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.

HIMALAYAN GUARDIAN     Wednesday June 19-25, 2013  

GOLAY TO LEAD ‘SKM’ FROM NEXT MONTH

PS Golay (pix: sikkimnow)

Gangtok, June 18: 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, yesterday.

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.

India welcomes election announcement in Nepal

Nepal PM Khil Raj Regmi

Kathmandu, June 18: India has welcomed the announcement of the Constituent Assembly elections in Nepal on November 19, saying that the polls will "usher in an era of peace, stability, progress and prosperity" in the country.

"We warmly welcome the announcement of election date by Nepal government as it reflects collective desires of the Nepalese people," said a statement from the Indian Embassy here.

"We are confident that elections will enable the finalisation of a new constitution and usher in an era of peace, stability, progress and prosperity in Nepal," the statement said, PTI reported.

Earlier, US had welcomed the announcement mentioning that they have been encouraging the Government of Nepal to take this important step after the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly in May last year.

"We welcome the announcement by the Council of Ministers in Nepal that Constituent Assembly elections will take place on November 19, 2013," Jennifer R Paski, spokesperson for the US Department of State said.

With the formation of the election government led by Chief Justice of Nepal, Khil Raj Regmi in March, the political parties had earlier tentatively agreed to conduct the elections in June or by December this year.

Parties hope Kashmir issue to be raised during PM visit

Srinagar, Jun 18: High expectations are riding on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Jammu and Kashmir later this month, with mainstream political parties hoping that he will initiate steps to address the internal and external dimensions of the Kashmir issue.

"We hope that the Prime Minister's visit will focus on the peace process in the broadest sense. We hope it is not just at the localised level but a dialogue is initiated with the separatists as well as Pakistan," chief spokesman of opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Naeem Akhtar said.

The Prime Minister, along with UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, is scheduled to visit Jammu and Kashmir on June 25 to inaugurate the railway link connecting Kashmir in north of Pir Panjal Mountain range to Banihal town on the south. This section is vital for linking Kashmir with rest of the country through the ambitious rail project started 10 years ago, PTI reported.

Akhtar said the PDP is hoping that J&K-specific confidence building measures between India and Pakistan will be taken to next level as the recent elections in the neighbouring country have ended the period of uncertainty there.

Ruling National Conference said although the PM's visit was for inaugurating development projects in the state, the party was hopeful that Singh will initiate steps from Kashmir for resolution of the problems of the state.

"Now that there is a change of guard in Pakistan, we hope that the Prime Minister initiates from Kashmir steps for resolution of Kashmir issue," Tanvir Sadiq, NC leader and political secretary to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, said.

State Secretary of CPI(M) Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said Singh should at least send a message to the people of Kashmir that justice will be done on all fronts.

"We expect that the least the Prime Minister can do is to assure the people of the state that various recommendations of the working groups set up by him will be implemented," Tarigami said.

The recommendations that Tarigami wants to be implemented include return of power projects to Jammu and Kashmir, enhancing the cross-LOC movement and good governance.

The separatist camp has so far shown no interest in the Prime Minister's visit except for JKLF which has called for a shutdown the day Singh lands in Kashmir.

Editorial

SIKKIM SURPRISES

Politicians Are On The Move

As the Sikkim Assembly elections draws nearer there will be many surprises in store for the people who are longing for change. The former kingdom which has largely been ruled by two men – Nar Bahadur Bhandari and Pawan Kumar Chamling – since 1979 desperately needs a change to its political leadership. And yet despite the desire for change the opposition is still not able to get its house in order. While Bhandari after the SSP’s has stated that his state-wide tour would begin only after the monsoon, the newly-formed Sikkim Krantikari Morcha leader PS Golay is yet to leave the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front to lead his party.

Meanwhile, expelled SKM leader Avinash Yakha has alleged that the SKM has no plan and policies for Sikkim’s future. Another youth leader Nawin Pradhan has quit the unemployed youth association which was critical of the State Government and is likely to join the ruling party. While some Congress functionaries have quit the party to join Bhandari’s Sikkim Sangram Parishad (SSP) there are those who will not leave the party mainly to obtain its ticket to contest the next Assembly elections due early next year. And as cash flows fast and freely from the top there will be more surprises in store for the Sikkimese people before, during and after the next polls.

