A TRIBUTE Nar Bahadur Bhandari

Too late to talk about Sikkim when battle tanks roll down Nathula and non-Sikkimese occupy seats of power

  (This article is being republished as a Tribute to Mr. Nar Bahadur Bhandari, who passed away on July 16, 2017)

   Having retreated to my small corner – the fourth estate – after quietly bidding adieu to my two-and-half-decade-long struggle to fight for the common cause of all Sikkimese I reluctantly accepted the offer to give a piece of my mind during a day-long seminar  organized in Gangtok on January 28, 2010 by an enthusiastic group of young people who work under the banner of All Sikkim Educated Self-Employed & Unemployed Association.

The topic was “Article 371F” – a dead horse which still needed more flogging! – and many of those who were present and actively participated in the debate-cum-discussion were distinguished personalities in Sikkim’s social, political and intellectual circles.

(L to R) Jigme N Kazi, N B Bhandari, P M Subba and K N Upreti at the seminar on Art 371F in Gangtok on Jan 28, 2010

    Anti-merger veteran and former Chief Minister and President of the Sikkim unit of the Congress party, Nar Bahadur Bhandari, was there. His former Lok Sabha MP, Pahalman Subba, often regarded as the grand-old-man of Sikkim politics, who has fallen out with both Bhandari and his former colleague, the ‘Mandal Messiah’, Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, was there.

     Former Minister and senior Congress leader, Kharananda Upreti, the man who accompanied Ram Chandra Poudyal during the famous hunger strike at the lawns of the Palace in early April 1973 that led to the Indian-backed agitation, which culminated in the signing of the historic 8^th May Tripartite Agreement of 1973,  ultimately leading to the ‘merger’ in 1975,  was also present.

    Among the younger politicians present at the seminar were Padam Chettri, who only very recently took over the State unit of the BJP as its President, Biraj Adhikari, President of Sikkim National People’s Party, which still demands restoration of Sikkim’s pre-merger “Associate State” status, former Communist leader and now the Convenor of Matri Bhoomi Suraksha Sanghathan, Duk Nath Nepal, and former Minister and Convenor of Sikkim Bhutia-Lepcha Apex Committee (SIBLAC), Tseten Tashi Bhutia, who is regarded as one of the few vocal leaders of the minority Bhutia-Lepcha tribals.

    Conspicuously absent from the scene were representatives of the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front, which often claims that it has restored democracy and removed fear psychosis in Sikkim after Bhandari’s dictatorial rule (1979-1994).The truth is Pawan Chamling is now faced with the same charges leveled by dissidents within his ruling elite.

   Yesteryears’ ‘revolutionary’ and one of the valiant soldiers of ‘democracy’, R C Poudyal, suddenly turned ill and failed to come! With his absence Poudyal missed a great opportunity to stand side by side, shoulder to shoulder with sons and daughters of Sikkim to save what is left in order to pass it on to the generations of Sikkimese yet to come.  Others were invited but fear of what may happen to them if they come chose not to grace the occasion.

    Let them live on hope and die in despair. There is no space for spineless walking corpses, who are neither black or white and who will surely fade away into nothingness, to mingle with honourable defenders of the Sikkimese cause during the time of crisis when the need of the hour for unity and solidarity, despite personal and political differences, has never been felt so much.

   Added to this unique and historic gathering representing the multi-faceted Sikkimese society were Nagrik Sangarsha Samiti Coordinator and prominent critic and member of the old business community, Prem Goyal, Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) activists, Gyatso Lepcha and Mayalmit Lepcha,  former District Collector, S P Subba, and former police officer, Jiwan Pradhan.

    I not only offered my heartiest congratulations to the organizers of the 10-hour-long marathon session but also salute those who spoke out their mind and warmed our hearts and hopes. Together we made history on January 28, 2010, two days before the 28^th death anniversary of the late Chogyal of Sikkim.

    I was certainly the odd man out as I did not belong to any political or non-political grouping. The organizers created the right mood for Sikkimese from all communities and from all walks of life to speak their heart out on an issue that is dear to them for a very long time. That the speakers, mindless of who they were and what positions they held,  spoke eloquently and with conviction and emotion on a wide variety of subjects on one-point theme – Article 371F – is indeed a rare treat for any viewers.

