SIKKIM OBSERVER Saturday March 29-April 4, 2014

Email:jigmekazi@gmail.com, Blog:jigmenkazisikkim.blogspot.com

     In this picture Ramnath Goenka (right), Khushwant Singh and Kuldip Nayyar at a protest rally. (Express archive photo)

SIKKIM BACHAO, CHAMLING WANTS TO FINISH SIKKIM: GOLAY

Confidant Chamling, upbeat Golay keep everyone guessing

Dhakal, ‘PD’, Nakul, Subba, Khatiwada and Rai to vie for lone LS seat

Gangtok, March 28: Caste and community combination will be the deciding factor in the coming Lok Sabha and Assembly polls scheduled for April 12. Two weeks before the polls the two main contenders for the top job – Chief Minister and ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) President Pawan Chamling and former minister and Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) President PS Golay – have displayed equal optimism on the outcome of the polls.

 “This election is only like renewing of license. SDF will again get 32/32”, Chamling declared at a public meeting in Temi, South Sikkim, this week.

His rival is equally upbeat as he travels round the State and given a rousing welcome wherever he goes.

Speaking at a public meeting here at Burtuk today, Golay urged the people to vote SKM to power to “save Sikkim”.

“This election is the election to save Sikkim,” Golay said and added that Chamling “has started to sell all the rivers, the hills and our identities. He wants to return to finish his job. It is time to take Sikkim back."

Both contenders of the top post are not taking chances and are contesting from two constituencies each; Chamling from Namchi and Yangang and Golay from Namthang and Burtuk, from where he was elected.

The lone Lok Sabha seat will be hotly contested between six contestents: PD Rai (SDF), TN Dhakal (SKM), AD Subba (Cong), NB Khatiwara (BJP), Nakul Das Rai (TMC) and Kaushal Rai (AAP). However, the main fight would be between SKM and SDF.

   In the prestigious Gangtok constituency the fight will be between SDF’s Hissey Lachungpa and SKM’s Pintso Chopel. Other contestants from this constituency are Norden Gyalpo Dorjee (BJP), Tshering Lepcha (TMC) and Maj. Tshering Gyatso Kaleon (Cong).

Another constituency to be watched is Rhenock in east Sikkim where SDF’s Bhim Dungyel faces SKM’s Hemendra Adhikari and former BJP Sikkim unit chief Padam Chettri, who is the Congress candidate. Interestingly, rebel SDF advocate OP Bhandari is also contesting from here as an Independent candidate.

"I joined the Congress as I was let down by the BJP. They believe in the politics of convenience and have betrayed the people of Sikkim. I have always opposed the corrupt practices of SDF government and have filed four PILs against the state government but senior BJP leaders in the centre wanted me to withdraw the cases so I decided to quit the party," said Chettri, explaining his sudden switchover.

Sikkim has been politically divided into four broad categories: OBCs, Bahun-Chettris (BCs), Bhutia-Lepchas (BLs) and the business community. Both Chamling and Golay were earlier bracketed among the OBCs, which form the bulk of the majority Nepalese.    

    Now that the Tamangs and Limbus have got Scheduled Tribes status and the fact that Chamling no longer has backing of the OBCs as he used to much depends on which way  BL and BC voters go. Significantly, former chief minister NB Bhandari, who had a hold among the BCs, has just retired from ‘active politics’. 

This apart, young voters are likely to play a very significant role in the outcome of the polls.

Cong expels M K Subba for filing as an Independent

Guwahati, March 28: The Congress on Monday expelled three-time Lok Sabha member Moni Kumar Subba for anti-party activities including filing nomination papers as an Independent candidate by defying the party decision.

Assam Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Akshay Rajkhowa said Subba, who has filed his nomination papers as an Independent from Tezpur constituency, has been expelled for six years. “The APCC had asked him to withdraw. But when he didn’t, the party was compelled to expel him,” Rajkhowa said.

The APCC general secretary said other party members found campaigning and working for Subba in the Tezpur constituency and against the party’s candidate Bhupen Kumar Bora would face similar action. Subba’s candidature is likely to dent the Congress chances of recovering the Tezpur seat that the AGP had wrested from it in 2009.

