SIKKIM OBSERVER DEC 7, 2011

‘SAVE SIKKIM’ PRESSURE ON CHAMLING

Sikkimese threaten to start agitation if govt goes ahead with hydropower projects in West Sikkim

Gangtok, Dec 6: Eight social organizations in the State, including Sikkim Bhutia-Lepcha Apex Committee (SIBLAC), has threatened to launch agitations if the State Government continues to remain adamant in going ahead with mega hydroprojects on the sacred Rathongchu river in the Yuksam-Tashiding region of West Sikkim.

After formation of the “Platform for Joint Action” by eight organisations here on Saturday they have submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Pawan Chamling yesterday urging him to stand by his earlier decision taken in 1997 to scrap the 99 MW Rathongchu hydropower project and put an end to the three such projects over Rathongchu in West Sikkim.

The organizations want Ting Ting, Tashiding and Lethang hydropower projects on Rathongchu to be scrapped immediately. If the State Government “fails” to respond positively to the demand of the people “any kind of agitations” are likely to take place by the “affected people” and the government would be held solely responsible for whatever happens thereafter, the letter to the Chief Minister said.

A press statement issued by the joint action platform said if the government fails to scrap the projects “then this platform will be at liberty to take any course of action” to “press its demand.”

Reflecting the sentiments of the Sikkimese people the concerned organizations have voiced their apprehension on destruction of the natural and cultural heritage of Sikkim if these projects are not scrapped immediately.

Besides SIBLAC, the other organizations with the joint platform are: National Sikkimese Bhutia Organisation (NASBO), Concerned Lepchas of Sikkim (CLOS), Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT), All Sikkim Educated Self Employed & Unemployed Association (ASESEUA), SAVE Sikkim (SAVE), People’s Forum on Earthquake (PFOE) and Nagarik Adhikar Suraksha Sangathan (NASS).

Dalai Lama makes another public appearance as Beijing seethes

Observer News Service

New Delhi, Dec 6: On Saturday afternoon at the India Habitat Center in New Delhi, the Dalai Lama spent an hour educating a packed house of some 1,500 people on the art of happiness in a lecture arranged by book publisher Penguin India.

That in and of itself would not be unusual: the Tibetan spiritual leader is a best-selling author and a world-renowned public speaker. But the event marked his third public appearance in India in a week at a time when India and China — a vociferous critic of the Dalai Lama's ever since he fled to India from China-occupied Tibet in 1959 — are at increasing odds over border disputes and oil-and-gas exploration in the South China Sea, Time magazine reported.  

   And while the lecture itself steered clear of political issues, the deeper significance of the Dalai Lama's sudden increased public appearances has been the subject of much speculation. The Chinese government has reacted strongly to the Dalai Lama's latest speaking engagements in India, canceling high-level talks after one appearance and sending missives to Indian officials not to attend another, despite assurances from New Delhi and from the Tibetan government-in-exile that they were not meant as an affront.

   "The Dalai Lama has been in Delhi for quite a few events. All the events he has attended are nonpolitical, and it is mere coincidence that they happened one after the other," says Lobsang Sangay, the newly elected Kalon Tripa or Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile who accompanied the Dalai Lama on Saturday.

"China is overreacting and politicizing his appearances. The Dalai Lama has always been about human values and harmony; it is just the Chinese government who is pressurizing India and other countries to restrict him."

Bhaichung ropes in Ronaldo for Sikkim quake funds

Gangtok, Dec 6:  Former India skipper Bhaichung Bhutia has succeeded in persuading the authorities to bring three-time world footballer of the year Christiano Ronaldo to play in an exhibition match in Kolkta next month to raise funds for the victims of the recent Sikkim earthquake.

The match is likely to take place on January 15, according to reports. The exhibition match is said to be Bhaichung’s brainchild.

The proceeds of the match, to be played under the aegis of Football Players Association of India (FPAI), will go for the earthquake victims in Sikkim.

The funds collected from the match will also be distributed among needy former India international footballers, it is learnt.

"We are organising the exhibition match to help the Sikkim earthquake victims and the ex-international players. It will be held at Salt Lake Stadium on January 15. We are going to have a press conference on January 14 and Dutch legend Ruud Gullit is expected to address it," Bhutia told PTI.

"I am trying to stitch an India team which will have former international players including me. The match will also have Bollywood actors and cricketers. I have been in talks with John Abraham and Ranbir Kapoor. I am also going to speak to Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sourav Ganguly who are football followers," he said.

The international XI, to be made up of former stars, will have the likes of Cafu of Barzil, Marcel Desailly of France, Paolo Maldini of Italy, Patrick Kluivert of the Netherlands, Samuel Eto'o of Cameroon, Frenchman Christian Karembeu and Rene Higuita of Colombia.

The Indian Football Association (IFA), the state football body for West Bengal, have already given the green signal to the match.

Ruud Gullit will be the coach of the International XI side while Shyam Thapa will be his Indian counterpart

Editorial

MEDIA WATCH

Give Priority To Where It Is Due

People are now not so naïve as before as far as the press is concerned. They know why and how the media operates. Most media houses in India are either owned by politicians or big companies. Some are used as fronts to turn black money into white money. There are very few newspapers owned by journalists or persons and parties that have no vested interests. However, many small town newspapers, particularly vernacular papers, are still owned and run by local journalists. But big papers that have widened their reach have eaten into their share of readership and revenue.

There is, therefore, a greater need for introspection among mediapersons and media proprietors in small towns and cities to give top priority to the growing problems faced by the media in smaller states in the country. Governments in these states also need to take a closer look at how the local press really functions. While politicians tend to give more importance to the dailies, weeklies and other journals are left uncared. While some of them have closed down due to financial pressure others are surviving with great difficulty. Advertisement bills are kept pending for a long period and most of the time hawkers and vendors fail to pay their dues to newspaper establishments. And yet the press has to function and public demand from the local media is growing by the day.

HIGH SECURITY

Cut Down Cost, Implement Act

The Supreme Court has already directed all state governments to implement the provisions of the Central Motor Vehicles Act and issue high security number plates to vehicles. The order must be followed or else it would be regarded as contempt of court.  Till very recently only Goa, Meghalaya and Sikkim have partially implemented the Act. Sikkim faces a peculiar situation. Around 12,000 vehicles in Sikkim have reportedly been provided with high security registration plates. Most of the remaining vehicle owners are unwilling to get the new number plates as the cost of these items are much high as compared to other states.  In other states the cost of these number plates for four wheelers is around Rs 500; in Sikkim it is around Rs 2000.

While the All India Private Vehicles Owners Association wrote to the Sikkim Chief Secretary a few years back on the number plates issue alleging “scam” involving Rs 4 crore, the Sikkim Congress unit had taken up the matter with the Supreme Court as well as the CBI. The allegation is that the cost of these number plates is more than double the cost in other states, including neighbouring West Bengal. The Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee has alleged that “handsome commission” was paid to those who got the deal to implement the project. During the recent local taxi drivers rally in Gangtok the high security number plates issue was also raised. The authorities should immediately cut down the cost and implement the Act in the interest of the people and book the culprits who are responsible for corrupt practices.

China: The World’s Next Superpower

Europe and India must not assess China merely on its financial influence

Sunanda K Datta-Ray

In the West they say China is taking over the world. But, no, it’s only bankrupt Europe that faces the prospect of being taken over while monks and nuns come to a fiery end in Tibet, the Dalai Lama continues to mark time, and the Karmapa Lama’s millions of followers wait for India to adopt a rational policy towards a young incarnate monk who could be the face of Buddhism’s future.

The West is understandably impervious to these nuances because of its own priorities. Europe needs money and China, the world’s biggest creditor with foreign exchange reserves of around $3.2 trillion, has it. “If the Chinese, who have 60 per cent of the world’s reserves, decide to invest in the euro instead of the dollar, why refuse?” asks Nicolas Sarkozy archly, hoping to distract attention from Europe’s persistently extended begging bowl.

Klaus Regling, chief executive of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), which was set up last year and has already provide financial aid to Portugal, Ireland and Greece, expects the Chinese to chip in so that the bailout fund that was agreed on at a recent summit in Brussels can be increased from ¤440 billion to ¤1 trillion. He told the media in Beijing that Asian investors had already snapped up 40 per cent of the bonds that the EFSF issued, but didn’t disclose China’s share of the purchase.

As coy as Sarkozy, he hopes to tempt the Chinese to invest $100 billion in the fund, saying “We all know China has a particular need to invest surpluses,” and that China is “interested in finding attractive, solid and safe investment opportunities.” The inscrutable Chinese haven’t said so. That doesn’t daunt Regling’s salesmanship. “I think the EFSF can offer a good product that is commercially interesting,” he says, adding that the bonds are guaranteed by the 17 euro zone member states. If those 17 governments are so creditworthy, the Chinese might wonder, why come cap in hand to them?

But China’s Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao didn’t dash Regling’s hopes though he didn’t exactly bubble over with enthusiasm. Zhu welcomed the Brussels consensus in tones that were both patronising and lecturing. “Europe needs to listen to opinions in designing the instrument, and it will take some time for a technical framework to form.” China is playing hard to get.

