MY STRUGGLE – V: OCTOBER 2, 1999 HUNGER STRIKE  

 

Pix: The 12-hour hunger strike by Sikkimese representatives at the ‘BL House’, Gangtok, on October 2, 1999.

(Left to Right) Tenzing Namgyal, Jigme N Kazi, Nima Lepcha, Pintso Bhutia, KC Pradhan and Gyamsay Bhutia. 

My last call before the October 1999 Assembly polls on the seat issue featured in the editorial of the Observer, dated September 18-21, 1999, and captioned “Total Revolution” – ‘No Reservation, No Election’: “It is significant to note that the BL Apex body has now urged the larger Sikkimese Nepalese community to back their demand and give them the much-needed support. Wounded by the failure of the political leadership among the Nepalese community to respect their political rights, pending the finalization of the Assembly seat issue, the BLs have now turned towards the Sikkimese Nepalese people themselves and others to come to their aid. In a democracy, it is the majority community which must rule but protections and safeguards must be provided to the minority community. In their lust for power the political leadership in Sikkim are forgetting and ignoring the just demands of the people and are deliberately trampling over their political rights and thereby hurting the sentiments of the people. No political party in the State has the mandate to further divide the people, dilute their political rights and cause social disharmony and political instability in this strategic border State.”

   The editorial added: “It is now up to the Sikkimese people to come forward and respect the sentiments of their brothers and sisters in distress. The BLs are confident that their hope placed on the larger community will get the right response. But while the BLs desire and expect support from the Sikkimese Nepalese they must also realize that the majority community, too, are in a fix and are demanding restoration of their reserved seats in the Assembly and should be prepared to fight unitedly for restoration of the political rights of all Sikkimese.

   Time is running out and the Sikkimese Nepalese cannot now afford to pin their hopes on the politicians for their long-term interest. There are no easy answers to the political uncertainty faced by the Sikkimese masses. By calling for boycott the BLs have shown that elections are no solutions to the political crisis faced by the Sikkimese people. Making representations to the concerned authorities, be it in Gangtok or New Delhi, is not enough. For the past 20 years various social and political organizations have rightly demanded restoration of the Assembly seats for the Sikkimese people.”

   The editorial concluded: “Memoranda after memoranda have been submitted on the issue but what has been the net result of all these endeavours? While political rhetoric on the issue continues the seat issue is yet to be resolved. Any further violations of the terms of the merger cannot and must not be tolerated any longer. By keeping the issue perpetually pending the political leadership, in collaboration with New Delhi, are gradually leading the Sikkimese people to political suicide…There cannot be more articulate and eloquent way of expressing the total sense of frustration and resentment over the continued violation of the merger accord and abuse of the people’s mandate than to take a firm step on the issue and boycott the coming elections in the State.”

   Though our appeal for total boycott of the polls was serious and genuine we were aware of the fact that the appeal – made at the last moment – would not be well received by political parties which were totally engrossed in the poll process. This was quite understandable although they should realize by now the importance of adopting a strong stand on the seat issue if they are at all serious about the future of Sikkim and the Sikkimese people.

   Our stand at that stage was symbolic but the message and the spirit in which we chose to adopt this stand would be welcomed by the people. And yet we were delighted when the Congress (I) candidate, Tseten Lepcha, from my own home constituency of Lachen-Mangshilla, North Sikkim, withdrew his nomination papers in response to our appeal. Lepcha may have played his cards well during the polls and killed many birds with one stone but his gesture was significant and appreciated by the people.

   He told reporters that in view of the pre-poll developments on the seat issue he felt it was his bounden duty not to take part in the polls in order “to protest, to express our deep anguish and to prove that if the need arises, the Lepchas are prepared to make the supreme sacrifice to fight for our cause.” It is also significant that these words come from the son of a former MLA from the tribal-dominated north district, Tasa Tingay Lepcha, who earlier contested and won from the Lachen-Mangshilla constituency. Majority of voters in this constituency, which had a sizable number of Limbus, were BLs.

   Just days before the scheduled date of the proposed hunger strike on October 2, 1999, the OSU and SIBLAC formed the Sikkimese Nepalese Apex Committee (SNAC) in Geyzing, West Sikkim. The new body was formed at a joint meeting of the OSU and SIBLAC and was chaired by K.C. Pradhan. Buddhilal Khamdak, a young and educated Nepali from the Limbu community in West Sikkim, was made the SNAC’s Convenor. The newly-formed body supported the seat issue demand raised by the SIBLAC and OSU and urged the two organisations to support the demand on restoration of Assembly seats of the Sikkimese Nepalese.

