PLA: An Army without Generals?

China is a strange country; it has the most sophisticated war gadgets, the largest number of ships and the latest technology for rockets and space warfare, but it has less and less generals. Who is going to lead the troops in case of a conflict? It is a valid question.
In meantime, all sorts of rumours are floating around, mostly fake news, though indicating the present climate in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Wanjun Xie, the New York based chairman of China Democracy Party, an active student during the Tiananmen Square events in 1989, recently wrote: “It is reported that the announcement stating that Xi Jinping is no longer the Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), has been issued to all military units at the brigade level and above throughout the entire army.”
A few days later, on September 17, Chairman Xi was seen in Beijing, when he met with representatives from various groups involved in organizing the commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory against the ‘Japanese Aggression’.
But let’s go back a few weeks earlier. 
On August 20, Xi Jinping, the Secretary of the Communist Party of China and CMC Chairman landed at Lhasa Gongkar airport to celebrate sixty years of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). China watchers examined the composition of the large delegation accompanying Xi from Beijing to decipher the visit.
Xi was accompanied by Wang Huning, No 4 in the Party, Cai Qi, No 5 and director of the General Office of the Central Committee, Li Ganjie, head of the United Front Work Department …and Gen Zhang Shengmin, one of three remaining uniformed CMC members.
Gen Zhang Youxia, the CMC vice-chairman did not turn up probably because he and Xi have lately not seen eye to eye. One can assume that it is the difference of perceptions between the two leaders which has fuelled most of the recent wild rumours.
But there was more to be decoded. Lt Gen Wang Haijiang who since August 2021 has been commanding the Western Theatre Command opposite India, was missing in action. Earlier Wang had a long career in Tibet. Has he been purged? Also missing was Lt Gen Wang Kai, the commander of the Tibet Military District (TMD); only the TMD’s Political Commissar Lt Gen Yuan Honggang was seen with Xi. 
These absences are intriguing.
Another surprise for the watchers, during the Gala reception in the evening, Gen Zhao Zongqi, the artisan of the Doklam confrontation (2017) and the Eastern Ladakh Chinese intrusions in 2020, was posturing, seated in full uniform in the row behind the top leader. Gen Zhao retired from the PLA in December 2020; he was then serving as Commander of the Western Theatre Command. In the past Gen Zhao created havoc in Sino-Indian relations. So, why was he invited? Probably to show India that the border issue is far from being settled, despite the recent high-level meetings.
A friend, closing following the developments in China, told me: “Don’t worry, we will get more information on the absentee generals on September 3 during the grand parade.
It was not to be the case.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) published a piece entitled: “Why were China’s generals missing in action during the Victory Day parade?”
The Hong Kong publication explained: “When China held its first Victory Day military parade in 2015, more than 50 generals joined troops to march down Changan Avenue in central Beijing. The generals of all stripes led dozens of formations past the Tiananmen rostrum, saluting President Xi Jinping as the official announcer read out each commander’s name.”
Four years later, the same practice was followed: “The generals were also out in force for the National Day parade in 2019, giving observers a rare opportunity to see the PLA’s new generation of rising stars,” the SCMP added: “[such] events were also a valuable chance to learn who was in charge of each unit.” 
Though 89 generals (including four full generals, two lieutenant generals, and 83 major generals) leading 59 formations were announced for the September parade, none appeared on September 3. 
Only senior colonels (brigadier equivalent) and colonels walked or rode a vehicle on the Tiananmen Square without their names being announced.
The SCMP quotes a Chinese political scientist: “It could be that too many major generals are suspected of having ties to senior generals under investigation, and Beijing may be hesitant to let major generals lead the parade.”
Two weeks after the impressive parade (though without generals), the Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun spoke of China’s efforts to safeguard world peace at the 12th Beijing Xiangshan Forum. From September 17 to 19, under the theme "Upholding International Order and Promoting Peaceful Development," the forum brought together some 1,800 official representatives.
Dong pleaded for peace; he asserted: “The Chinese military stands ready to work with all parties to defend sovereign equality, uphold the post-war international order, bolster multilateralism, protect common interests, and jointly advance reforms to improve the global governance system.”
At the end Dong issued a veiled threat: “The Chinese People's Liberation Army stands ready to defeat any secessionist plot of Taiwan separatist forces, and will foil any military interference from external forces.”
But this does not explain where the generals are, and more importantly, if China can fight battles, in Taiwan or elsewhere, with revolving generals, who have a constant sword hanging over their heads.
Earlier this year, Joel Wuthnow, a senior research fellow in the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the US National Defense University wrote an essay Can Xi Jinping Control the PLA? for the publication China Leadership Monitor.
While presuming that Xi Jinping is in control of the PLA, he noted: “Recent purges of senior Chinese military officers have renewed the question of how firmly in charge of the People’s Liberation Army is Xi Jinping.” Wuthnow’ conclusions were: “[Xi] has largely preserved a tradition of PLA autonomy relative to the party leadership, both to consolidate his own power …and to focus on its warfighting missions. …the scope of the dismissals has remained narrow.” 
They may be relatively narrow, but they are significant; indeed, can an Army fight with a constant sword above the heads of its senior officers? Will the energy and time of the generals be spent to preserve their future (and their heads) or can they seriously do war preparation planning. The answer seems obvious that they can’t.

The Girls from Tawang

Thingbu villagers

On June 21, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu wrote on X (former Twitter): “Now that Mago–Chuna, nestled near the LAC, is connected by road, you no longer walk out of necessity. You walk to soak in the silence, to breathe the mountain air, and to witness the untouched beauty of the land.”
During his visit, Khandu held detailed discussions with officials and stakeholders to promote sustainable spiritual, cultural, and eco-tourism in the remote Mago–Chuna region of Tawang district.
A joint collaboration between the district authorities, the Indian Army (the ITBP) and the local authorities will help developing the Mago–Chuna region into “a global tourism destination while preserving its fragile Himalayan ecosystem and cultural sanctity.”

This remote area has a historical background.
In 1975, a serious and uncalled-for incident took place, forcing the official spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs to make a statement: “On the October 20, 1975, an Indian patrol party consisting of one NCO and four men, while on a routine patrol along India’s northern border, were ambushed by a Chinese party of about 40 persons. The ambush was well within Indian territory and in an area which has been regularly patrolled by us for many years and where no previous incident had taken place. Following this incident, four men were missing.”
While visiting the spot, I was told that the bodies of the four soldiers, all of Nepali origin and all called Chhetri, were repatriated a few days later, after the Chinese side informed the Indian post of the incident. A memorial has now been built at an altitude of 17,000 ft, just below the Tulung-la pass marking the LAC to commemorate the death of the four jawans.

Linked by tarred road
The Mago-Chuna area has only recently been linked by a proper tar road to the rest of a district, which saw the brunt of the first military operations with China in October and November 1962. 
The villages of Thingbu and Mago are today easily reachable and slowly getting integrated into the country’s mainstream, partly due to the Vibrant Village Program (455 such villages in Arunachal Pradesh only) and the close collaboration of the Indian Army which is deeply involved.

