Kalachakra Initiation in Bodh Gaya (India): Returning Tibetan Pilgrims Face Harassment at the Nepal Border and Chinese Airport Customs

PRESS RELEASE

25 January 2012

Since January 10, the conclusion of the Kalachakra Initiation conferred by H.H. the Dalai Lama in Bodh Gaya, India, thousands of Tibetans pilgrims from Tibet began their journey back home.
Several of them are reported to have faced harassment and subjected to detailed searches by Chinese border guards in Nepal and at Chinese airports such as Chengdu.

In dRam (Ch: Zhangmu), Tibetan pilgrims suspected of having attended the Kalachakra initiation had their religious belongings confiscated including rosaries, photographs, Buddhist scriptures.
In some cases, Chinese border guards are said to have deliberately trampled on religious texts and objects.

At the Chengdu international airport in Sichuan province, arriving passengers suspected of having attended the Kalachakra Initiation have also been subjected to unusually thorough searches.
Passengers’ religious objects have been confiscated. Particular attention was paid to anything related to the Kalachakra Initiation.