SIKKIM OBSERVER AUG 27, 2011

In the name of Anna, ‘Black Bill’ Golay confronts Chamling

“Black Bill is unconstitutional and undemocratic”

Gangtok, Aug 26: The newly-formed non-political organization Nagarik Adhikar Suraksha Sangathan (NASS), which reportedly has the backing of dissident ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) legislator PS Tamang, created a flutter in political circles here when it held a massive rally on Wednesday in support of social activist Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption campaign.

Thousands of supporters of the NASS-initiated anti-corruption and anti-Black Bill rally stormed the capital and created quite a stir. “Finally, Golay has arrived,” said an onlooker, who felt relieved that the rally was an open confrontation between the Opposition and the ruling party, which has been ruling the State for 17 years without interruption.

Golay himself was in a buoyant mood. He had urged everyone to pitch in to oppose the “Black Bill” and rampant corruption in the State administration. Those who were fed up with the Chamling Government responded enthusiastically to his call.

Golay stated that he opposes the “Black Bill” and the undemocratic ways of the SDF party. “Because I belong to the SDF does not mean that I will start calling black as white. Black will always remain black. The Black Bill intends to rob the Sikkim citizens of their Fundamental Rights hence it is unconstitutional,” he said.

“Prem Singh Golay, the rebel SDF MLA of Upper Burtuk chose a non-political rally to lash out against his party and political mentor Chamling,” reported a national daily.

Referring to Chamling’s quest for “democracy” with a candle in the Assembly before he formed the government in 1994, Golay said, “That has become history. Chamling himself is leaving no stones unturned to erase that part of history. Where is democracy in Sikkim?”, a national daily reported.

Apart from Opposition leaders others, including social organisations such as the National Sikkimese Bhutia Organisation (NASBO) and All Sikkim Contractors’ Welfare Association (ASCWA), supported NASS’s initiative and joined the rally.

 “Where is democracy now? By introducing the Black Bill Chamling has proved that he is not a democrat,” Golay said.

The Samiti’s President T N Dhakal said the rally is also being organised to protest against the introduction of the Sikkim Prevention and Control of Disturbance of Public Order Bill, 2011, which the Opposition has dubbed it as “Black Bill” aimed at suppression of the citizens fundamental democratic rights.

The Bill was introduced in the Assembly by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling on August 11. However, faced with a massive opposition to the Bill by Opposition parties, including the Congress and BJP, the Bill was abruptly withdrawn on August 16 reportedly with Governor BP Singh’s intervention.

The proposed bill said “Holding of procession, hunger strike or squatting or shouting of slogans or waving black flags or other such agitation methods, tendency or potentiality of promoting enmity or hatred or disaffection between groups or sections or communities on grounds of religion, race or caste shall be deemed to be disturbance of public order” and is punishable by imprisonment of five years and a fine of Rs. 50,000/-.

But despite the withdrawal Opposition parties have decided to carry on with their anti-Black Bill campaign till the Bill is formally withdrawn in the Assembly when it resumes on August 26.

Dhakal, a special secretary who retired from government service last year, had said the Bill cannot be withdrawn without proper discussion in the House. He said the Chief Minister’s reasons for withdrawal of the Bill must be recorded in the Assembly proceedings.

The rallyists not only torched copies of the “Black Bill” but also demanded an apology from Chamling.

Sangathan slams NASS, wants Bill to be passed in Assembly

By A Staff Reporter

Gangtok, Aug 26: The Sikkim Sachet Swarojgar Berojgar Sangathan has supported the Sikkim Prevention and Control of Public Order Bill, which is likely to be withdrawn in the Assembly today.

While addressing a press conference here yesterday, Sangathan General Secretary Dev Gurung said the Bill was neither “unconstitutional” nor “undemocratic.” He said the public order Bill tabled in the Assembly by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling was the need of the hour. The association wants the government to pass the Bill in the interest of the people.

The Sangathan has accused the rally organized in the capital on Wednesday by Nagarik Adhikar Suraksha Sangathan Samiti (NASS) as “politically-motivated.”

Sangathan President Karma Gurmey Bhutia alleged that during the NASS-organised protest rally in support of Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption campaign the participants shouted slogans such as “PS Golay Zindabad.”

P S Tamang (Golay), a dissident ruling party legislator is believed to be backing the NASS, whose first public event was Wednesday’s rally.