Mago Area
Before visiting Thingbu village in early August, I read again the report of Capt Henry Morshead of the Survey of India, probably the first explorer to visit the area with his colleague, Capt Frederick Bailey of the Intelligence. 
Morshead wrote in 1913: “Wedged in between Monyul [Tawang] and the Lopa country is the quaint and isolated little district of Mago. … on our arrival there we found it difficult to get the people to supply transport as the district is seldom visited by officials and they are not accustomed to do so.”
The British surveyor continues to describe the area: “The country is wooded and damp. The houses are of wood and stone with pent roofs of shingles, or, in some cases, of slate. They grow no crops but keep yaks in the upper parts of the valleys; the produce of these animals is exchanged with Monbas and Lopas (Daflas) for cereals and madder dye. …Mago is 11,800 feet in altitude and is under snow in winter. Most of the people live on the hills with their yaks in summer and return to the villages from the end of December to the end of May, during which period the grazing grounds are under deep snow.”
For decades, Morshead’s report was the only record about these remote villages: “The total population is only about two hundred and is, they say, decreasing. The people are quite illiterate. …They let their hair grow long and do not tie it in any way. …The women wear a short skirt of woollen cloth in broad red and blue longitudinal stripes under which they wear knickerbockers. They wear a great deal of jewellery.”

Thingbu village 
The village is located some 15 km from Mago at an altitude of 11,000 ft. the population belongs to the Monpa tribe, like in Tawang; the census said that 58 households live in Thingbu. 
I received a grand reception when I visited Thangbu; all the villagers were keen to see this white-skin person interested in their culture as well as what happened in 1962 during the war with China. 
This was one of the routes used by the Chinese Army to bring reinforcements to Dirang and Bomdila during the second phase of the Sino-Indian War (November 18-20, 1962).
Thingbu is just off the famous ‘Bailey Trail’, the historic route taken by Capts Bailey and Morshead who had been commissioned to survey the Tibet border during 1913. After completing the survey along the Great Bend of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, the two Britishers returned into Indian territory at Tulung-la pass, descending to Mago village, then crossing over Tse La to reach Pota, and from Poshing La down to Thembang before proceeding to Tawang and finally to Tsona Dzong in Tibet. The first part of their journey from Mago is known as the ‘Bailey Trail’. 

Meeting the villagers
During my encounters with the villagers of Thangbu, a couple of elders remembered the events of 1962. They said that the Chinese had not been too aggressive with the villagers. At that time, some villagers had gone grazing in the nearby Yangtse area; they came running back to inform people about the Chinese attack and their imminent arrival in the village. Apparently, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops just wanted guides as they did not know their way towards Dirang and Bomdila. 
Upon hearing the news of the Chinese troops’ arrival, all the young people left the village, leaving behind only older people, unable to serve as guides due to their age.
During the discussion, I learnt something interesting: the Chinese troops were usually sleeping during the day and marching at night. In a few days, several hundreds of soldiers passed on their way to Tse-la pass and Dirang Dzong. After seeing the gorges around Mago, one wonders how they could find a track to progress through this densely afforested area or how they could cross the rapid flow of the Mago chu (river).
The Chinese had very few Tibetans guiding them to their destination. 
The Thingbu villagers recounted that the Chinese were all smoking cigarettes and beedies. After seeing the PLA troops, the Monpas’ conclusion was that the PLA were not good soldiers, “nothing compared to Indian soldiers”, they added.
Contrary to other sectors (Tawang for example), the PLA had no mules or horses, they were carrying their own food (something like tsampa, barley flour) and did not take any food from the villagers. 
This reminded me of The Three Main Rules of Discipline given by Mao Zedong in 1947: “Obey orders in all your actions; Don’t take a single needle or piece of thread from the masses; Turn in everything captured” and The Eight Points for Attention: “Speak politely; Pay fairly for what you buy; Return everything you borrow; Pay for anything you damage; Don’t hit or swear at people; Don’t damage crops; Don’t take liberties with women; Don’t ill treat captives.” 
Though these rules were not followed in other sectors, the PLA soldiers told the Monpa villagers that they were from similar race and had not come to trouble them; they just wanted to kill the Indian Army soldiers.
At the end of the discussion, the older Monpa said that if today Chinese were to come inside India “I will fight and kill them”, prudently adding, “if they are of my age, if they are younger soldiers, I will not be able to fight”. The entire village had a good laugh.

The Girls of Tawang
Continuing in a lighter vein, I told them about the 1913 report of Morshead who wrote: “In Mago there were no officials and if we had tried to put on our act, the people would not have understood what we were doing. …They asked if we knew Tawang.”  “Not yet,” we said, “‘but we are going there.”   “What a place!” they answered. ‘‘So many houses! So many people! And the chang (barley beer)! There is no chang like the chang you get there. And the girls, who sing and dance for you. You haven’t seen girls, till you go to Tawang!” None of them had visited Tawang.
The Thingbu villagers could not stop laughing and the ladies vociferously denied that it was true: “here the girls are fine and chang is tasty, as good as in Tawang.” 
The village is quite prosperous, it owns about 1,000 yaks, however, they greatly appreciate the Vibrant Village Program of the Central Government and the role of the Indian Army in providing a good road, a school, a small dispensary and drinking water. 
They don’t need to dream of Tawang as the paradise on earth anymore.

Mago Village

Tulung la

Jang Village

The Tulung-la Killing

On the way to Tulung la

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit to be held in Tianjin n August 31 and September 1. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun asserted that the Tianjin Summit will be the largest in scale since the establishment of the SCO.

Beijing already stated that it will seek closer ties with New Delhi, especially after global concerns over the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.
While there is no harm to meet, a question remains: can Delhi fully trust Beijing? The past tends to show that it is difficult.
A recent visit to the remote Mago sector of Tawang district showed me that India should remain cautious.
This area has only recently been linked by a proper tar road to the rest of the district, which saw the brunt of the first military operations with China in October and November 1962. 
The villages of Thingbu and Mago are now easily reachable by road and are integrating fast into the country’s mainstream partly due to the Vibrant Village Program of the Central Government. The close collaboration between the Indian Army and the Central and State governments has also greatly helped.

The Tulung-la Pass
Driving further north on a track, one reaches the McMahon Line marking the border between India and Tibet (Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Pema Khandu rightly insists that his State has a border with Tibet only, not China).
The Tulung-la, the pass between the Tsona Dzong (County) in Tibet and Tawang district is located close to the Gorichen peak, on a watershed between the Tsona Chu (river) in Tibet and the Tawang Chu; the ridge clearly demarcates the border between the two countries.
During the 1914 Simla Convention conference, the British Indian Foreign Secretary Henry McMahon and the Tibetan Prime Minister Lonchen Shatra negotiated a mutual agreeable boundary, mainly based on the watershed principle. McMahon explained: “the boundary line ...follows the crest of the mountain range which runs from peak 21431 through Tulung-la ...To the north of it are people of Tibetan descent, to the south the inhabitants are of Bhutanese and Aka extraction. It is unquestionably the correct boundary.”
In fact, before 1975, the boundary was never disputed, though it was one of the routes used by the Chinese Army to bring reinforcements to Bomdila during the second phase of the Sino-Indian War (November 18-20, 1962).

