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It’s not a one-size-fits-all plan. Joe Biden is a critical thinker, so his plan is more complex than this question may be prepared for.Dreamers are undocumented immigrants. He wants a path to citizenship for them.Undocumented immigrants who are criminals or terrorists would be targeted for deportation.Undocumented immigrants who simply overstayed their visas (the largest percentage of undocumented immigrants) would likely have the opportunity to get their immigration status in order.Undocumented immigrants who fled violence and who would have sought asylum as a refugee under any President other than Donald Trump will likely be able to petition for asylum now.Undocumented immigrants who have been abused and tortured by the Trump administration may be dealt with in a variety of ways, for example, any existing requests for asylum may be expedited, etc.In a broader sense, to combat the problem of illegal immigration, Biden would make legal immigration easier, abolish Trump’s “only the wealthy can come here” policy, and may make it easier for migrant workers to come here to work, then return home.

Edit 1: In the end is the interesting story of how Sonam post at Siachen got it's name and bravery of Hav Sonam who finally captured it !First, attending to the question.Please have a look at the Maps as they progress, and it will give you a clear picture and perspective of area and a basic understanding of why we are holding Siachen.Disclaimer : I have not created any of the maps. Reproduced from open source via Internet.Brief HistoryThe roots of the conflict lie in non-demarcations on the map northward to the China boundary beyond NJ9842, which is the dead end in the India-Pakistan line of control agreement. The 1949 Karachi agreement and the 1972 Shimla agreement presumed that no one would struggle for control of an uninhabited glacial area. Prior to 1984, neither India nor Pakistan had any permanent presence in the area.The expeditions into the no man’s land by both countries in late 1970’s heightened the tensions. The peak, located east of Siachen, overlooks the eastern areas of the Aksai Chin. The Indian military believed that expeditions by their counterpart would provide a link for the western and eastern routes - the trade route leading to Karakoram Pass and China - and eventually provide a tactical advantage to both Pakistan and China.As on 1983:“I took over as Corps Commander in 03 Aug 1983. In Sep-Oct, I briefed Prime Minister Indira Gandhi about the strategic importance of Siachen and Pak design to capture Khardungla and dominate Leh by bringing artillery and rockets etc. in Nubra valley and then link up with Chinese at Aksai Chin.” – Lt Gen PN Hoon, GOC 15 CorpsThat, was the basic idea to take Siachen and on 13 April 1984, Op Meghdoot was launched by Indian Army, in the highest battle field of the world and ended in securing control of the entire Siachen Glacier.Strategic Importance :The entire state of J&K, as per agreement signed in 1947 acceded to India. Thus positioning Army there is legal right of India and Pakistan army's presence should and would be considered as intrusion.If the line joining NJ 9842 to Indira Col i.e, the line along Saltoro Ridge is extended to Indo – Tibet boundary, major part of Saksgam Valley illegally ceded to China by Pakistan in 1963 will fall into Indian Kashmir. Chinese will therefore have to negotiate with India for settlement of Saksgam valley since they have steadfastly maintained that status of Saksgam Valley will be decided on eventual settlement of J&K problem. Today, the Chinese footprint is much larger. In its own strategic interests in the region, China would be interested in greater Pakistani control over Gilgit and Baltistan. It has been investing $150 million (abour Rs 750 crore) for widening the KKH from 10 metres to 30 metres, to be used by all weather heavy vehicles, the kind that brought strategic material for Pakistan through the Khunjerab.A rail link was also planned, to be connected with Pakistan's main rail grid, and fiber optic cables were being laid in 2007. If China had a port in Gwadar that they could use, this would cut down the distance from Xinjiang to the Arabian Sea to merely 2,500 km. Today Xinjiang is 4,500 km away from the east coast of China. Gas and oil pipelines through from Gwadar and Xinjiang make sense only if Gilgit and Baltistan is secured. It is not a question of a glacier in the Himalayan heights; it is a question of India's security.Saltoro Ridge occupation is staking our claim beyond NJ 9842 in the event of an eventual settlement along the Line of Control and the Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL). Musharraf's Kargil adventure in 1999 was Pakistan's last attempt to change the ground position militarily and politically and also to negate the advantage of Saltoro with India.Value of Siachen as a fresh water source cannot be ignored. Much before becoming Army Chief, Musharraf ave a presentation to Pakistani Defence Ministry that the per capita availability of water in Pakistan from 6000 cusecs of water in 1947 had already come down to 1000 cusecs per capita (same as Ethiopia) and this was reason enough for Pakistan to annex J&K. Consequently, Pakistan started claiming the LC from NJ9842 directly to Karakoram Pass so that entire Siachen Glacier becomes Pakistani territory. India thus controls Nubra river by holding Siachen.according to International Business Times:Water also plays a role in geo-political maneuvers between the two hostile states. In early December, Pakistan's water crisis even prompted it to ask India to remove its troops from Siachen, a glacier in the disputed region of Kashmir, over fears that their presence would further damage the local environment and pollute one of Pakistan's principal water sources. The Press Trust of India (PTI) reported that Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan's adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on national security and foreign affairs, accused Indian military forces stationed in Siachen of posing a "serious threat" to Pakistan's environment by damaging the "virgin snow" of Siachen.For the record, India has stated that it will withdraw from Siachen only if Pakistan reveals its exact troop positions on the glacier, which Islamabad has rejected. Both India and Pakistan have maintained troops on Siachen since 1984, with a ceasefire in place since 2003. However, soldiers on both sides have since perished from adverse weather conditions on the glacier.What Are India And Pakistan Really Fighting About?To sum it up:India needs to control Siachen for water, keeping an eye on Pak-China connectivity in that region, ensure that it is placed right when (and if) AGPL or LoC is accepted as real boundary and finally, to be at top in terms of geography for added military advantage. Irrespective of the losses taken by our soldiers, more from weather than from enemy fire, India will continue to hold Siachen and it will continue to be a big pain for Pakistan.The story of Sonam Post...Documented by: Brig Narender Kumar, A Veteran, presently a Fellow with CLAWS.Sonam Post, the site where 10 valiant soldiers of 19 MADRAS lost their lives in an avalanche has been thrust in the national limelight. Let me tell you how the post got its name. It was from the simple unassuming NCO who first occupied it in a breath neck race with the Pakis way back in 1984.I was an instructor at the High Altitude Warfare School, and I vividly remember the Deputy Commandant, Brig (then Col) Pushkar Chand telling us how he and his team were tasked to occupy Siachen Glacier (Saltoro Ridge) in 1984. He was given no time to prepare because the Pakistani Special Forces were already heading to occupy it and it was a race against time and weather.Volunteer young officers from Northern Command and from other commands were selected under High Risk Mission, because the enemy here was not only Pakistan Army but terrain and even extreme weather. They were tasked to lead detachments of troops from Ladakh Scouts, Kumaon Regiment and Special Forces to occupy the crucial positions on Saltoro Ridge before the Pakis could get there. They had limited glacier clothing and their high altitude equipment was rudimentary at best.Troops started moving forward to reach the Saltoro Ridge fastest and earliest. The Indian Army beat the Pakistani Army to occupy the positions by a mere three days and in spite of a long arduous route the gritty young officers led the troops to the highest battle ground on earth.Havildar Sonam was part of a patrol that had an officer as a patrol leader. While approaching the given location the patrol leader fell in to a crevasse and injured himself badly. There was no way the officer could be evacuated by helicopter. Col Pushkar ordered that patrol be split and one party should evacuate the injured officer and second under Havildar Sonam to continue towards the position it was to occupy.Sonam a gritty Nunu (Ladakhi Soldier) led from the front and reached the designated location. He and his small band had just a few snow tents which were of no use against the blistering winds that swooped around them. He thus ordered them to dig tunnels beneath the ice to protect from wind chill factor. Yet they were soon detected and came under heavy artillery firing by the Pakistanis. The tunnels they had dug, saved them from the shelling.Though he could not see from where the enemy fire was coming from, Sonam realized that he would have to retaliate. He along with two of his colleagues climbed to a vantage point from where he could see where the enemy fire was coming. That evening when Col Pushkar spoke to him on radio, he told him that he had seen the enemy mortar position and requested for artillery fire to engage it. The predicament was that Sonam had no clue how to control artillery fire and it took a great deal of ingenuity for him to be able to give out the enemy positions and then report the fall of shots to successfully engage the enemy position.Sonam and his men remained at the post for over six months without relief, since whenever they would attempt to move the enemy would fire at them. But the intrepid soldiers remained there uncomplainingly, undergoing hardships that would have broken any other.Brig Pushkar told how the name Sonam came about. When he asked Sonam what is the grid reference of his location? Sonam confided that he had no clue as to how to read the map and grid references. Brig Pushkar joked with him on radio set and told him, Sonam I am not worried if you are taken by enemy as prisoner, because you would reveal no information since you know nothing. He told him “Sonam whenever you give report you will say Sonam Post all OK”. And that was how Sonam Post got its name.A few years later Sonam was posted to High Altitude Warfare School Gulmarg as the administrative Non Commissioned Officer in charge of the student officer’s mess. I as a young officer was the Mess Secretary. Every month there would be losses since poor Sonam knew nothing about managing a mess, or of accounting and budgeting. Fed up with continual losses, I complained to Brig Pushkar to remove him and was told to get him to his office.Yet, when Sonam entered Brig Pushkar’s office, I was surprised to see what happened. Brig Pushkar got up from his chair and hugged him like a long lost friend. He forgot why he asked Sonam to come to his office and he asked him that did he know that he was the Deputy Commandant of HAWS? He further scolded him, why he did not come to meet him? Sonam smiled and did not utter a word. Then he told me about Sonam’s role in helping secure Sonam Post way back in 1984 and my own anger turned into respect.The same very evening I went to the mess and called all student officers. There I introduced this unknown hero to