History bears witness to numerous instances of brilliant escapades by individuals or by groups. Whether it was the patriotic Netaji Subash Chandra Bose who fooled the British and escaped from right under their noses, defying the might of a tyrannical rule or closer to us when in 1959, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama escaped from the evil clutches of the Communist Chinese. Such a daring exercise did take place this night. Although today's escapade cannot be placed in a caliber as high as the previous ones, it was nonetheless daring, bold, truly well calculated and beautifully executed by the Tibetan Youth Congress. The indefinite fast had entered its 7th day, highly crucial as the health of the 6 was getting bad and the threat of a raid from the police was eminent. The raid did come, exactly at 9:30 p.m the Indian authorities sent its force, comprising of more than 400 troops who with a swoop raided the site where the fast was undergoing. With lightning speed the 6 hunger strikers were taken away and resistance quelled from the crowd who had put up a brave front.
It seemed as though the might of the state would vanquish again the aspirations of a few. The authorities were victorious and considered it as "operation successful". They were right as they did take 6 Tibetans, but not the hunger strikers. As a matter of fact they caught hold of decoys who had switched at the last moment. While the authorities were busy lifting the decoys, the real hunger strikers slid right under their noses, taken to an undisclosed location. The most amazing incident was when one of the hunger strikers was taken to the hospital as he was perceived to be their attendant. The Youth Congress later whisked him away from the medical centre, reuniting him with the others. This could have been a plot in a Fredrick Forsyth thriller. The entire operation was beautifully executed and peppered with a sheer gutsy attitude from the executives, the volunteers as well as the brave 6 who had sat on the fast (no food, no water) for the past one week. Although, their bodies had weakened a lot, one of the youngest, Lobsang Jordhen had a tough time, as his condition had deteriorated badly and he could barely walk. Once a victim of jaundice, the fast (no food, no water) is a true ordeal for him.
The entire proceeding witnessed last night bears testimony to the fact that the Tibetans are ready for any challenges which may stand in between them and their ultimate goal of Rangzen. It is this Rangzen, the unconditional love one has for one's land, one's people and for one's way of life that the Communist Chinese have never understood and have tried to always suppress, but more the suppression, more will be the opposition. A proper scrutiny reveals the fact that the idea of Rangzen has grown more and some credit strangely has to be given to the Chinese who through their brutal oppression of China has fuelled the Tibetan Cause. Larger credentials should be handed down to brave individuals and selfless organizations that have channelized this opposition into the force that we witness today.

TYC