The 1975 Incident
In 1975, a serious and uncalled-for incident took place forcing the official spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs to make a statement: “On the October 20, 1975, an Indian patrol party consisting of one NCO and four men, while on a routine patrol along India’s northern border, were ambushed by a Chinese party of about 40 persons. The ambush was well within Indian territory and in an area which has been regularly patrolled by us for many years and where no previous incident had taken place. Following this incident, four men were missing and it was subsequently learnt through diplomatic channels that they had been killed. Their bodies have since been returned.”
While visiting the spot, we were told that the bodies of the four soldiers, all of Nepali origin and all called Chhetri, were repatriated a few days later, after the Chinese side informed the Indian post of the incident. The story also says that the fifth member of the patrol had gone around the corner when the killing took place and fate saved him.
The MEA statement continues: “The Government of India have taken a very serious view of this incident and have lodged a strong protest with the Chinese Government against the unprovoked and unjustified firing on the Indian personnel who were on routine duties within the Indian side of the border and against the deliberate killing of Indian personnel performing their routine duty.”
The question is, why did China deliberately kill these Assam Rifles jawans in this remote undisputed area?
I shall answer this later.

A CIA account
It is interesting to go through a CIA note on the incident; the note is entitled: “Peking restrained in denying Chinese crossed Indian border”. 
The US agency observes: “On 3 November PRC Foreign Ministry spokesman's statement used relatively restrained language in denying charges made in a 1 November statement by the Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman.”
Beijing obviously did not want the matter to be scrutinised further; it was satisfied with the mild protest from Delhi, despite the fact that the incident had clearly taken place on the Indian side of the boundary.
The CIA gives its own explanation: “The Chinese statement avoided the harsh invective against the Indian government and its China policy that have characterized Chinese statements on the border since the 1962 Sino-Indian war. China did not comment on the border incident until after the Indian statement made it public.”
It appears that Beijing waited to see Delhi’s reaction; the note just says: “Indian soldiers crossed into Chinese territory on 20 October despite repeated warnings from ‘Chinese civilian checkpost personnel’ and opened fire on the Chinese side, causing the latter to ‘fire back in self-defense.”
It was obviously a lie. 
A further untruth from Beijing is that the Tulung Pass is located on the eastern Sino-Indian border near Bhutan (which is factually incorrect) and that the Indian troops crossed "the line of actual control of November 7, 1959 ".
There is NO 1959 Line. Moreover, the CIA report notes that it is “a phrase used by Peking in the past to refer to the so-called McMahon line which delineates the eastern part of the Sino-Indian frontier,” the Chinese assertion is absolutely incorrect since till date China has never exchanged maps or given its perceptions of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Eastern Sector of the boundary.
According to the US spy agency: “Peking's statement noted that a Chinese protest on the incident had been delivered to the Indian Embassy in Peking on 22 October, that the Indian Embassy had agreed on the 25th to accept China's offer of the 22nd to collect the bodies of the four dead soldiers, and that an Indian representative at Tulung had accepted the bodies and captured Indian weapons and ammunition from the Chinese side on the 28th and had signed a receipt." This chronology might be correct. 
The issue remains, why this sudden unprovoked on Indian territory?
The order to ‘kill’ the Indian soldiers probably came from a local commander in Tibet who wanted to remind the Indian Army (and government) of the 1962 border conflict. The incident took place on October 20, the exact day the war had started on the Namkha chu river 13 years earlier. Any China watcher knows that there are no coincidences with China.
While visiting the Chhetri Memorial built on the site of the incident, I realised that this was the objective of the PLA’s uncalled for shooting, a strong reminder to India that Beijing could strike anywhere, at any time. 
The CIA reports does not make the connection between 1962 and 1975, but notes:“Though accusing the Indian side of spreading ‘slander’ about the clash, the Chinese statement was far milder than China's last official protest over an armed border clash, in 1967. At that time a series of Chinese Foreign Ministry statements in September and October had scathingly labeled the Indian ‘aggressors’, denounced the ‘reactionary Indian government’ for its alleged hypocrisy in calling for a peaceful border settlement and normalization of relations with China, and accused New Delhi of working closely with the United States and the USSR to foster anti-China opinion in the world.”
It was clearly to show India that the Chinese Army were the masters of the Himalaya and that the 1967 clash in Sikkim would be avenged.
For the CIA: “this current statement concluded by giving unusual emphasis to Peking's repeated measures to maintain the border status quo, avoid armed conflict, and ‘preserve peace’ pending a final settlement of the frontier issue.”
Prime Minister Modi will hear similar arguments in Shanghai at the end of the month.
Interestingly, on November 1, 1975, TASS news agency reposted the reports of the Indian protest. Two days later, TASS carried Indian a press comment condemning the Chinese action as an affront to India's expressed desire for normal Sino-Chinese relations; it remarked that it was the latest evidence of "the great power, hegemonistic policy of the Chinese leaders in South Asia”. 
The same day, Moscow Radio spoke of China’s “interference in the Kashmir and Sikkim issue and support for subversion and insurrection in northeastern India.” Interesting in today’s context.
The fact that the Indian Army has built a memorial for the four Assam Rifle soldiers who lost their lives at 17,000 ft is praiseworthy. One can only hope that in the near future, more Indians will visit the spot.
It remains that the Indian negotiators in Shanghai or elsewhere should not be taken in by China.

Mago Village

Mago chu (river)

Cave

Thingbu Village in Mago Circle

On the way to Tulung la

War Memorial & the pass behind

Celebrating the Partition of Tibet

On August 20, at noon, Chinese President Xi Jinping, also General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, landed at Lhasa Gongkar airport. 
His fourth visit to Tibet was to celebrate sixty years of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).

But what is the TAR?
In 1965, a Tibet Autonomous Region was established to ‘administrate’ Central and Westen Tibet. The area corresponded to the former Ü-Tsang Province and some parts of western Kham. It was a tragedy for the Tibetans because it meant the Partition of Tibet. 
Traditional, ethnic, linguistic Tibet was composed of three provinces Ü-Tsang, Kham and Amdo. Suddenly Tibet was divided in five parts, TAR was one of them, and the remaining parts were amalgamated to the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan.
Tibet was dismembered. It has always been one of the Dalai Lama’s demands to reunite the five parts of Tibet into one administrative and political entity.
Further, the autonomy promised in the name itself was never given; for the past 60 years the First Secretary of the TAR Communist Party, is not a Tibetan, but a Han. There are very few ethnic Tibetans in the higher echelons of the Party, as we could see in the videos of Xi Jinping’s recent visit.

