I HAVE PAID MY DEBT TO SIKKIM
Intuitions and impulses have a way of
revealing our inner self if one attentively waits and listens to what they have
to say. It takes its own time to speak to you. It chooses its own unique and
peculiar ways to give the message. One must be ready to listen to the inner
voice and willing to abide by its promptings.
And slowly and gradually I became aware of
what really prompted me to submit my resignation to the SPCC(I) chief on August
25, 2004. It may not be the only reason but it certainly was one of the main
reasons for my sudden decision to quit public life.
The failure of Sikkim’s political
leadership, dominated by Sikkimese Nepalese, on the long-pending demand on
restoration of the political rights of the people through reservation of seats
in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly, has already been highlighted in this book
in the preceding chapters. There is no point in repeating it. However, what
needs to be emphasized is the role of the younger generation of Sikkimese
Nepalese leaders in the Congress party as far as our political rights are
concerned.
Without naming them many of them were not
comfortable working under Bhandari in the Congress party. In fact, they
preferred another person to head the Congress party in Sikkim. These were also
the same persons who suffered under both Bhandari and Chamling’s rule. Some of
them in the past so many years have taken their stand in safeguarding the
distinct identity of Sikkim and the Sikkimese while voicing their concern on
erosion of democratic values in the State.
Ever since the SSP-Cong merger in August
2003 I expected and wanted this particular group within the Congress party to
take the lead in not only revamping the party but also in asserting their
leadership with the objective of forming the government one day and providing
good governance and thereby safeguarding our special status within the Union.
But it gradually dawned on me that this
group, who were young, educated and had some political experience, was sadly
falling far below my expectation. It is one thing to make occasional headlines
in the local media for the right cause but quite another to wage a prolonged
war against vested interests on behalf of the people. Most of them were from
the upper-caste Nepalese community and were expected to put up a better show
than the more older politicians from the majority community.
In private, this group thought highly of
themselves and aspired to replace Bhandari not only from the Congress
leadership but from the leadership of the Nepalese community as a whole in the
State. However, in public they fell far short of their own expectations and
aspirations. They neither let Bhandari do his job nor were they able to replace
him or do whatever was necessary. This was the situation before, during and
after the Assembly polls in May 2004.
By now I was convinced that Sikkim had no
future under those whom I reposed so much faith and hope. “My stars have
fallen,” I used to tell some of them, indicating that they had neither the
capability nor the commitment to lead Sikkim to a better future. When I became
increasingly aware of their lack of direction and commitment for the common
cause and their constant involvement in petty politics I chose to quit politics
altogether. There was no point in staying on and wasting my time in politics
when even the enlightened and politically active leaders of the majority
community did not share my conviction and commitment.
Though the circumstances that I faced in
June-August 2004 were different from what I experienced in mid-2000, when the
Assembly seat resolution came up in the Assembly, the situation and the issues
involved were very much the same. Is the Sikkimese Nepalese leadership in the
State committed to preserving the distinct identity of Sikkim and the Sikkimese
within the Union under Article 371F of the Constitution or is it only paying
lip-services to it to win votes?
“If freedom is humiliated or in chains
today, it is not because her enemies had recourse to treachery. It is simply
because she has lost her natural protector...Freedom is the concern of the
oppressed, and her natural protectors have always come from the oppressed.”
(Camus)
If tomorrow I choose to brace myself for yet
another long-drawn battle for the right cause I know who my natural friends and
enemies are.
And though I did not make any mention of
this issue publicly when I finally quit politics and the Press these were the
main factors that prompted me to hand over my resignation to the Congress party
chief in the summer of 2004. Political and professional life in Sikkim have no
real meaning for me if we cannot embrace all communities and unite them towards
a common destiny where peace, unity, harmony, freedom, democracy and the rule
of law reign supreme.
The fact that nobody really made any serious
approaches to me on these issues during my three-and-half-year-long (2004-2007)
self-imposed exile proved beyond any shadow of doubt that there was nobody who
really and truly cared for Sikkim and the Sikkimese people and for justice,
freedom, democracy and the rule of law to triumph in Sikkim. Even those who
flirted with me politically for a brief while when I re-emerged from my hideout
in 2007-8 have prooved themselves to be unfaithful allies and a liability for
the Sikkimese cause.
People make choices in life and they will
either succeed or suffer from the choices they make. I chose to differ, to
dissent and thereby suffered from the choices I made for over a quarter of a
century. My works are reflected in the pages of my books which I have been able
to complete during my exile in my own homeland. I hope that the dreams that I set out to fulfill will one day be reflected
in the hearts and perhaps in the works of those who believe in the
righteousness of our cause.
I have lived out my dreams. I have paid my debt. I am a free man now.
(Ref: The Lone Warrior: Exiled in My
Homeland, Jigme N. Kazi, Hill Media Publications, 2014)
