India snubs China, backs Dalai Lama’s succession plan: ‘Nobody else has right…’

In an apparent snub to China as Beijing seeks to be included in the Dalai Lama’s succession plans, India on Thursday put its weight behind the Buddhist leader and said the decision on the reincarnation solely rests with the 14th Dalai Lama and the Gaden Phodrang Trust.

Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju asserted that the decision would be taken by the established institution and the Dalai Lama himself, and “nobody else.”

Talking to reporters, Kiren Rijiju said the Dalai Lama is the “most important and defining institution” for the Buddhists.

Snubbing China, Kiren Rijiju said, “And all those who follow the Dalai Lama feel that the Incarnation is to be decided by the established convention and as per the wish of the Dalai Lama himself. Nobody else has the right to decide it except him and the conventions in place.”