Tibetans tend to disagree with this retelling. Per the Times, вЂњ officials repeatedly warned that he must reincarnate, and on their terms.вЂќД¬hinaвЂ™s official version of the Dalai LamaвЂ™s 1959 escape sees him as forced to flee due to a failed attempt on his part вЂњto maintain the serfdom in the region, under which the majority of Tibetans were slaves leading a life of unimaginable misery,вЂќ per TIME. And Chinese leaders were outraged last month when President Obama made his first public appearance with the Dalai Lama, whom he called a вЂњ good friend.вЂќ And as the New York Times reported last week, they were also incensed by the 79-year-old Dalai LamaвЂ™s recent speculation that he might not reincarnate this time around, foiling Chinese plans to hand-pick a 15th Dalai Lama who would follow the Communist party line. Tibetans can still be arrested if caught with the writings or a picture of the Buddhist leader and recipient of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize. Whenever China was weak Tibetans would drive the garrison out. Whenever China was strong, it would send a garrison to occupy Lhasa.

Over the centuries, the mountain-locked nation of Tibet has often been overrun by invaders - Mongols, Manchus and Gurkhas, but most often Chinese. It was the latest flare-up of the longstanding discord between Tibet and China, as TIME summarized: Per the BBC, вЂњAll fighting-age men who had survived the revolt were deported, and those fleeing the scene reported that Chinese troops burned corpses in for 12 hours.вЂќ

But until he appeared in India, two weeks after taking flight, people around the world feared that he had been killed, according to the BBC.Д«ack in Tibet, thousands died fighting the Chinese forces. Rumors later circulated among Tibetans that the Dalai Lama вЂњhad been screened from Red planes by mist and low clouds conjured up by the prayers of Buddhist holy men,вЂќ according to TIMEвЂ™s 1959 cover story about the escape. They traveled only at night, to avoid detection by Chinese sentries. He embarked on a dangerous journey to asylum, crossing the Himalayas on foot with a retinue of soldiers and cabinet members. On this day, March 17, in 1959, TibetвЂ™s spiritual and political leader, then 23, disguised himself as a soldier and slipped through the crowds outside the palace heвЂ™d never see again.

Young dalai lama