NEW DELHI: The Dalai Lama published a book on Tuesday which he says is a “framework for the future of Tibet”, to guide compatriots in relations with Beijing after his death.

China says Tibet is an integral part of the country, and many exiled Tibetans fear Beijing will name a successor to the Dalai Lama when he dies, bolstering control over a land it poured troops into in 1950 — 75 years ago this coming October. The book, “Voice for the Voiceless”, describes the Dalai Lama dealing with successive leaders of the People’s Republic of China on behalf of Tibet and its people.

“The right of the Tibetan people to be the custodians of their own homeland cannot be indefinitely denied, nor can their aspiration for freedom be crushed forever through oppression,” the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader writes. “One clear lesson we know from history is this: If you keep people permanently unhappy, you cannot have a stable society.”

Giving a sight to his followers about his succession, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism also writes in his new book that a successor will be born outside China, raising the stakes in a dispute with Beijing over control of the Himalayan region he fled more than six decades ago.

The spiritual leader says his successor will be born outside China

Tibet has alternated over the centuries between independence and control by China, which says it “peacefully liberated” the rugged plateau and brought infrastructure and education. Celebrating his 90th birthday in July, he is among a fading few who can remember what their homeland was like before the 1959 uprising.

The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959, said the book details the “persistent efforts” he has made to over seven decades to “save my homeland and people”. “Only when we have created an atmosphere where both sides can speak and negotiate freely can there be a lasting settlement,” he writes in the book. “Tibetans have spent nearly 75 years fighting for freedom,” the Dalai Lama wrote in the Washington Post earlier this month, ahead of the book’s publication. “Their struggle should continue beyond my lifetime.”

‘Free world’

Tibetans worldwide want the institution of the Dalai Lama to continue after the 89-year-old’s death, he writes in his book. He had previously said the line of spiritual leaders might end with him.

His book marks the first time the Dalai Lama has specified that his successor would be born in the “free world”, which he describes as outside China. He has previously said only that he could reincarnate outside Tibet, possibly in India where he lives in exile. “Since the purpose of a reincarnation is to carry on the work of the predecessor, the new Dalai Lama will be born in the free world so that the traditional mission of the Dalai Lama — that is, to be the voice for universal compassion, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, and the symbol of Tibet embodying the aspirations of the Tibetan people — will continue,” the Dalai Lama writes.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2025