LIVING IN
SELF-IMPOSED EXILE IN MY OWN HOMELAND
“Only
dead fish go with the flow”
The Press Club of
Sikkim conferred the “Khangchendzonga Kalam Puraskar 2012” award to
journalist-cum-writer Jigme N Kazi at a function in Gangtok on July 17, 2012.
The following is the full text of Kazi’s acceptance speech:
Hon’ble Chief Guest, Secretary IPR, Press Club Advisor, Press
Club President, distinguished guests and friends,
On Receiving the Award: I feel very privileged to be here
today to receive the Khangchendzonga Kalam Puraskar award from the Press Club
of Sikkim on its decadal foundation year. I am told by the Press Club that it
had “unanimously decided” to confer this award for my “outstanding contribution
and dedication” made during the last three decades (1983-2012) in the field of
journalism.
I believe that by
conferring this award to this long-time black-listed man, who is forced to live
in self-imposed exile in his own homeland, the Press in Sikkim is sending a
clear message to those who care to listen. And that message is loud and clear:
the Press in Sikkim wants to be more free and independent and those in power
and the people at large should take note of it and respect its stand.
I enjoy doing what
I do – be it eating, taking a walk or writing. I seek no reward and recognition
in doing these things even if what I do benefits those around me.
People often
criticize me of being stubborn and always swimming against the tide. Let me
remind them of what US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin said: “Only dead
fish go with the flow.” Living with walking corpses all these years has been a
very painful experience. It is better to be exiled in foreign shores than
having to undergo constant suffocation at home. However, if this is the cross
that I was born to bare then I must live with it whether I like it or not.
Yes, we have more
journalists and more newspapers today than when I started in this profession 30
years back. But I’m not too sure whether we are more free, objective and
independent in our reporting. What is more important in life is quality, not
quantity, and this also applies to the Fourth Estate, particularly when so many
people depend and look up to the Press to make the right decision.
Sikkimese Society: If we cannot uphold certain
basic and fundamental values of human existence such as freedom, democracy,
justice, self-respect and the rule of law we miss the opportunity that life
offers to each one of us. The first indication of a society’s degeneration is
when individuals live and work only for themselves. Sikkim is on the verge of
being a dead and decadent society. Our constant efforts to camouflage ourselves
will not work in the long run. We will be fully exposed when the time comes.
We locals often
distance ourselves from the byaparis,
the business community, for encroaching into our economic and political rights
and interests. Little do we realize that while they sell potatoes, tomatoes
etc. we are the real byaparis. We
have sold our king, our flag, our country, our distinct identity and political
rights. Not content with this we are still selling our hills and valleys, our lakes
and rivers, our land and people, our religion and culture, and worse of all our
self-respect and dignity. Is it really worth sweating it out for such people?
Sikkim Politics: Me and my kind have lived
through this bitter period in Sikkim’s history. In our efforts to fight for the
common cause we have brought down five chief ministers and made four chief ministers
in the past so many years. We did this
for a good cause and without any selfish motive. We are not to be blamed if our
political leadership continuously fails us and lets us down the moment they
come to power.
I took leave from
the Fourth Estate at the end of the year 2000 to make my personal contribution
to Sikkim politics when I was convinced that those we backed were betraying us and
the issues we raised for petty considerations. Unlike many others, I could not
hang around and hide myself safe and secure in a small corner when I was
convinced that we were being led to a dead-end street. I left active politics after
three and half years in August 2004 when I was fully convinced that I was
heading nowhere and those around me were still deeply involved in petty
politics. There is no future for Sikkim and the Sikkimese if our political
leadership – ruling and opposition – fails to rise above mundane things and
continues to mislead the people while making great promises.
It is futile to
fight for the distinct identity of Sikkim within the Union if the leaders of
our larger community are not sure of who they are, whom they represent, and
what they really want. Nepal’s political situation, where ethnic communities
are being reduced to a minority in the land of their origin, has still not
opened our eyes. This is because while our head is still not clear our heart is
full of greed. When will we ever live in a place where the mind is without fear and the head is held high? When will this non-stop looting
stop? Corruption has reached a point of no return. Disillusionment has set in
and this seems to be irreversible. These are dangerous trends in a sensitive
and strategic border State like Sikkim.