    With tears in my eyes and heart full of burden I made my stand clear. “I have no wish to dethrone anyone or help anyone to get the top job. This is mainly because I have gracefully and very reluctantly accepted the death of my dream,” I told the gathering.

   I made it plain that the casual and directionless manner in which the political leadership among the majority Sikkimese Nepalese tackled the Assembly seat issue in the past so many years led to the death of my dream of a united Sikkim, where all people live in perfect peace, harmony, freedom and prosperity and where the country’s security concerns were fully safeguarded.

    New Delhi ought to realize by now that security, particularly in Sikkim, depends on the loyalty of its people, not just territorial acquisition whether by force or consent.

   I took a dig as I often do when the opportunity arises on those who often make the right noises but the wrong moves: “I quit everything when some of my friends and former colleagues who are educated, have some political experience and feel for Sikkim and the Sikkimese could not look beyond Chamling and Bhandari despite the pressing need to stand firm and pursue our common objectives.”

    I warned that activities of agents of division and disunity actively serving New Delhi, which seems least concerned about what is happening in Sikkim besides pumping huge amount of funds (and perhaps taking some back on the quiet) to its former Protectorate keeping the people perpetually drugged with power and money, will not only finish Sikkim and the Sikkimese people but greatly and surely endanger the country’s territorial integrity.

   Didn’t I make it clear in my book, “Sikkim for Sikkimese – Distinct Identity Within the Union” (published in Feb 2009) why Sikkim is facing a crisis of our own making: “Phony revolutions led by fake revolutionaries and democrats have created a system that thrives on lies, deceit and corruption. We are all victims of the ‘democracy’ that we longed for in1973 and 1993.”

   We may blame the Centre for the gradual erosion of our special status and dilution of our distinct identity. But we, too, are responsible for failing to look after our long-term interests and live up to the hopes and aspirations of our people.

  My message during the seminar was sharp and incisive: “It will be too late to talk about Article 371F when battle tanks roll down Nathula pass and non-Sikkimese occupy seats of power in Mintokgang (CM’s official residence) in the near future.” (Sikkim Observer)

OBITUARY

Bhandari gave us Sikkim’s ‘finest hour’

 Jigme N.Kazi

   He had been suffering from back pain – injuries incurred from police beating during his anti-merger days in early 1970s – for a very long time and finally hospitalized in Delhi. But he breathed his last in a New Delhi hospital on July 16, 2017, due to cardiac arrest.  “Dad was fine till the last moment. He did not reveal any signs that he was leaving us,” said his daughter Primula who was beside him when he passed away.

   Nar Bahadur Bhandari ruled Sikkim, the former Himalayan kingdom – now the 22^nd State of India, for more than a decade and half (1979-1994). The teacher-turned-politician began his political career in early 1973, when pro-India forces in Sikkim under the leadership of Congress leader Kazi Lhendup Dorji Khangsarpa – a Sikkimese Lepcha aristocrat – were gradually tilting towards India. Despite opposition from the Sikkimese people Sikkim became a part of India in mid-1975. The Sikkimese people led by the Chogyal (king), Palden Thondup Namgyal, Nar Bahadur Bhandari and other Sikkimese nationalist leaders lost the fight to retain Sikkim’s distinct and unique international status. Despite the odds heavily stacked up against them pro-Sikkim forces swam against the tide. Theirs was a losing battle but come what may they would go down fighting. The Indira Gandhi-led Congress Government, Congress dominated Parliament, Indian officials at the helm of affairs in Sikkim, Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Indian Army – were no match to the people’s movement opposing the ‘merger.’

    However, four years after Sikkim’s annexation the Bhandari-led Sikkim Parishad scored a decisive  moral victory when it trounced Kazi’s Congress-turned-Janata Party in the first Assembly elections in Sikkim as an Indian State and formed the government on October 18, 1979 with Bhandari as the Chief Minister.  Kazi, the grand old man of Sikkim politics, lost his own seat to a Parishad candidate, Athup Lepcha, from the remote Dzongu constituency in North Sikkim. The Parishad won 16 seats and with the help of an Independent (Sangha MLA, Lachen Gomchen Rinpoche, was actually a Parishad candidate) formed the government.  The Congress (R) party led by Kazi’s Cabinet member Ram Chandra Poudyal, who revolted against Kazi and New Delhi for unilaterally and illegally abolishing the 16 seats reserved for the Sikkimese Nepalese in the 32-member House, won 11 seats, leaving Nar Bahadur Khatiwada’s Sikkim Prajatantra Party with 4 seats. Khatiwada, the former Youth Congress leader who spearheaded the merger movement, fell out with Kazi in 1977 alleging that the ‘merger’ was ‘illegal’, ‘undemocratic’ and ‘against the wishes of the Sikkimese people.’

