SIKKIM OBSERVER  Jan 26 – Feb 1, 2013

REBEL LEADER TO LAUNCH HIS PARTY ON FEB 4

Gangtok, Jan 25: After dithering over the timing of formation of his party for months rebel leader PS Golay has finally decided to take the plunge. His new political outfit will be formed on February 4 next month, it is learnt.

Actually, January was the expected month for launching of the new party but this did not take place and this led to some bickering and disappointment among Golay’s supporters. February 4 is just a week before Losar (New Year according to lunar calendar), which falls on February 11. The Tamang community to which Golay belongs celebrate the New Year as Sonam Lochar, which is a public holiday in the State.

Technically, Golay still belongs to the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front and is a member of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly from the Upper Burtuk constituency, located near Gangtok in east Sikkim.

The new party will be launched from Golay’s native village of Singling in Soreng-Chakung constituency in west Sikkm.

Golay’s new party is expected to cut into the vote-bank of the ruling party, which has been in power since December 1994. Opposition parties will also be wary of their supporters flocking into the new camp.

Form Cong govt in Sikkim, Bhandari tells high command

Gangtok, Jan 25: Sikkim Congress unit President N B Bhandari blamed the party high command for not taking an active role in strengthening its party in the State.

He also charged the Congress-led government at the Centre for diluting Sikkim’s special status under Article 371F of the Constitution. Addressing the Chintan Shivir in Jaipur, the three-time former chief minister said regional parties such as the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front’s continuation in power is threatening the “security” of the country in the “border State.”

While urging the party high command of the need to root out regional parties in the State, the SPCC chief emphasized the need to form a Congress government in the State.

Bhandari last headed a Congress government in 1981-84 after he merged his Sikkim Janata Party with the Congress in mid-1981.

The second Congress government in the State, led by BB Gooroong in May 1984, lasted for only 13 days. Another revolt against Bhandari in May 1994 saw SM Limboo become the Chief Minister for six months from May 1994 to December 1994. During this period Limboo’s SSP(S) merged with the Congress party.

Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, another rebel in the Bhandari camp, formed his ruling Sikkim Democratic Front in March 1993 and came to power on December 12, 1994. Chamling has been in power since then.

Editorial

HOME TRUTHS

Take Note, Madam Gandhi

Sikkim may be small, but the Congress high command ought to note by now how vital this tiny Himalayan State is to the nation’s security interest. SPCC President NB Bhandari’s warning to the party high command at the party’s brainstorming session in Jaipur this week that the continuation of the Chamling Government is a threat to the country’s security is not an outburst of a politician who has failed to make a comeback since his abrupt departure from power in May 1994. The growing disillusionment with Chamling’s brand of ‘democracy’ and ‘development’, despite the State obtaining first positions in several fields, will surely lead to a new kind of political uncertainty in the near future if timely and appropriate action is not taken. When Bhandari merged his Sikkim Sangram Parishad (SSP) with the Congress in 2003 Sonia Gandhi promised that she would come to Sikkim to fulfil her late husband’s dream. Perhaps this visit was not made because Sikkim was not ready for it.

National parties may not be the ideal choice for Sikkim but the rule of regional parties for most part of past three and half decades has forced the Sikkimese to live in fear under  ‘one man rule - one party system’ in a democratic set-up. Because of Bhandari and Chamling’s failure to live up to the high expectations of the people – the two men ruled Sikkim from 1979-2013 – PS Golay, seen by many as the CM-in-waiting, will find it very difficult to get the spontaneous support of the people even though he has the support and sympathy of many. After Golay created his own political space in the State Bhandari hinted that he is ready to align with the rebel leader against Chamling. But now that Bhandari has urged the party high command to strengthen its party unit in Sikkim with a view to forming a Congress government in Sikkim what would be Golay’s role in the changed situation?  In the past two Assembly polls (2004 and 2009), the Congress party, under Bhandari, secured around 30 per cent of votes polled. If Bhandari is able to ensure that his vote-bank remains intact he will surely play a commanding role in uniting the Opposition.

Northeast separatists call for Republic Day boycott

Boycott as a mark of resistance against what it termed as "Indian occupation of the region".

Imphal, Jan 25: A massive security alert was sounded across the northeast Tuesday after separatist rebels announced a boycott of the Jan 26 Republic Day celebrations, an official said.

"We have placed security forces on high alert to thwart rebels from disrupting the Republic Day celebrations," Shambhu Singh, joint secretary (Northeast) in the home ministry, told IANS on Tuesday.

Five frontline separatist groups in the region have called a boycott of the Republic Day and also a general strike from 1 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. that day as a mark of resistance against what it termed as "Indian occupation of the region".

The call has been given by the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), the National Liberation Front of TWIPRA (NLFT), the Tripura People's Democratic Front (TPDF) and Coordination Committee (CorCom) - an umbrella of seven major separatist outfits - fighting for an independent state for the majority Metei community in Manipur.

These groups are active in Assam, Manipur and Tripura.

The five rebel groups announced their boycott on Monday through a joint statement e-mailed to several media houses.

"There is a clear image of Indian colonial racism manifested in the suppression of human rights under martial and Draconian law such as the Armed Forces Special Power's Act (AFSPA), 1958 and other forms of suspension of fundamental rights," the statement said.