Govt project may defile Kabi-Lungtsok sanctity: Lepcha body

Gangtok, June 18: The Sikkim Lepcha Association (Renjyong Mutanchi Rong Tarjum) and Lepcha Youth Association (Ong Shezum) have expressed their apprehension over the State Government’s proposed project at the historic site of Kabi-Lungtsok, where an eternal bloodbrotherhood was sworn between the Lepchas and Bhutias in the 13^th century.

During its meeting held here yesterday, members of the two associations “felt that the concerned department involved, should have initially interacted with the concerned community and the stake holders to avoid the said apprehension arising at the present, among the members of the lepcha community,” a release of the Tarjum said.

The meeting held under the chairmanship of Tarjum President Sonam Dupden and Shezum President Ongden Tshering Lepcha on the issue of development and beautification of the historic site, “felt that though the said project for preservation of the centuries old historical and religious spot at Kabi Lungchok, was needed,  but at the same time that they had strong ‘apprehension’ against the said project, in regards to the sanctity of the sacred and the said religious place, which had been a century old place of worship and devotion among the Lepchas of Sikkim and the world.”

“The house also felt that such heavy funded project would surely jeopardize the age old historical & the religious sanctity of Kabi Lungchok,” the release added. The meeting urged the authorities for “an appropriate and immediate solution to the said problem.”

Darjeeling Lepchas to honour Mamata

Siliguri, June 18: Right when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee finds her friendship with Gorkhas in Darjeeling hills under uncertainty, Lepchas, another major hilly community, has come forward to support her. Though not known how solid or how long this support can go in long run, but it can definitely give TMC a strength to bargain in the hills with Gorkha activists now.

"We will confer the title - 'KINGTSOOM DAARMIT,' MEANING 'Queen of prosperity,' to her on the next 2nd September 2013 at Siliguri," said L. S. Tamchang, President Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association (ILTA). ILTA is the umbrella body for around 1.5 lakh lepcha population in West Bengal out of which, over 90% resides in Darjeeling hills and contribute a significant role in the hills politics, The Economic Times reported.

ILTA has decide to celebrate 2nd September 2013 as the 2nd anniversary of 'formation' of Mayel Lyang Lepcha Development Board(MLLDB), a body, announced by the CM on the same date at state assembly, to be formed to work for the Lepchas development.

"This was the first time, with formation of MLLDB, this Government has given us true recognition as well as a feeling of freedom. We are thankful for that," said Tamchang. He was the leader of Lepcha delegation in many recent meets with the CM.

But, interestingly, the very formation of MLLDB is STILL under thick cloud. After the assembly announcement in 2011, it took two years for the state to mentioned about the plan of formation of this in a gazette notification. As it is mentioned in the notification, MLLDB shall be registered under West Bengal Society Registration Act XXVI of 1961.

"We have applied for the registration, but yet to receive the certificate. Naturally, the body is not yet formed officially," accepted Bhupendra Lepcha, Secretary and spokesman of ILTA. He also accepted that any society, just registered under societies registration act, cannot be a big autonomous body that can enjoy major financial grant from Government to carry on large scale development work. Moreover, an elected autonomous body Gorkhaland Territorial Administration is working in the hills. Leaders of neither the Lepchas nor TMC could clarify how they thought the MLLDB could work there avoiding conflict with GTA.

"Now since Gorkhas are not as happy as they were with the CM earlier on various issues, this extended helping hands of Lepcha leaders, somehow arranged by the CM, may give TMC significant electoral benefit in next panchayat or 2014 Lok Sabha election in the hills. But, this may erode harmony between the two hilly communities, Gorkhas and Lepchas, which will be a great loss in long run," said political observers.

