On the 10th of March 1959, Tibetans in their thousands rose up in protest against the occupying Chinese army. They gathered in the streets of their capital Lhasa and surrounded the Potala Palace to protect the Dalai Lama, who they feared was in danger of assassination.

The protests were followed by a brutal crackdown, both in the city and across Tibet, claiming tens of thousands of lives. The Dalai Lama was forced to flee into exile, where he has remained ever since.

Since then, the tragedy and the defiance of the Tibetan 1959 Uprising has been marked with events around the world every March 10th.