Gyalo Thondup, The Dalai Lama’s Brother died at 97
Gyalo Thondup, the elder brother of the Dalai Lama and a key figure in Tibet’s struggle against Chinese rule, passed away on February 9 at his home in Kalimpong, West Bengal, at the age of 97. His death was widely reported in Tibetan media, though no official cause was given.
A major yet often unseen force in Tibet’s political history, Thondup played a critical role in both armed and diplomatic efforts to counter China’s control over Tibet. Unlike his younger brother, the Dalai Lama—who became the global face of Tibetan spirituality and resistance—Thondup operated behind the scenes, engaging in secretive negotiations, intelligence work, and later, business ventures that sustained the Tibetan exile community.
Born in 1928 in Taktser, a village in modern-day Qinghai province, China, Thondup moved to Lhasa in 1939 when his younger brother was recognized as the 14th Dalai Lama. He later studied Chinese history in Nanjing, where he developed ties with nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek. In 1949, after Mao Zedong’s communist revolution, Thondup fled China with his Chinese wife, Zhu Dan, and returned to Tibet.
With Chinese troops tightening their grip on Lhasa, Thondup escaped to India in 1952, seven years before his brother’s famous flight into exile. Based in Kalimpong, he built strong political connections with leaders such as India’s Jawaharlal Nehru and China’s Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping. During this time, he facilitated CIA-backed efforts to arm Tibetan resistance fighters. Nearly 300 Tibetan exiles were trained at Camp Hale in Colorado, and thousands more received weapons and military training. However, the campaign failed, and many fighters were captured or killed. Thondup later distanced himself from the operation, emphasizing his commitment to peaceful negotiations.
Despite the failure of armed resistance, Thondup remained a pivotal figure in Tibet’s exile movement. He played a crucial role in establishing Tibetan offices in the U.S. and Switzerland and acted as a direct intermediary in unsuccessful negotiations with China over the Dalai Lama’s return. Meanwhile, China declared the Tibetan Plateau an autonomous region in 1965, but mass Han Chinese migration and Communist Party interference further battered Tibetan identity and culture.
After shifting away from politics, Thondup turned to business, founding a noodle factory in Kalimpong, which provided for his family for over five decades. He documented his experiences in his 2015 memoir, The Noodle Maker of Kalimpong, where he reflected on Tibet’s turbulent history and his personal battles.
Thondup’s funeral will be held in Kalimpong on Tuesday, the 11th Feb. He is survived by his sons, Ngawang Tanpa Thondup and Khedroob Thondup. Though he never fulfilled his dream of returning to Tibet alongside his brother, Gyalo Thondup’s legacy as a strategist, diplomat, and businessman remains deeply intertwined with Tibet’s modern history.
