Dalai Lama steps aside from political matters

New Delhi: Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, said Thursday he will pass the reins of political power to the elected prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, even as he retains his post as spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. Expectedly, his announcement received a jittery response from Beijing where a government spokesperson claimed he was playing "tricks" on the world. 

The announcement formalizes the Tibetan leaders claims, which he has been making for years, that he wished to avoid a political vacuum after his death and put in place a credible leadership even as a paranoid regime in Beijing cracks down on all forms of dissent in Mainland China and, in particular, in regions that harbour significant numbers of ethnic and religious minorities.

Even though stepping aside from political matters, the Dalai Lama, 75, stressed that he wasn't "retiring." This is significant as his global status and reputation will ensure that the Tibetan movement for freedom continues to remain strengthened.

The Dalai's decision to step aside from temporal matters will result in the elevation of Lobsang Tenzin, 71, the prime minister-in-exile in India, who is also known as Samdhong Rinpoche, as the political head of the movement.

The Dalai's wishes will be presented before the Tibetan parliament in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala on Monday. Tibetan exiles, and their government–in-exile have been  resident in this Himalayan town ever since they were forced out of their motherland.

"As early as the 1960s, I have repeatedly stressed that Tibetans need a leader, elected freely by the Tibetan people, to whom I can devolve power," the Dalai Lama said in a statement Thursday. "Now, we have clearly reached the time to put this into effect."