SAJHAITES IS THIS ARTICLE AN HONEST ONE, I WAS DAZED..TENZING SHERPA a TIBETAN....CLARIFY SAJHAITE HISTORIANS, PHDS, INTELLECTUALS...

LONDON, DEC 25: Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, who accompanied Edmund Hillary,
the first everester in 1953, was a Tibetan and not a Nepali, according
to a new book.

While
Hillary and the expedition's leader Lord Hunt both believed that the
Sherpa had been born in a remote mountain village in Nepal, a new book
"Snow in the Kingdom" by American mountaineer Ed Webster claims that
not only was Tenzing born in Tibet, but he spent much of his childhood
there. The world's most famous Sherpa was not really a Sherpa at all.

Even
after Tenzing's death in 1986, the truth was considered too sensitive
to disclose, not least for fear of embarrassing the Indian government
which had supported Tenzing after his ascent. It would have handed a
propaganda coup to the Chinese authorities in the Tibetan capital Lhasa
that a "Chinese climber" was the first to climb Everest.

But now Webster has been given permission by the family to reveal the truth about Tenzing's real origins.

Throughout
his life, Tenzing remained vague about his background. In his
autobiography, "Tiger of The Snows", he obscured the truth of his
childhood without quite denying it, telling ghost-writer James Ramsey
Ullman that he grew up in the village of Thame, in Nepal. In fact, his
parents migrated there during the early 1920s after a period of
financial hardship and debt to a local Tibetan governor.

Tenzing,
however, was more forthcoming about his birthplace. He said "I was born
in a place called Tsa-Chu, near the great mountain of Makalu, and only
a day's march from Everest." Tenzing also explains that when he was
born, his mother had been on a pilgrimage to the nearby monastery at
Ghang La, the name of Tenzing house in Darjeeling.

When
Tenzing climbed Everest in 1953 he was hailed by the Nepalese
government in Kathmandu as a local hero who happened to live in India.
Nepal's fledgling constitutional monarchy feared political domination
by the new Indian republic and both countries saw great propaganda
value in claiming Tenzing, the first humble born Asian of the modern
era to achieve global fame, as their own.

Tenzing's
caution about revealing his true origins was partly explained by his
political wrangling. "After we climbed Everest," Hillary said, "and
Tenzing was invited to England, we were really in a jam because Tenzing
had no passport."

The
crisis was averted only when the Indian Prime Minister, Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru, stepped in and personally ensured that Tenzing
received an Indian passport--something for which the Nepalese
authorities never forgave him. Nehru became Tenzing's patron and
authorised the establishment of a mountaineering school in Darjeeling,
which Tenzing helped to run.

After SLC I went thorough my
fathers book case there I found a 60 page book published in 1960 and written by
Tenzing. It was almost 15 yrs ago but I still remember some from the book they
are.



1. His family may have migrated from Tibet in
early 1900 ( he was told this story by his parents)

2. He was born in Thame ot Thynabochey

3.They were poor so when he was teen age he went to Darjeeling
to earn living. His mother was living in Thame or Thyanbochey (i don't remember
which one)

3. When he was in Darjeeling
he worked as a labor and other type of works.

4. Hillary expedition team was looking for a guide/Varia for their team.

5 Tenzing was a natural choice because he was from Mountain area of Nepal/
young/hard working/and was in good shape.

6. On their way to Everest his mother who was living in (Thame/Thyanbochey)
came to see him.

7. In that book he said he loved his village in Nepal
very much but regrets the economical condition that pushed him out of the
village.



8. After the climb there were some celebration in KTM and he went to UK
and when he returned he visited Nehru who offered him citizenship of India
(ppl still to that type of things for celebrities) and offered him a
director position in yet to be established mounteering school in Darjeeling.
He accepted it because a) after this fame he can’t go to the same old business
of laboring in Darjeeling b) Darjeeling
was the palace where he spent his youth and had few gf. c) The offer was
wonderful for him and he had nothing else.



The situation is almost like most of the nepricans. who were born in Nepal
spend their first 18 yrs in Nepal then come to US, studying/working and finally get green card. Now tell me who are you?? a
Nepali?? Or a US??



I think it is not the problem of who is who. Its the problem of sentimental
ppl from two different countries.



Indians always want to prove that they are great ppl they and love to give
example Budhha is theirs, the guy who concurred Everest for the first time
is theirs and this blah blah goes on. In my opinion Indians have integrity
complex so to get rid of this they always boast they are such and such great
ppl. Indians also always want some sort of certificate of their greatness especially
from westerners.

Three months ago I met a Indian guy who was 27 yrs old and was doing pilot
course. At the same time he was also working as a painter and making lots of
money. One day he told me that Laxmi Mittal had told Indian govt that he will
pay off all the external debt of India
if India agrees
to put his face in Indian currency instead of Gandhi's. And yahoo was founded
by an Indian.



Majority of educated Indians are like this guy. 70% of all the Indians I met
are like that. 15% don’t care and rest 15% are very fine, this is my personal
experience though.