During the following eight years, however, Chinese troops gathered in increasing numbers in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital; Tibetan monks were tortured, women raped and children taken from their homes for "re-education" in China. The Chinese imposed disastrous new agricultural methods on Tibetans, causing widespread famine. Tension mounted, fighting flared up in the east, and in March 1959 a full-scale uprising erupted in Lhasa. It was brutally crushed by the Chinese and thousands of Tibetans were executed or imprisoned, while Tibet was formally annexed to China. The Dalai Lama , Tibet's spiritual and political leader, fled to India; he still resides in Dharmsala, where the Tibetan government-in-exile is based. Tens of thousands of Tibetans followed, making their way into Nepal and India by various routes through the Himalaya.

For three decades, Tibet has endured outright genocide at the hands of the Chinese: the Dalai Lama's Bureau of Information calculates that 1.2 million Tibetans have been executed, tortured, killed in battle, or have starved or died in Chinese labour camps; during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, virtually every monastery was deliberately destroyed. An organized guerrilla movement , supported by the CIA, fought the Chinese along the Nepalese border until the early 1970s, when the US-China thaw led to its dissolution. Until a few years ago, Tibet's plight was largely ignored by the major powers, but China's Tiananmen Square massacre and the Dalai Lama's receipt of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize put discussion of Tibetan independence back on the agenda.

Today, 15,000 out of a total of 110,000 Tibetan exiles live in Nepal, predominantly in the Kathmandu and Pokhara valleys. A large number of these industrious immigrants have by now achieved success in the carpet and handicrafts businesses, to the point where they can no longer be regarded as an underprivileged group. Many are playing an active role in establishing Boudha as a centre of Buddhist study, thus sustaining Tibetan religion and culture until the Chinese occupation of Tibet is ended.

Given Nepal's reliance on Chinese aid, the Tibetans are a source of discomfort for the government. China regards the exile communities as potential counter-revolutionary hotbeds, and exerts pressure on Nepal to supress any political activities there. While the "Free Tibet" movement is much bigger in India, where the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile are based, a Tibetan underground does exist in Nepal, chiefly among the disaffected youth of the former refugee camps. Don't expect anyone to discuss it openly, however, since Tibetan leaders have been warned that any "political" remarks could be grounds for prompt eviction. Recent political changes don't appear to have benefited the Tibetans, either. Nepal's powerful Communist Party has links with Beijing and is therefore keen to help keep Tibetan nationalism in check.