HIMALAYAN GUARDIAN Wednesday July 3-9, 2013 ‘SIKKIMESE NEPALESE’ UP IN ARMS AGAINST ‘FOREIGNER’ TAG Biraj Bhandari Duknath Gangtok, July 2: Their reserved seats in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly were illegally and arbitrarily abolished in 1979. This was followed by division of their community with the introduction of OBCs in the former kingdom. Thereafter came another blow: part of OBCs were declared STs in 2003. And now they have been labeled as “foreigners” in a writ petition in the Supreme Court. The Sikkimese Nepalese leadership in the State has threatened to stage a statewide agitation if the old settlers failed to withdraw their allegation against them in the Supreme Court. The threat worked; the Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim (AOSS) has assured it would delete its “unintentional mistakes” in its writ petition filed before the Supreme Court on the income tax issue. Reacting to the allegation, former Chief Minister and Sikkim Sangram Parishad (SSP) chief Nar Bahadur Bhandari said the Association’s submissions were “false” and added that Sikkimese Nepalese were ‘subjects’ of the Chogyal like the Bhutias and Lepchas as they possessed Sikkim Subject Certificates and are, therefore, entitled for IT exemption. The Sikkim Liberation Party President Duknath Nepal in a press statement said his party workers have been instructed “to be prepared of any kind of circumstances” in opposing those who have labeled them as foreigners. “This is not the first time that Sikkimese have been under attack and their rights being impinged upon. From the very first day of being the part of India, there has been grand design against the interest of Sikkimese people,” Nepal said in the statement. He has pointed out that the Constitution has recognized “only three ethnic communities as the bonafide of Sikkim, and they are Bhutia, Lepcha and Nepali” and not those who represent the business community in the State. The Sikkim National People’s Party (SNPP) feels betrayed by old settlers of the State for describing Sikkimese Nepalese as “foreigners” in their writ petition in the Supreme Court. “The SNPP strongly condemns the choice of words used in the petition to describe the Sikkimese of Nepali origin as foreigners, which shows an absolute lack of sensitivity on the part of the petitioners regarding the sentiment and pride of the majority community who, incidentally, have been supporting the petitioners in their efforts to exempt themselves from paying Income Tax from the beginning,” SNPP President Biraj Adhikari said in a Press statement. “The party feels this is a betrayal of the trust which has existed for so long and is of the opinion that just a simple apology to the Nepali community will not suffice, and the petitioners will have to make visible efforts in order bring back the trust as it was,” Adhikari said. Adhikari said, “till the seat reservation (in the Assembly) is restored, the Sikkimese of Nepali origin will not get their due even after having papers like the Sikkim Subject Certificate, and will be subject to these demeaning accusations in the future also.” While condemning the allegation, the Sikkimey Nepali Jaatiya Sangharsha Samiti has threatened to stage a state-wide non-cooperation movement if members of the old settlers in the State fail to apologize and rectify the mistake in the writ petition. The Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh (BGP) President KN Sharma said the “so-called older settlers” of the former kingdom refused to accept Sikkim subject status when it was given to all residents of Sikkim under certain criteria in 1961. They should now not label “native Sikkimese Nepalese as foreigner,” the release said. “The IT exemption by Government is constitutionally guaranteed to the native Sikkimese under the preview of the provisions granted under article 371F which excludes these so-called old settlers,” Sharma said. China lifts 17-year ban on Dalai Lama photos at Tibet monastery: Rights group Beijing, July 2: Chinese officials have lifted a ban on Tibetan monks displaying photographs of the Dalai Lama at a prominent monastery, a rights group said on Thursday, an unexpected policy shift which could ease tensions in the restive region. The decision concerning the Gaden monastery in the Tibetan capital Lhasa - one of the most historically important religious establishments in Tibet - reversed a ban introduced in 1996, the Britain-based Free Tibet group told Reuters, citing sources with direct knowledge of the situation. It was made as similar changes are being considered in other Tibetan regions of China, and may signal authorities are contemplating looser religious restrictions and a policy change over Tibet, three months after President Xi Jinping took office. Chinese officials in western Qinghai province are also considering lifting a ban on Tibetans displaying pictures of the exiled spiritual leader, according to the International Campaign for Tibet, a US-based advocacy group. It said there were also draft proposals in the region to end the practice of forcing Tibetans to denounce the Dalai Lama, and to decrease the police presence at monasteries. Officials in Lhasa and Qinghai could not immediately be reached for comment. Such measures appear calculated to reduce tensions between the Tibetans and the government after a series of Tibetan self-immolation protests against Chinese rule. Beijing considers the Dalai Lama, who fled China in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule, a violent separatist. The Dalai Lama, who is based in India, says he is merely seeking greater autonomy for his Himalayan homeland. Since 2009, at least 120 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in China in protest against Beijing's policies in Tibet and nearby regions with large Tibetan populations. Most were calling for the return of the Dalai Lama. "Tibetans' reverence for and loyalty to the Dalai Lama has almost no equal among the world's communities and if this policy is extended beyond this individual monastery as other reports suggest, it will be very significant for the Tibetan people," Free Tibet spokesman Alistair Currie said. The new policy at the Gaden monastery and the discussions in Qinghai come after a scholar from the Central Party School published an essay questioning China's policy on Tibet. So far, President Xi has said very little publicly about Tibet. His late father, Xi Zhongxun, a liberal-minded former vice premier, was close to the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan leader once gave the elder Xi an expensive watch in the 1950s, a gift the senior party official still wore decades later. "There's increasingly a view that due to the critical nature of the situation of Tibet, a discussion of a change in some hardline policies is merited and there's a need for the Dalai Lama to be involved in some way," Kate Saunders, spokeswoman for the International Campaign for Tibet, Reuters reported. Saunders said the draft proposals in Qinghai were likely to be implemented either in August or September. Advani slams Omar, says BJP always opposed special status to J&K New Delhi, July 2: Against the backdrop of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah slamming him on the issue of revocation of special status to the state, senior BJP leader LK Advani on Friday advised him not to use words like cheating and deceiving and clarified that his party has always been opposed to Article 370. In his latest blog posting, Advani said even the Congress party- other than Jawaharlal Nehru and a few other leaders- were strongly opposed to giving a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, PTI reported. Advani quotes from a biography of Sardar Patel to argue that even he was against Article 370 but kept his views in the background out of his regard for Nehru. "Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir state, has every right to disagree with the BJP on matters relating to J&K. "But I would advise him never to use offensive language and words like 'cheating and deceiving' in that context',? Advani said on his blog. Advani had recently said Article 370 should be revoked. Abdullah had responded to this without naming Advani and slammed him for raising the "false boggy of revocation" of the provision. Holding that it is "highly improper" for anyone to use offensive words like "cheating" in the context of BJP's stand on J-K, Advani said his party has "not only been unequivocal, forthright and consistent from the time Jana Sangh (BJP's predecessor) was born in 1951 till today, but it is an issue for which the Party's Founder President laid down his own life?.' "Since our very first all India session at Kanpur, we have been championing complete integration of J&K State with India,” Advani said. Editorial WARNING BELLS The Establishment Will Remain Silent After the monsoon flood victims in Uttarakhand, Himachal, Assam and elsewhere will be forgotten. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna’s reconstruction and rehabilitation package will soon meet with bureaucratic red-tapism and nothing much will come out of his endeavours. Tall promises will be made which will not be fulfilled. The media will also find another stories to sell and the people will also reconcile themselves to accepting their tragic fate. This is exactly how India is run. Nothing much happened to Sikkim after the September 18, 2011 earthquake. Only local contractors and construction companies have thrived in the tragedy. The manner in which the entire establishment, including the army, woke up to the Uttarakhand tragedy has been and will be repeated in other parts of India. People paid for administrative lapses. Government officials should have been sent to affected places within hours of the tragedy to take stock of the situation. Army choppers in great numbers should have been dispatched with adequate food, clothing, medicine, blankets and other items in the affected areas straight after the tragic incident. Too much focus was placed on pilgrims stuck in the hills while neglecting the local populace. The monsoons have just begun and warning bells are coming from everywhere. It is time to sit up and take note. The English poet John Donne said in the 17th century: “No man is an island… Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” Editorial WARNING BELLS The Establishment Will Remain Silent After the monsoon flood victims in Uttarakhand, Himachal, Assam and elsewhere will be forgotten. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna’s reconstruction and rehabilitation package will soon meet with bureaucratic red-tapism and nothing much will come out of his endeavours. Tall promises will be made which will not be fulfilled. The media will also find another stories to sell and the people will also reconcile themselves to accepting their tragic fate. This is exactly how India is run. Nothing much happened to Sikkim after the September 18, 2011 earthquake. Only local contractors and construction companies have thrived in the tragedy. The manner in which the entire establishment, including the army, woke up to the Uttarakhand tragedy has been and will be repeated in other parts of India. People paid for administrative lapses. Government officials should have been sent to affected places within hours of the tragedy to take stock of the situation. Army choppers in great numbers should have been dispatched with adequate food, clothing, medicine, blankets and other items in the affected areas straight after the tragic incident. Too much focus was placed on pilgrims stuck in the hills while neglecting the local populace. The monsoons have just begun and warning bells are coming from everywhere. It is time to sit up and take note. The English poet John Donne said in the 17th century: “No man is an island… Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” Sonia approves proposal to reconstitute Sikkim PCC New Delhi, July 2: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Saturday approved the proposal for reconstituting the Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee, besides also appointing President of the Pradesh Mahila Congress. Gandhi cleared the appointment of Major T Gyatso and Penzo D Namgyal as senior vice presidents, Anil Lachenpa as treasurer and Rudra N Sakya as general secretary of the Sikkim PCC, PTI reported. Sarita Sharma has been made the president of the Pradesh Mahila Congress, said AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi. Gandhi appointed Gayching Bhutia, Jagdish Cintury, Buddhibal Gurung and Deepak Sharma as District Congress Presidents in Sikkim. Following the removal of the SPCC President NB Bhandari in April this year, the party high command appointed Kunga Nima Lepcha to replace Bhandari, who returned to his old party, the Sikkim Sangram Parishad, and became its President. Manipur royal palace takeover: plea to President for scuttling govt move Manipur’s titular king Leishemba Sanajaoba coming out from the Royal Palace to attend a traditional function in Imphal. Imphal, July 2: Against the recent state cabinet's decision to take over the Manipur royal palace, the "Maharaja in Council", a prominent body of the palace, has urged President PranabMukherjee to pressure the state government to revoke its decision. A memorandum was sent to the President a couple of days ago, said the council's legal adviser, advocate P Tomcha, on Saturday. A body of Tangkhul village chiefs has also joined the growing demand to revoke the decision, The Times of India reported. Along with several social organizations, the council demanded the state government to roll back its decision and maintain the palace in which the titular king of Manipur stays as a "living palace" and a customary institution. The cabinet that met on June 22 with Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh in the chair resolved to take over 12 to 13 acres of the palace area in the heart of Imphal and develop it to retain the glorious era of Manipur's existence as an independent nation in the past. While deciding to construct a house for the king near the royal palace after taking over the area, the cabinet maintained that the king's customary rights will remain undisturbed. A joint delegation of the council and "Sana Konung Semgat Lup" (SKSL), an apex body set up by different organizations for the overall development of the palace, will go to New Delhi to meet the President to discuss the matter soon, said Tomcha. While urging the President to impose central rule if the state fails to retract its decision, the council threatened to launch various forms of agitations if the government doesn't revoke its decision in 10 days. On the other hand, the king, who had not taken food since the cabinet passed its decision, broke his fast on Thursday after fervent requests made by the council and SKSL leaders, said Tomcha. Since the king is living in the palace and performing all customary rites and rituals as the sole authority, it is his rights to stay there as guaranteed by the Indian Constitution, Tomcha argued. On several occasions, the state government abortively attempted to take over the palace and it made its utmost effort in 2006, he said, adding that following public protest, the government was forced to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the SKSL. The process of acquiring the palace area should remain suspended until a final agreement is reached between the state government and SKSL, said Tomcha. Northeast militants have formed 'United Forum': Tripura CM Agartala, July 2: India's northeast region was under serious threat as several militant outfits had come together on a common platform called the United Forum, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said in New Delhi last month. "Reliable reports indicate that most of the northeast India insurgent groups, including NLFT ( National Liberation Front of Tripura), have formed a common platform called "United Forum", which might pose a serious threat to all the northeastern states and to the country as a whole," Sarkar said in his speech at the conference of chief ministers, PTI reported. Demanding additional central forces and strengthening vigil along the India-Bangladesh international border, Sarkar said: "The NLFT has as many as 19 hideouts in Bangladesh and these are located within 10km of India-Bangladesh border. The militant groups are trying to make fresh recruitments." The Chief Ministers of Northeast states sought the Centre's help in launching coordinated action against insurgents taking shelter in various states as well as neighbouring countries. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said coordinated action was needed in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya if training, arms supply transit routes and shelters of militants are to be chocked. "Myanmar remains a foreign sanctuary and there are efforts to reopen camps in Bhutan. Any reversal by a future Bangladeshi regime of the drive against Indian militants will revive the spectre of inviolate sanctuaries across our borders," he said at the conference of CMs on internal security here. His Mizoram counterpart Lal Thanhawla said various militant groups from neighbouring Northeast states and countries like Myanmar and Bangladesh have taken advantage of the porous and inhospitable terrain along the inter-state and international borders. "This has direct bearing on the internal security for not only Mizoram, but also for the whole northeastern states as insurgent groups used it as a conduit for arms smuggling and for crossing over to neighbouring countries for seeking refuge or training," he said. Representing Sikkim, state Urban Development Minister D B Thapa said formation of separate states may renew unrest in the region adjoining Sikkim. Thapa said that its adverse effect will also be experienced in Sikkim which has its distinct identity and cultural heritage.

