HIMALAYAN GUARDIAN Aug 30-Sept 5, 2014
Blog: jigmenkazisikkim.blogspot.com
BJP-SKM
alliance to take on SDF for Assembly by-polls
Its RN Chamling vs Bikash Basnet
SKM
President PS Golay with BJP President Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday.
Even
before the electoral battle has begun the Opposition has scored a major
victory. In a move that is likely to set the agenda for future politics in the
State, the BJP has forged an alliance with the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM),
which has 10 MLAs in the 32-member House.
Bikash Basnet |
SKM’s
Bikash Basnet is now the BJP’s candidate for the Rangang-Yangang by-polls of
the Assembly seat vacated by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, who contested and
won from two seats in the recent Assembly polls.
Basnet’s
main contender is Chamling’s younger brother RN Chamling, who is contesting as
an independent. Most people believe that the ruling party’s bid to field Kumari
Mangar as its official candidate is “a drama.”
RN Chamling |
Former
Lok Sabha MP Nakul Rai has questioned Chamling’s failure to take disciplinary
action against his brother for filing his paper. Rai says Rup Narayan “is an
integral part of SDF.”
Significantly,
SKM chief and MLA PS Goley along with his MLAs on Wednesday met BJP President
Amit Shah in New Delhi, where the two parties discussed ways to “root out corruption”
and fight for “restoration of democracy” in the State.
Basnet
is expected to give a tough fight to Chamling’s brother. In any case, for the
BJP-SKM combine its a “heads I win, tails you lose” kind of a situation.
Election
to Rangang-Yangang constituency is slated for September 13.
Talks
on for Dalai Lama’s return to Tibet: China
China’s
government in Tibet claims that the Dalai Lama is in talks with Beijing through
“personal envoys”, but the talks are only about the possibility of his return
to Tibet.
Wu
Yingjie, the Deputy Secretary of the Communist Party Committee for Tibet, told
a group of Indian journalists in Lhasa on Sunday that the talks with the Dalai
were “ongoing and always smooth, but we are discussing only his future, not
Tibet’s.”
Wu said
many Tibetan leaders had chosen to return to Tibet in recent years, giving the
example of a senior Lama in Chengdu who returned from Switzerland, The Hindu reported.
“All
Tibetans, including the Dalai Lama and the people around him, can return if
they accept Tibet and Taiwan as part of China, and give up ‘splittist’
efforts,” he said.
When
asked about the political talks with envoys from Dharamsala, that broke down
after nine rounds in 2010, he termed their demands unacceptable. “How can the
Dalai Lama demand that China withdraw its army from Tibet?” asked Wu. “The army is a symbol of our state. Will
India agree to withdraw its Army from Arunachal Pradesh?” he said.
Wu also
rejected the proposal by the Prime Minister of the self-styled “Tibetan
government in exile”, Lobsang Sangay, for a larger region to be included in the
Tibetan Autonomous Region.
Himalayan
Airlines plans maiden Kathmandu-Lhasa flight in October
Himalayan
Airlines, a company newly forged by China's Tibet Airlines and two Nepali
companies, is scheduled to launch its maiden flight on October 28, said the
Chinese shareholder here on Wednesday.
The
joint venture will launch direct flights from Kathmandu to Lhasa and Kathmandu
to Chengdu using aircraft including Airbus 319 and Airbus 320.
The new
airline was set up in partnership with Nepal's HIF (Himalaya Infrastructure
Fund) Aviation Investment Company and Yeti World Investment Company, with the
two firms jointly holding 51% of the stakes in the joint venture and the rest
owned by Tibet Airlines, Xinhua
reported.
The
agreement among the three companies was signed here on Monday. Cheng Yiru,
chairman of Himalayan Airlines, said the new company has plans to buy 15 Airbus
320 in the next five years. It is expected to create over 1,000 jobs in Nepal.
Nepal
has been Tibet's biggest trade partner since 2006, accounting for 58.5% of
Tibet's total US$3.3 billion in foreign trade in 2013.
A
train comes to Shigatse from Lhasa for the first time
The Qinghai-Tibet Railway has
formally opened its Lhasa-Shigatse track to passengers. With the inauguration
of the 253-kilometer track recently, the high-elevation railway has reached
closer to Nepal. “We plan to extend the line up to Kerung in the long run,”
said Yang Chu Lin, an official at the Shigatse Railway Service.
The
second largest Tibetan city of Shigatse is about 540 kilometers from Kerung
(Kyirong), the nearest Chinese town from Nepal, while the bordering Nepali
district of Rasuwa is 35 kilometers away from there. Kathmandu is 110
kilometers from the district.
Carrying
800 passengers and two dozen journalists, the first train that departed from
Lhasa at 9 a.m. on Saturday arrived in Shigatse at noon, traveling at an
average speed of 120 kilometers per hour.
