Buddhism at the Crossroads: Navigating India-China Geopolitical Tensions

“The flame of truth may flicker in the wind, but it does not go out.” — His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Buddhism is not just a religion but an Asian identity, a spiritual connectivity with the potential of connecting different civilizations and communities along the globe.  The resurgence of Buddhism has led to the use of Buddhism as a cultural bridge between countries and has become the need of the hour. As Asia is a highly religious region, both India and China are making their Buddhist links a tool of cultural diplomacy.

History: Asylum of Dalai Lama and Ashes of Panchsheel

In 1954, when under the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, India accepted Tibet as part of China in the 1954 trade agreement (Panchsheel). The treaty referred to Tibet as “Tibet Region of China” but notably lacked military clauses however the agreement subsequently expired in 1962 amid rising border tensions. Table started turning in March 1959, when while fearing abduction of Dalai Lama by Chinese authorities, a massive protest erupted in Lhasa. Amid the circumstances, Dalai Lama escaped, crossing into India on March 31, 1959, at Tawang which was considered a deeply symbolic act, subsequently leading to polarization of relation between the two nations.

On the other hand, PM Nehru promptly granted asylum to Dalai Lama, accompanied by Assam Rifles personnel. This was seen as major diplomatic rupture: China regarded it as India harboring a separatist. India, for its part, emphasized humanitarian reasons and refusal to allow abduction within its borders. During this diplomatic Trade-offs, Prime Minister Nehru believed goodwill could temper expansionism, but China saw recognition of Tibet’s status as crucial. After asylum was granted, China accused India of violating the agreement’s spirit leading to beginning of the Silent War.

China’s Strategic Use of Buddhism

Since the 1950s, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has systematically suppressed Tibetan Buddhism; destroying monasteries, indoctrinating monks, banning Dalai Lama portraits, and controlling reincarnations. Although now, the officially atheist Chinese Communist Party has adopted religion for diplomatic purposes. China had begun hosting its own international Buddhist gatherings in the mid-2000s, known as the World Buddhist Forums (WBF).  The WBF has become a prominent event intended to promote China’s stature and influence in the Buddhist world. But in fact, “China has little interest in promoting or protecting Buddhism and instead is trying to use the conference to achieve its political goals,” this was quoted by Sana Hashmi, a postdoctoral fellow at the policy think tank Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation. “China has been trying to forge religious diplomacy with countries that have Buddhism as their main religion,” she said.

Same thought was shared by Shartse Khensur Rinpoche Jangchup Choeden, secretary general of the International Buddhist Confederation, as he concluded that “there is no genuine protection or support for Buddhists within the country”. More recently, the Nanhai Buddhism Academy in Hainan province opened in September 2017 with 220 students (including students from overseas). This academy is touted as China’s version of the Nalanda University of Bihar, India. On top of it, China is doubling down its move to appoint its own Dalai Lama. “If the next Dalai Lama is declared to have been reincarnated abroad, I think it is illegal,” quoted Li Decheng, deputy director general of the official China Tibetology Research Centre.

Buddha’s Tooth Diplomacy

Since the 1950s, the PRC has sent Buddhist relics for display in other countries, a practice known as “relic diplomacy,” which is aimed at winning public goodwill. In 2011, when protests over the Myitsone Dam project unleashed a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment in Myanmar, China dispatched a Buddha’s tooth relic on a 48-day tour of Myanmar. This paved the way for establishment of ties between, Lingguang Temple in China, where the Buddha’s tooth relic resides. The PRC’s relic diplomacy with Hong Kong is particularly strong. Hong Kong is the only place in the world to which China has sent three Buddha relics—his tooth, finger bone and skull bone, for display.

Buddhism and BRI

With ongoing developments by China, the question arises: Is China now turning to Buddhism to promote its own modern Silk Route?

One prominent example is visible in Sri Lanka, where China is constructing a 350-meter-high “Lotus Tower” in the capital city of Colombo. The Lotus Tower serves as a reminder to Sri Lankans of the two millennia-old Sino-Sri Lankan bonding through Buddhism.

In Bangladesh, Chinese and Bangladeshi archaeologists excavated a 1,000-year-old site of Buddhist heritage, Nateshwar, where Atisha Dipankara, a great Indian Buddhist master, spent his early life. The project was funded by the Chinese government.