Manipur Assembly for implementation of ILP

Locals being outnumbered by ‘outsiders’

Imphal, June 18: The Manipur Legislative Assembly on Thursday unanimously resolved to urge the Centre to extend the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR), 1873 or inner line permit (ILP) system in the state.

The resolution was moved by Congress MLA R K Anand who emphasised the need to amend the Constitution for extension of the regulation in the state in view of the increasing number of people coming from other states to Manipur, PTI reported.

Speaking during the discussion, Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh expressed the need to detect foreign nationals who have entered the state for manual work without valid documents and appealed to NGOs to help authorities in this.

The government, he said, is prepared to send an all party delegation to Delhi to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and other central leaders for extension of BEFR to the state by amending the constitution suitably.

Regarding the ongoing agitation by various social organisations for implementation of inner line permit (ILP) system in the state, he appealed to all not to resort to violence.

Opposition leader I Ibohalbi (Trinamool Congress), senior opposition member L Ibomcha (Nationalist Congress Party) and some other senior members also spoke on the issue.

Later, the house unanimously resolved to urge the central government to extend the BEFR 1873 in the state and requested the speaker to convey the resolution to the centre.

Official sources said various social organisations including students bodies have been organising sit-ins and other forms of agitation FOR over a month to press for the implementation of ILP.

The social organisations claim that the number of people coming to Manipur from other states far outnumber the total tribal population in it.

Tibet issue: NCP urges Centre, Arunachal Pradesh govt to review China policy

Itanagar, June 18: The Arunachal Pradesh unit of NCP has urged both the Centre and State Government to review the policy towards China and support the Tibetan cause.

Describing the violations of basic human rights of the Tibetans by the Chinese authorities, especially in matters of culture and religion, and aggressive marginalization of the Tibetans through economic imperialism and exploitation of its huge water and mineral resources as extremely upsetting, the party urged to the leadership to realize the gravity of the Tibetan problems and start an early review of India's approach towards China, PTI reported.

"The innumerable instances of self-immolation in various pockets of Tibet and the growing unrest amongst Buddhist monks throughout the globe are matters of international concern and speak volume of the grave situation," party state unit president Kahfa Bengia said on Sunday.

"The greatest foreign policy blunder committed by the Centre was accepting Tibet and their problems as internal issues of China. This sort of soft, timid and ambiguous approach by India led to Chinese Aggression in 1962," he said.

To begin a change in paradigm shift in policies, the Centre should not only support the Tibetan cause internationally, but also allow the voices within the nation, particularly of Arunachal, who are the worst victims of Chinese occupation to ventilate their concerns for Tibetan refugees in India, as well as those in Tibet, he said.

The spontaneous formation of Tibet Support Group (TSG) with participation of prominent leaders like R K Khrimey, Anok Wangsa, Kabak Tacho and many others, including leaders from various political parties in the state, extending their unconditional support to Tibetan cause is a welcome beginning, Bengia said.

The Arunachalis living in border pockets of Taksing, Limeking, Singha, Geling, Monigong, Charli, Damin, Mago and Thimbu among others are leading a wretched life with no facilities of pakka road, electricity, telecommunication, healthcare and modern educational amenities, essential commodities only because of fear psychosis of the policy makers of Indian mainstream of another Chinese aggression, he added.

Mother releases daughter’s book in Shillong

The Bookmark Sahaki offers book lovers of Shillong a cosy little space for book release events. Authors of different genres have come and read bits and pieces of what they consider to be the gems of their creative expressions.

This time the author is US-based Nina Harkness who has her roots in Shillong. The release function was quite an extraordinary experience. Nina’s mother, Bluebell Wason Marbaniang, founder of Step by Step School, proudly released her daughter’s book.

Nina said, “This book is for you Mum.” What a poignant moment it was! And yes the book is a fiction, Nina says, but hints that it is also strikingly close to real life events.

As Nina read about the protagonist Ramona’s tryst with a fur stole brought to their bungalow by one of those roving Pathans, Kong Bluebell rummaged into a plastic bag, took out the stole and wore it.

