March 10, 1959
The 24-year-old Dalai Lama was granted asylum in India by Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
In Lhasa, 300,000 Tibetans surrounded Norbulinka Palace, preventing the Dalai Lama from accepting an invitation to tea and a cultural event issued by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, which was suspected to be a ruse to kidnap the Dalai Lama and whisk him away to Beijing. By March 17, Chinese artillery was aimed at the palace, and the Dalai Lama was evacuated to neighboring India. Early on March 21, the Chinese began shelling Norbulinka, slaughtering tens of thousands of men, women and children still camped outside.