Nepal, the birthplace of Buddhism, happily welcomed the BRI and was offered $3 billion for the Lumbini project, designed to expand the small Nepali town where Buddha was born into “the premier place of pilgrimage for Buddhists from around the world.” The Chinese government has another plan in promoting Lumbini in Nepal. By connecting Kathmandu with a railway line arriving from Tibet, the Chinese and Nepalese government will promote two-way pilgrim traffic to and from Buddhist sites in Nepal, Tibet, and China.

India’s Cultural Counterbalance

Buddhism has always been core of India’s Foreign Policy. The world perception of India as country of peaceful rise is because of the Buddhist ideology associated with India. The Indian government’s “Look East” and “Act East” Policies with ASEAN and other East Asian countries is also well connected with the India’s Buddhism connect. The older concepts of “Non alignment” and “Panchsheel” had additionally reflected the core ideology of Buddhism. India has been promoting Buddhist thought and culture in recent years. In November 2011, with assistance from the Indian government, an organization called the Global Buddhist Congregation (GBC) helped bring representatives of a multitude of Buddhist traditions together in one overarching body.

In August 2014, besides visiting two ancient Buddhist temples in Japan, Prime Minister Modi also mentioned the term Buddhism in the joint statement after a subsequent visit to Japan in November 2016. Private organizations have been involved in these efforts as well. In September 2015, the International Buddhist Confederation, the Vivekananda International Foundation, and the Tokyo Foundation put together a joint Buddhist and Hindu three-day conclave on conflict avoidance and environment consciousness. India also initiated “Samvad : Global Hindu-Buddhist Initiative”, in which “India is taking the lead in boosting the Buddhist heritage across Asia.” This Samvad initiative was enthusiastically embraced by Japan’s leader Shinzo Abe.

This soft power Buddhism-facilitated diplomacy is also evident with regard to India’s strategic partnerships with Japan and Mongolia as well as with Vietnam and South Korea, along with outreach to Thailand, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Tibetan Buddhism has been “a source and strength of Indian soft power diplomacy”.

Indian readiness to deploy Buddhism in its public diplomacy was proclaimed in April 2023, when India’s official Press Information Bureau (PIB) released a substantive booklet entitled “Lessons from Lord Buddha: A Collection of Speeches from 2014 - 2022, by Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi”, where he had extolled the Buddha within India’s general international projection; as well as in his state visits to Sri Lanka, Nepal, Mongolia, Vietnam and Japan.

The International Conference on “Shared Buddhist Heritage” was held in New Delhi, and was organized by India’s Ministry of External Affairs. The Ministry of Culture coordinated, the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC). Historically, Buddhism entered Central Asia from India, and India’s invocation of such a geo-cultural relationship indicated a readiness to delicately challenge China’s geo-economic presence in the region and indeed the SCO organization.

Way Forward - The Spiritual Cold War

Buddhism is a soft power resource shared among several Asian countries. China is drawing on Buddhist themes in its public diplomacy far more than other countries in Asia. The PRC’s use of Buddhism in public diplomacy has seen some successes; it has contributed to greater interaction and cooperation between Buddhist monks and organizations in the mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The China’s further developing ties with Pakistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka indicates that China is strategically encircling India to reduce its sphere of influence in South Asia.

On the other side, India has revamped its foreign policy with its neighbors and given priority towards cooperation and an amicable relationship with them. In Sri Lanka, India incorporated Buddhism as one of the soft power tools. Both countries have hosted diplomats to Buddhist religious sites. Still, Sri Lanka tends to be tilted towards Beijing due to extensive economic assistance. Parallelly, China’s Buddhist soft power has limits. In its most important objective in Buddhist public diplomacy, delegitimizing the Dalai Lama and counterbalancing his popularity, the PRC has not achieved its goals, and the Dalai Lama remains the most well-known and popular Buddhist leader in the world.

Thus, to effectively counterbalance China's influence and foster lasting regional partnerships, Bharat must reinforce its diplomacy with tangible commitments, enhancing maritime security cooperation, economic aid, and robust investments.

As the great Indian philosopher Swami Vivekananda once said, "We want that education by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect is expanded, and by which one can stand on one's own feet." This vision applies not just to individuals, but to nations. India needs to stand firmly on its own feet, rooted in cultural strength, yet rising through strategic foresight and cooperative action.