“NGOs must be above politics and political parties but NASS is trying to gain political mileage by terming the bill as “Black Bill,” Bhutia said.

The Sangathan also slammed Sikkim Himali Rajya Parishad Party (SHRPP) President A D Subba for encouraging “anti-social elements” in the State. It said Subba offered khadas to those who torched Chamling’s effigy in Gangtok and West Sikkim recently.

Sakya Trizin to pay month-long visit to Sikkim in October

By A Staff Reporter

Gangtok, Aug 26: His Holiness the Sakya Trizin, head of Sakya order of Tibetan Buddhism, will be visiting the State in October for the 50^th anniversary celebrations of Ngor Gompa (monastery).

The Sakya Trizin will be accompanied by Luding Khen Rinpoche, head of the Ngor lineage of the Sakya sect, according to Kunga Y. Hochotsang, Director of Sa-Ngor Chotshog Centre (Ngor Gompa), located near the capital at Rongnek.

His Holiness will give initiations and teachings during his month-long stay in the former Buddhist kingdom.

During his stay, His Holiness will visit the Tibetan settlement in Rabongla, south Sikkim and Karma Kagyu monastery of Gyaltsab Rinpoche in Ralong, also in south Sikkim.

Sikkimese sniper Baichung Bhutia retires from international football

Observer News Service

Kolkata, Aug 26: India's former football captain Baichung Bhutia has announced his retirement from the international game.

The 34-year-old star striker has been struggling with injuries. Bhutia was the first player from the sub-continent to sign a professional contract with a European football club when he signed for Bury in 1999, the BBC reported.

He is also the only Indian footballer to play more than 100 matches for his country during his distinguished 16-year career.

"I had a fantastic 16 years of international football. I enjoyed every moment to have represented the country, to have contributed to the game," Bhutia told reporters on Wednesday.

"I wanted to continue playing but the last seven-eight months have been frustrating due to a lot of injuries. So I have decided to quit," he added.

The footballer said he would continue to play for his club, United Sikkim FC, which he founded.

"Lot of things in life do not happen the way we wish so I am quitting from international football but will continue playing for my club," he said.

Bhutia scored 43 goals in international football, the highest by an Indian footballer. He played for Bury FC in England for three years until 2002.

India won a premier South Asian championship three times under his captaincy.

Bhutia, a Buddhist, comes from the north-eastern Indian state of Sikkim.

''Kina Maya Ma'' nominated for awards in Nepal

Gangtok, Aug 26:  Nepalese film 'Kina Maya Ma', shot entirely in Sikkim and starring 'Indian Idol III' winner Prashant Tamang, has been nominated in two award categories in Nepal.

Produced by prominent Nepalese film producers Channel Ace, the movie is directed by Chunilal Ghimeray and has been nominated for at the CG Digital Film Awards of Kathmandu, UNI reported.

The film has been nominated in best story (Chunilal Ghimeray) and best choreography (Govind Rai) categories of the awards festival, the production house sources said. The CG Digital Film Awards, a premier film event in Nepal, will take place on September 8, 2011.

The Sikkim premiere of the movie is scheduled on August 27 in Gangtok. Shot entirely in Sikkim, the film has Kathmandu-based model-turned-actress Sumina Ghimire opposite Tamang. It also features several actors from Sikkim and Darjeeling, familiar faces in local productions.

SHRPP protesters march across heart of city, takes everyone by surprise

Gangtok, August 26: It was a protest rally of a different kind. A 10-member team of Sikkim Himali Rajya Parishad Party (SHRPP) with heads clean shaven and placards hanging on their neck marched across the heart of the city – from Nam Nang to Titanic Park through M G Marg – protesting against imposition of the “Black Bill” that Chief Minister Pawan Chamling introduced in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly on August 11.

The peaceful protest rally, while taking the authorities by surprise, was most effective and yet simple and cost-free.

SHRPP President AD Subba threatened to give a call for ‘Jail Bhoro’ if the Bill was not withdrawn when the Assembly resumes on Friday after a brief recess.

The ten who staged the peaceful protest were Gyalpo Tamang, MB Rai, LM Limboo, Om Prakash Bista, DB Mangar, SP Sharma, RL Ghimirey, KB Dahal, Jacob Tamang and SB Subba.

