INSIDE SIKKIM In his column, Mediawatch, published in Calcutta’s Sunday magazine, eminent journalist and recently-elected President of the Press Club of India, S. Nihal Singh, observed: “...the fighters of press freedom are not those who declaim the virtues of the freedom of the press at great gatherings, useful as such exercises are as reminders of principles. They are the small-town journalists who spurn temptations of political patronage and personal monetary gain to do their jobs honestly.” Singh then goes on to add: “The fourth estate has a growing responsibility in pinpointing the evils because it is often the only pillar of democracy to be found in these areas.” He finally comments: “But newspapers need to do more to support lone journalists fighting against great odds...It is, therefore, the duty of the national press to highlight the sacrifices of little-known men and women fighting at the real frontiers of press freedom...The old battle against India Gandhi’s Emergency was fought and won in the capital and other metropolitan centres. The new battles are now raging elsewhere. Let us salute those who are fighting them.” Singh’s words describe the press in Sikkim perfectly. The non-existence of an effective opposition and the absence of a democratic atmosphere in the former Himalayan Kingdom of Sikkim has resulted in the local press shouldering greater responsibilities than it was meant to, often taking calculated risks to life and property. Independent newspapers such as the Sikkim Observer have over the years gone through enormous hardships in maintaining their independent existence and not submitting to the diktats of those in power. Some of us have had to live under constant pressure and often have been unjustifiably penalised. For instance, the Eastern Express and Sikkim Observer printing presses – two credible and independent newspaper establishments in Sikkim – were completely ransacked following electoral ‘victories’ of the Chief Minister, Nar Bahadur Bhandari’s Sikkim Sangram Parishad (SSP) in the Assembly elections in 1985 and 1989. Assaults, threats, intimidations and pressure exerted on the local press in the past one and half decades has completely and systematically silenced the voice of free press in Sikkim. The printing of the Sikkim Observer had to be undertaken in another State (West Bengal) after 1989. Even there, the paper was forced to suspend publication many times. After May 1993, the Sikkim Observer ceased publication. Efforts were made to bring out the paper even further away than West Bengal as the law and order situation and the political process steadily deteriorated. Bhandari’s stranglehold on the State Legislative Assembly was spoilt by one legislator, Pawan Kumar Chamling, deciding to break away and forming a one-man opposition under the banner of the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF). In spite of its supporters and leaders having been arrested and tortured in police custody, the SDF became hugely popular of late and may just succeed in its objective of putting an end to the “reign of terror”. The press naturally welcomes this bestirring of the opposition because for too long it has offered the sole resistance to the regime. Our job as journalists and newspaper-owners is to give a balanced view of events and issues. It is for the people to initiate change for which the press can only act as catalyst. The Hindustan Times, during the ‘merger’ period, warned that India would not be able to convince the world that Sikkim’s inclusion within the Union represented the will of its people. “Elsewhere protectorates are graduating to independence and colonies are marching to freedom. In Sikkim, a protectorate is moving to freedom within India,” it commended. Today, the people of Sikkim are questioning whether “moving to freedom within India” has benefitted them socially, culturally, economically and politically. Or whether they were better off being a Protectorate rather than a part of the Indian Union. Acknowledging that he did not approve of the manner in which Sikkim was merged with India, the former Indian Prime Minister, Morarji Desai, in 1979 said while ‘merger’ was a ‘fait accompli’, he hoped that the people of Sikkim would benefit from it. Whether the merger has benefitted the people or not can be best gauged from the fact that the Sikkimese people continue to be deprived of their basic fundamental rights and freedoms despite having been a part of the world’s largest democracy for almost two decades. The former Chief Minister and chief architect of the ‘merger’, Kazi Lhendup Dorji Khangsarpa, has stated on more than one occasion that New Delhi has failed to honour its word and abide by the ‘terms of the merger’. Kazi has declared that the ‘merger’ was conditional and the Government of India was morally and constitutionally bound to respect the terms and conditions under which Sikkim became the 22nd State of the Union and protect the ‘rights and interests’ of the Sikkimese people and thereby preserve the distinct identity of Sikkim within the Union. The constant betrayal of the people’s trust by political leadership in Gangtok and New Delhi and the poor economic condition of the people speak volumes of how the ‘hopes and aspirations’ of the Sikkimese people have been sacrificed in order to secure peace in this strategic border State and satisfy the growing greed and ambitions of power-hungry politicians and bureaucrats. What New Delhi fails to admit and realise is that the peaceful atmosphere that is prevalent in Sikkim today is nothing but ‘peace of the grave.’ For under the peaceful facade, the undercurrents are high and tension is mounting day by day. Not many people believed that the demand for ‘closer ties with India’ and ‘full-fledged democracy’, made prior to the ‘merger’, would lead to Sikkim becoming a part and parcel of India. Similarly, no one this time can predict where the present anti-Bhandari wave, pro-democracy, and pro-Sikkim movement for ‘freedom and democracy’, will eventually lead to. “We fought for democracy and freedom. What we have in Sikkim today is dictatorship of the worst type,” stated Kazi and the former Chief Minister, Bhim Bahadur Gurung’s letter to the Prime Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao, in 1992. A public interest petition relating to corruption in the State administration filed in the Supreme Court by Kazi in early 1993 against Bhandari and others is likely to come to a final end shortly. The CBI (Criminal Bureau of Investigation), on the insistence of the Supreme Court, has recently submitted its report to the Supreme Court on the issue. The report of the CBI, which has been investigating corruption charges against Bhandari and others, including the former Sikkim Chief Secretary, P.K. Pradhan, and the former Rajya Sabha MP from Sikkim Karma Topden (now a member of the Bhandari Cabinet, after having retired from the Rajya Sabha in October 1992), provides enough evidence to hold them guilty of corrupt practices. Even if the Centre is unwilling to go against Bhandari, the views of the court and the present anti-Bhandari wave in Sikkim, spearheaded by Chamling’s SDF, is likely to dampen Bhandari’s prospects of a fourth consecutive victory in the Assembly elections slated for 1994-end. Corruption in high places is one thing; using money made through corrupt means to remain perpetually in power is quite another. While the content of this book will hopefully be a valuable document for those interested in the state of Sikkim after the Indian takeover in 1975, this book is essentially written for myself, and perhaps for those who saw what I was doing but didn’t really know why and how I went about my job. This is my tenth year as a full-time journalist in Sikkim and besides recording my views on important events and issues of Sikkim, I want to record everything for posterity to take note of how things were and how some of us have been living all these years – all alone and against the tide.December, 1993. (Ref: Inside Sikkim: Against the Tide, Jigme N. Kazi, Hill Media Publications, Gangtok, 1993.)

