SIKKIM OBSERVER Saturday   June 1-7,  2013    

Danny back on silver screen, to star in Boss, Mental

Mumbai, May 31: Danny Denzongpa sure knows how to live life at his own pace. When not shooting, and that's for a good part of the year, the actor spends his days at his Sikkim farmhouse, completely switched off from the rest of the world. But when thrown into the hustle and bustle of Bollywood, he also tends to make the right moves.

The latest is he has picked two interesting films - one with Akshay Kumar and the other with Salman Khan. The 65-year-old actor will be seen in an action avatar in Boss and also in Mental respectively, Mumbai Mirror reported.

A source revealed: "Danny will be doing handto-hand combat in Akshay-starrer Boss. Despite his age, his reflexes are like that of a young man. As for Mental, he will start shooting the film soon."

According to the source, "Danny has a fabulous equation with the A-listers in the industry. But he has always opted for roles that suit his character. He has been friends with Akshay and Salman for a long time. They felt he was the best choice for the roles in these films."

Dzongu’s gift for Golay’s SKM: anti-dam activist Dawa Lepcha

Dawa Lepcha during anti-dam hunger strike in Gangtok (right)

Gangtok, May 31: PS Golay’s biggest catch for his recently-formed political outfit Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) is undoubtedly the renown social activist Dawa Lepcha who with his friends unsuccessfully fought against mega hydel projects in his native district of North Sikkim.

Golay’s recent trip to North Sikkim, including the Lepcha-dominated region of Dzongu, was successful in a sense that the party managed to convince the people that it was against mega hydel projects in the State.

Golay, infact, informed the people that one of the main reasons for going against the ruling government was on hydel projects. He was against it, he said. This message went down well with the people.

“The Lepchas are with Dawa and Golay did the right thing by choosing him,” a Lepcha leader said.

When he left the Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT), the organization which headed the anti-dam movement in the State, in February this year to join the SKM, Dawa told his colleagues in the ACT that he would pursue the issue in politics. His friends in the ACT have realized how unresponsive and dubious the Chamling Government is on the issue.

“We have sat on hunger strikes, begged and used other options for a long time (on scrapping hydel power projects proposed in Dzongu) but nothing happen. I believe that social activism has not yielded much and time has come for us to approach a political solution for our demands”, said Dawa when he joined the SKM on February 4 this year.

Without Bhandari Congress is nothing in Sikkim

Gangtok, May 31: The Congress party high command’s reported decision to take Sikkim seriously will not convince anyone in Sikkim. If fact, by removing former chief minister NB Bhandari from SPCC presidentship on the eve of the Assembly elections the Congress party has proved that it is not serious in building up the party and forming the government in the State.

During a meeting of the SPCC held here this week, AICC Secretary K. Jayakumar said the party would take the State seriously. He said every month a union minister would come to the State to campaign for the ensuing Assembly polls.

Ever since Sikkim’s takeover the Congress party, which was chiefly responsible for Sikkim’s ‘merger’ with India, has not been able to win elections to form the government.

It was able to form the government in Sikkim on two occasions: in 1981 and 1994. The Congress party was able to form the government under Bhandari in 1981 when Bhandari’s party – Sikkim Janata Parishad – merged with the Congress in July 1981. After Bhandari’s Sikkim Sangram Parishad – formed on May 24, 1984 – dissidents toppled his government in May 1994 the Congress party was able to form the government for a brief while under Sanchaman Limboo in 1994.

Try as it may the Congress party – without Bhandari – never got more than 4% of the vote share. Under Bhandari, the Congress party’s vote-bank rose to around 30% in the Assembly elections in 2004 and 2009.

So, what is the justification for Bhandari’s removal at this juncture? During the SSP meeting here on May 24, Bhandari said he would reduce the Congress to a ‘zero’ in Sikkim. He does not have to do anything on this now; the party high command did the job.

Central or Congress leaders from Delhi mean nothing to the people of Sikkim as far as electioning is concerned. They can bring money, not votes. Some of them even take money from Sikkim.

Political observers are of the opinion that Congress did a big favour to Pawan Chamling by removing Bhandari as SPPC chief. “Now opposition votes remain divided. This goes in Chamling’s favour,” one observer said. His views may reflect public opinion in days to come.

Union tribal minister does not know Limboos, Tamangs are STs in Sikkim

    (L to R) Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, Union Tribal Affairs Minister KC Deo, and Lok Sabha MP PD Rai during the    

    Sakewa celebrations at Saramsara, East Sikkim, on Monday.