Nina Harkness – Neena Wason in school – was my classmate and batch of ’72. Her mother Mrs. Bluebell Wason was my teacher and I continue to keep in touch with  her two brothers – Brij and Robin – also from Mt. Hermon School, Darjeeling: Editor. (right)

“It’s over fifty years old and I paid quite a royal sum for it even at the time. It cost Rs 400,” she narrated with pride and joy.

Kong Bluebell was dressed in a Bhutanese ‘Baku’ since the novel is set amidst the hills of North Bengal, now a strife torn region but once the favourite haunt of tea planters and managers.

When asked what inspired her to write A Sahib’s Daughter, Nina said she had penned down her thoughts since 1986 and the plot was all figured out but she did not have the time to actually complete her manuscript.

“I wanted to dedicate the book to my parents but when my father died two years ago and I had not progressed beyond the first few chapters, I decided that I was going to complete the book at least for my mother,” Nina said her eyes welling with tears.

She wrote the book in two months flat producing 76,000 words. A Sahib’s Daughter, published by Tollymoore Publishing, USA was released in the USA in 2011. The book has already won rave reviews from established authors like Barbara Miller and Jean Bricknell.

A resident of Naples, Florida, Nina Harkness lives and works there. She has two children, a son who works for the US Government and daughter who just graduated from law school.

“The publishers showed me several cover designs but most of them looked like adverts for Lipton or Brooke Bond tea. Finally my daughter, Laura Harkness said she would give it a try. It has come out so well. The cover shows a young lady who is about to venture into the beckoning mountains,” Nina explained.

A Sahib’s Daughter takes readers on an intriguing journey as three generations of women grapple with secrets, scandal and passions of the heart during the post-Raj Indian era.

Nina weaves her story around the life and times of the great era of the Tea Planters and Managers and their imposing lifestyles with a retinue of servants and cooks to cater to their every need.

This was an era of change as well because the colonists now opted to marry Indian women whom they would earlier romance with and leave behind with a brood, that had no father to call their own.

The book also ventures into the intricate psyche of the Anglo Indians of the time and their worldview which was unattainably British (firangi) yet pragmatically Indian.

In the 60′s and 70′s Anglo- Indians were often torn between these two complex worlds and struggled to straddle the two.

A Sahib’s Daughter will soon be available in paperback at the Bookmark Sahaki. Currently it is also available through Junglee.com and Amazon.com. (The Shillong Times)

ENVIRONMENT

CRESTED KINGFISHER in the streets of Gangtok!

Minla Zangmu and Usha Lachungpa

In a strange recurrence of events, just like the Kalij Pheasant rescued from New Market MG Road, Gangtok On April 19, 2013, in less than two months, on June 16, 2013, at 1:30 pm we were once again called by Shakti Singh Choudhary, Deputy Mayor of Gangtok, regarding a bird rescued near Star Cinema Hall, New Market, MG Marg.

On arrival the bird was identified as a Crested Kingfisher, Megaceryl lugubris, most likely a female on account of pale rufous colouring on the undersides of the wings. On examination, the bird was found uninjured, but severely stressed and dehydrated.

 This beautiful Kingfisher locally called “JALEWA” (Nepali) was immediately transferred to a stress free environment to recover and be released back into its natural riverine habitat.

 The occurrence of this bird on New Market MG Road Gangtok is highly unusual, considering that the nearest river where it should normally be found is in the lower altitudes of Sikkim, for example, Nimtar and below. Definitely not in the middle of a bustling busy urban area! Just like the Kalij Pheasant that was rescued in the same area some time back, this bird is also a long way from home and in the most unlikely of places.

 We are grateful that Shaktiji and like-minded people were on site at both times to rescue the birds.  Now it is up to all to see that we have no such recurrences in the future.

SIKKIM OBSERVER Saturday   June 15-21,  2013   

MY blog: jigmenkazisikkim.blogspot.com

Gangtok’s Tashi Namgyal Academy (TNA) students actively participating in their Sports Day

Sikkim EIILM owner arrested for issuing fake certificates

Siliguri, June 14: Vinay Kumar Rai, the Chairman of Rai Foundation and owner of Eastern Institute for Integrated Learning in Management (EIILM) University, Sikkim, was arrested from Bagdogra Airport on May 7 last month minutes before he was to board a flight to Delhi.

