The Dalai Lama turns 90 soon — many will celebrate, but not the Chinese government. The man who has been Tibetans’ binding force is expected to reveal a plan on July 6, Sunday, his birthday, for deciding his successor. The Dalai Lama will address a major three-day gathering of Buddhist religious leaders this week. The religious conference, being held for the first time since 2019, will be attended by more than 100 Tibetan Buddhist leaders and will feature a video statement from the Dalai Lama.
Global attention — especially from China — is focused on his expected announcement on succession. China considers the Dalai Lama a separatist and wants to choose his successor on its own. The Dalai Lama will thwart the Chinese designs if he makes a statement on the issue of his successor on his birthday this Sunday.
Dolma Tsering Teykhang, the deputy speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile in Dharamshala, told Reuters it was important for the world to hear directly from the Dalai Lama on the issue because while China "tries to vilify him at every chance ... it is trying to frame rules and regulations on how to have the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in their hand".
"China is trying to grab this institution ... for its political purpose," she said.
A life in exile
With his famous beaming smile, the Dalai Lama has become a global symbol of peace whose message transcends religion. He is regarded by his many supporters as a visionary in the vein of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. However, the charismatic leader has long been a source of discomfort for China.
ALSO READ: How will the Dalai Lama's successor be chosen?
Born into a farming family in the Tibetan village of Taktser on July 6, 1935, he was chosen as the 14th incarnation of Tibetan Buddhism's supreme religious leader at the age of two. He was given the name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso -- Holy Lord, Gentle Glory, Compassionate, Defender of the Faith and Ocean of Wisdom -- and taken to Lhasa's 1,000-room Potala Palace to be trained to become the leader of his people.
He indulged a precocious scientific curiosity, playing with a watch sent to him by US president Franklin Roosevelt and repairing cars, one of which he crashed into a palace gate. But his childhood ended abruptly at age 15, when he was hastily enthroned as head of state after the Chinese army invaded Tibet in 1950.
Nine years later, as Chinese troops crushed a popular uprising, he escaped to India. When told the Dalai Lama had fled, Chinese leader Mao Zedong reportedly said: "In that case, we have lost the battle."
ALSO READ: All eyes on Dalai Lama’s 90th Birthday
He was welcomed by India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who offered Dharamsala as a base for him and thousands of fellow Tibetan refugees. He set up a government-in-exile in the Himalayan town and launched a campaign to reclaim Tibet, evolving to adopt a "middle way" approach that relinquished demands for independence for calls for greater autonomy.
Throughout the Dalai Lama's life, he has been treated as an honoured guest in India -- an official policy stance that has been a source of tension with China.
It is unclear how, or even whether, his successor will be named, with his predecessors chosen by monks according to ancient Buddhist traditions.
Succession strategy
Under Tibetan tradition, the search for a Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, who becomes his successor, begins only upon the incumbent’s death. After the next Dalai Lama is identified as a baby, there can be a gap of nearly two decades until he is groomed and takes the reins.
The Dalai Lama has suggested he could break from the tradition to prevent China from using the leadership gap to tighten its grip on Tibetan Buddhism.
Many exiled Tibetans fear China will name a successor to bolster control over a territory it poured troops into in 1950, and the succession question has become more urgent as the Dalai Lama has become more frail, with his public engagements increasingly restricted.
In his book "Voice for the Voiceless", released in March 2025, the Dalai Lama has already said his successor would be born outside China in a free country, indicating that the next Dalai Lama could come from among Tibetan exiles, who number about 1,40,000, half of them in India. He has also said that his successor could be an adult, and not necessarily a man.
"The rest of my life I will dedicate for the benefit of others, as much as possible, as extensive as possible," the Dalai Lama told a gathering of his followers on June 30 as they offered prayers for his long life.
"There will be some kind of a framework within which we can talk about the continuation of the institution of the Dalai Lamas," he said, without elaborating on the framework.
