As the 14th Dalai Lama turns 90, the world is not merely marking the milestone of a spiritual icon—it is confronting a geopolitical tinderbox that spans the icy plateaus of Tibet, the crowded refugee camps of Dharamshala, and the opaque power corridors of Beijing and Washington.

His advancing age poses a fundamental question: who controls the soul of Tibet—its exiled faith or its occupying force? Dalai Lama has blocked China’s efforts in indulge in the spiritual exercise and said, “I am clear that my next incarnation will emerge in a nation that upholds freedom—not under Chinese dominion."

India, the host of the Tibetan government-in-exile and the long-time refuge of the Dalai Lama, now stands at a historic juncture. China, obsessed with ideological control, is preparing to hijack the reincarnation process to install a proxy Dalai Lama who will serve as Beijing’s religious rubber stamp. The West, particularly the United States, is watching closely, aware that this is no mere theological dispute but a matter of global principles—religious freedom, self-determination, and moral leadership.

The succession of the Dalai Lama is set to become a defining test of the 21st century’s power balance—between autocracy and spiritual autonomy, between China's iron hand and India’s soft power, between Tibetan faith and global silence.

"Drawing from my cherished recollections of meeting him in Dharamshala during my posting in Shimla in the mid-1980s, I can affirm that the spirit of democracy is deeply woven into his persona. This was most eloquently demonstrated when he voluntarily relinquished his role as the political head of Tibet’s government-in-exile, paving the way for a democratically elected leadership."

India Draws Red Line on Dalai Lama Succession, Rejects Beijing’s Interference

In a direct rebuff to Beijing, India has unequivocally stated that the authority to name the next Dalai Lama lies exclusively with the current spiritual leader and adheres strictly to centuries-old Tibetan Buddhist traditions. New Delhi dismissed China’s claims of having a say in the succession as baseless and termed Beijing’s objections to the Dalai Lama’s recent assertion of “sole authority” as unwarranted meddling.

Emphasizing the global reverence the Dalai Lama commands, India underlined that any decision regarding........

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