 

10^th Anniversary of Sikkim ‘Press Freedom Day’

Keynote address by Jigme N. Kazi, President, Sikkim Federation of Working Journalists (SFWJ), State unit of Indian Federation of Working Journalists (IFWJ), on the occasion of the 1st Sikkim Press Freedom Day function organized by SFWJ in Gangtok on June 19, 2010.

(I want to share and place on record of what I said and what we did many years back on issues that are so vitally important to humanity)

              -----------------------------------------------------------------

   “In May 1789, Louis XVI summoned to Versailles a full meeting of the ‘Estates General’.

The First Estate consisted of three hundred nobles. The Second Estate, three hundred clergy.

The Third Estate, six hundred commoners. Some years later, after the French Revolution, Edmund Burke, looking up at the Press Gallery of the House of Commons, said, “Yonder sits the Fourth Estate, and they are more important than them all.” (Jeffrey Archer in “The Fourth Estate”

Sikkim Press Freedom Day, June 19, 2010.

   Respected Chief Guest, Secretary IPR, President, Press Club of Sikkim, distinguished guests, members of the Fourth Estate, and my colleagues in the Sikkim Federation of Working Journalists.

   It is our privilege and honour to have the former Chief Minister of Sikkim, Mr. B.B. Gooroong, who was not only the Press Advisor to the Chief Minister but was also a journalist once upon a time.

   When members of the local media held a protest rally to voice their concern for protection of Press Freedom in Gangtok  seventeen years ago on June 19, 1993, Mr. Gooroong came all the way down to the Paljor Stadium where we held the rally and congratulated us and gave us his support.

   Sir, you have honoured us once again and touched our hearts by being here amidst your very hectic schedule.

   If 17 years is a long time to remember what we did on this day on that day and honour those valiant journalists who risked everything to raise their voice against suppression of the freedom of press then I believe that even after 50 years the Fourth Estate in Sikkim will remember with pride and look back on this day and what we did here today.

   By being here today to mark the 1st Sikkim Press Freedom Day  celebrations we are not just honouring those who took part in the Press Freedom Rally on June 19, 1993, we are also, once again, making our stand clear on issues and principles that guide and govern the Fourth Estate all over the world.

   Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of America, once said: “If it were left to me to decide whether we should have a government without a free press or a free press without a government, I would prefer the latter.”

   Who wouldn’t, particularly when that government is bent on suppression of free expression, particularly of Press Freedom? Lets face it: the Press and the government are natural adversaries. Each has its own unique role in society.

   What is freedom without a free Press? And what is the Press without freedom? To be more precise; what is democracy without freedom, particularly Press freedom? Pansy Takula, one of the advocates of Press freedom and Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information of the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights, recently said,

   “We have reached the point where I think we need constructive dialogue with the government of this country, where maybe my office, together with media practitioners and media organizations and governments, can sit around a table and try and find each other.”

    She added, “Free press, in particular, and freedom of expression, in general (are) very important not only on the African continent, but everywhere else in the world because without free press you cannot have democracy.  You cannot have good governance.  You cannot have the rule of law.  You know, the media act as a watch dog against those who are in power.”

Press Rally in Gangtok, June 19, 1993.

   In Asia, in India and in Sikkim it is time that we, the media and the authorities, sit together, sort out our differences and respect each other’s role in a free and democratic set-up. When the annual World Press Freedom Day, a date to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty, was observed in May 3 last month (2010), the Fourth Estate dedicated this year’s World Press Freedom Day to the “right to know”: the right of all people, including journalists, to have access to information held by governments and other public bodies.