HIMALAYAN GUARDIAN     Wednesday July 3-9, 2013  

‘SIKKIMESE NEPALESE’ UP IN ARMS AGAINST ‘FOREIGNER’ TAG

Biraj    Bhandari    Duknath

Gangtok, July 2: Their reserved seats in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly were illegally and arbitrarily abolished in 1979. This was followed by division of their community with the introduction of OBCs in the former kingdom. Thereafter came another blow: part of OBCs were declared STs in 2003. And now they have been labeled as “foreigners” in a writ petition in the Supreme Court.

The Sikkimese Nepalese leadership in the State has threatened to stage a statewide agitation if the old settlers failed to withdraw their allegation against them in the Supreme Court. The threat worked; the Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim (AOSS) has assured it would delete its “unintentional mistakes” in its writ petition filed before the Supreme Court on the income tax issue.

Reacting to the allegation, former Chief Minister and Sikkim Sangram Parishad (SSP) chief Nar Bahadur Bhandari said the Association’s submissions were “false” and added that Sikkimese Nepalese were ‘subjects’ of the Chogyal like the Bhutias and Lepchas as they possessed Sikkim Subject Certificates and are, therefore, entitled for IT exemption.

 The Sikkim Liberation Party President Duknath Nepal in a press statement said his party workers have been instructed “to be prepared of any kind of circumstances” in opposing those who have labeled them as foreigners.

“This is not the first time that Sikkimese have been under attack and their rights being impinged upon. From the very first day of being the part of India, there has been grand design against the interest of Sikkimese people,” Nepal said in the statement.

He has pointed out that the Constitution has recognized “only three ethnic communities as the bonafide of Sikkim, and they are Bhutia, Lepcha and Nepali” and not those who represent the business community in the State.

The Sikkim National People’s Party (SNPP) feels betrayed by old settlers of the State for describing Sikkimese Nepalese as “foreigners” in their writ petition in the Supreme Court.

“The SNPP strongly condemns the choice of words used in the petition to describe the Sikkimese of Nepali origin as foreigners, which shows an absolute lack of sensitivity on the part of the petitioners regarding the sentiment and pride of the majority community who, incidentally, have been supporting the petitioners in their efforts to exempt themselves from paying Income Tax from the beginning,” SNPP President Biraj Adhikari said in a Press statement.

“The party feels this is a betrayal of the trust which has existed for so long and is of the opinion that just a simple apology to the Nepali community will not suffice, and the petitioners will have to make visible efforts in order bring back the trust as it was,” Adhikari said.

Adhikari said, “till the seat reservation (in the Assembly) is restored, the Sikkimese of Nepali origin will not get their due even after having papers like the Sikkim Subject Certificate, and will be subject to these demeaning accusations in the future also.”

While condemning the allegation, the Sikkimey Nepali Jaatiya Sangharsha Samiti  has threatened to stage a state-wide non-cooperation movement if members of the old settlers in the State fail to apologize and rectify the mistake in the writ petition.

The Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh (BGP) President KN Sharma said the “so-called older settlers” of the former kingdom refused to accept Sikkim subject status when it was given to all residents of Sikkim under certain criteria in 1961. They should now not label “native Sikkimese Nepalese as foreigner,” the release said.

“The IT exemption by Government is constitutionally guaranteed to the native Sikkimese under the preview of the provisions granted under article 371F which excludes these so-called old settlers,” Sharma said.

China lifts 17-year ban on Dalai Lama photos at Tibet monastery: Rights group

Beijing, July 2: Chinese officials have lifted a ban on Tibetan monks displaying photographs of the Dalai Lama at a prominent monastery, a rights group said on Thursday, an unexpected policy shift which could ease tensions in the restive region.

The decision concerning the Gaden monastery in the Tibetan capital Lhasa - one of the most historically important religious establishments in Tibet - reversed a ban introduced in 1996, the Britain-based Free Tibet group told Reuters, citing sources with direct knowledge of the situation.

   It was made as similar changes are being considered in other Tibetan regions of China, and may signal authorities are contemplating looser religious restrictions and a policy change over Tibet, three months after President Xi Jinping took office.

Chinese officials in western Qinghai province are also considering lifting a ban on Tibetans displaying pictures of the exiled spiritual leader, according to the International Campaign for Tibet, a US-based advocacy group.

It said there were also draft proposals in the region to end the practice of forcing Tibetans to denounce the Dalai Lama, and to decrease the police presence at monasteries. Officials in Lhasa and Qinghai could not immediately be reached for comment.

Such measures appear calculated to reduce tensions between the Tibetans and the government after a series of Tibetan self-immolation protests against Chinese rule. Beijing considers the Dalai Lama, who fled China in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule, a violent separatist.

The Dalai Lama, who is based in India, says he is merely seeking greater autonomy for his Himalayan homeland. Since 2009, at least 120 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in China in protest against Beijing's policies in Tibet and nearby regions with large Tibetan populations.

Most were calling for the return of the Dalai Lama. "Tibetans' reverence for and loyalty to the Dalai Lama has almost no equal among the world's communities and if this policy is extended beyond this individual monastery as other reports suggest, it will be very significant for the Tibetan people," Free Tibet spokesman Alistair Currie said.

The new policy at the Gaden monastery and the discussions in Qinghai come after a scholar from the Central Party School published an essay questioning China's policy on Tibet. So far, President Xi has said very little publicly about Tibet.

