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Tibetans mark centenary of 13th Dalai Lama's exile

By Lobsang Wangyal | Tibet Sun

Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile Samdhong Rinpoche leaves after offering a khata (ceremonial scarf) to a portrait of the 13th Dalai Lama at Tsuglakhang temple in Mcleod Ganj, India, on 25 February 2010.Tibet Sun/Lobsang Wangyal/India

Exile Tibetans marked the centenary of the 13th Dalai Lama’s exile to India following the Manchu invasion of Tibet in 1910.

The 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso, fled to India and sought refuge in northeastern India from 1910 to 1912. Two years later, after Chinese overthrew the foreign Manchu rule, the 13th Dalai Lama returned home and reasserted Tibetan independence on 13 February 1913. Since then, Tibet remained independent until 1949, when the People’s Liberation Army of China invaded the country.

Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile Samdhong Rinpoche, speaking on the occasion, paid homage to the services of the 13th Dalai Lama towards the Tibetan people, with the successful administration of an independent Tibet and friendly relations with neighbouring countries.

Rinpoche said that after the establishment of the current Gaden Phodrang government of Tibet in 1642 by the Fifth Dalai Lama, the officials seemed to have lacked the ability to function according the vision of the Fifth, which led to weak administration during the reigns of the successive Dalai Lamas.

The reason for choosing 25 February to mark the centenary of the 13th Dalai Lama’s exile is because the Manchus declared the deposition of the Dalai Lama on this day in 1910, Rinpoche said. There were conflicting records on the dates the Dalai Lama left Potala Palace in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, after the invasion, although it was probably on either 20 or 21 February, he added.

The centenary programme organised by the Tibetan government-in-exile will include other activities throughout the year, particularly in Darjeeling and Kalimpong where the 13th Dalai Lama stayed during his exile. A programme will also be held in Kolkota (Calcutta) where the Dalai Lama met the British Viceroy to India Lord Minto.

The 13th Dalai Lama was born in 1876, assumed political power upon reaching his majority in 1895 and ruled Tibet until his death in 1933. In power for 38 years, he ruled Tibet for the longest term of all the Dalai Lamas, until the current 14th, who has been the Tibetan leader for 60 years, since 1950.

Published in Tibet Sun