Contact is taking a holiday!

The issues of Tibet and the Dalai Lama have been accorded higher listing among the domestic priorities of the Chinese leadership under President Xi Jinping. The matter of the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation has received more attention in the past three years. These, however, came into greater prominence last month during the two important, fortnight-long meetings of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) top political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which convened in Beijing early this March.

An unfortunate reminder of the problems in Tibet was the self-immolation on March 5 — the formal opening day of the two important conferences — by 40-yearold Norchuk, a Tibetan woman from the troubled Ngawa (Aba) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan. The Ngawa Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture has been a hotbed of self-immolation since 2009 — 45 of the 137 self-immolators have been from Ngawa.

The issue of the present 14th Dalai Lama’s reincarnation has been particularly a subject of concern for China’s leadership for quite some years. In August 2007, China’s State Administration of Religious Affairs (SARA) stipulated that Beijing alone had the right to recognise and approve reincar- nations of high lamas. Since then China’s communist leadership has ‘recognised’ more than 358 reincarnations, including of some high-ranking monks of important lineages who were resident in India. Nevertheless, the Panchen Lama installed by the CCP in 1995 has yet to gain the popular acceptance of Tibetans.

The spotlight on the issue is currently because of the 79-year old Dalai Lama’s remarks during an interview on the BBC’s Newsnight programme in December. The BBC quoted him as saying, “The Dalai Lama institution will cease one day. These manmade institutions will cease. There is no guarantee that some stupid Dalai Lama won’t come next, who will disgrace him- self or herself. That would be very sad. So, much better that a centuries-old tradition should cease at the time of a quite popular Dalai Lama.” Senior communist Chinese officials and China’s official media reacted predictably to the Dalai Lama’s remarks and insisted on continuance of the religious traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and specifically the institution of the Dalai Lama.

China’s official media accused the Dalai Lama of imposing ‘his own will over tradition’. While acknowledging ‘that he is influential in the Tibetan region’, one article asserted that ‘any attempt to mess with the reincarnation’ will make the Dalai Lama a ‘double betrayer’ of his motherland and religion. These exchanges make clear that the CCP has been unable to calm the Tibetans or undermine and diminish the Dalai Lama’s influence among Tibetans, including those inside China. There are implications for India as well. As these issues become increasingly contentious, it is probable that Beijing will increase pressure on India. This will centre on the presence and activities of the Dalai Lama and Tibetans in India and Beijing adopting a more adamant position with regard to its territorial claims on Tawang and Arunachal Pradesh.

The views expressed by the author are personal.