them and asked them to interact with him and understand the practical part of soldiering in extreme weather and terrain conditions. Every student officer rose after I finished introducing Sonam to them and came forward to shake hands with a true soldier.Later I would often see young officers surrounding Sonam and hearing his experience of Siachen. He would often say, “Sahib Lama Guru ke Land Main Gama Nahin Banna”. Being an instructor in High Altitude Warfare School you are supposed to be class apart and best in business in the world. I was an arrogant professional, but one day while training on glacier, Sonam saw me rushing up the ice wall during a demonstration. After the demonstration when I was sipping tea, “Sonam walked up to me and told me that, “Sahib don’t show your speed on ice wall, it does not give you second chance and it also does not give you time to recover. Therefore, be like an Ibex, sure footed”. It was a lifelong lesson that saved me from committing hara-kiri someday.Later, it was decided to put up his portrait (dressed in full mountaineer gear) in the officer’s mess. When this ceremony was organised the entire staff and officers including families were present. And there was this short stocky man, standing between the Commandant and Deputy Commandant, receiving perhaps the only recognition for his achievements. A simple photograph in the Officers Mess to honour his deeds.There are so many Sonams, who have done their duty selflessly at these forbidding heights. The ten Thambi’s of 19 MADRAS who laid down their lives on the post were also like him, simple men soldiering on selflessly in unimaginable hardships. Perhaps the avalanche that swamped Sonam Post helped rouse the national consciousness of the conditions our soldiers undergo to preserve the national integrity. There are thousands like Sonam and Hanumantappa and nameless others who merely do their duty without reward or recognition. This piece is just a small salute to them all.------------------—------------------///

What caused the British to invade Tibet in December 1903 in what must rank as one of one of the most high altitude campaigns in history, possibly only surpassed by the fighting in Kashmir between India and Pakistan and in the Himalayas between India and China? Here we examine this little known campaign, the reasons it was fought and the men who fought it.What would make a British army invade Tibet in the winter, when conditions resembled an expedition to the North Pole? They would occupy the country until September 1904. It was in effect a temporary invasion by British-Indian forces under the Tibetan Frontier Commission, whose mission they claimed was to establish diplomatic relations with Tibet and resolve a border dispute over Sikkim. In the 1880s, the British had conquered Burma, Bhutan and Sikkim, by doing so they had occupied the southern flank of Tibet, which remained the only Himalayan kingdom free of influence.One reason for the expedition that was given, was the need of Russia’s ambitions in the east (The great Game it was called) and was initiated mostly by Lord Curzon (11th January 1859 – 20th March 1925) who was head of the British Indian Government. The Marque had long been obsessed with Russia’s supposed planes to expand east and southwards into Central Asia and now he feared a Russian invasion into British-India. The Russian government sent assurances to the British in April 19033 that they had no interest in Tibet but it seems that Lord Curzon did not believe them.The causes of the campaign remains rather vague. It seems to have been born from the rumours in Calcutta that the Chinese who ruled Tibet were thinking about giving the province to Russia, breaking the chain of buffer states that separated India from the Russian empire, though this was clearly propitious. These rumours were backed by a Russian exploration to Tibet under Gombojab Tsybikov (20th April 1873 – 20th September 1930) who was the first photographer to Lhasa. Tsybikov seemed to be ideal choice to lead the expedition, as he was partly Tibetan himself; this would explain why he chose to stay in Tibet from 1901 with the aid of the thirteenth Dalai Lama, Russian born monk of the Gulag School of Buddhism and courtier Agvan Dorjiev. (1854 -1838) Dorjiev was a living legend among the people of Tibet who called him by his Tibetan name of Sokpo Tsenshab Ngawang Lobsang. Being born not far from Ulan-Ude east of Lake Baikal in Russia he was a useful Tibetan go-between for the Tsar and the Dalai-Lama and is remembered for building the Buddhist Temple of St Petersburg and signing the Tibet-Mongolian Treaty of 1913.It should not have been a surprise to anyone when the Dalai Lama refused to have any dealings with the British officials in India whom he mistrusted and despatched Dorjiev as an emissary to the Court of Tsar Nicholas II with the appeal for Russian military protection in 1900. On arriving at the Tsar’s Palace of Peterhof in Yalta, the Monk was warmly received.“The stronger Russia is in Central Asia, the weaker England is in India and the more conciliatory she will be in Europe.”(Mikhail Skobelev, Russian General)(Meeting Between British officers and Tibetans. Illustration from the Petit Journal Newspaper 14th February 1904)These events helped convince Curzon that the Dalai Lama was looking to put Tibet firmly under the influence of Russia. The British Lord had sent a request in 1903 to the governments of both China and Tibet for negotiations leading to increased trade agreement to be held in the small Tibetan village of Khampa Dzong a little to the north of Sikkim.