Court case against the Dalai Lama concludes: no victory, no defeat either

Due to the on-going persecution of Buddhist adherents of the four centuries-old practice of the protective Buddha Dorje Shugden by Tenzin Gyatso, aka the 14th Dalai Lama, and his "Central Tibetan Administration" (CTA), following a ban of that religious practice, the Dorje Shugden Devotees' Charitable and Religious Society took the brave step of filing a Petition to the Delhi High Court, New Delhi, India in 2008.

On 5 April 2010, after more than two years of struggle, the Petition was finally dismissed by Justice S. Muralidhar on technical grounds.

The major reason cited for denying jurisdiction was location. The government of India pointed out that this court has no territorial jurisdiction over a dispute. As they are located in Dharamsala, the state government is to investigate the allegations against the Dalai Lama and Tibetan government in exile. Indian government does not recognize the so-called Tibetan government in exile.

Justice Muralidhar pointed out:

"It is however clarified that the dismissal of this petition will not preclude any individual member or members of the [Dorje Shugden Society] to seek appropriate remedies as may be available to them in law" before the police in Karnataka and its state government.

It was further stated that worshippers of Dorje Shugden have a right to freedom of religion as enshrined under Article 25 of the Constitution.

Predictably, the website of the Central Tibetan Administration on April 20 claimed this as a victory for them, falsely stating on their website that “Justice Muralidhar's decision had the effect of closing the doors on the possibility of similar complaints in the future.” In fact, Justice Muralidar clearly stated that by dismissing the case in its present form he would not express any opinion on the merits or demerits of the case, and he clearly pointed out in paragraph 12 of the Order (as mentioned above): "It is however clarified that the dismissal of this petition will not preclude any individual member or member of the Petitioner No. 1 Society [i.e., the above named Dorje Shugden Society] to seek appropriate remedies as may be available to them in law before the appropriate forum…".

The court noted that the Shugden Society's harassment and maltreatment accusations had not yet been lodged in a formal complaint to the local police authorities. This has led the CTA to take the Justice’s comments out of context, stating that the Petition had been dismissed due to 'vague averments' regarding cases of harassment and persecution against Shugden devotees. The actual order in fact reads that they were vague statements because "the criminal law remedies available to the Petitioners has not been availed of by them" (para 8), i.e. the victims. This of course is likely due to intimidation and fear of further persecution.

Despite the CTA propaganda, it is clear from studying the judgment that there was no victory, but nor was there a defeat. The dismissal was mainly for two reasons. (1) The Justice did not see a territorial jurisdiction of the Delhi High Court pointing towards the law and order institutions of the States of Himachal Pradesh (the seat of the Tibetan leader) and Karnataka (the site of the large Tibetan settlements Mundgod and Bylakuppe). (2) He mentioned the lack of records in the local police files due to the absence of complaints by victims of the Dalai Lama's actions.

This ruling in fact lights the way for future court cases in the coming years to be tried in the appropriate state forums, especially as and when individual victims garner the courage to make official complaints to the local police and the records of those complaints pile up. As the persecution continues and monks are still expelled en masse from their monasteries, there is sadly no shortage of evidence to bring against the Dalai Lama and his CTA.

As the Dorje Shugden Society said on April 22:

"There is no question of win - lose here. The dismissal of the case is disappointing. On the other hand, this experience has given us a second chance to approach it in a better and more efficient way. Moreover, it also implies that collaboration and fraternity are priorities. Also, our lawyer said that the Society can file a Suit and individuals who are affected can file individual Petitions. The society tried its best according to its ability. Of course the society is poorly funded. But this is not end of our struggle for religious freedom, human dignity and equality, since our cause is just. And it goes without saying that those who walk on the path of truth often face challenges. Despite hindrances we ought to make effort that no one live through the deprivation of their basic rights, and pledge to promote love, compassion and tolerance in lieu of merely preaching them."

Red Guards of Tibetan Buddhism

Resolutions by the Tibetan Youth Congress

This article shows how (at least certain elements of) the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) have taken it upon themselves to be the mouthpiece of the Dalai Lama and the TGIE and to pursue a witch hunt against Shugden practitioners. Here are a few examples:

Tibetan Youth Congress Enforces Dalai Lama's Ban on Dorje Shugden
Human Rights Violations of Dorje Shugden Practitioners
Background, history, analysis and stories about the Dalai Lama and Dorje Shugden

It is worth noting that the Dalai Lama's younger sister Jetsun Pema was one of the founders of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC). His youngest brother, Ngari Rinpoche, was the second president of the TYC. Ngari Rinpoche's wife Rinchen Khando Choegyal served as the president of Tibetan Women's Association (which has also harassed Shugden practitioners).