   On October 2, while the rest of the nation celebrated the 130th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi (Gandhi Jayanti), the Sikkimese people – represented  by SIBLAC, OSU and SNAC – sought the blessing of the ‘Father of the Nation’ and the Guardian Deities of Sikkim in their struggle on restoration of their political rights. The 12-hour hunger strike by six representatives of the three ethnic communities at the ‘BL House’ in Gangtok on October 2 symbolically ushered in a new phase in the fight for restoration of the political rights of bonafide Sikkimese belonging to the three ethnic communities.

  Four members of the SIBLAC – two convenors (Nima Lepcha and Pintso Bhutia), Vice-Convenor Tenzing Namgyal, and a woman representative, Gyamsay Bhutia, the SNAC Advisor K.C. Pradhan and myself as OSU Chairman took part in the historic one-day hunger strike on October 2, 1999.

   We had actually chosen the premises where the ‘Statues of Unity’ are installed for the venue of the one-day hunger strike. Located in the heart of the capital at the northern end of the Mahatma Gandhi Marg – the main market area in the capital – this venue would have been the ideal place to begin a prolonged and intensive campaign on the seat issue. However, the State Government refused to allow us to use this place. In fact, it asked us to call off the hunger strike and the boycott call.

   In a letter to the SIBLAC, dated September 17, 1999, Chief Secretary Sonam Wangdi said redressal of grievances should be done through participation in the electoral process and pointed out that boycott of elections “is the last action to be taken as the final resort when all other means have failed.” The Chief Secretary simply could not see that we had resorted to this method as “all other means”, including the electoral process, in the past two decades failed to achieve the desired result. We ignored the government’s plea and went ahead with the hunger strike.

   However, it must be placed on record that if it hadn’t been for the OSU the hunger strike and boycott call may have been put off. Pradhan and I tactfully and very firmly exerted enough pressure on the SIBLAC leadership, which was dithering on the issue at the last moment when they were under extreme pressure. Even if the SIBLAC had backed off at the last moment the OSU and SNAC would have certainly continued with the mission. No amount of tactics and pressure would work on Pradhan and me and on this we were very confident.

   As planned, we held the hunger strike on October 2 to remind the world that we were determined to struggle on till our demand on restoration of our political rights were met. While others fought the elections we fought for our people. We were not concerned with who wins or loses in the polls; our main concern was that if the Assembly seats were not restored to us in the near future we would be the ultimate losers and the electoral process would then become a meaningless ritual as the Sikkimese people would have no future to look forward to.

(Ref: The Lone Warrior: Exiled In My Homeland, Jigme N. Kazi, Hill Media Publications, Gangtok, 2014, jigmenkazisikkim.blogspot.com)

 

 MY STRUGGLE – IV: ‘No Seat, No Vote’

 

I placed on record that since the Assembly seat issue had the support of the people it cannot be ignored so easily: “Restoration of the Assembly seat reservation of the three ethnic communities in the State have been raised by the combined political leadership in the State in the past two decades. In the four consecutive Assembly elections the Assembly seat issue has been a major political issue of all major political parties in Sikkim. In this election, too, the seat reservation issue continues to be a major political issue. But despite having given top priority on the issue by successive state governments the Centre has failed to concede to this long-pending demand of the Sikkimese people. Inspite of the Centre’s delay in meeting the just demand of the people there is the need for us to work unitedly to achieve our common objective for restoration of our political rights.”

   The need for the political leadership in the State to genuinely and sincerely respect the sentiments of the people and implement its policies on the seat issue, pending the final resolution of the demand, was also stressed: “Pending the disposal of the seat reservation demand it is the political leadership in Sikkim which must respect the sentiments of the people on the issue. Those who genuinely believe in the fight for restoration of the political rights of the Sikkimese people ought to field bonafide Sikkimese candidates in the 32 Assembly constituencies and the lone Lok Sabha seat.”

   I reiterated: “It is not too late to take a principled stand on the basic political rights of the people. Let us not trample upon the sacred rights of the people in our blind pursuit for power. There is no better way to convince the Centre and the people of Sikkim of our genuineness on the seat issue than rigidly implementing what we have in mind on this vital issue in the coming elections. The time has come for each one us to make our stand loud and clear on the issue. The allotment of seats to various candidates by the political leadership in the State will be taken as an outward indication of our inner conviction. In the process each individual politician and their parties stand to gain or lose from the stand they have taken.”

