Dalai Lama turns 90, gets global support in challenge for China

Political leaders from India and abroad shared the stage with the Dalai Lama, throwing their support behind the Buddhist leader, who has been living in exile in India and has been fighting for the rights of the Tibetan people since the region came under Chinese occupation in the 1960s

- REUTERS

The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama, turned 90 Sunday after a week of celebrations by followers during which he riled China again and spoke about his hope to live beyond 130 and reincarnate after dying.

The Nobel laureate is regarded as one of the world's most influential religious leaders, with a following that extends well beyond Buddhism, but not by Beijing, which calls him a separatist and has sought to bring the faith under its control.

Fleeing his native Tibet in 1959 in the wake of a failed uprising against Chinese rule, the 14th Dalai Lama, along with hundreds of thousands of Tibetans, took shelter in India and has since advocated for a peaceful “Middle Way’ to seek autonomy and religious freedom for the Tibetan people.