In the Buddha’s birthplace, a famous nun’s appointment draws fire

Ani Choying Drolma is both a well-known singer and a Buddhist nun. She has run the Arya Tara School for nuns in Pharping, Kathmandu, since 2000. Her public profile made her appointment especially visible. The post had been vacant for nearly five months.

The Cabinet appointed Drolma vice-chair of the Lumbini Development Trust after a proposal from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation. The trust is responsible for developing and managing Lumbini, the Buddha’s birthplace. Her appointment therefore placed a prominent religious figure in a nationally and internationally important institution.

The decision quickly became controversial. Protesters questioned her financial history, citizenship, and the government’s choice of an outsider rather than a local expert. Drolma said all questions about her had been resolved and that she would soon travel to Lumbini. The campaign opposing her appointment said it would continue until the decision was revoked.

The Lumbini Development Trust is the institution responsible for Lumbini’s development and management. The article describes Lumbini as the Buddha’s birthplace. That gives the trust responsibility for a place with religious meaning far beyond Nepal. Its leadership can therefore attract attention from local communities, Buddhist scholars, national authorities, and international visitors.

The article does not provide the trust’s formal legal structure or a full list of its duties. It does show that the institution has a vice-chair and a member secretary, and that the government appoints people to its leadership. Protesters also argue that local people and qualified Buddhist scholars should have a stronger role in those decisions.

This importance explains the reaction to Drolma’s appointment. Critics say the head of such an institution should be beyond question. They connect the appointment to unresolved public concerns about money, citizenship, and whether local expertise was overlooked. Drolma says the concerns have already been settled.

The three deposits totaled $1,649,940. The article says that amount was then worth about Rs183 million in Nepal. The money entered an account at the former Mega Bank Limited from two Hong Kong nationals named in records as Liang Chung Hang and Jiori.

The deposits arrived on three consecutive days: $579,980, $539,980, and $529,980. Nepal Rastra Bank stopped the transfers. It said around Rs200 million had been brought in without informing an authority, even though permission was required to bring money from abroad. It also said Drolma was trying to bring in more than Rs180 million.

Those circumstances led the Department of Money Laundering Investigation to open a case. The central bank’s Financial Information Unit examined the matter at the same time. Only the three deposits were frozen. Drolma maintained that the money was intended for the Arya Tara School for nuns, which she runs.

The Save Lumbini Grand Campaign says Drolma’s appointment damages confidence in an institution tied to the Buddha’s birthplace. Protesters argue that its leadership should be beyond question. They point to the money transferred from Hong Kong, the investigation that followed, and public doubts about her citizenship.

They also oppose the appointment process. The campaign says it had urged Minister Khadga Raj Paudel to choose a local person and believed he was receptive. Instead, the government appointed Drolma. Protesters say local intellectuals, Buddhist scholars, community leaders, and other qualified people were passed over.

The campaign began protests on October 17. It promised public assemblies, press conferences, rallies, and sit-ins until the appointment was revoked. Drolma dismissed the protests as petty and said every question had been resolved. She planned to travel to Lumbini and urged people to work together to build the site.

In this case, a money-laundering investigation was an official examination of large overseas transfers into Drolma’s bank account. The Department of Money Laundering Investigation opened the case after three Hong Kong deposits were reported. The central bank’s Financial Information Unit also examined the transfers. The article does not establish that Drolma committed money laundering.

“Citizenship by descent” refers to citizenship obtained through a family connection, such as a parent. Drolma’s memoir says her parents came to Nepal as Tibetan refugees. The campaign alleges that she obtained Nepali citizenship by descent using forged details and a man presented as her father who was not her actual father.

These are different issues. The financial inquiry concerns the source, movement, and required reporting of money. The citizenship dispute concerns identity and eligibility for citizenship. The article presents both as questions raised by critics, while Drolma says all questions have already been resolved.

The Department of Money Laundering Investigation opened a case into the $1,649,940 transferred from Hong Kong. Nepal Rastra Bank stopped the deposits, and its Financial Information Unit examined them. Later, the department shelved the file. The article does not report a finding that the transfers were proven lawful or that every allegation was disproved.

That distinction matters. Shelving a file means the investigation was closed or set aside, but it does not automatically explain why. The article specifically says the department that investigated Drolma stated only that the file was shelved. It also describes pressure and leadership changes inside the department during the dispute.

Drolma says all questions about her have already been resolved and that this is why the government appointed her. Critics disagree and say the record remains unclear. The unresolved public interpretation is central to the protests and may continue affecting trust in the Lumbini trust.

Public trust depends partly on whether leaders appear credible, properly chosen, and accountable. Lumbini is described as the Buddha’s birthplace and a site of spiritual and international weight. That makes the trust’s leadership more than an administrative matter. It can affect how communities and wider audiences view the site’s management.

Drolma’s appointment became contentious because critics connected it to large Hong Kong transfers, a money-laundering inquiry, and questions about citizenship. They also said the government ignored local intellectuals, Buddhist scholars, and other qualified people. The Save Lumbini Grand Campaign had previously protested another trust appointment over local people being overlooked.

Drolma says the financial and citizenship questions have been answered. The investigating department said only that the file was shelved. Protesters vowed to continue assemblies, rallies, press conferences, and sit-ins until her appointment was revoked. The dispute could therefore shape both the trust’s immediate work and confidence in future appointments.