Editorial

REGIME CHANGE

Building Democratic Institutions Vital

Unity, planning and sustained non-violent people’s movement are key factors that often lead to overthrow of dictators. Aware of these vital factors for regime change veterans of the uprising in Serbia, which overthrew President Slobodan Milosevic in 2000, are running workshops for opposition groups around the world on how to bring down  dictators. Their Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (CANVAS) teaches the science of regime change anywhere in the world. Srja Popovic, who runs a School of Revolution for Canvas, was a student leader and played a key role in the 2000 Serbian revolt that ousted Milosevic. The tactics Popovic learnt during Milosevic’s ouster are now being taught to opposition, student and youth leaders and with much success. Canvas held workshops with Egyptian opposition groups in 2009, including the April 6 movement that played a key role in the overthrow of the Mubarak regime two years later. Emphasising the importance of “unity” in mass movements, Popovic says, “They (Egyptians) gave up their individual symbols of their own groups and came out only with the flag of Egypt.”

Since the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, traffic to the Canvas website has soared - with tens of thousands of downloads of the organization’s free guide on staging protest. But Popovic and leaders of mass movements agree that bringing down a dictator is not enough. Change of one personality is not a revolution. Sometimes changing one person cannot bring the desired changes in the system of governance. “Removing the bad guy is sometimes easier than building the democratic institutions,” says Popovic. Building an open, just and free society is a time-consuming process where everyone, including the man in the street, needs to be involved. Widespread and prolonged protests often lead to toppling of dictators but without strong and credible democratic institutions nothing concrete and long-lasting can be achieved. Supporters of social activist Anna Hazare have created a greater awareness of the curse of corruption throughout the sub-continent. This in itself is a spectacular achievement. Placing the right representatives in the Parliament and State Assembly – the next big task – are vital factors in changing the system of governance. Laws and rules are important; but it is individuals who shape society and change the destiny of nations.

Politics of Population in the Himalayas

SUNANDA K DATTA-RAY

The possibility of new Nepalese-majority States doesn’t concern West Bengal alone. It concerns India from Assam to Uttarakhand.

Bounded by Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and China, Gorkhaland will be India’s second Nepalese-majority State. If migration across the 500-mile open border — which the 1950 India-Nepal Treaty permits and even encourages — continues, it may not be the last. The prospect explains Rajiv Gandhi’s refusal in 1986 to countenance citizenship for post-1950 immigrants.

Even Darjeeling’s sitting MP tempers pleasure over the recent tripartite agreement with circumspection. “The challenge is to understand: ‘what hereafter’ and to address that,” Mr Jaswant Singh warns. Since Ms Mamata Banerjee denies that the tripartite agreement will lead to Statehood, she may not realise there is a challenge to understand and address.

It may soon become mandatory to speak only of ‘Gorkha’, so let me be ethnically accurate rather than politically correct while it is still possible and say that the challenge is of appreciating Nepalese history and ethnography and its impact on India all along the Himalayas, not just in West Bengal. Some Nepalese readers have taken umbrage at my article “Step towards Gorkhaland” published in these columns on July 29. They probably feel the economic implications of migration are demeaning. Hence they insist they didn’t come from anywhere but have always been Indian.

Always is a big word and a huge concept. How long does one have to live in a terrain to be regarded as indigenous, a reader asked. The answer can’t be measured in years or even generations. The Burdwan zamindari family have lived in Bengal for 500 years and don’t speak a word of Punjabi. But apart from exceptional love matches, all their spouses come from Punjab. In the US, Ralph Ellison, the Black American author of Invisible Man, nursed no memory, individual or folk, of his African forebears. His consciousness had been shaped in the crucible of the American Dream.

As the Rastafarian movement or the Black American girl flirting with Nigerian attire in A Raisin in the Sun demonstrated, belonging is a state of mind. I have seen German-origin Soviet families squatting for days on airport floors with their boxes and bedding like refugees at Sealdah station waiting for flights to “return” to a Germany some had never seen. I also know ethnic Germans who despite Germanic names and appearance, regard themselves and are regarded by others as entirely Russian.

With passports of convenience readily available, legal citizenship is only a small part of identity. Nor is identity constricted by boundaries which is why many Nagas seek union with their fellow tribesmen in Myanmar. Friends of Dorjee Khandu, the late Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, say he was loyally Indian to the core but completely Tibetan in lifestyle. A Malaysian bumiputera (son of the soil) is born Malay and Muslim, but Malayali settlers in dhoti and angavastram are also accorded bumiputera status. The Burdwans suggest that choice takes precedence over history and ethnicity.