   Was it only me who was taking the seat issue so seriously? I begin to think over this and wondered without pausing for an answer. In June 1999, four months before the Assembly polls, I highlighted the need to take radical steps on the seat issue if it still remained unresolved. Captioned ‘No Seat, No Vote’, the Observer’s editorial, dated June 5-11, 1999, stated:

   “Mere reiteration of the seat issue demand on special occasions becomes only a symbolic ritual which our politicians are good at. Lack of concrete strategy to meet the demand reflects the political will of the political establishment…That the abolition of the basic political rights of the Sikkimese took place four years after the controversial ‘merger’ suggests that New Delhi blatantly violated the terms of Sikkim’s integration with India…If perceived closely none of the 32 seats in the House and the two seats in the Parliament are reserved exclusively for Sikkimese. This indeed is a blatant act of betrayal. Because of this non-Sikkimese have found a place in the House much to the detriment of bonafide Sikkimese who are largely Sikkimese Nepalese.”

   I even hinted on the need to boycott the polls if New Delhi remained adamant on preserving status quo on the seat issue: “The political leadership in the State needs to take the seat reservation issue more seriously. Mere adoption of this basic demand in their party resolution and manifesto will not do. This demand has been raised at appropriate fora for nearly 25 years now. If the Centre fails to act positively on this vital demand then the Sikkimese people need to do some rethinking.”

    I added: “Erosion of Sikkim’s distinct identity within the Union through violation of ‘merger terms’ cannot and should not be tolerated any longer. If political parties fail to get this demand met then the Sikkimese people may resort to the last option of boycotting Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in the State. Democracy provides an opportunity to the people to exercise or not to exercise their franchise. If the need arises the Sikkimese people can send empty ballot boxes to New Delhi during the elections. By doing this they will not only be merely implementing the oft-repeated slogan – ‘No Seat, No Vote’ – but would have also sent the ultimate message to the Government of India.”

   The OSU leader and former minister of the L.D. Kazi Government (1974-1979), K.C. Pradhan, submitted a ‘7-Point Charter of Demand’ to the President of India in July 1999, demanding formation of a high-level committee to look into “the seat reservation issue before the situation gets out of hand.” Pradhan - perhaps the key figure and the main leader of the Nepalese during the merger era - who was also one of the main signatories to the historic May 8, 1973 Tripartite Agreement, warned:  “Continued violation of the terms of merger and deprivation of the political rights of the Sikkimese people cannot be tolerated any longer.” He sent an ultimatum on the seat issue: “The basic political rights of the Sikkimese people must be restored before April 2000 when Sikkim completes 25 years as an Indian State.”

   Pradhan added: “I have from time to time made several representations to the concerned authorities in Delhi and Gangtok about the deteriorating political situation in the State but so far the plight and problems of the Sikkimese people have been ignored. Unfortunately, Delhi continues to ignore my warnings. If the situation is not handled carefully and timely Sikkim will head towards political uncertainty at the dawn of the next millennium. This is neither in the interest of the Sikkimese people nor the nation’s security interests in the region.”

   Pradhan’s stand on the seat issue is consistent with the OSU’s views on the said issue. As early as January 1998, I – as OSU Chairman – made a Press statement urging the Centre to restore the seats by April 2000, when Sikkim completes 25 years as a State of India: “Merger with the world’s largest democracy twenty three years ago would be meaningless if the Sikkimese people are deprived of their fundamental and constitutional rights.”

   I pointed out: “Ever since the merger in 1975 political leadership in the State has been constantly harping on the need for the Centre to respect and honour the ‘terms of the merger’ but the authorities in Delhi are yet to respond positively and decisively on major issues that concern the Sikkimese people…We have waited for more than two decades for restoration of our political rights and this cannot go on forever. By the turn of the century Sikkim will complete 25 years as part of the Indian Union. The Centre must immediately initiate moves to restore Assembly seats for the Sikkimese and the legal and constitutional process on this issue should be completed by the end of 1999.”

   Pradhan’s 7-Point demand included revision of voters list on the basis of 1974 electoral rolls – which had names of only ‘Sikkim Subjects’, delimitation of Assembly constituencies, and safeguards for ‘other Sikkimese’, meaning those other than ‘original Sikkimese’ residing in the State such as members of the old business community and others.

(Ref: The Lone Warrior: Exiled In My Homeland, Jigme N. Kazi, Hill Media Publications, Gangtok, 2014, jigmenkazisikkim.blogspot.com)