March 28, 1959, is to Tibetan serfs what September 22, 1862, is to black slaves in the United States. Fifty years ago, more than 1 million serfs on the Roof of the World started a new life as masters of their own destiny.

Tibetans have been celebrating the red letter day for the past half a century. But this year, on January 19, the People's Congress of the Tibet autonomous region decided to make the celebration official by endorsing a bill to designate it as Serf Emancipation Day.

That, along with the 50th anniversary of the democratic reform in Tibet, is anathema to the Dalai Lama and his followers. No surprises here because they were part of the 5 percent of Tibet's population that controlled the whole of region's land, pastures and livestock - and were the "masters" of the serfs.