Since the escape of the Dalai Lama in 1959 from Chinese occupied Tibet more than 100,000 Tibetans have fled their homeland till date. Somewhere between 2000 and 4000 Tibetans escape into exile every year even 50 years after the 'liberation' of a 'feudal' and 'theocratic' Tibet by one of the most 'progressive', 'socialist' and 'democratic' communist regimes of our times. Since the daring escape of the Dalai Lama no other escape story has attracted as much international media attention as did the escape of 15 year old Ugyen Trinley Dorjee, the reincarnate Gyalwa Karma Pa. Interestingly, Ugyen happens to be the only high ranking reincarnate monk who enjoys the official recognition of Dalai Lama as well as the Chinese government as the 17th Gyalwa Karma Pa - the spiritual head of the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism.

In Tibet religion has, by tradition, played an important role in the social, economic and administrative system. Representatives of the clergy form an integral part of the government and they are party to all major decisions. Although the Dalai Lama has brought in many democratic reforms in the Tibetan system of governance in past four decades, yet the clergy remains an active participant through reservations and nominations in the parliament and other meaningful forums. At the time of Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1951 the population was roughly estimated as somewhere around 6 million. There were 6259 monasteries in Tibet.

An outstanding feature of Tibetan Buddhism is the system of reincarnation. It is believed that each person is reborn after death. While ordinary people have no control over their rebirth, an enlightened senior monk can foresee and decide about his rebirth. Such persons leave behind indications about the time and place of their rebirth. The new incarnate child is later identified through an elaborate religious drill. An important part of this drill is focused around prospective child candidates. The real incarnate, on the basis of the memories of his previous life, can identify the personal belongings of his predecessor. He picks up his real rosary, prayer wheel, spects or walking stick amidst a pile of similar looking fake objects. Normally this search is conducted about five years after the death of the senior monk when the reincarnate child is grown up enough to undergo such tests. In some cases the search for the successor may take many more years.

Once the right child is identified he is installed at the throne of his predecessor in an elaborate religious ceremony, suitable to the status of his rank in the religious hierarchy and popularity of his monastery. The child reincarnate is brought up in the monastery where he receives teachings from learned scholars and personal teachers. An incarnate monk is known as a 'Tulku' and is addressed respectfully as 'Rimpoche'. These reincarnate monks hold deep influence among the masses in general and the members of their respective sects in particular.

The 16th Karma Pa Ranjung Rigpe Dorje died in 1981 in Gangtok. Ugyen Trinley Dorjee was identified as the new incarnation by Tibetan monks in 1992. He was enthroned in Tsurphu monastery, the traditional supreme seat of Karma Pas, following recognition by the Dalai lama and then by the Chinese government. That won him the distinction of being the only living senior monk recognized by the two arch rivals.

THE REINCARNATION SYSTEM

The Tibetan system of passing the political and religious lineage through incarnation has its own unique plus points. In a way it has its own style of democracy built-in within the system. It is interesting to see that in a system where the word of the Dalai Lama is taken as the last word on any issue concerning the earthly or heavenly worlds, his successor is neither elected like in a modern democracy nor is it imposed upon by a family like in a monarchy.

The new Dalai Lama, or for that matter a new Rimpoche of any denomination, has the freedom to be reborn anywhere. For example, the current Dalai Lama, 14th in his lineage, was born in a poor farmer's house living in one of the remotest areas of Tibet. The system provides a smooth transfer of power and assets to the newly found incarnation through a group of senior monks who educate and bring up the child in the monastery. This group of monks, functioning as a council of regents, looks after the administration of the monastery as well as the financial and other interests of the young master till he reaches adulthood and takes over his responsibilities.

However, the system has its in-built sources of problems too. In a community where leadership is decided through reincarnation it is not uncommon to witness disputes at the time of finding a new heir to a high religious place. History shows that the probability and, at times, the degree and tone of such disputes have been more prominent, volatile and conspicuous in cases where the worldly assets and socio-political influence of the concerned Rimpoche and his monastery are of higher levels. Rival groups, advocating the authenticity of one particular child candidate over others have been a common event.