According to a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, Beijing is willing to make joint efforts with the international community to stabilise the global financial market and expand cooperation with Europe in the investment, trade, finance and technology sectors. According to another report, China would prefer to buy European factories and railways instead of wobbly government bonds. The commerce minister has promised to send a delegation to Europe next year. “Traditionally, Chinese involvement in overseas infrastructure projects has been as a contractor only. Now, Chinese investors also see a need to invest in, develop and operate projects.” That could be the beginning of the takeover Europe hopes for.

But China is also anxious to project a humane image in keeping with its superpower-in-waiting image. Hence the agreement with UNIDO, the UN’s industrial-development organisation, to invest $3 billion in Lumbini, the Buddha’s birthplace. Hence also the reported pledge of $1 billion for the Nalanda project that Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun made to Amartya Sen, leader of a delegation of the Nalanda University Mentor Group, in October. According to Chinese reports, the “two sides exchanged opinions on the rebuilding of Nalanda University and China-India cultural and educational exchanges and cooperation… Nalanda University was known in ancient times as Nalanda Temple where Monk Xuanzang of Tang dynasty fetched Buddhist scriptures.”

But such gestures don’t stand alone. They must be assessed in the context of the whole. Australia’s Gareth Evans, international crusader for human rights who threatened to cancel a trip to China unless he was allowed to visit Tibet, once told an interviewer, “What they (the Chinese) need to appreciate is that the Dalai Lama is the best thing they are ever likely to have going for them, in terms of someone that is not arguing for independence, is only arguing for cultural autonomy, is capable of carrying the Tibetan people with him both inside and outside the country.” Today, Evans, who will address the first-ever Australia-India Institute conference in Kolkata on Monday, could add that with the Dalai Lama getting on in years, and with little prospect of a credible and uncontested reincarnation, Ogyen Trinley Dorjee, the 17th Karmapa Lama, is the world’s best bet. (Business Standard)

Bangalore colleges to raise funds of Sikkim quake victims

Bangalore, Dec 6: The college choir of St Joseph’s College of Arts and Science is organising ‘Humanitas 2011’ this Christmas in association with Mount Carmel College. The festival is an effort to raise funds for the less fortunate during Christmas and also raise money for earthquake victims of Sikkim.

Touted as one of the biggest Christmas festivals among the colleges in the city ‘Humanitas 2011’ will be held on December 18 at 5 pm at Mount Carmel College Auditorium.

Christmas musicals and plays that depict the birth of Christ are an integral part of Christmas celebrations in most colleges across the city. A crib and the Christmas tree is decked up in the first week of December which stays on till the new year.

SIBLAC pays tribute to Dev Anand

Gangtok, Dec 6: The Sikkim Bhutia-Lepcha Apex Committee (SIBLAC) has expressed its deep sense of “sadness” on the passing away of the “legendary Bollyhood mystic, the ever Romantic Dev Anand.”

A condolence meeting was held here while the members attending the same stood for two minutes in silence as a mark of respect to the departed soul, who was instrumental in projecting Sikkim to the outside world with his movie ‘Jewel Thief’ in 1963, according to a press release by SIBLAC General Secretary Pem Tshering Lepcha.

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Sikkim Observer Dec 6, 2011

Road construction work unsatisfactory: High Court

GANGTOK, Dec 5: The Sikkim High Court is not pleased with the slow pace of work along the national highways in the State.

During a hearing of a case pertaining to widening and maintenance of roads in the State, including NH 31A, Acting Chief Justice SP Wangdi said construction work undertaken by Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and Project Swastik in the State was “far from satisfactory.”

The court noted that report filed before it by central agencies undertaking road construction work in the State showed little progress despite the fact that the issue also involved national security concerns in the strategic border State.

The delay, it appears from reports, is largely due to non-availability of funds and slow process in acquiring land for construction works.

The High Court has directed the Ministry of Surface Transport for early release of funds and sanction of funds for compulsory afforestation to enable speedy construction of national highways.

Realising the need to complete construction of roads before the next monsoon sets in, Justice Wangdi has observed that all respondents “…shall take up the matter by according it the priority it deserves so that optimum amount of work can be completed during the working season which normally extends only up to the month of May each year”.

Only 15 of the total of 37 proposals for widening and maintenance of roads in the State have been officially approved. These include NH31A, JN Road  and North Sikkim Highway.

In May this year, the Sikkim High Court had issued suo motu notices to several Union ministries and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and sought responses on the bad condition of three strategically important roads in the State.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Barin Ghosh and Justice S.P. Wangdi acted on media reports on the inferior widening work and poor maintenance of the three national highways, posing inconvenience to residents in the State and tourists.

The judges also pointed out the strategic and security aspects of the three roads passing near the borders with Nepal, China and Bhutan.

Referring to the North Sikkim Highway, Justice Wangdi had said though the widening of the road had begun more than seven years back “surprisingly, the work is yet to be completed and its progress is manifestly slow”.

All the three widening projects are looked after by Project Swastik of BRO. While Rs 600 crore has been earmarked for the widening of 180km-long North Sikkim Highway, the 66 km-long Gangtok-Nathula road’s work costs Rs 495 crore. According to the BRO schedule, both the projects will be completed by 2015.

Nathula border trade: zero import, exports decline

Hill Media Network

Gangtok, Dec 3: Despite the initial enthusiasm and media-hype over resumption of the traditional Indo-China border trade at Nathula in east Sikkim nothing worth mentioning happened during the just-concluded border trade.

In fact, the sixth border trade was a damp squib: imports were nil and exports declined by half. Last year, the export figure was Rs 402.54. This year it has gone down to Rs  218.95, according to official sources. The trading period was between May to November.

Border trade through Nathula (14,000 ft) resumed in July 2006 after the 1962 Indo-China war.

Read Against the Tide, ex-CM tells local scribes

Jigme N Kazi

Gangtok, Dec 3: The man who always supported the status quo and became a part of it in a political career spanning more than fifty years surprised me again when I learnt that he remembered me during a media function here recently.

Bhim Bahadur Gooroong urged mediapersons in the State to read my first book, Inside Sikkim: Against the Tide, during a recent function where he awarded five local journalists with “Positive Journalism” grant. The grant came from the State Government.

Would Chief Minister Pawan Chamling approve Gooroong’s reference to my book during such an occasion when IPR Secretary KS Tobgay was also present and when I’m still in the bad books of the authorities? I really don’t know, but I feel that the former Chief Minister was freely expressing his views not caring for anyone’s views on his remarks, which the local media purposely ignored for reasons best known to them. Though Against the Tide was looked upon by many as an anti-Bhandari book the establishment has been treating me as one indulging in “negative journalism” in the past one decade or so. So, Gooroong, a former journalist, did a brave thing by asking the local media to read my book. But will they ever read and go against the tide? I won’t blame them if they don’t. There’s a big price to be paid for exercising one’s freedom in Sikkim. Everyone knows that but pretend not to.

Another credit due to Gooroong from me is when he was the Chief Guest during last year’s function of the Sikkim Federation of Working Journalists (SFWJ), which I still head. During the function, six local journalists, including myself, were felicitated by the Federation, an affiliate of the Indian Federation of Working Journalists (IFWJ), with “Press Freedom” award for taking part in a press freedom protest rally in Gangtok on June 19, 1993, when the political situation was unfavourable towards freedom of expression and movement in the State.

When Chamling launched my book in Gangtok in February 1994 I was lucky. Within three months (it has nothing to do with my book) Nar Bahadur Bhandari, who was in power for nearly fifteen years at a stretch, was eased out of power. Dissident legislators within his party (Sikkim Sangram Parishad) used the income tax issue to throw him out. He never came back to power since then.

In May 1984, Gooroong, who earlier defected to the Congress (I) government headed by Bhandari, sided with dissident Congress legislators to go against Bhandari. The dissidents were successful and Gooroong became the Chief Minister – but only for 13 days!

In February 1982, Gooroong, then an MLA representing RC Poudyal’s opposition Congress (R),  led ten legislators – six  from the ruling Congress party and four from the opposition –  in a revolt against New Delhi by acknowledging former Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal’s second son Prince Wangchuk Namgyal as the 13^th “Chogyal of Sikkim.” The revolt took place on the day of the Chogyal’s funeral on February 19, 1982.

   The sad thing with the old man is that the opportunistic tendencies in him got the better of him than his rebellious streak. Otherwise Sikkim would be a better place to live.

BORDER ROADS

Give BRO A Long Break

If you take an hour’s drive from Gangtok towards North Sikkim along the North Sikkim Highway you will know what Acting Chief Justice SP Wangdi has been saying in the Sikkim Court. Instead of the usual black or semi-black tarred road much of the road leading to Kabi-Longtsok, an important landmark in Sikkim’s history, is covered with thick mud and very bumpy, too. During the winter when there is less rain the slush along the highway is less but one can imagine what the people, including tourists, have to go through during the coming monsoon. And beyond Kabi the road does not get any better not to speak of the condition of the highway from Mangan to Chungthang and from there to Lachen and Lachung after the recent earthquake.

Lack of funds and the tardy manner in which files are processed for land acquisition for road construction work are not the only reason for delay in road construction and maintenance work. The fact is that the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is simply unable to do the job entrusted to it due to many reasons which the authorities should know by now. It is, therefore, high time that the authorities give the BRO a long break and allow private firms to do the job. Trying new initiatives to tackle long-standing problems for a change is the only alternative left now.  It will do a lot of good to residents of the State and the country’s security concerns in a vulnerable region such as Sikkim, which has international borders with three countries.

