Tawang Clash: China’s eye on Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh is not only geopolitics, Tibetan Buddhism and spirituality is also the reason – read report
Tawang Attack: Tawang is home to Tawang Galdan Namgye Lhatse, the oldest and second largest monastery of Tibetan Buddhism outside the control of China.
Tawang: In a report on China’s Tawang attack in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang, it was said that it was not just for geopolitics, but more about Tibetan Buddhism and spirituality. Vas Shenoy in The Times wrote that the Dalai Lama could incarnate in Tawang, which would give China a chance to interfere in the coronation of the next Dalai Lama. On 9 December, troops of the People’s Liberation Army had intruded into the Tawang sector, which was strongly repulsed by the Indian troops. Some personnel from both the sides suffered minor injuries in the face-off.
The oldest and second largest monastery of Buddhism is in Tawang
The conflict may seem to have been limited to geopolitics, but it was much more than that. Tawang is located in the border state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is home to Tawang Galdan Namgye Lhatse, the oldest and second largest monastery of Tibetan Buddhism outside the control of China.
China will try to interfere in electing new Dalai Lama to control Tibetan Buddhism
According to the author, the Tawang Galdan Namgye Lhatse Monastery, founded in 1681, may be part of the enigmatic puzzle for the future of Tibet for its spirituality and politics, which are currently embodied by the 14th Dalai Lama. The present Dalai Lama is not in good health. There could be heavy opposition to his succession, and China would try to nominate a new Dalai Lama to govern Tibetan Buddhism. However, the Dalai Lama may also incarnate in Tawang, which is home to several thousand ethnic Tibetan families who have lived around the monastery for generations. According to the author, having control over the mountains around Tawang would help the Chinese army to capture and assert the monastery.
According to the author, the Tibetans will have to find the next successor after the Dalai Lama and this will determine to a large extent how much power China will have to exert to maintain its complete control over Tibet. According to the author, the current Dalai Lama’s visit to a disputed area in Ladakh by an Indian military helicopter has the CCP nervous. A young, dynamic Dalai Lama from Tawang could disturb the control that Xi Jinping has tried to maintain in Tibet.