(1) Agenda of Meeting of the TYC

The local and central TYC will perform pujas for the Dalai Lama. When the Dalai Lama pays a visit to a local group, the local TYC must take care of the Dalai Lama's well-being and be very cautious of the followers of Dholgyal (Shugden).

Without any shame, the followers of Dholgyal are accomplishing the wishes of the Chinese government by directly protesting against His Holiness the Dalai Lama and so on. What a challenge for the Tibetan Youth Congress to carry!

Resolution

On the basis of our firm stance and resolution in 1996, over thirty thousand members of the TYC will take an oath and give their signature, to be witnessed by the Three Jewels, never to share religious and material resources with the followers of Dholgyal. Under the decree of the Tibetan Youth Congress, the local TYC must take oaths and give their signatures on the above matter.

Recently Dholgyal followers, the so-called Dorje Shugden Devotees Religious and Charitable Society, have brought legal action against the Dalai Lama and the Kalon Tripa, leveling baseless accusations against them. The TYC will single-pointedly protest against this. Our general body will send a letter that will reject and protest [the writ petition by Dorje Shugden Society].

With the stamp of TYC and signature of TYC president Tsewang Rigzin
July 5, 2008

(2) Letter to the Dorje Shugden Society of Delhi

To the executive members of Dorje Shugden Society of Delhi:

Recently, the 39th General Meeting of the governing body of the Tibetan Youth Congress was held in Kulu Manali, Himachal Pradesh, from July 1 to 5 of 2008. Ninety-two members from 45 local enclaves of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Taiwan and so on took part in this meeting. We have thoroughly discussed the principally related political agendas.

In the 2nd resolution of Agenda no 5, the governing body has resolved to send a letter to the effect that the Tibetan Youth Congress reject and single pointedly protest Dholgyal followers -- so called Dorje Shugden Devotees Charitable and Religious Society -- for taking His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Kalon Tripa Samdhong Rinpoche to the court on the baseless allegations.

During the time our brothers in Tibet, sacrificing one's life, engage in tremendous campaign of saving Tibet and protest against China, to our sadness, you have reversed the black and white, and accomplished the necessities of the Chinese government by protesting and criticizing when the Dalai Lama travels to the foreign country. Not only that but we, the head and locals of the Tibetan Youth Congress, do not accept that you have sued them with the baseless allegations, regardless of the kindness of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Kalon Tripa and Himachal government. Furthermore, this governing body will show the clear expression of our single-pointed protest.

In future we will remind you not to mistake friend and enemy, and to know the manner of maintaining Buddhadharma and living beings, as well as to know the purpose and benefit of the instructions given to the Tibetan public by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

39th General Meeting of the Governing Body of the Tibetan Youth Congress
July 5, 2008
Tserwang Rizin, Chairman
Seal and Signature
CC: Indian Government, Himachal Government, Private Office of the Dalai Lama, Department of Security of Tibetan government in exile.

(Letter sent on September 18, 2008)

The patriotic fervor, blind devotion to their leader, and elements of their behavior (threatening letters, wanted posters, arson, violence) ironically and sadly is reminiscent of the Red Guards of China. It is worth pointing out that these particular members of the Tibetan Youth Congress (and Women's Association) are not behaving like Buddhists in their political activities of repressing Shugden practitioners -- they are behaving like thugs.

The story of 16 young Tibetan refugees in Nepal and India

Testimony of Lobsang Tsultrim, Tibetan Refugee

My name is Lobsang Tsultrim. I am from Gyaltang province - Yunan in Chinese - in Tibet. July 16, 2007 was the date I arrived at the Tibetan Reception Center (TRC) in Kathmandu, Nepal. Upon our arrival at the TRC, we rejoiced as though we were home and we felt secure and at ease, meeting fellow Tibetans there. However, that feeling abruptly ended when we were interviewed by the Head of the TRC.

"Do you have a Chinese passport?” the Head asked. “We have no Chinese passport,” we replied. He laughed and yelled: “Tell me honestly. If you don't have a Chinese passport, which way did you take to come down to Nepal?” I responded that I really didn't have a passport and that we gave money to a guide to help us cross the border. He then asked which monastery we were going to, and I told him Sera Mey monastery. He further inquired which Khamtsen (monastic section) I would join and I told him Pomra Khamtsen.

He clearly disliked my answer and began speaking badly to me. I was confused about what had gone wrong. I figured out that he was angry because Pomra Khamtsen practices Dorje Shugden.