 Rai was arrested for allegedly issuing fake certificates of EIILM. After the arrest Rai was taken to Sikkim by the Sikkim Police. J. Jayaraman the Commissioner of Siliguri police said, “Rai was detained at the Airport on the request of the Sikkim Police.” Immediately after his arrest, Rai who runs multiple businesses throughout the country, claimed that he is innocent and he would not go to Sikkim with the Sikkim Police unless they furnish a magisterial order.

However the Sikkim Police officials forced him to board the car and left for Sikkim in the afternoon, Eastern Panorama reported.

A.K. Singh the District Collector of East Sikkim said, “The EIILM University Vice Chancellor, Registrar and the Controller of Examinations who were arrested were small fish.” The mastermind is believed to be Rai, the Chairman of Rai Foundation that runs EIILM, Sikkim. Rai who was once ranked in the Fortune 500 people group has extended his business empire. Reliable sources in Sikkim said many of his business and his business dealings have already come under the scanner and the issuing of fake certificates on behalf of EIILE, Sikkim is one of these businesses.

On the same day of his arrest, three high ranking officials of the University were released on bail by the District Court, East. The Sikkim police had arrested Vice-Chancellor O.B. Vijayan, Registrar Dr. Alok Bhandari and Controller of Examinations V. Dahiya on charges of issuing fake degrees to students on payment of money, the report said.

The trio was held from EIILM’s Jorethang office, South Sikkim by a police team following a raid and brought to Sadar Police station, Gangtok on May 6 evening and produced in the District Court, East on the afternoon of the next day. The court granted bail on the ground of insufficient investigation conducted by the Police. Amidst complaints against EIILM for issuing fake degrees, the Sikkim Police found out that a certificate issued to one Manjit Kaur of Karnal, Haryana in 2011 was fake. The Additional District Collector, south district, had filed a police complaint regarding the case at Gangtok, but the arrests couldn’t be made due to lack of evidence.

The certificate in question issued in 2011 was under the police scanner and a RTI reply further confirmed the doubt. They were booked under IPC Sections 467,468,471,120 B and 181.  EIILM University, Sikkim has around 336 centres all over the country, including West Bengal, Assam and other Northeastern States. The State Legislative Assembly of Sikkim had accorded it as a private State university in 2006 with the Sikkim Governor as the Chancellor.

SIBLAC opposes ‘project’ at sacred Kabi-Lungtsok

Gangtok, June 14: The Sikkim Bhutia-Lepcha Apex Committee (SIBLAC), an umbrella organization of the State’s minority indigenous Bhutia and Lepcha communities, have vehemently opposed any form of construction and defacement of the historic Kabi-Lungtsok spot in North Sikkim.

This spot, held sacred by the Sikkimese, witnessed the historic signing of bloodbrotherhood treaty between the Lepcha chief, Thekongtek, and Bhutia ruler Jowo Khye-Bumsa in the 13^th century. Khye-Bumsa is the ancestor of the former kingdom’s Namgyal dynasty which ruled Sikkim since the swearing-in ceremony and more effectively from 1642 when the first ruler, Chogyal Phuntsong Namgyal, was consecrated as the Chogyal (king).

SIBLAC chief and former minister Tseten Tashi Bhutia, who is leading the movement for preservation of Sikkim’s unique cultural heritage,  said the State Government’s bid to change the natural setting of the area, which has been preserved down the ages,  is “not acceptable to the people of Sikkim and in particular to the Bhutia-Lepcha community.”

“This holy place is safeguarded and protected under the Places of Worship (special provision) ACT, 1991, and further by the Old laws of Sikkim under Clause ‘k’ of Article 371-F of the Constitution of India, followed by many government notifications,” Bhutia said in a press statement.

