Panchen Lama: Child vanished at 6, still at heart of Tibet’s resistance

By Indira Guerrero

Dharamshala, India, July 5 (EFE).- While the world debates the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, the fate of the Panchen Lama, Tibetan Buddhism’s second-most important figure, stands as a chilling precedent of China’s plan.

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, recognized as the 11th Panchen Lama at age six, was abducted by China in 1995 and has not been seen since. He remains the world’s youngest and longest-held political prisoner.

On May 14, 1995, the Dalai Lama recognized him as the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama. Three days later, Chinese authorities abducted him and his family. He has not been seen in public since.

Traditionally, the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama play key roles in recognizing each other’s reincarnations, a system of mutual validation that has preserved Tibetan spiritual leadership for centuries.

But the Panchen Lama’s importance is not just spiritual. By controlling him, Beijing seeks to control the future Dalai Lama.

China then appointed its own Panchen Lama, Gyaincain Norbu, in a state-organized ceremony, a figure raised under the Chinese Communist Party’s supervision and widely rejected by Tibetans in exile and Tibet as a political puppet.

Two Panchen Lamas, one hidden from the world

Since 1995, there have been two Panchen Lamas: one appointed by Tibetan spiritual authorities and missing for nearly three decades, and another chosen by Beijing, who appears at state functions and official events.

The control of the Panchen Lama is not merely symbolic.

By dictating who the Panchen Lama is, China positions itself to influence the future selection of the next Dalai Lama, a move that would allow Beijing to claim legitimacy over Tibetan Buddhism’s most revered spiritual leader.

A portrait frozen in time

In McLeod Ganj, a suburb of Dharamshala, the Tibetan exile capital in the Indian Himalayas, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima remains forever six in the only public image that exists of him. His portrait is displayed on altars, in shops, and in homes across this “little Lhasa.”

That image has become a powerful symbol of both a missing child and a nation in exile.

Just as his life was suspended in 1995, so too is the Tibetan dream of a free homeland, preserved only through memory and faith.

A community anchored in memory

For over 60 years, thousands of Tibetans have lived in exile, clinging to traditions, stories, and spiritual practices from a land they can no longer reach.

As the elder generation passes away, the lived experience of a free Tibet fades with them.

In that context, the unchanging portrait of the Panchen Lama represents more than a disappearance, it captures the essence of a people fighting to keep alive a past that is slipping through their fingers.

China has repeatedly claimed that Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is “safe” and living a “normal life,” but has never allowed independent verification of his whereabouts or well-being. EFE

igr/seo/mcd-sk