I then was escorted to Room no. 5, where I gave an interview again. The staff asked my name, my parents’ names and my fatherland, and I answered them. They also asked the monastery and monastic section (Khamtsen) of my choice. I said I would go to join Pomra Khamtsen at Sera Mey. I was then asked if I worship Dorje Shugden, and I replied that I do.

I was then told that I would have to sign a statement renouncing my faith and practice in Dorje Shugden if I wanted to go to Pomra Khamtsen at Sera Mey.

I appealed to him not to force me to sign.

The staff member conducting this phase of the interview said:

"You are a Chinese spy. You dislike the Dalai Lama. If you worship Shugden, you are against the Dalai Lama.”

I denied those allegations, saying that the Dalai Lama is the spiritual master of Tibet and he is also my guru. Dorje Shugden is a Deity who is worshipped by our monastery and our province and our family.

I was pushed again regarding my reasons for refusing to sign the statement renouncing Dorje Shugden. And I repeated my earlier statement that the Deity Dorje Shugden is worshipped by our monastery and province, and that my family also has worshiped the Deity for several generations. I strenuously denied that my worship of Dorje Shugden meant I disliked the Dalai Lama. I begged him to have sympathy for me and not force me to give up my religious faith.

I was then told that I needed to think carefully about this matter, as there was no way I would be admitted to the monastery if I didn’t sign. He refused to give me a reference letter, which would have stated that my admission to Sera Mey was sanctioned by the Dalai Lama and the Kalon Tripa, head of the Tibetan cabinet.

Our purpose in risking escape from Tibet was to have an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and to join the monastery where we could study Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. We had no purpose apart from that.

We stayed for two months in Kathmandu without getting a reference letter from the TRC.

We are grieving.

The delegates from Pomra Khamtsen, Dhokhang Khamtsen, Shugden devotees and the Nepali government provided us help. The ministry of Nepali Home Affairs sent a notice to the UNHCR and the TRC not to engage in discrimination. The UNHCR then asked the TRC not to provide any letter to newcomers from Tibet. We left Kathmandu on July 12, 2007.

Even after we left the TRC, we were harassed. Before boarding a bus to Delhi, the head of the TRC and his staff searched our bags -- stealing our new things and leaving only those items that were second-hand. The items they took were clothes and tins of meat we needed for our journey.

Their behavior shocked us. What could we do? Our eyes filled with tears.

Instead of Tibetans helping Tibetans, they repressed and robbed us. They maltreated and discriminated against us because we worship Dorje Shugden. We felt that Shugden devotees in India suffered more than us. We then left.

On July 14, 2007, we arrived at the TRC located at Budh Vihar in Delhi. We sojourned there for approximately 10 hours. We were then sent to Dharamsala by bus. On July 15, in the morning, we arrived at Dharamsala and went to the TRC there. As soon as we arrived at the center, a staff said:

"We all are Tibetans. We all should maintain harmony and unity. And we must obey the words of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”

He said further things we didn't understand because of differences in our dialects. Then he showed us our beds, gave us each plates and spoons, and collected Rs.150 from each of us. We were served breakfast of rice noodles and egg. After breakfast, our names were collected. For three days no one was called for interview.

A staff member (whose height was 5.5 and whose age was around 25) wrote down my name and that of Tsering Norbu, who is 14 years old. He said we needed to go somewhere else. I asked him where we needed to go, but he said nothing. As we do not speak the Lhasa dialect, communication was difficult. We asked the staff person to call a monk we knew from Sera Mey. We gave him the number and asked him to call on his mobile, but he did not do this, saying that the number didn’t work. He then took us to a two-story building. There was one Indian, a nun and three other men including the person who brought us here. The Indian didn't ask any questions.

The interrogation went as follows:

Department: "Which Deity does your monastery worship?"
Lobsang: "Our monastery worships the Deity Dorje Shugden."
Department: "If so, do you worship the Dalai Lama?"
Lobsang: "We worship Dorje Shugden as a Deity and the Dalai Lama as a Guru. Not only that, I brought a photo of the Dalai Lama. "
Department: "It is said that the photo was not allowed."
Lobsang: "As we have faith and belief, we keep the photo in our pocket."
Department: "If you worship Shugden, you are against the Dalai Lama. If you worship Shugden, you can't worship the Dalai Lama. You must choose one or the other."
Lobsang: "From generation to generation we have worshipped both the Dalai Lama and Shugden. Therefore we cannot choose between them, as I mentioned earlier."

They had a discussion among themselves and then told us to leave. We returned to the TRC. The next day, each of us was questioned by the TRC.