His late father, Xi Zhongxun, a liberal-minded former vice premier, was close to the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan leader once gave the elder Xi an expensive watch in the 1950s, a gift the senior party official still wore decades later.

"There's increasingly a view that due to the critical nature of the situation of Tibet, a discussion of a change in some hardline policies is merited and there's a need for the Dalai Lama to be involved in some way," Kate Saunders, spokeswoman for the International Campaign for Tibet, Reuters reported.

Saunders said the draft proposals in Qinghai were likely to be implemented either in August or September.

Advani slams Omar, says BJP always opposed special status to J&K

New Delhi, July 2: Against the backdrop of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah slamming him on the issue of revocation of special status to the state, senior BJP leader LK Advani on Friday advised him not to use words like cheating and deceiving and clarified that his party has always been opposed to Article 370.

In his latest blog posting, Advani said even the Congress party- other than Jawaharlal Nehru and a few other leaders- were strongly opposed to giving a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, PTI reported.

Advani quotes from a biography of Sardar Patel to argue that even he was against Article 370 but kept his views in the background out of his regard for Nehru.

"Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir state, has every right to disagree with the BJP on matters relating to J&K.

"But I would advise him never to use offensive language and words like 'cheating and deceiving' in that context',? Advani said on his blog.  Advani had recently said Article 370 should be revoked.

Abdullah had responded to this without naming Advani and slammed him for raising the "false boggy of revocation" of the provision.

Holding that it is "highly improper" for anyone to use offensive words like "cheating" in the context of BJP's stand on J-K, Advani said his party has "not only been unequivocal, forthright and consistent from the time Jana Sangh (BJP's predecessor) was born in 1951 till today, but it is an issue for which the Party's Founder President laid down his own life?.'

"Since our very first all India session at Kanpur, we have been championing complete integration of J&K State with India,” Advani said.

Editorial

WARNING BELLS

The Establishment Will Remain Silent

After the monsoon flood victims in Uttarakhand, Himachal, Assam and elsewhere will be forgotten. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna’s reconstruction and rehabilitation package will soon meet with bureaucratic red-tapism and nothing much will come out of his endeavours. Tall promises will be made which will not be fulfilled. The media will also find another stories to sell and the people will also reconcile themselves to accepting their tragic fate. This is exactly how India is run. Nothing much happened to Sikkim after the September 18, 2011 earthquake. Only local contractors and construction companies have thrived in the tragedy.

   The manner in which the entire establishment, including the army, woke up to the Uttarakhand tragedy has been and will be repeated in other parts of India. People paid for administrative lapses. Government officials should have been sent to affected places within hours of the tragedy to take stock of the situation. Army choppers in great numbers should have been dispatched with adequate food, clothing, medicine, blankets and other items in the affected areas straight after the tragic incident. Too much focus was placed on pilgrims stuck in the hills while neglecting the local populace.  The monsoons have just begun and warning bells are coming from everywhere. It is time to sit up and take note. The English poet John Donne said in the 17^th century: “No man is an island… Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

Editorial

WARNING BELLS

The Establishment Will Remain Silent

After the monsoon flood victims in Uttarakhand, Himachal, Assam and elsewhere will be forgotten. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna’s reconstruction and rehabilitation package will soon meet with bureaucratic red-tapism and nothing much will come out of his endeavours. Tall promises will be made which will not be fulfilled. The media will also find another stories to sell and the people will also reconcile themselves to accepting their tragic fate. This is exactly how India is run. Nothing much happened to Sikkim after the September 18, 2011 earthquake. Only local contractors and construction companies have thrived in the tragedy.

   The manner in which the entire establishment, including the army, woke up to the Uttarakhand tragedy has been and will be repeated in other parts of India. People paid for administrative lapses. Government officials should have been sent to affected places within hours of the tragedy to take stock of the situation. Army choppers in great numbers should have been dispatched with adequate food, clothing, medicine, blankets and other items in the affected areas straight after the tragic incident. Too much focus was placed on pilgrims stuck in the hills while neglecting the local populace.  The monsoons have just begun and warning bells are coming from everywhere. It is time to sit up and take note. The English poet John Donne said in the 17^th century: “No man is an island… Any man's death diminishes me because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

Sonia approves proposal to reconstitute Sikkim PCC

New Delhi, July 2: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Saturday approved the proposal for reconstituting the Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee, besides also appointing President of the Pradesh Mahila Congress.

Gandhi cleared the appointment of Major T Gyatso and Penzo D Namgyal as senior vice presidents, Anil Lachenpa as treasurer and Rudra N Sakya as general secretary of the Sikkim PCC, PTI reported.

Sarita Sharma has been made the president of the Pradesh Mahila Congress, said AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi.

Gandhi appointed Gayching Bhutia, Jagdish Cintury, Buddhibal Gurung and Deepak Sharma as District Congress Presidents in Sikkim.

Following the removal of the SPCC President NB Bhandari in April this year, the party high command appointed Kunga Nima Lepcha to replace Bhandari, who returned to his old party, the Sikkim Sangram Parishad, and became its President.

Manipur royal palace takeover: plea to President for scuttling govt move

Manipur’s titular king Leishemba Sanajaoba coming out from the Royal Palace to attend a traditional function in Imphal.

Imphal, July 2: Against the recent state cabinet's decision to take over the Manipur royal palace, the "Maharaja in Council", a prominent body of the palace, has urged President PranabMukherjee to pressure the state government to revoke its decision.

A memorandum was sent to the President a couple of days ago, said the council's legal adviser, advocate P Tomcha, on Saturday. A body of Tangkhul village chiefs has also joined the growing demand to revoke the decision, The Times of India reported.

Along with several social organizations, the council demanded the state government to roll back its decision and maintain the palace in which the titular king of Manipur stays as a "living palace" and a customary institution.

The cabinet that met on June 22 with Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh in the chair resolved to take over 12 to 13 acres of the palace area in the heart of Imphal and develop it to retain the glorious era of Manipur's existence as an independent nation in the past.

While deciding to construct a house for the king near the royal palace after taking over the area, the cabinet maintained that the king's customary rights will remain undisturbed.

A joint delegation of the council and "Sana Konung Semgat Lup" (SKSL), an apex body set up by different organizations for the overall development of the palace, will go to New Delhi to meet the President to discuss the matter soon, said Tomcha.

While urging the President to impose central rule if the state fails to retract its decision, the council threatened to launch various forms of agitations if the government doesn't revoke its decision in 10 days.

On the other hand, the king, who had not taken food since the cabinet passed its decision, broke his fast on Thursday after fervent requests made by the council and SKSL leaders, said Tomcha. Since the king is living in the palace and performing all customary rites and rituals as the sole authority, it is his rights to stay there as guaranteed by the Indian Constitution, Tomcha argued.

On several occasions, the state government abortively attempted to take over the palace and it made its utmost effort in 2006, he said, adding that following public protest, the government was forced to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the SKSL. The process of acquiring the palace area should remain suspended until a final agreement is reached between the state government and SKSL, said Tomcha.

Northeast militants have formed 'United Forum': Tripura CM

Agartala, July 2: India's northeast region was under serious threat as several militant outfits had come together on a common platform called the United Forum, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said in New Delhi last month.

"Reliable reports indicate that most of the northeast India insurgent groups, including NLFT ( National Liberation Front of Tripura), have formed a common platform called "United Forum", which might pose a serious threat to all the northeastern states and to the country as a whole," Sarkar said in his speech at the conference of chief ministers, PTI reported.

Demanding additional central forces and strengthening vigil along the India-Bangladesh international border, Sarkar said: "The NLFT has as many as 19 hideouts in Bangladesh and these are located within 10km of India-Bangladesh border. The militant groups are trying to make fresh recruitments."

The Chief Ministers of Northeast states sought the Centre's help in launching coordinated action against insurgents taking shelter in various states as well as neighbouring countries.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said coordinated action was needed in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya if training, arms supply transit routes and shelters of militants are to be chocked.

"Myanmar remains a foreign sanctuary and there are efforts to reopen camps in Bhutan. Any reversal by a future Bangladeshi regime of the drive against Indian militants will revive the spectre of inviolate sanctuaries across our borders," he said at the conference of CMs on internal security here.

His Mizoram counterpart Lal Thanhawla said various militant groups from neighbouring Northeast states and countries like Myanmar and Bangladesh have taken advantage of the porous and inhospitable terrain along the inter-state and international borders.

"This has direct bearing on the internal security for not only Mizoram, but also for the whole northeastern states as insurgent groups used it as a conduit for arms smuggling and for crossing over to neighbouring countries for seeking refuge or training," he said.

Representing Sikkim, state Urban Development Minister D B Thapa said formation of separate states may renew unrest in the region adjoining Sikkim.

Thapa said that its adverse effect will also be experienced in Sikkim which has its distinct identity and cultural heritage.

SIKKIM OBSERVER  Saturday   June 29 – July 5,  2013    

 ‘Sikkimese Nepalese’ defend their special status, condemn old settlers for calling them ‘foreigners’

DN Nepal supports Kabi-Lungtsok sanctity; Biraj Adhikari for restoration of Assembly seats for Sikkimese Nepalese

Duknath Nepal

Gangtok, June 28: Sikkimese Nepalese leaders have strongly condemned and vehemently resisted attempts made by some members of the old business community in the State to label them as ‘foreigners.’

According to them, some members of the old settlers of the State have in their petition in the Supreme Court on the income tax issue have alleged that ‘Sikkimese Nepalese’ are ‘foreigners’ in the State.

The Sikkim Liberation Party President Duknath Nepal in a press statement said his party workers have been instructed “to be prepared of any kind of circumstances” in opposing those who have labeled them as foreigners.

