BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Thubten Jigme Norbu, the eldest brother of the Dalai Lama and champion of the Tibetan culture in the United States, has died at his exile home in Indiana.
Norbu died Monday in Bloomington, Ind., where he taught Tibetian studies for 20 years at the University of Indiana, his son, Jigme, said. He had been in failing health after a series of strokes.
The oldest son in a farming family of six children, Norbu was born in northeast Tibet on Aug. 16, 1922, the Los Angeles Times said.
Norbu, who fled his homeland in 1950, was a major Buddhist figure in his own right, believed to be the 23rd reincarnation of a famous high lama.
The two brothers disagreed on the status of Tibet, the Dalai Lama favoring an autonomous state, similar to Hong Kong, while Norbu insisted on independence.
He was a co-founder of the International Tibet Independence Movement,which sponsored more than a dozen walks across the United States and abroad to draw attention to Tibet under Chinese rule.