   The rest is history. Petty politics does not deserve much attention. But what needs to be mentioned here is that Bhandari’s downfall began when he, against the wishes of the people, merged the Sikkim Janata Parishad with Indira’s Congress party in July 1981. Three years after this unfortunate merger Bhandari was dethroned in May 1984 by dissidents within the Congress party. He was accused of being corrupt and communal. However, he fought back and formed the Sikkim Sangram Parishad (SSP) and returned to power in March 1985, winning 30 of the 32 seats. The Congress party had to bite the dust and had to be content with only 2 seats. Significantly, till date no national parties have won Assembly polls in Sikkim.

   For two terms beginning from 1985 Bhandari ruled Sikkim singlehandedly like an autocrat. His critics accused him of acting like a dictator until he was finally ousted from power by dissident SSP MLAs on the income tax issue in May 1994. His protégé and SSP legislator, Pawan Kumar Chamling, aroused the imagination of the people and using the OBC (Other Backward Classes) card and leading a pro-democracy movement, challenged Bhandari’s authority and came to power in the Assembly elections held in December 1994. Ever since Chamling’s Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) has been in power. Bhandari tried his luck for a comeback but his efforts to do so when he joined the Congress (I) in August 2003 and thereafter to revive his own SSP in 2009 failed.

    “Despite his age we still cannot write off  Bhandari politically,” observed  Suresh Pramar, former editor of Sikkim Express and Eastern Express. A day later Bhandari breathed his last. Significantly, Bhandari’s death came at a time when Sikkim has been in the headlines in the national media for almost a month. China has not only threatened to strike India at the strategic and highly sensitive border area in eastern Sikkim, it has also – for the first time since 1974-75 – stated that Sikkim was annexed and that China may back pro-independence movement in the former kingdom after de-recognizing the ‘merger’.

   When he was abruptly ousted from power in 1984 Bhandari claimed that he was thrown out because he refused to yield on his demands on constitutional recognition of Nepali language, citizenship for ‘stateless persons’, and Assembly seat reservation for Sikkimese Nepalese. Except for the Assembly seat issue the two other demands were met during his tenure as Chief Minister. The third issue, yet to be resolved, is posing a big headache to the Chamling Government.

  When he was ousted from power in 1984, I wrote:  “Perhaps history will look back to this era and recall this period as Sikkim’s “finest hour”. Bhandari then will not be remembered for the wrongs he has done but for the things he hoped to do and for the dreams that he set out to fulfill.”

   His stand, “We have been merged, we shall not be submerged” still echoes in the heart of many Sikkimese. Sikkim faces yet another crossroad even as the man whom many looked up for political leadership is no more. Between China’s latest bid to liberate Sikkim and India’s ‘democracy’ lies the Sikkimese people, who are uncertain and insecure of a future in their own homeland.     

'JOHNNY' ALWAYS CAME BACK:
At this moment I would like to share with the Hermonites something very personal. As I recall, in his 50+years in India Mr. Johnston left Mt. Hermon many times but always came back. I broke down when he and his family left us - I think in 1970. But he returned again. 
1979 was my last year teaching in MH and 'Johnny' (many of us students referred to him as 'Johnny' on the quiet) was the Principal. Mr. Murray left for good at the end of 1978 and Sir was the natural choice to replace 'Bhuntay'. And that is why I got the attached letter from him when I left MH - after 16 years - at the end of 1979. It appears from the letter that he knew me quite well!

It is customary for the Principal to give a gift to the outgoing teachers at the end of the year during a staff meeting. I didn't get one as Mr. Johnston informed the staff at the farewell meet that I was taking a 2-year leave. I never went back to MH but MH never left me and I have never left MH!
Sir visited Gangtok in early 1990 or 1991 after he retired from MH. He again visited us during the centenary celeb in 1995. He may have come in between but we remember his visits in 2010 and 2011 (his last one) with Mrs. Johnston and we had a good time.
Now that he has left us his visits will be no more. But we shall cherish the memories that we shared together in MH and elsewhere. Thank you, Sir for sharing your life with us. Now you have become our Guardian Deity! Cheers! Hail Mt. Hermon!

