Buddhist Diplomacy

Why in news?

In recent times, the real geopolitical frontier between India and China lies not in the oceans but in the Himalayas, where Buddhism has become a geopolitical chessboard.

Why Buddhism in Himalayas is strategically important?

• Himalayan Buddhism - The Himalayas and Buddhism are synonymous, for the Buddha himself was born in the foothills of the Himalayas.
• Early Indian Buddhist Sutras probably arrived in the Himalayas when Buddhism was spreading into China and Central Asia in the 2^nd century.
• Geo-political importance - In the Himalayas, where territory is often inaccessible and infrastructure scarce, soft power is hard power.
• Monasteries that once served as centres of meditation and monastic education now sit at the frontlines of national power games.
• Sovereign power – The reincarnation of lamas has become a matter not just of religion but also of sovereignty.
  • For instance, in regions such as Ladakh, Tawang, and even remote Bhutan, Buddhist culture is increasingly shaped not only by the sacred but also by strategy.
• Indo-China power war – Both India and China understand that influence over Himalayan Buddhism is influence over identity, and in borderlands where lines on a map are fuzzy, identity is everything.

How Chinese approach over Buddhism evolved?

• Buddhism as Statecraft – Chinese see the influence over the Himalayan Buddhism as the skillful management of state affairs.
• Dominance over lamas – Since the 1950s, Beijing has worked to dominate Tibetan religious life.
• It exiled or marginalized independent lamas, co-opted institutions, and crucially claimed the sole right to approve reincarnations.

• Political supremacy over spiritual legitimacy - In 2007, the Chinese government formally asserted that any “Living Buddha” must be sanctioned by the state.
• They pose spiritual legitimacy flows from political authority.
• Watchdog of lamas - It maintains a database of officially recognised reincarnate lamas and monitors monastery activities across Tibet.
• Diplomacy campaigns – Sacred sites are being repurposed as instruments of soft power.
• Roads led to shrines were built with Beijing’s help.
• Regional developments – In Nepal, it has invested heavily in Buddhist infrastructure, especially around Lumbini, the Buddha’s birthplace.
• In Bhutan, it subtly courts monastic communities even as the kingdom maintains a tight control over religious affairs.

How India’s Buddhist diplomacy evolved?

• Revival of Buddhism – Post independence, India made a special effort to improve upon a situation after Buddhism falling behind, often in a competition, performance, or a general sense of progress.
• Relationship with Lama’s – Hosting the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan exile government since 1959 gave India a moral power.
• Diplomatic tool – India leverages Buddhism as a soft power tool to strengthen cultural and diplomatic ties with Asian countries sharing Buddhist heritage.
• Spiritual homeland of Buddhism – India through its initiatives like international conferences, heritage restoration, and Buddhist circuit tourism, promotes itself to foster goodwill and regional cooperation.
• Only in the last decade has New Delhi begun to engage seriously by promoting India’s heritage as the Buddha’s birthplace and funding regional pilgrimage circuits.
• Challenges – These efforts remain fragmented when compared to China’s centralized vision.

What are challenges associated with Buddhist diplomacy?

• Reincarnation issues – The current 14^th lama who turned 90 recently, has motioned that he wants to reincarnate outside Chinese territory mostly in India.
• China’s counter move – Beijing, predictably, has vowed to appoint its own Dalai Lama, using the centuries-old “Golden Urn” method.

• Dual leaders – One Dalai lama recognized by the Tibetan exile community and much of the global Buddhist diaspora, and one endorsed by Beijing and installed in Lhasa under heavy guard.
• Divisive politics - This division would force Buddhist communities across the Himalayan rim in Ladakh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nepal, and Bhutan to pick sides.
• Reshaping of geopolitics - If the spiritual figure (lama) sits in India, loyalty may deepen toward New Delhi.
• If seated in Lhasa, with Chinese backing and resources, the gravitational pull could shift east.
• International boarder issues - In Arunachal Pradesh, China asserts its claim to Tawang, birthplace of the 6^th Dalai Lama not only through military posturing but also through spurious cultural logic.

What lies ahead?

• India can leverage the internal disagreements within Buddhism for building a cohesive strategy for India’s and regional benefits.
• India can further the relationship with all Buddhist dominated nations for devising a collective methodology of lama succession thereby maintain the peace in Tibet region.

Reference

The Hindu| Buddhist Diplomacy