Military Digest | A Tibetan spy who was a Gorkha soldier: Dramatic rise and sudden fall of Lha Tsering

Archived documents reveal that in April 1949, the Director IB (DIB) wrote a top-secret note on the situation in China and its possible effects on Tibet. With this situational appreciation in mind, the DIB recommended the urgent need for re-organising and expanding the intelligence system so as to gather intelligence from Tibet and the Indo-Tibetan Border.

Lha Tsering served in the Intelligence Corps in Calcutta, Dacca, New Delhi and Ranchi till his services were placed at the disposal of the Government of India under the Intelligence Bureau as DCIO.

Judging from the progress of the civil war in China, he concluded that it would not be long before the Communist elements in China would have the dominant voice in Chinese national and international affairs and would begin meddling with the affairs of Tibet.

A Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) note states, “In his opinion such activities in Tibet might have far reaching consequences on the Indo-Tibetan border and Sikkim and Bhutan who have many ties with Tibet. The DIB accordingly proposed an increase in his intelligence staff on the Indo-Tibetan Border.”

Another memorandum prepared by the Deputy Director of IB in May 1949 stated that judging from reports coming in, Tibet had not taken kindly to the idea of a Communist-dominated China and would seek again to emphasise her independent status.

“In fact many of her recent actions, which have been against the wishes of the Chinese Government, have been with a view to establish her claim that she is an independent state. It is difficult to say what line the future Government of China is likely to take, but there seems to be no reason to doubt that they will make efforts to extend their influence and to propagate their ideology in an area which according to the Chinese Government is part of their territory,” the memorandum says.

The entry of Lha Tsering

Against this backdrop, the DIB moved a proposal that Lieutenant Lhe Tsering, who had been working since August 1, 1946, at Kalimpong as Deputy Central Intelligence Officer (DCIO) in charge of Sino-Tibetan affairs, be appointed as an Assistant Director. Lieutenant Tsering served in the 1/10 Gurkha Rifles (now Gorkha Rifles) as a Non Commissioner Officer (NCO) in the First World War (1914-18) and was commissioned in October 1942 during the Second World War.

He served in the Intelligence Corps in Calcutta, Dacca, New Delhi and Ranchi till his services were placed at the disposal of the Government of India under the Intelligence Bureau as DCIO.

The DIB added that Tsering was conversant with the Nepali, Tibetan, and Hindi languages and had a very good Tibetan background. A character roll of Lieutenant Lha Tsering prepared by the IB states that he was born in January 1903, though the exact date of his birth is not known. He studied up to matriculation.

“We propose to retain Mr. Tsering as Assistant Director, for an indefinite period. The post of Assistant Director held by him is at present sanctioned upto 28.2.1951 only but there is every likelihood of its continuance beyond this date for indefinite period on year to year basis. We have not made any efforts to obtain the services of a serving State Police officer for this post, because Mr. Tsering is considered to be specially suited for the job,” the character roll states.

The chief part of his duties were concerned with notables of Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim, and being a Tibetan himself, he had an easy access to these circles without the fear of raising suspicions. “There are no Tibetan-knowing officers in any State Police cadres and any other officer would not be of any use for this job,” the IB note said.

However, the evaluation of Lha Tsering’s capabilities suddenly took a downturn in April 1952, when the IB wrote to the MHA seeking his reversion to the DCIO post.

“Lha Tsering was promoted to the rank of Assistant Director, W.E.F. 1.4.50. We have watched his work since then but find that he is not upto the mark. The Director has therefore decided to revert him to the temporary post of D.C.I.O. which he was holding before his promotion to the rank of Assistant Director,” the note states.

The matter did not end there, and there was a move to terminate his services. There was considerable movement of files between various departments on this move, with objections being raised and answered. In the meantime, rather than be demoted in rank, Lha Tsering chose to quit the IB and resigned. Thus ended the remarkable career of a Tibetan spy.