Assam Rifles Veteran Who Escorted Dalai Lama into India Passes Away

Naren Chandra Das, an Assam Rifles veteran who "welcomed and accompanied" the 14th Dalai Lama – Tenzin Gyatso – into India in 1959, has died.
Assam Rifles Veteran Who Escorted Dalai Lama into India Passes Away

GUWAHATI: Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, was "welcomed and guided" into India in 1959 by Naren Chandra Das, a veteran of the Assam Rifles.

On Tuesday, he passed away at the age of 83. With the help of the CIA's Special Activities Division, the Dalai Lama arrived in India on March 30, 1959, and landed at Tezpur, Assam, on April 18.

After departing Tibet, His Holiness (aged 22) was safely transported to India by a seven-man battalion of Assam Rifles men.

The Dalai Lama was escorted into India by seven Assam Rifles troops, including Naren Chandra Das (then 23 years old).

Naren Chandra Das, a former Assam Rifles Havildar, was born in Lokra, near Tezpur, in the Sonitpur district of Assam. Das, the seventh and last Assam Rifles jawan, presented the Dalai Lama to India.

In April 2018, Naren Chandra Das and the Dalai Lama met in Guwahati for an emotional encounter. When the Dalai Lama beheld havildar (retd) Naren Chandra Das of the 5 Assam Rifles, the last known survivor of the party of seven Indian troops who received him on Indian soil for the first time in 58 years following his heroic escape from Tibet, the Dalai Lama fell silent.

On March 31, 1959, the Assam Rifles provided the Tibetan leader with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet a member of the squad that safely guided him into India.

The Dalai Lama's flight to India was a watershed point not just in Tibetan history, but also in the evolution of the Indo-Chinese relationship.

Also Watch: 

Top Headlines

No stories found.
Sentinel Assam
www.sentinelassam.com