Himalayan war horse

How a covert unit, comprising mostly Tibetan commandos, has become India’s frontier force against Chinese aggression

- NAMRATA BIJI AHUJA

IT WAS A bittersweet moment for Jampa La, 83. He was moved to tears on hearing chants of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and ‘Jai Tibet’ as the mortal remains of Nyima Tenzin, wrapped in the Indian tricolour and the snow lion flag of Tibet, were brought to Leh on September 7.

Jampa is one of the first paratrooper commandos to be trained by the Indian Army as well as the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States. During the 1962 India-China war, the US helped India create a covert unit, comprising mostly Tibetan soldiers, called Special Frontier Force (SFF), also known as 22 (two-two) or Establishment 22. Jampa and 900 other Tibetan commandos were its first recruits who soon became masters of guerrilla warfare and mountain warfare. They were the first paratroopers in the Indian Army— one of the best in the world.

But Jampa could not achieve what Nyima, 51, has. Nyima lived as the son of two civilisations but died as the patriot of one. Nyima died reportedly in a landmine blast on August 30 on the south bank of Pangong Tso during an operation to thwart fresh attempts by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to transgress into Indian territory. Another SFF fighter, Tenzin Loden, 24, was injured; he is admitted in the Army hospital in Leh.

On the night of August 29, the SFF foiled the PLA’s ploy by occupying a dominant position near Thakung in southern Pangong Tso. It is with the help of the SFF that Indian troops have occupied heights close to the lake and Rechin La, giving them a dominant position over Chinese posts in that area for the first time since the fresh Indo-China conflict started in April.