(Colonel Francis Younghusband. He would be the political leader of the British and Indian Expedition into Tibet in 1903, though the army would be commanded by Brigadier-General James Ronald Leslie MacDonald,)The Chinese agreed to the talks and ‘ordered,’ the Dalai Lama to attend, but the Tibetan leader was having none of it, he felt that that he was under no obligations to obey any order coming from China and not only refused to attend the talks but also refused to provide transport for his ‘Ambon,’ (A Manchu word meaning ‘High Official) You Tai to attend. Curzon realized that China had no power to order the Tibetan Frontier Commission, a military led expedition under the command of Colonel Francis Younghusband (31st May 1863 – 31st July) expedition as he had much experience of exploring the frontiers, having explored Manchuria and the Chinese settlements in Changbai Mountain where he carried out numerous scientific observations. He crossed the Gobi desert and visited Chinese Turkestan and pioneered a route from Kashgar to India though the uncharted Mustagh Pass. In 1889, the year this intrepid explorer made captain, Younghusband war despatched with a small escort of Nepalese Gurkhas to study the Lakakh area, which at that time was uncharted and little was known about the area.Younghusband arrived at Gangkok in Sikkim on the 19th July 1903 to prepare for his mission. He had received a letter from the Under-Secretary to the Government of India that instructed him. “In the event of you meeting the Dalai Lama, the government of India authorise you do give him the assurance which you suggest in your letter.From August, the British and Indians tried in vain to provoke the Tibetans into a confrontation whilst they prepared for the expedition, preparations that were to take several months. However when the expedition did get under way in early December 1903 everything was ready, the players were in position and the drama could commence.Curzon telegraphed Younghusband on the eve of the invasion. “Remember that in the eyes of the HMG we are advancing not because of Dorjiev trespassed, our subjects arrested, our mission flouted, our representatives shamelessly, our frontier trespassed, our subjects arrested, our mission flouted, our representatives ignored.” A little while back, some Nepalese Yak and their drovers crossed the border into Tibet and were forcibly escorted back across the border by armed Tibetans. The British expanded on this relatively minor episode, branding it as evidence of Tibetan hostility.The British military force numbered 3,000 men who were accompanied by 7,000 Sherpas, porters and camp followers. Among the troops were many Gurkhas and Parthians whose mountain expertise was judged invaluable for such an enterprise in this part of the world. Six companies of Sikh Pioneers, four companies of the 8th Gurkhas were left in reserve at Guatong Sikkim, and a further two companies of Gurkhas guarding the British camp at Khamba Jong were deployed.The Tibetans knew of the British moves and anxious to avoid bloodshed the Tibetan commander at Yadong informed the British fleet that if they did not attack his forces the n he would not attack them. “We are not at war with Tibet and that, unless we ourselves are attacked we will not attack the Tibetans,” was Younghusband’s reply. He then marched with 1,150 soldiers, porters, labourers and thousands of pack animals to Tuna some 50 miles beyond the border, here he waited for some months for negotiators who never materialised. As a result of the failure of the Tibetans to show up for talks the expeditions received orders to precede in 1904 and the government in Lhasa began to gather its forces.The British army that marched into Tibet was well prepared for war, the men were experienced in campaigning in the Indian border wars and they were well trained. The army was commanded by Brigadier-General James Ronald Leslie MacDonald. (8th February 1862 – 27th June 1927) It was decided that MacDonald would command the military element while Younghusband with his knowledge of the frontiers would be the political leader. The troops advanced a full 50 miles before they came across their first serious obstacle at Guru, close to Lake Bhan Tso on the 31st March.(Brigadier General, James Ronald Leslie Macdonald. He would command the military forces deployed into Tibet in 1903 whilst Francis Younghusband led the political side of the Expedition.)(Nepalese Gurkhas like these photographed in 1896 formed a vital part of Britain’s military expedition into Tibet. Coming from the mountains of Nepal, they were at home in the Tibetan highlands. The Gurkha has built up a just reputation for toughness and extreme courage. Their motto being ‘Better to die than to be a coward.’)On the 31st, March 1904 a confrontation took place that has become known as the massacre of the of Chumik Shenko. As the British advanced, they found blocking their path a 5-foot High (1.5m) rock wall behind which waited a Tibetan force of 3,000 armed with bows and arrows and primitive matchlocks. Above the wall, on the slopes the defenders had built seven or eight Sangers. (Small-fortified position, constructed of piled rocks, usually used in terrain that is too hard to dig foxholes.) When the British approached these positions. The Tibetans asked the Commissioner, Younghusband to halt he replied that the advance must precede and that he would not allow any number of Tibetans to block the passage of his troops.It seemed that the Tibetans would refrain from fighting but neither would they move aside, the one option that Younghusband and MacDonald “The only thing to do was to disarm them let them go,” this was at least the official version. The writer Charles Allen (1940- ) writes that maybe the British made as dummy attack to try and provoke the Tibetans into firing, though this is just speculation.What is known, that scuffles between the Sikhs and some Tibetans soldiers around the Tibetan generals resulted in one of the Generals firing a pistol. The bullets had hit a Sikh soldier in the jaw. According to British accounts the Tibetan general had become angry at the sight of the developing brawl and had shot the Sikh in the face which had caused his friends to react violently, from then on it was a viscous spiral downwards as both sides reached for their weapons.Henry Newman, a reporter for Reuters described what happened, saying that following the shot the Tibetans started to attack, many of them falling on the correspondent of the Daily Mail., Edmond Chandler (1874 -1926) very quickly; however, the British and Indians were pouring a deadly fire from three sides into the Tibetans behind the wall.