For 21 days, tens of thousands of Tibetans flooded the streets, forming human walls to shield the Dalai Lama’s residence from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). By 31 March, Chinese artillery had pounded the city, monasteries lay in ruins, and the Dalai Lama was forced into exile. It was the beginning of one of the most brutal and enduring occupations of the modern era.
Beijing calls this slaughter a “counter-rebellion.” Its official white papers repeat the lie that the uprising was instigated by “upper-class reactionary forces” clinging to feudal privilege. In truth, it was an unarmed people’s revolt where farmers, monks, merchants, and students stood united against an occupying army.
