Mustang Guerrilla Base
In order to continue guerrilla warfare activities
and also to keep the spirit of the Tibetan struggle for freedom
and independence alive in and outside of Tibet, soon after arriving
in India the leaders of our organization held discussions with
General Gonpo Tashi about setting up a guerrilla base and its
possible location. In addition to our old friend the CIA, which
was willing to continue to help us out with guerrilla warfare
facilities, we also had a new and similar offer from the Kuomintang
Government of Taiwan. Mr. Tsepak Dorjee, an ex-army pilot who
represented the Republic of China at that time, contributed to
our organization a sum of Rs. 40,000/- and made an offer of guerrilla
warfare facilities on his government's behalf is so desired by
the organization.
The leaders of our organization discussed
these two possibilities and finally decided to continue with
the CIA due mainly to past association with it. Out of four possibilities
in India and Nepal, Mustang, on the northern Nepalese frontier,
was chosen as the location of the guerrilla base because its
multiple passes and routes into Tibet made it a natural choice
as a base for resistance operations. Then in 1960, a solemn agreement
was made and signed in Darjeeling by the top leaders of Chushi
Gangdrug. The signatories to this solemn agreement were: (1)
General Andruk Gonpo Tashi of Lithang, (2) Jago Namgyal Dorjee
of Derge, (3) Taopan Rinchen Tsering of Gapa, (4) General Yeshi
of Baba, (5) Khachen Chazo of Gyaltham, and (6) Kalsang Chozing
of Chatting. In addition to these original six signatories, Sadhu
Lobsang Hyandak and Chamdo Dortse were later invited to endorse
the agreement. Baba Gen Yeshi was then appointed as General in
the Mustang guerrilla organization.
Without losing any time, a small team of scouts
was sent to Mustang first, and then later the volunteers were
dispatched in small groups from Darjeeling, W.B., where a recruiting
office was also set up. A group of 24 men was selected and sent
to Colorado in the United States for instructor's training. A
guerrilla enclave was established in Mustang, on the northern
frontier of Nepal, under the leadership of Baba Gen Yeshi as
its general in 1960. The guerrilla base had an initial strength
of over 3,000 selected strong men and the guerrilla activities
were carried out behind the frontier lines from 1960 to 1974.
Much to the dismay of our organization, the
Foreigner's Registration Office in Darjeeling served a notice
to each of three of our top leaders ordering them to leave Darjeeling
for Delhi on the charge of "indulging in activities which were
against the interests of India." Consequently, within a fixed
date given by the FRO, the three of them, General Gonpo Tashi,
Jago Namgyal Dorjee and Sadhu Lobsang Nyandak, left Darjeeling
for Delhi as directed. In Delhi they were confined to the capital
and were not allowed to leave the city for six months, from the
end of 1960 to mid-1961.
In the wake of improved Sino-U.S. relations,
in 1972 the CIA aid to the guerrilla base was gradually terminated.
An internal problem arose in the organization
and in 1969, General Gen Yeshi was relieved of command and Gyato
Wangdu became the commanding general of the Mustang base. By
late 1973, the Chinese had started mounting pressure on the Royal
Nepalese Government for closure of the guerrilla base, and King
Brendra ordered 10,000 Royal Nepalese soldiers to disarm the
guerrillas. But the guerrillas did not comply with the royal
order and prepared to go to war against the Royal Army. As the
situation became tense, Kalsang Kunga, Tashi and Chatting Lobsang
Tsultrim from the Delhi office of the Aviation Research Centre
(ARC) forged a letter and signed it as the Dalai Lama and sent
it to the guerrillas in Mustang. The forged letter purportedly
from the Dalai Lama advised the guerrillas to comply with the
order of the Royal Government and to surrender their arms to
the authorities. But the guerrillas suspected something about
the letter and did not pay much heed to it. However, in the beginning
of 1974, much to the dismay of the freedom fighters, His Holiness
also sent a taped message to the guerrilla forces telling them
to lay down their arms and surrender peacefully, which most of
the guerrillas did with much anguish. But General Gyato Wandu,
suspecting duplicity of Nepalese authorities (which later proved
right), chose to escape to India. Carrying with him some vital
operational records and some cash, General Wangdu together with
a small cadre began zipping through the frontiers of Nepal and
Tibet in an attempt to enter into India, but was intercepted
by Royal Nepalese paratroopers and, with four guerrillas, killed
in an ambush. Six of the guerrilla leaders who surrendered to
authorities in Pokra were later arrested and imprisoned for seven
years in Kathmandu. Thus the resistance operations in Mustang
ended in 1974. Some of the members of the resistance organization
have been rehabilitated in agricultural settlements and handicraft
centres in Nepal, while others joined Establishment 22 in India.
