DHARAMSHALA: A Tibetan Buddhist monk, imprisoned for sending funds for prayer offerings to the Dalai Lama and the abbot of India’s Kirti Monastery, has been released from prison. However, reports indicate he is in poor health, according to sources within Tibet.
Rachung Gendun, detained in April 2021 for reportedly making donations to the Tibetan spiritual leader and the monastery’s abbot, was freed on November 16 after serving three and a half years in prison, Radio Free Asia reported.
Chinese authorities classify such communication with exiles as illegal, particularly concerning the Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959. For decades, Tibetans inside Tibet have faced persecution for sending money or religious offerings to the Dalai Lama and other spiritual leaders.
Despite the risk of severe punishment, many Tibetans have continued to secretly send donations as an expression of their unwavering devotion to their spiritual leader. According to a source in Tibet, who wished to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation, Gendun is currently in poor health and receiving treatment at Hashi Hospital in Chengdu, Sichuan province, reported Radio Free Asia.
“Gendun faced significant hardships during his imprisonment, including the loss of his 85-year-old mother, who passed away on June 10, 2024,” the source revealed.
The source added, “His mother was harassed multiple times by the Chinese government, and sadly, she passed away without being able to see her son one final time.”
In 2022, Gendun’s uncle, Taphun, carried out a self-immolation protest outside the security office of Kirti Monastery in Ngaba County. Following this incident, Gendun’s mother, Norpo, was placed under strict restrictions and intense surveillance by the Chinese government, which accused her of conspiring with her brother in the protest.
Over the course of nearly a year, Norpo was subjected to severe limitations on her freedoms. She was denied medical care, hospital visits, and the ability to engage in religious practices such as circumambulation, a ritual believed by Tibetans to purify negative karma and accumulate merit. These harsh measures significantly deteriorated her health, sources said.
Gendun’s case highlights the ongoing challenges faced by Tibetans under Chinese rule, particularly those with connections to the Dalai Lama or Tibetan religious institutions abroad. Before his arrest in 2021, Gendun had been a vocal critic of Beijing’s “patriotic education” campaign, which sought to force Tibetans to denounce the Dalai Lama, whom the Chinese government brands as a “splittist,” Radio Free Asia reported.
According to another source, Gendun had opposed Beijing’s campaign following the unrest that spread across Tibetan regions from Lhasa in March 2008. During this period, he was interrogated, detained for several months, and subjected to a raid on his home, where Chinese authorities confiscated photos of the Dalai Lama. (ANI)