NEW DELHI, India Nov. 8 (AP) -- About 150 Tibetan refugees marched through New Delhi today to demand that China stop challenging the Dalai Lama's choice of his spiritual second-in-command.

China's meddling in this supremely important religious tradition is despicable to the Tibetans, who already despise China for crushing their independence drive.

The demonstrators carried large photographs of a young Tibetan boy that the Dalai Lama has chosen as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, the second-ranking spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists behind the Dalai Lama. "China is trying to create unrest in Tibet by preparing to appoint a rival Panchan Lama," said one of the posters carried by the demonstrators as they marched to Jantar Mantar park.

The Dalai Lama, 60, and thousands of followers have lived in exile in India since he fled Tibet in 1959 after China crushed its independence uprising.

In May, after six years of searching, the Dalai Lama announced that the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama had been found in the body of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 6-year-old son of a herder living in the Tibetan village of Nagqu.

But the Dalai Lama, who leads a worldwide campaign for Tibet's greater autonomy, was challenged by Beijing, which quickly denounced the announcement as "illegal and invalid," and was expected to select a Panchen Lama and control his upbringing and education.

Tibetan lamas China summoned to Beijing reportedly began meeting Sunday to identify the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, and they could reject the Dalai Lama's choice. On Tuesday, Shen Guofang, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman, said: "The Dalai Lama's arbitrary selection of a soul boy as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama is null and void."

Like other officials, Shen refused to confirm that the lamas were meeting in Beijing or to discuss how it would appear if a communist government suddenly began making religious decisions. But government officials have said a lottery will choose the new Panchen Lama from candidates a search committee found.

In New Delhi, the four Tibetan refugee organizations that organized the anti-China protest issued a statement saying: "The present move of China is the traditional colonial policy of divide and rule. This ... shows there is no religious freedom in Tibet. ... China should respect the wishes of the Tibetan people by supporting the Panchen Lama recognized by his holiness."