India-Tibet-China: The Tibetans living in exile in India have once again urged the Indian government to speak to China and put “pressure” on Beijing to release the 11th Panchen Lama, who was allegedly abducted by the Chinese government after the 14th Dalai Lama recognised him in 1995. While the issue seemed to have taken a backseat for some years now, the Tibetan community has sought New Delhi’s help once again on the matter. Leveraging this issue with Beijing is what New Delhi may not do at a time when it is facing a military standoff at the border areas.
Earlier this week, the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery based in Karnataka's Bylakuppe launched the ‘Panchen Lama Initiative’ in collaboration with the India Tibet Coordination Office. The launch was attended by a few members of the Parliament — Sujeet Kumar (convener of the All-Party Indian Parliamentary Forum on Tibet), Sushil Kumar Modi (former deputy CM of Bihar), Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, Aneel Prasad Hegde and Chandeshwar Prasad, among others.
The MPs not only condemned China’s occupation of Tibet, but they also called for “immediate release” of the Panchen Lama, recognised by the Dalai Lama. The Panchen Lama is a key Tibetan spiritual figure whose primary responsibility includes anointing the Dalai Lama.
While this is not the first time Tibetans living in India have asked the Indian government to speak to China on this issue, the timing of the latest request comes at an interesting moment when the militaries of both India and China have been engaged in a bitter border standoff since 2020 — as many as 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives when troops from both sides clashed in Galwan valley — and there are still no signs of disengagement or de-escalation.
And this time the petition made by the Tibetan community to New Delhi under the new ‘Panchen Lama Initiative’ has a six-pronged strategy. Some of the key demands that they have made is that the Indian Parliament should issue a joint statement expressing concern on the 11th Panchen Lama’s current situation, to take legislative measures that would enable Indian government officials to have access to meet the 11th Panchen Lama – Gedhun Choekyi Nyima – and to institute an award of recognition dedicated to the suffering faced by him.
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Where Is The Panchen Lama 11?
Way back in May 1995, when the six-year old Panchen Lama, now 34 years old, was abducted along with his entire family allegedly by the Chinese authorities, Beijing appointed their own Panchen Lama — Gyaltsen Norbu — who has publicly recognised and praised China’s rule in Tibet and may soon anoint someone chosen by the Xi Jinping regime as the next Dalai Lama. But the whereabouts of the Dalai Lama-appointed Panchen Lama remains hitherto unknown.
In an interview to ABP LIVE, Penpa Tsering, President of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, said they believe the Panchen Lama chosen by the Dalai Lama may have been assassinated.
India, which continues to follow a ‘One China’ policy, has historically steered clear of the Panchen Lama saga even as Beijing continues to label the present Dalai Lama as a “separatist”. New Delhi is already facing a monumental task to bring the Chinese to the negotiating table to go back to the status quo ante that existed pre-April 2020, and hence it is next to impossible for New Delhi to raise the issue of Panchen Lama with the Chinese, who consider this to be their “internal matter”.
However, with India now taking a strong stance against Beijing even as it aligns with the West under the Quad and the Indo-Pacific framework, the government might start talking about it, albeit indirectly, with China just as India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru did in 1956. He gave a grand welcome to the 10th Panchen Lama, whose reincarnation is the 11th Panchen Lama, when he reached India along with the Dalai Lama, which rattled the then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. In an interview to Neville Maxwell in 1971, Zhou had talked about Nehru fanning a “rebellion” in Tibet by giving support to the Dalai Lama as well as the Panchen Lama.
[Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs, and views expressed by the various authors and forum participants on this website are personal and do not reflect the opinions, beliefs, and views of ABP Network Pvt. Ltd.]
The Panchen Lama Saga Is Far From Being Over. India Should Be Ready
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08.12.2023
India-Tibet-China: The Tibetans living in exile in India have once again urged the Indian government to speak to China and put “pressure” on Beijing to release the 11th Panchen Lama, who was allegedly abducted by the Chinese government after the 14th Dalai Lama recognised him in 1995. While the issue seemed to have taken a backseat for some years now, the Tibetan community has sought New Delhi’s help once again on the matter. Leveraging this issue with Beijing is what New Delhi may not do at a time when it is facing a military standoff at the border areas.
Earlier this week, the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery based in Karnataka's Bylakuppe launched the ‘Panchen Lama Initiative’ in collaboration with the India Tibet Coordination Office. The launch was attended by a few members of the Parliament — Sujeet Kumar (convener of the All-Party Indian Parliamentary Forum on Tibet), Sushil Kumar Modi (former deputy CM of Bihar), Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, Aneel Prasad Hegde and Chandeshwar Prasad, among others.
The MPs not only condemned China’s occupation of Tibet, but they also called for “immediate release” of........
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