Cisco donates gear for Tibetan WiFi summit in Dharamshala

Here's an update from the Air Jaldi Summit (background in this story I wrote for Wired News): Cisco has donated 100 routers to the event, to be used during the training workshops. Nice! (thanks, Laird Brown!)

Photo: (c) 2006, Xeni Jardin. Mesh project workers in Dharamsala, India often disassemble routers and other parts, then modify or rebuild them so they'll work better in rural conditions.

Establishment 22: elite Indian military unit with Tibetan soldiers

One of the less-known divisions of India's military is the elite division Establishment 22. The unit is stationed along India's northern frontier (near China's border) in the country's most treacherous and extreme mountain terrain, and is comprised primarily of ethnic Tibetans. A source in Dharamshala says they're now known as "Special Frontier Force," and that India's government tends to keep them cloaked in some degree of stealth. Link to a website with some interesting background. (Thanks, Oxblood)