Atheist China to draw lots from sacred urn to pick next Dalai Lama

the ministry said.

The emphatic statement from the Chinese government comes amid the ongoing Sino-Indian diplomatic spat over the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims is part of southern Tibet with historical and religious links to Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).

On Tuesday, The Dalai Lama, is learnt to have left Arunachal Pradesh and Tawang, leaving in his trail a seething controversy between India and China.

Last week, the Dalai Lama had said it was up to the Tibetan people whether the “institution of Dalai Lama should continue or not” and that he wanted to start “some sort of preliminary discussion” on his succession this year.

For China, it is important that the 15th Dalai Lama is chosen from a Tibetan area within the country so as to nip in the bud any future for the movement for greater Tibetan autonomy.

Calling the Dalai Lama a “political exile” who has had a “disgraceful” influence on the India-China border dispute, the MFA said he is not a “purely religious person” who has been engaged in anti-China separatist activities for years. .