His statement defies Beijing’s longstanding claim that it has the sole right to choose the next Dalai Lama. China condemns him as a rebel and separatist, the internationally recognised Dalai Lama describes himself as a "simple Buddhist monk".
A thorn in China’s side
In his maroon robes, simple sandals and wide-rimmed spectacles, the Dalai Lama is an unlikely celebrity. But his sense of mischief -- he once announced he would like to reincarnate as an attractive blonde -- and infectious chuckle have proved irresistible, making him a darling of the world's media.
The Chinese government, however, has remained impervious to his charm, branding him a separatist and a "wolf in a monk's robe".
China says its leaders have the right to approve the Dalai Lama's successor, as a legacy from imperial times. A selection ritual, in which the names of possible reincarnations are drawn from a golden urn, dates to 1793, during the Qing dynasty. Chinese officials have repeatedly said the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama should be decided by following national laws that decree use of the golden urn and the birth of reincarnations within China's borders.
For the Dragon, controlling the Dalai Lama’s succession is about more than religion—it’s about political authority and maintaining control over Tibet. The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, has long been regarded as a “separatist” and “rebel” by Beijing.
A blueprint for inserting itself in Tibetan successions has already been prepared by China. After the 10th Panchen Lama, as Tibet’s second-highest spiritual figure is known, died in 1989, the boy whom the Dalai Lama recognised as the successor went missing in Tibet when he was 6. He has not been seen since, and China claims that he is now living a "normal life."
In his stead, China selected and promoted its own Panchen Lama, Gyaltsen Norbu, who is seen by many Tibetans as illegitimate. Last month, Norbu met with the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, and reaffirmed his allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party.
China considers the Dalai Lama to be a symbol of Tibetan resistance and fears that an independent successor could fuel separatist sentiments. By controlling the reincarnation process, Beijing hopes to install a Dalai Lama loyal to the Chinese government, ensuring tighter control over Tibet.
The current Dalai Lama, however, has made it clear that any successor appointed by China will not be respected by Tibetans. Notably, he is not seeking independence, but a meaningful autonomy within China and preservation of the Tibetan Buddhist culture. His goal of returning his people to their homeland remains distant, with the Dragon working to finish the task of crushing the Tibetan movement for autonomy.
(With agency inputs)
Global attention — especially from China — is focused on his expected announcement on succession. China considers the Dalai Lama a separatist and wants to choose his successor on its own. The Dalai Lama will thwart the Chinese designs if he makes a statement on the issue of his successor on his birthday this Sunday.
Dolma Tsering Teykhang, the deputy speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile in Dharamshala, told Reuters it was important for the world to hear directly from the Dalai Lama on the issue because while China "tries to vilify him at every chance ... it is trying to frame rules and regulations on how to have the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in their hand".
"China is trying to grab this institution ... for its political purpose," she said.
A life in exile
With his famous beaming smile, the Dalai Lama has become a global symbol of peace whose message transcends religion. He is regarded by his many supporters as a visionary in the vein of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. However, the charismatic leader has long been a source of discomfort for China.
ALSO READ: How will the Dalai Lama's successor be chosen?
Born into a farming family in the Tibetan village of Taktser on July 6, 1935, he was chosen as the 14th incarnation of Tibetan Buddhism's supreme religious leader at the age of two. He was given the name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso -- Holy Lord, Gentle Glory, Compassionate, Defender of the Faith and Ocean of Wisdom -- and taken to Lhasa's 1,000-room Potala Palace to be trained to become the leader of his people.
He indulged a precocious scientific curiosity, playing with a watch sent to him by US president Franklin Roosevelt and repairing cars, one of which he crashed into a palace gate. But his childhood ended abruptly at age 15, when he was hastily enthroned as head of state after the Chinese army invaded Tibet in 1950.
Nine years later, as Chinese troops crushed a popular uprising, he escaped to India. When told the Dalai Lama had fled, Chinese leader Mao Zedong reportedly said: "In that case, we have lost the battle."
