The Dalai Lama may soon reveal his succession plan, and it’ll have geopolitical ramifications
Dalai Lama's next move. Their top-of-the-mind question is whether the Tibetan leader will be announcing his successor.
Supporters of the 14th Dalai Lama, which include US lawmakers, are worried that China will try to beat him in the race and declare its own 15th Dalai Lama. 'They have even attempted to insert themselves into the succession of the Dalai Lama. We will not let that happen,' said Republican chair of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul.
For Tibetans living in China and spread across several countries, the Dalai Lama is a 'living Buddha' and represents the symbol of Tibetan identity and Chinese repression. He escaped from Tibet to India in 1959 after Chinese troops took over Tibet and indulged in a bloodbath.
Control over Tibet is crucial to Beijing, because the rivers emanating from the region constitute a major source of water for the rest of China. Tibet also has strategic value, as the region connects India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and the Kashmir region. This is why the choice of the Dalai Lama, once regarded as the 'holy king' of the Tibetan people, is so important for 'atheist' Beijing.
What if the next Dalai Lama is found among Tibetan immigrants living in a place China does not control? That would give an entirely new twist to the Tibetan movement, causing political problems for the Chinese leadership. Scholars have long discussed the possibility of the next Dalai Lama being found in the US, giving Washington a political lever over China.
This is one of the reasons that led