India’s Role in Sikkim: Even if our
political leadership has failed us time and again, India must live up to the expectations of the Sikkimese people. If
it continues to ignore the hopes and aspirations of those who sacrificed their
country so that this nation may live in peace and security there may come a day
when Sikkim will become a hot-bed of international politics. We may not see
that day but that day is not afar if India fails to honour its commitments made
to Sikkim and the Sikkimese people during the takeover.
The gradual dilution
of our distinct identity, political rights and social harmony originates from
New Delhi. The erosion of our unique and distinct cultural identity, the
systematic manner in which seeds of division are sown in our social fabric, and
finally the destruction caused to our fragile environment and ecology cannot
and must not be easily condoned. We cannot blame our leaders only; we, too,
have shamelessly become agents of division, disunity and destruction. We have
sown the wind; we will surely reap the whirlwind.
Hope and Gratitude: I’m grateful to the Press Club
of Sikkim for recognizing my work and honouring me on this very special day.
This is the time and the moment to renew our pledge for a strong, united, free
and independent Press in the State.
On this special day
I want to remember those who have helped me in my three-decade-long career.
Some of them are late Chukie Tobden, Suresh Pramar, Devraj Ranjit, Tenzing
Chewang and Pema Wangchuk. I also owe a deep sense of gratitude to the Chamling
Government and to those who worked or in any way associated with my printing
press and publications.
Living the way I
did is a risky business and I want to say how happy and grateful I am to my
wife Tsering, her parents, and my four
kids – Tashi, Yangchen, Sonam and Kunga – for letting me live my life freely
and dangerously for so long.
I hope my endeavours
will light up your path and help you to bear the burden of being free and
independent in a hostile climate in the days and years to come. My message to you on this day comes from Rev. Jesse Jackson: “Stand up,
don’t bow! Stand up, don’t bow!”
On Myself: French Emperor Napoleon Bonarpate
(1769-1821) once said: “There are only two forces in the world, the sword and
the spirit. In the long run the sword will always be conquered by the spirit.”
I have already
said “I have accepted the death of my dreams” a few years back and I stand by
it.
However, I have
filed my petition in the court of Khangchendzonga, Sikkim’s Guardian Deity, to
seek justice – for Sikkim, the Sikkimese people and for myself. I am still
patiently waiting for the verdict. That this award should come at this time and
in the name of our Presiding Deity is not only very auspicious but meaningful
as well.
Thank you all,
both for this wonderful award and your determination to preserve the integrity,
independence and freedom of the Press in Sikkim. (Full text published in Sikkim
Observer, July 21, 2012)
July
14, 2012
SIKKIM OBSERVER Editorial
TAKING A STAND
Local Press:
Regaining Lost Ground
The editor of this paper –whether he likes
it or not – finally gets some kind of recognition. The question being asked is
not ‘why’ he is getting the award but ‘why now’. This question is relevant and
needs to be explained. When the President of the Press Club of Sikkim, Bhim
Rawat, rang up Sikkim Observer editor
Jigme N. Kazi last week and told him that he was being awarded this year’s
Khangchendzonga Kalam Puraskar award by the Press Club Kazi wanted to know why
he was being conferred with this award and at this time. Was it
politically-motivated or has the local Press come of age, Kazi asked. Rawat’s
two colleagues, Joseph Lepcha and Bishnu Neopany, both senior journalists in
the State, met Kazi and reiterated the Press Club’s recent efforts to regain
the local media’s independent image. While appreciating the new development
within the local media, Kazi informed them that the Press Club and its members
should be ready to face any consequences for associating themselves with a
‘black-listed journalist’, who has been living in self-imposed exile in his own
homeland for nearly three decades mainly because he refuses to be ‘bought
over’. Kazi is among the few public figures in the State who has kept his
credibility intact – personally, professionally and politically (he ‘flirted’
with politics for a while in early 2000s but for a good cause)
However, Kazi’s decision to accept the award will surely evoke mixed
reactions. While one gentleman close to the editor said, “They had the guts to
give you the award,” (to which the editor replied, “You have judged well.”) one
senior journalist said, “The Press Club is not as independent as its members
claim.” Another senior journalist commented: “They have finally come to their
senses and rewarded you.” And yet one contractor from North Sikkim, who is
close to Kazi, said, “Does this mean you have Chamling’s blessings?” The fact of the matter is that in Chamling’s
Sikkim all those who do not bow down to the powers-that-be are harassed or ignored.
Anyone or any organization that tries to identify itself with those who fail to
toe the official line are perceived to be digging their own grave.