To Sir with Love and Gratitude For ‘a feast of memories’

Rev. John Johnston, who passed away this morning in Tasmania, wrote this letter to us after his trip around the world with Mrs. Johnston in 2010.

Dear Friends around the world……

This may not be of great interest to everyone who received my “Christmas” letter last November;   but I did promise to make a “report” of the expedition outlined then.  Many of the ‘reportees’ are those whom we met in India between Nov 24 and March 8, so it’s easier to go back to the email IDs I used before, and I trust  others in UK etc. will enjoy the ride!

I realised after some working of the old memory, that mostly this is a Hermonite report….. In our notes I can make out over 100 Hermonites, students, staff and TTCs with whom it has been our privilege to make connections… so you will appreciate too much detail would be overwhelming!  and I apologise to any who may feel “left out”!   During the course of these weeks we have covered a history going all the way from Val’s first contact in 1953,until our final visits from DGH in 2002….almost exactly 50 years of beloved Mount Hermon.     Also I find there are nearly a dozen “places” where these connections were made. We started in Perth when a touchdown there enabled us to meet Ranjit’s lovely daughter Shaheen (one of my junior monitors in 1986) and HER daughter Rachael   

The next bit of course is part of more recent history, when we spent the first weeks at our last Indian home, Barnes School, Devlali.   Even here MH caught up with us, as the new Principal Bryan Martin, V-Principal Trevor Jacob, and long time staff member, Brian Fernandez are all ex-TTC.   It was part of our “working holiday” to enter into the Barnes activities….chapels, dorm prayers, matrons’ meetings, blessing of new dorms and swimming pool, rehearsals for a splendid Christmas programme, Sports Day heats, and of course lots of interest in our former 8s and 10s who were getting ready for this year’s ICSE and ISC.    

 Taking an outing from Devlali we enjoyed meeting up with former staff, Frank and Val Freese in Pune, and inspecting Frank’s two wonderful new schools, extensions of Bishops, where Hermonite TTCs and staff, Henry & Hema Soggee, and Ferdinand Bunyan are in charge.  Also mention should be made of Shalini ( another of my 80s monitors) and her “little” sister, and Mrs.deSousa (widow of Norbert) and old MH and Darjeeling friend, Mrs. Nuges Madan.

From Devlali we went to South India for almost a week with Mrs.Mathai and Shanta, and latterly meeting George and his family, and former staff, P C Mathews and his family.  That week deserves a whole letter to itself, it gave so much pleasure! 

 But then it was off to Kolkata via Cochin and Bangalore  (sad not to be able to meet up there with a whole list of friends from Coonoor days.)    It was wonderful to be met by Sujit and Dipak from the plane at midnight.  Courtesy of Sujit (via Manoj’s P.O. connection) and Dipak’s India Oil connection we enjoyed first-rate guest house accommodation in Kolkata.     Our Christmas day visit to St.Pauls was a lovely experience and even there MH cropped up!    Anjali’s choir  (sadly for the occasion without Anjali) lifted our spirits, and a bit of old Darjeeling came up there when we met Jogen Khan (ex-St.Pauls) and Mary Ann Das Gupta (ex-Calcutta Girls).               For years Kolkata Hermonites depended on Anup and then Santosh, so it is great to see Sujit, Dipak, Sajan, Dipkantha and Dibyendu carrying on the good work.    Sujit, with much help from may others, finally got dates from us(!) and later organised a great get-together on Jan 9th.   There must have been between 40 and 50 at Hathi’s place, and Sujit has prepared a full set of pics of that occasion, and a complete list of Kolkata Hermonites…..thanks Sujit!         As usual we also enjoyed a lovely meal at Sajan’s with the old timers, including Rajeev; Singhanias have a 2 generation connection with MH!    Prabir mounted a great outing to his ancestral home for several of us, including Anjana, Anup’s sister, who was one of Mrs.J’s senior girls in 1953….time goes by !  

