Serf Emancipation Day in Tibet Date in the current year: March 28, 2024

Serf Emancipation Day, also referred to as Serf Liberation Day, commemorates the end of serfdom, the Tibetan feudal theocratic social structure. This holiday is quite controversial, and many Tibetans refuse to celebrate it claiming that it has been imposed by the Chinese government.

In 1950, Tibet was invaded by the Chinese People's Liberation Army. The Chinese government started carrying out reform aimed at democratization of the Tibetan society and elimination of feudalism and theocracy. The reform started on March 28, 1959. On the same day, China declared the Tibetan government illegal.

According to China, the reform liberated about one million people from feudalism, whereas the Dalai Lama and Central Tibetan Administration (Tibetan government in exile) question the designation “feudal serfdom”.

Serf Emancipation Day was first celebrated in 2009 to mark the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the reform. The Dalai Lama's office denounced the holiday claiming that it was China's attempt to distract people from the situation in Tibet.