Description
Tibet (Tibetan: བོད་, Bod) is a geographical area and a former independent state on the Tibetan Plateau. Historically, it has its own people, culture, language, and two religions: Bon and Tibetan Buddhism. Since the 1950–51 invasion of Tibet, it has been part of the People's Republic of China and is politically divided among several Chinese provinces, including the entire Tibet Autonomous Region and parts of Sichuan and Qinghai. Culturally, Ladakh and Sikkim in India, Bhutan, and some parts of Nepal are also considered part of Tibet. The Tibet Autonomous Region is bordered to the south and west by Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, and the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. From north to east, it borders the provinces of Sinkiang (Turkestan), Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan. Until 1950, when the People's Liberation Army invaded Tibet, Tibet was an independent country with a theocratic government. In remote areas of Tibet, power was held by local warlords. Before 1950, the most important religious and political leader was the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. In 1959, he fled to India, where he led the government-in-exile until the democratic reforms of 2000.