“The
train service saves time and money of passengers,” said Chhedung, an official
at the Shigatse Foreign Affairs Department. “The service will prove a boon for
the Shigatse prefecture in boosting tourism and economic development.”
The new
train has cut travel time between the two cities by half. A bus takes six hours
to travel the distance. The train fare, 45 yuan, is half that of a bus.
“The
extension of the railway further to Kerung and to the Nepali Capital could
benefit Nepal hugely,” said Hari Prasad Basyal, Nepali Consular in Lhasa.
“Nepali leadership should consider seriously about constructing railways in the
country.”
‘Wonder Herb’ discovered in Ladakh
In the
high hostile peaks of the Himalayas where sustaining life is a challenge in
itself, Indian scientists say they have found a "wonder herb" which
can regulate the immune system, help adapt to the mountain environment and,
above all, protect from radioactivity.
Rhodiola,
a herb found in the cold and highland climate, has led India's leading
scientists to wonder if it is the end to the quest for "Sanjeevani",
the mythical herb that gave renewed life to Ram's brother Lakshman in the epic
Ramayana.
Locally
called 'Solo' in Ladakh, the qualities of Rhodiola were largely unknown so far.
The leafy parts of the plant were used as vegetable by locals. However,
research by the Leh-based Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR)
is exploring the therapeutic values of the herb that shows it can do wonders
for the troops posted in difficult high altitude areas like the
5,400-metres-high Siachen glacier.
"Rhodiola
is a wonder plant that has immunomodulatory (enhancing immune), adaptogenic
(adapting to difficult climatic condition) and radio-protecting abilities due
to presence of secondary metabolites and phytoactive compounds unique to the
plant," R.B. Srivastava, Director, DIHAR, told IANS.
Srivastava
said the herb can mitigate the effects of gamma radiation used in bombs in
biochemical warfare.
"A
concerted effort involving conservation, propagation and sustainable
utilisation of this unique medicinal herb will surely result in rediscovery of
Sanjeevani for the troops deployed in extreme climatic condition along
Himalayan frontiers," said the director.
The
Leh-based lab of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the
world's highest agro-animal research laboratory, has been researching on this
wonder plant for more than a decade.
"While
its adaptogenic qualities can help the soldiers in adjusting to the low
pressure-low oxygen environment, the plant has also been found to have
anti-depressant and appetizer properties," said Srivastava.
Editorial
ARMY
TAKEOVER
Junta Raj In Neighbourhood
The army
chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha, who
deposed Thailand’s civilian government three months ago, has been selected as
the kingdom’s prime minister. A handpicked legislature stacked with military
officers held a vote on Thursday to select the country’s prime minister. This
week, Pakistan's powerful army chief General Raheel Sharif intervened publicly
in the country's political crisis, agreeing to mediate between the government
of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and protesters demanding his resignation. The
move follows a backroom political deal that government officials privately said
ceded important powers over defense and foreign policy from the government to
the military. The military's political intervention underscored the weakness of
Pakistan's democracy just 16 months after the country's first democratic
transition raised hopes that the civilian authorities would assert themselves
over the country's long dominant military. In Burma, Shwe Mann, leader of the
army-backed ruling party, is unlikely to yield easily to the demand that Aung
San Suu Kyi be allowed to contest the ensuing parliamentary polls that people
looking forward to. Presently, Suu Kyi is constitutionally barred from becoming
president.
Nationalised
banks organise camps for Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana scheme
As part of the financial inclusion mission
that was launched throughout the country yesterday by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi , the State Bank of India, the Lead Bank in the State of Sikkim, organised a Mega Camp here yesterday for opening Savings bank
Accounts.
Similar
Mega Camps were also organized at Singtam and the District headquarters at
Namchi, Gyalshing and Mangan. These camps are being organized by Canara Bank, HDFC,
Central Bank of India and SBI respectively, according to Convener, State Level
Banker's Committee of the SBI’s Regional Office.
While
Chief Minister Pawan Chamling launched the programme here in the morning, in
the evening Governor Shrinivas Patil was the chief guest at the mega camp
function.
The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana lies at the
core of the Prime Minister's development philosophy of “Sab Ka Sath Sab Ka Vikas”. As the nation move rapidly forward in this
knowledge era with modern banking and financial systems, it is untenable that a
large majority of population is deprived
of basic banking facilities, a release of the SBI said.
The vast
majority of the poor and the marginalized who are trapped in a perpetual cycle
of exclusion and deprivation need to be addressed. In order to break that cycle
- the Jan Dhan Yojana is envisaged as the first step in that direction. With a
bank account, every household gains access to banking and credit facilities.
This will enable them to come out of the grip of moneylenders, manage to keep
away from financial crises caused by emergent needs, and most importantly,
benefit from a range of financial products.
Under
the Jan Dhan Yojana, every account holder gets a RuPay debit card with a Rs
1,00,000/- accident cover and will be covered by insurance and pension products
at later stage, the release added.
