Nepal Volunteer Defense Army organization
also: NVDA, the Tibetans, partisans, resistance, the resistance, resistant forces, NDBA, NDVA
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Related entities (most co-mentioned)
Chinacountry · 12Dalai Lamaperson · 11CIAintelligence service · 10Tibetcountry · 9Mustangplace · 8Indiacountry · 5Indianaplace · 4Lhasaplace · 4Nepalcountry · 4People's Liberation Armyorganization · 3Amdoplace · 2Gampo Tashiperson · 25412 Grouporganization · 2Baba Yeshiperson · 1Ashtarperson · 1Michael Piaselperson · 1Allen Dullesperson · 1Tashi Antrasongperson · 1John F. Kennedyperson · 1Afghanistancountry · 1Vietnamcountry · 1United Statescountry · 1Pakistancountry · 1Jawaharlal Nehruperson · 1
Claims (24)
CIA trained
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army documented
“which, of course, we've talked about because it was done in Colorado. Five groups, totally more than 500 men, were to be given instructions and then sent back to their native regions. And because it was so mountainous there and cold, the on…”
▶ The Colonels Corner President’s Secret Wars chapter 9, continued @ 20:02
CIA supplied_arms_to
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army documented
“and Desmond Fitzgerald, the Far East Division chief, were almost daily on the phone with Gordon Gray during this period. The CIA was so well-informed because it had furnished an American radio operator who traveled with the Dalai Lama, the …”
▶ The Colonels Corner President’s Secret Wars chapter 9, continued @ 17:09
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army carried_out_attack
Lhasa documented
“and the partisans began to make direct attacks against mainland China's forces. By December, mainland China post within 25 miles of Lhasa were raided by the NVDA. In late January and February of 1959, mainland China's garrisons that was onl…”
▶ The Colonels Corner President’s Secret Wars chapter 9, continued @ 7:08
CIA trained
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army documented
“We start off with where we left off with the CIA basically aiding, training the Tibetan people to fight against China. And there was a National Volunteer Defense Army, referred to as NVDA, that provided a good chunk of the resistance.…”
▶ The Colonels Corner President’s Secret Wars chapter 9, continued @ 2:04
CIA trained
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army documented
“by mainland China, Field General Gampo Tashi issued orders for the resistance to abandon its headquarters, which it had defended to permit the escape of the Dalai Lama. Tibetan sources maintain that Eisenhower's administration made an impor…”
▶ The Colonels Corner President’s Secret Wars chapter 9, continued @ 19:34
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army carried_out_attack
China documented
“and the partisans began to make direct attacks against mainland China's forces. By December, mainland China post within 25 miles of Lhasa were raided by the NVDA. In late January and February of 1959, mainland China's garrisons that was onl…”
▶ The Colonels Corner President’s Secret Wars chapter 9, continued @ 7:08
Gampo Tashi headed
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army documented
“The following year, the U.S. also discouraged a visa request from the Dalai Lama to come to the United States. However, in India, Ike did accept certain gifts that were bestowed upon him through the CIA channels by the NVDA, the resistance …”
▶ The Colonels Corner President’s Secret Wars chapter 9, continued @ 27:49
CIA sponsored
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army documented
“This is crazy. Just year after year, just throwing weapons away. But the leading edge of the CIA effort now shifted to Ithaca, New York at Cornell University, where the agency sponsored Tibetans to learn English, writing, and international …”
▶ The Colonel's Corner Safe for Democracy Part 17 (18) @ 25:26
Nepal pardoned
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army documented
“some of their most fierce fighters. The top commander escaped with the NVDA archives and had a small escort only to be killed in a later ambush. Seven other Tibetan leaders surrendered at Mustang and sat in a Kathmandu jail until pardoned b…”
▶ The Colonel's Corner Safe for Democracy Part 17 (18) @ 27:56
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army carried_out_attack
China documented