   The right to know is the right to ask questions to public institutions and their obligation to reply. The right to know is essential for the media and the public to enjoy true freedom of expression, protected by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights since it was adopted in 1948.

    My paper, the Sikkim Observer, still has a column called “People Want to Know, People Have a Right to Know.” We must all make our own contribution towards Press Freedom no matter what kind of adverse situations we may face.

  We must believe that in a democratic system the people are sovereign. The slogan, janta rajma jantai raja, must be put into practice if we are sincere in what we profess.  In a true democracy the role of the government is to serve the people and the people have the right to know and question what is done on their behalf.

   There was an emotional ceremony at the White House recently when President Obama welcomed slain journalist Daniel Pearl’s surviving family members to witness the signing of the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act. Pearl, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, was brutally murdered in Pakistan as he was following up some leads on al-Qaeda in early 2002. Four Pakistanis were convicted in Pearl’s murder in July of that year. According to the New York Times, the Freedom of the Press Act “requires the State Department to expand its scrutiny of news media restrictions and intimidation as part of its annual review of human rights in each country. Among other considerations, the department will be required to determine whether foreign governments participate in or condone violations of press freedom.”

   On this special day I would like to recall and place on record on what I said on June 19, 1993 during the Press Freedom rally held in Gangtok:

    My message was simple and direct: “Today, we are here to lodge a symbolic protest. But if our voice is not heard and if the suppression of the freedom of the Press still continues despite the stand that we have taken here today, we must not be content with mere symbolism. Me must raise a voice in every village and town in this State. We must raise our voice in Mangan, in Geyzing, and in Namchi (headquarters of the three other district of Sikkim), and if need be, in Delhi, Calcutta, Madras and Bombay. We must also raise our voice in the Assembly and in the Parliament, and if need be, in other international Press forum as well. We must continue to press on until ten thousand conscious citizens in Sikkim come together and raise their voice and rally support for Freedom of the Press in Sikkim.”    

   Three days after our rally thousands of pro-democracy supporters led by Sikkim Democratic Front stormed the capital on June 22. Within less than eleven months after the rally the repressive regime in Sikkim was toppled leading to formation of a new government after the November Assembly elections in 1994.

    The local Press played a notable role in restoration of freedom, democracy, justice and rule of law in the people’s struggle for change in Sikkim.

    It is, therefore, fitting and proper that we should remember and honour those who stood their ground in times of crisis while others faltered.

    I want to thank my colleagues in the Sikkim Federation of Working Journalists and other members of the Fourth Estate for arranging this function and giving a helping hand to preserve and protect Press freedom in Sikkim.

   My final message to you comes from the words of President John F. Kennedy who said:

    “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”

 

 

Lest We Forget

LACHEN PIPON CHO LEDON

How to Light a Fire

Jhowo Ledon and wife Chum Lhanzay

   It is in the fitness of things to begin my first step in my new venture in my Facebook group – Lest We Forget – with my late grandfather, Jhowo Ledon Nima Gyatso of Lachen, North Sikkim. Though he passed away more than six decades ago in the late 1950s he is still near and dear to me.

   When he passed away (perhaps in 1956-58) he left behind his wife, Chum Lhanzay, daughter Chum Phigu, his son-in-law Yap Rinzing Namgyal Kazi, and two grandsons, my late brother Tenzing Danen and myself. I don’t think my younger brother, Gyamtso Namgyal, was born at that time. Through his two daughters, Chum Yangchen (my mother) and Chum Phigu, Jhowo Ledon and Chum Lhanzay had four grandchildren: my late brother, Gyamtso, my sister, Kesang Dolma, and myself.

   Somewhere in my writings I have mentioned about the three persons who shaped my life and had the greatest influence on me: Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal, my school Principal, Graeme Armstrong Murray, and my Lachen grandfather. I still believe this to be true. They taught me the value of honour, courage, integrity and dignity.

Lachen Pipon Jhowo Ledon

   I must have been around 5-6 years when he left us but the few moments that I had with him were enough for me to realize that he was a special person. He was of medium height but his character and personality commanded dignified composure. He stood out among the rest.   To me he was integrity personified.              

   After his father, Jhowo Bompo, who once led the Sikkim delegation in the Dalai Lama’s court in Lhasa, died my grandfather naturally stepped into his shoes. As the Lachen Pipon he was immensely respected and at the same time feared by the people. He was just, fair and a disciplined person. My Azyo belonged to the influential Ngyamdako clan in Lachen. The annual village Chodrok puja traditionally began with the lamas spread among the four Ngyamdako families – Jhowo Bompo, Jhowo Phintso Tashi, Jhowo Limak and ours.

   Pipons are elected by the Dzumsa, the traditional assembly of the people. The system used to be conducted in a most dignified and democratic manner, where public participation in all spheres of life was maximum. I have personally proudly witnessed my Azyo conduct the Dzumsa meetings with discipline and dignity.

