History is short on revolutionary leaders who self-consciously chose peace over war, non-violent resistance to answer to a sometimes brutal suppression campaign. Martin Luther King was one, on the national state, and Mahatma Gandhi on the international one. Perhaps if Gandhi had a framework for an international resolution to the dispute, and the United Nations to appeal to, he could have travelled the political path of the The Dalai Llama.

On this day, October 5, in 1989, in recognition for his campaign to earn independence for his native Tibet, and for his prolific work towards universal political and interreligious understanding, the Dalai Lama received the Nobel Peace Prize.

In his acceptance speech in Oslo, the Dalai Lama acknowledged Gandhi as a mentor, and mentioned the problems facing Tibet in their occupation by China as a symptom of the ever larger plague. “The problems we face today, violent conflicts, destruction of nature, poverty, hunger, and so on, are human-created problems which can be resolved through human effort, understanding and the development of a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood,” he said. “We need to cultivate a universal responsibility for one another and the planet we share.”