Subba (56), who filed his nomination papers on Friday, not only has several cases pending against him – including a rape case – but is also the richest candidate for the first phase of LS election in Assam on April 7.

Subba has declared in the election affidavit total asset worth more than Rs. 205 crore in his name.

Michelle Obama dines at Tibet restaurant in China

“She wanted to meet the Tibetans in Chengdu”

Chengdu, China: U.S. first lady Michelle Obama lunched at a Tibetan restaurant in China's Sichuan province on Wednesday, prompting murmurs about "political overtones" on the country's active Internet social networks.

Michelle Obama spun a row of prayer wheels as she walked the entry bridge to the restaurant, according to the pool report. A group of Tibetan students gave the family ceremonial white scarves – symbolising purty in Tibetan culture.

The Obamas were served traditional foods, including yak meat pie, boiled yak ribs, bread made with barley and yak butter tea.

Obama, her two daughters and mother visited the city of Chengdu as part of a week-long trip to China, where she has sought to promote education and boost cultural ties.

A senior administration official who accompanied Obama said the first lady simply wanted to meet Tibetans in Chengdu. "Tibetans are an important minority group, and there is a sizeable Tibetan community in Sichuan," the official said last weekend.

Protests against what Tibetans say are heavy-handed government policies putting pressure on their culture and Buddhist faith have periodically boiled over into self-immolations by activists.

Nearly half the self-immolations have occurred in Sichuan, lying east of Tibet.

China denies maltreatment of Tibetans, saying it has lifted the province out of poverty and extended considerable autonomy.

China has criticised the White House for its support for exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama, denounced by Beijing as a separatist "wolf in sheep's clothing".

Editorial

RELUCTANT  INDIANS

Why We Are In A Mess

Even after the Supreme Court’s marching orders BCCI chief  N. Srinivasan is reluctant to quit his job. He wants to stay and manoeuvre his way back to power again. This seems to be a typical attitude of those in power in India no matter in which field they belong. TV news channels quoted a defiant Srinivasan as saying, “I have done no wrong and no one can force me out of BCCI." He knows that a probe into his alleged scandals can either be delayed for far too long rendering the whole process a big farce or the verdict managed. This is how India is being run on all fronts, including the media. No one wants to quit even if he or she is well past the retiring age or is in deep trouble (read corruption).

The way the Congress and BJP are sidelining their senior leaders is not the way it should be done. However, the old guard in the Congress paid no heed to UPA’s rampant corruption and when they had their fill they handed over the reins to Rahul Gandhi and in the last hour when it was rather too late. While some of them are reluctant to contest knowing full well they would lose they are either making their way to the Upper House or ensuring their offsprings step into their shoes. And yet there are many senior Congress leaders who are reluctant to leave their constituencies and make way for youngsters.

   Unike Rahul Gandhi,  BJP’s Narendra Modi wants his way all the time. He is being accused of reducing the party into a one-man show. Modi could have evolved a better way of saying goodbye to senior leaders of the party. His inept handling over seat distribution has not only caused major  fission within the BJP it could also spell trouble if the BJP and its allies fail to reach the magic figure of 272. Back in Sikkim a party which has been in power for two decades still wants to hang on to power. Worse is that many of the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front’s candidates have been ministers three times. Sikkim is truly in the mainstream of Indian politics.

SIKKIM POLLS 2014: IN A STATE OF FLUX

Bhandari retires, Chettri shifts, Subba takes over Cong, Lepcha gets SKM ticket

Gangtok, March 28: While the two contenders – Pawan Chamling and PS Golay – for the top post are going all out to woo the people, the overall political situation in the State is in a state of flux as never before.

Former Chief Minister NB Bhandari, who was eased out from the Congress party earlier and revived his Sikkim Sangram Parishad, has chosen to retire from ‘active politics’ on the eve of the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls slated for April 12.

NB Bhandari

What happens to the SSP and his supporters? In the past several Assembly polls Bhandari had at least 30% of the votes polled.

