In a huge gesture towards Tibet, the Indian Army and members of the Tibetan community in Leh paid their last respects this morning to Tibetan soldier Nyima Tenzin, who died recently along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Special Frontier Force (SFF) company leader Nyima Tenzin lost his life on August 31 when he stepped on a landmine laid in 1962 in Gurung Hill in Chushul.
Hours after the Indian Army issued the press statement about his death, the Tibetan community in Ladakh came together to pay tribute to the soldier of the ‘7 Vikas’ battalion. Tenzin’s body was driven to his house in the Sonamling Tibetan Refugee settlement in Leh, Ladakh, escorted by an SFF truck.
The tragic demise of the Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) points at the fact that India has deployed its secret Tibetan paramilitary force along the LAC with China, for the first time in recent years.
Reportedly, the deployment of SFF troopers in Ladakh began after Chinese incursions in May this year. The Army pulled out the special forces units to hack trails and set up posts along hilltops and ridgelines to observe positions of the Chinese military.
Earlier on September 2, when asked about the SFF, Chinese ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson Hua Chunying said, “China’s position is very clear. We oppose any country, and of course, that includes India, which provides any facilitation or venue to forces advocating Tibetan independence.”