“This is not the first time that Sikkimese have been under attack and their rights being impinged upon. From the very first day of being the part of India, there has been grand design against the interest of Sikkimese people,” Nepal said in the statement.

“Some elements have been relentless in their effort to point fingers time and again against the Sikkimese people,” Nepal added.

He has pointed out that the Constitution has recognized “only three ethnic communities as the bonafide of Sikkim, and they are Bhutia, Lepcha and Nepali” and not those who represent the business community in the State.

Nepal has also supported the efforts made by the State’s minority Bhutia-Lepchas to preserve the historic and sacred site of Kabi-Lungtsok in North Sikkim.

“While on the one side the majority are being tagged as foreigners, there has been persistently cowardly attack to destroy the historical base of the minority community,” Nepal said and appealed “to all the section of the Sikkimese society to stand united to fight the diabolical forces.”

Biraj Adhikari

“Historical places are neither constructed or developed, instead protected and conserved,” Nepal said.

The Sikkim National People’s Party (SNPP) feels betrayed by old settlers of the State for describing Sikkimese Nepalese as “foreigners” in their writ petition in the Supreme Court.

“The SNPP strongly condemns the choice of words used in the petition to describe the Sikkimese of Nepali origin as foreigners, which shows an absolute lack of sensitivity on the part of the petitioners regarding the sentiment and pride of the majority community who, incidentally, have been supporting the petitioners in their efforts to exempt themselves from paying Income Tax from the beginning,” SNPP President Biraj Adhikari said in a Press statement.

“The party feels this is a betrayal of the trust which has existed for so long and is of the opinion that just a simple apology to the Nepali community will not suffice, and the petitioners will have to make visible efforts in order bring back the trust as it was,” Adhikari said.

The SNPP chief also reiterated the Sikkimese Nepalese’ demand for restoration of their reserved seats in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly.

Adhikari said, “till the seat reservation is restored, the Sikkimese of Nepali origin will not get their due even after having papers like the Sikkim Subject Certificate, and will be subject to these demeaning accusations in the future also.”

 “The party hopes that this incident will be the eye-opener for the people to renew their demands for the restoration of seat reservations which were in place and which will put an end to such absurd insinuations,” Adhikari added.

 While condemning the allegation, the Sikkimey Nepali Jaatiya Sangharsha Samiti  has threatened to stage a state-wide non-cooperation movement if members of the old settlers in the State fail to apologize and rectify the mistake in the writ petition.

Reportedly, members of the old settlers have assured that allegations against Sikkimese Nepalese in their petition would be amended.

SDF has ‘betrayed’ Sikkim: SSP

SSP President NB Bhandari during his campaign in east Sikkim

Gangtok, June 28: Sikkim Sangram Parishad feels “betrayed” by the Chamling Government, which came to power in 1994. One of the objectives of the party is to “abolish the misrule” of the ruling party and “give proper justice to the innocent people of Sikkim.”

This assurance was made to several youths of Syari Assembly Constituency, who joined the SSP yesterday.

The youths informed SSP President NB Bhandari the “hope and aspiration” of the people have not been realized in the 19-year rule of the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front government.

The joining of the youths follows the SSP’s “Jan Bichar Bimarsha Adhiyan” campaign in the State under Bhandari’s leadership.

The campaign reached several towns in east district such as Pakyong and Ranipool on Wednesday where people placed their grievances against the government to the SSP chief.

The SSP was revived on May 24 last month when Bhandari - formely President of Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee – took over the party as its President.

Bhaichung slams SFA for ignoring demands

Gangtok, June 28: Former Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia on Thursday said he was upset with the attitude of the Sikkim Football Association (SFA) as it had ‘ignored’ the demands of the clubs of the state.

Bhutia, CEO of United Sikkim Football Club, said the recently formed Football Club Association of Sikkim (FCAS) had sent its demands twice to the SFA but got a reply which only told the clubs to comply with 13-point criteria.

“The criterion was such that even Asian Football Confederation did not apply them to foreign teams to take part in tournaments organised by them,” he told a press conference.

“This is just telling us indirectly that we are not welcome to contribute for the benefit of football at the grassroots level,” Bhaichung, an executive member of the FCAS, said.

Various other members of the FCAS were present at the press conference, PTI reported.

Among other demands, FCAS had sought that two members of all clubs that have played in Senior Division S-League for a minimum of five years be given permanent membership with voting rights in the SFA and two FACS executive members be made executive members of SFA.

Another demand of the FCAS was that clubs from within and around Gangtok playing in S-League and Independence Day tournaments be given Rs. 5,000 per match by the organizing committee. Also, teams from outside Gangtok be given taxi fare besides Rs 5,000.

The SFA reply had puzzled everyone as, if the 13-point criteria was followed, many clubs would fail to qualify even for the local S-league since SFA wanted that 20 players of each participating club would have to be below 20 years of age, Bhutia said.

“We met the sports minister today. He has assured us to intervene in this matter,” he said.

Pandey had betrayed people in 2004 Assembly polls: ‘Save Kabi Longtsok’ Prez

Gangtok, June 28: Palden Bhutia – or Pandey – the person who ditched the Congress party and the people of Kabi-Tingda by failing to file his nomination papers for the 2004 Assembly polls is now under attack.

He has been heavily criticized by ‘Save Kabi Longtsok’ President Sonam Tshering Bhutia on his efforts to defile the sanctity of the historic and sacred site of Kabi-Lungtsok in Kabi, North Sikkim.

According to Sonam Tshering Bhutia, Pandey is the President of Kabi Longtsok Development Association (KLDA), which has a stake in the proposed construction works of the State Government at the historic site.

“The people of Kabi-Tingda constituency once has thrown him out of society for betraying the people of his constituency by absconding from filing nomination in 2004 General Assembly Election. People even conducted Black Puja against him for stopping the people of Kabi-Tingda from their voting right and exercising their adult franchise which comes once in a five years.

Each and every individual in Sikkim is aware of this man Mr. Palden alias Pandey’s history, character and his nature,” Bhutia said in a press statement.

Editorial

SIKKIMESE NEPALESE

Harmony Must Be Maintained

Nepalese living outside Nepal have always been wary of the ‘foreigner’ tag labeled on them. This is the main reason behind the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland in India. Even Sikkimese Nepalese, at times, feel a sense of insecurity on the issue. This is evidenced from how some Nepalese political and social organizations in Sikkim reacted this week against Sikkimese Nepalese being labeled as ‘foreigners’ in a petition of the old settlers of the former kingdom in the court. Whatever their history, the fact is that majority of bonafide Sikkimese are Sikkimese Nepalese and they possess genuine Sikkim Subject Certificate.

Fortunately, the old settlers’ organization promptly decided to rectify the allegation in their petition. At times such as these there is the need for all sections of people in Sikkim to act with caution and to maintain the peace, unity and communal harmony that is so vital to this very sensitive and strategic border State. Hopefully, the three ethnic communities and others living in the State will stand strong and united against any bid to tear apart their unity and peace.

An Appeal:‘Please Save Kabi Longtsok’

By TSETEN TASHI BHUTIA

“Our future depends on our ability to honor and maintain long-standing spiritual practices." - J.D. Educator

“No meaningful performance of Buddhist rituals is possible if this land and water is desecrated.”- Prof. P.S. Ramakrishnan

The appellation Kabi Longtsok derived from the sacred occasion of swearing-in of the oath of blood-brotherhood between the Great Lepcha Patriarch Thekong Tek and Cho Khye Bhumsa in the 13th.Century.

‘Kabi’ meaning Ka-yu-sa-vi or our blood and ‘Long’ meaning stone and ‘Tsok’ meaning erect in Lepcha. Kayu-sa-vi-na Long- tsok in Lepcha, that is, erect stone with our blood which is an oath sworn.

The modern history of Sikkim has direct connection with the history of blood brotherhood between Thekong Tek and Khye Bhumsa.

Khye Bhumsa and his wife had no issue even after the passage of several years. When he heard about a legendary Lepcha Patriarch Thekong Tek of Sikkim, who was duly venerated as an emanation of the Guru Rinpoche, he instantly decided to seek his blessing and according to the prophecy, set southward of Tibet. On meeting Thekong Tek, he requested him for a boon of a son which Thekong Tek considered the request and gave his blessings. The following year a son was born to Khye  Bhumsa. Much delighted by the miracle, Khye  Bhumsa out of gratitude decided to pay tribute to the great Lepcha Patriarch with gifts and offerings and visited him again at Kabi Longtsok..

During this meeting, Thekong Tek lifted the child in a playful mood, accidentally one foot of the child touched his forehead. Thekong Tek pondered over this occurrence and insisted for an Oath of eternal blood brotherhood between Lepchas and the Bhutias.

  This oath taking ceremony witnessed the sacrifice of several animals with invocation of the local deities to witness the occasion of this solemn oath of Blood brotherhood between the Lepchas and Bhutias as one and inseparable single entity. Both Thekong Tek and Khye Bhumsa put their feet in a blood-filled vessel and sat upon raw animal hides with the intestine of the animal tied around them and blood splattered all around.  Thekong Tek invited and involved all the local deities led by the eternal guardian deity of Sikkim Khang-Chen-dzod-nga or Kintsoom Zaongboo Cheu to witness the historic occasion of Blood brotherhood treaty.

He also directed the deities to bless those who observed this oath most sincerely and faithfully and curse on those who tries to break their relationship or refuses to comply with it.

As such, realizing the prophecies of Guru Rinpoche and as discharged and interpreted by the great Lepcha Patriarch Thekong Tek, the indigenous Bhutia-Lepchas became a single inseparable entity since  the 13th.Century A.D. after this historic oath taking ceremony, which was witnessed by non-other than the Khangchen Dzod-nga Tag-Tse at Kabi Longtsok Drag-Chen.