There have been cases when this debate took violent and unfortunate turns too. In most such cases the warring groups belonged to either the family members of the deceased Rimpoche or individuals who were very close to him during his life time --- i.e. people who had got used to enjoying the fruits of close proximity to the seat of power. It is not uncommon to see that the new incarnate is found within the immediate family of one of these interest groups or among close relatives of some of the influential individual among them. There have been cases when the wife of the funds manager or a senior administrator in the set up of the deceased Rimpoche announced the coming of the next incarnation through her pregnancy within days following the master's death. History of Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism has innumerable recorded events when the incarnate boy died in suspicious circumstances before reaching his adulthood. Recent active involvement of non-Tibetans, especially the westerners ( the 'Ingee' as known among Tibetans), has added a new element of drama and controversy to such disputes. At least in one such case the identification of a Spanish child as the reincarnation of a senior Tibetan Rimpoche attracted a lot of controversy and media attention.

THE KARMA PA 's REINCARNATION AND THE DISPUTE

The 16th Karma Pa died in exile in Sikkim in 1981. By that time he was a popular teacher and master of Rumtek monastery near Gangtok which had emerged as one of the most prominent visual symbols and a thriving centre of Tibetan culture outside occupied Tibet. The patronage of the Choegyal of Sikkim, his close association with the Bhutanese royal family and the ever expanding circle of his devotees brought to Rumtek all that goes with a religious headquarters of such eminence. An added element of advantage to Rumtek was that it came into prominence in an age when search for a right kind of spiritual refuge started with a bang in the West. The mystique Himalayan environment of Rumtek, total inaccessibility of Tibet to foreigners and the magical personality of a communicative Buddhist master Karma Pa made Rumtek the final destination to all those who were looking for a Shangri-la. This led to the emergence of hundreds of spiritual satellite centres of Rumtek in Western cities that attracted Western devotees in hordes. Money and influence were the natural byproducts that made their presence conspicuous in Rumtek. Obviously, it emerged as the richest and most popular religious centre of Tibet in exile. Though the estimates vary significantly but even the most conservative one would put these assets at anywhere beyond a few hundred million dollars plus a regular flow of offering in cash and kind.

Following the death of the 16th Karma Pa the management of Rumtek and related Dharma matters was to be handled by a council of four senior monk regents. These were (in alphabetic order) Gyaltsab Rimpoche, Kongtrul Rimpoche, Shamar Rimpoche and Tai Situ Rimpoche. Unfortunately no direct instructions from the departed master were traceable about his next reincarnation. This lead to a lot of restlessness among the regents and anxiety among devotees. This state of confusion and helplessness lingered on for nearly a decade - long enough to generate friction, mutual suspicion and hence groupism among the followers.

The passe was broken in 1990 when Tai Situ Pa announced the existence of a prediction letter from the late Karma Pa. According to him he had found this folded letter in an emulate which the late Karma Pa had given to him long before his death. The letter contained the required instructions on how to locate his next incarnate. The major information was that the new Karma Pa baby was born inside Chinese occupied Tibet. This development was enough to bring out the frictions and divisions that were evolving since years. Shamar Pa, the most vocal and proactive among the other regents soon questioned the validity of this letter and rejected it as a 'fake'. Later, he and his supporters put up a list of demands which included asking for forensic testing of the document. Some glossy publications entitled as 'Karma Pa Papers', brought out by a section of pro-Shamar Pa disciples from Western Europe published pictures of some sections of the said document on the basis of which it was claimed that the handwriting in the document was different from that of the 16th Karma Pa.

The dispute has since taken a long route that is dotted with mobbing, knifing, police firing, character assassination and almost all shapes of intrigues that must not have anything to do with good religious practitioners. This race towards 'being right' went on for years and, unfortunately, still goes on in the shape of media allegations, counter allegations and even some legal disputes on one or other aspect of the issue.

However, following the production of the prediction letter by Tai Situ pa the council of regents decided to send Kongtrul Rimpoche to Tibet to probe the possibilities of conducting proper search for the new incarnate. But fate had something else in stock for them. Kongtrul Rimpoche died in a freak road accident before reaching the Bagdogra airport. His speeding brand new BMW car suddenly lost control and crashed into a roadside tree near Jalpaiguri. The Rimpoche died on the spot. Strangely enough the engine got detached from the car body either before or after the crash. The mystery behind this accident is yet to be solved

The search for the new incarnate was then taken over by Tai Situ Pa amidst loud protests from Shamar Pa and his supporters. By that time the fast changing scenario had left Tai Situ Pa and the third regent Gyaltsab Rimpoche on one side and Shamar Pa in the opposite camp. While the first two lived and operated from inside the Rumtek campus, Shamar Pa ran his activities from outside. On a number of occasions police and other security agencies had to intervene to avoid violent clashes between the two sides. On at least one such occasion knives and other lethal weapons were used in the fight for possession of Rumtek.