While the image of the local Press, by and large, is not too impressive
there are those within the Fourth Estate in the State who are not happy with
the way the Press has been projected and perceived in a State where dissenting
voices find it very difficult to be heard. And yet the people depend on the
Press and expect it to ventilate their grievances all the time and take on the
high and mighty at times. The Press, too, depend on the people to react and
respond to situations. It also expects the people to come to its aid when it is
being attacked and hounded by the authorities. The sad part of the story is
that people keep mum when the Press is under pressure. Did you even take the
trouble to talk to Hamro Prajashakti
journalists who were beaten up in their own work places in Gangtok on July 4,
2008? Did you care to call on this editor when his press was ransacked in early
1990, his Press vehicles set on fire in October 2001 and June 2004 in front of
his printing press building in Gangtok? And which newspaper-reader even bothers
to take a casual glance at the ongoing economic suppression of many local
newspapers, including this paper, in the State? If the local Press is trying to
set itself free help and support must be given by the people at large. By
accepting the award Kazi has, once again, made his stand clear and sided with
the foot soldiers of freedom and democracy in Sikkim. The local Press, too, has
spoken – loud and clear.
HIMALAYAN
GUARDIAN July 28, 2012
‘Black-listed’ Kazi finally gets recognition, appeals
for Press freedom
“India
must live up to the expectations of the Sikkimese people”
Gangtok, July 17: Journalist-cum-writer Jigme N Kazi was today honoured
with this year’s ‘Khangchendzonga Kalam Puraskar’ award by the Press Club of
Sikkim.
Kazi, editor of Sikkim Observer and Himalayan Guardian, was
conferred the award for his “outstanding contribution and dedication made
during last three decades in the field of journalism,” according to Press Club
Working President Vishnu Neopaney’s letter to Kazi informing of the Press
Club’s “unanimous decision” to confer the award on its decadal foundation year.
The “Most
Promising Journalist” award went to Bishal Gurung while Mohan Lama, Darjeeling
correspondent of Sikkim’s Samai Dainik,
was also felicitated by the Press Club. Gurung is the State correspondent of Hindustan Samachar news agency.
Theatre activist
and senior journalist CK Shrestha of Kalimpong, who was the Chief Guest for the
occasion, urged the media in the State to remain united in “thought” and side
with the people in all situation. “Merely reporting will not do. You must tell
the truth,” Shrestha said.
While IPR
Secretary KS Tobgay assured the Press that the government would positively look
into all the problems faced the media in the State, Press Club advisor CD Rai,
who was the chairman of the function, said Kazi not only deserved the award but
his writings were “balanced.”
While urging the
media to remain strong, free, united and independent, Kazi called on the
people, including the authorities, to respect and respond positively to the
urges of the media to remain free and
independent.
“I believe that by conferring this award to this long-time
black-listed man, who is forced to live in self-imposed exile in his own
homeland, the Press in Sikkim is sending a clear message to those who care to
listen. And that message is loud and clear: the Press in Sikkim wants to be
more free and independent and those in power and the people at large should
take note and respect this stand,” Kazi said in his acceptance speech.
Kazi,
who has authored two books, “Inside
Sikkim: Against the Tide,” and “Sikkim
for Sikkimese”, also appealed to
the Centre not to ignore the “hopes and aspirations” of the Sikkimese people
and honour the terms of Sikkim’s ‘merger’.
“Even
if our political leadership has failed us time and again, India must live up to
the expectations of the Sikkimese people. If it continues to ignore the hopes
and aspirations of those who sacrificed their country so that this nation may
live in peace and security there may come a day when Sikkim will become a
hot-bed of international politics,” Kazi warned.
SIKKIM OBSERVER July 21, 2012
Press rewards Kazi for three-decade contribution to
journalism
Honour ‘merger
terms’, Kazi tells Centre
Gangtok, July 20: Senior journalist Jigme N Kazi said his acceptance of
this year’s Khangchendzonga Kalam Puraskar award, conferred by the Press Club
of Sikkim here on Tuesday, was proof enough that the Fourth Estate in the State
is trying to set itself free and improve its image as a strong and independent
institution.
Kazi, also a
writer, was conferred with the award in recognition of his “significant
contribution” towards “development of journalism” in the State in the past
three decades.
Kazi, editor of Sikkim Observer and Himalayan Guardian, was
conferred the award for his “outstanding contribution and dedication made during
last three decades in the field of journalism,” according to Press Club Working
President Vishnu Neopaney’s letter to Kazi informing of the Press Club’s
“unanimous decision” to confer the award on its decadal foundation year.