   Two highly-placed personalities visited Lachen during his tenure as Pipon: Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, perhaps the most outstanding Tibetan spiritual masters of the 20^th century, and Sikkim’s Dewan (Prime Minister), Nari Rustomji. While studying law in Bombay in early 1980s, Rustomji opened up his small archive room and to my great delight and surprise I found a small black and white photo of his visit to Lachen in 1956-57. My grandfather and my late maternal uncle, Azyang Kunga Rinchen, are seen in the photograph along with Rustomji and others. I still have this original photo with me and over the years I made some copies and distributed among my close relatives in Lachen.

Former Sikkim Dewan (Prime Minister) Nari Rustomji, with Lachen Pipons, Jhowo Ledon and Jhowo Kunga Rinchen on his right and left in Lachen, North Sikkim, in 1956-57. Lachen Lopon Dochung (extreme left) and lamas of Lachen Gompa are also seen.

   Azyo taught me one very important thing which I often remember – and that is how to light a fire. This took place in our kitchen, where we have a huge fireplace (chulha) made of clay. He was patiently watching me trying to light the fire at the thap (chulha) from his seat on the denthi (tradition wooden sofa). When I failed he came down from his seat and taught me how to light the fire. “Dhae-membae.” (not like that), he said and then gently took out all the firewood that I had stuffed in and then rearranged them in such a way that there was enough space for the oxygen to get in. And when everything was done he lit the fire. I was amazed.

   Life is all about lighting fire, particularly when there is darkness all around.  A few years after Azyo’s passing away I was in another world, at Darjeeling’s Mount Hermon School, where I later learnt that “It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.”

  

  

 

Remembering Nari Rustomji

“I feel at home with the tribals”

May 16 was Meghalaya’s first chief secretary Nari K Rustomji’s birth anniversary. Glenn C Kharkongor recalls his contribution to the Northeast

NARI K Rustomji studied classical Latin and Greek, was secretary of the Musical Society and played the piano and violin at Cambridge University. Such a background would be considered unusual for a bureaucrat today. Perhaps it was these sensibilities that made Rustomji one of the most endearing political administrators of his era and his affection for the tribals of Northeast India is legendary.

     This week is the 94th birth anniversary of the first chief secretary of Meghalaya, who died a decade ago.

     The Northeast has all but forgotten this remarkable bureaucrat, whose grasp of geopolitical matters and understanding of tribal cultures made him one of the most sympathetic and understanding administrators of the Northeast in the transition to and in the early post-Independence era. He and Verrier Elwin were often described as romantics. They were close friends and Rustomji in fact, edited a volume of Elwin’s selected writings. Their advice was relied upon greatly by Nehru and resulted in a policy for the Northeast that has been described as Nehruvian humanistic paternalism. Sadly, that benevolent policy has lapsed and has been replaced with a chaotic and befuddled mindset in Delhi, which results in cultural aggression and headlong underdevelopment, characterized by insensitivity and greed.

     Rustomji was influenced greatly by Plato and Socrates, and intended to become a school teacher, but was persuaded by his teachers to apply for the ICS. It was during World War II, and at the interview he was asked about his contribution to the war effort. At the time he was a member of the Royal Observer Corps, keeping a tally of enemy planes that flew overhead. When he mentioned that he was a plane spotter, the examiners inquired how many planes he had spotted the previous week. His reply was a solemn “I’m sorry sir, that’s top secret”. There was an amused murmur of approval among the greybeards and he felt that he had clinched the appointment.

     At the end of his ICS probationary training in Dehra Dun, Nari K Rustomji was assigned to Assam, which he accepted whole-heartedly.  One of the main reasons for this enthusiasm was Assam’s proximity to Sikkim and Bhutan. He had been introduced to these countries, India’s neighbours in the Northeast, by his friendship with the crown prince of Sikkim, Thondup Namgyal and his cousin, the prince of Bhutan, Jigme Dorji who were probationers along with him in 1942. These lifelong friendships were cemented during Rustomji’s posting as Dewan of Sikkim from 1954-59 and when he was appointed as Adviser to the Government of Bhutan in 1963.

     Rustomji spent most of his career in the Northeast, spanning from his first appointment as district publicity organiser in Sylhet during the Second World War, a kind of propaganda post to develop and deliver positive messages to the public in favour of the Allies, to being the first chief secretary of Meghalaya in 1972. In between he served in various administrative posts in Maulvibazar, Lakhimpur and Dibrugarh. Perhaps the most noteworthy position that he had was adviser to the Governor of Assam on tribal affairs, during which time he exerted considerable influence on the formulation of policies for the hill areas.

     He was associated with the implementation of the early seven-year plans in Sikkim and Bhutan.  Significant in these development efforts were a visionary intent to protect the environment and biodiversity of the region and to protect the region from unwanted kinds of development. He was also careful to ensure that cultural traditions and sensitivities were protected in implementing the Plans.

