March 10: Tibetan supreme spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has decided to transfer his political authority and administrative powers to a leader directly elected by the Tibetan refugees although the Tibetan Kashag (Parliament-in-exile) has appealed to the Dalai Lama not to take such a step.
The current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, has been in exile in India since 1959, when an uprising in Tibet was crushed by the Chinese Communist regime.
Tibetans living in exile, in India and around the world, also consider the Dalai Lama as their head of state, a responsibility which he would now like to relinquish. Tibetan Kashag leaders said there could be a “constitutional deadlock” if the Dalai Lama does not reconsider as his decision is likely to be turned down by the new Kashag, which will be elected in a few days.
The Tibetan exiles’ top elected leader, the “Kalon Tripa” (referred to as the chief executive or “prime minister” by the Tibetans), will be chosen soon in a fresh election and could emerge as the inheritor of the Dalai Lama’s political authority, while the Dalai Lama himself would continue to remain the supreme spiritual head. But the impact of such a move is uncertain, particularly on negotiations with China.