ALSO READ: All eyes on Dalai Lama’s 90th Birthday
He was welcomed by India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who offered Dharamsala as a base for him and thousands of fellow Tibetan refugees. He set up a government-in-exile in the Himalayan town and launched a campaign to reclaim Tibet, evolving to adopt a "middle way" approach that relinquished demands for independence for calls for greater autonomy.
Throughout the Dalai Lama's life, he has been treated as an honoured guest in India -- an official policy stance that has been a source of tension with China.
It is unclear how, or even whether, his successor will be named, with his predecessors chosen by monks according to ancient Buddhist traditions.
Succession strategy
Under Tibetan tradition, the search for a Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, who becomes his successor, begins only upon the incumbent’s death. After the next Dalai Lama is identified as a baby, there can be a gap of nearly two decades until he is groomed and takes the reins.
The Dalai Lama has suggested he could break from the tradition to prevent China from using the leadership gap to tighten its grip on Tibetan Buddhism.
Many exiled Tibetans fear China will name a successor to bolster control over a territory it poured troops into in 1950, and the succession question has become more urgent as the Dalai Lama has become more frail, with his public engagements increasingly restricted.
In his book "Voice for the Voiceless", released in March 2025, the Dalai Lama has already said his successor would be born outside China in a free country, indicating that the next Dalai Lama could come from among Tibetan exiles, who number about 1,40,000, half of them in India. He has also said that his successor could be an adult, and not necessarily a man.
"The rest of my life I will dedicate for the benefit of others, as much as possible, as extensive as possible," the Dalai Lama told a gathering of his followers on June 30 as they offered prayers for his long life.
"There will be some kind of a framework within which we can talk about the continuation of the institution of the Dalai Lamas," he said, without elaborating on the framework.
His statement defies Beijing’s longstanding claim that it has the sole right to choose the next Dalai Lama. China condemns him as a rebel and separatist, the internationally recognised Dalai Lama describes himself as a "simple Buddhist monk".
A thorn in China’s side
In his maroon robes, simple sandals and wide-rimmed spectacles, the Dalai Lama is an unlikely celebrity. But his sense of mischief -- he once announced he would like to reincarnate as an attractive blonde -- and infectious chuckle have proved irresistible, making him a darling of the world's media.
The Chinese government, however, has remained impervious to his charm, branding him a separatist and a "wolf in a monk's robe".
China says its leaders have the right to approve the Dalai Lama's successor, as a legacy from imperial times. A selection ritual, in which the names of possible reincarnations are drawn from a golden urn, dates to 1793, during the Qing dynasty. Chinese officials have repeatedly said the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama should be decided by following national laws that decree use of the golden urn and the birth of reincarnations within China's borders.
For the Dragon, controlling the Dalai Lama’s succession is about more than religion—it’s about political authority and maintaining control over Tibet. The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, has long been regarded as a “separatist” and “rebel” by Beijing.
A blueprint for inserting itself in Tibetan successions has already been prepared by China. After the 10th Panchen Lama, as Tibet’s second-highest spiritual figure is known, died in 1989, the boy whom the Dalai Lama recognised as the successor went missing in Tibet when he was 6. He has not been seen since, and China claims that he is now living a "normal life."
In his stead, China selected and promoted its own Panchen Lama, Gyaltsen Norbu, who is seen by many Tibetans as illegitimate. Last month, Norbu met with the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, and reaffirmed his allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party.
China considers the Dalai Lama to be a symbol of Tibetan resistance and fears that an independent successor could fuel separatist sentiments. By controlling the reincarnation process, Beijing hopes to install a Dalai Lama loyal to the Chinese government, ensuring tighter control over Tibet.
The current Dalai Lama, however, has made it clear that any successor appointed by China will not be respected by Tibetans. Notably, he is not seeking independence, but a meaningful autonomy within China and preservation of the Tibetan Buddhist culture. His goal of returning his people to their homeland remains distant, with the Dragon working to finish the task of crushing the Tibetan movement for autonomy.
(With agency inputs)
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