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	== External links ==		== External links ==
	* {{YouTube\|id=IWd5H41_Sm8\|title=Dalai Lama meets Naren Chandra Das in ~~2022~~}}		* {{YouTube\|id=IWd5H41_Sm8\|title=Dalai Lama meets Naren Chandra Das in 2017}}
	* {{YouTube\|id=3u2pHMkj2S4\|title=Tibet TV: Remembering Naren Chandra Das}}		* {{YouTube\|id=3u2pHMkj2S4\|title=Tibet TV: Remembering Naren Chandra Das}}

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{{Short description|Indian Army soldier (c. 1937/1938 – 2021)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = [[Havildar]]
| name = Naren Chandra Das
| birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|83|2021|12|27|noage=1}}
| death_date = 27 December 2021 (aged 83)
| birth_place = Lokra, [[Assam Province]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| death_place = Lokra, [[Assam]], India
| allegiance = {{IND}}
| branch = {{army|India}}
| serviceyears = 1957–1982
| rank = [[File:India-Army-OR-6.svg|24px]] [[Havildar]]
| unit = 9th Platoon, [[Assam Rifles|5 Assam Rifles]]
}}

'''Naren Chandra Das''' (1938 – 27 December 2021) was an Indian soldier. He was a [[havildar]] with the [[Assam Rifles]], the oldest [[paramilitary]] arm of the [[Indian Army]]. He was part of the team that received the [[14th Dalai Lama]] at the Indian border after he [[Dalai Lama's escape from China|fled from Tibet in 1959]], and was its last surviving member.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=The Last Indian Soldier Who Helped Dalai Lama Escape Has Died|url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/naren-chandra-das-the-last-indian-soldier-who-helped-dalai-lama-escape-has-died-2682054|access-date=2 January 2022|website=NDTV.com|archive-date=31 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231204908/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/naren-chandra-das-the-last-indian-soldier-who-helped-dalai-lama-escape-has-died-2682054|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Biography ==
Das was born in Lokra, near [[Tezpur]]. He grew up in nearby Balipara in what is now the [[Sonitpur district]] of the Indian state of [[Assam]]. He was a [[havildar]] with the [[Assam Rifles]], the oldest [[paramilitary]] arm of the [[Indian Army]]. He joined the unit in 1957, completed his training and was made a [[rifleman]] in 1959 at the age of 22.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Kalita |first=Prabin |date=2 April 2017 |title=Naren Chandra Das: Meet the havildar who received Dalai Lama 58 years back – Guwahati News |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/meet-the-havildar-who-received-dalai-lama-58-years-back/articleshow/57973379.cms |access-date=2 January 2022 |website=The Times of India |language=en |archive-date=2 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102064049/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/meet-the-havildar-who-received-dalai-lama-58-years-back/articleshow/57973379.cms |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Once past the India-Tibet border, the Dalai Lama was escorted by the Assam Rifles.jpg|thumb|Once past the India-Tibet border, the Dalai Lama was escorted by the Assam Rifles]]
[[File:Dalai-Lama-in-India-with-PN-Menon-391846271914.jpg|thumb|The [[14th Dalai Lama]] with [[P. N. Menon (diplomat)|PN Menon]] on April 18th 1959]]
In March 1959, Das, along with five of his colleagues and a [[Commando|sectional commander]], were directed to get to the international border to escort [[14th Dalai Lama|Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama]] in order to welcome him in India. The monk, then 24, at the onset of the [[1959 Tibetan uprising]] had fled Tibet and undertaken a 13-day trek disguised as a soldier to escape [[People's Liberation Army|Chinese armed forces]].<ref name=":0" /> Das and his unit started from [[Lumla]] where he was posted as a rifleman with the ninth [[platoon]] of the Assam Rifles to move towards Shakti, a point along the [[Line of Actual Control|India-Tibet border]]. He would later recount that the unit was woken at 3 am and asked to pack their lunch and go to Shakti.<ref name=":1" /> The unit reached Shakti with [[Lee–Enfield|.303 British Enfield rifles]] to escort the Dalai Lama and 20 of his guards on [[yak]]s and [[horseback]].<ref name=":1" /> Guards from the ninth platoon of the Assam Rifles had earlier brought the Dalai Lama from Zuthangbo to Shakti.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite news|date=2017-04-03|title=Dalai Lama meets Indian guard from 1959 flight from Tibet|language=en-GB|work=[[BBC]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-39478276|access-date=2022-01-10}}</ref> The Dalai Lama was granted a reception in Lumla before being escorted further to [[Tawang]] in [[Arunachal Pradesh]].<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Anthony|date=3 April 2017|title=The Dalai Lama Embraces Jawan Who Escorted Him Into India in 1959|url=https://www.thequint.com/videos/news-videos/the-dalai-lama-embraces-jawan-who-escorted-him-to-india-naren-chandra-das-tawang-assam-rifles|access-date=2 January 2022|website=TheQuint|language=en|archive-date=2 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102004026/https://www.thequint.com/videos/news-videos/the-dalai-lama-embraces-jawan-who-escorted-him-to-india-naren-chandra-das-tawang-assam-rifles|url-status=live}}</ref> He received a [[guard of honour]] from the [[Assam Rifles]] in Tawang before going to [[Bomdila]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Sarkar|first=Monali|title=Then & now: The Dalai Lama in Arunachal Pradesh|url=https://www.rediff.com/news/special/then-and-now-the-dalai-lama-in-arunachal-pradesh/20170412.htm|access-date=2 January 2022|website=Rediff|language=en|archive-date=2 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102010929/https://www.rediff.com/news/special/then-and-now-the-dalai-lama-in-arunachal-pradesh/20170412.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Das met the Dalai Lama again in 2017, during the [[Namami Brahmaputra]] festival, after almost six decades.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Dalai Lama meets man who escorted him to India 58 yrs ago|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/dalai-lama-meets-man-who-escorted-him-to-india-58-yrs-ago/1020135|url-status=live|access-date=2 January 2022|website=[[Outlook India]]|language=en|archive-date=2 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102011331/https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/dalai-lama-meets-man-who-escorted-him-to-india-58-yrs-ago/1020135}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|others=PTI|date=3 April 2017|title=Dalai Lama thanks border guard after 58 years|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/dalai-lama-thanks-border-guard-after-58-years/article17764145.ece|access-date=2 January 2022|issn=0971-751X|archive-date=2 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102015837/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/dalai-lama-thanks-border-guard-after-58-years/article17764145.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> He was later invited to [[McLeod Ganj]] near [[Dharamshala]], the site of the [[Central Tibetan Administration|Tibetan government-in-exile]], as a guest of the monk.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news|date=3 April 2017|title=Dalai Lama meets Indian guard from 1959 flight from Tibet|language=en-GB|publisher=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-39478276|access-date=2 January 2022|archive-date=2 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102005801/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-39478276|url-status=live}}</ref>

