Tibet

Tibetan Buddhism is the principal religion of Tibet and Mongolia. Lamas, or monks, worship by reciting scripture and chanting to the accompaniment of instruments. This is an excerpt from a Tibetan Buddhist ritual performed by the Rgyud Stod (Gyuto) monks.

Throughout its long history, Tibet at times has governed itself as an independent state and at other times has had various levels of association with China. Regardless of China's involvement in Tibetan affairs, Tibet's internal government was for centuries a theocracy (state governed by religious leaders), under the leadership of Buddhist lamas, or monks. In 1959 the Dalai Lama (spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and at that time the head of Tibet's internal government) fled to India during a Tibetan revolt against Chinese control in the region. China then took complete control of Tibet, installing a sympathetic Tibetan ruler and, in 1965, replacing the theocracy with a Communist administration.

Actual Situation

In May 1951 Tibet signed a treaty with China’s Communist government that gave the Dalai Lama power over Tibetan domestic affairs but ceded control of foreign and military affairs to the Chinese government. In 1956 a committee was established to prepare a constitution for Tibet as an autonomous region of China; the Dalai Lama was named chairman and the Panchen Lama first vice chairman of the committee. Here, the Dalai Lama (far right) and the Panchen Lama (far left) meet with Chinese leader Mao Zedong in 1956. Three years later, the Dalai Lama fled Tibet and began a life in exile, championing Tibetan independence from abroad.

The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibetan Buddhism, Tenzin Gyatso, fled Tibet in 1959 after an unsuccessful Tibetan revolt against the occupying forces of the Chinese Communist government. His nonviolent efforts to free Tibet earned him a Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

In 1954 the Dalai Lama was appointed to a nominal position in the Chinese government. In 1956 a committee was established to prepare a constitution for Tibet as an autonomous region of China; the Dalai Lama was named chairman and the Panchen Lama first vice chairman of the committee. Guerrilla activity against the Chinese regime broke out in areas of Sichuan Province where ethnic Tibetans were living. The Dalai Lama, who was visiting India at the time, threatened not to return to Tibet. The Chinese government announced that the socialist transformation of Tibet would be postponed, but the rebellion in the east was not contained. Nevertheless, the Dalai Lama voluntarily returned to Lhasa. The rebellion grew with the aid of the United States Central Intelligence Agency until March 1959, when it flared into a full-scale revolt in Lhasa. The rebellion was to last until 1971, but after 1959 it was more a nuisance to the Chinese government than a real threat. Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama fled to India, where he established a community of Tibetans. The Chinese made the Panchen Lama the acting head of the region. On October 21, 1959, the United Nations (UN) approved a resolution deploring the suppression of human rights in Tibet. A similar resolution was passed on March 9, 1961. These resolutions occurred at a time when the UN was preventing China's Communist government from membership in the organization.

Tens of thousands of Tibetans fled Tibet after the Chinese invasion. Most settled in India. Others took refuge in the Himalayan kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan. In 1965 Tibet was formally established as an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, and the Communist government announced that the region would undergo steady socialist reorganization.

"Tibet." Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2001. ©