The Delegation
Xi was accompanied by a large delegation from Beijing.
The Xinhua release observed that Xi was looking at “the long-term stability and high-quality development of Tibet in the new era and the construction of a socialist modern Tibet.”
Xi was greeted by “a cheering crowd when he stepped out of the cabin and waved to the people. Dressed in festive attire, people from different ethnic groups waved red flags and flower bouquets, dancing to joyful rhythms.” 
It looked more a North-Korea type of reception with everyone clapping at unison. Did the Tibetans ‘crowds’ have the choice to not participate? Probably not.
During the following day, the ‘clapping’ continued wherever Xi went. 
During such visits, it is always important to look at the composition of the ‘Central’ delegation; it is the best way to decipher the visit. 
Xi was accompanied by Wang Huning, No 4 in the Party, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and member of the Politburo’s Standing Committee. Wang’s colleague, Cai Qi, No 5 in the Partry and director of the General Office of the Central Committee who often accompanies Xi in his tours, was present.
Three other members of the Politburo came to Lhasa: Li Ganjie, head of the United Front Work Department along with He Lifeng and Zhang Guoqing; also present was the powerful Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong and Gen Zhang Shengmin, a member of the Central Military Commission who replaced the CMC’s strong man Gen Zhang Youxia, who had accompanied Xi in 2021. Why Gen Zhang did not come is probably because Xi and Zhang have lately not seen eye to eye. 
More importantly and hardly noticed was the presence of Hu Chunhua, a former Party Secretary in Tibet who was at one time Xi’s heir apparent. After being apparently disgraced, he seems to be back in favour; his eventual return needs to be followed closely. Incidentally, Hu is one of the very few Han leaders who can speak Tibetan.
Apart from Gen Zhang Youxia, Gen Wang Haijiang who since August 2021 has been commanding the Western Theatre Command opposite India, was missing in action. Earlier Wang had a long career in Tibet. Has he been purged? Everything is possible in China today. Also missing, Lt Gen Wang Kai, the commander of the Tibet Military District; only the TMD’s Political Commissar Lt Gen Yuan Honggang was seen around. 
These absences are intriguing.

The Fourth Visit
It was Xi’s fourth visit to the Roof of the World. 
In June 1998, then deputy secretary of the Fujian Provincial Party Committee, he came to Tibet for the first time to take back a first batch of Tibet Aid cadres in Fujian and bring a second batch. 
In 2011, Xi Jinping, then Vice-President, led a delegation from the Central Committee to attend the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the so-called Peaceful Liberation of Tibet. He then said “the ecological protection of Tibet is an important issue, and it is necessary to protect Tibet's blue sky.”
His next visit was in 2021. From July 21 to 23, the General Secretary was in Tibet “to congratulate the 70th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet and visit and comfort the cadres and masses of all ethnic groups in Tibet.”
He also visited Nyingchi Prefecture, near the Indian border where he inspected the ecological environment protection of the Yarlung Tsangpo River and the Nyang River basin. Later, he travelled by train to Lhasa.

The Program
President Xi met six representative groups: people of ethnic groups and ‘all walks of life living in Lhasa’; then cadres who are posted in Tibet; next were judicial workers and police officers, followed by ‘grassroots role models’ and ‘patriotic members of the religious circles’, finally, he had a photo session with military officers ranked colonel and above.
During all these sessions, Xi looked tired, sometime haggard (while the other leaders visited the six Cities/Prefectures outside Lhasa, Xi remained in the capital to rest).  
During his meeting with the religious leaders, Xi had a brief encounter (not more than 5 seconds) with Gyaltsen Norbu, the Chinese selected Panchen Lama. It was the only time that the latter was seen during the visit, which probably means that Norbu will not play an important role in the selection of the next Dalai Lama as he was not given any prominent role during the visit. 
Wang Huning and Cai Qi attended all the meetings.

The Work Report
Xi was invited to listen to the work report of the TAR government.
During his interaction, Xi stressed that “Tibet should fully implement the party's strategy of governing Tibet in the new era, adhere to the general tone of steady progress, implement the new development concept in a complete and accurate manner, solidly promote high-quality development, continue to grasp the four major events of stability, development, ecology and strong edge, and strive to build a socialist modern new Tibet that is prosperous, civilized, harmonious and beautiful.”
The usual  jargon. Do the Tibetans really believe this? It is doubtful but do they have a choice?
The Chinese President then made a summary of the Party’s successes for 60 years: “its economic and social development has achieved remarkable progress, leading to profound changes in the plateau region.” It cannot be denied that materially Tibet has changed.
Xi explained Beijing’s policies: “Governing Tibet, ensuring its stability and promoting its prosperity must begin with maintaining political and social stability, ethnic unity and amity among different religions, calling for further advancing the building of a community for the Chinese nation,” Xi asserted. Stability is a recurrent issue in Xi’s discourse.
Xi then emphasized the need to guide “Tibetan Buddhism in adapting itself to socialist society.” He did not use the usual term of ‘sinisation’ of Tibetan Buddhism, but the result will be the same, erasing all traces of Indian influence on the propagation of Buddhism in Tibet.
He also asserted that Tibet (now called ‘Xizang’ by the Chinese government) “needs to develop competitive plateau industries based on local conditions, with a particular focus on industries of agriculture and animal husbandry with local features, as well as the clean energy sector.” This is being done on a large scale, completely changing the landscape of the Roof of the World and worse, changing the demography of the plateau by bringing lakhs of migrants from China.
Finally, he mentioned the construction of a series of hydropower plants on the Yarlung Tsangpo/Brahmaputra which cause deep anxiety in India: “major projects such as the hydropower project in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River and the Sichuan-Xizang Railway project in a vigorous, orderly and effective manner.”
He spoke of the promotion of ecological conservation: “to make coordinated efforts to cut carbon emissions, reduce pollution, expand green development, and pursue economic growth, so as to protect the roof of the world and the water tower of Asia."
It does not make practical sense. One can’t destroy and protect the environment at the same time.

The Return of Zhao Zongqi
During the Gala reception in the evening, India was in for a surprise: Gen Zhao Zongqi, the artisan of the Doklam confrontation (2017) and the Eastern Ladakh Chinese intrusions in 2020, was posturing, seated in full uniform in the row behind the top leader. Gen Zhao has retired in December 2020 as Commander of the Western Theatre Command after spending two decades posted in Tibet; after taking the command of this sensitive area facing India, he created havoc in the Sino-Indian relations by trying to occupy five places in Ladakh. So, why was he invited? 
Probably to show India, that the border issue is far from being settled, despite the recent meeting of the Special Representatives in Delhi.
This visit (the shortest of Xi’s four visits) is ominous for the Tibetans as well; gaining any type of autonomy in the present circumstances is utopic.
And the question remains: are the Tibetans allowed to not clap?

 

Gen Zhang Shengmin member CMC in Lhoka

Wang Huning at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery with Chinese Panchen Lama

Stage managed reception for Xi Jinping in Lhasa Airport

 

Finding the Future Dalai Lama: The Role of the Ganden Phodrang Trust

 My interview Finding the Future Dalai Lama: The Role of the Ganden Phodrang Trust is on YouTube

In this compelling interview with Ishan Dhar, eminent historian and Tibetologist, Mr Claude Arpi—currently a Distinguished Fellow at the Centre of Excellence for Himalayan Studies, Shiv Nadar University—delves into the complex dynamics of the forthcoming succession of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. He offers insights into the role of the Ganden Phodrang Trust, its composition, and the potential challenges it may encounter in navigating this critical transition.

