HT This Day: January 11, 1934 -- Intrigues in the land of thunderbolt

Three nations- Britain, Russia and China—will start intriguing against each other owing to the death of the Dalai Lama, temporal ruler of the mysterious land of Tibet, which was announced recently, writes the diplomatic correspondent of the “Daily Express,” London.

Three nations- Britain, Russia and China—will start intriguing against each other owing to the death of the Dalai Lama, temporal ruler of the mysterious land of Tibet, which was announced recently, writes the diplomatic correspondent of the “Daily Express,” London.

HT This Day: January 11, 1934 -- Intrigues in the land of thunderbolt

Each Dalai Lama is supposed to be a new incarnation of the Buddha, whose spirit is supposed to pass from the dead to the future ruler, but the law of succession is extremely vague.

And it is this vagueness that will start the nations intriguing to select a “suitable” head-suitable to themselves-for a land which has the misfortune to be a “buffer country” between them.

Sometimes the dying Lama indicates a man or child in whom he is to become reincarnated sometimes his successor is appointed by the monks of Lhassa, after consulting the astrologers.

Revolt Possible

Usually a baby is selected and there is a long and disturbed minority under the regency of the other Great Lama-the Panchang or Tashi Lama-the spiritual ruler of Tibet.

Tibet’s delicate position as a “buffer country” is aggravated by the fact that while nominally under Chinese suzerainty it is really under a sort of “unofficial protection” by the Indian Government.

Three-cornered Intrigue

The Indian Government, always nervous at the idea of “Russian penetration,” has for half a century tried to keep some kind of control over the Tibetan Government.

The Russians, equally nervous, are permanently afraid of “British penetration.”

The Chinese, clinging to the residue of their ancient sovereignty, are eager to reassert an authority that has almost vanished.

So Tibetan politics for years past have been a focus of a kind of three-cornered intrigue.

In recent years British influence has, on the whole, been in the ascendant.

Eight years ago, there was civil war in Tibet between the two great Lamas.

The Dalai Lama got support from India, the Tashi Lama from China. And the Dalai won out.

The Tashil- his real title is Panchan-rin po che, the Teacher of the Great Jewel-fled over the Chinese border into Szechwan.

When, last year the Chinese Governor of Szechwan took up the cause of the Tashi Lama and threatened to invade Tibet, the Dalai appealed to Simla for aid under the secret treaty of 1925.

Munitions, aeroplanes, and military advisers were sent to him. And with their aid the Chinese attack was driven off.

Now with the Dalai Lama’s death the whole situation becomes obscure and dangerous.

An attempt by the Tashi Lama to return and seize power is clearly one possibility of the moment.

Fallen Premier

Another possible candidate is the pro-British Tsarong Shape, whose excessive devotion to the Government of India procured his fall from his post as Prime Minister in 1930.

Equally Iikely is a revolt of the nationalist monks against either an “Indian” or a “Chinese” candidate, and their assertion of the “independence” of Tibet.

But that in itself would have obviously dangerous repercussions all over China. For legally there is no question that Tibet is still a part of the Chinese Republic.

Sir Francis Younghusband, whose mission to Tibet on behalf of the Indian Government in 1903-1904 resulted in the opening of this hitherto “forbidden” country to British influence in a special interview to the “News Chronicle” stated in the course of an interview that the spiritual ruler of the Forbidden Land beyond the Himalayas, the Dalai (or Grand) Lama of Tibet, was the living incarnation of Buddha.

Now he is dead. Lamas will be going forth from Lhassa to seek out a child born at the hour of the Dalai Lama’s death which will become the new supreme ruler of Tibet.

The Dalai Lama’s spirit is supposed to live forever, and when a Grand Lama dies his spirit is believed to leave his body for the body of a child born at that hour.

Until that new-born infant is of age a Regent will rule the country.

The secret of how the infant is selected has not been divulged but may be presumed that the Chief Magician, a person of great influence, will be consulted.

As the leader of the Mission to Tibet 30 years ago, I was the first Englishman to receive a message from a Grand Lama of Tibet. But his words were not those of a message of welcome.

The Dalai Lama, when he heard of my expedition, immediately construed that it was an attack against the religion of his country and of his ancestors. In fact, the Dalai Lama left Lhassa the day before I arrived.

Buddha and Peace

Compared with the bitter feeling that marked the Lama’s reception when we first saw the sorry affair of Lhassa, our departure after the successful completion of the Treaty was extraordinarily cordial. The Tibetan negotiators when once they realised that our Mission was not directed against their religion, readily cooperated with us.

On the day we left Lhassa the Regent presented me with a figure of Buddha and in a graceful speech explained that when he and the Tibetans looked on the figure they thought only of peace. He hoped that when I looked on Buddha it would be in that same spirit.