai Lama’s “middle way approach,” which wants a nonviolent settlement of the Tibet problem with the Chinese government by identifying a basis for coexistence.

Through a “17-point agreement,” Tibetans and the Chinese government have been attempting to settle the dispute over Tibet’s position within China since 1951, but little has been accomplished.

Tsering stated that according to his government, Xi’s policy only prioritizes “economic development” and ignores the “aspiration of their own people.”

Tsering continued that it is critical now more than ever to educate the foreign world about Tibet’s past. We modified our strategy because, in light of current Chinese rhetoric, everyone believes that Tibet has been a component of China for a very long time.

The natural resources and environment of Tibet have frequently been misused. Peace and tranquillity in the formerly sovereign nation have rapidly deteriorated ever since China’s government conquered Tibet without authorization in the 1950s.

In a world where environmental issues are currently the most threatening, Tibet is also dealing with serious environmental issues, but instead of getting the proper attention, the issues are dismissed as a straightforward territorial conflict.

The world has ignored the environmental degradation that has occurred there as well as the reality that Tibetans lack the rights to even speak out against issues hurting their own land and way of life due to China’s authoritarian rule in Tibet and their depiction of Tibet as a part of themselves. There are serious environmental issues that Tibet will soon have to deal with. Beijing is currently splintering and destroying Tibet’s nature-dependent systems for their own gain, utilising it as a dumping ground and wreaking environmental havoc. According to Tibet Press, China, which currently rules Tibet, views the area as a dump rather than a safe haven and does not give Tibet the resources it needs to safeguard this extremely fragile yet important ecosystem and distinct biome. Through environmental destruction and degradation encouraged by Beijing’s policies, Tibet has been forced to confront the grim truth of climate change. According to reports, major lithium and nuclear (uranium) mines have an impact on the monsoon cycle in addition to having a significant carbon footprint due to hydrocarbon emissions into the atmosphere.

Sikyong Penpa Tsering of the Central Tibetan Administration attended the opening of the oneday seminar organised by Smt. Ruby Mukherjee, the Regional Convenor of Eastern Region III, Core group for Tibetan Cause-India, at the EZCC Hall (Salt Lake-Kolkata). The PRC’s abuse of human rights in Tibet, the destruction of Tibet’s environment (deforestation, illegal mining, dam construction—violation of the right to water), the awarding of the Bharat Ratna to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the veracity of China’s border with India, and the liberation of Kailash Mansarovar were the main topics of the seminar. On January 4, a traditional Bengali dance performance in Sikyong’s reception marked the start of the day-long lecture. The chief guest and other dignitaries on the dais were given ceremonial Tibetan khatags after Smt. Ruby Mukherjee’s introductory remarks. Sikyong Penpa Tsering, the principal guest of the occasion, spoke to the crowd and emphasised the long-standing historical and cultural ties between Tibet and India that date back to the seventh century. In his lecture, he focused on Tibet as a preserver of ancient Indian traditions, emphasising the introduction of Buddhism from India after Tibetan letters were derived from Devanagri.He also informed the audience of China’s violations of Tibetans’ human rights and cultural practises, such as the establishment of colonial boarding schools to keep young Tibetans away from their traditions, the use of a grid-lock system to
restrain Tibetans, the collection of DNA samples and iris scans to track down dissidents inside Tibet, among other alarming issues. Furthermore, “almost 80% of Tibetan youngsters were made to attend colonial-style Chinese boarding schools where they were not taught the Tibetan language or culture but rather were instructed in the Chinese mentality.

Sikyong also criticised China’s aggressive strategy of “consolidating the idea of a single Han national identity,” which tries to eradicate and Sinicize Tibetan identity and has prompted Tibetans inside Tibet to self-immolate as a method of peaceful protest. The PRC’s environmental degradation on the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) in Tibet, which jeopardises Assam and Bangladesh’s water security and could even trigger a natural disaster in these riparian areas, was also brought to their attention. In 2018, muddy water was witnessed pouring from Tibet down the Brahmaputra, which was presumably brought on by upstream construction. To transport water from the Brahmaputra to the parched areas of western China, the Chinese government is building a tunnel more than 1,000 kilometres long.

The tunnel will extend from close to Tsangmo in Tibet to the Taklamakan desert in Xinjiang. For more than 50 years, Chinese activities in Tibet have raised concerns within India’s security establishment. However, a recent development has increased the threat to Indian interests to entirely new heights. China has started a number of large-scale development projects to grow its economy. Now, the Chinese government is said to have started a brand-new project amid the towering peaks of the Tibetan plateau that is extravagant even by China’s lavish standards. China is reportedly working to construct the longest tunnel in the world, a project that might seriously harm the north-eastern provinces of India’s agriculture.

According to media reports, the Chinese government is constructing a 1,000 km long tunnel to transport water from the Brahmaputra to the dry parts of western China. The tunnel will extend from close to Tsangmo in Tibet to the Taklamakan desert in Xinjiang. Two of the largest rivers in the Indian subcontinent, the Brahmaputra and the Indus, originate in Tibet. The Indus River travels through Pakistan before entering the Arabian Sea via northwest India. Before it meets the Bay of Bengal, the Brahmaputra flows through northeastern India and Bangladesh. Both rivers rank among the biggest in the world. The Brahmaputra river’s course has been changed by China for a long time. The Brahmaputra River, which runs through Tibet before passing through the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam on its way to Bangladesh, is known in China as Yarlung Zangbo. In Xinjiang, there is a serious water deficit. China plans to import water from Tibet to help with the water deficit. This makes the tunnel that carries water from Tibet to Xinjiang all the more unique. Building it will cost $147.3 million per kilometre. Through this tube, almost 300 billion gallons of water can be sent annually. The tunnel China is constructing has raised more worries throughout the rest of the world.

Experts have really already issued warnings that this tunnel will obliterate Tibet’s wildlife. A further
risk that the project will enhance is earthquake activity. Such grandiose undertakings have reportedly been attempted in the past, but their outcomes were disastrou