STEPPING OUT TO SET
THINGS RIGHT
For the true Sikkimese,
May 16, 1975 heralded the end of an era and perhaps the beginning of a new
struggle to preserve ‘Sikkim for Sikkimese’; but, this time, within the bounds
of India, a great nation ruled by petty politicians and corrupt bureaucrats. This
was an ideal that inspired me and shaped the course of my life ever since I
returned to my native land at the end of 1982 after nearly twenty years.
To aim high, think big and struggle for a
worthy cause – for unity, identity and a common destiny for all people in
Sikkim – was the agenda that I had set for myself both in my profession and
later on in politics. Anything less than that was totally unacceptable to me
and not worth the risk, toil and the endless struggle that lasted for more than
two decades.
By the end of 1999 – the last year of the
20th century – I felt a certain sense of restlessness and impatience that I
hadn’t experienced before. I needed and wanted to step out of the narrow
confines of my profession and free myself to openly and directly place my views
to the outside world on certain issues of public interest which were close to
my heart and which guided my professional and political outlook for a long,
long time.
Journalism does not allow you to mingle
personal feelings and political inclinations with professional duties. The
respect that I had for my profession had one disadvantage – it became a wall
between me and my people. While freeing me in some ways it also enslaved me. I
could not remain in the cage any longer – I needed and wanted to come out and
set myself free. I could not and would not allow my precious dream to die in
the hands of petty politicians without getting personally and politically
involved in the struggle towards achieving my goals.
Even if I face defeat my effort and struggle
to pursue my dream would be worthwhile. I will not feel guilty of playing it
safe and shying away in my neat little corner when the ideal thing to do was to
come out in the open and take your stand - come what may! Those who knew me well, respected me, and had
great faith and trust in my capacity and commitment had no doubt about the
honesty of my heart and the righteousness of my cause that drove me to place my
case to the outside world.
It was US President Theodore Roosevelt who
once said: “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena - whose
face is marred by dust and sweat and blood...who knows the great enthusiams,
the great devotions - and spends himself in a worthy cause - who at best if he
wins knows the thrill of high achievement - and if he fails at least fails
while daring greatly - so that his place shall never be with those cold and
timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.”
In the autumn of 1999 I found myself in
direct confrontation with the political establishment on issues that were close
to my heart for a long time. You either take a stand and live out your dream or
just talk about it, write about it but actually do nothing about it and spend
the rest of your days regretting for not having spoken up and making your stand
clear to the whole wide world. The fact is you are what you do and not what you
want to do. The road to hell is certainly paved with good intentions. Our
leaders who preach and do not practise should know where we are heading.
In mid-September 1999, I, as the Chairman of
the Organisation of Sikkimese Unity (OSU), supported a call for boycotting the
ensuing Assembly elections in the State, scheduled for October 3, 1999. Though
I had written about it earlier we actually did not make any plan to take such a
radical step on the Assembly seat reservation issue. It just happened – quite
spontaneously and to my great delight! The boycott call given by the Sikkim
Bhutia-Lepcha Apex Committee (SIBLAC) – the apex body of the indigenous
Bhutia-Lepchas in the State – was in reaction to the betrayal of people’s trust
by the combined political leadership of the State and the Centre on the
Assembly seat issue.
The 1999 Assembly polls was the fifth
Assembly elections in Sikkim since the arbitrary, undemocratic, unjust and
abrupt abolition of Assembly seats reserved for the three ethnic communities in
1979. Not only were the political parties in the State fooling the people on
the seat issue the Centre also refused to respond favourably and timely on the
demand for restoration of the political rights of the Sikkimese people as per
assurances given to them during the merger, which are reflected in the historic
Tripartite Agreement of May 8, 1973 and Article 371F of the Constitution.
(Ref: The Lone
Warrior: Exiled In My Homeland, Jigme N. Kazi, Hill Media Publications,
2014.)