In March 1992 a serious attempt was made by Ugyen Tulku, an elderly and respected religious figure, to bring peace among the warring groups. As a result of his efforts Shamar pa wrote a letter to the Chief Minister of Sikkim saying that he would not question the authenticity of the prediction letter and would show trust in Tai Situ Pa. But this bon homie was not to last very long. Only three month later Rumtek saw the children of Buddha fighting with each other in a disgusting violent manner.

In the meanwhile Tai Situ Pa has been traveling to Tibetan headquarters of Karma Kagyu sect in Tsurphu and conducting search with the help of other senior monks of the monastery. Interestingly, the Chinese authorities were quite forthcoming in supporting this search for the new Karma Pa. The search parties, one of them headed by Tai Situ Pa himself, traveled to some remote villages of Tibet. The search took nearly two years before they zeroed in on boy Abo Gaga (meaning 'Happy Boy') in Lhatok village of Kham province of Tibet. The province was the first to be occupied by China in 1949 attack and has since been assigned to mainland China following creation of a truncated 'Tibet Autonomous Region' (TAR). The boy was 7 or 8 years old at that time.

Following the discovery of the new incarnate Tai Situ Pa went to Dharamsala in end June 1992 to seek official approval of the Dalai Lama who was, at that time, in Rio to take part in the UN Earth Summit. The Shamar Pa camp alleges that Tai Situ Pa used his personal influence in Dharamsala to get the Dalai Lama's approval in a hurry. As far as the Tibetan administration of Dalai Lama is concerned its stand was that His Holiness meditated over the issue at Rio and sent his consent to Tai Situ Pa saying that if the learned monks involved in the search were satisfied about their findings then he was pleased to send his blessings. A decision reached through meditation and telepathy was communicated to Tai Situ Pa on telefax from Rio on 30th June 1992.

THE CHINESE CONNECTION

For Tibetan masses and religious masters the endorsement of the Dalai Lama was the last word on the issue. But the most interesting aspect of the story was that the Chinese government also sent its official approval for the new Karma Pa, or 'The Living Buddha', the well known Chinese expression for an incarnate Lama. Soon after this Abo Gaga was taken to Tsurphu in August 1992 where Tai Situ Pa, the senior most Guru involved in the search, performed the hair cutting ceremony which is the official announcement of the ordainment of new incarnate into monk-hood. The newly acknowledged Karma Pa was given a new name Ugyen Trinley Dorjee.

What followed since Beijing's recognition to the new Karma Pa is a new chapter in the already turbulent history of occupied Tibet, China, India as well as the triangular relations between the three. It was surprising to note that soon after giving their recognition to the new Karma Pa the Chinese masters went out of their known ways to express their enthusiasm and their interest in the newly found 'Living Buddha'. Tsurphu was repainted and decorated at official expense and an elaborate ceremony was organized for the enthronement of Ugyen as the new Karma Pa. A number of westerners, belonging to various Karma Pa centres from different countries were invited and flown in to be a part of this ceremony. The event was highly publicized on the Chinese national media as a special national event.

Later, colourful picture cards and posters of the new Karma Pa, adorned with golden Chinese characters were smuggled into India and distributed in hundreds of thousands free of cost among monasteries and common Tibetan refugees during special congregations. These included the haircutting ceremony, performed by the Dalai Lama on the new incarnation of his late teacher Kalu Rimpoche, at Sonada near Darjeeling.

Following his enthronement the young boy Karma Pa was put under the feathers of a committee headed by a senior Chinese Communist Party leader who was also to look after his political education to ensure that he grows up into a good Chinese patriot. Other members of the committee comprised of hand picked Tibetan lamas whose responsibilities included looking after the religious education of young Karma Pa. For obvious reasons Tai Situ Pa, who has been maintaining regular contact with the new Karma Pa was the natural choice to be his root Guru.