Kunga Nima Lepcha who stepped into Bhandari’s shoes as SPCC chief, quit the party and has joined Golay’s Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM). Lepcha has been given SKM ticket to contest from his home constituency of Syari in Gangtok.

Kunga Nima

AK Subba, former President of Sikkim Himali Rashtriya Parishad (SHRP), has taken over the SPCC as its President and is the party’s Lok Sabha candidate.

Sikkim BJP unit President Padam Chettri quit the BJP, joined the Congress and is contesting from Rhenock constituency in East Sikkim.

Gangtok Mayor KN Topgay quit the ruling Sikkim Demcoratic Front and has joined the SKM. He has accused Chamling of dynastic rule.

Former SDF MP Nakul Rai, who broke ties with the ruling party earlier, is now the Trinamul candidate for the Lok Sabha seat. After he quit SDF Rai tried to unite the opposition to topple Chamling.

The BJP has fielded Sikkim merger veteran and former MLA  NB Khatiwada for the lone Lok Sabha seat.

In a move that was anticipated, Congress party’s Anil Lachenpa has joined the SDF. Senior journalist and nephew of former chief minister LD Kazi, NG Dorjee, is contesting from Gangtok constituency as BJP candidate.

Meanwhile, SNPP President Biraj Adhikari and his aide Diley Namgyal have decided not to contest the polls. They will make people more aware of the issues the SNPP has been raising.

Surprisingly, political activist and Sikkim Liberation Party (SLP) President DN Nepal will not be contesting the polls. He, too, is expected to become more active politically now that he is free from electoral politics.

Mamata’s strategy: splits hills, unite plains

Ghising expected to tilt the balance

Darjeeling, March 28: A football star, an academician and a former parliamentarian are locked in a battle in North Bengal’s Darjeeling hills, where the Gorkhaland movement rages. And the results will determine whether Gorkhaland would be the next Telangana.

The ruling Trinamool Congress, which poured cold water on the statehood demand, has fielded India’s former soccer captain, Bhaichung Bhutia.

The two others in the three-cornered contest are BJP’s SS Ahluwalia, and independent candidate Mahendra Lama.

Ahluwalia is backed by the pro-Gorkhaland Gorkha Janamukti Morcha, which recently entered into an alliance with the BJP. But he faces a tough contest, The Hindustan Times reported.

Unlike the last time, GJM’s appeal has diminished considerably.“There is a perception that Bimal Gurung has compromised on the statehood demand. The 40-day strike — after statehood was granted to Telangana — backfired, and people were angry,” admitted a party insider.

But the GJM, he added, still has the best “organisational network”, the reported said.

The TMC is hoping to sweep the plains and get a fraction of the hill votes — the seat has three hill assembly segments, with around six lakh voters, and four in the plains with eight lakh voters.

And party chief Mamata Banerjee has shrewdly played ethnic politics within the Nepali community by creating a Lepcha cultural board and promising a similar set up to Tamangs to wean them away from the broader Gorkha identity.

Bhutia hopes as a person from the hills, he would draw support. But he is from Sikkim, and Gangtokand Darjeeling share cold ties. Plus, there is the extra baggage of hostility to Trinamool.

Lama

“He may be a star, but people here are conscious that the party he represents is against our key issue,” said a Darjeeling lawyer on condition of anonymity.

Lama, a former vice-chancellor of Sikkim University, also poses a challenge.

Lama is committed to the statehood demand and is projecting himself as the ‘son of the soil’ against two “outsiders”. He can cut into GJM votes, but is hampered by the lack of organisational support will hurt him.  

A variable will be the stance of the chairman of Gorkha National Liberation Front, and the man who ran Darjeeling for 20 years, Subash Ghising.

After being hounded out of the hills by GJM seven years ago, he is back in Darjeeling and is understood to control around 80,000 votes.

Which way Ghising will tilt may well determine the outcome.

Election observers in Sikkim to hear grievances

Gangtok, Rarch 28: The observers for the General Election – 2014 are residing at NHPC Guest House, 5th Mile, Tadong and will be interacting with the general public and listening to their grievances  related to elections at NHPC Guest House from 9 am to 10 am every day.

