By IANS
London : The death of Sir Edmund Hillary has ended one of the most enduring partnerships in sporting history, but one that was also mired in political controversy.
When Hillary stepped on Mount Everest along with Tenzing Norgay May 29, 1953, not only were there worldwide celebrations but also furious speculation over who first set foot on the peak, until then virgin and untouched by human feet.
To the credit of the two climbers, they kept the answer to themselves for decades. Citing the question as foolish, they even signed a statement, which said simply: “We reached the summit almost together.”
Nevertheless, they could not escape their times. India had become independent in 1947 and Britain was struggling with the loss.
Cartoons appeared in Nepal of Tenzing hauling a tired Hillary behind him. Equally, in Britain there were questions over Tenzing’s role. And while Hillary was knighted immediately, his partner was just felicitated with the George Medal.
“The explanation that as an Indian citizen he couldn’t be knighted never really held water, as the award could have been honorary,” the Daily Telegraph’s Beijing correspondent wrote in a blog Friday.
In India’s post-colonial fervour, children grew up to mention the two climbers almost as a single name, but it was always ‘Tenzing-Hillary’.
Tenzing became a national hero in India and Nepal, and was seen as a developing country sportsman who was equal to the best in the world.
India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru too courted Tenzing, who was persuaded to settle down in the mountain resort of Darjeeling as a director of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute.
Tenzing finally broke his pact of secrecy years later when he revealed in his autobiography that Hillary reached the peak a few steps ahead of him.
“So there it is. The answer to the great mystery,” he wrote.
However, Hillary himself did not admit to it until after the Sherpa’s death.
In April 1997, unveiling a statue of Tenzing in Darjeeling, Hillary said, “I have never regarded myself as a hero but Tenzing undoubtedly was.”