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March 31, 1959

Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from March 31, 1959

Peiping Paratroops Comb South Tibet for Dalai Lama; Hope to Bar Him From Reaching India Through Main Rebel Stronghold -- Diplomats in Lhasa Still Curbed

By Elie Abel

China reptd dropping paratroops in S Tibet rebel stronghold in effort to intercept Dalai Lama before he can reach India; Lhasa situation reptd far from normal; movements of foreign diplomats and Indian Consul Gen reptd curbed; Nehru ex-presses sympathy for Tibetans, implies China reneged on promise to respect autonomy, s, Parliament; questions authenticity of Dalai Lama Us to Chinese; repts damage to Lhasa monasteries; rejects China statement that Indian discussion of Tibetan affairs would be 'impolite and improper'; says he cannot commit Govt to specific policy on asylum for pol refugees; says each case will be considered on merits; sees no present large influx of refugees; says revolt is new development, not related to Khamba activities of last 3 yrs

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2 DEFENSE CHIEFS SAY ATOM ARMS EXCEED U.S. NEED; Taylor and Burke Find Soviet Could Now Be Destroyed 'Several Times Over'

By Jack Raymond

HR subcom releases testimony by Taylor and Burke holding US has excessive number of nuclear weapons that can destroy USSR several times over; Taylor urges greater stress on ltd warfare capability, but says he has been overruled often By Joint Cs/S and McElroy; Twining and Burke stress US ability to destroy all major USSR strategic targets

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Notable Births

Markus Hediger

1959Markus Hediger, Swiss poet and translator[†]

Markus Hediger is a Swiss writer and translator.

Historical Events

14th Dalai Lama

1959The 14th Dalai Lama crosses the border into India and is granted political asylum.[†]

The 14th Dalai Lama is the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. He served as the resident spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet before 1959 and subsequently led the Tibetan government in exile represented by the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, India. A belief central to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition as well as the institution of the Dalai Lama is that he is a living Bodhisattva, specifically an emanation of Avalokiteśvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. The Mongolic word dalai means ocean. He is also known to Tibetans as Gyalwa Rinpoche, Kundun, and Yizhin Norbu. His devotees, as well as much of the Western world, often call him His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He is the leader and a monk of the newest Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Historical Context for March 31, 1959

In 1959, the world population was approximately 2,965,950,351 people[†]