“Though they had more success blocking access to the camp. In October of 61, the NVDA achieved a great success. A raiding party led by the Indian-trained partisan RAGRA sent to disrupt traffic along one of the major roads wiped out the Chine…”
▶ The Colonel's Corner Safe for Democracy Part 17 (18) @ 14:57
CIA funded
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army documented
“equipped 14,000 soldiers in their paramilitary fight. Almost all of the active male population was still fighting in the Himalayas. Supplying the resistance without C-130s seemed an impossible task, but the CIA attacked it with some efficie…”
▶ The Colonels Corner President’s Secret Wars chapter 9, continued @ 32:47
CIA supplied_arms_to
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army documented
“A message from the Tibetans received on April 2nd confirmed success and contained an important plea. You must help us as soon as possible and send us weapons for 30,000 men by airplane. That was their request. It is likely that that message…”
▶ The Colonels Corner President’s Secret Wars chapter 9, continued @ 18:35
CIA funded
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army documented
“and the resistance commanders made an increasingly desperate plea for supplies. When JFK took the oath of office on January 20th, 1961, the CIA had already prepared proposals for what to do in Tibet. Not like they were setting them up or an…”
▶ The Colonels Corner President’s Secret Wars chapter 9, continued @ 32:17
CIA supplied_arms_to
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army documented
“and the resistance commanders made an increasingly desperate plea for supplies. When JFK took the oath of office on January 20th, 1961, the CIA had already prepared proposals for what to do in Tibet. Not like they were setting them up or an…”
▶ The Colonels Corner President’s Secret Wars chapter 9, continued @ 32:17
CIA trained
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army documented
“equipped 14,000 soldiers in their paramilitary fight. Almost all of the active male population was still fighting in the Himalayas. Supplying the resistance without C-130s seemed an impossible task, but the CIA attacked it with some efficie…”
▶ The Colonels Corner President’s Secret Wars chapter 9, continued @ 32:47
CIA supplied_arms_to
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army documented
“equipped 14,000 soldiers in their paramilitary fight. Almost all of the active male population was still fighting in the Himalayas. Supplying the resistance without C-130s seemed an impossible task, but the CIA attacked it with some efficie…”
▶ The Colonels Corner President’s Secret Wars chapter 9, continued @ 32:47
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army carried_out_attack
People's Liberation Army documented
“Late in 1958, the NDBA began an offensive into central Tibet. The partisans attacked Han garrisons. By December, the PLA post, they were attacking within 25 miles of Lhasa. In late January or early February 59, the PLA garrison at Tung Seng…”
▶ The Colonel’s Corner Safe for Democracy Part 16 (17) @ 21:52
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army founded
Tibet documented
“I'm not going to try to pronounce the Chinese name for it, but it translates into National Volunteer Defense Army, NVDA. Its creation ushered in the most intense phase of the Tibetan War. Just a few weeks later, Frank Hollaber traveled to I…”
▶ The Colonel’s Corner Safe for Democracy Part 16 (17) @ 19:24
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army carried_out_attack
People's Liberation Army documented
“The French explorer and scholar Michael Piasel describes these events as one of the strangest and most ill-understood coups of recent times. Under its top leader, General Tashi Antrasong, the NVDA's offensive drove within miles of the capit…”
▶ The Colonel’s Corner Safe for Democracy Part 16 (17) @ 24:59
Jawaharlal Nehru covered_up
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army documented
“The parliamentary debates ignited by the Dalai Lama's journey, the prime minister went out of his way to defend Tibetans, denying the village was a command center for the NVDA, which he knew was not true. One exchange in a debate on April 2…”
▶ The Colonel’s Corner Safe for Democracy Part 16 (17) @ 28:55
Gompol Tashi headed
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army documented