Commemorating the significance of the event, Supreme Guardian deity of Sikkim Mt. Khangchen Dzonga is still venerated also as “Witness God” during the annual Pang-Lhabsol ceremony in Sikkim.

After this, the descendent of Khey Bhumsa; Mipon-Rab, Guru Tashi, Gyalpo Apha, Gyalpo Nagpo, Guru Tenzing and then the first “consecrated” Chogyal of Sikkim, Phintso Namgyal in 1642 A.D. succeeded Khey Bhumsa.

While Ney-da Thekong Mon- Slong of Ney Thakthungrong-Phamorong was requested by Mahaguru to guide and help the local guardian deities in protecting and preserving all hidden dharma treasures and sacred locations as explicitly mentioned in Denzong Neyig. There is a belief that the Lepcha Chief Mon-Slong was the host when three lamas arrived in Sikkim land.

To perpetuate the treaty and its objective of unity, peace and harmony amongst the future generation of the land, a symbolic stone was erected as per tradition with blood splattered over it, which can be witnessed even today where we pray, worship and make offerings without or with our Bongthings and Monks traditionally.

The value and significance of 13th.Century Blood brotherhood of Kabi Longtsok between Bhutia and Lepchas as single inseparable entity is legalized, approved and confirmed today even by the parliament of largest democratic country in the world officially as BL (Bhutia-Lepcha) and therefore, any attack to dislodge the brotherhood is unconstitutional, illegal and not acceptable as prophesied by the Great Lepcha Patriarch Thekong Tek. (The writer is a former Minister and Convenor of Sikkim Bhutia-Lepcha Apex Committee – SIBLAC)

Sikkim Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh defends ‘Sikkimese Nepalese’ status, condemns old settlers’ stand

Gangtok, June 28: The Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh (BGP) has condemned aspersions cast against Sikkimese Nepalese by old settlers of the State.

In a press statement, BGP Sikkim unit President KN Sharma said “anti-social elements” within the State’s old settlers had in their petition in the Supreme Court on the income tax issue alleged that Sikkimese Nepalese are foreigners.
Sharma said the “so-called older settlers” of the former kingdom refused to accept Sikkim subject status when it was given to all residents of Sikkim under certain criteria in 1961. They should now not label “native Sikkimese Nepalese as foreigner,” the release said.

“The IT exemption by Government is constitutionally guaranteed to the native Sikkimese under the preview of the provisions granted under article 371 (F) which excludes these so-called old settlers,” Sharma said.

 ‘Save Kabi Longtsok” holds peace puja, gets wide support

Gangtok, June 28: The ‘Save Kabi Longtsok Committee’ has thanked all those who participated in the peace puja performed at the historic Kabi-Lungtsok site in North Sikkim on  Monday and giving it the much-needed support in opposing the State Government project at the site.

Committee President Sonam Tshering Bhutia, in a press statement, thanked Ong Shezum (Lepcha Youth Asso.),Sikkim, NASBO, Save Sikkim from West Sikkim, Denzong Chyarig Tsogpa, All Sikkim Monastery Association(ASMA) and many others, including Ex-Chief Secretary  Sonam Wangdi, Ex-MP ,Ex-Minister, and members of other communities “for their support and appreciation shown for fighting against illegal project” at the sacred site.

INTERVIEW OF THEWEEK

DEV GURUNG

“Polls are ploy to Sikkimize Nepal”       

  CPN-Maoist is all set to launch the second round of its nationwide protests against the government’s ‘unilateral’ decision to hold Constituent Assembly elections on November 19. The party has ruled out dialogue unless their demands, including the resignation of the CJ-led government, are met. Is it still possible for CPN-Maoist to find common ground with the Big Four and the Regmi government on CA polls? How will it respond if its demands are not met? Kathmandu’s Republica talked to the outspoken CPN-Maoist Party Secretary Dev Gurung on various issues confronting the former Hindu Kingdom. Excerpts of the interview:

Republica: Your party seems determined to disrupt upcoming polls. Is that the right perception?

Dev Gurung: Election is not the right solution to the problems the country faces today. Look at what happened in Sikkim. Election there cost the territory its sovereignty. The same thing happened in Fiji. Let there be no doubt: The proposed election is not meant to give a new constitution. If the parties really wanted to make one, they would have done so through the old CA. The problem is not absence of election, but the deeply rooted rastriya atmasamarpanbad (‘national capitulation’) among the top leaders of four parties.

R: CPN-Maoist has been raising the bogey of Sikkimization for quiet sometime now. What is the basis of your suspicion?

DG: Isn’t it obvious? Article 21 of the 25-point constitution amendment proposal has provisioned for citizenship distribution by descent, even for temporary residents of foreign origin living along the border. We share a porous border with India. Citizenship is the only means to distinguish Nepalis from foreigners there. But the current citizenship distribution system has allowed even foreigners to get citizenships on the eve of election.

    In time, foreigners will become dominant, and real Nepalis will be pushed into a minority. Events over the last two years suggest that we are indeed on the way to being Sikkimized. Foreign forces are conspiring to turn Nepal into another Sikkim and, if that is not possible, into another Bhutan. The election is a part of the same design.

R: Only a couple of days ago your party chairman said that the party could participate in the polls if they were deferred from November 19.

DG: We wanted to give four parties enough time to correct their wrongs. Let us first forge broad consensus, resolve the citizenship issue, and bring politics back into our own hands. We can even make a political declaration of consensus. If it takes a few more months to settle these issues, let it be so. Election can wait.

R: Many partners in your 42-party alliance support election. Unlike CPN-Maoist, no other party is asking that the government resigns. Doesn’t it sometimes feel like a lost cause?

DG: It is not a question of how many supporters we have. We may have a few things in common with the 41 other parties, but we are fighting for a completely different agenda. We are fighting for no less than national sovereignty and independence.

R: What are minimum criteria for your participation in the polls?

DG: The problem is neither the government nor the four parties are interested in settling disputes through negotiation. If they were, they would halt election process and we would put our protest programs on hold. But the four parties and government are forging ahead, updating voter roll, announcing poll date and enacting electoral laws without taking us into confidence. They have taken us to the point of no return. They have left us no room to participate in the polls.

R: But isn’t election intended to bring a new legislature parliament as well?

DG: Like I said, the problem is not the election. If one person is ill, you can’t cure him by treating another person. The root cause of our problems is the tendency of our political leaders to capitulate before foreigners. If they stand united on national issues, foreign powers will be helpless. If the parties agree to restore the country’s political rights, we are ready to compromise on anything.

R: How can this be done?

DG: The Big Four need to correct past mistakes. The parties are staging the farce of election without getting the basics right. Their first mistake was to hold the CA hostage for four years and then to dissolve it. The four parties should not have supported Bhattarai’s unconstitutional move of dissolving the CA and legislature parliament. The President’s 25-point amendment order killed the spirit of interim constitution. Then they appointed Chief Justice as the PM. All this has happened under the direct order of foreign powers. These need to be corrected.

PRIDE OF SIKKIM

NIMA DOMA BHUTIA

Nima Doma Bhutia  of Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS), Gangyap, West Sikkim, was  awarded 'Chacha Nehru Sports Award' for the 2nd time in  two years.

Nima Doma Bhutia, a class XII student of EMRS,was once again awarded the ‘Chacha Nehru Sports Award’ in basketball by CBSE, New Delhi, for her amazing performance in the under 19 CBSE Basketball Nationals last December in Jaipur, where EMRS stood as Silver Medalists. She received a cheque for a sum of Rs. 6,000/-.The letter from CBSE,  stating her winning the award along with the cheque was received on 21st of June 2013.

Bhutia had won the same award last year too when she led EMRS to victory in the CBSE Basketball Nationals in Tamil Nadu.

Nima Doma expressed her gratitude to her coach, her team mates and all her well wishers as well as the entire Eklavyian teaching faculty and school management committee and said she dedicates the award to them. Her one dream is to play for the country and so continues to train and practise hard.

HIMALAYAN GUARDIAN     Wednesday June 26 – July 2, 2013  

Take part in electoral process, PM tells JK

Hurriyat Conference has called for poll boycott

Srinagar, June 25: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked people of Jammu and Kashmir to participate more in the electoral process for a better future for the youth, saying that elections reflect true aspirations and hopes.

"Elections express the aspirations and hopes of the people in the true sense. I appeal to the people to participate in this process so that we can together ensure a better future for our younger generations," he said after inaugurating the 850 MW Rattle power project here.

The Prime Minister's remarks come in the wake of recent opposition by separatists to people's participation in the elections due next year.

The hardline Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani has called for a boycott of the elections. While Lok Sabha elections are scheduled next year, the Assembly polls in the state are to be held towards the end of 2014.

Singh, accompanied by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, landed in Udhampur today and then flew by helicopter to Kishtwar where they addressed a rally after inaugurating a Hydel power project across the Chenab river.

A day after the militant strike in Srinagar left eight soldiers dead, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the entire country is standing united against terrorists and they will not succeed in their designs.

"I want to pay my tributes to the soldiers who laid down their lives while fighting the terrorists," Singh said in his speech after inaugurating 850 MW Rattle power project here along with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

China praises Nepal for crackdown on Tibetan "separatists”

Kathmandu, June 25: Terming its relations with Nepal as "exemplary", China on Monday praised its southern neighbour for its crackdown on Tibetan "separatist forces".

The China-Nepal relationship is an "example of relationship between big and small countries based on mutual coexistence and mutual treatment", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a media briefing here today.