In between the two sessions at Kal we went to Siliguri, from where we were able to visit Kalimpong - only 4 hours thanks to the Gurkha agitation,  but time to visit  Gyanu Rongong, Binod Yonzon and his fine son Sidarth, Gandhi Ashram (sadly now without Fr.McGuire) and the sisters at St.Josephs convent .  The Siliguri visit in the hands of Ravi and his sons , along with Rajendra,  Kavita and family, and  Sushil  was really wonderful …how proud we are of these fine young(?)people.   After Kalimpong the Lakhotia vehicle took us on to Gangtok to be guests at the famous Tashi Delek Hotel.    A sensational morning visit to Hanumantok with Motilal Lakhotia left us with wonderful images of the Kanchenjunga range for our digitals !    The next day was one of the Highlights of our travels, when no less than 17 Sikkim Hermonites enjoyed dinner at the Hotel….among all the boys it was special to have Nim and Yanki Shipmo!   A great experience to see “my” students from the 80/90s mixing with our old timers from the 60/70s.   We were also proud to be the guests of Sikkim’s new Minister for Education, Narendra Pradhan, at a conference for his teachers, supported by another Hermonite, Roshni Pradhan……Dr.Uttam, and several others came again to the hotel next morning…….a feast of memories.

Besides THE Reunion during the second session in Kal, other highlights were meetings with the S K Agarwals ( Parents of Rashmi, Divya and Priya), Ramdin and Mridula,  Yasmin Mukand, old Committee member Alfred Martin (and Arpita), and DGH ex-Principal Bernard Brooks.  Also Dipkantha was able to fix a meet with Subirmal Chakraborty, now Principal of La Marts, where we also met Anjali who teaches there too.      A final meeting was with Aparna, and a ride with Runa to see Carol & Benu’s new apartment and meet Anuva.         Senior girls from the 80s will be interested to know of Ma’am’s visits with Sr.Decklen (St.Josephs K/P) in Siliguri,  Sr.Stella ( Loreto Dj.) in Kolkata Loreto (both of them now very unwell) and Sr.Cyril at Sealdah Loreto.        Then all too soon Sujit and Dipak saw us onto the train for Delhi, and all we had planned was history.

The Delhi phase is very much Firdausi’s story !   From her first appearance at the Station to whisk us off to her apartment (if anyone can whisk anybody in Delhi!!) until we left nearly a month later, she was our guardian angel.  (Firdausi Rahman was the star of 4 musicals in the 80s !).    As with Kolkata the Delhi visit was in two parts…a week of various visits….Dr.Navreet Singh;  Ex-TTC  Troy Calvert, Head at Frank Anthony School; the Lalls from Soom Tea Estate;  ex-TTC sisters at Ashok Vihar school, courtesy Thinleys’ taxi;  meals with Rajendra’s family (sadly in Delhi because of Anand’s accident); with Ritesh and his lovely wife and daughter; and an outing with Lance Fuller – ex-TTC and ex-DGH Principal.     Then a quite wonderful luncheon Firdausi organised for nearly 20 Hermonites at a very smart hotel at the end of the week……Sashikala, Ayinla, Pema, Anita, Beauty, Jasmina,Naveen, Harsh, Dipak, Gita,,…..even ex-TTC Andrew Hoffland,  and so many others (photos in Facebook) not least Firdausi’s beautiful little girl, and her honorary Hermonite husband Matthew, and Beauty’s daughter who is ditto her mum..   Then Mehaboob took us for two nights to stay in Meerut with his family.   There we also met Patricia Ismail and her family…..

Then the scene shifted to Dehra Dun, for a week with ex-TTC/staff Tashi and Tsering Dhondup, and 10 days with Namla Tsarong, where Ma’am did a workshop for the Monks and Nuns of the Tibetan centre where Namla has been director with Norzin assisting……what a thrill also to welcome Rigzin all the way from Dharamsala (for many years Secretary to His Holiness), and have tea with him and Sopal Tethong (Matron in 1953), and also with Namla’s brothers and parents.      Tashi &Tsering organised a meal for us to meet Rockey Gardner and Charlotte, Debasis Brahma with his wife… Thinley and his wife…..wonderful!  I also managed to squeeze in a visit with Debasis to Doon School, where he works, and a visit with Barnes ex-Principal and ex-DGH, Albert Temple to see his new school.