Anyone interested to meet the observers for election related matters  can contact the observers between 9 am to 10 am, an official release said.

The name, contact number and the constituencies assigned to the observers are given below:

1.        Shri B.B.Swain, IAS, General Observer, 7872721137/9978406155

Constituency Assigned: 17 to 31 Parliamentary Constituency

2.       Shri Darse Samuel, IRS, Expenditure Observer, 09530704200/9733834210

Constituency Assigned: 1 to 32 Sikkim Parliamentary Constituency and Sangha

3.       Shri Dinesh Bhoyar, IRS, Expenditure Observer, 9733825593/09545510520

Constituency Assigned: 17 to 24 Assembly Constituency

4.       Shri Rajiv Kumar Singh, IRS, Expenditure Observer, 09490671650/ 07872725199

Constituency Assigned: 25 to 31 Assembly Constituencies

5.       Shri Tshering Angchok, IAS, General Observer

Constituency Assigned: 25 to 31 Assembly Constituency

6.       Shri G.Ashok, IAS, General Observe, 9650428866/7872713819

Constituency Assigned: 1 to 16 Parliamentary Constituency

7.       Shri J.B.Singh, IAS, General Observer, 08527291212/7872728434

HIMALAYAN Heritage

The Monpas of Arunachal Pradesh came under Tibetan influence in 11^th century

The Monyul Kingdom existed for a thousand years

    Arunachali Monpa tribal women walk at Sela Pass, at an altitude of 4,100 meters (13,700 feet) near the Indo-China        border, in Arunachal Pradesh.

Earliest records to the area which the Monpas inhabited indicated the existence of a kingdom known as Lhomon or Monyul which existed from 500 B.C to 600 A.D. Subsequent years saw Monyul coming under increasing Tibetan political and cultural influence, which was apparent during the years when Tsangyang Gyatso, an ethnic Monpa, became the Dalai Lama. At that time, Monyul was divided into thirty two districts, all of which spanned the areas of Eastern Bhutan, Tawang, Kameng and Southern Tibet. However, Monyul, also known as Tawang Tract remained thinly populated throughout its history.

In the 11th century, the Northern Monpas in Tawang came under the influence of Tibetan Buddhism of the Nyingma and Kagyu denominations. It was at this time when the Monpas adopted the Tibetan script for their language. Drukpa missionaries made the presence felt in the 13th century and the Gelugpa, in the 17th century, which most Monpas belong to today.

Monyul remained an autonomous entity, of which local monks based in Tawang held great political power within the community, and direct rule over the area from Lhasa was established only in the 17th century. From this time until the early 20th century, Monyul was ruled by the authorities in Lhasa. In 1793 the Manchu-authorities produced a document under the title "Ordinance for the More Efficient Governing of Tibet". It proves that Tibet, included Tawang was considered part of China.

However, in the 19th century, the area began to interest British India. One of the first British-Indian travellers into Monyul, Nain Singh, who visited the area from 1875-6 noted that the Monpas were a conservative people who shunned off contact with the outside world and were making efforts to monopolise trade with Tibet. Owing to its strategic position, subsequently the British sought to make their political influence felt.

In 1914, Britain and its colonial authorities in India drew the McMahon Line, which they claimed to be the border between Chinese Tibet and British India. The line divided the land in which the Monpas inhabited, and became a source of contention in the subsequent years to come owing to ambiguities to the specific location of the McMahon Line.

In subsequent years, China continued to claim the pre-McMahon border as the border between Tibet and India, while British India gradually established effective control over Monyul south of the McMahon line. Following the independence of India and a change of government in China, the dispute became a major issues in the relations between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of India. The McMahon Line was the effective line of control in this period, though the border was somewhat porous. In 1962, a Chinese military patrol which ventured south of the McMahon Line drew a military response from India, which resulted in the Sino-Indian War. During the war, China took effective control of the entire Monyul area south of the McMahon Line as well as some other surrounding areas. However, the war ended with China's voluntary withdrawal north of the McMahon Line. Negotiations on the dispute remain active.