She was responding to a question on the two-day visit of China's State Councillor Yang Jiechi to Kathmandu beginning today, PTI reported.

State Councillor is China's highest ranking diplomat, a post akin to National Security Advisor.

Yang will arrive in Kathmandu after completing his visit to Myanmar.

"The sound and steady relationship between our two countries not only serves them but also regional peace, stability and development," Hua said.

Hua also praised Nepal for the crackdown on Tibetan refugees by barring all activities in support of the Dalai Lama.

"The government of Nepal is upholding the One-China policy and always recognises Tibet as an inalienable part of the Chinese territory and does not allow any force to carry out anti-China separatist activities on the land of Nepal," she said.

"We highly commend it and we also hope and believe that Nepal will continue to honour this commitment," she said.

Shigatse-Kathmandu rail link by 2013 end

Kathmandu, June 25: The Tibet railway is expected to connect Kathmandu with Shigatse later this year. Losang Samten, chief of the Tibet Autonomous Region government, informed in Beijing that the Lhasa-Shigatse railway will be completed ahead of schedule and the railway will become operational at the beginning of 2014.

Speaking at the ongoing Chinese National Congress on Tuesday, Losang Samten informed that the project, considered a very ambitious and strategic one for China, is going to see completion soon.

“I hope the Lhasa-Shigatse railway will be completed by the end of this year [2013] and will come into operation at the start of 2014,” said Losang, speaking in course of the Natonal Congress meeting, Republica reported.

The 253 kilometer Lhasa-Shigatse railway is a very ambitious project under China´s 12th five-year plan, which commenced in 2011. The project, started in September 2010, aims to see completion by 2015, at a cost of 2.1 billion US dollars.

The railway will reach Shigate, the second largest city of Tibet, passing through the 90-kilometer gorge of the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) river and it is expected to boost tourism and business in those areas. Tibet attracted 11 million tourists last year, generating revenue worth 2.1 billion dollars.

The Lhasa-Shigatse railway is the first-leg expansion of the Qinghai-Tibet railway, which is to connect Tibet with the Chinese capital.

Beijing plans to link Kerung, a business hub near Rasuwagadhi in Nepal, with Shigatse, which is connected with Nepal, India and Bhutan.

Another branch of the railway to Nyanchi, south-east of Lhasa, will reach the Indian border. The main purpose of the railway is to develop relations with South Asia. China is already connected to South-East Asia by rail.

According to Hu Siseng, South and South-East Asia director of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, China plans a rail and road network from south-eastern Yunan province to the border areas of the western province of Xinjiang by 2020.

“We plan to connect neighboring countries including Nepal after constructing railways to the border areas,” said Hu, indicating some amendments to a previous plan. He said the railway will connected with Nepal after expanding the road network.

Hu claimed that India will also be attracted by the strategic aspects of these developments in physical contact between Nepal and China within the next few years. He commented that this will impact hugely on relations between China and South Asia.

“Field studies show that there is not so much difficulty technically and physically in connecting Kathmandu by rail,” added Hu, indicting that China would not be deterred by the difficulties of Himalayan geography.

 After Uttarakhand, will Arunachal & Sikkim be next?

By SOUMIK DUTTA

India’s northern state of Uttarakhand is struggling in the aftermath of flash floods which caused massive destruction of life and property. At last count, over 500 have died.

The tragedy has also turned the spotlight on the unmitigated construction activity in the environmentally sensitive hill areas, notably the vast number of hydel power projects.

India’s federal auditor, the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG), in a report submitted four years ago warned Uttarakhand as well as the Central Government of potential hazards arising from the 42 hydropower projects in the state as well as some 200 under construction.

But Uttarakhand is not alone. India’s earthquake-sensitive, north-eastern hill states like Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim are also seeing a frenzied construction of new power plants.

Most of this capacity is meant to serve consumers elsewhere because the states are already meeting most of their own demand. This report does not delve into the environmental assessment impact of these additional power plants. And yet, the scale of projects planned and underway is staggering.

For instance, the Arunachal Pradesh Government had, as of March 2013, signed memorandum of agreements (MOAs) for 153 hydel projects adding up to a whopping 43,118 MW.  This is almost 19% of India’s total installed capacity of 225,133 MW! The good news perhaps is that most of these projects are yet to take off.

Sikkim as per the latest list submitted recently by the Government in High Court, has 26 live hydro power projects with a total revised capacity of 4190.50 MW. This included 570 MW commissioned by NHPC and an additional 730 MW by the public sector National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) under construction.

The large number of power projects on the runway does not in itself mean that an Uttarakhand-like disaster will strike but warnings have been sounded for a while, mostly by locals. There have been a fair amount of media reports on Arunachal’s `hydel gate’ too but fewer have focussed on the potential environmental hazards. Arunachal for instance lies in Seismic Zone V, or very ‘high damage risk zone’.

In contrast to the massive line-up, current power demand in the two states stands at just 589 MW for Arunachal Pradesh and 409 MW for Sikkim. Incidentally, total installed capacity in the north east of India is 2,885 MW while peak demand is 1,899 MW. Actual demand met stands at 1,718 MW right now, leaving a deficit of 9.5% (181MW).

Teesta hydro power project in North SikkimAdd caption

Arunachal Pradesh currently generates around 44o MW of power. Of this, 35.19 MW comes from 63 micro/mini/small hydro electric plants (HEPs) while 405 MW comes from a single power project, run by the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO), a public sector unit.

Projects worth another 690 MW are under construction. The NEEPCO is building one 600 MW plant while the state government is building 72 mini projects with a combined output of 91.9 MW.

Sikkim generates around 610 MW of electricity; of this 40.70 MW comes from the state government while the balance 570 MW comes from the NHPC. There are approximately 10 projects at various levels of construction in Sikkim which would potentially add 1,000 MW capacity. Projects include Gati’s 97 MW project and Jorethang’s 97MW. Assuming a cost of Rs 7 crore per MW, the total cost of these projects would be at least Rs 7,000 crore.

There is concern that these ambitious plans might be good to meet energy deficits but dangerous environmentally. While this report is not delving into environmental assessment issues, it’s interesting to note that many projects have gone to developers with no prior experience. A fact pointed out in recent media reports as well.  They include Gati, a cargo & logistics firm, Athena Energy Ventures, which has had some construction experience but one leg of the trail ends up at the door of a finance company – Karvy Financial Services. Similarly,  Dans Energy was a finance company before it also joined the energy race in the north-east state.

Second, it is alleged that the Environment Impact Analysis (EIA) studies prepared have lacked vital inputs like seismological data and geological formation studies. Moreover, huge tracts of forest lands have been diverted for non-forest use, involving felling of thousands of trees. In Himachal Pradesh, to use a concurrent example, 78 square kilometres of forest were engulfed by hydroprojects. The compensatory afforestation programme by project developers is often faulty and inadequate.

It is also felt that the environmental issues are not getting the attention they deserve from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). For instance, the ministry has set the minimum distance between two dams at 1 km; reason being that the 1 km distance is the bare minimum between dams on the same river or tributary needed to preserve aquatic life.

There are charges of developers manipulating river flow data, discharge of water data, flouting norms on deposition of muck from drilling and blasting as well as felling of trees and not fulfilling the compensatory plantation. There have been wide scale protests across the Himalayas against these practices. In Sikkim, organisations like the Sikkim Bhutia Lepcha Apex Committee (Siblac) and the Affected Citizens of Teesta have been protesting the hydro power projects.

Anti-Teesta hydel project protesters of the Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) during an indefinite hunger strike in Gangtok (file pix)

The CAG in a report on the power projects, said:  “The terms of the High Powered Committee-endorsed hydro power policy are loaded in favour of the IPPs (Independent Power Producers).  Sikkim charged an absurdly low upfront premium of Rs 10,000 per MW of installed capacity towards non-refundable processing fee while states like Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal and Uttarakhand were demanding and getting huge up-front premiums from private hydropower developers.

So, why are the states going hell for leather in setting up these projects, despite the potential environmental hazards? Revenue from power seems to be a key consideration. Arunachal, for instance, has collected substantial sums as processing fee and upfront premium from the project developers. There have been multiple reports of corruption as well.

And there are other concerns. Questions are being raised about the state’s authority in giving away land for any project. In Arunachal, all land rights are with the tribal communities. The same applies to Sikkim, under article 371F, as most of the land is tribal land with no right to purchase, sell or lease being vested with non-tribals.

As this report started by saying, projects signed up do not mean executed. As it turned out. Most  Arunachal projects were signed off between 2006 and 2009, a boom period of sorts. This trend is similar to excesses in other resource-led industries like coal, in the same period. Be that as it may, the Uttarakhand disaster should surely serve as a strong warning sign to any environmentally sensitive infrastructure projects, particularly in the virgin hill states of India. (India Spend)

China may be easing up on Tibet

By TSERING NAMGYAL

In an abrupt and unexpected reversal of policy, Chinese government officials have told monks in some Tibetan areas that they are now free to “worship” the Dalai Lama as a “religious leader.” The new policy document—prefixed with the word “experiment”—also asked that the monks now refrain from “criticizing the Dalai Lama,” and “stop using such labels as a wolf in a monk’s robe,” a common pejorative hurled against the Tibetan spiritual leader by Beijing.

“As a religious person, from now on you should respect and follow His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama,” the document continued, “but in terms of politics you are not allowed to do so. Politics and religion should go separate ways.”

The announcement was reportedly made during a conference held on June 14 at a so-called Qinghai Provincial Buddhist School where a new party secretary was appointed. It was attended by high-ranking ethnic Tibetan and Chinese officials, according to the Tibetan language website Khabda.org, which reported the news.

