On 10 March 1959, after nearly a decade of Chinese military presence, Tibetans in their thousands rose up in protest. While Chinese records claim that 87000 Tibetans lost their lives in quelling the uprising, the Tibetans account for a far higher number. On the night of 17 March 1959, the 23-year-old spiritual and political leader of Tibet, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama disguised himself as a soldier and quietly slipped through the crowds surrounding his summer palace, Norbulingka, in Lhasa, a place that he would never see again. In this archival photo, attendants, family members, cabinet members and the soldiers of Volunteer Freedom Fighters (VFF) accompany His Holiness the Dalai Lama during the treacherous two-week trek across the Himalayan Mountains towards asylum in India. Back in Lhasa, the Chinese imposed a curfew and soon after, the CTA claim that close to 800 artillery shells were fired into Norbulingka and a day later, dissolved the Tibetan Government while announcing the establishment of a Tibetan Autonomous Region within the People’s Republic of China.