INDO-CHINA RELATIONS

India Needs To Be More Assertive

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s observation that India is not at all firm in dealing with China on violation of its territorial integrity in the Himalayas is shared by many who want India to be more assertive in tackling with China on various contentious issues, including the border dispute. Unlike the Dalai Lama who says India is too cautious in dealing with China on the Tibet issue Abdullah has gone one step further. He wants India to show “some spine while dealing with China.”

"Why is it that China wants us to follow 'One China' policy for them but it won't follow a 'One India' policy for India," Abdullah rightly asked. "China seems to have no problem in calling Kashmir a disputed region. But we are expected to follow a 'One China' policy and not call into question Taiwan's status, or not call into question Tibet's status," he added. The need for India to deal with China on such issues on an equal footing and to take a more assertive stand like it did when it refused to accept China’s request to postpone the Dalai Lama’s religious function in Delhi recently must be reflected in all avenues of Indo-China relations. However, there was no need for India’s President and Prime Minister to skip the international Buddhist function where the Tibetan spiritual leader was present. Aren’t we showing that we are apologetic and somewhat spineless?

South district villagers raise concern on tunnel blasts

By A Staff Reporter

Jorethang, Dec 5: Local residents from several villages in south district have expressed concern over the manner in which big companies from outside the State are carrying out their construction work in their area.

Villagers of Zoom-Salghari, Majhitar, Goam, Chisopani and Daragaon near here said construction companies such as Dans Energy and Sew Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd are carrying out “illegal” work inside the tunnels.

According to the Industrial Belt Dev Company (IBDC), heavy machines are being used the in the tunnel premises and locals feel that construction workers are not only not heeding to the suggestions and grievances of local residents but are involved in activities that are harmful to them and the environment.

Heavy blasting are also taking place inside the tunnel which are creating a sense of panic among the villagers, local youths said. They said the concern of the villagers has been reported to State Government officials.

DR. TSEWANG Y. PEMBA TSERING/ A Tribute

Remembering Dr. Pemba of Darjeeling

BY KC PRADHAN

A doyen among the medical fraternity in the Hills of Darjeeling, and the first to become a doctor in western medicine from his community, is no more. A distinguished medical surgeon who made a mark not only in Darjeeling but also in faraway London and more importantly in the Kingdom of Bhutan where he was highly revered. But he treasured most his association with Planters’ Club Hospital in Darjeeling where he was the Superintendent for many years and many sons and daughters of eminent families from Sikkim were born under his, and eminent Matron Phulmati Rai’s, able watch.

 He was a quite man of few words and highly dedicated in his profession.  His association with Sikkim goes back to the early 1940s when his distinguished father Rai Saheb Pemba Tsering was a prominent member in British Political Office having served as British Trade Agent first at Gartok in western Tibet and then at Yatung and finally Head of the British Mission in Lhasa - a post next only that of Political Officer in Sikkim. But the family had made Gangtok their home, living in the residence of late Tashi Tsering of Sikkim politics fame. If I remember correctly, it is now Students’ Shop.

If his sister Nozenla was my kindergarten friend at Mazong House (Gangtok), his younger brother Tsewang was my hostel mate at the old Santosh Villa at North Point (Darjeeling). A brilliant family which persevered and made a mark in their respective fields despite having lost their parents to the Gyangtse flood on that tumultuous night of 17 July 1954. As Nozenla writes, “My parents were washed away suddenly in Gyantse, Tibet floods of 17-7-1954. So, we were left as orphans overnight and had to fend for ourselves independently. God has been good as we managed to survive”.

Tsewang Norbu was a brilliant student with Dawa Tsering, later Foreign Minister of Bhutan, all of us staying as pals in Santosh Villa. Alas, the rickety building, our home away from home is no more. Tsewang did his civil engineering from Imperial College in London and was working in Manchester till his retirement and is now settled in the UK. His youngest sister Norden lives in Germany. Nozinla runs her own Himalayan Nursery School in Darjeeling assisted by her daughter Bunty.

Sir Basil Gould, the Political Officer of Sikkim, was very fond of the family and always tried to help. He has written eloquently of Rai Saheb Pemba in his Memoir “The Lotus in the Jewel” and narrates hilariously how the task of handing over two pairs of birds (budgerigars- Australian parakeet) to the four year old HH the Dalai Lama was entrusted to him as the Dalai Lama was very fond of birds.

Dr. Pemba (as he was called and known) was an eloquent writer. His book, “My Young Days in Tibet” is an interesting read – written with simplicity and yet gives insight of Tibet and the society at large at that given time of Tibet’s glorious past.

An extract of his days at Victoria School is apt to share here:

No, unfortunately, I was not a school girl during the above years, I was fortunately or otherwise a school boy at Victoria Boys' School, rather than a stone's throw away from Dow Hill School. In those days and I suppose even now, Dow Hill was the sister school to Victoria. By that it was meant that if one was a student at Victoria and had a sister, she was expected to go to Dow Hill, and vice versa if a school girl at Dow Hill had a brother at home. It was expected that the students of the sister school never had boy friends except at Victoria, and the latter was in turn expected to maintain a mutual fidelity. Dow Hill always cheered Victoria during sports and games competitions and we did the same for our sister school when she raced against their rivals St. Helen's Convent, Kurseong. Every now and then boys having sisters in Dow Hill were allowed to visit them but these visits had a sinister or romantic purpose, for the boys served as decoys to smuggle in heart rending messages to girl friends, and for every Romeo at Victoria there was willing Juliet in Dow Hill. I remember that these episodes of gun running or rather letter running got to such a pitch that the academic staff of both the schools were concerned that such distractions would greatly harm the scholarly achievements of the two schools, and there resulted much persecution.

I have begun this article in a light vein, and even to-day Dow Hill somehow brings to mind such associations - socials where we primmed and scented ourselves and with much heart thumping and shyness took our first manly steps into the social world, dances where we clumsily put into practice the steps of the fox trot and waltz that we had rehearsed so assiduously for weeks. But of course there must have been the deep serious changes that were taking place beneath the light hearted gaiety and superficial world of our boyhood and girlhood dreams. The years 1941 - 1948 were momentous years, years of the second world war, the year of Indian Independence 1947, and the end of the British Raj. Dow Hill then was almost full with British and Anglo-Indian girls, and most of the staff were from these categories.

I particularly remember Miss Harley who was the Headmistress at that time, a large slightly grey haired Australian lady (She was a British and made Kent as her home after retirement), whose speeches during Speech Day were always something to be listened to. She ran the school extremely well and maintained a very high degree of academic and social excellence. Dow Hill used to produce some very entertaining and polished plays and concerts, and to these many British and Allied soldiers vacationing or convalescing at Darjeeling or Kurseong, used to come. Teas would be served for the troops and money collected for the Red Cross and other war societies. I remember a concert where the attire of the performing girls were a little on the scanty side, and raised eyebrows from certain prudish members of the audience, but the whole thing was done in great taste, and I am sure the troops enjoyed the show. Anyway Dow Hill was not a frumpish institution but took the lead in everything that was changing and modern.

I also remember Mrs. Siddons (I believe she lives in England now, and hope she will blush pleasantly in reading this) who was probably the most chic and fashionably dressed school teacher I have ever come across. She always managed to look social and once again chic, whenever she visited Victoria, no doubt on scholarly matters, we used to find it difficult to keep our eyes off her. She always appeared to be discussing something controversial judging from her vigorous graceful gestures and the awed manner in which her audience of young school masters listened. We of course dared not approach within hearing distance to listen.

Dow Hill was good in hockey and in the inter-school sports, she did well. Dow Hill also used to have some marvelous fetes where we ate and played with relish and then there was a concert to look forward to after the fete or better still a dance, where Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington and Victor Sylvester tunes CHARMED our hearts and feet. The jitterbug was then in fashion, and I believe the Samba was just coming in.

Dow Hill also served as a fillip to our physical efforts. We used to have a burly games master named Mr. C. J. Hill, who while we groaned agonisingly having done a score of 'dips' used to berate us with words such as 'You, chaps, should get your girl friends at Dow Hill to see you now. Never seen such a lot of weaklings in my life before'.

I also remember Dow Hill before Independence putting on a play done entirely in Bengali. This was quite a startling novelty, against Raj traditions but Dow Hill had the temerity to put it on. In such matters she took the lead amongst the English speaking hill schools. Am I wrong in thinking it was a Tagore play, Rabindranath Tagore who died in 1941, and we had a holiday that day to mourn his death?

I'm afraid this article is a bit brief, but in conclusion I must say that my memory of those days of Dow Hill is of a lively modern institution, taking the lead in many fields, giving the girls an excellent education, stressing not only the academic side of life - an institution charming, attractive, very British, but at the same time keeping up with the times, and educating the girls to face up to and live in a new India, where the British political control would be no more, but where certain British traditions would still survive to play an important role. I'm glad Dow Hill has flourished to celebrate its Centenary, and wish it well for the future, a future in which its part in the education of young ladies will continue to be vital and prominent.

May his soul be rest in peace.