Gangtok, May 31: Those who want Assembly seat reservation for the Limbus and Tamangs in the State should note that the Union Minister for Tribal Affairs KC Deo does not even know that the two communities have been enlisted in the ST list in the State.

During the annual Sakewa celebrations at Saramsara Garden near here on Sunday, Deo said he would do his utmost to ensure that Limbus and Tamangs are declared STs in the State. Chief Minister Pawan Chamling and Sikkim’s lone Lok Sabha MP PD Rai were present on the dais when Deo made the statement.

Justifiably, the Sikkim Limboo-Tamang Tribal Forum has lambasted the Chamling Government for Deo’s lapses. Forum Chairman Birbal Limboo in a press statement said it was unfortunate that the Union Minister does not even know that the two communities were declared tribals way back in 2003.

Even after 10 years the two communities have not got seats reserved in the Assembly, the Forum said and blamed the Chamling Government for its failure to take the matter to the Centre.

POWER CORRUPTS

Quit Gracefully, Mr. Srinivasan

The conspiracy of silence within the BCCI was broken when board heavyweight and Union Power Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia publicly said President N Srinivasan should quit.

Realising that there is a conflict of interest as Srinivasan’s own family member is involved in an ongoing investigation, it's in the fitness of things, from a point of view of propriety, that he should step aside until this matter reaches a conclusive end in terms of an inquiry, Scindia rightly said, “We are responsible for the actions of our family members."

Since then many, including eminent citizens, have urged the BCCI chief to tender his resignation.  However, the BCCI boss refuses to budge. His flagrant defiance of public opinion may finally lead to an ignoble exit.  A faction within the Board is planning to initiate suspension proceedings against him if he refuses to step down in the aftermath of the Indian Premier League spot-fixing scandal that has thrown cricket in the country into disarray.  It is in the best interest of the game that Srinivasan quits gracefully before he is thrown out.

The Mystery of Sikkim’s  Teesta Hydel Project

Private developers, who have got projects through joint venture routes, are enriching themselves at the cost of the people. Indeed, who owns the lucrative hydropower projects in Sikkim?

    The Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) went on an indefinite hunger strike against hydropower projects on the sacred 

    Teesta River in Sikkim on June 22, 2007 at BL (Bhutia-Lepcha) House premises, Gangtok. The campaign – supported by 

    monks, students, NGOs and the Sikkimese people – in the spirit of Gandhian Satyagraha was withdrawn after more than   

    two years, on September 27, 2009.

A lot of money is being pumped into companies developing hydropower projects in Sikkim ever since the Central Government allowed 100 per cent FDI in the power sector through the direct route. Ironically, an in-depth analysis of these investments show that the finances are being pumped in from tax haven countries like Singapore, Mauritius, and so on by companies registered in these countries by venture capitalists and hedge funds.

The best case study in this connection is TeestaUrja Limited (TUL), an SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) set up by Athena Projects Pvt Ltd for developing the 1200MW Teesta Stage III HEP near Chungthang in North Sikkim. The Singapore-based Asian GencoPvt Ltd is owned by TV Vijaykumar, an erstwhile close aide of the late YSR Reddy (former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh), the late CV Balayogi (former Speaker, LokSabha, also from Andhra), Jagan Mohan Reddy (YSR's son, now in jail) and KVP RamachandraRao (close associate of the Reddys), and is currently the owner of the 1200MW Teesta Stage III being developed by TUL. It holds close to 50 per cent equity in the project.

    Teesta III Hydropower project, Chungthang, North Sikkim: This 1200 MW project is being executed by M/s Teesta Urja 

    Limited, also an Athena Group company.

A clique of investors, led by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, bought close to 49 per cent stake in power generation and engineering services firm Asian Genco for $425 million in 2010, the biggest private equity (PE) transaction in India in the power sector. The deal is also the first one of over $300 million since 2008. The last PE deal of this size was when Providence Equity Partners invested $428 million in Aditya Birla Telecom in 2008.

The group of investors in Asian Genco includes Everstone Capital, General Atlantic, Goldman Sachs Investment Management and Norwest Venture Partners, among others. Asian Genco, to which the former power secretary of Delhi, RV Shahi, is learnt to be a consultant, had earlier raised funds from other investors like power trading firm PTC and its finance offshoot, PTC Financial Services, besides global investors such as Tiger Global Management.