     Rustomji was deeply drawn to the tribals of the region. In his book Enchanted Frontiers, Rustomji says, “The people of the hills have had for me a special pull. I feel utterly and completely at home with my (tribal) hosts. I am at heart, very much a tribal myself. I share much of the bewilderment and loss of identity of the tribal of today”. He learned the local language at every posting and even wore indigenous costumes to work. Much of his scholarly writing are on the anthropology and sociology of the tribes and these articles have appeared in journals such as Himalayan Environment and Culture brought out by the Indian Institute of Advanced Study.

     As Dewan of the Chogyal of Sikkim and adviser to the Government of Bhutan, he immersed himself in the cultural milieu of those countries, learning the Sikkimese and Bhutanese languages and wearing the local costumes. He would wear the Sikkimese gown, the ko, even during his trips to Delhi. This led the foreign secretary to comment wryly that while the Dewan might wear Sikkimese dress in Gangtok, he failed to see the point of his wearing the gown in Delhi.

     During the governorship of Sri Prakasa, he played a pivotal role in obtaining the accession to India of the maharajas of Manipur, Cooch Behar and Manipur. Though varying amounts of duress were exerted in these efforts, Rustomji came out each time with the respect of the maharaja.  On each occasion his services were requested as the first Chief Commissioner of the accessed kingdom.

     He had a part in the negotiations with the Naga and Mizo tribals. He tried to convince the Government that “right principles, rather than force of arms” was the right policy. He spoke out against the tendency of officers to pontificate patronizingly about “uplifting our tribal brethren”.  Himself a Zoroastrian, he tried to convince the tribals that they were free to practice the religion of their choice, by arranging special broadcasts of Christian services on Sundays in English and in the various Naga languages. He describes his poignant interaction with a Naga prisoner, discussing letters that the prisoner had written about a cat who was his sole companion in jail.  He discussed with General Shrinagesh about a sympathetic approach to the hearts and minds of the tribal people. Sadly, they were not many in the political and military establishment that shared his statesmanlike approach.

     In 1951, when he was stationed in Shillong as advisor to the Governor of Assam, Rustomji got married to Hilla Master, daughter of Jal Ardeshir Master, chief conservator of forests, Madras Presidency. They had met in Bombay the previous year; he was 31 and she was 23. Their daughter Tusna was born at Welsh Mission Hospital in 1952. Sadly, Hilla died of complications soon after. He married again in 1963 to Avi Dalal, someone the family had long known.

     An unfortunate outcome of Partition was the closure of trade between the Khasi Hills and the contiguous areas of East Pakistan. Perishable oranges and betel nut from the border plantations now had no outlet market and Rustomji approved the request of the local traders for an airstrip in Shella, so that the produce could be flown to Calcutta. Regrettably, this never happened.

     As chief secretary in the new state of Meghalaya, he determined to set up an efficient administration, leading by example. Each morning he walked from his residence, Lumpyngad, followed by a clerk, who dutifully took down notes on the way to the Secretariat. He once visited a district headquarters unannounced and found the deputy commissioner absent from his office. Rustomji sent for the absentee officer, who on hearing that the chief secretary was around immediately declared himself sick. Rustomji then sat in the DC’s chair and spent the day disposing of pending files.

     If you Google his name and browse the internet, only snippets about Rustomji appear, brief lines in a scholarly article or a blog. Most of what is available are accounts in the five books he has written. In these idealistic, analytical and balanced accounts, he carefully blends the history, culture and politics of this complex region as a background for governance and administration.

     Surely the man deserves weightier evidence of his contribution to the Northeast.  Indeed such an analysis would provide clues to achieving better solutions to the continuing myriad problems of the Northeast, many of which can be traced to the post-Independence era in which misguided and heavy-handed policies were framed.  The politicians and mandarins of today seem to continue in the same vein. They should study Rustomji’s books.

(Ref: Shillong Times in 2013, and Parsi Khabar, June 1, 2016.)

 

 

LEST WE FORGET

NARI K. RUSTOMJI

The Common Thought We Shared

   The former Dewan of Sikkim, Nar Rustomji, a very close friend of the late Chogyal, Palden Thondup Namgyal, visited Sikkim in 1985-86. Having first me him in Shillong in the winter of 1978 I longed to see and get to know him more closely when I went to Bombay for my three-year law studies at the end of 1979. My Bombay days brought me closer to Rustomji, the man who was instrumental in bringing many changes in the former kingdom.

   Therefore, I was his natural choice as his tour guide when he paid a visit to Sikkim in mid-’80s. Looking back, I guess it was his last and final visit to the real Sikkim – the countryside. Our short but most memorable tour took us to West Sikkim, whose rich and virgin natural beauty is flavoured with a deep sense of history and culture. In fact, Sikkim’s modern history  began in Yuksam, West Sikkim, when three lamas consecrated the first Chogyal of Sikkim in 1642. Till then I had read and heard much about the historical significance of the area but being there on the spot was a profound and unique experience altogether.

   During this trip we spent a night at the world-renowned Sikkim Distilleries in Rongpo, located at the Sikkim-West Bengal border in the east district. It was there at the guest house that I sought Rustomji’s advice on the name that I should give to my newspaper. Finally, the choice fell on “Sikkim Observer”. The Sikkim Observer was born a few months after Rustomji left Sikkim.

