China's Charm Offensive

THE DALAI LAMA, now 84, speaks little but when he does, policymakers on both sides of the McMahon line that separates India and China listen.

- Minhaz Merchant

Last month, in a wide-ranging interview with the Hindustan Times, the Dalai Lama, who has been living in exile in India since he fled Tibet in 1959, said: “My body is Tibetan but spiritually I am Indian.”

The Dalai Lama is anathema to the Chinese leadership which considers him a renegade and a lightning rod for the global movement for Tibet’s independence from China. He is also the principal reason why India-China relations have been rocky for nearly six decades. But things are changing. The Dalai Lama has become more conciliatory towards Beijing. China though erupts with anger whenever a foreign leader meets the Dalai Lama. Former United States President Barack Obama incurred Chinese wrath when he hosted the Dalai Lama in the White House.

The Dalai Lama himself downplays the controversial issue of his successor about which China is especially sensitive. As he said in his interview: “I made it clear as early as in 1969 that it was up to the Tibetan people to decide whether the very institution of Dalai Lama should continue or not. They will decide. I have no concern. Since the 5th Dalai Lama, the (person holding the) title was the head of both temporal and spiritual affairs. Since 2001, I have proudly, voluntarily and happily given up the political role. We have already achieved elected political leadership (centralised Tibetian Administration in Dharamshala) and they carry their full responsibility about our temporal affairs. I have totally retired since 2011. So my thinking is more liberal than Chinese thinking which is more orthodox.”

And yet the Dalai Lama added a comment about the succession planning that will not please the Chinese: “It should be decided in a free country, not in Tibet, where there is no freedom. Tibet has never been part of China and this even some Chinese historians admit.”