Ani Pachen (1933 – February 2, 2002) was a Tibetan freedom fighter and activist.

Early life

Pachen Dolma was born around 1933 in Gonjo, Kham, eastern

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

. She was the only child of Chieftain elder son Pomda Gonor of the Lemdha clan, of the Phomda Tsang line. Pachen took refuge in the Dharma when she was 8 years old and was subsequently initiated into the deity practice o
Dorje Phurba
a

Nyingma Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and transl ...

tradition. When she was 17, she discovered her father's plans to marry her off and attempted to run away to Gyalsay Rinpoche's monastery at Tromkhog. However, she returned after a few days of traveling with her father's promise to annul the engagement. The

14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...

and the PRC officially signed the

Seventeen Point Agreement The Seventeen Point Agreement is a short form of the Agreement of the Central People's Government and the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, ( zh, 中央人民政府和西藏地方政府关于和平解放 ...

in 1951. Increasing tensions led her father to train her in the use of firearms and begin organizing militant resistance. For the next few years, Pachen sat in on her father's administrative meetings with local chieftains. In 1954, Pachen and her mother spent 6 months in Gyalsay Rinpoche's monastery, during which she completed Ngondro, or preliminary religious training. She returned at the request of her father, who wanted to officially teach her the duties involved with being the heir to a chieftain.

Rebellion

By the end of 1956, tens of thousands of armed Khampas had taken to the surrounding hills in armed resistance. When her father died in 1958, she assumed her role as chieftainess of the Lemdha clan. In 1959, she rode at the head of their 600 resistance fighters into the nearby hills. Her clan joined with others from

Derge Derge (; ) is a town in Dêgê County in Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan, China. It was once the center of the Kingdom of Derge in Kham. History Historically, Derge, which means "land of mercy", was an important centre of Tibet ...

and Lingkha Shipa. After news of eminent Chinese attack, Pachen returned to Lemdha to warn her family and gather their valuables. Their group grew to thousands as families from the towns of

, Lingkha Shipa and

Markham Markham may refer to: It may also refer to brand of of clothing which originates from South Africa which saw it's establishment in 1873. Biology * Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia * ...

fled with the ultimate plan of joining Chushi Gangdruk, the principal resistance group centered in

Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...

at the time. After rejoining the earlier Lemdha resistance fighters, Pachen aided in dividing the refugees into smaller, less visible groups, organized and dispatched defensive patrols, and actively engaged in armed warfare. During this migration, her group was aided by CIA paramilitary support. Their camp was attacked by overwhelming Chinese forces in the area around the Pelbar village in

Tingri County Tingri County or ''Dhringgri County'' (; ), is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Xigazê in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The county comprises the upper valley of the Bum-chu or Arun River, with the valley ...

in late 1959, shortly after they heard of Chushi Gangdruk's defeat. Pachen, her mother, aunt, and grandmother took refuge in a nearby forest. They successfully traveled towards India for the next 25 days, until they were captured by Chinese forces along with around 300 other refugees.

Imprisonment

Immediately after being captured, Pachen and her family were held in nearby abandoned houses that served as temporary prisons. Over the course of a week, Pachen was interrogated and beaten. Soon after, many of the women, children and elderly people were released (including her mother, aunt, and grandmother), and Pachen was transferred to a 'collection center' in Lhodzong, where she was held for a month. She reported being the only woman held there. After that, Pachen was transferred to a monastery in

Chamdo Chamdo, officially Qamdo () and also known in Chinese as Changdu, is a prefecture-level city in the eastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Its seat is the town of Chengguan in Karuo District. Chamdo is Tibet's third largest city ...

that was being used as a Chinese prison. For the next 10 months, she was regularly questioned, until she was transferred to another part of the monastery known as Deyong Nang, where she was further questioned and was forced to wear leg irons for over a year. She was held there from 1961 to 1963. In 1963, she was moved to Silthog Thang, a prison 'where those...considered guilty of the most serious crimes were sent,' located between the

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , ...

(known as the Zachu river in Tibet) and Ngomchu river (a tributary of the Mekong). At Silthog Thang, she was sectioned according to gender and level of devotion. She was also held in isolation for 9 months after refusing to denounce her religion and rebuking an officer. After hearing that her mother was living and working in

Kongpo Kongpo () is a region of central-eastern Tibet, centered in modern Gongbo'gyamda County, Nyingchi Prefecture. It is situated on the Nyang River, a northern tributary of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. Kongpo Drula Gonpa is the oldest and largest monast ...

and that a number of prisoners were being sent there, Pachen convinced the prison officers to transfer her as well. She spent a year there and was transferred to Drapchi prison, one of the most notorious Chinese prisons, in 1965. She was held there for 11 years. At Drapchi, she reported that prisoners were forced to wear a Chinese uniform and were forbidden to speak Tibetan, pray, or practice Tibetan customs. After

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

's death, Pachen was transferred to the 5th division of Tramo Dzong in Kongpo

Nyingtri Nyingchi (), also known as Linzhi and as Nyingtri, is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China. The administrative seat of Nyingchi is Bayi District. Nyingchi is the location of Buchu Monastery. Econom ...

. She was released in 1981, after being imprisoned for 21 years. She was 48 years old.

Release

After her release from

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

in January 1981, Pachen went on a pilgrimage. She visited the monasteries of Sera, Drepung, and Ganden, which had all been destroyed in the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

, during her imprisonment. Over the course of the next year, she visited monasteries in Lhokha, Shedra, Drolma Lhakhang, Dhalakhampo, and stayed for eight months in the Samye monastery. There, she learned the Buddhist practice Chud len, or Essence Extraction, and the Chöd practice, before deciding to return to Lhasa to continue support for the cause of Tibetan independence. She advertised and participated in three notable demonstrations before fleeing to India; the September 27 and October 1 demonstrations of 1987 and the March 5 demonstration of 1988. In 1989, she discovered that she was to be arrested again and made plans to escape to

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

over

Mount Kailash Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; Standard Tibetan, Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ; ; sa, कैलास, ), is a mountain in the Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It h ...

. After 25 days, she was airlifted to Dharamshala. Her dream to meet the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

came true when she was granted a personal audience soon after her arrival. She settled in the Gaden Choeling Nunnery in Dharamsala, India.

Autobiography

Ani Pachen's autobiography, ''Sorrow Mountain: the Journey of a Tibetan Warrior Nun'', was published in 2000, and she toured the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. In 2001, she visited the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

at the invitation of the Tibet Society, and led the annual march through central

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to commemorate the

Lhasa Uprising The 1959 Tibetan uprising (also known by other names) began on 10 March 1959, when a revolt erupted in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, which had been under the effective control of the People's Republic of China since the Seventeen Point Agreem ...

Death

Ani Pachen died in Dharamsala on February 2, 2002, of heart failure. She died peacefully at the age of 69.