Tibet (see Name section below for other spellings) is a Plateau region and Nation in Central Asia and the home to the indigenous Tibetan people. With an average elevation of 4,900 metres (16,000 ft), it is the highest region on Earth and is commonly referred to as the "Roof of the World."
Tibet is part of the People's Republic of China (PRC) (with a small part, depending on definitions, controlled by India). As an exclusive mandate, Tibet is also officially claimed by the Republic of China (Taiwan). In the Tibetan sovereignty debate, the government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Tibet in Exile disagree over when Tibet became a part of China, and whether this incorporation into China is legitimate according to international law. UNESCO and Encyclopædia Britannica consider Tibet to be part of Central Asia, while several academic organizations controversially consider it part of South Asia.
King Songtsän Gampo united many parts of the region in the seventh century. From the early 1600s the Dalai Lamas, commonly known as spiritual leaders of the region, have been heads of a centralised Tibetan administration (at least nominally), and are believed to be the emanations of Avalokiteśvara ("Chenrezig" [spyan ras gzigs] in Tibetan), the bodhisattva of compassion.
Between the 17th century and 1959, the Dalai Lama and his regents were the predominant political power administering religious and administrative authority over large parts of Tibet from the traditional capital Lhasa.
Inside Tibet, the situation is worse.In Religious plates sold despite suit
Buddhism does not seem to have made Tibet's traditional feudalism any more egalitarian than it had been in the pre-Buddhist past.In Castes in Buddhism – Is Caste Only a Hindu Problem (Part 4)