“Any injury and harm to this sacred place will be considered as “genocide on Historical-Cultural-Religious civilisation of Sikkim,” SIBLAC said.

Bhutia said his press statement should be treated “as our objection” to any “project” proposed at the historic spot.

Gorkhaland resolution was sent to Home Ministry in 2011: govt

Make Thapa’s speech opposing smaller states public: Bhandari

Gangtok, June 14: The Sikkim Legislative Assembly resolution of March 2011 supporting formation of Gorkhaland state in West Bengal was sent to the Union Home Secretary on May 2011, the State Government has stated while denying reports that the resolution had not been forwarded to the Centre.

Reacting to news reports that the resolution on Gorkhaland was not sent to the Centre, the State Government in a press release said the resolution, which was passed by the Assembly in March 2011, was forwarded to GK Pillai, former Home Secretary, by former Chief Secretary ND Chingapa on March 19, 2011.          

“The stand of the Government of Sikkim in favour of Gorkhaland has always been the same and such baseless and unfounded allegation were probably made with the intention to cause rift between peace loving people of Sikkim and Darjeeling,” an official release said.

Had the RTI applicant on the issue, BP Sharma, approached the State Government he would have been provided with the required information, the release said. However, the State Government would enquire with the Home Ministry “as to how they have stated that the resolution has not been sent,” the release added.

 According to Sharma, the Home Ministry, responding to his application, said, “This Ministry has not received any State Assembly Resolution from the Government of Sikkim regarding formation of a separate state in West Bengal having name Gorkhaland.”

Meanwhile, Sikkim Sangram Parishad President and former chief minister NB Bhandari has demanded that the speech opposing creation of smaller states by Urban Development Minister DB Thapa in New Delhi recently during the CMs conference be made public.

After Thapa’s statement indirectly opposing creation of Gorkhaland state, Chief Minister Pawan Chamling said he favoured creation of Gorkhaland state.

Bhandari lambasted the State Government for its double speak on the statehood issue. The Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) has also targeted the State Government on the statehood issue.

ASESEUA members “sold as cheap potatoes”: Mayalmit Lepcha

Gangtok, June 14: The newly-elected adhoc President of the All Sikkim Educated Self-Employed & Unemployed Association (ASESEUA) Mayalmit Lepcha has accused the outgoing president of the Association Nawin Kiran Pradhan of betraying the trust reposed on him by the unemployed youths of the State.

In a Press statement, Lepcha, an anti-mega dam social activist, said Pradhan lacked “integrity, loyalty and honesty.” Lepcha said “a man who doesn’t have integrity, loyalty and honesty towards the association and youth have no right to talk about the Sikkimese youth future.”

She alleged that some members of the Association had “betrayed” the youths and were “sold as cheap potatoes.”

Earlier, media reports said Pradhan and some of his colleagues would join the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF).

She said under her leadership the Association would work for the 40,000 unemployed youths of the State.

Editorial

ADVANI WITHDRAWS

‘Federal Front’ Leaders Unite

LK Advani created a huge stir within the BJP when he resigned from several posts of the party this week. Besides the BJP his resignation had immediate reactions from the Congress as well as the ‘third front.’ However, Advani’s meek withdrawal of his resignation paves way for Narendra Modi’s projection as the prime ministerial candidate within the BJP. It now appears that those proposing a ‘federal front’ will now be opposed to BJP mainly because Modi seems to be an acceptable candidate for the top job within the Sangh parivar.

If south, east and northeast regions of the country unite to form a ‘federal front’ as proposed by Mamata Banerjee, Nitish Kumar and Naveen Patnaik the Congress party’s hopes of making a comeback in the next general elections seems quite bright at this point of time. However, much now depends on how ‘federal front’ leaders unite to take on both the BJP and Congress. The stage is gradually being set for the ‘third front’ to play a decisive role in which party forms the government at the centre at this time next year.