 

 

Dalai Lama@90

My article Dalai Lama@90 appeared in The Times of India

 The Tibetan spiritual leader’s succession could see nasty exchanges between India and China. That’s why Dalai should quickly provide details about the process of finding his successor

Here is the link...

The Dalai Lama is 90 years old.
What an incredible destiny for Lhamo Dhondrub, a boy born in Taktser, in a remote hamlet of Amdo province in north-eastern Tibet; at the age of four Tenzin Gyatso was recognized as the reincarnation of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama and for the Tibetans, the incarnation of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.
The world is in turmoil today; time seems to have accelerated and violence has reached every corner of the planet. In the midst of all this, the Dalai Lama continues to preach love and compassion to other human fellows. 
He was hardly 15-years when the Chinese People’s Liberation Army walked unhindered onto the Tibetan soil. A new ideology, less compassionate than the Buddha Dharma which had come from India 12 centuries earlier, had according to Mao, ‘liberated’ the Land of Snows. A few months later, the young Dalai Lama was officially enthroned as the spiritual and temporal head of the Tibetan State. 
In March 1959, following a mass uprising in Lhasa, the Dalai Lama had to flee his motherland and take refuge in India where he still lives in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh. 
Apart from possessing an extraordinary charisma, why does the Dalai Lama matter so much in today’s world?
I had the good luck (or good karma) to meet him over the years. First in July 1972 in Dharamsala: after this first encounter, I began to understand something that I had not so far realized: the poor Tibetan refugees and their leader had a different set of values than westerners have. 
In seeing this ‘simple monk’, as he prefers to call himself, I saw that inner strength and the power of compassion are qualities which are practically unknown today in the world, but he embodies a wisdom which was part of the spiritual and cultural heritage of a nation that had spent most of its time looking ‘within’.
Though the Dalai Lama reached India in 1959, the world’s interest in Tibet began in the 1970s only, when the Tibetan leader started travelling abroad.
In May 2011, he took a radical decision: he relinquished his secular power, offering it to the people of Tibet, who thereafter started electing their own ‘political’ leader. Today, a Sikyiong or President runs the Tibetan administration from Dharamsala.
On September 24, 2011, the Dalai Lama released a long statement about his succession, he mentioned two options: a traditional reincarnation (leaving written instructions on how to find the reincarnation) or an ‘emanation’, which would mean the transfer of his consciousness and knowledge into a selected young boy (or girl). 
In the same message, the Tibetan leader wrote that at the age of 90, he would re-evaluate whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue or not.
It is what he did on July 2, when he reaffirmed that the Institution was there to stay. A few months ago, in a book Voice for the Voiceless, the Tibetan leader had clarified: “Since the purpose of a reincarnation is to carry on the work of the predecessor, the new Dalai Lama will be born in the free world (outside China).”
It was certainly a shock for Beijing who expects to control the succession process …and the next Dalai Lama.
The recent statement is however does not give details about the succession of the Dalai Lama. In 2011, he had mentioned two possibilities; today he seems to have opted for the traditional reincarnation which often means a gap of 20 years or so before the new Dalai Lama is able to lead his people. 
The possibility of an emanation seems to have been dropped; it would have cut the time gap (till the Dalai Lama reaches majority) which can be used by China to interfere during the regency. 
This period has often been used in the past by China to intervene in Tibet’s religious affairs. Many Tibet watchers believe that this gap is too dicey; Buddhism should adapt to the modern world and a new system of succession should be devised, but ultimately, it remains the choice of the Dalai Lama alone.
Beijing was quick to react to the July 2 statement; China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told the press: “The Dalai Lama’s reincarnation must follow the principles of domestic recognition and approval by the central government, in line with religious traditions and laws.” 
It is ironic that an atheist State which believes that “Religion is Poison” can be so affirmative on an esoteric issue like soul migration. 
When Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju asserted that the decision would only be taken by the established institution and the Dalai Lama himself, and “nobody else”, Beijing started threatening.
The Ministry of External Affairs then clarified that it “does not take any position or speak on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion.” Later, the Indian Prime Minister wrote from Argentina: “I join 1.4 billion Indians in extending our warmest wishes to His Holiness the Dalai Lama on his 90th birthday.”
Beijing will certainly not leave it at that, exchanges may soon become nastier and could end with two Dalai Lamas? But what legitimacy would the Communist one have? 
The point remains that a world in turmoil needs a Dalai Lama; we can only pray for a smooth succession and hope that Dharamsala will provide more details on the process in the coming months.

Succession stakes on the roof of the world

My article Succession stakes on the roof of the world appeared in The New Indian Express

No wonder that during the last few weeks, a lot of excitement and expectation could be felt around Dharamsala.

Here is the link...

In May 2011, the Dalai Lama decided to relinquish his secular power and offer it to the people of Tibet, who could thereafter elect their own ‘political’ leader. Today, a Sikyiong or President runs the Tibetan administration from Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh, where the Dalai Lama lives since 1959.
On September 24, 2012, the Dalai Lama released a long statement about his succession, he mentioned two options: a traditional reincarnation (leaving written instructions on how to find the reincarnation) or an ‘emanation’, which would mean the transfer of his consciousness and knowledge into a selected young boy (or girl). 
In the same message, the Tibetan leader wrote that he would consult senior lamas: “When I am about ninety I will consult the high Lamas of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the Tibetan public, and other concerned people who follow Tibetan Buddhism, and re-evaluate whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue or not.” During the last few weeks, a lot of excitement and expectations could be felt around Dharamsala. 
Finally on July 2, as promised in 2011, a statement was released reaffirming that the Institution of the Dalai Lamas will continue. The Tibetan leader also reiterated: “…responsibility for doing so will rest exclusively with members of the Gaden Phodrang Trust, the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama;” it will be “the sole authority to recognize the future reincarnation; no one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter." It was a clear message to China.
Earlier this year, the Tibetan leader released a book, Voice for the Voiceless, in which he asserted: “Since the purpose of a reincarnation is to carry on the work of the predecessor, the new Dalai Lama will be born in the free world (outside China) so that the traditional mission to be the voice for universal compassion, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, and the symbol of Tibet embodying the aspirations of the Tibetan people, will continue.”
It was certainly a shock for Beijing who expects to control the succession process …and the next Dalai Lama.
After July 2 Statement, Beijing was quick to react; The Global Times asserted: “At its core, his [the Dalai Lama’s] intention remains the same -- to deny the traditional religious rituals and historical conventions that have governed the Dalai Lama reincarnation system for centuries, and to manipulate the reincarnation process for his own purposes.”
Of course, it is strange that an atheist State which believes that “Religion is Poison” (as per Mao Zedong’s words) can be so affirmative on such an esoteric issue like reincarnation. 
In recent years, the Dalai Lama’s succession has been widely debated. ‘Reincarnation’ is of course the fascinating topic at a time when everything is ‘scientifically’ decided (and soon by Artificial Intelligence).
However, it entails a 20-year gap (till the Dalai Lama reaches majority) in spiritual governance, a period often used in the past by China to intervene in Tibet’s religious affairs. Many believe that this gap is too risky; Buddhism should adapt to the modern world and a new system of succession should be devised, but ultimately, it remains the choice of the Dalai Lama alone and certainly not of any Marxist government to decide where the Dalai Lama’s soul will migrate.
On June 6, President Xi Jinping summoned had the Panchen Lama, a young monk imposed by Beijing as the second hierarch after the Dalai Lama. Xi requested him to “play an even better role in forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, systemically promoting the principle that religions in China must be Chinese in orientation.”
In plain words, it means the ‘sinization’ of Tibetan Buddhism and eradication of the Indian origin and influence in the spread of Buddhism on the plateau.
The Dalai Lama’s recent statement must have been a relief for the 200 journalists and more importantly the 120 senior lamas representing different schools of Tibetan Buddhism and the Bon faith, assembled in Dharamsala; the latter unanimously welcomed the Dalai Lama’s message; though not providing details, the statement made it clear that it is the sole responsibility for the Dalai Lama’s succession lies with the Tibetan leader’s own Office. 
 