With thanks and gratitude…

 Dr. Pemba was our school (Mt. Hermon School – MH) doctor. He used to come to the school frequently (two-three times annually) to do our medical check-ups. He not only ‘repaired’ my fractured left hand after a football match at North Point on July 27, 1976 but surprisingly knew me quite well. Once when I went for a medical check-up at the school infirmary for my heart that was paining Dr. Pemba laughed it off and without doing any examination said, “You are a footballer; nothing can go wrong with your heart!!,” and then added, “How are the apples in Lachen?”  How did he know that I was from Lachen in North Sikkim?

 Those who knew him well will surely miss him. After the successful operation of my hand at the Planters’ Hospital I was back on the playing field, including North Point ground, for a long, long  time and with considerable success. And, therefore, it is not so difficult to remember him with heart full of thanks and gratitude now that he is no more.

St. Joseph’s Father German (see pix) taught us ‘speech’ while I was doing my two-years’ teachers training at the TTC (Teachers Training College), which was located at MH premises and basically run by our staff members. How can we ever  forget his “Haba-Haba” shouts during football matches at North Point.

Dr. Pemba and Father German are among those unforgettable landmarks of Darjeeling during my schooling and teaching days – the golden era – in Darjeeling. -  Jigme N Kazi)

HIMALAYAN GUARDIAN      Nov 30-6, 2011

NAGAS LIFT MANIPUR BLOCKADE AHEAD OF PM VISIT

Protests in Manipur have been going on since August

Imphal, Nov 29: A three-month blockade by a tribal group of roads into Manipur has been lifted ahead of the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's trip there.

The Nagas had blocked two key highways in protest against the demand for a new district by the rival Kuki tribe.

The Kukis had called off a 92-day blockade earlier this month after the government agreed to their demand.

The blockades led to shortages of food, fuel and medical supplies. The groups blocked two highways linking Manipur with the rest of the country.

A spokesman for the United Naga Council said they were "temporarily" lifting the blockade early on Tuesday ahead of  Singh's visit to Manipur next week, BBC reported.

The group said it had taken he decision as Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had assured the group that the State Government would not take a decision on the new district without consulting the Nagas.

Kuki tribal groups began the first blockade of two highways in August over their demand for a new district, called Sadar Hills, to be carved out of the Senapati district (Manipur), which is dominated by the Naga tribal community.

The Kukis, one of the major tribes in Manipur, have previously clashed with other Indian separatist groups from the Naga tribe over demands for a homeland.

Later, the rival Naga tribal groups began a "counter blockade" on the same roads to protest against the demand.

EU team upbeat on Nepal

RP Sharma

Kathmandu, Nov 29: A three-member delegation of the European Parliament, led by Jean Lambert (Greens/UK), has welcomed the positive mood expressed by the parties during its one-week visit to Nepal.

Issuing a press release, the delegation has expressed hopes that the visit will help in enhancing permanent and effective links between the two legislatures.

The EU delegation, during its one-week visit, held its talks with high level officials including President Ram Baran Yadav, CA Chairman Subas Nembang, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, among others.

The EU team also visited Rupandehi to observe some of the EU-funded projects, one of them being the nutrition project, run in partnership with UNICEF.

The aim of the delegation was to review the impact of EU-Nepal cooperation and to identify further areas of partnership that could be beneficial for Nepal’s development.

The three-member delegation will return tomorrow after wrapping its one-week visit to Nepal

Dr. Pemba passes away

Darjeeling, Nov 29: Dr. Tsewang Yishey Pemba, one of the most popular physicians of Darjeeling, is no more. He passed away in Siliguri on Saturday (Nov 26) at the age of 79.

An alumnus of Victoria School (Kurseong) and St. Joseph’s College (Darjeeling), Dr. Pemba joined the University College (London) to pursue his carrier in medicine. He became the first hill student from Darjeeling to receive a British medical degree in 1955, according to informed sources. He was awarded the Hallett Prize for standing first in the examination of the Royal College of Surgeons, England. In 1967, he obtained the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeon, the first person from the Himalayas to do so.

Dr. Pemba worked in various hospitals in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Bhutan. He has also authored three books: Young Days in Tibet, Idols of the Path and Tibet in the Year of the Dragon. The funeral will be held in Darjeeling on December 1.

Harmony through peace, dialogue: Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama attends global Buddhist meet

New Delhi, Nov 29: Buddhism has a special role to play in the modern world because unlike many other religious traditions, Buddhism uniquely propounds the concept of inter- dependence which accords closely with the fundamental notions of modern science, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said here on Sunday.

Elaborating on the importance of Buddhism as tool for promoting peace, he said: "The 20th century was a century of war and violence, now we all need to work to see that the 21st century is of peace and dialogue."

The Tibetan spiritual leader addressed a gathering of nearly 900 Buddhist monks and scholars at a four-day Global Buddhist Congregation 2011, which began here on Sunday.

He said Buddhism may be viewed terms of three main categories - philosophy, science and religion. The religious part involves principles and practices that are of concern to Buddhism alone, but the Buddhist philosophy of interdependence as well as the Buddha’s

teachings on mind and human emotions are of great benefit to everyone, the Dalai Lama said.

"I believe that a synthesis of these two approaches has great potential to lead to discoveries that will enrich our physical, emotional and social well-being," the Dalai Lama said.

The spiritual leader said he was “convinced that the most significant obstacle to religious harmony is the lack of contact between different faiths and communities and, consequently, the lack of appreciation of their mutual value".

"However, in today`s increasingly complex and interdependent world, we have to acknowledge the existence of other cultures, different ethnic groups and of course other religious faiths. Whether we know it or not - most of us experience this diversity on a daily basis," he said.

"I think the time has now come to communicate freely with one another - those in the Pali tradition engaging in dialogue with those in the Sanskrit tradition," he said.

Border security beefed up in wake of Kishenji killing

‘Red salute’ to the last revolutionary

Panitanki (West Bengal), Nov 29: Security has been beefed along the porous India-Nepal border in the Panitanki region of North Bengal in anticipation of possible revenge attacks by Maoists following the killing of their leader Kishenji in an encounter in the State.

On Thursday, Kishenji and some of his accomplices were killed by the security forces in a joint operation.

Reportedly, Kishenji and his wife Suchitra Mahato were hiding in the Kushboni jungle when the area was cordoned off and a gun battle followed, ANI reported.

Deputy Inspector General of the Armed Border Force in Ranidanga region, Shubash Kumar, said the entire border out posts were alerted to avoid any untoward incident.

"Keeping in mind the reported news of Kishenji's (Maoist leader) killing, we have alerted all the BOP's (Border Out Posts) and we have also suggested our intelligence setup to tighten up their sources, so that if any anticipating revenge attacks takes place or any group of people try to do any such efforts, that it can be tackled properly," said Kumar.

Armed security personnel were deployed in large numbers on the border and increased patrolling and intensive checking was going on.

Kumar added that extra security forces have been deployed in the sensitive areas like Panitanki and Naxalbari.

Strict vigilance is being kept on all the streets and highways in the region.

Despite strong measures initiated by the government in eradicating the ultras, the Maoist insurgency has gripped nearly one-third of the country in its violent tentacles, spreading into the interiors of 20 of India's 28 states.

 Home Minister P.Chidambaram has termed the left-wing extremism as "a bigger challenge than terrorism".

Maoist sympathisers, revolutionary writers, singers, representatives of various people’s organisations, civil liberties activists and hundreds other on Sunday paid their last respects to slain Maoist leader Kishenji in his hometown Peddapalli in Andhra Pradesh. People in large numbers turned up at Kishenji’s house to pay their tribute and console his family members. With folded hands, the mourners were seen passing by the flower bedecked coffin amid huge police presence.

CBI to seek Nepal help on Balkrishna’s nationality

New Delhi, Nov 29: The CBI will soon send a judicial request to Nepal seeking details of yoga guru Baba Ramdev's aide Acharya Balkrishna in connection with a case of furnishing fake documents to get an Indian passport.

 CBI sources said they were in the process of finalising the Letters Rogatory to be sent to Nepal so that details about the nationality of Balkrishna could be ascertained.

Sources said through the Letters Rogatory, CBI may ask for material to test the veracity of claims made by Balkrishna during questioning by the agency.

 The CBI has registered a case against him under IPC Sections 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) for procuring the fake degree and violation of Section 12 of the Indian Passport Act (knowingly furnishing false documents for getting passport), they said.

The agency had also approached the foreign ministry seeking revocation of Balkrishna's passport as the educational degrees submitted by him were found to be fake, they said.

The decision to register the case against Balkrishna was taken after Sampurna Nand Sanskrit University denied having him on their rolls ever. The Uttarakhand High Court has granted stay on the arrest of Balkrishna after he challenged the CBI case against him. The next hearing will take place on November 29.

Registrar of the university Rajnish Shukla had told CBI that the number mentioned by Balkrishna in his degree did not match with the varsity records and the enrolment numbers indicated in the fudged documents belonged to another student. Balkrishna's two degrees 'Purv Madhyma', a high school degree issued in 1991, and 'Shastri', a Sanskrit degree in 1996, don't figure in the university's records, he said.

The documents show Krishna Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya, an affiliate of the university, as the issuing authority, Shukla said, adding that the vice-chancellor had described the documents as fake. The charges have been denied by Ramdev-controlled Patanjali Yogapeeth Trust.

Army not ‘master’ of J&K: Farooq

“The army's job is to protect the border”

New Delhi, Nov 29: Union minister and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah has critcised the Indian Army for opposing the partial withdrawal of the "draconian" Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from parts of Jammu and Kashmir, saying it was not the "master" of the State.

