A senior Indian minister has said that only the Dalai Lama and the organization he has set up have the authority to identify his successor as the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, in a rare comment contradicting rival China's long-held position.

India has for long stated that the process of naming the successor is a long standing tradition that the Dalai Lama undertakes and no third party has a role to play here.

DHARAMSHALA – As he approaches his 90th birthday, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, announced on July 1 that there will be a 15th reincarnation—his first major public confirmation that the 600-year-old tradition will continue after his death.