‘Beijing Cannot Select Dalai Lama’s Successor’

A recording for the Gist

‘Beijing Cannot Select Dalai Lama’s Successor’ by Ramananda Sengupta

Even if China and the Tibetan clergy select rival Dalai Lamas, Claude Arpi felt a spiritual schism is unlikely. “The Tibetan people will not accept a Chinese-appointed figure,” he said

 

The Planet needs a Dalai Lama

My article The Planet needs a Dalai Lama appeared in The Week

Here is the link...

In the midst of the present planetary chaos, one man preaches love and compassion to other fellow human beings. This man is Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai Lama of Tibet, who turns 90 on July 6.
For the last 66 years, he lives as a refugee in India where he is considered the leader of all the Tibetans (including those in the Land of Snow), as well as of nearly one million Indian Buddhists in the Himalayan belt, from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh.
Following an uprising in Lhasa on March 10, 1959, the Dalai Lama left Lhasa in the dead of night in dramatic circumstances. A week later, he reached Lhuntse Dzong, a couple of days march from the McMahon Line, the border between India and Tibet, from where he wrote to the Indian Prime Minister, seeking asylum in India.
Four days later, he reached the first Indian post at Chuthangmu, north of Tawang, then part of Kameng Frontier Division of the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA). A letter from Nehru was waiting for him: “We shall be happy to afford the necessary facilities for you, your family and entourage to reside in India. The people of India who hold you in great veneration will no doubt accord their traditional respect to your person.”
Since that day, the Indian Government and people have considered the Dalai Lama an honoured guest in the Land of the Buddha.
Was it a coincidence, but soon after his arrival in India, the Indo-Tibet border became tense? At the end of August 1959, a first serious incident took place at Longju in Subansiri Frontier Division? Several Indian jawans lost their lives. This marks the beginning of protracted dispute between India and China about the northern borders of India; it still continues today, as we have witnessed in Ladakh in May 2020.
For the Eastern sector, there was an agreed map of the border (known as the McMahon Line); it was signed in 1914 between British India and the government of free Tibet in Lhasa. After walking onto the Tibetan plateau in 1950, Beijing not only refused to recognize the 1914 agreement, but it also started to claim the entire NEFA till the foothills in the South, as its territory. 
In October 1962, a war erupted when the People’s Liberation Army marched into the Tawang sector; the very place where the Dalai Lama had entered three years earlier. Was it again a coincidence? The conflict rapidly spread to other areas like Walong in the Lohit Valley and Ladakh. The scar it left on India’s psyche still endures.
For years, the young Dalai Lama lived peacefully in Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh taking care of the education of the young Tibetans and preserving their culture; it is only in 1973 that the Tibetan leader traveled to Europe for the first time; during the following decades, he would be instrumental in giving a concrete shape to the prophecy of the Great Indian Master, Guru Padmasambha: "When the iron bird flies and horses run on wheels, the dharma will come to the land of the red faces." 
As the Dalai Lama tirelessly traveled over the five continents to spread the Buddha’s message of Love and Compassion, his focus widened and he became a global leader.
A turning point was an address to the US Congressional Human Right's Caucus in Washington in 1987 when he presented his Five Point Peace Plan; the first point was: “I propose that the whole of Tibet, including the eastern provinces of Kham and Amdo, be transformed into a zone of Ahimsa.”
It was an interesting proposal for India as a demilitarized Tibet could have been a solution to the border dispute. But the Tibetans were soon told by Beijing that it was unacceptable to China. 
In the following years, the Tibetan leader continued to travel abroad and to India’s Northern frontiers where he brought a new life to Tibetan Buddhism. 
Interestingly, the Dalai Lama always refers to his faith as “the Nalanda Tradition”, simply because several Indian gurus of the ancient Nalanda University visited Tibet to teach the Buddha Dharma. 
This old relation is especially important at a time when all the contacts between the Indian Himalaya and Tibet have been cut and the Tibetan monasteries in Tibet are subjected to what the Communist party calls the ‘sinization of Tibetan Buddhism’, which in fact aims to obliterate the Indian origin of the Buddha and his Dharma to replace it by the diktats of Karl Marx.
Today, the Dalai Lama’s followers are worried about his succession; what will happen if he departs for The Heavenly Fields? Will a Fifteen Dalai Lama replace him? Who will select him? These are still unanswered questions.
The Dalai Lamas traditionally ‘reincarnate’ in a young boy, who is then groomed to take-over as the next Dalai Lama.
The fact that the Dalai Lama has recently announced that his successor will be from outside China, makes Beijing extremely nervous; the Communist regime fully realizes the importance of controlling the next Dalai Lama. 
Already in February 2023, The Global Times, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party, asserted that religious rituals for the selection of a new lama “have [for centuries] been supervised by the Chinese Central Government”; this is simply not true.
The Global Times also hides the fact that the boy recognized by the Dalai Lama as the Panchen Lama (the second highest hierarch in the Dalai Lama’s Yellow Hat School) was arrested in 1995 and 30 years later, he remains in the custody of the Chinese government somewhere in China. 
India is deeply concerned by the Dalai Lama’s succession as he has nearly one million followers in the Indian Himalaya …and Buddhism is born in India, not in China. It is also a fact that the Tibetan leader’s presence has always been a stabilizing factor for the northern borders. 
Today, in the midst of wars and conflicts, the planet needs a Dalai Lama; we can only pray for a smooth succession.

The Importance Of Being The Dalai Lama

My article The Importance Of Being The Dalai Lama appeared in Rediff.com

Here is the link...

One can only sincerely wish the Dalai Lama a very long life at the service of world peace.
His presence is much required today on the planet, notes Claude Arpi, who has known His Holiness for more than half a century.

The Dalai Lama will be 90 years old on July 6.

Personally, it is an occasion for me to look back and realise the luck (or good karma) that I have had to meet him over the years. Let me start at the beginning of my 'Tibetan adventure.

The year was 1971. That summer I decided to visit Afghanistan during my university holidays.

In July, while I was in Kabul I heard some hippies speaking about what they called a 'cool' place called 'Manali.' I was also told that 'cool' Tibetan refugees were living there.