A very special item at this stage was a 3 day visit to WynbergAllen in Mussoorie…(where we were happily settled in 1977 until Mr.Murray came and called us back to MH !)   The new Principal, Leslie Tindale was our student in class 7 and 8… and our art teacher Mr.Misra and steward Terence Cashmore are still there.   Mussoorie holds many happy memories for us with Jenni and Lyndy…..I think I took most pics of Mussoorie!!

Then a few more days with Firdausi, where she hosted visits from Krishna, Shibesh and Narottam, and Joysree & AK;   then  we were on our way to Devlali to finish where we started,  at Barnes.   There a  special visit from Pune by Jayanta kept MH in sight.     Finally a couple of days in Mumbai to have a meal with Indranil and his new wife Sweta (all the way from Patna)….and a time with Tehmi Master, daughter of Dr.Master whom Hermonites of the 60s will remember…..a bitter sweet meeting since it was the first time seeing Tehmi since Mrs.Master passed away last year at 92.

Now if you think “this is more than enough”, find room for two more days….. in Singapore with 80s ex-staff Sunny Mathai and his delightful family…but after 4 months it WAS nice to land in Melbourne, to be met by Kris and Jenni’s big girl Annie, for whose graduation we remained a few weeks more in Melbourne until finally reaching Tasmania in April    ...Now greetings to all….      And the last question, when and where next ??!!

 John & Val, April  2010

HAIL TO THE HERMON KNIGHTS

“We Shall Overcome”

Knowles

Dear Hermonites,

   First of all on behalf of the alumni let me wish our beloved alma mater Mount Hermon School and all Hermonites everywhere a very Happy Birthday! Today it is MHS’s 117th Birthday.

   Ever since the first week of the New Year (2012), when the Sikkim Hermonites Association (SHA) took the initiative to involve all Hermonites to campaign for ‘MH Revival’, there has been an overwhelming response from the alumni of all ages and places on the school’s future. The concern for our beloved alma mater – Mount Hermon School (MHS) – from Hermonites of the ’30s, ’40s, ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and right down to the present generation is not only very encouraging but also very inspiring. This is great! Which school in the world can boast of the ‘Hermonite spirit’? Hardly any. It is, therefore, our honourable duty to preserve this rich and unique heritage of MHS.

   Barry Ison – former MH student and teacher – once explained this unique phenomenon: “It is not emotion; it is passion.”

Stahl

   In the past so many decades since I left the old and friendly walls I never failed to think and even dream of MH! This is but natural for all Hermonites but more so for a person like me who did his schooling (1963-1972), Teachers Training College (TTC – 1974-1975), and even taught at MH for four years (1976-1979).

   Ex-students of the school under Rev. Mr. DG Stewart, who not only revived MH when he took over in 1953 but actually placed it among one of the best boarding schools in India – MH was on top of the list in 1961-62 – are still showing great concern for the school. This is amazing and an inspiration to us all.

“We Shall Overcome”

   Ever since its inception in 1895 when the school (then called Arcadia or housed in Arcadia cottage, located on the Lebong side of Chowrasta in Darjeeling) was born MH has had its ups and downs. But we pulled it through. With faith in God and missionary zeal our founders – Miss Knowles, Miss Stahl, Mr. Dewey and Bishop Fisher – made sure that failures and obstacles were stepping stones to success.

Fisher

   After shifting the school from near Chowrasta to above the railway station in Darjeeling and calling it Queen’s Hill School the school grew in leaps and bounds leading to the acquisition of the present premises for further expansion.

   Fifteen years after the school was renamed Mount Hermon School in 1929-30 MH almost closed down due to dwindling enrolment. The cause of this was the Second World War when many of its foreign students and staff members of the school left MH. It was Mr. Dewey, Bishop Fisher and finally Mr. Stewart who helped MH to pull through the crisis and regain its past glory. Mr. Graeme A. Murray, who stepped into Rev. Stewart’s shoes in 1964, built on the foundation laid by his predecessors. There was no looking back for MH after Mr. Murray’s takeover.

   However, in the 1980s MH and many schools in the hills passed through a very difficult and trying period due to uncertain political situation in Darjeeling. But Rev. Mr. John Johnston from Australia and later Mr. Jeff Gardner (India) kept the school going. Thereafter, MH faced a crisis of another sort as those who headed the school stayed only for a brief period.