This has been a trend for many of the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) developing projects in Sikkim, wherein, as per the clauses in their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the state government, land is mortgaged in lieu of huge project finances picked up by the developers with the state government standing as a guarantor (as per the MoU, the government of Sikkim owns either 26 per cent or 11 per cent equities in these projects).

The best example is TUL, which, in 2008, took Rs 4,500 crore as loan from REC and a consortium of seven nationalised banks and parked the funds in Asian Genco. Lanco projects did the same with investments in coal mines in South Africa, Griffin mines in Australia and a coal mine and a thermal power plant in Chhattisgarh, all with the help of finances from land mortgaged in Sikkim.

Coastal Projects Sikkim has sold shares at a premium to Baring Asia Equity Group at 65 times the face value; such value addition is fully and only attributable to their ownership of the concerned hydropower project they are executing in Sikkim. Had this organisation executed the required Shareholder Agreement (Share Subscription Agreement) and allotted the Sikkim government 26 per cent equity within 180 days of the agreement, the state government, as minority shareholder, would have got first preference to dilute and could have decided to off-load parts of its equity at 65 times the face value. In this way, the state government is denied its dues and gains which the private developers tactfully and wrongfully embezzled (Source: Coastal Annual Report).

Analysis of these investments show that the finances are being pumped in from tax haven countries like Singapore, Mauritius, and so on by companies registered in these countries by venture capitalists and hedge funds

Private developers who have got projects through joint venture (JV) routes, are enriching themselves at the cost of the state and its people. This was the case in Jal Power Corporation Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Coastal Projects Private Limited, Hyderabad. In the 75:25 debt equity ratios of Coastal Projects in the JV, the Sikkim government has, at the rate of 26 per cent equity, Rs 50.40 crore.

Likewise, the Luxembourg-based Greenko Energy Ventures Private Limited controls the shares in the 96MW Dikchu Hydropower Project, a JV between the Sikkim government and Sneha Kinetic Power Projects Private Limited (an SPV). The Sikkim government is entitled to 26 per cent equity in it. Greenko has raised $46.3 million in allotting its preference shares (Source: Greenko Annual Report).

In the remand report of Jagan Reddy, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has clearly stated that in his Sandur Power Company Limited (SPCL), the Lanco group has purchased considerable shares. Lanco is doing the Teesta Stage VI project in Sikkim.

The Singapore-based River Valley Hydro Venture owns 75 per cent stake in Secunderabad-based AmritJal Ventures (Source: TheEconomic Times), worth Rs 300 crore. AmritJal has floated three SPVs, Gati Infrastructure, Gati Infrastructure Bhasmey and Gati Infrastructure SadaMangder for three projects in Sikkim. According to an Economic Times report (February19, 2009), the owners of AmritJal Ventures were not clearly known.

In TUL, Mauritius-based Varuna Investments Private Limited holds 100 per cent preference shares of Singapore-based Asian Genco, owned by TV Vijay Kumar. Asian Genco owns 50.9 per cent equity of TUL, leaving 49.1 per cent equity for the consortium partners of Athena Power Projects Limited (APPL) and the Sikkim government which is supposed to hold 26 per cent equity in the JV.

The MOU signed by the Sikkim government with every IPP, modelled on the standard agreement it signed with TUL, stipulates on the issue of equity subscription that, "The company shall not change the constitution of the company's board without prior permission from the government." If there is a violation of this clause, the Government of Sikkim (GoS) can unilaterally terminate the agreement. In reality, the GoS under Chief Minister PawanChamling chose not to disturb the status quo, despite gross illegality, violation of the MoU, quid pro quo benefits enjoyed by the troika of politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen, not to mention huge losses to the state exchequer.

In reply to an RTI application, the private hydropower developers said that, as a private limited company, they are outside the purview of the RTI Act, 2005, and it is not applicable to them; signatories to the MoU have no rights under the implementation agreement with the company.

From this response it becomes clear that none of the companies that have been awarded projects by the GoS consider themselves to be in a joint venture and thus are not answerable. To top it all, in many cases, the original owners are untraceable or have become minority shareholders, having sold or transferred their equity to third parties who have nothing to do with the MoU or the GoS. Indeed, this raises serious legal issues. (Hard News and HT Syndication)

There can be no peace in Sikkim unless healthy survival is ensured

Despite aggressive changes Sikkim cannot afford to abandon its past

By SUNANDA K. DATTA-DAY

The seminar on "Tibet's Relation with the Himalayas" that the Foundation for Non-Violent Alternatives (FNVA) organised in Gangtok last week recalled Jigdal Densapa who died recently. Descended from Sikkim's ancient Lepcha chiefs and a hereditary Kazi of Barmiok, Densapa was secretary to the last Chogyal of Sikkim. Sir Patrick Shaw, a former Australian high commissioner to India, called him "the only modern man in Sikkim".