“They poured a withering fire into the enemy, with quick firing Maxims mowed down the Tibetans within a few minutes with a terrific slaughter.”(Doctor Austin Waddle.)The Tibetans have said that the British provoked and tricked them into extinguishing the fuses to the primitive matchlock and that the British, Gurkha and Indian troops opened fire without warning. Also, Macdonald’s men were positioned behind the wall and none was killed and many of the Tibetans were mown by the Maxims as they fled.“I got sick of the slaughter that I ceased firing, though the general order was to make as big a bang as possible. I hope I shall never again have to shoot down men walking away.”(Lieutenant Arthur Hadow, commander of the Maxim detachment.)(A Tibetan soldier practices his aim with a primitive matchlock firearm. The weapons available to the Tibetans were totally outclassed by the modern rifles, machine-guns and artillery of the British, Gurkha and Indian troops. Painting by Arnold Henry Savage Landor.)The surviving Tibetans made it to shelter half-a-mile from the scene of the massacre and were finally allowed to withdraw, but it was too late for up to 600 to 700 of their comrades whom had been killed, whilst another 168 had been wounded and survived as prisoners in British hospitals, MacDonald’s troops too had sustained casualties, a mere 12 wounded. Many Tibetans had been wearing armlets that their lamas had told them would protect them from British bullets, understandingly after the fighting the Tibetans expressed confusion on the effectiveness of these armlets.“I trust the tremendous punishment they have received will prevent further fighting and induce them to at least negotiate.”(Younghusband’s telegram to his superiors in India.)Now that they were passed the first barrier, Macdonald’s troops assumed their advance, and reached Kangma a week later. On the 9th April, the army attempted to pass the Red Idol Gorge, which the Tibetans had fortified. MacDonald sent in his Gurkhas first, with orders to climb the gorge’s steep sides and drive out the Tibetan forces encamped on the cliffs. The Nepalese mountain men began their task but they soon got lost in a raging blizzard, which stopped all communications and confounded even the Gurkhas. A few hours later patrols that ventured into the pass encountered shooting which continued in a desultory manner until the storm abated around noon which showed incredibly that the Gurkhas by mere luck rather than design had found the Tibetan positions and were engaging them. The Tibetans, fighting with astonishing bravery now found themselves under fire from both sides as Sikhs now pushed up the hill prompting the Tibetans to retreat, again coming under severe fire, at this time from British artillery but nonetheless the Tibetans retreated in good order, leaving behind as many as 200 dead whilst British losses once more were very slight.Following the Red Idol Gorge battle as it was known to the British, MacDonald pressed on to Gyantse, arriving there on the 11th April. As the British approached, the town gates were opened, the Tibetan army having already departed.“As I always the Tibetans are nothing but sheep.”(Younghusband, in a letter to his father.)The British soon took up residence in the town, billeting in the Changlo Manor country mansion and farmhouse belonging to a Tibetan nobleman. Once established the British tried to win over the local population, with a hearts and minds campaign. The commissions medical officer and Captain Herbert Walton (19th January 1869 -1938) attended to the needs of the towns people, he would later write, ‘The opening of Tibet.’ Many of Walton’s operation were correcting cleft palates which was a common affliction in Tibet. Whilst in Gyantse the British explored the town, taking time to visit the massive nine-storey stupor modelled on the Mahabodh Temple in Bodhhgaya where Gautama Buddha was first supposed to have achieved enlightenment. Five days later MacDonald ordered the main force back to New Chumbi to guard the supply linesBack in Britain, news of the massacre at Chumik Shenko had shocked the British people and newspapers such as Punch and The Spectator had reported on the event in very critical terms whilst Whitehall was keeping its head down and saying little.(Hastily raged Tibetan militiamen, obviously with their primitive equipment, as shown in this 1904 photograph, they were no match for the British, Indian and Gurkha troops.)In Gyantse Younghusband and MacDonald had received news that a Tibetan force of troops had gathered at Karo La, 45 miles east of Gyantse.The Commander of the Escort Mission at Changlo Manor Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Brander took the decision to march on the Tibetan troops gathering at Karo La without consulting Brigadier-General MacDonald who was two days ride away. Brander did however tell Younghusband of his intentions and Younghusband said that he was in favour of the attack. But the times correspondent wrote about the affair.“That it was injudicious to attack the Tibetans. And that it was quite out of keeping with the studious ways in which have hitherto kept ourselves in the right.”