LEST WE FORGET: Ram Chandra Poudyal

We need to free Poudyal of the desh bechua tag

 

   History sometimes leaves behind its distortions and it is the writer’s job to correct it. One of such misconceptions that has emerged out of the merger era is that amongst those who ‘sold Sikkim’ was Ram Chandra Poudyal, then a fiery Youth Congress leader and one of the key players in the political upheaval in Sikkim in the early seventies that saw the downfall of the Chogyal, the end of the Namgyal Dynasty – which ruled Sikkim for well over 300 years – and Sikkim’s merger with India in 1975.

   Whenever people talk of this period Poudyal’s name is dragged along with the battisey chor (32 thieves (MLAs) in the Assembly), who are often accused of having sold Sikkim. In fact, only last week Poudyal nearly had a fist fight with a young politician who accused him for being responsible for the huge influx in Sikkim that the merger produced.

   Throughout their political career local politicians, like Poudyal, who played a key role during the merger era in early ’70s, often faced bitter experiences and accusations that they had sold their country to an outside party for their political and personal gains. It is because of this that whenever the expression ‘desh bechua’ (sellers of the country) is mentioned in public speeches or in private conversations those, like Poudyal, who sided or became part of the L.D. Kazi-led Congress Government in the seventies (1974-1979), have been forced to live with a certain amount of guilt even if some of them were not directly responsible for the merger.

   Are they guilty of being labelled as desh bechuas?  Or more importantly, was R.C. Poudyal one of the desh bechuas? Let us look back to this era and see what really took place and judge for ourselves if men like Poudyal should be released from the burden of guilt that history has placed on them.

   The outcome of the elections of the Sikkim Council in early 1973, when the pro-Sikkim, pro-Chogyal party, Sikkim National Party (SNP), won majority of the seats, led to a mass agitation in Sikkim under the leadership of L.D. Kazi and Krishna Chandra Pradhan of the Sikkim National Congress (SNC) and Sikkim Janata Congress (SJC) respectively. The leaders of the two parties, which lost the polls, alleged that the polls were rigged.

   It was during this crucial period that Poudyal, an impetuous Youth Congress leader who was not even 30 when he, along with K.N. Upreti, staged a hunger strike at the Palace lawn in the capital on March 28, 1973. They demanded amongst other things greater democratization of the political system, a written constitution, fundamental rights and ‘one man, one vote.’ For the Indian-backed agitation led by leaders like Kazi, Pradhan and N. B. Khatiwada the hunger strike was a welcome development. It added fuel to the fire and gradually the agitation took the shape of a mass movement, which finally led to the signing of the historic Tripartite Agreement in Gangtok on May 8, 1973.

   The signing of this historic pact between the Chogyal, the Government of India and leaders of three major political parties (SNP, SNC and SJC) led to the holding of another elections to the 32-member Sikkim Assembly in mid-April 1974. The polls were held on the basis of the 1973 Agreement, which gave greater political rights to the majority Nepalese with the fulfilment of the ‘one man, one vote’ demand.  The Kazi-led Sikkim Congress, formed after the merger of the Sikkim National Congress and Sikkim Janata Congress, subsequent to the signing of the May 8th Agreement, won 31 of the 32 seats in the polls alleged to have been heavily rigged. Poudyal was elected to the Assembly for the first time from his home constituency of Lossing Pacheykhani in East Sikkim.

   Though pro-Sikkim forces, mischievously and deliberately dubbed as ‘monarchists’ by pro-India elements and the Indian media, led by nationalists leaders like Nar Bahadur Bhandari, Sherab Palden, Lachen Gomchen Rinpoche, Captain Yongda, Nandu Thapa etc. were of the firm belief that Sikkim was gradually heading towards ultimate merger with India, its protecting power, there were those in the Congress camp men like Pradhan, Poudyal, N. B. Subedi, Upreti and others,  who while demanding ‘full-fledged democracy’ in Sikkim, opposed merger with India. They wanted to retain Sikkim’s separate political identity with the Chogyal as a constitutional head.

   When a controversial resolution seeking Sikkim’s “participation in the political and economic institutions of India” came up for adoption in the Assembly after the polls on May 11, 1974 it was Poudyal and Subedi, MLA, who opposed it while demanding retention of Sikkim’s distinct political identity as a protectorate of India. Poudyal, in fact, wanted a “Prime Minister” and not a “Chief Minister” to head the Sikkim Assembly. The stand taken by him are on record in the Sikkim Assembly proceedings for public scrutiny.

   Dissidents within the Congress led by Poudyal not only opposed the controversial resolution on Sikkim’s participation in India’s political institutions, they also demanded that Sikkim’s new constitution be drafted by the Sikkimese and not by a constitutional expert from India as was being demanded by the Congress party.

  When the resolution came to the Assembly in the form of a Bill (Govt of Sikkim Bill 1974) in June 1974, Poudyal not only opposed it but staged a hunger strike to oppose the Bill with a view to creating mass awareness on what was really happening in Sikkim in the name of ushering in democracy. “The chief minister will be just like the leader of any Indian State under this bill. We were promised a prime minister and told that Sikkim would be linked to India only by a treaty. We are a separate country and our identity must be respected,” Poudyal told visiting Indian journalists. (Ref: Smash and Grab: Annexation of Sikkim by Sunanda K. Dutta-Ray)

   The picture becomes clearer after the passing of the Bill in July 1974, which changed Sikkim’s status from a Protectorate to an Associate State of India. The Associate State status still retained Sikkim’s international status. Though Sikkim moved closer to India the Chogyal was still the constitutional head of the kingdom.

