Reported in Hindustan Times
Naresh K Thakur , Hindustan Times
Dharamsala, October 20, 2014
First Published: 21:30 IST(20/10/2014)
Last Updated: 23:10 IST(20/10/2014)
Shugden followers go online in their battle against Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama
Followers of Dorje Shugden have now taken the battle against the Tibetan spiritual leader and the government-in-exile to the social networking sites.
Dorje Shugden, referred to as 'Dolgyal' or 'demon king', is an ancient Tibetan deity denounced by the Dalai Lama. Its follower who revere the century-old deity as a 'protector', have in recent past intensified the protests against the Dalai Lama demanding him to lift the ban on rituals involving Dorje Shugden.
However, supporters of the Dalai Lama said he had not banned any practice and that Buddhism does not allow for such restrictions.
The Shugden followers have now created pages on Facebook and Twitter, specifically targeting the Dalai Lama, with phrases like 'The False Dalai Lama' and 'Stop Lying Dalai Lama'.
The posts on these pages include pictures of Shugden followers protesting against the Dalai Lama during his visits in the US and Norway and links to various websites containing anti- Dalai Lama articles and videos.
A page titled 'Followers of Shugden' recently posted a video of a song 'Stop Lying Dalai Lama' sung by Brazilian pop star Deborah Blando.
Every posts on these pages are followed by heating debates, attacks and counterattacks between the Dalai Lama followers and the Shugden disciples.
Among hundreds of pages dedicated to the denounced deity is a twitter handle @Dalai Lama Truth containing posts directed at Dalai Lama, his policies being termed and serious charges promoting segregation in the Tibetan community levelled against the 79-year-old Nobel Peace Laureate.
Concerned over the threats to the Dalai Lama's security following a surge in the activities of theses extremists, the Tibetan government-in-exile recently released a list containing names and personal information of those who held demonstrations during the spiritual leader's recent foreign tours.
"Essentially, posting of this information stems from security concerns and the need for creating awareness within the Tibetan community about the members of a group (Shugden followers) with a history of violence such as murder, physical assault and arson," Kashag (cabinet) of the government-in-exile had said in a recent statement.
The government-in-exile also accused the Shugden followers of making baseless allegations against the Dalai Lama and that they act as a tool for the Chinese government to slander spiritual leader's reputation.
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