   During his later visit to Sikkim in March 1987, uncle Rustomji presented me his new book, “Sikkim: A Himalayan Tragedy” with this note in the front page, “For my friend Jigme, who will, no doubt, critically review! In trepidation. And also for Tsering, with all good wishes for a long and happy married life.”

   When I completed my own book, “Inside Sikkim: Against the Tide”, in 1993 my deepest desire was to present a copy of it to uncle Rustomji. He would have loved it. Unfortunately, I came to know in the beginning of 1994 that uncle had passed away a few months before my book was released in New Delhi.

   This perhaps is the first time that I’m making a mention of him and his book in the Observer. I still miss him and will forever cherish the rich memories that we shared together over the years ever since I first met him in one of my classmates’ house at Whispering Pines in Shillong. Though these words were meant for the late Chogyal let me dedicate them to him in his memory:

A moment, and time will forget

Our failure and our name

But not the common thought

That linked us in a dream.

 

 

J-K Parties Up In Arms Over Move To GiveVoting Rights To ‘Outsiders’ Before Assembly Polls

In Jammu and Kashmir, it has become a routine: The government each month issues an order. The order creates a political storm. The government ignores political protestation and issues another order and moves debate in a different direction.

In Jammu and Kashmir, it has become a routine: The government each month issues a controversial order. The order creates a political storm. The government ignores political protestation and issues another contentious order and moves debate in a different direction.

On August 17, Chief Electoral Officer of Jammu and Kashmir Hirsh Kumar said after the abrogation of Article 370 every citizen of the country who stayed ordinarily in J&K, for labour work, education, and business purpose, can register as a voter in J&K and cast vote in the next assembly elections. Kumar said he expects an increase of 20 Lakh to 25 lakh voters after the completion of the special summary revision of the electoral rolls whose final announcement will be made on November 25, 2022.

The announcement created a political ruckus in J&K and despite the government issuing different orders like increasing the rent of Waqaf properties and the police raiding different places, the debate around the CEO’s statement of adding 25 lakh continues.

According to the schedule, Integrated Draft Electoral Roll would be published by all Electoral Registration Officers on September 15, 2022. The time between September 15 and October 25 has been earmarked for filing claims and objections and all disposals in this regard will be completed by November 10.

Checking of health parameters and obtaining the Commission’s permission for final publication, updating the database, and printing of supplements is to be done by November 19, 2022. The final electoral roll would be published on November 25. The CEO’s announcement gave a clear indication that anyone who lives in Jammu and Kashmir ordinarily can now avail of the opportunity to get enlisted as a voter making domicile certificates redundant.

Kumar says the decision was taken in accordance with the provisions of Representation of the Peoples Act 1951 – an Act to provide for the conduct of elections to the Houses of Parliament and to the House or Houses of the Legislature of each State.

After the announcement, all regional political parties, including those who are seen as close to the BJP opposed the move and called it "dangerous". On August 22, Dr. Farooq Abdullah chaired the All Parties Meeting to oppose the government's move to grant voting rights to outsiders in Jammu and Kashmir. Sajad Lone-led People's Conference and Altaf Bukhari-led Apni Party stayed away from the meeting.

With leaders from Congress, CPI(M), People’s Democratic Party, and Shiv Sena, sitting beside him, Dr. Abdullah after the All Parties Meeting said the new move to provide voting rights to outsiders in Jammu and Kashmir would make a lot of people vulnerable in Jammu and Kashmir.

 

“We have expressed concern over the recent killings whether of Kashmiri pandits, outside labourers, Kashmiri Muslims, policemen or Army personnel,” Dr Abdullah said. “We have apprehensions that they (outsiders) would be attacked. They should carefully take decisions. I called Lt Governor (Manoj Sinha) a few days ago and asked him to call the All Parties Meeting. Previously, he had called a meeting about Shri Amarnath Yatra and we all went. This time I requested him to call all political parties for a meeting. But there was no response to my request from Lt Governor,” Dr. Abdullah said.

Dr. Abdullah said they called the All Parties Meeting and a similar such meeting will be held in Jammu. “We will make people aware of what the government is planning to do. We are going to the Court also. We are thinking on all kinds of avenues,” he added. Dr Abdullah asked why only Jammu and Kashmir have been chosen for giving voting rights to outsiders.  He said there are differences of opinion within political parties but on this issue, they will fight it together.

Shiv Sena leader Manish Sawhney said their demand is in sync with other parties of J&K as they are opposing giving voting rights to outsiders. “Repeatedly people of Jammu and Kashmir are being stabbed in the back. First, the government removed the permanent resident certificate and asked everyone to get a domicile. Now that people after remaining in long queues have got domicile certificates, they are now being asked that outsiders are now eligible to vote in Jammu and Kashmir.”

On August 5, 2019, the Centre amid siege, lockdown, and arrests of nearly 8000 persons, abrogated Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution, bifurcated and downgraded J&K into two Union Territories, J&K and Ladakh.  While the government extended and adapted around 800 state and central laws to J&K, it hasn’t extended a single law to the UT of Ladakh.

