In The Times, an exclusive extract from Alexander Norman’s new book [Holder of the White Lotus: The Lives of the Dalai Lama] recounts how the spiritual leader came to leave Tibet:
In October 1949, Mao Tse-tung’s Communist Party swept to power in China. One of Mao’s first announcements made clear that the “peaceful liberation” of Tibet would be a priority for the new regime.
By July 1950, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had advanced to within 100 miles of Chamdo, the capital of Kham (eastern Tibet). The first serious engagement between the two sides, at Dengo, was technically a victory for the Tibetans. But if the Chinese army in the area was only 20,000- strong – against the Tibetans’ 5,000 – a further 5m men under arms stood behind them. The eventual result was a foregone conclusion.
On October 5, the PLA launched a full-scale attack on Chamdo itself. Ngabo, the ineffectual aristocrat governor of Kham, sent several urgent telegrams to Lhasa [the Tibetan capital] requesting instructions. There was no reply. On 15 October, one of his aides de camp succeeded in contacting Lhasa by radio. He was told that although his telegrams had been received, they had yet to be decoded as the Kashag [government of ministers] was currently engaged in its annual week-long series of picnic parties. It was now clear that Ngabo faced the might of the PLA alone. Two days later, he was given permission to retreat. On 19 October, he was captured and all Kham fell into Chinese hands.
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