Readers who deny that the British brought in Nepalese labour are right only to the extent that migration existed before Sikkim ceded Darjeeling to the East India Company. But it’s fanciful to claim (as one reader did) that the Nepalese came in the 1600s. Many of Darjeeling’s 1,900 inhabitants in 1850 (2,200 in 1869) were the original Lepchas and Bhutiyas.

Leo Rose, Lopita Nath and other scholars regard the Treaty of Sugauli and establishment of recruitment centres at Ghoom and Gorakhpur as the start. The 1950 Treaty additionally encouraged immigration. The Nepalese share of Darjeeling’s population rose from 54 per cent in 1901 to 58.4 per cent in 1971. Reportedly, it increased by 700 per cent during 1951-2001.

A vigorous community’s eastward push reduced Lepchas and Bhutiyas to minorities in their own homeland. Ethnic strife erupted throughout the North-East but especially in Meghalaya. Darjeeling suffered grievously. The most dramatic impact was in Sikkim which had only 2,500 Lepchas, 1,500 Bhutiyas and 1,000 Tsongs in 1873. A century later, the Nepalese, then three-quarters of the population, played a decisive part in changing the status of a Tibetan-Buddhist kingdom with which they could not relate. A Sikkim-Nepalese politician even demanded a Nepalese Hindu king to balance the Bhutiya Buddhist Chogyal! Bhutan began to be wary of non-Drukpa settlers after the Sikkim agitation in which many Darjeeling Nepalese participated. There were also allegations of Darjeeling Nepalese agitators in Bhutan.

Bhutan began recruiting Nepalese labourers (tangyas) in 1900, allowing them to stay on as tenant farmers with Bhutanese nationality. This changed when Bhutan’s planned growth, empty land and porous borders attracted waves of illegal migrants. The evictions, refugee camps in Nepal, militant organisations, terrorist activity and assisted migration to North America and Europe are another story.

Just as Drukpa officials felt absorption would be easier if the Nepalese were called Southern Bhutanese or Lhotshampas, Subhas Ghising dubbed them Gorkha. Prem Poddar claims in Gorkhas Imagined that “the word ‘Gorkha’ (or the neologism ‘Gorkhaness’) as a self-descriptive term ... has gained currency as a marker of difference for Nepalis living in India … While this counters the irredentism of a Greater Nepal thesis, it cannot completely exorcise the spectres or temptations of an ethnic absolutism for diasporic subjects.” Ghising’s overtures to Nepal’s King Birendra and Prince Gyanendra and periodic unpublicised trips to Nepal may have aggravated those fears. It was recalled then that the All-India Gurkha League’s founding constitution referred to Nepal as the “motherland”.

Several readers argue that Bengalis are equally foreign because they are really Bangladeshis. True, many people in Calcutta and West Bengal have roots in East Bengal (there was no Bangladesh then) just as many Tamils in Chennai come from villages in Tanjore and other districts. The metropole always attracts manpower, and internal migration in undivided Bengal followed this pattern. The movement since 1947 falls into two categories. The first is a staggered and delayed (because of political factors including the 1950 Nehru-Liaquat Ali Pact) counterpart of the exchange of population that happened all at once in Punjab. The second is the illegal influx of Muslims from East Pakistan and later Bangladesh, often abetted by elements in West Bengal. Undeniably, they should be tracked down and deported but neither group can be compared to the millions of Nepalese who have over the decades migrated to and made India their home.

The possibility of new Nepalese-majority States doesn’t concern West Bengal alone. It concerns India from Assam to Uttarakhand. The situation is without global parallel. (The Pioneer)

Revolt in Sikkim over suppression of democratic rights

JIGME N KAZI

The Opposition says the “Black Bill” is a “conspiracy” of the ‘Sikkim Autocratic Front’ government’s bid to suppress any form of opposition and dissent in Sikkim.

The Chamling Government’s bid to effectively curb dissent in the former Himalayan kingdom that reluctantly embraced ‘democracy’ three and half decades back has backfired.

The man who seventeen years ago protested against former chief minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari’s corrupt and dictatorial rule has tabled The Sikkim Prevention and Control of Disturbance of Public Order Bill in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly. The Bill seeks to curb basic fundamental democratic rights of the people enshrined in the Constitution.