That's what I remembered as learned seminar papers by Sangeeta Thapliyal of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses' Col P K Gautam or Nani Bath of Itanagar's Rajiv Gandhi University focussed on threats to national identity in Nepal, Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. With modernity run riot in Sikkim, I didn't see a single man in the ankle-length robe called baku or kho, which is the Sikkimese male's traditional attire. Densapa wore it with dignity.

The empty desolation of the Chogyal's palace is as indicative of the new Sikkim as bustling crowds in the wide walkway of Mahatma Gandhi Marg. Its crowded shops and cafes cater mainly to budget tourists whose colloquial Bengali rises stridently above the hubbub. But here and there, pleasant sanctuaries like Baker's Cafe and the just-opened Coffee Shop, offer a touch of more sophisticated leisure. Where smelly, run-down Dewan's in the bazaar was once the only hostelry, hotels now sprout every few yards, ranging from the ostentatious Mayfair and elegant Denzong Residency to hole-in-the-wall hovels. Two boast casinos where locals squander their new-found wealth on the turn of the wheel.

Rajiv Gandhi's calculation that only 15 per cent of development funds reach the target means that 600,000 Sikkimese are making money hand over fist. In their past innocence, my Sikkimese friends didn't think of exploiting the absence of excise duty under the Chogyal. But the shrewd Indian businessmen who flooded Gangtok after the protected kingdom became India's 22nd state quickly grasped they needed only an address in Sikkim, a front man and a dummy company to make a killing from duty-free goods. Soon, greed overcame prudence. Factories elsewhere in India began rolling out manufactures stamped "Made in Sikkim". The exchequer may have lost Rs 3,50 crore on evaded tobacco duty alone.

Despite aggressive changes, however, Sikkim cannot afford to abandon its past. The 300,000 registered "Sikkim subjects" (meaning they or their ancestors were bona fide residents of the kingdom) pay no income tax. About 225,000 of them are ethnic Nepalese. Another 35,000 Nepalese probably have fake certificates. Sikkim's Tibeto-Buddhist ethic has been watered down, and some indigenes complain of existing on sufferance. Kazi Lendhup Dorji, the first chief minister whom many Sikkimese regard as the "country-seller" even while they formally honour his memory, once chided me for not speaking Nepalese. "It's the language of the people," he said.

The monarchy would never have been overthrown and the kingdom merged without Nepalese cooperation. Since they accused the Chogyal and his Bhutiya-Lepcha courtiers of trampling on their Hindu Nepalese identity, you would expect them to make common cause now with West Bengal's militant Nepalese, especially as Darjeeling district once belonged to Sikkim. Gangtok's fairy-tale Assembly even recently passed a resolution supporting Gorkhaland. But do they want to join it? Certainly not. As Kazi's Hindu ethnic Nepalese successor Nar Bahadur Bhandari put it, Sikkim had merged but would not be submerged.

Since they are no longer fighting a durbar that derived its symbols and rituals from Manchu China, the Nepalese who constitute 75 per cent of Sikkim's population don't need to reinvent themselves as Gorkha. They are proudly Sikkimese, masters in their own home. Merger would erode an identity that synthesises the legacy of six centuries of Tibet's cultural influence. Sikkim can be put in India, but Tibet can't be taken out of Sikkim. Merger would also cost the Sikkimese their protected jobs and special privileges.

Uttam Lal, a young idealist who teaches geography and natural resources management at Sikkim University, spoke passionately of the threat that both man and beast face on Sikkim's border with Tibet. He meant mines, barbed wire fencing and other defensive measures. The menace of modernity is no less serious. It is as much in need of the attention of organisations like the FNVA, which calls itself an "institute for developing peace studies". There can be no peace unless healthy survival is ensured. (Business Standard)

Sikkim Scouts will be part of 11^th Gorkha Rifles

Lucknow, May 31: Friday was indeed a historical day for the Indian Army, the Gorkha Brigade, 11 Gorkha Rifles & the state of Sikkim, as Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) Lieutenant General SK Singh unveiled the flag of Sikkim Scouts. This new battalion will form part of 11 Gorkha Rifles and will be raised at 11 GRRC, Lucknow.

