दलाई लामा The Dalai Lama
Tenzin Gyatso was born Lhamo Thondup in 1935 in Taktser in north-eastern Tibet. He was recognised as the 14th Dalai Lama at two. He took temporal power in 1950 at 15 as Chinese forces entered Tibet. He fled to India in March 1959. He has lived in Dharamsala since 1960. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. Beijing calls him a political exile and a separatist. He says he seeks genuine autonomy for Tibetans within China and not independence.
Curated by Nikhil Sharma: a farmer’s son from Amdo found at two and enthroned in Lhasa at four. He crossed into India in 1959 and has lived here since. He calls India the guru and Tibetans its chelas. He handed his political power to elected leaders in 2011. At 90 he said the institution will continue and that only his own trust may name the next Dalai Lama.
- 1959 In India since: Crossed the border on 31 March 1959 after leaving Lhasa disguised as a soldier
- 1989 Nobel Peace Prize: Thirty years after he left Tibet
- 2011 Political power handed over: To an elected Tibetan leadership in exile
- 33 Mind and Life dialogues: Held with him by 2019 since the first in Dharamsala in 1987
The facts
- Born
- 6 July 1935 as Lhamo Thondup in Taktser in Amdo in north-eastern Tibet (Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Birth to exile)
- Recognised
- At two by a search party led by Kewtsang Rinpoche. Enthroned in Lhasa on 22 February 1940 (Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Birth to exile)
- Name
- Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso. Known as Tenzin Gyatso (Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Birth to exile)
- Education
- A monastic curriculum in the Nalanda tradition. Final examinations in Lhasa in the winter of 1958–59 and the Lharampa degree (Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Birth to exile)
- Home
- Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh since 1960. He calls Kangra his permanent residence (India TV: ‘No point in returning to China. I prefer India’ (19 December 2022))
- Political role
- Head of the Tibetan government until 2011. Political authority now lies with the elected Sikyong. Penpa Tsering began a second term in May 2026 (AP via WSLS: Penpa Tsering sworn in for a second term (27 May 2026))
- Honours
- Nobel Peace Prize (1989). Templeton Prize (2012) (Britannica: 14th Dalai Lama)
- Succession
- His Gaden Phodrang Trust holds sole authority to recognise his reincarnation, he said in 2025 (Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Statement affirming the continuation of the institution of Dalai Lama (2 July 2025))
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