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Title march of Dorjee to Rumtek monastery halted

The Sikkim Police on Sunday halted the march to the Rumtek monastery by the third claimant to the title of the 17th Karmapa, Dawa Uangpo Dorjee, to avoid any law and order problem at the religious place.

The post, lying vacant since 1981, has two other claimants.

A large contingent of police personnel blocked the over 50-vehicle convoy of Dorjee, about 10 km ahead of the monastery.

Dorjee, dressed in maroon and yellow robe with beads and a golden watch hanging from his left hand, argued they should be permitted to go to the monastery, the headquarters of the Karma Kagyu sect of Buddhism, where he would undergo a test to prove the authenticity of his claim.

Dorjee said it was not proper for the Sikkim government to support the candidature of Urgyen Thinley Dorjee who, according to him, was a foreign national.

"Though I belong to Sikkim, I am always overlooked (by the government)," Dorjee said.

The 24-year-old monk said he had already intimated Urgyen Thinley Dorjee and Thaye Thinley Dorjee to be present on Sunday at the Rumtek monastery to undergo the tests.

Both the candidates were, however, not given permission by the central government to enter Sikkim.

The controversy over the post of the 17th Karmapa took an ugly turn when in 1993 the rival factions clashed among themselves prompting the authorities to deploy armed forces at the monastery premises.

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