BODY SOUL AND MIND 

Mudras:health at your fingertips

Most people who are always in search of some power don’t realize the value of their hands. The power is in their hands! The mystical pair of hands gifted to mankind by the almighty can do all that one wishes for. The only problem is that most of us don’t recognize its power.

In yoga, hand mudras are termed as the most powerful sources energy. In fact, they are perceived as centres of energy with significant role to play in health and fitness of a body. Regular practice of hand mudras will ensure physical health and peace of mind. No wonder it is known to be a wonderful way for improving overall body strength.

What are Mudras?

These are actually symbolic gestures practiced back in pranayama to stimulate different body organs, glands and nerves and create new energy. A scientific research has also supported the fact that hand gestures and spoken language stimulates the same region in the brain.

Yogic mudras are powerful enough to stimulate the Kundalini power and cure a number of ailments and restore body systems. Hand mudras are of great help in relieving lethargy and improving various psychological problems.

The Powerful Hand Mudras:

Gyan Mudra

As the name suggests, it is the mudra of knowledge. It is known to be an ancient technique practiced by yogis to obtain peace of mind.

How to Practice

Gently press the tip of your thumb to the tip of your index finger.

Keep your other 3 fingers in an upright and relaxed position.

How it Works

The tip of your thumb has centers for pituitary and other endocrine glands. Hence, pressing of a thumb tip activates them.

Benefits of Gyan Mudra

It sharpens memory, enhances mental focus, concentration and spiritual feeling. It is also helpful in dealing with anxiety, sleep problems, hysteria and depressive symptoms.

Pran Mudra

Also known as the mudra of life, it creates energy within the body and enhances strength and immunity to promote a better quality of life.

How to Practise

Bring the points of your little and ring finger in contact with the tip of your thumb.

Keep the other two fingers in a straight position.

Benefits of Pran Mudra

It improves vision.

Apan Vayu Mudra

Also known as Mritsanjeevini mudra or mudra of the heart, it is a first aid step in heart attack.

How to Practise

Touch the hillock of your thumb with your middle and ring finger.

The index finger should touch the base of thumb.

Keep the little finger in erect position all the while.

Benefits of Apan Vayu Mudra

It facilitates heart circulation and relieves pain of angina, a heart disease due to poor blood circulation in your heart.

Prithvi Mudra

The mudra of the earth activates body and reduces physical weaknesses.

How to Practise

Touch the tip of your ring finger to the tip of your thumb.

Stretch out other 3 fingers.

Benefits of Prithvi Mudra

It enhances skin complexion and cures brittle nails, hair loss, premature graying hair, chronic fatigue and any inflammatory diseases.

Linga Mudra

How to Practise

Interlock your fingers together.

Keep the left thumb in upright position.

The upright thumb should be encircled by thumb and index finger of right hand.

Benefits of Linga Mudra

It produces heat in your body and strengthens your immune system. The heat destroys sputum from chest and is suitable for those suffering from repeated colds and coughs.

Varuna Mudra

It is a mudra that balances the water element in your body.

How to Practise

You touch the tip of your little finger and thumb together.

Keep fingers straight.

Benefits of Varuna Mudra

It enhances your physical beauty and is great for asthma, low blood pressure, cold and cough symptoms, and sinus congestion. It restores moisture in dry skin, removes impurities from your blood and keeps you beautiful.

HEALTH Watch

Effects of fear on children’s mental development

By Kuldip Singh Heran

Fear inhibits natural reflexes, natural actions and reactions of children. At the same time children do not know what is right or wrong. In total absence of fear, they may indulge in unwanted activities. Some sort of limited fear or right kind of counselling is also needed for overall development of children.

Excess fear of any kind is very much harmful for mental developments of children. Excess fear will suppress their talent. In presence of fear, children will never express their feelings and their mental developments will not be proper and finally they may be a failure in their career due to mental blocks created by our society members in form of different kinds of fears.

Excess fear can cause different kind of incurable mental diseases. Children must be given some kind of proper freedom but not excess freedom so that there will be proper overall development of personality of children. Such children developed in proper favourable environment will sure to get success in their life. (Kuldip Singh Heran is Principal, Tashi Namgyal Academy (TNA), Gangtok, Sikkim)