(Percival Landon)(A Tibetan wounded at Chomik Shenko stares wearily at the camera, no doubt wondering if he is going to be bayoneted or given medical attention. Notice his sword lies out of reach, possibly dropped when he was wounded or maybe thrown out of reach by the wounded man in a token of surrender. {P.S if anyone knows more about this photograph and the fact of this man I would be obliged if they could let me know in the comments section below, thank you} )Too, MacDonald’s credit when he heard of the news by way of a telegram he tried to reverse the action but it was too late. The Battle of Karo La could well be the highest altitude battle in history. It was fought on the 5th and 6th May, it was a victory achieved by the men of the 8th Gurkhas and sepoys of the 32nd Sikh Pioneers who had climbed and then fought the battle at the height of 918’700 ft) 5,700m.As the fight for Karo La was raging an estimated 800 Tibetans attacked the garrison at Chang Lo, as the Tibetans rushed in their war whoops alerted the Mission staff who formed ranks and throw the attackers back. As the Tibetans retired they left behind a further 160 dead, British casualties were again slight, just three killed.After this Tibetan assault Younghusband wrote to Oliver Russell Lord Ampthill (19th February 1869 – 7th July 1935) in Simla. “His majesty’s government must see that the necessity for going to Lhasa has now been proved beyond all doubt. Following the attack on the 5th of May, the mission and its garrison under constant fire from Jong. The weapons that the Tibetans were equipped with mostly primitive and efficient but they did not lose heart and kept up a constant fire that inflicted a number of deaths on the besieged troops and constantly wore at their nerves. A fatality on the 6th May was followed by another eleven over the next seven weeks, however the garrison responded with it owns attacks.The Tibetan resistance to the invasion was proving tougher that at first been expected and in response the British and Indian governments sent reinforcements; these included British troops stationed at Labong, the 1st Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, the nearest available British infantry unit, were sent with six companies of Indian troops from the 40th Pathans, a group from the 1st Battalion Royal Irish with two Maxim guns, a British Army Mountain battery with 4 10-pounder guns and two field hospitals. They embarked on 24th May 1904, the Royal Fusiliers met up with MacDonald at New Chumbi, this being the base depot for the expedition.On the 18th and 19th of May the fighting intensified when valiant attempts were made to take a building away from the Tibetans between the Mission and the Jong which were successful, the fighting was bitter however, up to 50 Tibetans were killed during the Gurkha attack and the building was Hench Forth renamed Gurkha House. On the 21st May Brander’s men departed for the village of Naini, where was located small fort and a witnessed significant occupied by a force of Tibetan soldiers, the village, the fort and monastery witnessed significant fighting, eventually Brander’s troops were required to break away from the fighting and mounted infantry. This assault was the last major attempt by the Tibetans under their commander Dapong Tailing whom commanded the garrison at Gyantse Jong. On the 24th of May a company of the 32nd Sikh Pioneers arrived at the Mission and Captain Seymour Shepard DSO, who was a legend with the Indian army, he brought with him a group of sappers, which lifted the morale of the defenders. He took part in an attack on the 28th May on the Pallar Manor 1,000 yards east of the Changlo Manor in which another 400 Tibetans were killed or wounded Brander now concentrated on strengthening the British perimeter, which included the Changlo and Paller manors and the Gurkha House and re-opening the line of communications with New Chumbi.(Gurkhas and a British officer during the finale attack on Gyantse Dzong, picture by Pat Nicolle.)Lord Kitchener, (24th June 1850 -5thJune 1916) the commanding-chief was by now anxious to see Brigadier-General Macdonald henceforth be in charge of the mission at all times. The feeling in Simla was that Younghusband was looking forward to entering Lhasa; to be the only European official ever to lead a conquering army into the fabled, mysterious city.On the 6th June, Younghusband started of New Chumbi, he telegraphed Louis Dane, the head of Curzon’s Foreign department. “We are now fighting the Russians, not the Tibetans,” it said. “Since Karo La we are dealing with Russia.” He sent further letters and telegrams saying that he had discovered overwhelming evidence that the Tibetans were relaying on Russian support and that they were receiving it in large amounts, this was clearly a lie, and a dangerous lie at that. Younghusband had not a shred of prove to back his claims and he was probably making it all up in an attempt to justify a drive on Lhasa. He was ordered by Lord Ampthill to re-open negotiations with the Tibetans and to try open communications with the Dalai Lama. Reluctantly Younghusband did as he was ordered; sending two letters, one of which was addressed to the Dalai Lama and the other to the Chinese amban, Manchu Resident in Lhasa, Yu-Tai, though in a letter he sent to his sister he expressed that he was against this cause of action. Two days after Younghusband arrived in New Chumbi the Tibet Field Force departed on the 12th June.Once the fighting at Gyantse Dong was concluded, the road to Lhasa was open. However, Gyantse Dzong was too strongly fortified for a small raiding force to capture but as it overlooked the British supply routes, it became the primary targets for MacDonald’s army. On the 26th, the fortified monastery at Naini was finally taken after a bitter house-to-house fighting by the Gurkhas and the 40th Parthians. The Tibetan troops left in the two forts in the village were now caught between two fires as the garrison in Changlo in manor now joined into the fray. Two days later the finale obstacle facing the British, Indian and Nepalese troops before they could start their assault on Gyantse Jong was overcome when the Tsechen Monastery to the northwest of the fortress that guarded the rear was