Karmapa Office of Administration

In keeping with the statement made on Wednesday at Una Court, Himachal Pradesh, please find a statement just issued by Narendra Pal Singh, lawyer of the Karmapa’s Office of Administration.

His Holiness Tibetan spiritual leader Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorjee is currently in Bodh Gaya, presiding over his order’s most important annual puja. The authorities are fully aware of this fact and have known of his travel obligations since December of last year when His Holiness’s Office of Administration applied to seek all the necessary traveling permits and approvals.

His Holiness the Karmapa has lived in India since 2000. He has been living in cramped temporary quarters in Dharamsala since that time, in a monastery as a guest. Therefore, the Karmae Garchen Trust sought to buy some land in order to construct a permanent residence for His Holiness. The Trust informed the office of the District Collector of Dharamsala and sought and received preliminary approval to proceed with the purchase of land nearby. An application seeking permission to buy land under the relevant provisions of HP Land Tenancy act was also filed.

The charge sheet filed in the Hon’ble Court is mainly against the persons who are involved in selling the land to the Trust for a variety of allegations including cheating and forgery. His Holiness has been implicated for conspiracy and only because he was the chairman of the Karmae Garchen Trust. It is implied by the police that His Holiness would have known about the activities and motivations of the land sellers and the day-to-day decisions of the Trust. However, His Holiness had never attended a single meeting of the Karmae Garchen Trust and has never played any administrative, financial, or management role, let alone had any knowledge of the land sellers.

In the 900 years of the Karmapa tradition, the administrative, financial and management responsibilities of the lineage holder are always held by the Karmapa’s administrative office, known as the Tsurphu Labrang. His Holiness allowed the use of his name as honorary chairman only at the bequest of the Trust members for reasons of auspiciousness and blessings. It is disheartening that His Holiness is still being hounded and that too on such fictitious grounds. He himself has expressed his feelings of hurt recently but has also said that he has great faith in the Indian judicial system and has the highest respect for the democratic values of this country.

 

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