   On March 4, 1975, when the Chogyal returned to Sikkim after attending King Birendra’s coronation in Kathmandu, he was forcefully stopped from entering the country at the India-Sikkim border in Rongpo, East Sikkim, by a group of Congress youths led by Poudyal and others. In the scuffle that took place between the Choygal’s Sikkim Guards and the mob Poudyal’s right hand wrist was allegedly slashed by a khukuri and he had to be hospitalized.

   During his visit to Kathmandu the Chogyal briefed world leaders on India’s attempts to erase Sikkim’s independent status and merge it with India. While a section of the Congress leadership wanted Sikkim’s merger with India there were those who while demanding greater political rights for the majority Nepalese and elected representatives never wanted merger with India. Those within the ruling party who opposed the merger rallied round Poudyal, who was a marked man in the Congress camp. In fact, there was an internal conspiracy within the Congress party to ensure that Poudyal was defeated in the April 1974 Sikkim Assembly elections.

   Under the pretext of giving him proper medical treatment Poudyal was kept in the army hospital in Libing, Gangtok, for some time under strict surveillance and was later (after about a month) taken to Pune in Maharashtra for further treatment by army personnel. Poudyal reveals that after the Crown Prince came to see him at the army hospital and assured him of “working together for the cause of Sikkim and the Sikkimese people” he was taken away in an army vehicle the next day.

   “No one, including myself, knew where I was being taken. Even my family members did not know of my whereabouts,” says Poudyal while recalling what really took place during this crucial period in Sikkim’s history. Being close to the Gyalmo (queen) and with his opposition to the merger Poudyal would certainly have posed problems to the authorities which wanted a smooth takeover. Therefore, he had to be taken away from the scene of action.

  While Poudyal was mischievously whisked off to faraway Pune (then Poona near Bombay) and virtually detained under house arrest it was K.C. Pradhan who took over where Poudyal had left. Sensing that Sikkim was about to be annexed Pradhan initiated a dialogue between the Chogyal and the Kazini, Elisa Maria, wife of the Kazi and the main brain behind the Congress party, to save Sikkim. When this, too, failed mainly because of the treacherous act of a member of the Kazi Cabinet, Pradhan promptly submitted his resignation to the Chogyal and quit Kazi’s Cabinet.

   Pradhan, like Poudyal, knew that they were being outmaneuvered by New Delhi’s men in Sikkim. Pradhan later told reporters that it was not the Sikkim Guards but a man in Sikkim Guards’ uniform, planted by anti-Chogyal elements in Sikkim, who tried to kill Poudyal. He alleged that New Delhi was ready to sacrifice Poudyal to remove the Chogyal, who was the only stumbling block on Sikkim’s takeover. If Poudyal was killed the blame would squarely be placed on the Chogyal, who would then be forced to step down, leading to the end of the monarchy in Sikkim, Pradhan, who passed away a few years back, revealed.

    Swift actions followed the Rongpo incident. Sonam Yongda, a captain of the Sikkim Guards and a Chogyal loyalist, was arrested on April 7, 1975. On April 9, the Sikkim Guards were disarmed and forced to surrender with the help of the Indian army. After placing the Chogyal under house arrest in the Palace the Assembly convened an emergent session on April 10, 1975 and unanimously adopted a resolution abolishing the institution of the Chogyal and declaring Sikkim as a constituent unit of India.

   The adoption of this resolution was accompanied by another resolution in the Assembly to hold a “special poll” on April 14 to seek the people’s mandate on the resolution. Poudyal, then an MLA, was still in Pune when these resolutions were adopted and when the “special poll” was held. Nearly 100 per cent of the voters who voted for the “special polls”, which was later mischievously termed as a “referendum” on the Assembly resolution on abolition of monarchy and Sikkim’s integration with India.

   Poudyal was still in Pune on April 26, 1975, when the Lok Sabha passed the 36th Constitution (Amendment) Bill making Sikkim the 22nd State of India. He was released from the hospital after minor physiotherapy treatment only after Sikkim formally became an Indian State on May 16, 1975.

   That Poudyal later became the Deputy Speaker of the House and eventually a Minister in the Kazi Cabinet is another story. In retrospect, he should have stuck to his principles instead of joining those who sold Sikkim. One would have expected people like Poudyal, Pradhan, and perhaps even Khatiwada and Bhandari at a later stage to lead a movement to ensure that Sikkim remained in the hands of the Sikkimese. But this never happened and our leaders lost their sense of direction and got engrossed in petty politics after the merger.

   In the final analysis, Poudyal’s activities during the merger era may have directly or indirectly led to the end of the Namgyal dynasty and Sikkim’s absorption into the Indian Union. However, if we view what really took place in the right perspective Poudyal’s name cannot and must not be tagged along with the desh bechuas. In fact, facts go to reveal that he had opposed the merger and stood for an independent Sikkim having close and friendly relations with India. When the end was coming and no one could stop it Poudyal wanted a status better than J&K for Sikkim.

   Poudyal, therefore, deserves our thanks and gratitude for all his noble endeavours during the merger era. We also owe an apology to him for all past misunderstandings and humiliations, if any, meted to him and his loved ones. And with all past misconceptions and distortions finally sorted out, one truly hopes that Poudyal, now 65, will walk a free man with his head high above his shoulders and face the future with hope and confidence.

   It was Dr. Paul Tournier who once said, “No one can develop freely in the world and find a full life without feeling understood by at least one person.” Even if there are those whose impression on Poudyal still remains unchanged despite what I have written I hope he finds consolation and freedom and happiness in the fact that I at least have understood him truly and thoroughly.

   People like Ram Chandra Poudyal, who still are capable of performing one last act in their long and checkered political career, are the setting suns of our political life. And in the twilight of their life let them live in peace and harmony with themselves and with those around them.

 

(Ref: Sikkim Observer, 2009)