NEW DELHI , India -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Tibetan exile leaders , meeting in northern India to debate a potential new approach to Tibet 's decades-long struggle for autonomy , have voted to stay with the Dalai Lama 's current `` middle way approach , '' according to a spokesman for the spiritual leader . Some have sought Tibet 's independence from China , but the Dalai Lama has sought autonomy . `` The majority of the people have spoken and have requested his holiness the Dalai Lama to continue with his middle way approach , '' said spokesman Tenzin Taklha . The meeting was called after the Dalai Lama acknowledged he had failed in his efforts to convince China to restore the territory 's autonomy . He did not attend the week-long conference in Dharamsala , a town in the hills of north India where he lives in exile . He called the meeting , he said , to offer the exiles an opportunity to discuss `` the best possible future course of action '' for Tibet . Takhla said the Tibetans demonstrated that the Dalai Lama was their undisputed leader , and they hoped China would recognize him as such and negotiations toward a realistic solution could be held . There was a small minority who said they wanted to demand Tibet 's independence , Takhla said . The `` middle way '' approach with Beijing is one in which Tibetans want a level of autonomy that will allow them to protect and preserve their culture , religion and national identity . In exchange , China could continue to claim Tibet as part of its territory . Some in Tibet have advocated independence from China , but the Dalai Lama has long called for genuine autonomy . Tibet is technically autonomous from the central Chinese government , but the Dalai Lama and others have said they favor real autonomy and resent the slow erosion of their culture amid an influx of Han Chinese , the largest ethnic group in China . Learn about Tibet 's history of conflict '' The resentment spilled over in March , when Buddhist monks initiated peaceful anti-Chinese protests in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa . The demonstrations began March 14 , the anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Beijing 's rule that sent the Dalai Lama into exile . The protests soon turned violent , with demonstrators burning vehicles and shops . Some protesters advocated independence from China , while others demonstrated against the growing influence of the Han Chinese in Tibet and other regions of China with ethnic Tibetan populations . The subsequent crackdown left 18 civilians and one police officer dead , according to the Chinese government . Tibet 's self-proclaimed government-in-exile put the death toll from the protests at 140 . China blamed the Dalai Lama and his followers for the March riots -- a charge he has consistently denied .