March 25 marked a grim milestone for Tibetans worldwide, commemorating the 1959 Lhasa uprising—a failed revolt against Chinese rule that unleashed decades of occupation and cultural suppression.

On that day 66 years ago, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) crushed Tibetan resistance with brutal force, killing thousands in the streets of Lhasa and forcing the Dalai Lama to flee into exile in India. The uprising’s violent suppression ignited a protracted era of control, with estimates of over a million Tibetan deaths and the destruction of more than 6,000 monasteries, gutting the region’s spiritual and cultural core.

The 1959 rebellion erupted after years of tension following China’s 1950 invasion, as Tibetans rallied to protect their leader and resist Beijing’s tightening grip. The PLA’s response—deploying tens of thousands of troops—left an indelible scar, with casualty figures from the initial clashes ranging widely, though Tibetan exiles claim up to 87,000 died in the broader crackdown.

What followed was a systematic campaign: monasteries razed, sacred texts burned, and monks imprisoned or executed, eroding a civilization that once thrived as a Buddhist heartland.

Today, Tibet’s cultural identity hangs by a thread under Chinese policies accused of “sinicization”—flooding the region with Han settlers, restricting religious practices, and jailing dissenters. The Dalai Lama, now 89, remains in Dharamshala, advocating nonviolence while Beijing labels him a separatist.

On March 25, 2025, muted vigils in exile communities contrasted with silence in Tibet, where public remembrance risks arrest. Six decades on, the uprising’s legacy fuels a quiet but unyielding Tibetan resolve against an occupation that has reshaped their homeland beyond recognition.