Questions over TG Rinpoche’s death [June 25, 2014]

Questions over TG Rinpoche’s death

In the death of His Eminence the 13th Tsona Gontse Rinpoche( popularly known as TG Rinpoche) ,we have  lost one of its tallest figures, not only for the Arunachalees but for  the whole of Gelugpa Sect of the Himalayan Buddhist in the country and the world at large. Before dealing with his death and fracas that followed, let’s know that in the 17th century the Gelug School became the most powerful institution in Tibet, and it remained so until China took control of Tibet in the 1950s.His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama is the leading face of Gelugpa and the influence of Gelupa sect leaders is still witnessed in China controlled Tibet.

The muck that flew around during the last rite on May 27 last saddened me. Conspiracy theory on his death was more than demeaning. It pains me to think and imagine that in his death, his stature was reduced to being a local political leader. Besides being the Rinpoche of Tsona Gontse, at the time of his unnatural death, he was heading many organizations of significance in the Himalayan region as much in the Buddhist community of the country; therefore, stakeholders should have looked for a bigger picture or a bigger conspiracy theory that is more plausible. For me, I considered him as the most influential Buddhist leader of Buddhist community in recent times.

Having spent few years in political wilderness, TG did try to make a political come back. In his political pursuit, there were sharp perceptions of his increasing role in fuelling “anti-dam agitations” across Mon region. Off the record, there were briefings of TG’s design to involve monks from South of India in “anti-dam agitations”, on the eve of election year. It won’t be wrong to state that TG Rinpoche was struggling to find political relevance in the state, just as he did in the past but there never were questions on his spiritual irrelevance among his followers and otherwise. Even the political bête noire revered him as a holy man, though same can’t be said if he had to be measured as a politician.

“TG” was not a regular Rinpoche. He was the Rinpoche from Tsona, a place in Tibet, an internationally acknowledged disputed country. And he was based at Tawang, another disputed territory, going by Chinese government’s claim. Third, though he was based at Tawang but Tsona is just within 80 kms radius. Fourth, he was deeply involved in anti-dam agitations on river flowing from one disputed territory (Tibet) to another disputed land (Mon region). And finally, he had access to too many information and have had influence over the biggest asset- the people, across Himalayan states of the country.

From being a Rinpoche to becoming a leading protagonist of anti-dam movement, did TG spread himself too thin or walked too far away from religious discourses? Well, did his role in fuelling anti-dam movement make him an “anti-national”, like GoAP kept calling the anti-dam activists?  Or in his death, could there be another Chinese led conspiracy theory on the next reincarnation just as it had happened in 1995 with the Panchen Lama, the second highest lama of Gelugpa sect when the Chinese took custody of His Holiness Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family after his recognition was made public?

Against this backdrop, should not the entire Buddhist community led by His Holiness Dalai Lama or even the state government of Arunachal Pradesh press for a probe by CBI, to be supported by none less than RAW? Let’s not write off his death as “death in depression over political loss”, just as some national dailies did on May 17, 2014.