<p>Tibet’s ‘snow-lion’ flag fluttered beside the Indian tricolour in Leh on Monday as hundreds bid adieu to Nyima Tenzin, the Special Frontier Force (AFF) officer who was killed in an operation against the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).</p>.<p>Ram Madhav, General Secretary of the BJP, attended the funeral of the fallen Company Leader of the SFF — an elite unit of the Indian Army. He also tweeted paying homage to Tenzin, but quickly deleted the post.</p>.<p>In the now-deleted tweet, Madhav said that Tenzin laid down his life “protecting” India’s borders in Ladakh. He also wished for peace along the “Indo-Tibetan border”, stating that it would be the “real tribute” to all martyrs.</p>.<p>Though New Delhi maintained an official silence on the unsung hero's martyrdom, people sang Tibet’s national anthem ‘Gyallu’ right after ‘Jana Gana Mana’. They were joined by many on social media platforms.</p>.<p>Tenzin was killed during an Indian Army operation on the south bank of Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh on August 29-30 night but his martyrdom remained unacknowledged because he belonged to the SFF a.k.a. “Establishment 22”. The unit was raised during the India-China war in 1962, with most of its recruits being young refugees and guerrilla soldiers from Tibet.</p>.<p>The SFF always remained under a shroud of secrecy, although the Indian Army often relied on it for covert operations. The valour of its highland warriors was never officially acknowledged, even as they fought valiantly with the rest of the Indian Army and made supreme sacrifices, be it during the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh or during the 1999 Kargil War.</p>.<p>As most of its men are either refugees or descendants of refugees from Tibet, New Delhi continues to refrain from officially acknowledging its existence. </p>.<p>The Indian Army apparently factored in the familiarity of the SFF personnel with the terrain along the Ladakh-Tibet border region, when it decided to deploy the highland warriors to support operations to counter the Chinese PLA’s expansionist moves along the LAC.</p>.<p>It came just after China claimed that thousands of youths in its Tibet Autonomous Region joined the PLA amid the military stand-off along the disputed boundary with India.</p>
<p>Tibet’s ‘snow-lion’ flag fluttered beside the Indian tricolour in Leh on Monday as hundreds bid adieu to Nyima Tenzin, the Special Frontier Force (AFF) officer who was killed in an operation against the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).</p>.<p>Ram Madhav, General Secretary of the BJP, attended the funeral of the fallen Company Leader of the SFF — an elite unit of the Indian Army. He also tweeted paying homage to Tenzin, but quickly deleted the post.</p>.<p>In the now-deleted tweet, Madhav said that Tenzin laid down his life “protecting” India’s borders in Ladakh. He also wished for peace along the “Indo-Tibetan border”, stating that it would be the “real tribute” to all martyrs.</p>.<p>Though New Delhi maintained an official silence on the unsung hero's martyrdom, people sang Tibet’s national anthem ‘Gyallu’ right after ‘Jana Gana Mana’. They were joined by many on social media platforms.</p>.<p>Tenzin was killed during an Indian Army operation on the south bank of Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh on August 29-30 night but his martyrdom remained unacknowledged because he belonged to the SFF a.k.a. “Establishment 22”. The unit was raised during the India-China war in 1962, with most of its recruits being young refugees and guerrilla soldiers from Tibet.</p>.<p>The SFF always remained under a shroud of secrecy, although the Indian Army often relied on it for covert operations. The valour of its highland warriors was never officially acknowledged, even as they fought valiantly with the rest of the Indian Army and made supreme sacrifices, be it during the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh or during the 1999 Kargil War.</p>.<p>As most of its men are either refugees or descendants of refugees from Tibet, New Delhi continues to refrain from officially acknowledging its existence. </p>.<p>The Indian Army apparently factored in the familiarity of the SFF personnel with the terrain along the Ladakh-Tibet border region, when it decided to deploy the highland warriors to support operations to counter the Chinese PLA’s expansionist moves along the LAC.</p>.<p>It came just after China claimed that thousands of youths in its Tibet Autonomous Region joined the PLA amid the military stand-off along the disputed boundary with India.</p>
