In the minds of many, the Tibetan struggle and the current incarnation of the Dalai Lama, 73-year-old Tenzin Gyatso, are inextricably linked. Which is why — after a series of health scares in recent months — this year's anniversary of the Tibetan uprising is accompanied by rising concern over what might happen if the spiritual and political leader of Tibet were to die or become incapacitated before he has the chance to return home to the official residence in Lhasa he fled with his followers in 1959.

The spiritual and political ruler of Tibet through the years. First as a four-year-old peasant child about the time he was chosen Dalai Lama, as a 15-year-old wearing a gold peaked cap that is his crown and during a 1956 visit to India. Photo: Associated Press

"There's no doubt that life without the Dalai Lama, in the current state we're in, would be a terrible blow," said Lhadon Tethong, executive director of Students for a Free Tibet, one of an array of Tibetan exile groups opposed to Beijing's rule. "It's going to be awful if things are not resolved in his lifetime."