I did manage to come to India the very next year, and though I could hardly speak English, I decided to make the trip to Manali. I reached Palam airport early in the morning, jumped into a cab for the old Delhi railway station and boarded the first available train (and then bus) to the North.

It was on the road between Kulu and Manali that I saw my first Tibetan. This encounter was to change my life.

In India or in Tibet for that matter, everything that happens can be explained by one word -- 'karma.' It must have been my karma to meet this Tibetan!

The more I met with these peculiar people, the more I became interested in their way of being as well as their history.

They had lost everything: Their country, their wealth, very often members of their family and still they could stand on the side of the road that they were building and smile.

How could someone educated in a Cartesian country with a modern utilitarian education understand this bizarre phenomenon?

We are taught that if one loses everything important and dear in life, one must be sad and grim-faced, there are no two ways about it.
In the beginning I wondered whether the experience of the Chinese invasion and the destruction of their thousand-year-old civilisation had been too much for them and that something had cracked in their brains. It was not the case.

My First Encounter in July 1972

While in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, I met their leader, the Dalai Lama and I began to understand something that I had not so far understood: These people had a different set of values than the Westerners have.

In seeing this 'simple monk', as he prefers to call himself, I saw that inner strength and the power of compassion are qualities which are practically unknown today in the world.

This monk seemed the embodiment of a wisdom which was part of the spiritual and cultural heritage of a nation that had spent most of its time looking 'within', into the heart of man.

World Interest in Tibet

Today there is an explosion of interest in Tibet.

The Dalai Lama is central to this interest, especially at a time when the planet is plunged in violence and chaos.

This interest has multiplied after the Dalai Lama reached India in 1959 and was granted asylum by the Government of India.

Suddenly Tibet was no more the last 'hidden' kingdom of the planet and the 'God-King' could be approached.

The Dalai Lama and Auroville

In recent years, my main contact with the Tibetan leader has been through Auroville.

Since January 1973, when the Dalai Lama spent two days in Auroville and Pondicherry (on January 17, he met the Mother in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram), the exchanges between the community of Auroville and the Tibetan refugees and their leader have been frequent and regular.

In 1978, a group of us met the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala where he encouraged us to start a Tibetan Pavilion in the International Zone of Auroville.

In December 1991, the Pavilion of Tibetan Culture officially became part of Auroville Foundation thanks to a resolution of the Auroville governing board under Dr Karan Singh and Dr Kapila Vatsyayan, the famous art and Tibetan scholar.

In January 1993, His Holiness agreed to be the Patron of the Pavilion.

Later in the year, the Dalai Lama came to Auroville to lay the foundation stone of the Pavilion and in January 2009, he returned to inaugurate the building.

Some anecdotes

Fifty-three years after my first encounter with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, what can one say about him?

Too many things, of course, to fit into an article, but his sense of humour, his down-to-earth attitude, and his capacity to bring together opposites in a world often torn apart by different faiths, different religions or different cultures, stand out.

When I met him for the first time in 1972, he was truly an 'ordinary monk' walking freely out of his 'palace' (Z+ security cover was not yet necessary at that time); he used to visit construction sites or the main temple (known as Tsuglhakang) for prayers or pujas.

He then had a Land Rover that he would share with his two teachers, Ling and Trichang Rinpoches.

In the early 1970s, there were hardly two and three cars in McLeod Ganj (then known as 'Upper Dharamsala'); of course, there were no traffic jams like today.

Whenever Tibetans would hear the sound of a car approaching, they would bend low in reverence, not daring to look up; it was sure to be either 'His Holiness' or one of his gurus.

To see such devotion was deeply touching for my Cartesian mind.

I have to admit that during that first year, I did not ask for a private audience as my English was more than limited and I would not have known what to say.

The Dalai Lama travelled for the first time to Europe in September/October 1973. I managed to go to the airport in Geneva (he was to arrive from Italy where he met the Pope).

There was hardly anybody to receive him; however I was thrilled when he told one of his attendants: "I have seen him in Dharamsala".

Unfortunately, the photos of his arrival in Geneva have been lost.

His sense of humour

In the late 1990s, I had gone to Hunsur, Karnataka to interview him for my first book The Fate of Tibet, (he granted me three long interviews to clarify some points of Tibet's modern history).

One senior police officer who was not given a room near the Tibetan leader was very upset; he told the Dalai Lama's attendants that he would take revenge.

I arrived just then for the interview. He stopped me from going to meet the Dalai Lama; it took a good half an hour for the Dalai Lama's secretaries to finally 'negotiate' my release.

During all this time the Dalai Lama was waiting in his apartments.

When I reached I profusely apologised; he then said: "It is fine, they [the police] are aware that most of the French are terrorists" and he kept on laughing!

A couple of years later, The Fate of Tibet was released by him in Delhi; once the function ended, I bragged and several times said 'Thuk-je-che' (Thank you); he immediately cut me: "You don't know Tibetan. I know as much French as you know Tibetan, Merci beaucoup monsieur."

My face went red.

Tawang

During the series of interviews, I once asked the Dalai Lama if the Tibetan government had not committed a great blunder at the time of India's Independence, when it refused to immediately acknowledge the 1914 border agreement and the Simla Convention.

He thought about it and told this this story which took place just before independence, he said: "About Mon (Tawang) in NEFA area, I remember that around 1945/45, at that time I had no responsibility. I heard and noticed that a special Tibetan national assembly took place as a British [Indian] mission came to see the Kashag [Tibetan cabinet] in the Potala.

"Mr H. Richardson [later head of the Indian Mission in Lhasa] was one of them. From my window in Potala, I noticed that and I was told that the Tibetan national assembly was taking place; the session was going on because the British army wanted to enter Tawang area and the Tibetan government wanted to protest. ...

"At that time, because Tawang and these areas had been in possession of the Tibetans [in the past], and the [national assembly] wanted to hold on to these areas although in 1914 at the Simla Convention the border had already been demarcated and [the McMahon Line] was agreed by the Tibetan government.

"But most of the Tibetans did not know that (laughing). But they did not know that the government had already decided in 1914 [about the border between Tibet and India].

"So they did not know what had been decided [in 1914, i.e. the McMahon Line]." The Dalai Lama could stop laughing, "such a wonderful government!" he repeated.

This truthfulness, this straightforwardness, this capacity to be able to make fun of oneself or those close is extremely rare for a head of a State.

One can only sincerely wish the Dalai Lama a very long life at the service of world peace. His presence is much required today on the planet.

The High Stakes In Dalai Lama's Succession

My article The High Stakes In Dalai Lama's Succession appeared in Rediff.com

Here is the link...

On July 2 or July 6, the Dalai Lama will reveal his mind on his successor.
This makes Beijing extremely nervous as the Communist regime fully realises the importance of controlling the next Dalai Lama, points out Claude Arpi.

Nobody will disagree that the world is in turmoil; time seems to have accelerated on every continent and violence has reached every corner of the planet.

