In Himachal Pradesh, the Tibetan parliament-in-exile at Dharamshala today began debating the Dalai Lama's request to resign as a political leader. The 75-year-old Nobel laureate announced last week that he wanted to shed his role as political chief of the government-in-exile and hand his responsibilities to the next prime minister, who will be elected on Sunday. The change requires a constitutional amendment, which lawmakers are discussing today. In a letter read out in the parliament yesterday, the Dalai Lama argued that the Tibetan movement was now mature enough for a directly-elected political leader. The Dalai Lama's political title is largely symbolic as he will retain the role of Tibet’s spiritual leader. The exile Tibetan movement has been based in India since 1959 when the Dalai Lama fled his homeland after a failed uprising against Beijing’s rule.