On this historic moment, the VCOAS, who is also the 'President of the Gorkha Brigade' unveiled the flag and handed it over to Colonel Samar Singh Pundir, first commanding officer of the battalion. The battalion will be permanently located in the high altitude and rugged terrain of Sikkim, The Times of India reported.

 This battalion is raised on the concept of 'Sons of Soils' to guard the nation's frontiers. Based on this concept, the Indian Army already has Ladakh Scouts, Dogra Scouts, Garhwal Scouts, Kumaon Scouts & the Arunachal Scouts.

The Singh exhorted all present to work hard and lay a solid foundation. He said that other troops will stay for 2-3 years in these altitudes and then withdraw, but the Scouts will be permanently there.

He also said that the men have been selected since they are locals, they understand the language and are fully acclimatised. He remarked that a new beginning has been made and the Sikkim Scouts must live up to the reputation of the fabled Scouts of Indian Army.

Bhutia Kerab Yargay Tshogpa: how and why it was formed

By Karma  Lhendup  Kaleon (left)

            This  is  in  response  to  the  report  on  the  proposed  election  of  the  governing  body  of  the  Bhutia  Kerab  Yargay  Tshogpa (BKYT)  which appeared in  the  May 10, 2013  issue  of  Sikkim  Now.  This  came  as  a  big  surprise  to  this  Gembo  as  he  is  one  of  the  founder- members  of  this  organization.  The executive body was never  elected  since  its  inception.  As  a  Gembo  I  must  share the  story  of  this  organization with  my  youngsters for  their  information  and  further  necessary  action. It is a story of  deception,  intrigue  and  back- stabbing.

The  BKYT  was  founded  in  around 1982  when  this  Gembo  was  a  restless  young  man  with  sky-rocketing  vision  and  enthusiasm.  He was  much  commented  upon  for  this  reason by  his  adversaries.  Some  said  he  lived  in  a  world  of  his  own  dream  while others  said  he  did  things  without  any  finishing  and  some  said  he  misguided  people.  The  story  of  BKYT  was  about all  these. 

The  concept of  the  language  called  Bhutia was  never  accepted  by  people  that  mattered.  Late Lachen  Gomchhen  was  dead  opposed  to  it.  For  that  matter  it  never  received the  blessings  of  the  chho-keong-srung-mas  yul-lha  shib-dag  of  the  land. 

The  BKYT was  formed  primarily  to  develop  and  promote the  Bhutia language among the  Lomenlas  in  the  first  instance.  It  was  intended  to  hold  workshops  and  training  programmes  for  teaching  the  language  to  the  language  teachers  first.  The  first  meeting  of  the  organization  was  called  in  the  White  Hall  premise  in  open air  beside  the  resting  house  called Hawa-ghar   The  meeting  itself  was  a  kind  of  training  programme  for  the  Lomenlas  on  how  to  conduct a  meeting,  record  the  minutes  of  the  meeting  and adopt  resolutions.  If  the  Minute  Book  is  still  available, you  will  see  how  many  people  attended  that  fateful  meeting.   In  order  to  give  the  language  a  semblance  of   literary  identity  and  entity,  this  Gembo  published  a  monthly  journal  under  the  title  of  ‘De-log’  which  means  resurrection.  This  magazine  served  as  the  backbone  of  the  language   and  the  show  piece of  literary  work  in  the  language. 

There  was  a  text  book  writer appointed  for  writing  books  in  that  language. He  simply  did  not  know  how  to  go  about it.  Writing a book   by  a  person  who  never wrote   was  the  beginning. He  was  a  monk  wedded  deeply  to  the  principle  of  the  Dhamma  which  forbids  the  identification  of  self.   He  never  wrote  books  in  his  own  name.  The  name  of  this  Gembo  too  featured  in  the  books  he  wrote  for  some  time.  I  did  not  like  that  and  he  was  offended  and  was  repenting  later.   I  knew  beforehand  what  was  going  to  happen.  They  happened  to  him.  He  remained  unsung.   The  said  writer should  remember  how  this  Gembo  initiated  him into  the  world  of  creative  writing  with  his  rudimentary  knowledge  of  Bhutia.   This  Gembo  had  a  fascination  for  reducing  the  Sikkimese  language  in  written  form  from  early  days.  He  tried  this in  mixed  Devnagiri  and  Bhutia  font   and  published  a  book  which  later  became  the  reference  book  for  the  writer.

