Ani Pachen Dolma

Ani Pachen Dolma was born in l933, in the eastern district of Kham, the only child of a powerful Khampa chieftain. Her father died at the time the Chinese invaded eastern Tibet and though she was in training to be a nun, she was compelled to take over for him and lead her people in resistance against the Chinese. For two years, she lived in the hills with other leaders and their people (she was the only female leader), ambushing Chinese convoys and destroying their camps.

The freedom fighters were gradually defeated, and in l960 she was captured by Chinese soldiers while attempting to flee on foot over the Himalayas with her mother, aunt, and aged grandmother. She was imprisoned, and spent the next 21 years in a series of Chinese prisons in eastern and central Tibet. In the early years of her imprisonment, she was the only woman held with hundreds of men. Later she was transfered to prisons with other women, and ultimately incarcerated at the dreaded Drapchi Prison in Lhasa. She endured extreme conditions and continuing torture, and during those years learned that her mother, aunt and grandmother had died from starvation. She credits her spiritual training, and her desire to meet with The Dalai Lama, with giving her the strength to survive.

In 1981 she was released, and shortly afterward she returned to her village, where she found her home destroyed and many of her friends and relatives dead. Later she returned to Lhasa, where she continued to participate in the Tibetan struggle. In 1988, in danger of being rearrested, she made a harrowing escape over the mountains to India. A few weeks after arriving in Dharamsala, the dream that had sustained her in prison was realized and she was able to meet with The Dalai Lama and tell Him her story.

Since that time she has continued to live in Dharamsala, devoting her time to her religious practices and helping the Tibetan cause in whatever way she can. She has become a heroine to many Tibetans living in Dharamsala and is often sought out by foreign correspondants for interviews about her experience.

International Tibet Independence Movement
PO Box 592 Fishers, Indiana 46038-0592 United States
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