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Govt may grant refugee status to Karmapa Lama

Amberish K Diwanji in New Delhi

More than one-and-a-half months after the Karmapa Lama made his dramatic escape from Tibet to India, the Indian government has continued to maintain a deafening silence on the issue. The government's standard reply to queries has remain unchanged, and which is: "The government is inquiring into the circumstances of the Karmapa Lama's arrival in India."

Investigating the matter the government certainly is. Various ministries have been making inquiries into the case, which it still does not term as an escape. Teams to look into the matter have been dispatched by the ministries of external affairs and home. Former foreign secretary A P Venkateswaran was also sent to probe the matter.

The government has two clear fears on the issue. The first is whether the escape of the 17th Karmapa Lama, Orgyen Trinley Dorje, is part of an intricate plot hatched in which the Chinese government may have a part to play; and second, how will the Karmapa Lama's presence in India affect Sino-Indian ties.

Sources at the external affairs ministry have confirmed that Venkateswaran visited Dharamsala to make inquiries into the matter. He was in Dharamsala on Friday, February 18. He spent about two days in Dharamsala. The Tibetan government-in-exile is headquartered at Dharamsala.

"Venkateswaran was paying a visit on behalf of the government," government sources said. "His mission was to collect information and then provide inputs to the government."

Venkateswaran was a former ambassador to China and speaks Mandarin fluently. He is also reputedly close to the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and temporal head of the Tibetans. He is considered an authority on Chinese affairs and Sino-Indian relations.

However, Venkateswaran was unable to meet the Dalai Lama since the latter was in 'retreat,' meaning that His Holiness was observing silence and not meeting anyone. It is reported it was only to meet the Karmapa Lama on his arrival at Dharamsala that the Dalai Lama temporarily broke his 'retreat.'

It is not yet known if Venkateswaran met the Karmapa Lama, who has thus far stayed in seclusion, interacting only with his personal staff and officials of the Tibetan government-in-exile. The Karmapa only speaks Tibetan and Chinese.

On his return to New Delhi, Venkateswaran briefed MEA officials on his impression and inferences. "He met a number of senior Tibetan officials at Dharamsala and gave his analysis of the situation to the government. His inputs will certainly be very important in the final decisions the government will reach," sources confirmed.

Venkateswaran was unavailable for comment.

The sources said the government thoroughly investigated whether Beijing was aware of the Karmapa Lama's escape. The government has now reached the conclusion that the Chinese were almost certainly aware of the Karmapa Lama's plan to escape, but chose not to stop him.

"This inference is reached because it is well nigh impossible to believe that the Karmapa Lama escaped across the Himalayas in winter without taking along adequate provisions and equipment, and preparing for such a journey is impossible without adequate support, whether active or passive," the sources added.

"The question is how involved the Chinese are, if at all. And if they are not really hand in glove, then why did they not stop him from escaping?" the sources asked. "The government is still working on this."

This may be one reason why the government has still not spoken on the Karmapa Lama's flight to India across the mighty Himalayas that is difficult to cross in summer, let alone winter.

One reason could be the ongoing dispute between two claimants to the Karmapa Lama's title. Besides Orgyen Trinley Dorje, there is another claimant for the same status. The Karmapa Lama is based at the Rumtek monastery in Gangtok, Sikkim. To avoid any trouble, the government has banned Orgyen Trinley Dorje from travelling to Gangtok.

The government is likely to issue a Tibetan Refugee Certificate to the Karmapa Lama. This way, the government avoids giving the Karmapa Lama political asylum which would have angered Beijing, yet allows him to stay on in India.

"The government will recognise the Karmapa as a spiritual leader of the Tibetans and Buddhists, and the Chinese also won't object to the Karmapa Lama being given a TRC, so that he is seen just as another Tibetan refugee," the sources added.

Professor Dawa Norbu of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, who specialises in Tibetan studies, agreed that granting the Karmapa Lama Tibetan refugee status was the best way out for New Delhi. "This will not spoil Sino-Indian relations," he pointed out.

However, neither Professor Norbu nor anyone else had any answers as to why the government was taking so long in granting such a status to the Karmapa Lama or for the lingering silence on the matter of his presence in India.

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