All this only added to the already existing friction between Shamar Pa and other religious leaders, especially Tai Situ Pa. He was not ready to accept Ugyen Trinley Dorjee as the real incarnate Karma Pa. Things took another dramatic turn when Shamar Pa declared in March 1994 that he had found out the 'real' Karma Pa. He announced the newly found Tibetan boy Tenzin Chentze, renamed as Trinley Thai Dorjee was to be enthroned as the 17th Karma Pa at the Karma Pa Institute, an impressive building complex in South Delhi. This Tibetan architectured campus has been under his direct control since its inception and still functions like his headquarters.

Unfortunately the ceremony on 17th March 1994 was marred and interrupted by violence. The ceremony was attacked by a mob of over 100 Tibetan refugee monks and laymen whose main objection was that the ceremony was a challenge to the authority of the Dalai Lama who had already made his choice public on the Karma Pa lineage. The frenzied mob pelted stones and all kind of handy missiles into a highly guarded ceremony hall. They even smashed some vehicles parked outside the Institute. One of the damaged cars belonged to the author who was busy filming the ceremony inside the Institute. An equally shocking side of this violence was the response from inside the Institute. A group of Germans, who had virtually taken complete control of the ceremony and other arrangements inside the Institute since its planning stage, responded with more effective missiles - soda water bottles which were stocked at a handy place in advance. A temporary medical aid counter, with a freshly painted Red Cross banner hanging on it was conspicuous since morning when visitors started pouring in after heavy frisking and checking by the Indian security personnel and the German organizers. Later Shamar Pa alleged that the mob attacked the ceremony on the personal instance of Tai Situ Pa - an allegation which the latter denied vehemently.

As expected, this incident proved to be an open war cry in the feud between the warring groups. Shamar Pa and his supporters went public in announcing that Ugyen Trinley Dorje was a 'Chinese Plant'. In view of the frequent visits of Tai Situ Pa to China controlled Tibet he was also dubbed as a 'Chinese Agent'. But on the public front things were more favorable for Tai Situ Pa. Following the recognition given by the Dalai Lama to the boy recommended by Tai Situ Pa, almost all Tibetan refugees, Sikkimese, the Sikkim government and; individuals dominating Rumtek, appeared to be on the side of Tai Situ Pa. But that was not enough to close the issue.

While various organizations from Sikkim sent appeals to the government of India to invite the new Karma Pa for a visit to Rumtek, Shamar Pa and his supporter vehemently opposed it. Their allegation was that all this was only a Chinese ploy to allow Ugyen Trinley Dorje to take possession of Rumtek's property and to walk back to China with the historic black cap, the drum and other personal precious possessions of Karma Pa. They went to the extent of alleging that all this was a part of a Chinese design to divide the Tibetan refugee community and to destabilize Sikkim which China has been refusing to recognize as a part of India since its merger with India in 70's.

A number of legal cases were filed in some courts of India challenging the authenticity of appointment of Karma Pa. At least in one such case the list of respondents included the Dalai Lama's name also. Written complaints against Tai Situ Pa were also lodged with the government of India referring to his frequent visits to China and Tibet. It appears now that these complaints came handy to the Indian security agencies who have been always very sensitive on matters concerning China and were already worried about developments in Sikkim. A major point of concern for Indian agencies was that as a result of the ongoing process China had come to possess and control a senior religious leader of the rank of Karma Pa whom China could use anytime in future to destabilize Sikkim.

No wonder The Indian authorities imposed ban on Tai Situ Pa's reentry into India following one such visit abroad in 1994. It took the Dalai Lama's Tibetan Administration nearly four years of lobbying and pleading with the New Delhi government that the ban was lifted and Tai Situ Pa could move back to his own monastery Sherab Ling in Baijnath, about 70 km from Dharamsala. It is believed that Ram Jethmalani, a senior legal expert and a minister in the new National Democratic Alliance (NDA) played important role in getting the ban vacated.

RED GUARDS & MAROON ROBES

To those China watchers who have been used to watching Chinese communist leadership condemning and suppressing religion inside occupied Tibet since 50's, this sudden and keen interest of Beijing in religion was surprising. This surprise took the shape of confusion when the 3rd Work Forum on Tibet, the highest Party strategy conclave on Tibetan affairs that met in July 1994 in Beijing, decided to adopt a heavy hand policy against religion and religious institutions inside Tibet. The confusion of these China watchers got compounded the very next year when Beijing rulers established a committee of lamas under the leadership of a senior party functionary to search for the reincarnation of Panchen Lama, believed to be second after the Dalai Lama in religious affairs.