            As  far  as  the  BKYT  was  concerned this   Gembo  had  provided  everything  ready  -made.  The  logo  was  designed with  a motto derived  from  Dhammapadda.  Letter  pads  were  printed  enough for  several  years  as  the  people  mattered  inspired  least  confidence in  the  Gembo.  The  Lomenlas  were  told  that  the  BKYT  shall  be  an  exclusively  Lomenla  forum where  their  problems  regarding  the  language  would  be  discussed and  to continue  the  work  as  shown.  By  Lomenla  I  mean  a  language  teacher.  In  those  days  people  formed  a  society  and  went  around  with  khada  in  hand  in  search  of  a  Gembo  to  be  its  president.  Thereafter, the  society  flopped  because  the  hired  president neither  knew  about  the  purpose  of  the  society  nor  was  he  in  need  of  one.

            The  BKYT  met  with  the  same  fate  and   vanished. It  fell  in  the hands  of  vested  interests  group  who hijacked  it  for  other  purposes.  The  message  of BKYT  never reached the  Lomenlas  as  it  never worked  for  the  objectives  it  was  created  for.  The ‘De-log’,  too,  died. Private  schools  never  accepted  the neo- Bhutia.  As  a  result  today  70 %  of  the  Lomenlas  knew  neither  the  Bhutia  nor  the  Sikkimese  and  the  number  of  admission  in  the  language  dropped  year  by  year.  The  poor  Lomenlas  are  being  withdrawn  from  schools.  A  year  ago  this  Gembo  met  one  heart  broken  Lomenla.  He  said  the  Bhutia  as  such  would  be  extinct  by   2050  at  the  present  rate  of  degeneration.   The  grave  prediction  of  the  Lomenla   least  surprised this  Gembo. 

A  work  done  on  wrong  premise  is  always  fallacious.  The  idea  of  Bhutia  language was  a  fallacy  and  extinction  was  natural.   The  Bhutia  language  was  created  with  malicious intention  by  suppressing  the  Notification  of  1958.  It  was  to  give  legitimacy   to  the  diluted  definition  of  Bhutia.    Where  does the  BKYT   stands  today may  be   summed  up  from  a  press  release it  issued  a  few  years  back.  It  came  out  in  a  local  paper.  It  expressed  sympathy  with the  cause  of  Goukhaland.   It  seems  it  is  now  functioning  more  as a  Bracket  Bhutia  cell of  certain  political  outfit  than as a social  body.  Any  simple  minded  person  would  think  that  the  proposed  election  of  the  BKYT  is  intended  to  unify  the  Lomenlas  for  the  coming  event ?    Bhutia  is  a universal  language.  It  cannot  belong  to  a  community

This  Gembo  regretted  much that  he  did  not know about  the  existence  of  the  Language  Notification  of  1958   and  the  Manual  of  Denjong   Ke  by  Graham  Sandberg  when  he  was  trying  to  develop a  methodology  for  writing  Sikkimese.  Looking  back  on  the  hindsight we  see  how  prophetic  was   Lachen  Gomchen. His  wisdom  stands honoured..

Therefore, in  homage  to  the  great  Lama  this  Gembo  recommended  teaching  of  Bhutia  in  Sambhota  way  and  Sikkimese  in  Graham  Sandberg  way.  The  teaching  of  Bhutia  should  go  back  to  Laptras  in  the  Gumpas and  Sikkimese  be  introduced in  schools  with  teachers  from general  education  background. With  this  in  view  this  Gembo  wrote  to  the  Sangha  MLA  in  2010  about  the  idea  of  a  Laptra  Education  Board  in  the  format  of  Muslim  Madrasa Board  of  Education.  

The  Madrasa  Board  of  education  was  conceived  to  make  the  students  employable  and  earn  a  livelihood.  The  respected  MLA  did  not  respond  to this  Gembo.  I do  not know  whose  interest  he  is  representing.  He  is  a  family  man  and  is  seen  wearing  the  dress  of a  Gelong  shamelessly.   If  the  above  said  Lomenla,  the  prophet  of  doom,  know  all  these  he  would  definitely  advance  the  date  of  extinction  of  the  Bhutia  to  2020.  (Karma  Lhendup  Kaleon is a Founder -Member of Bhutia  Keyrab  Yargay  Tshogpa (BKYT)