In India, we witnessed a four-day war between India and Pakistan, triggered by constant acts of terrorism from Islamabad; in the Middle East, a bloody war has been going on for months between Israel and Hamas; now a new conflict has erupted between Iran and Israel while there is no solution in view for the Ukraine-Russia war; yet while another bloody conflict may now take place between China and Taiwan for control of the rebel island.

In the midst of all this, a man preaches love and compassion (Ahimsa and Karuna) to other human fellows.

For 66 years, he lives as a refugee in India, his name is Tenzin Gyatso, he is the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, but also the leader of one million Buddhists from the Indian Himalayas (from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh) as well as several million Buddhists from every continent.

This man will turn 90 on July 6.

His followers are worried about his succession; what will happen if he departs for The Heavenly Fields? Will a 15th Dalai Lama replace him? Who will select him? These are still unanswered questions.

According to The Deccan Chronicle: 'The Dalai Lama will issue a message on July 2, days ahead of his 90th birthday and a hugely anticipated decision as to whether he will have an eventual successor.'

Earlier this year, the Tibetan leader released a book, Voice for the Voiceless, in which he asserted: 'Since the purpose of a reincarnation is to carry on the work of the predecessor, the new Dalai Lama will be born in the free world (outside China) so that the traditional mission to be the voice for universal compassion, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, and the symbol of Tibet embodying the aspirations of the Tibetan people, will continue.'

It was certainly a shock for China who expects to control the succession process ... and the next Dalai Lama.

The Background

On October 7, 1950, Chinese troops crossed the Upper Yangtze and began their 'liberation' of Eastern Tibet, then known as Kham province.

Ten days later, after sporadic battles, Chamdo, the capital of Kham, fell and Ngabo Ngawang Jigme, the Tibetan Governor, surrendered to the Chinese without fighting.

It would take more than two weeks for the information to filter out.

Till October 25, the Tibetan government in Lhasa knew nothing, the Indian government had heard nothing, and the Chinese were keeping quiet; other governments, depending on India for news, were not 'informed' either.

On October 26, a brief communique of the New China News Agency (Xinhua) broke the news: 'People's army units have been ordered to advance into Tibet to free three million Tibetans ...the conquest of Tibet was a 'glorious task' which would put the final seal on the unification of Communist China.'

Hardly three weeks later in Lhasa, the Gods spoke through the Nechung State Oracle: 'Make Him King'.

Thus, Tenzin Gyatso was enthroned as the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet at the young age of 15; the 'God King' became the temporal and religious leader of Tibet.

Nine years later, under mounting Communist pressure, the Dalai Lama had no choice but to take refuge in India, where he was received as an honoured guest by the Government of India.

In the early 1970s, the Tibetan leader started travelling all over the world; for more than five decades he would be instrumental in giving a concrete shape to the prophecy often attributed to Guru Padmasambha: 'When the iron bird flies and horses run on wheels, the dharma will come to the land of the red faces.'

The Dalai Lama tirelessly traveled to spread the Buddha's message of Love and Compassion.

Origin of the reincarnation system

Dusum Khyenpa, the First Karmapa Lama, was a disciple of the Tibetan master Gampopa, himself a disciple of the famous yogi and poet Milarapa.

The First Karmapa is said to have attained enlightenment at the age of 50; he then became known as the Karmapa.

The Second Karmapa, Karma Pakshi (1204-1283), was recognised as the reincarnation of Dusum Kyenpa, who had predicted the circumstances and time of his rebirth.

This is the origin of a system which has been prevalent in Tibet since then.

The Dalai Lama is 90 years old; due to his age and health, he has practically stopped going abroad; he remains most of the time in his residence in the Himalayan hill station of Dharamsala, north of Delhi.

In recent years, his succession has been widely debated in the media, the diplomatic and other circles.

Dalai Lamas 'reincarnate' in a young boy, who is then groomed to take over as the next Dalai Lama.

'Reincarnation' is, of course, the fascinating topic at a time when everything is 'scientifically' decided (and soon by Artificial Intelligence).

However, it entails a 20-year gap in spiritual governance, a period often used in the past by China to intervene in the Roof of the World's religious affairs; it does not seem to be a system adapted to our quick-changing world.

Traditionally, the Dalai Lama had two roles, one temporal (as head of the Tibetan State, though today in exile) and the other spiritual (guiding millions of Tibetans, but also Himalayan and foreign followers of Tibetan Buddhism).

In May 2011, the Tibetan leader decided to relinquish his secular power and offer it to the people of Tibet, who could thereafter elect their own 'political' leader.

Today, a Sikyiong or president runs the Tibetan administration from Dharamsala.

A few months later, on September 24, 2011, the Dalai Lama released a long statement about his succession, he mentioned two options: A traditional reincarnation (leaving written instructions how to find the reincarnation) or an 'emanation', which would mean the transfer of his consciousness and knowledge into a selected young boy (or girl).

In the same message, the Tibetan leader wrote that it was entirely his decision, though he would consult senior lamas: 'Reincarnation is a phenomenon which should take place either through the voluntary choice of the concerned person ... Therefore, the person who reincarnates has sole legitimate authority over where and how he or she takes rebirth.'

The 2011 statement further explained: 'When I am about ninety I will consult the high Lamas of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the Tibetan public, and other concerned people who follow Tibetan Buddhism, and re-evaluate whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue or not.'

It is what his followers (and probably the Indian Government too) are expecting to happen on July 2 or 6.

This makes Beijing extremely nervous as the Communist regime fully realises the importance of controlling the next Dalai Lama.

Already in February 2023, The Global Times, the mouthpiece of the Communist party, asserted: 'Recognition of new Dalai Lama must be conducted in China'.

It emphasised that the religious ritual for the selection of a new lama 'has been supervised by the Chinese Central Government and conducted within Chinese territory since the late 13th century', omitting that in the past 'religious rituals' (if any) for the recognition of the Dalai Lamas were conducted by Tibetans, not by the Communist party.

But half truths and blatant lies in Beijing's narrative continue: The Global Times dishonestly omits that the boy recognised as the Panchen Lama by the Dalai Lama was arrested and more than 30 years later is still in the custody of the Chinese government somewhere in China.

The Panchen Lama was the second highest lama in the Yellow School of Tibetan Buddhism.

Xi Jinping meets the Chinese Panchen Lama

On June 6, China's President Xi Jinping summoned Gyaltsen Norbu, the Panchen Lama imposed by Beijing, to Zhongnanhai, the official compound where live the Communist party's senior leaders.

Xi requested the young lama 'to make greater contributions to promoting ethnic unity and religious harmony.' The Chinese leader called upon the young lama to 'play an even better role in forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, systemically promoting the principle that religions in China must be Chinese in orientation'.

In plain words, it means the 'Sinization' of Tibetan Buddhism and eradication of the Indian origin and influence in the spread of Buddhism on the plateau.

Many believe that the times of Dusum Kyenpa have gone and a gap of 20 years in spiritual governance is too risky; Buddhism should adapt to the modern world and a new system of succession should be devised, but ultimately, it remains the choice of the Dalai Lama alone and certainly not of any Marxist government to decide on this highly esoteric issue.

It remains that the planet needs a Dalai Lama.