Dewey

   The present Principal Mr. George Fernandes, who worked under Mr. Murray, Mr. Johnston and Mr. Gardner and who is also married to an ex-Hermonite (Saroj Pradhan), was able to stabilize the situation when he took over in 2000-1. We are, therefore, grateful to Mr. Fernandes for his contributions to the school.

    Hermonites all over the world have expressed their apprehension of MH’s future after Mr. Fernandes retires this month. Damages caused by the recent (Sept 18, 2011) earthquake to the main school building and falling enrolment, coupled with Mr. Fernandes’ departure and doubts over who is to step into his shoes, have prompted Hermonites to play a leading role in the choice of the next Principal.

   Hermonites now want an able and trustworthy Hermonite to head the school during this very trying period. They have backed Mr. Jigme N Kazi’s (Sikkim) candidature for the post and want the Managing Committee to appoint him as the next Principal.

MH Revival

   Several names were floated for the post of MH Principal last year. However, during Mr and Mrs. Johnston’s visit to Darjeeling and Sikkim in December – January 2012 it was revealed that though Mr. Barry Ison, Mr. John Glasby and Mr. and Mrs. Sherab (Roslyn) Namgyal – all ex-students and teachers of the school –were willing to help the school they would not be able to take the top job at the present juncture. Mr. Kazi’s name was then proposed and the Sikkim Hermonites Association (SHA) passed a resolution on this and urged all Hermonites to support his candidature and other resolutions on ‘MH Revival’. Sherab and Roslyn (SC 1972 & 1971), who were on a visit to Sikkim from Australia during this period, supported this move.

Johnston, Murray and Stewart

    One of the suggestions of the Hermonites is to have at least two active and credible Hermonites in the Managing Committee, which not only frames policy matters of the school but also appoints the Principal. Two other suggestions made by the Sikkim chapter and endorsed by global Hermonites was allotment of a space for the alumni to function from the school premises and also to route all Hermonites-initiated projects and funds of the school through Hermonites International (Hi!), a global body conceived during the centenary celebrations in 1995, when many ex-principals and teachers and students were present, and formed in 2005-6.

   No matter what the future holds for MH the resolution on ‘MH Revival’ must go on. It must not begin or end if and when Mr. Kazi gets the top job. The campaign for MH Revival is led by Roslyn & Sherab (Australia), Dipak Mirchandhani (UK) and Lucinda Gibbs (India). They are being assisted by a group of active and concerned Hermonites from all over the world.

   The Methodist Bishop, who resides in Bangalore and who is temporarily the Chairman of the Managing Committee of the school, has been briefed on the prevailing situation. We are eagerly awaiting his response to our proposals.  However, irrespective of what the Managing Committee decides on MH’s future the campaign for MH Revival must go on. The present crisis has motivated us into action. This is a good thing and must go on. We must say and sing the hymn “We Shall Overcome” and mean it and show the world that we can triumph over all our trials and tribulations.

   They may succeed in taking a Hermonite out of Mount Hermon, but they will never succeed in taking Mount Hermon out of a Hermonite!

   We must continue to believe that the Almighty is on our side and that He has a great future for MH and that while the past has been great and small the best is yet to come!

Hail Mount Hermon! And Happy Birthday to MH and All Hermonites!

(Jigme N Kazi)

President

Hermonites International (Hi!)

Email: jigmekazi@gmail.com

+9434630097

Gangtok, Sikkim

March 12, 2012

BHUTAN BECKONS, SO LONG SIKKIM!

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
(The Bible, 2 Timothy 4:7)

To those who know me well this move will not come as a surprise. After nearly three and half decades in Sikkim I’ve now decided to move on and pursue my next dream – to set up what hopefully will one day become one of finest educational institutions in the Himalaya.
Last month, me and some of the ex-students and staff of our alma mater, Mount Hermon School, Darjeeling, decided to start a boarding school in Paro Valley in western Bhutan. The location seems perfect in all respect. Ah, a school up on the mountain and down by the river!
My active engagement with Sikkim affairs came to an end in the summer of 2004. I spent the past decade or so tying up loose ends and now its almost time for me to move on. There’s a calling to which I must respond timely and positively.

So I call upon all my friends and fellow Hermonites, family members and relatives, supporters and sympathisers, allies and adversaries et al to wish me luck in my new mission. Your continued support and contribution – cash & kind, ideas & inputs etc. – will be greatly appreciated. We are thinking big but starting small.
Therefore, help us to move forward inch by inch, step by step, one day at a time towards the fulfilment of our hopes and aspirations.
Cheers!