“included a letter from Alan Dulles to the president and a cable reporting the Dalai Lama's view to the White House. It appeared before the NSC meeting on April 23rd. Dulles' letter concerned the Dalai Lama's determination to resist the Chin…”
▶ The Colonel’s Corner Safe for Democracy Part 16 (17) @ 35:20
CIA equipped
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army documented
“which should be finished today. Yeah, we'll get into the next chapter today. Okay, so what estimate that the CIA equipped 14,000 soldiers in Tibet, which was almost all of the active male population still fighting in the high Himalayas, sup…”
▶ The Colonel's Corner Safe for Democracy Part 17 (18) @ 1:25
CIA trained
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army documented
“Was China killing Tibetans? Yes, they were. Why is that? Because the Tibetans were being trained by the CIA to attack the Chinese. And you can say whatever you want about an internal civil war of Tibet and China and whoever was right or wro…”
▶ The Colonel's Corner Safe for Democracy Part 17 (18) @ 4:59
CIA retrieved
Nepal Volunteer Defense Army documented
“Bulletin of Activities of General Political Department of the PLA. It basically had covered a period of January to August 1961. The CIA officer personally retrieved the material and carried it to Washington, where Allen Dulles proudly exhib…”
▶ The Colonel's Corner Safe for Democracy Part 17 (18) @ 15:59
Mentions (31)
▶ 2:04
We start off with where we left off with the CIA basically aiding, training the Tibetan people to fight against China. And there was a National Volunteer Defense Army, referred to as NVDA, that provided a good chunk of the resistance.…
▶ 2:36
to the Han army. And the NVDA fighters were mostly drawn from two areas, one called Kham, K-H-A-M, and the other one Amdo, A-M-D-O. So this was basically the, they're going to be used to…
▶ 6:38
The NVDA leadership knew that the Dalai Lama had to be enlisted if there was to be an effective national resistance. And by early 1959, many of the Lamas also believed that Tenzin Gyatso was a virtual prisoner in mainland China. Many Tibeta…
▶ 7:08
and the partisans began to make direct attacks against mainland China's forces. By December, mainland China post within 25 miles of Lhasa were raided by the NVDA. In late January and February of 1959, mainland China's garrisons that was onl…
▶ 10:24
when the mainland Chinese General Tan ordered open hostilities. Only then did the Chinese command realize the Dalai Lama was gone. French explorer by the name of Mikel Piesel described these events as one of the strangest and ill-conceived …
▶ 27:49
The following year, the U.S. also discouraged a visa request from the Dalai Lama to come to the United States. However, in India, Ike did accept certain gifts that were bestowed upon him through the CIA channels by the NVDA, the resistance …
▶ 42:09
changed completely after 1960 with the end of direct airdrops. The NVDA had to reestablish itself at that more remote base called Mustang. But it was so remote that only raids not sustained operations were possible. And Gampo Tashi was repl…
▶ 42:38
was not nearly as good of a commander. He was out of step with the people that the CIA had trained. We'll just leave it there. There was a communication center with two special antennas for the resistance. And the other end of the reception…
▶ 18:50
highly dangerous missions. The CIA's failure in Indonesia became a perverse boon to the Tibetan secret war. Stocks of weapons and equipment the agency had assembled for Indonesia got diverted to Tibet. Their battle flag, first raised in Jun…
▶ 19:24
I'm not going to try to pronounce the Chinese name for it, but it translates into National Volunteer Defense Army, NVDA. Its creation ushered in the most intense phase of the Tibetan War. Just a few weeks later, Frank Hollaber traveled to I…
▶ 19:57
opposition to the Han had yet to become universal. The fighters were still drawn mostly from Kam and Amdo. That's the areas of Tibet where they came from. Resistance in central Tibet was largely held in check by one man, the Dalai Lama. The…
▶ 21:52
Late in 1958, the NDBA began an offensive into central Tibet. The partisans attacked Han garrisons. By December, the PLA post, they were attacking within 25 miles of Lhasa. In late January or early February 59, the PLA garrison at Tung Seng…
▶ 22:25
For the first time, the NDVA had a presence close to the capital. The Chinese sought to make the Dalai Lama a hostage. They invited the Tibetan leader to a dramatic presentation at a compound of the PLA military area command. They also had …