Lone Tibetan marcher goes missing from Gangtok

Tsetan Dorjee along with his mother Dhum Po Kyi at their residence in Dharamshala. (pix:Phayul)

Dharamsala, June 14: After covering over 2000 kms and reaching within a couple of day’s trek to the Tibetan border, Tsetan Dorjee, who was on his march to Tibet for the second time, has reportedly gone missing.

It has been learned that Dorjee went missing from Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, which is located just 54 kms (34 miles) from the famous Nathu Pass, the historical trade route between India and Tibet.

Speaking to Phayul, Mogru Tenpa, a member of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile said the last he heard from Dorjee was a phone call on Monday, June 10, at 11 in the morning from Gangtok.

In the telephonic conversation, Dorjee had told Tenpa that he was risking arrest if he tried to travel near the border region on foot.

“So, he was hoping to get a ride to drop him near the border but he added that he was finding it difficult to get a ride because everyone was scared that they might get into problem,” Tenpa said.

He further noted that Dorjee’s phone has been switched off since Tuesday and there is no information about his current whereabouts, Phayul reported.

Tseten Dorjee, 36, began his second march to Tibet from the exile headquarters of Dharamshala on March 10, coinciding with the 54th anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day.

Dorjee, who has been living in Israel for the last few years along with his wife and two children, came back to India to begin his journey back home.

On March 10, 2012, Dorjee along with his mother, Dhumpo Kyi and sister, Lhamo Kyi had embarked on their first peace march to Tibet.

After marching for over two months and covering more than 1,300 kms, the exile family was stopped by Nepali border police and forcibly returned to India in May.

However, slipping past Nepali border posts, Dorjee left behind his mother and sister on the Indian side and carried on with his March to Tibet in Nepal. He was arrested eight days later on the outskirts of Kathmandu and sentenced to five years in prison.

Dorjee came out of prison after spending nearly a year in a Nepali jail to begin his second peace march to Tibet earlier this year.

In May, Dorjee’s mother Dhumpo Kyi sat on silent-partial hunger strike for a month from May 10 with only one meal a day in support of her son’s return journey.

INTERVIEW OF THE

WEEK

Tenzing Tethong

“In the ’70s nobody in US wanted anything that would upset China”

Tenzin Tethong is currently a Distinguished Fellow at the Tibetan Studies Institute at Stanford, and President and one of the founding members of the Dalai Lama Foundation, as well as Board Chair of the Committee of 100 for Tibet. In the 1970s, he worked with members of Congress to secure the first visit of the Dalai Lama to the United States. As former Representative of H.H. the Dalai Lama in New York and Washington, Tenzin Tethong was instrumental in initiating many key Tibetan organizations in the United States. He has also been Prime Minister of the exiled Tibetan government based in Dharamsala.

Martin LeFevre recently talked to the Tibetan leader on skype on his views on Tibet

and of his wide-ranging experiences and overlapping perspectives.  Excerpts of the interview:

Martin LeFevre: Other than at Dharamsala, where the government in exile is located, I know there are Tibetan communities in America and Europe. Do you call it a diaspora?

Tenzin Tethong: There are scattered communities in the United States and Canada, and to a lesser extent in Europe—for example, there’s been a Tibetan community in Switzerland since the early 1960s. A few thousand Tibetans have come to the United States and Canada the last 15 years, so the description of a diaspora is becoming a little more common.

ML: Were you born in Tibet, and when did you leave?

TT: I was born in Tibet in 1948. My parents left when I was about six, so we managed to come out before 1959 (when the Dalai Lama went into exile).

ML: Tell me a little about your childhood and early life.

TT: I went to school in Darjeeling at a missionary school (Mt. Hermon School), and attended some of the first refugee schools in India. My father was a teacher in one of the schools.

Soon after my high school graduation, I started to work in Dharamsala as an interpreter, secretary and translator. From 1967 onwards, I became involved in many of the Tibetan activities, especially among the young people at that time. I worked on publications and to self-organize the youth, such as the Tibetan Youth Congress, and a few years later I was sent to New York in 1973, where there had been a Tibetan appeal at the United Nations.

ML: What was the nature of that appeal?