Analysts say that the Chinese government might have been forced to rethink its strategy on Tibet following more than 100 self-immolations that have occurred inside the special administrative region since 2009.

“If that document is genuine, then they are trying to diffuse the pressure of the self-immolations,” said Thierry Dodin, director of the Tibet Information Service, TibetInfoNet in London.

The new policy is to be first implemented as an “experiment,” according to the report. Dibyesh Anand, Tibet specialist and associate professor at Westminster University in London, sees no evidence of a major shift and says that this can be best explained as an experiment at the local level.

When the Communist Party of China (CCP) initiates a new or major policy change, they usually prefix it with the word “experimental,” which means that if it works they would apply it nationwide, if it fails would be dropped from party’s policy. China is slated to announce a new policy in August.

Some believe the new policy is a public relations offensive in the wake of much criticism toward the Chinese regime from the outside world, especially human rights organizations in the aftermath of the series of self-immolations.

“No criticism of Dalai Lama is more to do with smarter public relations propaganda … rather than a genuine effort at reconciliation,” Anand said.

However, a similar announcement was also reportedly made lifting the ban on the displaying of the Dalai Lama’s pictures in homes and monasteries around the town of Dram near the Tibet-Nepal border, triggering hopes that China might be interested in easing its control on religious practice on a much wider scale.

Beijing’s policy change might also be aimed to send a signal to the outside world that the new leadership is interested in changing its policy toward the Tibetan spiritual leader, said one leading Tibetan scholar. “It is an indication of change,” said the scholar, who did not want to be named.

Making it even more interesting is that the news comes on the eve of China’s forthcoming tour of Tibet by foreign journalists.

Recently, a few other articles have raised speculation that there might be an olive branch in the offing from Beijing authorities to the Tibetan leadership in exile.

In an interview with Hong Kong-based Asia Weekly, Jin Wei, a director of ethnic and religious affairs at the Central Party School at Beijing think tank Central Party School, also suggested that China’s policy in Tibet may not be working.

She called for restarting negotiations with the Dalai Lama’s representatives and has proposed that the Dalai Lama might even be invited onto Chinese soil, Hong Kong and Macau as well discussing the issue of reincarnation with the Dalai Lama himself.

Tibet watchers believe that it is best to adopt a wait-and-see approach if the China government matches their words with actions.

“If she really is transmitting a message, then we should take note of it and wait and see first because what they say does not matter, you have to see what they actually do on the ground,” Dodin said.

Given China’s hard-line policy, Tibetans have demonstrated a mixed response to the news, ranging from guarded optimism to outright skepticism.

Since 2009, as many as 119 Tibetans living under China’s rule have set themselves on fire demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile. 102 of the self-immolators died in agony while the condition of more than 10 remains unknown.

(Tsering Namgyal, a journalist based in New York, is the author of a new biography of the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje published last month by Hay House, India. He is also the author of a recently published novel, The Tibetan Suitcase – Asia Sentinel)

Businessmen have invaded our hills and mountains

Today Darjeeling looks like Solan, Solan like Kausali, Mussoorie like Ghaziabad. The long arm of Indian commerce has invaded every unique setting, and left a trail of devastation in its wake.

Once while designing a hotel in the mountains of Uttarakhand, I had proposed using local pine for constructing the building. But the builder scoffed at the choice. "Arrey bhai, don't you understand", he said, "the cost of felling a pine is the same as a deodar". The value of a two-hundred year old deodar forest could be seen only in commercial terms by a man of business.

Forest resources were cheap, readily available and often difficult to quantify. Today, the nexus between builder, politician, bureaucrat and forest official has left large swathes of mountainsides empty of tree cover. All across Uttarakhand large scale transfers of land are taking place. Whole mountains are bought by Mumbai and Delhi businessmen, who then sell luxury villas around Almora, Ranikhet, Mossourie and Nainital. Some builders find it more lucrative to build nine-ten storied apartments, then sell them off through agents in Delhi and Lucknow. High rises of two and three-bedroom flats used only in the summer, lie in squalid heaps, all along what were once pristine mountain settings - monsoon stained and empty for most of the year.

In the past 30 years, the continual expansion of the population deeper into the hills has already left a passive trail of devastation - tourist hotels some as high as six-eight storey perch on cliffs, empty summer houses of the Delhi rich; an expanding road network on unstable hillsides, commercial activity along new tourist routes, loss of tree cover, expansion of agriculture into forests, and a rain of garbage along hillsides. It is a wonder that environmental disasters don't happen more often. The river's force within minutes can alter the topography of an area, as it did along the Kedarnath Gangotri belt last week. A sudden deluge engulfed religious sites at Kedarnath, Govindghat and Pandukeshwar, the tragedy occurring at peak tourist season, leaving hundreds dead, washing away cars and people.

Certainly, there is no doubting the ferocity of the flood, but then why was a 3,000-capacity car parking on the river at Govindghat allowed to be built? Why were structures around the Kedarnath shrine constructed without embankments? Given that the state Disaster Management Authority has formulated no plan, guidelines or regulations, why were hotels and private houses allowed to be constructed on the flood plain?

Tourism has to a great part contributed to the excessive and unchecked development around shrines. Most religious places are littered with make-shift shops, hotels, sarais and dhabas that come up as temporary shelters for quick commerce, but because of their endorsement by local religious authorities, become 'regularized'. The ramshackle and putrid air of many religious sites is in part due to the laxity of local government who refuse to interfere in matters of religion. If indeed states are serious about 'ecotourism', there needs to be a restrictive strategy that limits tourist numbers, creates more equitable public modes of transport and creates clearly defined precincts for food and lodging.

Moreover, a recognition of the merits of hill topography needs to be carefully factored into any form of building legislation. The development of a pedestrian lakefront in Nainital, guides for construction on ridges in Shimla and Mussorie, stringent controls on building material and roof types in Kumaon and Garwal - all require individual consideration. Today Darjeeling looks like Solan, Solan like Kausali, Mussoorie like Ghaziabad. The long arm of Indian commerce has reduced every unique setting into a suiting ad. Land, building, wall space, air rights, sidewalks, everything is on sale. (The Times of India)

Sikkim tops suicide chart in country

Gangtok, June 25: Sikkim has topped the suicide chart amongst the Indian states, according to a report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) recorded per one lakh population for 2010-12, which has been widely accepted as a standard yardstick.

According to NCRB reports, Sikkim reported 181 suicides in 2012 with 0.1 percentage share of the total number of suicides in the country, which is 1,35,445, The Statesman reported.

The population of Sikkim as per the latest census is 622,000. The all India rate of suicides was 11.2 per cent during 2010-12.

Pondicherry reported the highest rate of suicides (36.8 per cent) followed by Sikkim at 29.1 per cent.

Sikkim topped the chart in 2010 with 45.5 per cent, against the national rate of 11.4 per cent. In 2011, the state ranked third with 30.3 per cent.

As many as 40 people committed suicide due to illness whereas 120 people committed suicide by hanging in 2012. The rate of suicide was highest in the 15-29 years age group.

GNLF to renew 6^th schedule demand from July

Darjeeling, June 25: The Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) is likely to re-emerge in the hills from next month. Its chief Subash Ghising has already asked his supporters to renew the party’s demand on 6^th schedule status for Darjeeling from next month.

"July will be the launch month of our renewed movement. Our leader Mr. Ghising has already given his directives in this regard to all levels of our party. This movement will give hills a true path in the direction of development," said N Lama, Convener of GNLF, Kurseong Sub Divn., The Economic Times reported.

The 6^th schedule status, specially designed for NE region, gives special financial and administrative power to the places of tribal dominance. It was first raised by. Ghising during 2006.

"As I told much earlier, so long Gorkhaland does not come, VIth schedule is the answer for Darjeeling," said Ghising earlier.

Implementation of 6th schedule in Darjeeling needed constitution amendment but before the amendment could finally take place Ghising was driven out of the hills by the Gorkha Janamukti Morchca(GJM), his rival group.

A day-long peace puja was held by various Bhutia-Lepcha organizations at the historic site of Kabi-Lungtsok in North Sikkim yesterday (June 24). The empty chairs are meant for the 12 Bhutia-Lepcha MLAs and 1 Sangha MLA, who failed to attend the puja. The minority indigenous communities are against construction at the sacred site by the State Government. The leaders of the two communities – Thekongtek and Khye-Bumsa – swore eternal blood-brotherhood at this sacred and historic site in the 13^th century. This historic pact led to the formation of the Namgyal Dynasty in Sikkim in 1642 when Chogyal Phuntsog Namgyal, a descendant of Khye-Bumsa, was crowned the first Chogyal (king) of Sikkim in Yuksam, West Sikkim.

Take lessons from U’khand tragedy: Akhil Gogoi

Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti  President Akhil Gogoi

Guwahati, June 25: The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) on Sunday warned that Assam and the other States of the North East were sitting on a time bomb of disasters due to dams in Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan and called upon Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to learn a lesson from the Uttarakhand disaster that was magnified mainly due to man-made reasons.

Addressing mediapersons here, Akhil Gogoi, president of KMSS said that if steps are not taken right now, the Uttarakhand tragedy would be repeated in Assam and the North East on a bigger magnitude.

“Faulty infrastructure development, house construction, haphazard road construction, construction of a large number of dams involving heavy blasting, tunneling and excavation, dumping of muck and debris in the river magnified the disaster in Uttarakhand that started with a natural event,” said Akhil pointing out that the proposed hydropower dams in Arunachal Pradesh without any cumulative and downstream impact studies will trigger unimaginable destruction in Assam that falls under the Eastern Himalayas and has a more fragile ecology than the Western Himalayas under which Uttarakhand comes, The Assam Tribune reported.

