Last rites of SFF martyr held amid chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ -

Leh: The last rites were performed on the mortal remains of Tibetan soldier Tenzin Nyima, who was martyred in a land mine blast, near the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, amid chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’. This explosion took place during the conflict between the Indian and Chinese soldiers in the area to the south of Pangong Tso lake on the night of 29-30 August. Thousands of members from the Tibetan community were present to pay respect to martyr Tenzin Nyima. The Tibetan community chanted slogans like ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, ‘Jai Tibet’ and ‘We are proud of the Indian military’.

Tenzin Nyima was the Company leader of the Special Frontier Force’s (SFF) Vikas Battalion. 53-year old Tenzin Nyima has served the country for 33 years, being in the SFF. Tenzin Nyima was martyred in the land mine blast at Chushul in Ladakh. The last rites were performed on his mortal remains on Monday in Leh. His mortal remains were kept wrapped in the Indian and Tibetan flags. He was bid final farewell by playing the national anthems of India and Tibet. At that time, a large number of people from the Tibetan community were present. Senior leader Ram Madhav also was present.

Placards with an emotional message like ‘Tenzin Nyima is not only Tibet’s hero; he is India’s hero too. He lived for Tibet and died for India’ were displayed. The chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Jai Tibet’ resonated in the Leh area. Gratitude was being expressed towards the martyr saying ‘India will not let the sacrifice of Tenzin Nyima go in vain.’

SFF has been introduced to the world because of the Pangong Tso conflict. SFF was established following a proposal from the senior Indian military officials after the 1962 war with China. This organisation, linked to Indian intelligence, is known as a secret unit. It is said that the SFF, having the Himalayan Lion on its emblem, has seven battalions with 7,000 soldiers. Claims are also made that the numbers are greater than this. SFF mainly has immigrant Tibetan soldiers. After the Para Special Training of the Indian military, these soldiers are trained in mountain warfare and for more difficult wars.

These soldiers had made life difficult for the Pakistani soldiers during the 1971 Bangladesh and Kargil wars. SFF soldiers had played an important role in the Operation Blue Star. Now the SFF soldiers have been deployed on the Indo-Chinese border where they forced the Chinese soldiers to run for their lives during the conflict. The Vikas Battalion of the SFF is known to be the most aggressive commando force. As per military analysts, there is no other unit that can be compared with these commandos in mountain warfare.