HAVILDAR NAREN – who escorted Dalai Lama to India dies

Naren Chandra Das, was just a Havildar in Assam Rifles in 1959. But he was the last surviving Indian security man who received and safely escorted the 14th Dalai Lama — when he arrived in India from Tibet in 1959.

The Assam Rifles jawan was posted at the Lungla post along the India-China border. He was 22 years old then and died at the age of 83. The Tibetan spiritual leader was accompanied by 20 of his cabinet members and soldiers and his family members. Having managed to hoodwink the Chinese forces in Lhasa, the Dalai Lama and his entourage had to traverse through difficult terrain, which also included the mighty Brahmaputra River.