The previous Panchen Lama was born in Chinese area and was brought up under Beijing's control. Following the flight of the Dalai Lama to exile in 1959 Chairman Mao tried to present him as the alternate religious leader of Tibet. In the process he was also made one of the Vice Presidents of People's Congress. But only a few years later the Panchen Lama was arrested and sent to labour camp following his 70,000 character protest letter to Chairman Mao. In this letter he had lambasted the communist government for its claims of bringing happiness and prosperity to Tibetan people after the forcible take over. A decade later he was released and rehabilitated. But the Panchen Lama died under mysterious circumstances following a fiery anti-Beijing public speech which he made during a rare visit to monastery Tashi Lhumpo in 1989.

But the Beijing plans on finding the new incarnate Panchen Lama went into serious trouble right in the beginning. Events of that period show that the group of monks, working under Chadrel Rimpoche, a senior regent of Tashi Lhumpo monastery in Shigatse, leaked out details of the right child - Gedun Choeky Nyima -- quite in advance to the Dalai Lama in India. Following this the Dalai Lama pronounced boy Gedun as the new incarnation of Panchen Lama. An irritated Beijing government retaliated by arresting the child and, soon after, enthroning another child - Gyaltsen Norbu -- as the 'real' Panchen Lama. As expected, this controversy took an international dimension as hundreds of NGOs world over stood behind the Dalai Lama and demanded release of the young Panchen Lama. Since then human rights group like Amnesty International have been fighting for the release of this 'Youngest Prisoner of Conscience' and forums as high as the European Parliament have been asking Beijing to ensure the safety of the little boy and his parents. Net result : a boy Panchen Lama under house arrest and a rejected puppet Panchen Lama in the Chinese show window are hitting Beijing's colonial interest as well as international credibility from both directions.

For Beijing rulers this dramatic turn of events spoiled a brilliant game plan which was based on two opposite and contradictory lines of action. One of these lines, evolved by the 3rd Work Forum in 1994 was aimed at crushing religious activity in the monasteries and weaning away ordinary Tibetans from their faith in Dharma and the Dalai Lama. The other line of playing the religion card was focused on bringing new reincarnations of high ranking lamas like the Karma Pa and Panchen Lama under Beijing's direct control. The goal of the second part was to groom these Tibetan boys into perfect Chinese communist puppets and using them at a right moment in future. The most right moment in the eyes of Beijing would be, obviously, when the present Dalai Lama, already 66 today, dies. At that time Beijing would have conveniently used these puppet Rimpoches to install a puppet Dalai Lama of its own choice - a perfect way of taming the Tibetan subjects and thumbing nose at the world at large in a single strike.

But, as the luck would have it, this wonder strategy of Beijing has fallen flat on its face. On one hand the hand picked puppet Panchen Lama has found no takers among the Tibetan masses. On the international front also Beijing's decision of keeping the real boy Panchen Lama under some kind of arrest and anonymity has only further tarnished the image of China and its communist masters among the world community. This way the dramatic escape of the Karma Pa and his subsequent joining hands with the Dalai Lama in exile has come as one of the most devastating blows to Beijing since the escape of Dalai Lama in 1959.

No wonder, the policy of religious repression, as adopted by the 3rd Work Forum is now being implemented with a new vigor. Already there have been reports of steps that are aimed at limiting the role of monasteries to mere tourist show pieces. Now additional steps are being taken to ensure that the monasteries and nunneries cease to be a source of freedom movement against Chinese occupation. These steps include limiting the population of these centres; making 'patriotic' education compulsory for monks and nuns; strictly implementing ban on photos of Dalai Lama and; severe punishment and long jail terms for those who are found involved in any kind of anti-China or pro-independence activity.

KARMA PA AND INDIA

Sudden escape of the Karma Pa from Chinese controlled Tibet to India took the government of India and its security agencies by surprise. Although this event raised a number of serious issues, yet the first priority of the government of India was to provide sufficient security to this senior religious leader whose personal safety was very vital to Sikkim, as well as to India's relations with a difficult neighbor China. Once this issue was attended to, a host of questions like probing the authenticity of the escape, options present before the government and their subsequent impact on the national interests of India and; security issues arising from the arrival of a group of refugees straight from Chinese controlled Tibet to the Dalai Lama's headquarters in India needed urgent attention of New Delhi.

