Gyalo Thondup, the eldest brother Dalaj Lama and a political operator in Tibet and a larger region, died, confirmed the Dalai Lama office in a statement. He died on Sunday in Kamide in Western Bengal, India, according to the Tibetan media. He was 97 years old.
“He was a good man who did his best for Tibetan,” Dalai Lama said in a statement. “I pray that again a good re -birth as a Tibetan and will be able to serve the Tibetan administration once again, which is a combination of spirituality and politics once again,” he said, referring to the Buddhist belief in the re -birth cycle.
A prominent character in Tibetan society and politics, Mr. Thondup He was called The second most influential person on the small Himalayan territory, he was ecluding only by his brother Tenzin Gyatso, 14. Dalai Lama and head of Tibetan Buddhism.
Together, The brothers defined the political age In Tibet, an increasingly insulated territory is located in Himalayas, which has long struggled with Chinese influence and control. While Dalai Lama is often more confident with the public, by courtship around the world and recognition, Mr. Thondup was seen as reserved, geopolitical operator which was more comfortable far from the spotlight.
For decades, Mr. Thondup has been advocated by the roads to allow his brother – exiled since 1959 – to return to the territory. He held the Society of International Chiefs, hoping to use various stakeholders in the service of Tibetan independence.
One of six children born to farmers in the Chinese city of Taxter, Mr. Thondup served as a life advisor and advocate of his younger brother. Sent abroad to study, he was the only one of his brothers and sisters who were not intended for religious life.
Released from spiritual obligations, Mr. Thondup spent his life working for Tibetan autonomy, sometimes more aggressive than others.
Mr. Thondup settled in India in 1952 and was an early mediator when Dalai Lama fled there after a failed Tibetan uprising of 1959 against Chinese rule. Mr. Thondup would later call his brother’s safe passage in India one of his greatest achievements.
Mr. Thondup would continue to nurture some of the first official Tibetan contacts with the Indian and US authorities in the 1950s and 1960s, seeking their support. In the 1950s, he assisted the CIA in an unhappy attempt to arrange the Tibetan separatists against the Communist Chinese government.
Mr. Thondup occasionally met with Chinese leaders in an effort to alleviate the Chinese influence on Tibet. Even as the conversations have been falling apart in recent years, he urged the Tibetans to stay engaged.
“It is important that Tibetan people do not lose hope in praying for our rights to the Chinese government,” Mr. Thondup said at a press conference in 2008. He published autobiography in 2015, “Noodlemaker KlimPong”, about his life about his life activism and a Tibetan struggle against Chinese rule.
Dalai Lama led a prayer service on Sunday For his brother, his office said.
After the service, as the recitation ended, Dalai Lama rose from her place, welcomed a photo of her late brother and returned to her living space, a statement from his office said.
Muzib Masal contribute to reporting.
