Just days after his arrival in India, the fate of the newly exiled leader of one of Tibetan Buddhism's most important sects hangs in the balance. It is understood that the 17th Karmapa has said he is fleeing "religious persecution" in Chinese-ruled Tibet, and has applied for political asylum in India.
The Indian government, which has so far reacted cautiously to the presence of the 14-year-old refugee, is expected to examine his case today.
With India's difficult relations with China slowly on the mend, there is speculation that New Delhi might be reluctant to antagonise Beijing further. The young lama yesterday left the refuge where he had been staying since his arrival in Dharamsala and went into hiding.
Ms Julia Tuft, special adviser on Tibetan Affairs to President Clinton, is expected today in Dharamsala, seat of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile.
The 17th Karmapa turned up in Dharamsala last Wednesday. He spent nearly all his time there in a closely-guarded guesthouse, whose next important guest is expected to be the American actor Richard Gere.
The Karmapa was accompanied yesterday in his pre-dawn flight by his retainers and security personnel, having said goodbye to the Dalai Lama the previous day. He was driven to a nearby but undisclosed sanctuary. His presence in Dharamsala - known as "Little Lhasa" because of its large Tibetan population - had been attracting too much attention. It appears the Tibetan authorities and the Indian government thought it advisable to move him while his future was being decided.
The young lama was initially expected to make for Rumtek in Indian Sikkim, the exile seat of his predecessor, the 16th Karmapa, who fled Tibet in 1959 at the same time as the Dalai Lama. But the Karmapa's monastery there is currently ruled by a rival faction of his Karma Kagyu or "Black Hat" sect.
The Karmapa is the third highest Tibetan spiritual leader after the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, who is detained at an unknown location by the Chinese. Born to nomadic parents in the Lhathok region of Tibet, the young Ogyen Trinley Dorjee was enthroned as a reincarnation of the 16th Karmapa in 1992.
The Karmapa made his escape from Tibet, accompanied by his 24-year-old sister, personal attendant, two monks and two drivers. His followers say he crossed the snow-bound Himalayas by vehicle and on foot before passing through Nepal and finally entering India.
According to sources quoted by India's Sunday Tribune, the Karmapa escaped from the window of his bedroom late on the night of December 28th. He is said to have entered Nepal illegally on December 30th and travelled to Delhi via Gorakhpur and Lucknow.
His reincarnation as a living Buddha was the first to be recognised by China's communist government, which saw him as a useful tool in its propaganda war over Tibet. It is believed the Karmapa had two meetings with President Jiang Zemin of China last year.
Beijing's official line is that he has gone abroad to collect religious artefacts. It is not clear what fate awaits the Karmapa's family at the hands of the Chinese authorities in Tibet.