“We got democracy in exchange of our sovereignty,” said Chief Minister Pawan Chamling when he led the movement for restoration of democracy in the State in 1993-94. The pro-democracy and anti-Bhandari movement led to Bhandari’s defeat in the November 1994 Assembly polls that saw Chamling form his Sikkim Democratic Front government in December 1994. The tide has turned full circle now. Chamling has now been accused of corruption and dictatorial tendencies, two major issues he used to unseat Bhandari.

The Congress party-initiated CBI case against Chamling and his present and former ministers is presently with the Supreme Court. Pressure for CBI probe against Chamling’s disproportionate assets case is mounting by the day and the four-term chief minister is placed in a tight situation.

Reacting to what the Opposition termed as the “Black Bill”, Acting President of Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee Kunga Nima Lepcha said the “draconian” Bill was a “conspiracy” of the ‘Sikkim Autocratic Front’ government’s bid to suppress any form of opposition and dissent in the State against the “misdeeds and anti-people activities” of the Chamling Government.

In a rare show of unity Opposition leaders boycotted the Governor’s tea party on Independence day.  The decision to boycott the official function of the Raj Bhavan was taken during a hurriedly-held meeting of the Opposition a day after the Bill was tabled in the House by Chamling, also the Home Minister.

Sikkim National People’s Party President Biraj Adhikari said opposition parties have decided to hold protest rallies in the State to oppose the “dictatorial” proposal of the ruling party.

Sikkim Himali Rajya Parishad Party (SHRPP) led by its President AD Subba, who took part in the meeting, said party workers burnt Chamling’s effigy in west Sikkim in protest against the Bill.

SHRPP members again torched Chamling’s effigy in Gangtok on the eve of the I-Day celebrations. According to SHRPP General Secretary Tara Shrestha, police arrested 8 party workers in connection with the incident.

“The Black Bill is unacceptable in a democracy. It is aimed at throttling the voice of the people,” said CPIM leader Anjan Upadhyaya said

Sikkim BJP President Padam Bahadur Chettri while condemning the Bill as “undemocratic” appealed to dissident SDF leader and MLA PS Tamang to raise the issue in the Assembly  when it comes up for discussion on August 26. But as all the 32 MLAs in the Assembly belong to the ruling party there is not much that Tamang can do to stop the smooth passage of the Bill.

The Sikkim Liberation Party (SLP) Convenor, Duk Nath Nepal, said by introducing the Bill in the Assembly the Chamling Government has proved that it has lost “faith” in the “Indian Constitution” and the “system of constitutional democracy.”

Leaders of the Sikkim Bhutia-Lepcha Apex Committee (SIBLAC) and All Sikkim Educated Self-Employed & Unemployed Association were also present during the all-party meeting. The Opposition is no mood to submit itself to the new law. “We will hold rallies, carry threatened Adhikari.

The Bill seeks to curtail freedom of expression and movement in the State by imposing heavy penalties. Anyone who engages in rallies, processions, hunger strikes, shouting slogans, waving black flags and thereby disturbing public  peace and order will be fined Rs 50,000 and sent to jail for five years.

Those who take part in extortions, drug abuse, employ children for household work, and children under 18 years caught smoking, visiting bars and discotheques would also face severe punishment under the Bill.

Recently, four members of the SDF’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) quit the party in protest against Chamling’s “undemocratic and autocratic” style of functioning. “Presently, no ones voice is heard apart from yours in the party,” their resignation letter to Chamling, who is also the party president, said. It added, “Those who give good suggestions are labeled as anti-party.”  The four – Kiran Chettri, Sonam Bhutia, Nima Theeng and Sonam Sherpa -  are likely to join Tamang, whom many see as the chief-minister-in-waiting.

The Sikkim High Court’s recent ruling placing Bhandari in jail for misuse of power in 1983-84 during his first term in office that led to a loss of Rs 2,14,120 to the State exchequer has become another major catalyst for Opposition unity in the State.

While Bhandari has threatened to quit the Congress party to form his own regional party when the one-month jail sentence expires early next month, Congress leaders believe that the party chief will come out stronger when he returns to active politics next month.

“We are not anti-India but pro-Sikkim,” Bhandari confided to me after he was hospitalized here in a local hospital and kept in the ICU of the cardiology ward.