Das lived in Lokra, Assam during his [[retirement]]. He died there on 27 December 2021, at the age of 83.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|date=29 December 2021|title=Assam Rifles havildar who escorted Dalai Lama in India in 1959 dies, laid to rest|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/assam-rifles-havildar-who-escorted-dalai-lama-in-india-in-1959-dies-laid-to-rest-101640796085976.html|access-date=2 January 2022|website=Hindustan Times|language=en|archive-date=1 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101105725/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/assam-rifles-havildar-who-escorted-dalai-lama-in-india-in-1959-dies-laid-to-rest-101640796085976.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He was married and had six children.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Assamese Soldier Who Protected Dalai Lama In 1959 Passes Away – NEWS8 NorthEast|date=30 December 2021 |url=https://news8northeast.com/assamese-soldier-who-protected-dalai-lama-in-1959-passes-away/|access-date=2 January 2022|language=en-US|archive-date=2 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102052219/https://news8northeast.com/assamese-soldier-who-protected-dalai-lama-in-1959-passes-away/|url-status=live}}</ref> At the time of his death, he was the last surviving member of the group of soldiers that had escorted the Dalai Lama.<ref name=":0" /> According to a statement from Assam Rifles, "Late Havildar Naren Chandra Das was the lone surviving warrior of the Assam Rifles among a band of seven Bravehearts who had successfully escorted and accompanied His Holiness Dalai Lama to Indian Soil in 1959. His valiant deeds and indomitable warrior spirit continues to inspire the scores of young sentinels of the northeast."<ref name=":2" /> The [[Speaker (politics)|speaker]] of the [[Tibetan Parliament in Exile]], Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, said in a condolence message that Das would "always be remembered for his outstanding selfless service to the nation and the people of [[India]]. We Tibetans will always hold him close to our hearts."<ref>{{Cite web|date=31 December 2021|title=Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel condoles the demise of Naren Chandra Das|url=https://tibet.net/speaker-khenpo-sonam-tenphel-condoles-the-demise-of-naren-chandra-das/|access-date=2 January 2022|website=Central Tibetan Administration|language=en-US|archive-date=2 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102034244/https://tibet.net/speaker-khenpo-sonam-tenphel-condoles-the-demise-of-naren-chandra-das/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Dalai Lama]]
* [[1959 Tibetan uprising]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{YouTube|id=IWd5H41_Sm8|title=Dalai Lama meets Naren Chandra Das in 2022}}
* {{YouTube|id=3u2pHMkj2S4|title=Tibet TV: Remembering Naren Chandra Das}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Das, Naren Chandra}}
[[Category:1930s births]]
[[Category:2021 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian Army personnel]]
[[Category:People from Sonitpur district]]
[[Category:14th Dalai Lama]]
[[Category:India–Tibet relations]]

Naren Chandra Das - Revision history

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