The Fourteenth Dalai Lama and his brother, Gyalo Thondup, could scarcely be more different. But the ties that bind them are unbreakable. They are two sides of the same struggle for the survival of Tibet. In the politics of modern Tibet, only the Dalai Lama himself has been more important than Thondup. The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists and of Buddhist believers everywhere, but for the last 60 years, Thondup has been at the at the heart of a more earthly epic struggle: protecting and advancing Tibet in the face of unreliable allies and devious rivals, playing an utterly determined and unique role in a Cold War high-altitude superpower rivalry. Thondup sees himself as an obedient, selfless, and loyal servant to the Dalai Lama and Tibet. But his work has been conducted in secret, out of the limelight, in the nitty-gritty of international politics and the violence of a clandestine war of resistance.[Source]