Under Article 370 Jammu and Kashmir including Ladakh had a separate constitution called the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir and also Article 35A was prohibiting people from outside from buying property in Jammu and Kashmir and ensuring job reservations for residents and voting rights to J&K citizens only. Article 35A would empower the Government of J&K to define a class of persons as constituting “permanent residents” of the erstwhile State. Also, it would allow the government to confer on these persons’ special rights and privileges with respect to matters of public employment and acquisition of immovable property in the State.

Later on March 31, 2020, the government discarded the permanent resident clause and replaced it with domicile law. Under the law, the domiciles have been defined as those who have resided for a period of 15 years in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir or have studied for a period of seven years and appeared in Class 10th, 12th examination in an educational institution located in J&K. The domicile law has no time bar indicating anyone appearing in class 10th or 12th in any period of time since 1947 is eligible for the domicile.

The government has made it mandatory for every citizen of the erstwhile State of J&K to secure a domicile certificate though they possess mandatory State subject certificates and thus equate them with the new domiciles.  Now in the case of voting rights domicile has been discarded with “ordinarily living in J&K.”

The BJP says those who are ordinarily living in J&K whether they are for services like in case armed forces or business or education or labour, can exercise their right provided they delete their electoral roll in their native place.  The BJP says the regional parties are playing politics over it.

The political parties fear if the 25 lakh outsiders or those ordinarily living in J&K get enrolled in the voting list, they will change the voter demography of the region forever. Though the BJP says the number of people ordinarily living in J&K is not far higher and the political parties are not realising the definition of ordinary residents, political parties fear the current BJP government is capable of adding 25 lakh voters from outside to J&K.

‘Ordinarily Living’ voters, if it would mean anyone coming to Kashmir for 15 days can register here, vote, and leave. So in a gap of five years, he will keep electing governments in different states. So are you creating a bogey of 25 lakh voters to influence elections across India,” says the PDP leader Mohit Bhan. For long regional political parties have been talking about the dangers of demographic change in J&K. Now it looks real.

Sajad Lone says: “We will not protest before the current administration. We know the current administration in Delhi or in Srinagar doesn't hold the political parties of J&K in very high esteem. In fact, they display contempt and disdain for them.”

“We think the final test is on October 1 when it (the summary revision) will be out. We don’t think the law is a threat to us but we are scared of those implementing the law. We will wait to see what they will do. If they did it (including 25 lakh outsiders as voters) we will sit on hunger strike in front of India. This war cannot be fought here. We will wait till October 1,” Lone says. 

By Naseer Ganai in Srinagar

(Ref: Outlook magazine, Sept 11, 2022)

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Death of A Judge

Justice Anup Deb: Did he commit suicide or was he murdered?

Justice Anup Deb

   More than a decade after his sudden demise the mystery of Justice Anup Deb’s death refuses to fade away, at least among those who were close to him.

   He was a Judge and I a journalist but what bound us together for more than two decades was our friendship nurtured down the years through turbulent times. When I got a call from someone early morning on March 14, 2002 I rushed to Justice Debs’ official residence at Balwuakhani in Gangtok only to find out that he was no more. The official version of Justice Deb’s death was that he hung himself in his official residence in the night of March 13.     

   Justice Deb was a strong and determined person and those, like myself, who knew him from close range found it very difficult to believe that he had committed suicide.

   “Unable to bear his prolonged illness, sitting High Court Judge Justice Anup Deb committed suicide,” a national daily reported. It added “…an ailing Justice Deb (59) hanged himself in the bedroom of his official residence here shortly after midnight leaving a suicide note stating "I cannot bear my illness anymore."

   However, Deb’s personal physician Dr. K. Bhandari of Sir Thutob Namgyal Memorial Hospital (STNM) said he was not suffering from any terminal or serious diseases. It is the first time in India’s history that a sitting Judge commits suicide, reported Sikkim Express.

   My own English weekly, Sikkim Observer, which many times reported on Justice Deb’s pronouncements in the court, was out of print during this period and failed to carry anything on his death. I hope this piece will to some extent do justice to the departed soul and compensate for my failure to carry anything on circumstances surrounding his tragic death which still remain shrouded in mystery.

    Deb was elevated to the rank of a Judge of the Sikkim High Court from the State Advocate General's post in 1994. He was transferred to the Agartala bench of the Gauhati High Court in February 1995 and then moved to the Orissa High Court in March 1996 before returning to Sikkim High Court in December 1997. During his tenure in the Sikkim High Court he also held the post of Acting Chief Justice for some time.

   “Don’t meditate too much. Look after your family,” were his last words to me and my wife when we went to see him and his wife at his Gangtok residence. He was in a good mood and we had a good time. That was, I think, the last time we met. Most of the time Justice Deb lived alone in his residence while his wife and children resided in neighbouring Siliguri, his home town.

