CIA radios and yak butter, and hours to spare: How a 23-year-old monk outwitted the Dragon empire

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In 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama, disguised as a soldier, slipped out of Lhasa under the nose of the Chinese army. An ominous invitation to watch a dance without guards pushed Tibet’s spiritual leader to flee across the Himalayas. Sheltered by India, he built a new Tibetan home in exile. This is the real story of that cold, desperate escape, Nehru’s gamble, and the defiance that still shapes Tibet’s struggle for identity and freedom.