Dalai Lama’s elder brother Gyalo Thondup dies at 97 in Bengal’s Kalimpong

Gyalo Thondup, the elder brother of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, died of age-related ailments at his residence in West Bengal's Kalimpong, a senior official said on Sunday. He was 97.

Thondup, who was bed-ridden for the past two weeks, breathed his last on Saturday afternoon with his son and grand-daughter by his side, the official told PTI.

His last rites would be performed on February 11 after the arrival of other family members, the official said.

The Dalai Lama, currently in Karnataka, attended a prayer session in memory of Thondup at a monastery in Bylakuppe town.

"We pray for his rebirth. Also, we thank him for his contribution to Tibet's cause," the Dalai Lama said in a video on YouTube.

Thondup was one of the six siblings of the Tibetan spiritual leader. He settled in Kalimpong in 1952, but would frequently travel around the world.

He had lobbied with foreign governments for the Tibetan cause, including the US.