“Stand up, don’t bow! Stand up, don’t bow!”
“Only dead fish go with the flow”
‘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….The gradual dilution of
our distinct identity, political rights and social harmony originates from New
Delhi"
---------
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; jigmenkazisikkim.blogspot.com
, republished in social media on November 16, 2025, National Press Day.)
No comments:
Post a Comment