NEW DELHI, July 7: China on Monday lodged a protest with India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended birthday greetings to the 14th Dalai Lama on his 90th birthday, calling the gesture a violation of diplomatic commitments and an interference in China’s internal affairs.

In a strongly worded statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning reiterated Beijing’s position that the Dalai Lama is a “political exile” engaged in “anti-China separatist activities” under the guise of religion. Mao cautioned India to act “prudently” and avoid sending what she called “wrong signals” on sensitive Tibet-related issues.

“The position of the Chinese government on Xizang (Tibet) is consistent and clear,” said Mao. “India must honour its commitments on issues related to Xizang and stop using these matters to interfere in China’s internal affairs.” She confirmed that a diplomatic protest had been formally conveyed to New Delhi.

Prime Minister Modi had conveyed his greetings to the Tibetan spiritual leader on July 6, while Union Minister Kiren Rijiju participated in the birthday celebration on behalf of the Indian government. The event was seen as an expression of India’s continued moral and cultural support for the Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile in India since fleeing Tibet in 1959.

The controversy has reignited longstanding tensions between the two Asian giants over the status of Tibet and the future of the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation. On Monday, Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong took to social media platform X to reassert Beijing’s claim that the process of identifying the next Dalai Lama is “an internal affair of China,” not subject to foreign interference.

“The conferment of religious titles, including the reincarnation of Living Buddhas, is the prerogative of the central government of China,” Xu wrote. He emphasized that Tibetan Buddhism originated within China and that “no overseas organisation or individual has the right to dictate the reincarnation process.”

The Chinese government’s response underscores its growing sensitivity to any perceived international endorsement of the Dalai Lama’s spiritual leadership, especially amid rising tensions along the Line of Actual Control and geopolitical shifts in the Indo-Pacific region.

Meanwhile, the Tibetan community in exile celebrated the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday with traditional festivities and prayers at the Sambhota Tibetan School in Chhota Shimla, reaffirming their spiritual loyalty to the leader whom they regard as a symbol of peace and compassion.

Despite China’s objections, India has historically maintained that the Dalai Lama is a revered spiritual leader and that New Delhi’s engagements with him are not intended as a political message.