"(The) army is not our master. Just remember that. The people of Jammu and Kashmir are the masters of their state," Abdullah, who has been the chief minister of the state thrice in the past, told Karan Thapar in "Devil's Advocate" on CNN-IBN news channel.

He said the army's job was to protect the borders. "They have to guard the border so the infiltration doesn't take place. It is their job. Rest the local police, the CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) are ready to handle (the situation)," said the union minister of renewable energy.

He criticised the army and intelligence agencies for failing to check the infiltration from the border with Pakistan.

"How are they coming, if they (the army) are able to handle? Tell me how they are able to handle? They must have failed otherwise how do they enter? How do they enter? It's the failure of the entire system. The intelligence failure. We have intelligence - we have external intelligence and we have internal intelligence. There must be a failure somewhere if they are coming in," he said.

Strongly supporting his son, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's views on the removal of the law that gives sweeping powers to the army in fighting militancy, the senior Abdullah said he was "sure it will go".

But added it was not the decision that could be taken in a spur of the moment. "Everything has to take time after all AFSPA was introduced in 1990 by the then government and the governor. Now the question is, situation has gone better. What is the actual situation is known only to the chief minister because he gets all the inputs."

Calling the the AFSPA a "draconian law", Adbullah said there was no proposal to withdraw it from bordering areas where terrorists would infiltrate or set up sanctuaries.

Asked if his son had mishandled the issue by going public over its withdrawal without taking stake holders on board, Abdullah said: "No, not at all. None, none whatsoever. If he (the chief minister) decides that it (AFSPA) has to go, it must go."

He said it did not matter if the army and the central government disagree. "It is the wishes of the people that matter and if the people feel that the things are better, then let's give them that. They (army) said when 40 bunkers were removed. They said if the bunkers go, there will be no safety. The bunkers were removed and the people are able to breathe safely. People are walking safely."

Editorial

INDIA STANDS FIRM

Border Talks Postponed

Beijing’s growing insecurity towards the Dalai Lama has now led to the postponement of the border talks between China and India. China demanded that India cancel a Buddhist conference in Delhi which the Dalai Lama was expected to address. The conference coincided with the boundary talks between Dai Bingguo and Shivshankar Menon also to be held in New Delhi. India refused to comply with Beijing’s request stating that the Tibetan spiritual leader was free to pursue his religious activities. China abruptly cancelled the talks in reaction to India’s stand on the Dalai Lama.

The disputed borders between India and China have been the subject of 14 rounds of talks since 1962, when the two nations fought a brief but brutal war over the issue.

Chinese infrastructure build-up along the frontier has become a major source of concern for India, which increasingly sees China as a longer-term threat to its security than traditional rival Pakistan. If Beijing continues to connect the Dalai Lama with talks on the border there will be no progress. It must be a bit more reasonable and flexible for the talks to go ahead.

Darjeeling Cong to raise UT status demand

C. Tamang

Darjeeling, Nov 29: The Darjeeling District Congress Committee (Hills) has demanded Union Territory status for Darjeeling.

According to its Vice-President Saroj Kumar Khatri, said former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi has supported this demand. He said DDCC had moved a resolution on UT status for Darjeeling in April this year.

Khatri said a delegation led by KB Chettri, President, Darjeeling District Congress Committee (Hills) will take up the demand with the State and Central authorities.

The delegation will also meet UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram in this regard, Khatri said.

“UT is the fastest and easiest option for separation from Bengal,” said Khatri.

Siliguri : Gateway to the Himalaya

Siliguri is rightly called the gateway to Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and North-East India. It is also one of the fastest growing cities in India.

Situated at the base of the Himalaya mountains in the plains Siliguri is the largest city in North Bengal and second largest city in West Bengal. It connects the hill station towns of Gangtok, Kalimpong, Kurseong, Mirik and Darjeeling with the rest of India. The Mahananda River that flows from the mountains through the city makes this major commercial centre come alive during the monsoon.

 Siliguri has three main seasons:  summer, winter and monsoon. Summer temperatures rarely exceed 38°C. It is considerably cooler than the southern and central regions of West Bengal. During this season, tourists from all over India and from around the world stop in Siliguri en route to the cooler climes of the northern hill stations. Winters are relatively cool and temperatures range from a high of 15°C to a low of about 3°C. Light rain and dense fog are seen during this season. During the monsoon season between June and September, the town is lashed by heavy rains often cutting access to the hill stations and Sikkim. The climate is suitable for growing tea and the surrounding region has many tea gardens.

Siliguri is one of the most important junctions of the North-East Frontier Railway on metre gauge Railway grid. New Jalpaiguri station the junction for broad gauge lines is 3 kms from Siliguri. Direct Railway connections with Calcutta, Delhi and Assam are available from here. Badogra, the major airport of the region, is only 11 kms from Siliguri. Bagdogra is connected with calcutta and Delhi by daily flights. Siliguri is 607 kms from Calcutta, 80 kms from Dargeeling, 114 kms from Gangtok, 475 kms from Guwahati, 470 kms from Patna, 564 kms from Kathmandu (Nepal).

Yoga Retreat in Kalimpong next month

Kalimpong, Nov 29: A ten-day Yoga Retreat is being organized here at Holumba Haven resort from December 12-21 next month.

Deepti Kulshrestha, a resident of Noida, near New Delhi, will conduct the daily Yoga classes, which begin at 5.30 am and end at 7 pm.

The Yoga Retreat will help to energise, de-stress, motivate and inspire the practitioners through yoga and meditation sessions amidst tranquil Himalayan scenery. Through this Yoga Retreat, the participants will be able to form the foundation of their own practice if they are a beginner, or get back and focus on some serious Yoga if they are already a practitioner.

Besides the daily Yoga activities the organizers will also help the participants discover the natural beauty and cultural heritage of Kalimpong.

Chanting of mantras, asanas, pranayama breathing and meditation techniques will be part of the programme for the Retreat.

But the main focus of the practice is Hatha Yoga, according to the organizers.

“We welcome all levels of practitioners (including beginners) and we will give individual attention to people who have any specific health issues that they would like to address through (therapeutic) Yoga,” said an organizer.

Banned Manipur outfit operated from Kurseong

Kurseong, Nov 29: This picturesque town –located midway between Siliguri and Darjeeling – was used as a safe haven by the banned Manipur militant group known as Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL).

A three-storied building in Kurseong was used as a base camp for KYKL leaders, including its self-styled commander Ningthoujam Tomba (57), and cadres to carry out clandestine operations in Nepal, India and elsewhere.

On September 8, 2010, the NIA had filed chargesheet against 7 alleged KYKL terrorists at the District and Sessions Court in Darjeeling for waging war against the state. Only Rabi Kumar Singh was absconding but was later arrested. All are wanted in multiple cases in Manipur also.

Attachment of properties of the KYKL members in Kurseong, Siliguri, Jalpaiguri and other areas are part of a concerted move by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to put an end to the terrorist organisation’s activities in the region.

According to sources, the KYKL had also used Sikkim as one of its bases for operation in the region.

Tomba along with two Manipuri girls – Sorokkhaibam Memcha Devi and N Rama Chanu and a local woman 28 year old Saraswati Rai – were arrested from Khaprail More under the Matigarah police station in the Darjeeling district bordering the Siliguri town, in a joint operation conducted by the Darjeeling police and a Manipur police commando team on March 15, 2010.

The Monpas were the original inhabitants of Bhutan

The Monpas of Bhutan are different from the Monpas of Arunachal Pradesh, says a report

The Monpas have been pushed to the hinter-land of the remote Black Mountain forests today but they were here before the founders of modern Bhutan built dzongs in the valleys of Paro, Bumthang and Thimphu, says a study on the Monpa community, conducted by two Sherubtse College graduates under the research grant of the UNFPA.

"The Monpas kept themselves uninfluenced by the 2,000 year-old mainstream culture of Bhutan," according to the researchers, Sonam Dendup and Pema Chhoedup. Monpas inhabit Mangdue and Wangdue valleys in central Bhutan and are often considered the first inhabitants of Bhutan.

They are different from the Monpas of Tawang in Arunahal Pradesh. "The term Monpa once came to mean little more than southern or western mountain dwelling non-Indian non-Tibetan barbarian. Not only the language but some of the social institutions peculiar to them and their dependence on forest for livelihood served to link them to the forest dwellers of Kumuan and Nepal and Nagas, Kukis and Mismis etc. of north eastern Himalaya," says the report.

Monpas occupy Jangbi, Wangling and Phumzur villages under Lhangthel gewog in Trongsa Dzongkhag and Rukha village (locally known as Oalay and hence Oalaps) in Adha gewog in Wangdi Dzongkhag

The report says that with the increasing exposure to the outside world there now has started a new trend of out migration. In all, 15 people have already migrated from Monpa villages to the other parts of the country for employment opportunities, monastic education opportunities and marriage links established outside their villages.

Traditionally, Monpas engaged themselves in weaving bamboo and cane products. They started shifting cultivation and recently switched to agriculture. Today, a majority of the Monpas engage in farming.

