‘India takes no position on matters of faith’: MEA on Dalai Lama succession row; walks tightrope on Sino-India ties

NEW DELHI: Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, on Friday said that India did not have any position on the process of selecting the next Dalai Lama. “We have seen reports about His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s statement on the continuation of the Dalai Lama institution.

The Government of India does not take any position or speak on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion.

The government has always upheld freedom of religion for all in India and will continue to do so,” Mr. Jaiswal said. The current Dalai Lama recently said that the next Dalai Lama will be chosen by the India-based Gaden Phodrang Trust — a non-profit organisation he set up — and not by any other authority.

This statement is seen as a message to China, which has claimed it will choose the next Dalai Lama. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, too, on Thursday, said that those who followed the Dalai Lama believed the next incarnation should be decided as per established traditions and by the Dalai Lama himself."Nobody else has the right to decide it except him and the conventions in place," he said.The row over the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation has added to the ongoing tensions between India and China, which have remained strained since the 2020 border clashes and China’s growing ties with Pakistan.