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China-India border dispute
This Week in AsiaPolitics

Explainer | Latest India-China border clash turns spotlight on Tibetan refugees in Special Frontier Force

  • The little-known paramilitary unit consisting mainly of Tibetan refugees is believed to have played a big role in the recent Pangong Tso clash
  • The force has been a source of emotional release for those who fled Tibet after the 1959 uprising, with one veteran saying it ‘is our only chance to fight the Chinese’

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An Indian paramilitary soldier stands guard at a check post along a highway leading to Ladakh. Photo: EPA
Kunal Purohit
As Tenzin Thardoe went about his routine earlier this week, news started trickling in that there had been yet another clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in the Himalayan region of Ladakh, this time near the Pangong Tso lake.
Thardoe was over 2,000km away, in the Norgyeling Tibetan refugee settlement in India’s central Maharashtra state – but when the encounter was confirmed, the news stirred many memories of the 33-year-old’s time with the Special Frontier Force (SFF).
While the Indian establishment has not officially confirmed it, the SFF – a little-known paramilitary unit consisting mainly of Tibetan refugees – is believed to have played a big role in what the Indian Army has cryptically called an operation to “thwart Chinese intentions” on the night of August 29. One SFF commando was killed and another was injured in a landmine blast near Pangong Tso, around the same time the clash occurred.

For close to four months, thousands of soldiers from the two countries have been locked in a stand-off along various points of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the undemarcated border separating India and China.
In the latest clash, Indian military sources said New Delhi had rushed additional forces to occupy heights and features when they saw Chinese troop and artillery build-ups across the LAC. Analysts in India said the operation gave Indian forces the upper hand in their attempts to defend it, but the Chinese foreign ministry has rebuffed this and instead accused Indian soldiers of trespassing.

Thardoe could not contain his excitement upon hearing the force had been deployed. “When I heard what the SFF did, it gave me goosebumps,” he said, adding that he had quickly called his younger brother, who is still part of the force and is currently posted in northeast India. “He said everyone is in full josh [excitement].”

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India sends more troops to Ladakh after flare-up of tensions at China-India border

India sends more troops to Ladakh after flare-up of tensions at China-India border

That excitement is rippling through the Tibetan refugee community. For decades now, New Delhi has remained tight-lipped about the SFF’s existence, with experts saying the heroic acts of its soldiers have often gone unrewarded because of the secrecy. But now, with Saturday night’s encounter, the spotlight is finally shining upon the paramilitary unit – and, with it, on the community.

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