Mustang town

Mustang remained subjugate to the Shah dynasty through to the Chinese occupation of Tibet. Mustang requested allegiance and protection from the partially democratized government of Nepal during the occupation of Tibet and became an official part of Nepal in doing so. The now safe Mustang valley became home to over six thousand Khampa (Tibetans from the Kham region of eastern Tibet) resistance fighters. The resistance forces in Mustang waged a guerrilla war against the Chinese and were moderately successful in destroying communications and roads in the Tibetan regions around Mustang. Political pressure from China forced Nepal to take action and Mustang was closed in an effort to alienate the resistance army. This was only marginally successful in slowing the advances of the Khampa, but resulted in extreme hardships on the people and lands of Mustang to support this vast army. Many valuable religious items were seized from the local population and temples and sold in the world market to finance the continuing struggle against the Chinese occupation forces. The resistance finally came to an end in the early 70's when the Dalai Lama (the historic religious leader of Tibet) sent a taped plea for an end to the violence. This was followed by a brutal military campaign by the Nepalese government to drive the Khampa from Nepal.