Interrogator: "What is your name, province and monastery?"
Lobsang: "My monastery is Gyaltang Songtsen Ling."
Interrogator: "How many monks are there in your monastery? Do they worship Shugden?"
Lobsang: "Our monastery has over eight hundred monks. They worship Shugden."
Interrogator: "Is the main statue of your monastery Lama Tsongkhapa or Guru Padmasambhawa?"
Lobsang: "The main statue is Tsongkhapa (the founder of the Gelug Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism)."
Interrogator: "Which monastic section of the monastery are you going to?"
Lobsang: "I am going to Pomra Khamtsen."
Interrogator: "If you are going to a monastery, you must sign that you never worship Shugden. You cannot go if you do not sign. This is in accordance with the Dalai Lama’s direction and the Kashag’s (Tibetan cabinet) order. We didn't formulate this policy. Therefore, you cannot have a reference letter. If you want to go to a school, there is no objection. But you cannot go to a monastery as long as you worship Dorje Shugden. So you must think well. I have no options for you."

A few days later, we were told not to stay in the TRC. We said we would leave the TRC if they gave us the reference letter, but that without a letter we had nowhere to go. A staff person threatened that if we didn’t leave the police would beat us and put us in prison. On September 20, the TRC stopped giving us meals and blankets; we were put in a empty room in the roof. We felt cold and hungry for the first time in our lives.

The staff again told us that we couldn’t stay at the TRC and would have to leave soon. We again asked them to give us the letter; they replied that they would not provide it if we didn’t sign a statement renouncing Dorje Shugden. We responded by saying that if they didn’t have the authority to provide a letter, let us meet Kalon Tripa Samdhong Rinpoche.

Then Lobsang Norbu and I were brought to the office of the Tibetan Cabinet. We didn't meet the Kalon Tripa. However, there was a young man in the Cabinet Office. We gave him our petition and returned.

“You can't stay here more than three days”, the TRC staff told us, “and you had better discuss this.” We repeated that we would go if they provided us with a letter; otherwise, we had nowhere to go. The next day we approached the Cabinet Office. After waiting a few minutes, Kalon Tripa and five or six men came together. We got up to show our respect. Kalon asked us our names and what was the matter. We said, “Rinpoche, please give us a letter of reference so that we can join the monastery.”

Kalon Samdhong responded:

“If you don’t sign declaring that you will stop worshipping Shugden, there is no way to send you to the monastery. It is better for you go back to Tibet. You’ll have to get the money for the journey”.

His response really hurt our hearts. He had no regard for us, as was evidenced by his words. Heartbroken, we returned to the TRC.

We continued to be threatened and harassed by the TRC staff, who told us they didn’t know when the police would be coming to arrest us and that we should leave as soon as possible.

On September 22, the police did come to the TRC and told us to leave Dharamshala as soon as possible or we would be imprisoned. The TRC and the police forced us to give two different signatures, declaring that: (1) we are leaving Dharamshala, and (2) we will go back to Tibet.

When I refused to sign, the police beat me with a stick. Lobsang Tseten got slapped.

They continued to interrogate us and told us again that we must sign the statement that we were returning to Tibet. The said our refusal to sign would result in our being booked into jail, and that those of us under the age of sixteen would be taken to a different facility.

The TRC staff informed us that the police gave us one week to leave or else we would be imprisoned. This was heartbreaking beyond belief. Our parents sent us to study Tibetan Buddhism and philosophy. To this end, we risked our lives to escape. We risked everything for this, but we journeyed to a free country only to have our own people persecute us—Tibetans, who always talk about peace, love and compassion for all living beings.

Again we were brought to the police station. We stayed there without food and drink for one day and were brought back to the TRC in the evening. The TRC staff said it was definite that the police would arrest us if we didn’t leave as soon as possible. We were young newcomers who were ignorant about this place and system, and had difficulty communicating. Given the situation and our experiences of the previous six months, it was clear we were trapped and that we should leave for the time being. Our hope was that we would have recourse with the Indian government to investigate our case and protect us.

We are deeply grateful to the Government of India for providing us asylum as Tibetan refugees. It is certain that the Tibetan Administration exiled in Dharamasala would not, even if they had the authority, give us refugee status.

(Background to these disturbing events can be found here.)

Human rights violations of Dorje Shugden practitioners

In her well researched book of the late 1990s, Exiled from Exile, Dr Ursula Bernis explains how the ban of Dorje Shugden and resulting persecution came about. An extract:

"In the summer of 1996, the Tibetan government in exile was accused of human rights violations by many Tibetans and some of their Western supporters. Since then most critics have been pressured into silence. Although two prominent human rights organizations expressed their concerns privately to the exile government, they refused to do so publicly for several reasons including that it could be seen as undermining the efforts of the Dalai Lama and the much larger and more serious issue of improving human rights in Tibet under Chinese control. I have seen one of the letters shown to me on condition I not disclose it and its source."

