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Debating the Karmapa Issue

Gunjan Singh - 3/1/2011

For the first time in over 5 decades in India, the Tibetan community is in news for all the wrong reasons. In a completely surprising event the Tibetan religious leader Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje has been questioned by the Himachal Pradesh police. This is because of the fact that the government agencies found currency worth nearly Rs. 7 crore from the monastery. The Karmapa is regarded as the 17th reincarnation of the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism and it is the third highest ranked monk after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. What has added to the existing controversy is the story of his ‘miraculous’ escape from China in the year 2000. After he reached India he was greeted by the Tibetan population with great zeal and enthusiasm. But the Indian government has always been suspicious about his loyalties and also his intentions. As a result there were a lot of limitations on his movement within India. It is believed that he has been aspiring to have his own monastery and as an effort to gain that his supporters were working towards concluding a land deal.

The Karmapa office stated that they were “complying fully with the investigation”. What is interesting to note that the Tibetans do not enjoy any immunity when it comes maintaining law and order in the country. They are refugees in India and they will have to be treated using the normal course of investigation. The Karmapa office has stated that the money which was discovered was collection of donations. On the other hand the police argue that the money when recovered was in the form of neatly packed packages and thus it is not comfortable with accepting the donations argument.

The discovery of the money has given birth to the debates around the fact that the Karmapa might be having alleged links with China. These allegations have gained further momentum and strength after the investigators discovered Chinese SIM cards. To stretch the argument a little far it can be argued that Karmapa had been maintaining contacts with Beijing as part of the Chinese game-plan to control monasteries in the Himalayan region from Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir to Twang in Aruanchal Pradesh. The office of the Karmapa rejected “China's statement that he was not a spy on the grounds that they did not need an endorsement from the middle kingdom”. They said that “We don't need any endorsement from China. When there is no connection, there is no connection”.

These developments could seriously hamper the image of the Tibetans in India. Indian people and the Indian government have extended their hospitality to the Tibetans when they were in need for a place to stay. If the reports of links with China are confirmed then the Indian government as well as the people will definitely feel betrayed. The Dalai Lama has said that this issue will not affect his relationship with India. He dismissed the Karmapa episode saying it was the result of “carelessness to keep proper records of money” and called it “a mistake and nothing serious” to have any consequences on their long-standing relationship with India and the future of the Tibetan community in India. He has also called for supporting the ongoing investigation.

Meanwhile while talking in Jodhpur the Dalai Lama has called for the inclusion of India as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Should this been seen as an attempt to portray the support of the Tibetans towards India keeping in view the damage which can occur as a result of the speculations in the Karmapa case. He also stated that there is a need for political liberalization in China as today it is a communist country without any communist ideology.

The Tibetan issue is a major problem area between India and China. There is need to use restraint when one gets to concluding that the Karmapa is Chinese spy. This will not only harm the relations between the Tibetan government in exile and the Indian government but it will damage the overall impression of the Tibetans among the Indian people. There is an accepted belief that the Tibetan people are peaceful and religious. To add such a political and manipulative tinge to the existing image without any conclusion can be problematic. Till date the Chinese government used to blame the Tibetans in India for the problems and developments in Tibet but as a result of this now even the Indian government has started looking at the various Tibetan monasteries across the Indian border for a possible connection with the Chinese government.

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Tibetans defend Karmapa as probe continues by Jyoti Kamal , CNN-IBN at http://origin-www.ibnlive.com/news/tibetans-defend-karmapa-as-probe-continues/142037-3.html Accessed on February 10, 2011