Cane and bamboo form the most important raw materials. Bamboo is used in a variety of purposes as building material, weaving material, for making mats and pots for carrying water and storing milk. Young shoots of bamboo and cane are also consumed. The shoots are also used in making ropes and as fodder. "Owing to the over-exploitation of bamboo forests, Monpas today travel more than six hours to obtain the raw materials. The Monpas of Trongsa travel to 19 different places to fetch bamboo and cane. Now there is a gradual disappearance of bamboo forests," says the report.

According to the report Monpas are a close-knit community. They live and work in groups and have joint family system. Family decisions are usually made by the male head of the family. In the absence of the male family head, the decision might be taken by the female family head. At times this is done collectively.

Bonism was the main religion before the advent of Buddhist doctrines. But they still remain the faithful adherents of the former. "The Monpas of Trongsa do have the stories of Guru Padmasambhava who they claim visited their place on the way to Bumthang via Nabgikorphu. But their faith on Bonism remained undeterred," say the researchers. Altars are almost absent in all the Monpas households. Animal sacrifice was practised until recently during the Bon rituals though this practice is today substituted by offerings of boiled eggs. "Now more and more of them are converting themselves into Buddhists with quite a few of them joining the monastic body as Gyalongs and Gomchens. Recently one Lhakhang has been constructed in Jangbi village by them," says the report.

The Monpas had their own dress called 'Pangay' which is now being replaced by the national dress. Their language, Monkha, doesn't resemble any other languages in the country though it has roots in the Tibeto-Burman family like other languages of Bhutan. "Today, due to the cultural influence posed by the outside regions their language is facing a big threat of extinction. In Oalay only one woman speaks the language fluently. However, all Monpas in Trongsa speak Monkha," say the researchers.

Though the royal government is bringing them to the national mainstream their survival as an indigenous community would be meaningful and possible only if we allow it to grow with its own intrinsic worth," the report concludes. (Kuensel)

PM to visit blockade-hit Manipur on Dec 3

Imphal, Nov 29: Prime minister Manmohan Singh will visit blockade-hit Manipur on Dec 3 to attend a series of programmes and address a public gathering, an official said on Monday. The prime minister is likely to be accompanied by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi during the one day visit.

"Singh would inaugurate a city convention centre, inter-state bus terminus, the assembly complex and the Imphal bench of Gauhati High Court building," an official said, IANS reported.

He would also open the National Institute of Technology (NIT) complex after which he will address a public gathering at Kangla fort complex in the afternoon.

This will be his third visit to Manipur after he became the prime minister.

The northeastern state has been facing ethnic troubles as the United Naga Council (UNC) and the All-Naga Students' Association (ANSAM) have continued their road blockade agitation in northern Manipur to protest the Manipur government's agreement with leaders of the Sadar Hills Districthood Demand Committee (SHDDC).

The SHDDC had on Aug 1 launched a road blockade agitation on the two arterial national highways that link the state with the rest of the country, demanding conversion of the Kuki tribal majority Sadar Hills area into a full-fledged district.

The UNC and ANSAM have blockaded the two National Highways since Aug 21 to counter the blockade launched by the SHDDC.

Tribal Nagas inhabiting northern Manipur, adjacent to Nagaland, are opposed to the creation of a full-fledged Sadar Hills district.

The SHDDC had lifted the blockade on Nov 1 after the state government agreed to their demand of creating a district, a move opposed by the Nagas.

3 NE states to get High Courts

Agartala, Nov 29:  Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya could soon get their own High Courts that would help in quicker disposal of cases, save litigants time and money, and fulfil a long-standing demand of these states.

All the eight northeastern states, excluding Sikkim, come under the jurisdiction of the Gauhati High Court situated in Assam. It has benches in several northeastern states. Sikkim has a separate High Court.

"All necessary infrastructure for the establishment of separate High Courts is ready in three northeastern states -- Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya," a Tripura law department official said.

The Central government needs to amend the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971, to set up separate High Courts in the three states.

Khagen Das, Lok Sabha member from Tripura, on Friday met Union Home Minister P Chidambaram in New Delhi and demanded that the process of setting up separate High Courts in the three northeastern states be expedited.

Das, who moved a private member's bill in the Lok Sabha recently, said that he had urged the Union Home Minister to expedite the matter so that the necessary amendment bill could be passed in the current session of Parliament.

An all-party team from Tripura also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on June 8, 2008, over the demand.

The High Court, which was constituted on April 5, 1948, initially had its sittings in Meghalaya's capital Shillong but shifted to Gauhati on August 14, 1948. It came to be known as the High Court of Assam and Nagaland on the constitution of the state of Nagaland on December 1, 1963.

On the re-organisation of the northeastern region by the North-Eastern Area (Re-organisation) Act, 1971, a common High Court was established for five northeastern states -- Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura - and the two erstwhile Union territories (now full-fledged states) - Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh - and named as the Gauhati High Court.

Pact with Assam outfit signed

P. Ghosh

Guwahati, Nov 29: The government on Friday inked a path-breaking tripartite peace agreement with a prominent insurgent group of Assam, United People’s Democratic Solidarity (UPDS), after two-year-long peace negotiations.

As per the terms of the Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) which was signed in the presence of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, the Karbi Anglong hill district will get more power and a Rs 350-crore special financial package spread over five years.

Describing the pact as a “historic” moment, Chidambaram said government was ready for dialogue with any group that shuns violence and puts its demands within the framework of the Indian Constitution. “This is a historic moment...the Memorandum of Settlement will change the face of the Karbi Anglong district in all spheres,” he said.

The UPDS was spearheading a violent insurgent movement in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district since its formation in 1999 till May 23, 2002 when it entered into a ceasefire agreement with the government. After the signing, Chidambaram urged all groups engaged in violence to give it up and come forward to find a peaceful solutions to all their perceived problems.

The Home Minister said negotiations with another Assam insurgent group Dima Halem Daouga was continuing and was near the final stage and the tripartite agreements with the outfit would be signed shortly.

“Talks with ULFA and NDFB (progressive) are also continuing. Recently, we have authorised (interlocutor) P C Halder to initiate the peace process and hold talks with NDFB (Ranjan Daimary) group,” he said.

25 authors attend NE literary meet

Himalayan News Network

Itanagar, Nov 29: The two-day literary event- MATRIX 2011, organized by the North East Writers’ Forum (NEWF) began here on Sunday with 25 authors from different states of North East participating in the literary sessions to celebrate the spirit of north east as well creativity.

 “Literature is the mirror of society through which knowledge, history and culture are preserved through ages,” commented Arunachal Pradesh Planning, Finance and PWD Minister Chowna Mein after inaugurating the event.

Advocating for encouraging the budding writers of the state through such conclaves, the minister said that the present trend of literature movement in the state was started by Lummer Dai, an eminent writer and being carried forward by Y. D. Thongchi and Mamang Dai.

 “Arunachal Pradesh in particular and the North East in general is rich in oral literature tradition which need to be translated and documented,” Mein said while assuring government’s support for preservation of indigenous manuscripts, documentation of folklores and oral literature.

Chief Minister Nabam Tuki who could not attend the meeting in a message addressed to the literary icons hoped that the conclave would be a path breaking experience for budding writers, poets, media persons and artist of the State.

Earlier, NEWF President Arup Kumar Dutta, who is also the author of the famous book ‘The Brahmaputra’ (Tracing the course of the Tsanpo-Brahmaputra), in his address said that the objective of the literary meet was to revive the missing oral literatures of the north east and to preserve them in form of various works.

INTERVIEW/Jabin T. Jacob

“India’s increased security infrastructure along the border is a reaction to China’s growing military presence in Tibet”

India has reportedly drafted plans to increase its military presence along its border with China. In an email interview, Jabin T. Jacob, assistant director of the Institute of Chinese Studies in Delhi, India, and the assistant editor of China Report, discussed the state of the India-China border conflict.

WPR: What are the core unresolved issues regarding the India-China border?

Jacob: The main point of contention in the Sino-Indian boundary dispute was originally the Aksai Chin area in the Indian northwest. China had built a road to Lhasa through the area, setting off the Sino-Indian conflict of 1962. This area remains in Chinese possession. In the late-1980s, however, the core of the dispute shifted eastward to the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, which the Chinese claim and call “Southern Tibet.” It is not clear what set off this new Chinese emphasis, but there seem to be at least two factors. First, Arunachal is rich in mineral, water and timber resources and is therefore important for the economically underdeveloped Tibet Autonomous Region. Second, Tawang, a Buddhist-majority town in Arunachal, is the birthplace of the 6th Dalai Lama and is believed to have paid taxes to the traditional Tibetan administration in Lhasa. The emphasis on Tawang -- which has come to symbolize the dispute -- appears to be part of a Chinese attempt to reinforce its legitimacy in Tibet and to be seen as capable of defending Tibetan interests better than the present Dalai Lama.

Q: What is driving India's decision to increase its security infrastructure and troop presence along the border?

A: India’s recent emphasis on improving security infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control with China is driven by a number of factors. First, it is part of an attempt to make up for a decades-old policy of deliberately keeping its border areas underdeveloped in an effort to prevent easy Chinese access in the event of another conflict. Thus, much of the development actually involves putting in place only basic roads and telecommunications infrastructure. Second, infrastructure development is a natural corollary of India’s rapid economic growth and is part of development all around the country. Finally, the increased security infrastructure and troop presence is most likely a reaction to China’s own rapid military modernization and active development of security infrastructure in Tibet.