It was natural, and vital, for the groups opposing Ugyen Trinley Dorjee's selection to the seat of Karma Pa to stop him from getting any official recognition or support from the Indian government. The most convenient argument was to brand this escape as a stage managed one by the Chinese. A shocked Beijing's first face saving reaction that the young boy lama had gone to India only to collect his traditional cap and musical instrument from Rumtek could not have come at a more convenient time for this interest lobby. However, for anyone who is a keen observer of China on Tibetan matters it is very difficult to believe that the Beijing leaders would take the risk of losing such a senior religious leader in the hope of getting possession of an old hair cap or a couple of musical instruments. More so, when the monk happens to be no less than a Karma Pa and the only incarnate 'Living Buddha' under their physical control who has been recognized by the Dalai Lama also.

But in a country like India where China stands to be the most suspicious, hated and feared country only after Pakistan, this fear of Chinese connection was obviously the first question to be probed before security agencies could have given a green signal to the government of India. No wonder New Delhi took more than a year to go into various aspects of this and other sensitive issues before it gave permission to Ugyen Trinley Dorjee to stay in India as a respected refugee guest. The Z-grade security provided to the Karma Pa during his first visit to New Delhi, Sarnath and Bodh Gaya in March this year was the first public pronouncement by the New Delhi government that it had the REAL Karma Pa as its guest.

As a fall out of the Karma Pa's unnoticed arrival in Dharamsala the Indian government has had a thorough review of some major issues arising from this development. These questions include an alarmingly porous India-Nepal border; undetected and uncontrolled movement of unregistered Tibetan refugees in India; improvement of information sharing between Indian security agencies and their counterparts in the Dalai Lama's Tibetan government-in-exile and; improving Dalai Lama's personal security in view of the increasing threat perception from the Chinese side. There have been a number of occasions in recent years when Indian and Tibetan security agencies were able to arrest illegal Tibetan visitors from across the border with questionable arms, equipment and intentions. Quite a few such arrests were made in Dharamsala near the Dalai Lama's heavily guarded residence. Violent disputes among Tibetan refugee community members on issues like the incarnation of Karma Pa or Shugden have only made the situation worse.

However, Karma Pa and his Sikkim connection is a major issue which demands sensitive and sensible handling on the part of New Delhi in times to come. Luckily for New Delhi all successive state governments of Sikkim have been holding a similar stand on the veracity of the new incarnate. So do the ordinary Sikkimese and Tibetan refugee communities. However, the involvement of big money and foreigners from as wide and far places as Germany, Taiwan, Thailand and a dozen more countries is yet another issue which calls for an intelligent and firm handling.

In the given circumstances arising out of the Karma Pa's escape from Chinese occupied Tibet the account book of Beijing government reads like one of a business house suddenly going bankrupt in a market crash. It is now left once again to live with a colonized Tibetan people who refuse to be tamed. Accept for the boy Panchen Lama who lives under a virtual house arrest in Tibet, all major religious leaders of Tibet are either fighting the Chinese occupation from exile or are giving it tough resistance from the home turf itself. Its plans to install a puppet Dalai Lama after the death of present one have gone hey wire. This way China appears to be a total loser on diplomatic as well as moral grounds as far as its illegal and forcible occupation of Tibet is concerned. On the contrary, India has got back a Karma Pa to its fold whom China could have otherwise used as a political, social and cultural lever against Sikkim's stability within the Indian Union. And as far as the Dalai Lama is concerned, he has found a new religious comrade in his perpetual struggle for the freedom of Tibet.

However, the worst victim in this episode is the Dharma and its faithfuls. The way money, influence and other worldly gains have come to govern the religious institutions, their governance and their activities there is need for an urgent and thorough cleansing of the system. Selection of the heirs to senior positions is, perhaps, the first place to start with. Because the new democratic and modern world to which the Tibetans have been transported because of some sudden historical developments, appreciates and accepts only such systems which are open to scrutiny and logic. Moreover, a simpler and more transparent system of selection of senior religious leaders is in the interest of at least those Tibetans who want to see Tibet free once again and hence, don't want the Chinese rulers to thrust puppet Dalai Lamas, Panchen Lamas and Karma Pas of their choice on the Tibetan nation.