    Since the Chamling Government slapped two cases on me regarding my press and residence in early 2001 and since Justice Deb was hearing these cases I made it a point not to be around him. But by early 2002 I learnt that he was not his normal self. During this period he once told me that he had information from the Union Home Ministry that his life was in danger. He used to often seek divinations for even traveling to Siliguri and Delhi. Lots of pujas were also performed for his safety and security. At times he was quite paranoid about his personal safety. “Some people think I’m running a parallel government!,” Deb used to tell me at times and then burst into laughter. Indeed, some of his observations and verdicts in the court made the administration sit up and take note.

   Realising that he was not keeping well I made it a point to see him and personally find out what was troubling him. I had some paper works to do at the High Court on March 13 which took some time. It was then I decided to go and see him in his office at the High Court premises. He was not there and I was told he was with Chief Justice R. Dayal in his office. I waited for sometime and left a word in his office that I had come to see him.

    I was expecting a call from him in the afternoon or evening of the same day.  Justice Deb usually calls me to his residence whenever I wanted to see him or the vice-versa. We normally chat over a cup of tea and snacks prepared by his cook. But this time there was no calls from him and early the next day I get a call saying he is no more.

    My first encounter with Justice Deb was way back in the winter of 1983. I was just fresh out of college and into journalism. What brought us together was a writ petition filed in the Supreme Court on seats reserved for Sikkim’s indigenous Bhutia-Lepchas (BLs) in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly by Ram Chandra Poudyal, then perhaps the most popular and articulate leader of the Nepalese community in Sikkim.

   In his writ petition, Poudyal, a former minister in the Kazi Cabinet (1974-1979), sought to do away with 12 Assembly seats reserved for the Bhutia-Lepchas and 1 for the Sangha, representing Buddhist monasteries in Sikkim. Deb, who was then the Additional Advocate General of Sikkim, sought my help to defend the case on historical ground. He said we would lose the case if we depended solely on legal and constitutional grounds. I took leave from Eastern Express, where I was working, and prepared the papers to defend the 13 reserved seats of the BLs and Sangha in the Supreme Court.

   When the case came up for hearing in early 1984 before the Supreme Court Poudyal was asked to “withdraw” his petition. The five-judge constitution bench headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice, Justice YB Chandrachud, which took note of the historical background on Assembly seat reservation for the minority indigenous communities in Sikkim, was in our favour. However, Poudyal tactfully delayed hearing of the petition for several years and when it did come up for hearing in early 1993 we won the case.

   “The inequalities in representation in the present case are an inheritance and compulsion from the past. Historical considerations have justified a differential treatment,” read the verdict of the apex court. These were the same observations made by the apex court in February 1984.  If Justice Deb had not advised us to depend on our history to defend our case we may have lost our battle in the apex court and that would have been disastrous for Sikkim.

   When we finally won the case in 1993 it was my privilege to have Justice Deb, Sonam P. Wangdi, now Judge of Sikkim High Court, then a Sikkimese lawyer who was once Deb’s junior, and my friend Chewang Tobgay, who represented Sikkim Tribal Welfare Association (STWA) in the case as an intervening party, at my residence at Deorali for lunch. It was time to celebrate for our victory. Former Home Secretary, Late Jigdal T. Densapa, who was a part of our team representing the State Government, was the only person missing from the table.

   I was the last person to place a khada on Deb when his body was placed in the crematorium on the banks of Mahananda River in Siliguri during the funeral. I vividly recollect what came to my mind when I first passed the Mahananda bridge, located near the cremation place, after Deb’s death.  As I looked over the bridge across to where the last remains of Justice Deb’s body were turned into ashes and then immersed into the river these words from the man whom I loved and respected flashed through my head: “Don’t look back. Look forward. I did my job. Now you do yours.” Was he referring to the Assembly seat issue? I often wonder about this but have no answers. However, I know that our mission on Assembly seat issue for both the Bhutia-Lepchas and Sikkimese Nepalese is still unfinished. Whenever I pass through that bridge I look over to the same spot and whisper some prayers for the one who is now no more but who still lives in my memory.

   Did Deb really commit suicide or did someone hang him? During the tragic incident, Deb’s younger brother, Goutam Deb, now Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s troubleshooter in Darjeeling and also North Bengal Development Minister, was heard uttering these words in front of Justice Dayal and other officials: “Cold blooded murder.”    

   The Sikkim unit of the Congress party’s demand for a CBI probe into the incident went unheeded. The fact that one of Deb’s prominent friends in college was senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee – now India’s President – did not evoke much response from the authorities. Former Chief Minister NB Bhandari also doubted the suicide claim of the government.

   Years later, a highly-placed Sikkimese civil servant close to Deb who has now retired, told me that the former Acting Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court did not commit suicide but was forcefully hung in his toilet. To prove his point he said there was no probe into the incident and the policeman who was guarding Justice Deb’s residence during that period died mysteriously one month after the tragic incident. The constable’s wife also committed suicide shortly after her husband’s death. Reportedly, the couple hung themselves.

    No matter how Justice Deb may have met his end I strongly believe that it was the system that thrives on lies, deceit and corruption that put an abrupt end to his life.

 

(Ref: Talk Sikkim, October 2013.)