He requested the intervention of the Governor in the matter in order to save the interest of Buddha Dharma in this Himalayan region. This uncalled writ has spread a feeling of ill will among the local Buddhist people who till now were very tolerant and open-minded towards other religions in the state,'' it added.īhutia further informed Governor that this dispute has already taken a religious and communal overtone and could be a threat to the peaceful existence among all religious communities in the state. ''However, the said issue was recently reignited. The Forest Department of Sikkim had also issued a letter dated to GOC, 17 Mountain Division bringing to his notice the contravention of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 after which the dispute was settled peacefully, and the Holy site handed over to the Buddhist Community living in the region,'' it added.
''As the local populace were simple, peace-loving and before the might of Indian Army armed with GUNS they had no choice but to be silent spectators when Major General PPS Bindra, GOC, 17 Mountain Division along with his subordinates converted this Buddhist religious structure into a makeshift Gurudwara. It further said that a Buddhist place of worship/shangphur (hut for lighting butter lamps, burning incense, and offering prayers) at Gurudongmar considered holy by the Buddhists was illegally taken over by the Indian Army, in particular Major General PPS Bindra, VSM, General Officer Commanding (GOC), 17 Mountain Division, C/o APO along with his subordinates through intimidation and threat in contravention of the Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. 70/Home/2001 dated notified it as one of the sacred Buddhist lakes,'' it the memorandum said. The "Chogyal" and subsequently the Government of Sikkim in recognition of the above vide Notification No. ''It is a Buddhist religious deity considered secret by the Buddhists throughout the world which is about 5 kilometres to the south of the Chinese border and hence the presence of the Indian Army in large numbers. The dispute revolves around "Holy Gurudongma Tso (Lake)" which was blessed by Guru Padmasambhava alias Guru Rinpoche an 8th-century Indian Buddhist master and founder of Tibetan Buddhism who had visited, meditated, and preached beside the said lake in the 8th Century.
In the memorandum, Bhutia said that the dispute has been unnecessarily raked up by Guru Singh Sabha, a Gurudwara based in Siliguri, West Bengal and they have even filed a writ before the Sikkim High Court. Sikkim Bhutia Lepcha Apex Committee ( SIBLAC) convenor, Tseten Tashi Bhutia, submitted a memorandum over the dispute of Gurudongmar Lake to Sikkim Governor Laxman Prasad Acharya at Raj Bhavan on June 23.
0 kommentar(er)