cleared by two companies of Gurkhas, the 40th Parthians and two waves of assaulting infantry. Since monastery had not surrendered and had offered resistance, the place was looted, several old and valuable thangkas (A painting on silk embroidery, usually showing a Buddhist deity.) were taken, some of which serviced at Christie (Auction house) later in the summer and expensive sold.Tibetan resistance to the invasion was limited to static defense and sniping from the mountains at the passing column, with neither tactic proving. Apart from their failed attack on Chang Lo, some two months back the Tibetans had made no further assaults on the British. They had learned the hard way to respect the Maxim gun and were now putting their faith into rock and brick defenses, yet in every they had met with failure and heavy casualties, this was further compounded by the lack of modern weapons in the Tibetan’s arsenal and by the lack of experienced officers.Though a formal Durbar was hold on the 3rd of July in the Mission grounds Younghusband hold no attempt to open formal negotiations with the Tibetans as he had been ordered to, instead he gave the Tibetan delegation 36 hours to depart from Jong. The more patient MacDonald was being subjected to a hate campaign, especially from a certain Captain O’Conner who was trying to undermine his authority and get him relieved of his command.“He should be removed and another and better man-a fighting general-substitute,” he wrote.Gyantse Dzong was a massive fortress that had been garrisoned by Tibet’s best troops and equipped with the country’s only artillery, positioned, as it was high above the valley below it commanded an imposing view.MacDonald was hoping to draw the Tibetans away from the southern side of the Jong by fainting against the western side. To this end, he brought up his artillery and commenced to shell the fortress and he ordered the burning of the monastic complex Tsechen to prevent it being re-occupied by the Tibetans.The attack on the 6th July did not go according to plan; the walls of the fortress were much stronger than at first anticipated. MacDonald’s plan had called for the infantry to assault the fortress in three columns, one each attacking from the southwest, from the south and the southeast. Yet as the attack started, a disaster was narrowly avoided when two of the columns blundered into each other in the dark and it took eleven hours to break through. The breach was not ready for the assault parties until 4 pm by which time the attackers had little time to succeed with their task until the onset of nightfall. As the attacking troops made up of Gurkhas and Royal Fusiliers charged through the smashed walls they sustained casualties from Tibetan fire, the Gurkhas climbed the rocks directly under the upper ramparts. Climbing upwards as rocks rained down on them and misdirected Maxim fire hit more of the unfortunate Gurkhas than the defenders. Again and again, the troops attacked,, attempting to gain the walls with little success, until two brave soldiers managed to break through the bottleneck despite both being wounded. Of the two men, Lieutenant John Duncan Grant (28th December 1877 – 20th February 11967 was awarded the Victoria Cross and Havildar. (Indian army rank, equivalent to sergeant.) Karbir Pun the Indian Order of Merit. (Indian army equivalent to the Victoria Cross, during World War 1 the Order of Merit was replaced by the Victoria Cross, making Indians eligible for that reward for the first time)(Gyantse Dzong today, it is clear from this photo what a challenge the monastery paused to the attacking British, Indian and Gurkha troops in 1904. It was defended by Tibet’s best troops and whatever artillery the country possessed .)“On the occasion of the storming of the Gyantse Jong on 6th July, 1904, the storming company headed by Lieutenant Grant on emerging from the cover of the village, he had to advance up a bare, almost precipitous, rock-face, with little or no cover available and under a heavy fire from the curtain, flanking towers on both sides of the curtain,, and other buildings up the Jong. Showers of rock and stones were being hurled down the hillside by the enemy from above. One man could only go up at a time, crawling on hands and knees, to the breach in the curtain.“Lieutenant Grant, followed by Havildar Karbir Pun, 8th Gurkha Rifles, at once attempted to scale it, but on reaching near the top he was wounded, and hurled back as was also the Havildar, who fell down the rock some 30 feet.“Regardless of their injuries they again attempted to scale the breach, and covered by the fire of the men below, were successful in their object, the Havildar shooting one of the enemy on gaining the top. The successful issue of the assault was very greatly due to their splendid example shown by Lieutenant Grant and Havildar Karbir Pun.The latter has been recommended for the Indian Order of Merit.”(London Gazette, 24th January 1905)(British troops in action somewhere in the Tibetans mountains.)With the walls breached the Tibetans retreated, again in good order, leaving the British in control of the road to Lhasa, with little to oppose them. Of the assault, one of the medical officers to the Mission, Major Wimberley wrote that though he had seen the Gordons at Dargai (1895) he considered, “the storming of the breach at Gyantse Jong by the Gurkhas a far finer performance.”Whatever treaties had been drawn up at The Hague in 1999 looting it seemed was acceptable if the army had been resisted, considering The Hague Convention was only 5 years old it should not have come as a surprise to learn that the Palkor Chode, Dontse and other monasteries were thoroughly looted, some of which was officially approved, despite claims made by the British officials that monastic sites were, “most religiously respected.”The resistance of the Tibetans all but ended with the fall of Gyantse Jong apart from a few scattered pockets, at Karo-La (The wide mouthed pass as it was called) where fighting had raged two and half-months before, the Gurkhas skirmished with a determined band of Tibetan fighters positioned on the heights to the left and right, but for the most past the army met little resistance.After a march across some of the most difficult terrain imaginable the British army arrived at Lhasa on the 3rd August 1904 but the 13th Dalai Lama was not there, he had fled to Urga, the capital of Outer Mongolia.