TOPIC – Blooded in battle and fighting in the shadows
On November 14, the elite Special Frontier Force (SFF) will turn 58. For an organisation that has served India for close to six decades and played some pivotal roles in key moments of Indian history, from liberating Bangladesh to fighting in the Kargil war, the SFF has scrupulously stayed out of the headlines. The death of an SFF soldier on August 30, who was deployed along the recently tense Line of Actual Control (LAC) that separates India and China, has now shed the spotlight on the SFF and its predominantly Tibetan soldiers. Company Leader Nyima Tenzin was killed in an accidental mine blast when he stepped over a vintage 1962 minefield during patrolling in Ladakh, according to Army sources. His untimely death, and the deployment of the SFF amid the recent tensions with China, has not only brought unexpected attention to the highly trained and elite force, but also emerged as a source of pride for India’s Tibetan community, as underlined by a video from September 4 that showed Tibetans in Shimla gathering, singing, and tying their traditional khatas (white scarves) to a departing convoy as they waved goodbye to SFF personnel headed for the Ladakh front. The limelight is certainly unusual for an elite outfit trained to working in the shadows. And it’s in the shadows where the SFF has mostly operated since its creation in 1962. The SFF’s antecedents, in fact, even predate 1962. This is a story that goes back to the mid1950s, when Tibetan resistance fighters began crossing over into India starting with the 1956 uprising. More fighters would follow, in the wake of the failed uprising three years later and the Dalai Lama’s exile to India. The first challenge was finding a base, recalls his son Inspector General (IG) Gurdip Singh Uban (retd), who was then a Second Lieutenant, aged 22, and decided to help out his father. “We hired a taxi from Delhi and drove to Chakrata [Uttarakhand] where my father knew was an old Gurkha training centre that was lying vacant,” he told The Hindu. “It had all the wherewithal — barracks, training grounds, and most importantly, it had training areas such as rock climbing and was at a height of 7,000 feet. And there the story began.” The unit was raised on November 14, 1962 — on Nehru’s birthday. Exactly a week later, China would announce its “unilateral ceasefire”, so the unit would see no action in the war. In any case, they were hardly ready for action. Mr. Uban said his father first called the outfit Establishment 22, named after his old Mountain Regiment that he was particularly fond of. The ‘twotwos’, as they would be known, would be all paratroopers — an elite unit capable of highaltitude warfare, special operations, and fighting behind enemy lines. They would report to the Cabinet Secretariat, and were not part of the Army. A women’s wing was also created. He recalled the passion of the first cohort. “What really struck me was both the anger and shame, of what happened to Tibet and the Dalai Lama, who was a god for them,” he said. “And also their incredible athleticism. I think Tibetans are blessed with genetics, which is why the PLA was always afraid they couldn’t compete with them.” In 1967, Establishment 22 was expanded and renamed the Special Frontier Force. Mr. Uban revealed the story behind the name. “Special, because they were Special Forces [Commandos]. We used the word ‘frontier’ because my family belonged to the Hazara district of the then North West Frontier Province of undivided India,” he recalled, and not because of any intent to limit where they would be deployed. They would finally see action in the 1971 war. They were deployed in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and fought with extraordinary valour. More than 50 would lay down their lives, a sacrifice that was, given the secrecy of the outfit, never given its due recognition.
The Hindu Editorial Words with meanings, synonyms and antonyms
Elite(noun) – A select group that is superior in terms of ability or qualities
Synonyms – Exclusive, Noble, Cream of society, Choice, Greatest
Antonyms – Second late, Poor, Inferior, Ordinary, Worst
Pivotal (adjective) – Success of something
Synonyms – Central, Cardinal, Vital, Critical, Essential
Antonyms – Secondary, Unimportant, Uncritical, Minor, Unsubstantial
Scrupulously (adverb) – In a very careful and thorough way
Synonyms – Carefully, Precisely, Flawlessly, Meticulously, Accurately
Antonyms – Careless, Slapdash
Predominantly (adverb) – Mainly
Synonyms – Broadly, Generally, Extravagantly, Liberally, Magnificantly
Antonyms – Incompletely, Partially, Insufficently
Vintage (noun) – The time that something of quality was produced
Synonyms – Best, Claasical, Mature, Ripe, Selected
Antonyms – Wrost, Inferior, Minor, Unimportant
Convoy (noun) – A group of ships or vehicles travelling together
Synonyms – Attendance, Companion, Protection, Escort, Guard
Antonyms – Loss, Betrayal, Capture, Interception
Antecedent (noun) – A thing that existed before
Synonyms – Anterior, Foregoing, Former, Preceding, Previous
Antonyms – Incidental, Subsequent, Concomitant, Posterior, Resultant, Sequent