▶ 24:59
The French explorer and scholar Michael Piasel describes these events as one of the strangest and most ill-understood coups of recent times. Under its top leader, General Tashi Antrasong, the NVDA's offensive drove within miles of the capit…
▶ 28:55
The parliamentary debates ignited by the Dalai Lama's journey, the prime minister went out of his way to defend Tibetans, denying the village was a command center for the NVDA, which he knew was not true. One exchange in a debate on April 2…
▶ 35:49
to defend the Dalai Lama's escape. One of the CIA's few admissions on covert operations before a congressional committee came during this period, when Director Dulles, whose contribution to the propaganda offensive in Tibet, appearing in a …
▶ 1:25
which should be finished today. Yeah, we'll get into the next chapter today. Okay, so what estimate that the CIA equipped 14,000 soldiers in Tibet, which was almost all of the active male population still fighting in the high Himalayas, sup…
▶ 14:01
Under the new formula, the NVDA fighters were to be gathered in companies, more formal units, to escape the tribal and clan rivalries that were prevalent throughout this entire effort. Because they're basically tribal people that the CIA is…
▶ 14:28
But when the Tibetans learned their forces were gathering at Mustang, a migration from all over India began towards that location. That meant publicly that people were going to realize something significant was going on there, and that caus…
▶ 14:57
Though they had more success blocking access to the camp. In October of 61, the NVDA achieved a great success. A raiding party led by the Indian-trained partisan RAGRA sent to disrupt traffic along one of the major roads wiped out the Chine…
▶ 20:56
made it impossible to wage large-scale operations. Meanwhile, Mustang itself proved so remote that sustained forays were not possible. Yeshe replaced Tashi and things kind of went south from there. The resistance was reduced to less than 7,…
▶ 22:57
by 1963, and a combined headquarters in New Delhi by early 1964, all funded by the CIA. The Indian intelligence people met weekly with the CIA and the NVDA representatives. Indians were supposed to command, but they never were permitted the…
▶ 23:28
eventually was the result of that. This is exactly the same setup, by the way, that they had with the ISI in Pakistan next door to India as it related to the Afghanistan people. Washington's secret warriors reoriented their program again. H…
▶ 23:51
and senior leaders in the summer of 1963 found CIA managers insisting that the Tibetans return to their country as a condition of support. They didn't want them hanging out in India. They wanted them hanging out in Tibet and fighting the Ch…
▶ 24:54
to continue giving the Tibet issue a high international profile, but with a reduced emphasis on military activity. Payments to the Dalai Lama continued. While for the most part, the resistance received CIA cash, a final weapons airdrop took…
▶ 26:28
would eventually get cold feet. By 1968, the CIA had told the special group that no current operations justified the Tibetan forces at Mustang. The few telephone taps the CIA wanted could easily be managed by a much smaller effort. The foll…
▶ 27:24
John Koss is not convinced this was the case, but basically now laid the law down for Nepal. The next year, the Nepal government, with information from the disinfected Ayashi, had set up arrangements with the PLA to patrol their side of the…
▶ 27:56
some of their most fierce fighters. The top commander escaped with the NVDA archives and had a small escort only to be killed in a later ambush. Seven other Tibetan leaders surrendered at Mustang and sat in a Kathmandu jail until pardoned b…
▶ 28:26
that Nepal needed to stop this bullshit. But you can bet it was the CIA that wanted those documents out of there. That brought an end to the quote unquote rebellion. From the beginning, Washington knew that Tibet would never be more than a …
▶ 29:33
Once these things start, they take a life of their own on, and they don't want to quit, even when the casualties start increasing exponentially. Troubled by questions about the CIA's role, Noss sought out the Dalai Lama, and he talked to ma…
▶ 30:04
When most of the Tibetans accepted, the American action is almost palatable. But in truth, despite the CIA's intelligence successes, whatever they were, their cache of information, in Tibet, Americans' reputation as a guarantor of democracy…