NEW DELHI — Ties between neighboring Asian giants India and China seem to be under fresh strains over the Dalai Lama, with Beijing lodging a protest with New Delhi in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s greetings to the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader on his 90th birthday and the presence of Indian officials at celebrations marking the occasion.
Just days before his milestone birthday on Sunday, the Dalai Lama defied China by declaring that his office had “the sole authority to recognize the future reincarnation” — or to name his successor after his death. The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was born to a farming family in a small hamlet in northeastern Tibet. At the age of 2, he was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso.
