India, Oct. 6 -- Tibet had declared itself an independent nation in 1913, but China refused to recognise this and maintained that Tibet was a part of China. In 1949, the Communist Party of China came to power and claimed Tibet as a part of the People's Republic of China. In 1950, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) marched into Tibet and occupied the country. They forced the Tibetan government to sign the 17-Point Agreement, which recognised Chinese sovereignty over Tibet while granting the Tibetans autonomy in their internal affairs.

However, the Chinese government failed to implement the agreement and instead began a process of repression and cultural assimilation in Tibet. The 14th Dalai Lama, only 15 years old at the time, assumed the...