Adhikari has urged all Opposition parties and social organisations and others to seek Bhandari’s immediate release.

Former MLA and one of the chief architects of Sikkim’s merger, Nar Bahadur Khatiwada, alleged that the former chief minister was not being properly looked after in the hospital and said the Chamling Government would be held responsible should anything happen to Bhandari.

Khatiwada, who is presently with the Sikkim Gorkha Prajatantrik Party (SGPP), while supporting opposition to the Bill, said, “The Black Bill is the most unfortunate move of the SDF government. This is a Bill to suppress the freedom of expression of the people.”

Under what law did you advise govt to withdraw ‘Black Bill’, BJP asks

Gangtok, Aug 26: The State unit of the BJP has questioned the legality of Governor BP Singh’s controversial decision to advise the State Government to withdraw a Bill tabled in the Assembly by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling.

The State Government was forced to withdraw the Sikkim Prevention and Control of Disturbance of Public Order Bill No 10 of 2011 amidst mounting opposition from Opposition parties and the civil society, which termed the proposed legislation as the “Black Bill” aimed at curtailing freedom of expression and movement in the State.

Reacting to the government’s decision to withdraw the Bill, BJP Sikkim unit President Padam Chettri in a press statement said, “I would  like to ask the Governor under what law or under which Article of the constitution he “advised the State government to withdraw the Bill”.

Chettri pointed out that the Speaker KT Gyaltsen had

“granted leave to introduce the Bill and directed that Discussion and Voting on the Bill would be taken up on 26 August, 2011.”

Alleging that “The Bill is against the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution; and fundamental rights are covered under the “basic structure” of the Constitution which none can violate,” Chettri said the Governor “can withhold his assent to the Bill when it is sent to him” but he cannot direct the government to withdraw a Bill when it has been introduced in the House.

“The Bill is the property of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly Secretariat. Having fixed the date of 26 August 2011 for discussion and voting, the Bill can be withdrawn only under Clause 104 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of business in Sikkim Legislative Assembly, “ Chettri said while adding  “But already on 17 August, 2011, the Executive government issued a statement that the Bill is withdrawn. It is sad that the Speaker and legislature has become a puppet in the hands” of the Chief Minister.

India prepares for Chinese threat in Himalayan frontier

Major build-up of military infrastructure by China all along the border.

New Delhi, Aug 26: With Beijing flexing its muscles by strengthening its military capacity in Tibet, New Delhi has given an in-principle nod to beef up defences along the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control. The Indian counter-move includes raising a new army corps at Pannagarh in West Bengal, an armoured brigade each in eastern Sikkim and eastern Ladakh and an independent infantry brigade in the Barahoti plains in Uttarakhand, a national daily reported.

While the proposed upgradation of Indian military defences is being processed for final approval by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), it was given an in-principle green signal from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and defence minister AK Antony during an army presentation last month.

The strategic step was taken in the light of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) capability to deploy no less than 34 divisions (nearly half-a-million troops) within a month on the LAC due to a huge infrastructure build-up in Tibet. To add to India's discomfort, the PLA has been conducting airborne, para-dropping and artillery firing exercises in Tibet for the past two years.

Government sources said the Pannagarh-based corps (around 15,000 combat troops) will include a Ranchi-based formation, which is currently part of the Mathura-based 1 Corps. This means that the army will raise two more divisions in the coming years to replenish the Mathura Corps and another to add to the Pannagarh formation. For this purpose, the army has earmarked 6,000 acres of land in Pannagarh, which has a functioning air force strip and is located 150 km from Kolkata.

Already a battalion and a tank regiment, which will be part of the armoured brigade, have been moved to Sikkim.

At the heart of the proposed Indian defence build-up is the threat assessment that the PLA may become assertive across the Arunachal Pradesh border in the coming years as Beijing still calls its South Tibet and has not given up its stapled visa strategy for residents of Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu Kashmir.

The Army is planning to set up a mountain strike corps and is talking to various states including in the northeast against the backdrop of a Chinese build up of military infrastructure on its side of boundary.

"We are in talks with the governments of states including Assam, West Bengal and Bihar for setting up the mountain corps headquarters, which would require at least 4,000 to 5,000 acres of land," senior Army sources said here.

Around 10-12 locations in these states have been identified by the Army to set up the formation, they said.

The mountain strike corps is being planned by the Army after it established two new mountain infantry divisions for the northeastern region.

