Nyima’s Martyrdom unfolds Phantom Warriors

Waving of Indian and Tibetan flags side by side during highly charged emotional farewell of martyr Subedar Nyima Tenzin  in Leh last Monday brought the Special Frontier Force (SFF) in to limelight for the first time. Tenzin  sacrificed his life during an operation to pre-empt a fresh move by the Chinese PLA on 29-30 August near Pangong Tso's south bank in eastern Ladakh. While his critically injured  subordinate, Tenzin Loden is currently undergoing treatment at the military hospital.

Tibetan flags along with our Tri-color during  NyimaTenzin's  funeral with full military honours obviously draw every one's attention and curiosity about SFF. In fact to give China hell bomb in the most inhospitable terrains of Ladakh, India unleashed a mysterios  force "Establihment 22"  that PLA  fears most.

Post China's annexation of Tibet and 1962 India -China war, Brigadier Sujan Singh Uban, IB Director Bhola Nath Mullick and elder brother of Tibet's Holy Guru Dalai Lama, Gaylo Thondup  were the main pioneers for forming  this hardened combate  special force. Mostly Tibetan highlanders are part of this force . Along with Indian soldiers, they were trained  in guerrilla tactics and unconventional warfare.  Former Odisha Chief Minister and veteran pilot Biju Patnaik had also played very crucial role in their paratrooping training. The training camp was established in a remote village Chakrata in Uttarakhand. A decade earlier, Brigadier Uban had  a posting in command of the 22 Mountain Regiment in Assam. So borrowing that number, he gave his Tibetan trainees the ambiguous title of ‘Establishment 22. Later on this became commonly known as Vikasi Regiment.

Once fully settled, this comabate training programme was given  official  name, "Chakrata Project".  The great appeal of  patriotic call to duty and the chance for meaningful employment infused Tibetan refugee population in India. For the last 58 years, they have been waiting to fight for their Buddhist homeland which is under illegal Chinese occupation. And thus, Brigadier Uban had not much problem in finding the willing takers. Uban and his team mapped out the process of moulding them into effective guerrilla combatants. Now this Vikasi Regiment  has strength of about 10,000 soldiers. Revenge is a dish best served cold. Tibetan commandos of SFF express their true patriotism in this emotional poem:

“We are the Vikasi.
The Chinese snatched Tibet from us,

and kicked us out from our home,

Even then, India

kept us like their own.

One day, surely one day,

we will teach the Chinese a lesson.”

And see how India gave Tibetans the opportunity to start reclaiming their land, when Prime Minister Modi gave them the go-ahead. According to latest reports, the Chakrata-based SFF turned the tide against the  PLA and  put Indian army in a dominating position in  Southern Pangong Tso near Thakung on the intervening night of August 29-30.  Not only taking over the dormant feature on its side of the LAC that dominates Southern Pangong Tso, but the Indian troops also pummelled the Chinese soldiers in the process and snatched the vantage point from them. During this combat, Subedar Nyima Tenzin  martyred. Before this operation, most   of the time SFF's role  was  like "Phantom Warriors" and very few know about them. But the martyrdom of Nyima brought out this force  from shadows to the  limelight.

Reports said that the PLA troops are in for more trouble, as winter is set to arrive when entire terrain in Ladakh will be covered with thick snow, temperature going down below minus. More over the capablity of Tibetan highlanders dominated SFF  to  survive and fight  in extream cold  conditions, augments China's fear. Because they know that every Vikasi is a capable paratrooper, mountain-guerrilla warfare specialist and the toughest of soldiers.

The very fact is  that India, by allowing  the  SFF deployment to go public,  gave just one hard message  ---" They hardly care about China's annoyance".  Gone are the days when India used to take decisions such  way not to irk China. New Delhi  continues its support to Dalai Lama. According to defence experts, if the SFF can help raise the Mukti Bahini and liberate Bangladesh, it can also free Tibet from Chinese occupation.  In present  scenario, India appears on strong pitch. China is being reminded that the land it is fighting from, is not even Chinese land.

Defence strategy experts opine that by letting Tibetans reclaim their  homeland, India has given an entirely new shape to the Eastern Ladakh standoff.  If China does not turn to status quo ante bellum in Ladakh region, India will force the real facts on the ground dating back to the pre-1950 era claiming its full sovereignty over entire Ladakh and Kashmir.

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