Q: What diplomatic avenues are being used to address the issue, and how effective have they been?

A: The two sides have had a variety of dialogue mechanisms on the boundary dispute ranging from joint working groups to the present special representatives (SR) dialogue. Progress remains difficult to measure, but landmark treaties were signed in 1993, 1996 and 2005. In essence, through the SR mechanism and the 2005 treaty, the two sides have signaled that their dispute must be resolved politically rather than purely on the basis of historical or legal factors. This, however, probably means that resolution of the dispute has now become tied to other factors, including Chinese perceptions of Indo-U.S. ties, the state of affairs inside Tibet and the broader ups and downs in Sino-Indian economic relations. (World Politics Review)

SIKKIM OBSERVER  Dec 3-9, 2011

Poudyal backs Golay, says he’s ready for opposition unity

Observer News Service

Gangtok, Dec: Veteran politician and former minister of the ‘merger’ era Ram Chandra Poudyal (65) has backed dissident ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) legislator and former minister Prem Singh Tamang to lead the Opposition to oust Chief Minister and SDF President Pawan Kumar Chamling.

After several years in political hibernation the maverick politician, who is also President of the Rising Sun Party (RSP), said he was ready to become a “catalyst” for unity among the Opposition. Poudyal, who has been living in Siliguri for around two years in self-imposed exile, has backed the State’s former Lok Sabha MP Nakul Rai on his call for Opposition unity to unseat Chamling.

Briefing reporters here yesterday, Poudyal said the only person to unite the Opposition is Tamang, who is looked on by a wide section of the people to take on Chamling with help of other Opposition leaders, including former chief minister and Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee President Nar Bahadur Bhandari.

Rai recently hinted that people were looking for the right man to unite the Opposition and Poudyal’s open declaration that he supported Golay (Tamang) on the leadership issue will certainly lend weight to the call for unity among the anti-Chamling forces in the State.

“I am ready to play a crucial role in the anti-Chamling agitiation,” said Poudyal. Those close to Poudyal say that he will now not return to Siliguri but stay in his ancestral village near Gangtok at Chhota Singtam.

“Bhandari was yesterday’s leader, Chamling prevails now, but Golay is the future leader,” reported Himalayan Mirror, a local daily, quoting Poudyal. 

WB Guv ignores China's 'advice', attends Dalai Lama meet

Kolkata, Dec 2: In a rebuff to China, West Bengal Governor MK Narayanan attended a lecture on Mother Teresa by Dalai Lama ignoring an advice from the Chinese cosulate in Kolkata.

The Chinese consulate had reportedly advised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Narayanan to stay away from the function Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, The Times of India reported.

Narayanan, however, refused to comment on the issue when asked by the reporters.

Speaking to reporters at the venue, Dalai Lama said he was not surprised to hear about the China note asking West Bengal Governor and Chief Minister not to attend the meet.

The Tibetan leader said the matter should not be "politicised".

"I am no longer a political leader. I don't like this visit to be politicised," he said adding he had faced similar opposition from China before as well.

Karki yet to take charge as Nepalese Ambassador to India

Kathmandu, Dec 2:  Nepal's Cabinet early last month nominated senior Maoist leader Ram Karki, considered close to Premier Baburam Bhattarai, as the country's new Ambassador to India.

 Karki, also known as Partha Chettri, a Politburo member of the ruling UCPN-Maoist, will succeed Rukma Shumsher Rana after the Parliamentary Special Hearing Committee (PHSC) formally approves his name.

 The Cabinet meeting, which was held at the Prime Minister's Office in Singha Durbar here, approved Karki's name along with two others for diplomatic postings in different countries.

 Health professional Mahesh Kumar Maskey has been nominated as Ambassador to China while Joint Secretary Dhananjaya Jha's name has been proposed as envoy to the United Arab Emirates.

Karki is currently in-charge of Maoist party's Limbuwan State Committee and regarded close to Prime Minister Bhattarai. Karki's wife hails from Sikkim, where she is currently serving as a senior government official, according to Maoist party sources.

The Maoist leader is believed to be close to Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling. Former Chief Minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari, Chamling’s arch political rival, had earlier informed New Delhi on Chamling’s communist leanings.

Karki, whom India once suspected to have links with underground organisations in north-eastern India, had lived in West Bengal and New Delhi during the "People's War" and was arrested by Indian police and handed over to Nepal to serve a jail term. He was released after the government started peace negotiations with the Maoists in 2003.

When the Maoists first came to power in Nepal in 2008 after winning the election, the then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda's cabinet nominated Karki  as the ambassador to India.

However, India objected to the proposal on the strength of its intelligence reports that Karki had links to Indian insurgent groups in the North-East and the subsequent fall of the government led to Nepali Congress nominee Rukma Shumsher Rana get the coveted diplomatic post.

It now remains to be seen how New Delhi will react to Karki's re-appointment. 

Sikkim’s former lottery baron behind bars for cheating

K & Co boss Khurana was one of the top tax payers in India

New Delhi, Dec 2: He was once known as of the king of Indian lottery and was the one-time promoter of the enormously successful Sikkim Lottery - a Rs 1000-crore business venture. Today Ashwani Khurana is behind bars for allegedly cheating his four business partners while trying to "expand" the business from lotteries to leasing and finance.

Khurana was arrested by the Economic Offences Wing of crime branch on November 11 and has been sent on police remand for seven days till November 19. The cops said that the promoter has been charged under IPC sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of a valuable security), 471 (using as genuine a forged document which is known to be forged) and 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), The Times of India reported.

Joint commissioner (EOW) Vivek Gogia confirmed the arrest. "We are questioning Khurana to untangle the entire criminal conspiracy,'' said Gogia. A top Delhi police source said that the arrest came after several years of "painstaking" investigations and data collected from various banks and financial institutions.

Sources said that Khurana was one of the five partners in a leading lottery firm. It is being alleged that a few years back, Khurana had approached the company board and asked that he be relieved of his post. His partners reportedly found out that while he was entrusted with the job of expanding the company's profile across the country, he had allegedly siphoned off several crores of money, the report said.

Family and friends of Khurana could not be reached for comment but those in the industry felt that Khurana was "being harassed" on account of personal vendetta. "Towards the end of 80's Khurana was one of the top taxpayers in this country. Why will he be involved in such petty activities,'' asked an associate.

Khurana, who even appeared on an underworld hit list with a 'supari' on his head, was forced out of his Rs 1,000 crore lottery business that had been a moneyspinner for over 20 years. During the '80s, Khurana shot into the limelight as the youngest personal income tax payee when he submitted a Rs 2 crore tax return in 1989. Khurana began his journey in 1979 when his father set up a small lottery shop at Sadar Bazar in north Delhi. He got a lottery contract from the Sikkim Government in 1981 and never looked back. Between 1981 and 1999 the Sikkim government income from the lottery business grew from Rs 500,000 to Rs 600,000 in 1981 to Rs 46 crore in 1999.

During this 20-year period, his company K & Co, made Sikkim Lottery, a formidable force in the business with a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore. By the time it closed down, Khurana printed 5 crore lottery tickets per day under 77 different brands.

Editorial

OPPOSITION UNITY

The Gathering Storm

Duk Nath Nepal, one of Sikkim’s most articulate political activists, recently informed the media that he was confidant that the Opposition will soon come under a unified platform to unseat Pawan Chamling’s uninterrupted reign of nearly two decades. Former Lok Sabha MP Nakul Rai, who was recently expelled from the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), has expressed much the same sentiment. Now, veteran politician Ram Chandra Poudyal has joined the bandwagon to unseat Chamling. Poudyal is more articulate. He has backed ruling party’s dissident legislator P S Tamang (Golay) to take on the SDF supremo. If Golay comes out in the open without fearing any retaliation from Chamling there could be a realignment of forces in the State on communal and casteist lines that could disturb Chamling’s vote-bank.

While Nepal and Poudyal belong to the upper-caste Nepalese Golay can claim himself to be a member of the tribal community as well as the OBC. Things could get worse for Chamling if former Chief Minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari, presently the Congress chief in Sikkim, and A D Subba of Himali Parishad join the anti-Chamling campaign in the State. With Bahun-Chettri and Tamang-Limbu communities poised to take on Chamling much would not depend on which side the minority Bhutia-Lepcha (BLs) tribals will go.

With 13 reserved seats in the Assembly the BLs, still very much united, could still play a decisive role in the coming days. In May 1994 it took just six hours for the BLs to topple the Bhandari government.

QUAKE RELIEF

More Funds Coming

The Sikkim Government has projected a massive Rs 7,400 crore to meet expenses incurred during the recent earthquake in Sikkim. Even if the Centre does not agree to the amount the State Government, it appears, is free to approach other sources, including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. The process of availing funds from these international financial institutions has already begun and the State Chief Secretary Karma Gyatso has already held a meeting with nationalized banks in Sikkim on the matter.

On the official level the State Government has also managed to get “Disaster Affected State” status for Sikkim and no matter what the Opposition might say Chief Minister Pawan Chamling seems confidant to receive a massive amount to meet his government’s needs to rebuild Sikkim. It is now left to the people to ensure that the money received for quake victims is spent for the right purpose and not for anything else. This seems to be a tall order for the Sikkimese people who, even after thirty years of ‘democracy’, still does not know that participatory democracy is all about.