OPEN
LETTER TO CM ON FAKE ‘SIKKIM SUBJECTS’ ISSUE
To
The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Sikkim
Mintokgang
Gangtok-737101
East Sikkim
Dated: 25/08/2014
Sub: Open Memorandum vis-à-vis Purification
of Sikkim Subject
Certificate / COIs
Hon’ble Sir,
Purify Sikkim Subject Certificate (SSC) Register:
The sacred document which was submitted / surrendered to Home Ministry, Govt. of India during the time of Sikkim annexation/merger in 1975 was Sikkim Subject Certificate (SSC) register on the basis of which, all the Sikkimese had become Indian. Hope a copy of the same SSC register is lying with the Government of Sikkim today.
The sacred document which was submitted / surrendered to Home Ministry, Govt. of India during the time of Sikkim annexation/merger in 1975 was Sikkim Subject Certificate (SSC) register on the basis of which, all the Sikkimese had become Indian. Hope a copy of the same SSC register is lying with the Government of Sikkim today.
“As per estimates published by a local paper,
in Sikkim we have:"
1. Fake Certificate of Identification (C.O.I) holders = 1, 19, 289
2. Fake Sikkim Subject certificate (S.S.C) holders = 31, 180
Total =1, 50, 469
Total of 1, 50, 469 “fraudster” or illegal and fake documents.
What we think today is;
It is not only important but
sense urgent and need of the hour to purify the SSC register in the interest of
our future generation, else talking big about protection and safeguard of
Sikkim and the Sikkimese will become a futile exercise that would imminently
jeopardise our own posterity.
This further becomes most urgent, significant and relevant given
the present government of Sikkim’s priorities and insistence to the Sikkim
Subject Certificate /COI on all its policies and programmes as being announced
or formulated particularly with the inauguration of its present term of
governance, which is most appreciable gesture on its part.
In fact, every State and government has the sacred responsibility
of safeguarding its native people. The stand taken by the Government if really
implemented both in letter and spirit, it will rejuvenate the effect and
significance of SSC and COI and would go a long way in ensuring the
socio-politico and economic state of the Sikkimese at-large. This shall
certainly curtail the ever increasing influx thereby establishing a sense of
pride and security amongst our Sikkimese people. If not, the illegal SSC/COI
holders will get multiplied and one fine day original Sikkimese will be kicking
out from their home land. So it’s now or never.
Therefore, we appeal the political parties of Sikkim to rise above
politics. We don’t mind to come out openly in support of the Government if it’s
really committed and wanted to eliminate, reject or withdraw the illegal Sikkim
Subject Certificate/C.O.I. issued so far.
Political parties in Sikkim should understand that unless this is
realized, whatever programmes/policies they come out with will never achieve
its target which would only then be meant for securing a mere vote bank and
accompanying politics.
Let’s accomplish this and posterity shall salute you and our generation
with awe & veneration.
Submitted in the interest of Sikkim and the Sikkimese please
Yours Sincerely
Tseten Tashi Bhutia, Ex-MLA
TNA Principal to get
national award from Prez
Tashi Namgyal Academy Principal, Kuldip Singh
Heran, has been selected for this year's National Award. The prestigious award
will be presented to the TNA Principal by President Pranab Mukherjee on Teachers'Day in New Delhi on September 5.
This reward and recognition of the school, named after Sikkim's former King, Chogyal Tashi Namgyal, comes at a time when TNA is preparing for the celebration of its 50th anniversary.
This reward and recognition of the school, named after Sikkim's former King, Chogyal Tashi Namgyal, comes at a time when TNA is preparing for the celebration of its 50th anniversary.
Kuldip Singh Heran |
Sikkim’s unique festival of Pang Lhabsol
This year’s traditional Pang Lhabsol is being
observed at Tsuklakhang monastery in Gangtok. Lamas of Pemayangtse monastery
and some lay people will take part in the celebrations of the worship of Sikkim
Guardian Deities, which include Sikkim’s unique pangtoed dance.
This unique festival is also being observed all
over the State with pomp and gaiety, particularly at Rabong in South Sikkim.(pix below)
FASHION
Vanity Fair honours Bhutan’s fashionable monarch
The 2014
Vanity Fair International Best-Dressed List includes all the usual suspects:
Kate Middleton, Cate Blanchett and Pharrell Williams, to name a few. But among
all the obvious choices, there's at least one name on there that we didn't
expect to see.
King
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan made this year's cut under the
"Originals" category. And upon further investigation, he's actually a
pretty obvious choice. From mixing prints to incorporating bold color, it's no
wonder Bhutan is one of the happiest countries on earth: their 31-year-old king
has got it going on.In fact,
the glossy has been privy to his majesty's style for a while. He made the list
back in 2011, too.
Pang Lhabsol celebrations down the years