-Ayush Kumar Singh
New Delhi (Desk) : After the long speculations about the succession of the spiritual leader the Tibetan Buddhist, Dalai Lama announced on Wednesday that “the institutions of Dalai Lama will continue and inconsistence with the statement that he made in 2011, The Gaden Phodrang Trust shall be the sole authority to recognise the future reincarnation of the Dalai Lama”. No one else has any authority over the selection Dalai Lama. However, China rejected the succession plan and reiterated that any future heir must receive the seal of Chinese approval.

The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, which is the most influential school in Tibet. The title "Dalai Lama" means "Ocean of Wisdom" in Mongolian, and it was first bestowed in the 16th century. The current and 14th Dalai Lama Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1989) and a prominent advocate for nonviolence, human rights, and Tibetan autonomy is Tenzin Gyatso, born in 1935 in northeastern Tibet. He was recognized as the reincarnation at age 2 and enthroned in 1940. Historically, the Dalai Lamas were both spiritual and political leaders of Tibet. The 14th Dalai Lama assumed political power in 1950, shortly before the Chinese takeover of Tibet.

In 1950 the People's Republic of China sent troops into the region, claiming to "liberate" Tibet from feudal rule and foreign influence. At the time, Tibet functioned as a de facto independent state, having operated with political and spiritual autonomy for decades, though China historically asserted it as part of its territory. In October 1950, the People's Liberation Army entered eastern Tibet, defeating the small Tibetan military force. Faced with overwhelming pressure and the threat of full-scale invasion, the Tibetan government signed the Seventeen Point Agreement in 1951, under duress, which nominally guaranteed religious freedom and autonomy but effectively brought Tibet under Chinese control. Over the next several years, resistance grew among Tibetans as Chinese rule became more intrusive, culminating in a major uprising in Lhasa in 1959. The revolt was brutally suppressed, and the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India, where he established a government-in-exile. Since then, Tibet has remained under strict Chinese administration, with ongoing international concern over human rights abuses, cultural suppression, and religious restrictions in the region.