"Extra judicial killings, inhuman torture, fake encounter and sexual harassment in the region are routinely carried out to suppress the freedom struggle of our indigenous people.

"Freedom and independence is the only solution for the conflict as the region can never be a part of the Indian mainstream.”

PEOPLE & PLACES Sikkim

In Rumtek, a generation of Buddhist monks loses hope

By ANJANI TRIVEDI

 In their 13th year of waiting for their spiritual leader, the Tibetan Buddhist monks at a mountainside monastery in Sikkim are starting to give up hope.

“Our hearts have fallen — the master isn’t coming,” said Karma Yeshi, a monk and teacher at the Rumtek monastery, home to 150 monks in the Himalayas in the erstwhile kingdom annexed to India in 1975. “It’s like a house without a father.”

The person the monks are eager to see is Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the 27-year-old man deemed to be the leader of the Kagyu order of Buddhism, one of the four main schools in Tibetan Buddhism.

Tibetan Buddhism stresses the importance of meeting the Karmapa. Teachings in the Kagyu order are passed on from master to student, and the Kagyu’s Web site says that “all great Kagyu teachers regard his Holiness Karmapa as the embodiment and source of all the blessings of the lineage.”

The young man known as the 17th Karmapa is currently based in Dharamsala at the Gyuto Tantric University, having been granted official refugee status in 2001 after fleeing from Tibet in late December 1999. But since 2000, the Indian government has blocked the Karmapa from entering Rumtek and the state of Sikkim, citing security concerns.

To travel outside Dharamsala, the Karmapa needs prior approval from various government agencies and ministries, and he is given security once he does begin his travels, said a Home Ministry official, who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Ogyen Trinley Dorje (left)

Rumtek is the most important seat of the Kagyu tradition outside the Tsurphu monastery in Tibet. Rumtek has also been the site of much controversy, as different factions have fought over who is the real Karmapa, or incarnate lama. At least two others have laid a claim to the title, but the Dalai Lama and China have officially backed Ogyen Trinley Dorje. The monastery’s valuable relics have also been the source of contention among two rival factions, leading to fistfights.

The gated monastery and community in Rumtek is more of an armed garrison, with India’s border forces patrolling it 24 hours a day, seven days a week. While some say the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force, which also maintains vigil on the nearby India-China border, is guarding the treasure and symbols of authority at the monastery, others say the forces were placed there after clashes among the monks.

“This has lowered the morale among the monks and Buddhist community at large,” Karma Yeshi said.

The government has two concerns about letting the Karmapa travel: his security and the legal battle over ownership of the relics, according the official in the Home Ministry.

     Rumtek Monastery, seat of the 16^th Karmapa in east Sikkim

State officials say they believe that the national government thinks the Karmapa is a spy. “There is a strong feeling that he might be an agent of China,” said a state government official, who did not want to be identified because he is not authorized to speak publicly on the issue. “It’s very difficult to escape from China, as far as Tibetans are concerned.”

However, China, which does not recognize Sikkim as a part of India, hasdismissed these claims by the Indian government.

In 2011, the Karmapa came under scrutiny by Indian police officials after trunks filled with foreign currency were discovered at his residence in Dharamsala, drawing even more suspicion from the government. The Karmapa’s lawyer said the money was donations from devotees from all over the world.

The Karmapa’s presence is a “very, very sensitive” issue that involves multiple ministries, including External Affairs, said the Home Ministry official, although he denied it had anything to do with security.

However, the official said, “He’s been living here, so it’s our duty to protect him. Rumtek being a controversial matter, it’s not in his interest to go there because there are other claimants. So it’s as simple as that.”

“The government of India has adopted a policy of refraining from any succession controversy. We are not favoring or supporting anyone. This policy has been consistent – it was the case 10 years ago and it is still the same,” he added.

Sikkim’s state government backs the Kagyu monks. Sikkim’s chief minister, Pawan Chamling, who has governed for 18 years, has appealed to Manmohan Singh, the prime minister of India, many times to allow the Karmapa to visit the state.

“The chief minister had taken up this matter when he last visited Delhi,” the state government official told India Ink. “At least, if you don’t allow him to visit Rumtek, his official seat, let him visit Sikkim and bless the people of Sikkim, who are great followers. Even that is not being done by the government of India.”

However, the Home Ministry doesn’t want to take a risk with his security, according to officials in the ministry, which deals largely with internal security matters. Ultimately, they say, the responsibility for his safety rests with the central government, and not the Sikkim government.

Karma Yeshi of the Rumtek monastery said that this issue is not just a local matter, as India is a place of pilgrimage for all Buddhists, masters and monks alike, as the birthplace of Buddhism.

“This is very important not only for the Karmapa issue but for Buddhism. The Buddha dharma is from India, from India it went to China, from China to Tibet – this is how the lineage came about,” the senior monk said.

The inability to meet the Karmapa is nothing less than a tragedy for these Tibetan Buddhists.

“We have been waiting for long enough now,” said Monay Rai, a 24-year-old guide at the monastery, who was born and raised inside the gates of the Rumtek community. “Sometimes when V.I.P.s visit, the aged people tell me, ‘Please tell the V.I.P.’s to help us, to allow our guru. I can’t travel. It is my dream before I die to see the Karmapa here.’” (The New York Times)