By Aidan O’Sullivan
‘I can see now, in calm retrospect, that from that moment it was inevitable that I should leave my country. There was nothing more I could do for my people if I stayed and the Chinese would certainly capture me in the end.’
This moment, described in the Dalai Lama’s 1962 autobiography, My Land and People, is that of his escape from Chinese communist authorities. Fleeing from Tibet, across the Himalayas, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso found refuge in Dharamsala, India.
This moment in 1959 has once again reached an inflection point with the recent announcement from the leader on his succession, coinciding roughly with his 90th birthday.
While for some a sort of pop cultural spiritual icon, the Dalai Lama is the spiritual and one time political leader of the people of Tibet. His followers see him as a living Buddha, who is reincarnated in the form of a new person once he passes.
For years, it was unclear whether the reincarnation cycle of the Dalai Lama would continue. The leader had made previous comments, suggesting that perhaps a different method of succession may be used or that reincarnation would occur outside Tibet. His recent announcement however merely reaffirmed that his council had sole discretion in choosing the next Dalai Lama.
Tibet, annexed by China in 1950, lies in the South western edge of the country, bordering Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, and India.
His significance for his community extends him deep political and cultural influence over his people. This is a problem for a China which looks to dominate unchallenged.
The Dalai Lama has been described as a separatist by China, and his photo is banned in the region.
However regional sentiment remains strong for him. From 2009 there have been over 150 self immolations–Buddhist monks, nuns and ordinary citizens who have set themselves alight, to protest against Chinese control and their leaders forced absence.
The death of the figure, however may open up the opportunity for new methods of control. The figure traditionally responsible for choosing the next Dalai Lama, known as the Panchen Lama was taken into custody by Chinese authorities when he was only 6 years old. He has not been heard from or seen since.
The Chinese have instead nominated their own Panchen Lama, a move many see as setting up themselves with the power to choose the next Dalai Lama, and therefore extend further control over Tibet. Earlier this year, the Chinese chosen Panchen Lama swore to work towards national unity and support of the party leadership, according to Chinese state media, Xinhua.
Tibet offers a buffer zone for mainland China from its neighbours, and as a source of rich raw materials like Lithium, it is a potentially lucrative region. As the source of multiple rivers, it also furthers China’s control over other countries in the region.
Just this year, news that China was building a massive dam in the region sparked anxiety in Indian officials worried about what effects this could have on the quality of Indian water supply.
Home to millions of ethnic Tibetans, Tibet ranks one of the lowest in scales measuring political freedom and human rights in the world.
China’s control of the region is also rooted in a belief in their historical legitimacy. As the Tibetan region was once ruled by the Qing dynasty.
Recent reports on Chinese backed boarding schools have raised worries that children are being forcefully taken away from their families and re-educated in line with Chinese thinking.
Washington has insisted that China has failed to respect Tibetan rights to national self determination and India’s hosting of the exiled government continues to provoke tensions between the two states.
In an era of geopolitical uncertainty, the succession of the Dalai Lama provides another focal point for political anxieties around the liklihood of future conflict with China.