Tibet (which had been a client state of the Qing dynasty) remained a traditional theocratic state (the Ganden Phodrang polity) with the Dalai Lamas as heads of state, from 1912 until the Chinese communist invasion in 1950. The 14th Dalai Lama fled the country in 1959. A Tibetan exile community was established in India, with its center at Dharamsala, which today contains various Buddhist monasteries and is a center for the study of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th Dalai Lama has become one of the most popular Buddhist leaders in the world today.