Upreti laments govt’s failure to provide land for Bhaichung’s football academy

Gangtok, Dec 2: Senior Congress leader KN Upreti has expressed his regret and unhappiness of the failure of the State Government to provide land for Sikkim’s ace striker Bhaichung Bhutia to establish a football academy in the State.

Upreti said the fact that the Bengal Government has been able to provide land for the academy to Bhutia in Siliguri and the State Government has failed to provide the same to a “son of our soil” is a big “shame”, a press release issued by him said.

“I am utterly sad on coming to know that the State Government was unable to provide a land for our national football star and our local boy Bhaichung Bhutia to establish a football academy in his own state. It is also a shame on the part of the Govt. when the government of West Bengal had to provide the same purposed land at Siliguri to the son of our soil and the former Indian Captain from Sikkim,” Upreti said.

“This is really unfortunate that Mr Chamling and his Govt. is good in lip service only, encouraging local talented youths with mesmerizing dreams and shattering the same if they do not see their personal interest in it,” the Congress leader said.

Sikkim demands Rs 7,400 for quake disaster

Gangtok, Dec 2: The State Government wants a total of Rs 7, 400 crore to rebuild the State after the devastating earthquake of September 18.

The government has reportedly submitted a memorandum to the Centre last month demanding Rs 7, 400 crore to rebuild the State. The said amount is a projection prepared by various departments of the government. A total of 17 departments are believed to have submitted Detailed Project Reports (DPRs), which has been submitted to the Centre.

Though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had promised Rs 1,000 to the State to meet relief and rehabilitation works in the State it is learnt that the State has received only Rs 50 crore from the Centre.

As the State has now been declared “Disaster Affected State” it is likely to receive funds from financial institutions such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

The Centre’s reluctance to release funds for quake victims may be linked to the Opposition’s allegation that funds are beings misused and distribution of relief funds discriminated.

Former Chief Minister and Congress chief in the State Nar Bahadur Bhandari has voiced his opposition to the State Government’s demand for more funds from international financial institutions. He says the State should not be burdened with more loans.

PERSPECTIVE

Doomsday prediction by Guru Rimpoche

This can be prevented if realized beings perform spiritual duties

By Deyang Dolkar Gyatso

My fascination with kalyug, “Theuyeng Ningma” in lhopo(Bhutia) or the Dark Age, began ever since I was a school going kid. I would eagerly await those evening walks with my aunt, when she would tell us all about the age of the Kalyug, about famous Gurus, their predictions and the outcome of the same if their instructions were not complied with. Little did I realize then, that we would be witness to those stories and the prophecy (Namthar) of the Great Guru in this lifetime itself.

It is amazing how uncanny the predictions made by “The Greater Beings” from all religions known to us, have evidently mentioned the same things…the Pecha (“Theuyeng Ningma”), the Bible (The Book of Revelation), the Geeta (Kalyug), the Koran (Quayamat)…all these religious texts and scriptures talk about this “DARK AGE” in unison.

From what little I could gather at that tender age about “Theuyeng Ningma” (Kalyug) and from what I could mostly “borrow” thereafter, I will share with you, so that we recognise when the time comes and be mindful of the same… if that time is not already here.

It is believed that as the Kalyug progresses towards the final blaze, life expectancy of man decreases and the weight of darkness become more intense. However, these can be limited to a minimum degree when the Voice of Buddha is heard and the Path of Dharma followed.

It is believed that towards the end of the era, when the duration of man's life span has been reduced from sixty to fifty years and there has been no respite in man's increasing egoism, the following conditions will prevail: - Householders fill the monasteries and there is fighting before the altar even as temples are used as slaughterhouses. The ascetics of the caves return to the cultivated valleys and the sages become traders; thieves own the wealth and cattle; monks become householders while priests and spiritual leaders turn to robbery, brigandary and theft. Disorder becomes chaos, turning to panic which rages like wildfire. Corrupt and selfish men become leaders, and the images of the Buddhas, the sacred icons, the scroll paintings and the stupas will be desecrated, stolen and bartered at the market prices.

Once religious duties are forgotten, spirits of darkness (demons that were subdued by Guru Rimpoche and transformed into local deities), which had been controlled by ritual power (by prayers that are recited and offerings that are made to appease protecting deities), become unloosed and frenzied and govern the mind of whatever being they possess. Spirits of vindictive power possess monks; enchanting spirits causing disease possess men; selfish, quarrelling spirits possess women; spirits of wantonness possess maidens; spirits of depravity possess nuns; spirits of rebellion and malice possess children; every man, woman and child in the country becomes possessed by uncontrollable forces of darkness. The signs of these times are new and fantastical modes of dressing-traditional styles forgotten; the monks wear fancy robes and the nuns dress up before a mirror.

The Abbot and Master poison their pupil's minds and hearts ... men become lecherous and shameless; women become unchaste; monks ignore their discipline and moral code; Drunkards preach the Path to Salvation; the advice of sycophants is followed; fraudulent teachers give false initiations; devious imposters claim psychic powers; loquacity and eloquence pass as wisdom. The arrogant elevate profanity.

With the guidance of the Great Guru execrated, the precepts of the Buddha ignored and the celestial order being disrupted, plague, famine and war is loosened to terrorize terrestrial life. The planets run wild, and the stars fall out of their constellations, great burning stars will arise bringing unprecedented disaster. No rain falls in season, but out of season; the valleys are flooded. Famine, frost and hail govern many unproductive years.

And…it gets worse.

Because man has lost contact with his true self, rather than seeing these things as karma and signs of falling of the Spiritual Path, the blame goes elsewhere. We sue everybody and don't take accountability. We blame another country for this or that. We blame fluorocarbons, aerosol cans, cars, whatever, when the greatest, most damaging pollution are the thoughts and words that come out of our own heads.

The disciples of the Lotus-Born Buddha were baffled when they heard of the dreadful prophecies of the future, but Guru Rimpoche did leave them with one piece of heartening prophecy. The Karma that is loosened to slow down man's evil doings eventually disgusts him and awakens him, so that "in his actions and governed by sympathy and compassion towards the sufferers, he will dedicate himself to the restoration of the Great Stupa. He will aspire to the highest human achievement and fulfil his wish to rebuild perfection.”

He goes on to describe the reincarnation of a great lama, Pema Khungsten, to restore Buddhism, but if the work is postponed then a great war breaks out and Tibet is overrun by Chinese hordes. But then again if a certain number of dedicated Yogis and Boddhisatvas, both in embodiment and out continue to hold the precepts and go about doing their spiritual duties and mantras, then and only then will there be Victory over the forces of Darkness.

Now if there was any one thing that I could wish for to happen on the 21-12-12 it would simply be for everyone to pause a moment and reflect on the year(s) gone by…..to drop all religious and social inhibitions and to think about what it really means to be alive and to be happy, to be here at this given time and space, to be free of all judgement and criticism, to have an unbiased understanding of what is really going on all around us. At some level we all just crave happiness but that would depend on what happiness means to each one of us…..the happiness that I am therefore referring to here would be the most basic one, the one we feel when all material things seem immaterial and we are happy just to have about enough to get us by. We can achieve this by being compassionate toward one another, to be more patient and considerate of each other and, more importantly of the future - and knowing there is always room for a change in the positive direction, first within ourselves and then the whole world …..eventually.

We are all here in this great web we call life and contrary to the very essence of our human minds and hearts that we must all conform to the existing norms and standards that have been set as the result of the propaganda of ten thousands of years, whereas to simply ask a question is to actually ask it of yourself.

What I write here will be of very little consequence, for you will forget all about it the moment you are finished with this piece, or you will quote a few phases or sentences that you find interesting but you will not face your life for all it’s worth. And ultimately that is all that matters, isn’t it? Your life, your opinions, your pain and suffering, your gratification, your visions, your shallowness, your greed, your pettiness, your hopes and dreams, your everyday anguish and misery, your goals and ambitions -  and this is exactly what we have to understand because nobody in heaven or on earth (and neither hell for that matter!) can save you from it but yourself  - and from that point on self-realization and enlightenment, is the evident phenomena just on the horizon of our self-existence, finally.

Baichung football academy in Siliguri soon

Kolkata, Dec 2: The much-awaited academy of Indian football icon Baichung Bhutia  has got a green signal from the West Bengal government and it will come up in Siliguri.

The former India captain said getting land would not be an issue and he is now looking forward to setting up a world class facility with three artificial turfs in Siliguri.

"The academy will have three artificial turfs and will have top coaches to train carefully-chosen talented footballers," Bhutia said after his meeting with North Bengal development minister Gautam Deb at Writer's Building recently.

"It will also have world class facilities like swimming pool, gymnasium which can be used for other sport." Bhutia, who also owns a club United Sikkim FC, said he would rope in top coaches in the world for the upcoming academy.

"Top football coaches would be available for the academy and it would have world class facilities in four to five years time. We will carefully choose the trainees," he said.

Asked why he chose Siliguri, Bhutia said, "The target is north Bengal and Northeast. Siliguri is the biggest football hub in Bengal after Kolkata which already has good facilities," he said.

The North Bengal development minister Gautam Deb said Bhutia has written about this in a letter to chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

"We have agreed in principle to have the academy in Siliguri. The details of this would be finalised after the CM comes back. It will be named as the North Bengal Football Academy," Deb said.