The group was founded by Phuntsok Wangyal and Ngawang Kesang in 1943.
It emerged from a group called the Tibetan Democratic Youth League, formed by Wangyal and other Tibetan students in Lhasa in 1939.
[1][2] The party sought to establish an independent and socialist Tibet encompassing the three traditional regions of Tibet: Ü-Tsang, Kham, and Amdo.
[1][3] The party contacted the Soviet embassy in Beijing and asked for the Soviets' assistance as it began planning a socialist uprising in Tibet.
[4] The Tibetan communists prepared guerrilla struggles against the ruling Kuomintang while promoting democratic reforms inside Tibet.