(Posted on my Facebook page on March 7, 2017)

Former CJI Justice Altamas Kabir is no more

“India has lost a legal luminary”

Hailed as one of the brilliant judges of the Supreme Court, former Chief Justice of India, Justice (Retired) Altamas Kabir passed away on Sunday (Feb 19) after prolonged illness. He was 68.

Justice Kabir was unwell for quite some time. Suffering from kidney-related ailments, Justice Kabir was admitted to a private hospital in the city last week. He breathed his last in Kolkata, where he spent many years as lawyer. Justice Kabir is survived by his wife, a daughter and a son.

Justice Altamas Kabir enrolled as an Advocate in 1973 at Kolkata Bar Association. Justice Kabir practised in the District Court of Calcutta and later in the Calcutta High Court. Nephew of the well-known Bengal writer and politician, Humayun Kabir, Altamas Kabir was known for his erudition and tongue-in-cheek humour.

Former and late Chief Justice of India Justice Altamas Kabir being felicitated by alumni (Hermonites) of Mt. Hermon School (Darjeeling) at his residence in New Delhi in 2012 after being appointed as the 39th Chief Justice of India. (Left to Right) Advocate Mahesh Singh, Jigme N Kazi, Justice Altamas Kabir, Krishna Goenka, Advocate Udai P. Sharma and Karan Anand.

Born on July 19, 1948 in Kolkata, Justice Kabir completed his LLB and MA from the University of Calcutta. The soft-spoken judge started his legal career in 1973 when he enrolled as an advocate.

As a lawyer Justice Kabir was considered an authority in both Civil and Criminal cases. As an advocate, Kabir practised in the Calcutta high court and the district session court between early 1970s and late 1980. He was appointed as a judge in the Calcutta High Court in 1990.

In March 2005, Justice Altamas Kabir was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court. Later that year, he was elevated to the Supreme Court on September 9. Three years later, he was appointed the 39th Chief Justice of India on September 29, 2012. He retired on July 18, 2013 after a brief tenure of about nine months. Justice Kabir was the fourth Muslim to hold the top post in India’s history.

Justice Kabir’s amicable behaviour endeared him to fellow judges and lawyers.

Says Supreme Court advocate Parmanand Pandey, “In the death of Justice Altamas Kabir,we have lost a judge, who gave more importance to equity in his verdicts. He was very indulgent to lawyers in giving patient hearings.Courts presided over by him used to sit normally up to 6 or 6.30 p.m. Once he heard me quite at length and I thought to have carried the day.While dictating the order, he was about to dismiss my SLP but in the nick of the time the then puisne judge RM Lodha whispered something to him in his ears prompting Justice Kabir to ask for some clarification from me, which turned the table in my favour. I never saw him misbehaving with anybody. 
He was eclectic and humane to the core.One of his sisters is married to a Hindu and another cousin Liela Kabir is to a Christian and famous politician George Fernandes.His uncle Humayun Kabir was a known Bengali writer and a freedom fighter.”

Born in Faridpur (now in Bangladesh) on July 19, 1948, Justice Kabir studied at Mount Hermon School in Darjeeling and Calcutta Boys School and Presidency College, Kolkata.

He is the nephew of late union minister Humayun Kabir, who served with Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi.

During his brief tenure as Chief Justice of India, Justice Kabir delivered several landmark judgments particularly on human rights and election laws.

As the Chief Justice, he was part of the Supreme Court Bench which heard the case of the two Italian marines in 2013.

In another noted judgement in December 2012 as the Chief Justice of India, Justice Kabir along with Justice H.L. Dattu directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to go ahead with its probe into the disproportionate assets case against Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son Akhilesh Yadav.

In May 2011, Justice Kabir with Justice Cyriac Joseph, quashed the disqualification of 11 BJP MLAs by the then Karnataka Assembly Speaker K.G. Bopaiah as it did not fulfil the criterion of natural justice and fair play.

Expressing her condolences Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted: “Condolences on the passing of former CJ Altamas Kabir ji. My thoughts with his family/colleagues. India & Bengal have lost a legal luminary.”

(Ref: India Today, The Hindu, Hindustan Times)