“Will the Government of Assam wake up after seeing what has happened in Uttarakhand?” questioned Akhil stressing that an appropriate development policy for the Eastern Himalayas and the Brahmaputra plains needs to be evolved with consent of all citizens.

 “The large number of dams (during construction and after commissioning) will only increase the downstream impact including magnifying floods and other risks during natural disasters. Clearly Assam, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Manipur are sitting on a time bomb of disasters,” warned Akhil, calling upon the people of the State to unite and force the policy-makers to act in the interest of the State and public and not the big corporate houses and industrialists who are concerned about their hydropower projects only and least bothered about the environmental hazards and safety of the people.

“We demand a complete moratorium on existing and proposed dam building in the Himalayas,” said Akhil.

The Meghalaya government has allotted a 120-acre plot on which work is under way for a state-of-the-art academic-cum-residential campus.

Arunachal CM urges MLAs to donate 1 month's salary to Uttarakhand victims

Arunachal Pradesh CM Nabam Tuki (left)

Itanagar, June 25: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister NabamTuki has requested all Congress legislators of the state to deposit one month's salary to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, which would be contributed for relief and rehabilitation of victims of Uttarakhand floods.

More than 500 people have reportedly died so far in one of the worst natural disasters in recent times in Uttarakhand. Nearly 14,000 people are believed to be missing and another 60,000 are stranded.

AICC president Sonia Gandhi has directed all Congress MPs and legislators to contribute to the fund being generated for relief and rehabilitation of the victims of the disaster.

In a circular issued on Saturday, Tuki has appealed to all Congress legislators of the state to contribute their one month's salary for the purpose on or before June 26, officials said.

He also appealed to all conscious citizens, irrespective of party affiliations, to donate to the fund and assured that proper receipt would be given against all contributions, which would be exempted from income tax regulations.

"Our friends in Uttarakhand are in dire need of help. Let us lend them a helping hand to rebuild their lives," he said in an appeal.

Contributions in cash, cheque or demand draft may be deposited or drawn in favour of the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, which would then be transferred to the fund being generated countrywide.

While praying to God to give strength to the family members of those who have lost their lives in the devastation, Tuki extended solidarity on behalf of the people of Arunachal Pradesh with their compatriots in Uttarakhand.

Manipur govt to take over Royal Palace for preservation as historical monument

Imphal, June 25: In spite of strong reaction from the titular King of Manipur and the Sana Konung Kanba Lup over the move, the State Cabinet has decided to take over Sana Konung (Royal Palace) and develop it as a landmark historical monument of the State.

Announcing this to media after the Cabinet meeting here on Saturday, a  spokesperson of the government said the Cabinet has decided to take over the Royal Palace so that it can be developed into a landmark historical monument to the whole to know that Manipur was once princely kingdom, e-pao reported.

Accordingly, the Cabinet has decided to dismantle all the unruly constructions in and around the palace and to confiscate the entire private households which were once part of the Royal Palace.

The temples of Pakhangba, Yumjao Lairembi and Lainingthou Nongsaba which were once a part and parcel of the Royal Palace would also be renovated.

A house for the titular King of Manipur would be constructed by the State Government just near the Royal Palace soon after taking over the palace by the State.

Even though the Royal Palace would be confiscated by the State, the customary rights of the king would remain undisturbed.

SIKKIM OBSERVER Saturday   June  22-28,  2013    

 ‘Save Kabi-Lungtsok’ call gains momentum, peace puja on June 24

Kabi-Lungtsok: historic and sacred site of bloodbrotherhood treaty between Bhutias and Lepchas in the 13^th century at Kabi, North Sikkim.

Gangtok, June 21: If there are those who are bent on destroying the cultural heritage of the indigenous minority Buddhist Bhutia-Lepcha tribals of the former kingdom of Sikkim in the name of ‘development and progress’ they are up for a tough fight ahead.

Three organizations representing the Bhutias and Lepchas during its meeting held here on Wednesday “unanimously resolved” to appeal to the State Government to stop the ‘development and beautification’ project at the historic Kabi-Lungtsok site in Kabi, North Sikkim.

During its meeting, the SAVE Kabi-Longtsok Committee, Ong Shezum (Lepcha Youth Association) North District and Sikkim Bhutia Lepcha Apex Committee (SIBLAC) welcomed the stand taken against the project by various organizations of the indigenous Bhutia-Lepchas of the State.

According to a press release of the three organisations, the DUCHI(Monk Body) of  Kabi -Lungtsok  Sangha Thargayling Goenpa, Sikkim Bhutia Lepcha Apex Committee (SIBLAC), National Sikkimese Bhutia Organisation  (NASBO), Renjyong Mutanchi Rong Tarjum (Sikkim Lepcha Association), Ong Shezum (Sikkim Lepcha Youth Association) have opposed the project on historical and religious ground.

The meeting, held under the chairmanship of SIBLAC Convenor Tseten Tashi Bhutia, decided to hold a day-long peace prayer at Kabi-Lungtsok on June 24. Led by Lepcha priests (bongthings) and lamas the peace puja is being organized under the banner of Save Kabi-Lungtsok Committee and Ong Shezum (North), the release said.

A member of the Dzongu Sikkim Krantikari Morcha wrote in Facebook: “…we have to preserve this heritage for the future generation....but sad to say today 8.24 cr project is building in our heritage. this is rite time for us BL now we have to wake up.....wake up BL.”

The historic place is the site where the Lepcha priest Thekongtek and Bhutia ruler Khye-Bumsa swore eternal bloodbrotherhood in the 13^th century.

Golay to formally takeover SKM next month

Gangtok, June 21: Rebel ruling party legislator PS Tamang (Golay), who floated his Sikkim Krantikari Morcha on February 4 this year, will finally come out in the open and head the party next month.

This was stated by SKM Working President Bharati Sharma during a public meeting of the party in Yangang, South Sikkim, on Monday.

Sharma said Golay will formally take over the party in July and continue with its parivartan (change) campaign. She said the mass support that SKM was receiving all over the State shows that people want change.

Sharma accused the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front, which has been ruling the State for 20 years, of dividing the people and ensuring that wealth was kept in the hands of a handful of pro-ruling party people.

The demand for Golay to come out in the open to lead his party has grown, particularly after former chief minister NB Bhandari revived his party, Sikkim Sangram Parishad, recently. Bhandari said he wants to join hands with Golay and other opposition leaders to bring opposition unity in the State to take on Chief Minister Pawan Chamling-led ruling party.

 SKM sources said it was now legally safe for Golay to lead the party formally. “Had he come out earlier he would fall under the anti-defection bill,” a source said.

Editorial

STRAY DOGS IN ‘SINGAPORE’

The Ground Reality Is Quite Different

As Sikkim tries to emulate Singapore a city corporation of Kerala is all set to follow the Sikkim model in controlling stray dog population in that city. Sikkim reportedly has a well-established animal birth control and rabies vaccination programme which is being monitored by 'Vets Beyond Borders', an Australian-based, non-profit organization established by veterinary volunteers. The State is also receiving assistance from National centre for disease control (NCDC) of the ministry of health and family welfare.

Before anyone comes to Sikkim to emulate its various projects – most of which exist only on papers and in the internet – the authorities are advised to make on-the-spot inspections to see the ground reality. It is OK to plan a trip to the hill State for a summer or winter break giving some administrative reasons to justify the pleasure trip but if the exercise is futile then why waste someone else’s money, particularly when it comes from abroad for a good cause.  This newspaper carried out several pictorial stories showing dozens of stray dogs in ‘Singapore’’s famous ‘MG Marg’ and the authorities took no note of it. “If we remove the stray dogs, we will be targeted by animal activists,” said a concerned official of the Gangtok Municipal Corporation. Perhaps Thiruvananthampuram’s city officials should take some photographs of stray dogs at MH Marg when they visit the city. They should also contact a local loyal who was recently bitten by one of the stray dogs.

Faleiro elevated as Congress general secretary, still in-charge of Sikkim

Faleiro

Gangtok, June 21: Former Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro has been elevated as general secretary of All India Congress Committee (AICC) and entrusted charge of six north-eastern Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.

Faleiro's appointment as general secretary was notable, as he became the first Goan to be entrusted with this responsibility at a national level in the Congress organization, sources said.

The former chief minister's name figures in the list of 12 general secretaries appointed by Congress on Sunday.

He was earlier a permanent invitee to the Congress working committee.

Recently Faleiro was appointed chairman of the central election committee (CEC) for the Karnataka elections that Congress won, raising his stock in the Congress.

Faleiro has been in-charge of Sikkim for quite some time now and is well-acquainted with the State’s politics. With former SPCC President NB Bhandari’s exit from the party recently the state unit of the party is likely to be rejuvenated under Kunga Nima who has replaced Bhandari.

“There will be more activities for the Congress in Sikkim,” said Congress leader Anil Lachenpa.

Sikkim school participates in St. Joseph’s School’s 125^th anniversary     

A group of 32 students from Sikkim’s Padma Odzer Choeling School visited St. Joseph's School, Darjeeling, recently to participate in the 125 year celebrations of the school. The students staged three Lepcha dances which were part of "The Cultural Fest-2013"

 “I’ve gotta be the luckiest North Pointer around!! Believe me it doesn’t get any better than this…to be part of the 125 year celebrations of my alma mater along with the Lepcha dancers from my school…I really am very blessed!! Thank you Fr. Santy and Fr. John and the entire North Point Family for your hospitality and generosity. It means a lot to me and my kids,” says Leonard Lefevre, who now teaches at the Padma Odzer Choeling School.