New Delhi (NVI): A Tibetan-origin soldier, who was part of the Special Frontier Force (SFF) to stop the Chinese misadventure at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), laid down his life in fresh clashes with the intruding PLA troops at Pangong Tso lake in Eastern Ladakh.
Coy Ldr Nyima Tenzin, from ‘Vikas Battalion’ of SFF was killed in action when the Indian Army was thwarting the Chinese attempt to change the status quo at the southern bank of Pangong Tso lake on the intervening night of last Saturday and Sunday.
According to reports, another soldier from the same unit had sustained injuries in the violent face-off with Chinese troops that has further escalated the tensions between India and China.
51-year-old Tenzin was martyred on August 30 while bravely fighting against the Chinese troops. He offered 33 years of service to protect India as a Tibetan and represented the unwavering spirit of Tibet that has faced oppression at the hands of China for years now.
The Tibetan government is in exile and India has its hosted spiritual leader Dalai Lama since 1959. The Tibetan government-in-exile operates from Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh. Over 1,60,000 Tibetans live in India.
Border tensions between India and China have further escalated after the June 15 Galwan Valley incident, when the Chinese Army made an attempt to change the status quo on the Southern Bank of Pangong Tso Lake along LAC over the last weekend, but it was thwarted by the Indian Army.
Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) carried out the “provocative military movements” on the intervening night of last Saturday and Sunday, the MEA had said in a statement.
On top of that, the Chinese troops again engaged in “provocative action” along the LAC on Monday, even as the ground commanders of the two sides were in discussions to de-escalate the situation. That brazen attempt too was thwarted by the alert Indian troops.
The SFF was created after 1962 war and constitutes only Tibetan nationals. It was a covert outfit that recruited Tibetans (now it has a mixture of Tibetans and Gorkhas) and initially went by the name of Establishment 22.
According to reports, the Vikas Battalion of SFF has been instrumental in occupying some key heights at LAC in Ladakh, including ‘Black Top’, in the fresh set of confrontations in the region near Pangong Tso lake.
-ARK