The Army is also looking to deploy ultra-light howitzers and light tanks along the Line of Actual Control in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

All these developments come against the backdrop of a major build-up of military infrastructure by China all along the border, which includes five fully-operational airbases, an extensive rail network and over 58,000-km of roads in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).

Rumtek trust celebrates golden jubilee

 By A Staff Reporter

Gangtok, Aug 26: The Karmapa Charitable Trust (KCT) observed its Golden Jubilee Anniversary here and at Rumtek. The KCT was initially founded by the Late His Holiness the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa Ranjgung Rigpe Dorje in 1961 to undertake varied dharma activities across the World from His Holiness’ seat-in-exile at Rumtek, East Sikkim.

However, keeping in view of the recent passing away of its last surviving parent Trustee Ashok Chand Burman, the scale of observation was scale down to a very simple and formal, an official release said.

The KCT Trustee Trateng Yarpa JT Gyaltsen graced the celebration at Gangtok as its Chief Guest. The observation was joined amongst others by the monk community, local gentries and followers of HH the Gyalwang Karmapa.

Earlier a commemorative tree plantation was organized by Yarpa Gyaltsen in and around Rumtek.

PRIDE OF SIKKIM

Outstanding student from Pelling first recipient of CM’s  scholarship scheme

Karma Sonam Bhutia admitted to University of California

Observer News Service

Geyzing, Aug 26: Karma Sonam Bhutia, a resident of Pelling in west Sikkim, is the first recipient of the Chief Minister Pawan Chamling’s Free Scholarship Scheme.

The scheme, announced by the Chief Minister during the recent Independence Day celebrations, is meant for students who succeed in getting admission through competitive entrance exam to the world’s 20 top Universities for higher studies in any discipline.

Karma was admitted to the University of California, Los Angeles, US, to undergo further studies in Masters in Science, according to IPR.

According to the HRDD, the University of California is among the top 20 universities in the world. Karma is the first recipient of this scholarship from the State.

Karma has been excelling in academics as well as other fields right from his school days. He received regional award for topper in the region in ICSE 2003 in Kalimpong with an aggregate of 92%.

He was the school topper in ISC with 93%. He has also received Bhanu Puraskar in Bhanu Jayanti on securing highest marks in Nepali in ICSE 2003 and was a top ranking student in the institute in the 1st to 5th semester in NIT Calicut.

Karma was also a Gold Medalist in ECE department in NIT Calicut and was also a recipient of Cromptom Greaves Limited Sponsorship for academic excellence in B.Tech (Electronics scores) among 20 NITs of the country.

After graduating with Gold Medal in B.Tech from NIT Calicut Karma was working as Design Engineer in Analog Devices India Pvt. Ltd., which is involved in designing computer chips. The course he has now opted is M.S.(Masters in Science) in Electronic Circuits and Systems in Electronic Engineering, which is equivalent to M.Tech. This will enable him to specialize in the field of designing computer chips which are extensively used in application specific fields, such as automobile control systems, avionics, audio systems, bio medical applications etc.

Gangtokians hold rally in support of Team Anna

By A Staff Reporter

Gangtok, Aug 26: The newly-formed People Volunteer Cell (PVC) organized a rally here on Tuesday in support of Anna Hazare’s call for a strong Lokpal Bill to curb corruption in the country.

Nearly 200 citizens participated in the rally, which began at Deorali and ended here at Zero Point.

PVC Convenor Majoj Gazmer said ordinary people are suffering due to rampant corruption in high places.

Briefing the media, Gazmer said the State Government should allow the CBI to probe into graft cases in the State.

He said members of Team Anna had come to Sikkim last month and their visit led to formation of the PVC.

PVC members also met Y.T Lepcha, who began his hunger strike here since August 20 in support of Anna’s anti-corruption campaign.

Several prominent Opposition leaders in the State, including Biraj Adhikari, D N Nepal and Tika Chettri also met Lepcha and gave their moral support.

T N Dhakal, President of the newly-formed Nagarik Adhikar Suraksha Sagathan Sikkim (NASSS) along with his colleagues, Sonam Bhutia, NK Gurung and Cheen Kazi, also met Lepcha at Paljor Stadium premises to extend their support.

Dhakal challenged the Chamling Government to extend its support to Team Anna if it is clean and want a corruption-free administration.