The Dalai Lama, the spiritual head of the Tibetans, today said he was open to the idea of his successor being a female as the “very purpose of the reincarnation, male or female, is to carry out the unfinished tasks of the previous life.” The unfinished task, he later said, was seeking “meaningful autonomy” for the Tibetan people from the Chinese government.

In an exclusive interview with The Indian Express, the Dalai Lama sounded a note of caution for New Delhi, saying Tibetans were the “first line of defence” for India all along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) but this situation may completely change with the huge influx of Han Chinese all set to alter Tibet’s demographic profile.

While he has taken note of the UPA government’s recent circular asking Cabinet Ministers to stay away from the functions he attends, the Dalai Lama urged New Delhi to take up the case of “meaningful autonomy” with Beijing as “it is ultimately a matter of safety of the 4,000-km long border from Arunachal Pradesh to Ladakh.”

On his succession, the Dalai Lama said a “female Dalai Lama can be very effective” in serving the Buddhist religion and there have been instances of female lamas in the last seven hundred years of Tibetan history. Making clear that his successor, boy or girl, would be chosen from outside Tibet, he appeared amenable to the idea of choosing his successor “before his death” as per Tibetan tradition.

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