A covert unit soldier’s death gained all the media attention
India is known to have provided shelter to all for the sake of humanity whether it be Bangladesh, Afghani, Pakistani or else Tibetan refugees. Everyone has been given their rights. However, a newfound mystery known to less has been in the spotlight ever since the death of soldier Tenzin. It came into light that India has been recruiting Tibetan Refugees for a special force (undercover unit) majorly for high altitude war zone.
A photograph went viral of martyr Tenzin’s funeral, where soldiers' photographs were kept in the corner of his house, besides the warmth of the diyas and fragrance of bravery. In the room across the hall, his family was mooning in silence with his mom just about to burst into tears, and family members, relatives and Buddhist monks chanting. 51-year-old martyred in a landmine blast near Pangong Tso Lake in the Himalayan region of Ladakh.The region is the same as the one where India is facing constant tension with Chinese troops. Not confirmed but the news is spread that he died in an old mine which was left untouched after the 1962 war with china.
Tenzin’ s brother recalled,"On 30 August, around 10:30 in the night, I got a call, saying he was injured, but did not tell me that he had died. A friend confirmed the news to me later." According to the reports Tenzin family confirmed that he was a member of SFF (Special Frontier Force), which is an undercover unit majorly recruiting Tibetan Refugees. Approximately 3500 soldiers are recruited in it. Tenzin and his family himself are refugees and he was serving for about 30 years. SFF existence not confirmed or acknowledged by any Indian authority. Yet, Tenzin's death - in the last weekend of August amid rising tensions between India and China - prompted the first public acknowledgement of Tibetans' role in the Indian military. The soldier was provided the honorary funeral with military honours and 21-gun salute and a good amount of crowd came to be a part of the last journey of the soldier. Senior BJP leader Ram Madhav attended the funeral and placed a wreath on Tenzin's coffin, which was draped in the flags of India and Tibet and was carried to his home in an army truck. Mr Madhav went ahead and tweeted, "a Tibetan who laid down his life protecting" he gave him the title. But later the tweet was deleted. No statements from the authority has been made despite that the funeral gained wide recognition and was aired by various national media, that is being taken as a sharp signal to Beijing.
"Till now this [the SFF] was a secret, but it has been acknowledged now and I am very happy," said Namdakh Tenzin. "Anyone who serves should be named and supported".
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