The Dalai Lama accused Chinese authorities on Wednesday of trying to "annihilate Buddhism" in Tibet as he commemorated a failed uprising against China's rule over the region.

The Dalai Lama, in his annual address from exile in India to mark the 51st anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising against China, said Chinese authorities were conducting a campaign of "patriotic re-education" in monasteries in Tibet.

The Dalai Lama smiles as he prepares to deliver his annual address from exile in India, marking the 51st anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule in Dharamsla, India. (Ashwini Bhatia/Associated Press)

"They are putting the monks and nuns in prison-like conditions, depriving them the opportunity to study and practise in peace," he said, accusing the Chinese of working to "deliberately annihilate Buddhism."

China fought back, accusing the Dalai Lama of using deceptions and lies to distort Beijing's policy toward Tibet.

Beijing has demonized the Dalai Lama and accused him of wanting independence for Tibet, which China says is part of its territory. The Dalai Lama says he only wants some form of autonomy for Tibet within China that would allow Tibetan culture, language and religion to thrive.

'A serious problem in Tibet'

The Buddhist leader said that "whether the Chinese government acknowledges it or not, there is a serious problem in Tibet," but attempts to talk to the Chinese leadership about granting limited autonomy to the Tibetan people had gone nowhere.

The Dalai Lama's comments came during a tumultuous moment in relations with China.

In January, Beijing reopened talks with his envoys for the first time in 15 months, but China was incensed when the Dalai Lama met with President Barack Obama in the U.S. last month.

Thousands of Tibetan exiles, most of them dressed in traditional silk and wool robes, gathered in the compound of a Buddhist temple to hear the Dalai Lama and other senior leaders of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

The Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet shortly after the failed uprising, leads the government-in-exile from Dharmsala in India.

In Nepal, about 1,000 Tibetan exiles chanted anti-China slogans and waved Tibetan flags at a temple on the outskirts of Katmandu, the capital, as riot police deployed to keep protesters from marching in the streets.