“When the British officers marched to the Jokhang and other places, the inhabitants of Lhasa were displeased. They shouted and chanted to bring down rain, and made clapping gestures to repulse them. In the foreigner’s custom these signs of welcome, so they took off their hats and said thank you.”(A local Tibetan official)As the British entered the city, they were escorted by the amban with his personnel Guard, whom told the British that he had no authority to negotiate with them. At the end, the Regent Tri Rinpoche and the Tibetan National Assembly (The Tsongdu) signed a treaty on the 4th September, drafted by Younghusband and knowns as the convention Great Britain and Tibet (1904). At Younghusband insistence it was be signed a second time at the Potala Palace.The treaty was a blatant case of bullying by an imperial power.1) The British were to be allowed to trade in Yadong, Gyantse, and Gartok.2) Tibet to pay a large indemnity (7,500,000 rupees, later reduced by two-thirds; the Chumbi Valley to be ceded to Britain until paid.)3) Tibet to have no relations with any other foreign power (effectively converting Tibet into a British Protectorate.)The British departed Tibet in September 1904. The British victory gave them little in the way of tangible results. The Tibetans had seen china loss face with its inability to defend its client state from a foreign incursion.(Colonel Francis Younghusband with Amban Yu-ai at Lhasa)During the fighting, the British sustained 202 men lost in action, whilst the Tibetans lost between 2 to 3,000. The soldiers that Tibet was able to field were mostly peasant conscripts who lacked proper organisation, discipline, training and motivation. Only a handful of their best units, mostly comprised of Monks armed with swords and Jingals (A heavy musket, usually mounted on a swivel proved to be effective. The British troops on the other hand, British, Gurkha and Indian were veterans of the mountainous border wars on the Northwest Frontier as was their commanding officer. These were men from the 8th Gurkhas, 40th Parthians, 23rd and 32nd Sikhs and the Royal Fusiliers, they were equipped with modern rifles as well as mountain artillery and machine-guns. Their moral was said to have been excellent and they were backed by an army of porters recruited from Nepal and Sikkim.It was in London that condemnation against the war was most fierce, at the turn of the 20th Century colonial wars had become increasingly unpopular and now political as well as public opinion was no longer happy at raging war for slight reasons as Curzon and Younghusband had.In 1910, Qing China sent its own declaration to Tibet but the Qing Dynasty was overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution, which broke out in October 1911. Though the Chinese in 1913 with the outbreak of the First World War and the Russian Revolution isolated the now independent state of Tibet and reduced western influence and interest.“I went to the function and met lots of Tibetans refugee friends. Familiar and unfamiliar faces everywhere. The crème de la crème of the Tibetan diaspora. Those who had done well. Now in the hub of the capital of the empire on which the sun never set. I met a geshe (Doctor of divinity) who was married to an attractive English woman. She was pressing coins into his palm and instructing him in slow emphatic pidgin English as to which but he was o catch home and how much was the fare. He appeared perplexed. He who had memorised for decades vast tracks of the Pranja-paramita and Nagar-juna’s thesis on the emptiness of phenomena now overwhelmed by the bus routes of Oxford Street. Husbands and daughters of the Raj mingled and ate momos and Shadalay with children of the refugees. If only Tibet had been annexed as a British colony after the Younghusband Expedition of 1904, she might today enjoy the same status as India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The British that day tried to make amends in their own church jumbles sales fete style, making polite consoling speeches. Sir Olaf Caroe spoke and so did others. The Tibetan national flag dominated the stage, her national anthem was sung and prayers for independence recited. Much sympathy and commiseration for poor Tibet. Such lovely days…d’you remember at Dekyillgka?... and Tibetans… such marvellous people… really… it’s a terrible shame when you come to think of it… the poor Dalai Lama… what MUST he be feeling?... dreadful.”There was even a raffle.”(Tsewant Yishey Pemba, Tibetan doctor and novelist after a visit to London in 1974)SOURCES.Books.1) The British Empire Series. Orbis Publishing.2) Tibet. Tibet. A personnel history of a lost land. By Patrick French. Harper Collins.Web.1) George Curzon, 1st Marquess of Kedleston. Wikipedia.2) Sir Francis Younghusband opens up Tibet for British trade/ Look and Learn History picture Library.3) British Expedionary of Tibet. Wikipedia.4) Tibetans fight against the British invasion. http://Ed.Tibet.cn.5) Gombojab Tsybikov. Wikipedia.6) Agvan Dorjiev. Wikipedia.7) Ambon. Wikipedia.8) Francis Younghusband. Wikipedia.9) Charles Allen. (Writer). Wikipedia.10) Edmund Chandler. Wikipedia.11) Herbert Walton. Wikipedia.12) Oliver Russell, 2nd Baron Ampthill. Wikipedia.13) Herbert Kitchener. 1st Earl Kitchener. Wikipedia14) Thangka. Wikipedia.15) Christies. Wikipedia.16) Order of Merit. Wikipedia.17) Dargai. Wikipedia.18) Jingal. Wikipedia.19) John Duncan Grant. Wikipedia.