DHARAMSHALA, India (AP) — Thousands of Tibetan Buddhists began streaming in India’s Himalayan town of Dharamshala on Sunday to celebrate the 90th birthday of the Dalai Lama, who said days ago that he plans to reincarnate after dying.

Born on July 6, 1935, into a farming family in what is now Qinghai province, the Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 with a large group of Tibetans after the Chinese military under the command of Communist Party founder Mao Zedong took over Tibet.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday led the nation in extending greetings to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on his 90th birthday, with prayers for his continued good health and long life.