Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said the 15th Dalai Lama will be born in a free and democratic country and "definitely not from China." The remark, made in a PTI interview on 8 July and published on 10 July, directly challenges Beijing’s insistence that it controls the succession of the Tibetan spiritual leader. Khandu, a practicing Buddhist, noted that the formal search will be conducted by the Gaden Phodrang Trust only after the current 14th Dalai Lama passes away. He added that the 90-year-old spiritual leader is in good health and has himself spoken of living to 130, so “there is no hurry” to begin the process. Asked about China’s objections, Khandu said the Dalai Lama institution has no presence in China and is recognised mainly across the Himalayan belt by Tibetan Buddhists. “China has no role in it,” he said, emphasising that established rules, not political directives, will guide the eventual selection.