Here is one of many examples of the human rights violations Dr Bernis is talking about. For more first-hand interviews of people conducted at that time -- chronicling abuses that continue right through to the present day -- see Detailed reports of discrimination from inside India and elsewhere.

Extracts from An Interview with Jamphel Yeshe

"For all my life in exile, I have had the welfare of Tibetans and the idea of freedom constantly on my mind. As is well known in the Tibetan community, I worked towards that end in many different ways. All of this is destroyed now by the defamation campaign against me and my family. Because of death threats, I cannot go anywhere alone. I have to live in constant fear of losing my life, my family, my community, my access to religion, my livelihood, -- in short, everything that is dear to me and makes my life worth living....

Q: How has the ban affected you personally?
A: Since the ban we have endless inner turmoil, day and night. My situation is not exceptional. Each and every Tibetan Buddhist who is not able to relinquish faith in his or her Guru is in the same situation. Since the ban was imposed by the Tibetan exile government, families have broken down in every Tibetan community. Children broke relations with their parents and teachers and students have stopped speaking with each other.

These things happened because the Tibetan exile government started a signature campaign against our faith. We were asked to sign a list swearing that we will give up our reliance on the Dharmapala (Dorje Shugden) for this and all future lives. These lists were passed around very publically so everyone could see who signed and who not. When the government stopped the Women's Association and Youth Congress continued to push people to sign. Through the public nature of this campaign we have been completely marginalized. As the president of the Dorje Shugden Society, it was my duty to inform all Tibetans about the situation.

If a Tibetan speaks out, the automatic reaction now is to find out whether or not he relies on Dorje Shugden. If he does, then as a Tibetan I should not have any contact with him, according to the Tibetan exile government. Because of the atmosphere of distrust created this way, I have lost many of my former friends and business contacts. They all know I rely on Dorje Shugden. It has become a trend within the Tibetan exile community for people to declare openly that they want to go after me and finish me. Threats are also made openly against my colleagues in the Society and we experience this prevailing atmosphere of fear and distrust as a great burden.

I am a family man, I have three children. My oldest son is twelve years old, the second son nine years, and my daughter is six years old. The two older children were in school at the Tibetan Children's Village (TCV) in Dharamsala. I and my family received many explicit death threats. I found out through reliable sources -- I can't tell you who -- that an ex-military man and a member of the Tibetan parliament from Rajpur was discussing my two sons and their whereabouts in school in Dharamsala and my involvement with the Dorje Shugden Society with other Tibetans from a military background. Many Tibetans have joined the Indian army as part of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police after the CIA supported Khampa resistance ceased to be active. They have their own units, their own uniforms with their symbols but do not wear them publically.

He said they were well trained and that he and his colleagues would do whatever was necessary and whatever the Tibetan exile government wanted them to do against the Dorje Shugden people. For Tibetans who firmly believe that the Dalai Lama's life is threatened by those who rely on Dorje Shugden, these sentiments, and the willingness to act on them, are completely credible. So I took my children out of the school in Dharamsala and sent them to a safe place in another country. The perception was that anyone who wanted to attack us was free to do so.

The threat letters I received included statements like, "We will not spare your wife and children." One such letter says (in translation):

"To Tashi Dolma [Jamphel Yeshe's wife], from D.P. Gyatso. According to what I heard, your president husband, Chatreng Yeshe, has engaged in many plans regarding the Dalai Lama. Moreover, it is also said that you are going on a film shooting about the Dalai Lama, [Seven Years in Tibet] This being the case you are not permitted to participate in this filming. If you go, I will not spare you easily. We are youths of Darjeeling Voluntary Youth. If you don't believe it, you can come to Darjeeling anytime. Do you understand, slut. Secretary of Youth Group, Darjeeling, Kalimpong. P.S. Some of us are now in Delhi. You have to inform Chatreng Yeshi."

My wife and I received many threatening phone calls, and even our six year old daughter. When asked for a name, the answer was only "I am a man." Once, when they called, the child answered the telephone, as she often did, and the person on the other end told her, "There are fifteen of us here in Delhi and we will kill you and we will kill your father. We will destroy you." My daughter was very upset. She went to close all the doors and told me to stay inside. Early in the morning she would come to my bed and touch me. When I moved, she shouted, overjoyed, "Daddy is still alive."