Dalai Lama's 50th Anniversary

Yesterday, the Dalai Lama marked half a century of living in northern India.

The Dalai Lama escaped Tibet in 1959 in disguise on horseback to start life in exile in India after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

A year later, India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, offered the Dalai Lama the Himalayan hill station of Dharamshala where to this day a steady flow of refugees trek through some of the world's toughest terrain to see him.



The Dalai Lama said at a "thank-you" ceremony to India held in Dharamshala that he has been the country's "longest guest".

"I am a 'Son of India', I have survived with Indian rice and dal," the Dalai Lama said.
He said despite his life in exile he has been able to keep the Tibetan cause alive and added he felt pride at what Tibetans living in exile have achieved.

The Dalai Lama has become a globetrotting spiritual leader who has fuelled global interest in Buddhism and has authored or co-authored dozens of books, ranging from guides to happiness to scientific inquiries into the nature of the brain.

China calls the Dalai Lama a "wolf in monk's clothing" and accuses him of seeking to split the country, although the spiritual leader has repeatedly said he accepts Beijing's rule and is only seeking "meaningful autonomy" for Tibet