The “Most
Promising Journalist” award went to Bishal Gurung while Mohan Lama, Darjeeling
correspondent of Sikkim’s Samai Dainik,
was also felicitated by the Press Club. Gurung is the State correspondent of Hindustan Samachar news agency.
Theatre activist
and senior journalist CK Shrestha of Kalimpong, who was the Chief Guest for the
occasion, urged the media in the State to remain united in “thought” and side
with the people in all situation. “Merely reporting will not do. You must tell
the truth,” Shrestha said.
While IPR
Secretary KS Tobgay assured the Press that the government would positively look
into all the problems faced the media in the State, Press Club advisor CD Rai,
who was the chairman of the function, said Kazi not only deserved the award but
his writings were “balanced.”
While urging the
media to remain strong, free, united and independent, Kazi called on the
people, including the authorities, to respect and respond positively to the
urges of the media to remain free and
independent.
“I believe that by conferring this award to this long-time
black-listed man, who is forced to live in self-imposed exile in his own
homeland, the Press in Sikkim is sending a clear message to those who care to
listen. And that message is loud and clear: the Press in Sikkim wants to be more
free and independent and those in power and the people at large should take
note and respect this stand,” Kazi said in his acceptance speech.
Kazi, who has authored two books, “Inside Sikkim: Against the Tide,” and “Sikkim for Sikkimese”,
also appealed to the Centre not to ignore the “hopes and aspirations” of the
Sikkimese people and honour the terms of Sikkim’s ‘merger’.
“Even if our political leadership has failed us time and
again, India must live up to the expectations of the Sikkimese people. If it continues
to ignore the hopes and aspirations of those who sacrificed their country so
that this nation may live in peace and security there may come a day when
Sikkim will become a hot-bed of international politics,” Kazi warned.
SIBLAC, NASBO pat for Kazi, Press Club
Gangtok, July 20: The Sikkim
Bhutia-Lepcha Apex Committee (SIBLAC) has congratulated writer-journalist Jigme
N Kazi for being conferred with this year’s Khangchendzonga Kalam Award by the
Press Club of Sikkim.
This is “an honor overdue since long back,”
SIBLAC General Secretary Pem Tshering Lepcha said in a Press statement.
The organization, which represents the
indigenous Bhutias and Lepcha tribals in the State, also thanked the Press Club
of Sikkim for “rightly nominating” Kazi for the award.
It said Kazi’s “spirit and quality” of
“fighting with wisdom” was “outstanding and simply awesome.”
SIBLAC Convenor and former Minister Tseten
Tashi Bhutia and National Sikkimese Bhutia Organisation (NASBO - 371F)
President Sonam Kaleon met Kazi, who received the award at a function here on
Tuesday, at his residence here and offered traditional khada to congratulate him.
The Sikkim-Darjeeling Unification Forum
(SDUF) General Secretary Shankar Hang Subba also offered a khada and congratulated Kazi here last week.
Padam Chettri, President of Sikkim unit of
the BJP, also complimented Kazi for his achievement.
Sikkim Observer May 5, 2012
Editorial
PRESS FREEDOM
We Mourn The Closure
Of Gangtok Weeklies
Ever heard of Female Journalist
Association? We have one in Sikkim by that name and surprisingly while other
media organizations are busy entertaining the public and at times playing the
role of a public relations body, the Female Journalist Association has urged
the State Government to give a better deal to Gangtok weeklies in matters
regarding release of government advertisements. The IPR Minister CB Karki has
again assured the Press that the government would respond positively on the
issue. Perhaps it will do something this
time as the next Assembly polls are nearing.
Sadly the death of several credible
Gangtok-based weeklies and other journals in the past few years is something
that free societies should be worried about. Weeklies such as Weekend Review and Mid-Week are no more. We mourn their untimely death or indefinite
closure. The Sikkimese and Sikkim Observer (Nepali edition) are
also off the newsstands for a long time. Journals such as Talk Sikkim and Hill People
have been forced to shut down due mainly to financial constraints. In such a
scenario the claim that the Press in Sikkim is free and vibrant has no basis.
Quality is what people are looking for in the media and this is in short supply
in today’s Sikkim. A casual glance at which newspapers are getting government
advertisements and how often will reveal the state of the Press in Sikkim. Let
the facts be revealed and the truth will be out in the public domain.
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