TT: It began in 1959 at the UN General Assembly, with resolutions also in 1961 and 1965 on Tibet, essentially calling on China to respect the human rights of the Tibetan people, and in one resolution saying that the right of self-determination of the Tibetan people should be respected.

ML: So you first came to the United States just after Nixon’s rapprochement with China?

TT: Yes, I came at a time when the Office of Tibet, which was representing His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government, was being shut down. The US government had changed its policies on China (under Nixon), and we were being encouraged to close down our activities. From that point on, official support, and shall we say unofficial support was not at all forthcoming.

ML: You don’t sound bitter though.

TT: People in America knew very little about Tibet at the time. But we were not forced to shut down, to the credit of the United States. The office continued, and I was there for the first few years, just one person, trying to figure out the United States, Tibet work, and myself as well—I was only in my mid-20s.

ML: What kind of work did you do at that time?

TT: I was in touch with just a handful of Americans who had interest in Tibet, some with scholarly backgrounds, others who had visited India and Nepal, among them young travelers, hippies. Some had found Tibetans to be very friendly, helpful and kind. You could say we were a whole rag-tag bunch.

ML: What was your goal?

TT: Working with that small group, and a handful of Tibetan Buddhists and Buddhist scholars scattered across the United States—there were only 2-300 Tibetans in the country at that time—gradually we built up a small circle of friends and network of friends. The issue of inviting His Holiness to the United States came up often.

ML: Politically, that must have been a delicate situation.

TT: In the early ’60s there may have been some interest by the US government in a possible visit by His Holiness, but by the mid-70s of course nobody wanted anything that would upset the Chinese. So I got involved in trying to plan a visit by His Holiness, and began to work with this new circle of friends. It became a fairly complicated and difficult attempt, but finally we did manage to organize something for His Holiness, and so in the fall of 1979 he came to the United States.

ML: Do you consider that first visit successful?

TT: There were many difficulties, but the visit became successful because of His Holiness’ ability to reach out, speak, and be able to communicate with a lot of people in different situations.

ML: With whom did the Dalai Lama meet on that first visit?

TT: Many of the visits were to give a talk or lecture at a university, and others were at Buddhist centers, or inter-church ceremonies.

ML: There was a lot of sympathy for the plight of the Tibetan people at that time as I recall, and a growing respect and affection for the Dalai Lama.

TT: Yes, that first visit led us to establish a new foundation in America, and it extended to the United States Congress. The White House and the State Department obviously didn’t want much to do with Tibet or the Dalai Lama really, because the US policy was now completely to build a relationship with China.

ML: How little things have changed, and how much. What kinds of problems did you run into?

TT: When we were first planning the visit we had difficulty in getting some sense of, shall we say, if not approval, at least non-objection from the US government. We didn’t want His Holiness to be stopped at the airport and denied a visa. So we worked with one or two congressman, and got enough informal support on Capitol Hill to prevent anyone from the State Department from saying, ‘the Dalai Lama cannot come.’

ML: Indeed, he was warmly welcomed on Capitol Hill as I recall.

TT: After that first visit, many of the congressmen and senators who met him actually got to like the Dalai Lama quite a bit. And in later visits in the ‘80’s, each time he would visit Washington, he met with them and others. On Capitol Hill he became an almost unanimously loved figure.

(martinlefevre@sbcglobal.net)

DISTINCT IDENTITY

Within The Union

Historical considerations have justified a differential treatment: Supreme Court

The Chogyal (centre) with Bhutia highlanders of Lachen, North Sikkim.

Beginning from this week, Sikkim Observer will publish views, articles, statements, judgements on Sikkim’s distinct identity within the Union of India. Readers, writers and all concerned are requested to contribute towards this column.

To begin with we have former minister and convenor of Sikkim Bhutia-Lepcha Apex Committee (SIBLAC) Tseten Tashi Bhutia’s  compilation of the Supreme Court’s views on the subject in

R.C. Poudyal vs. Union of India and others on 10 February, 1993. It may be recalled that Ram Chandra Poudyal, former minister and President of Congress (R) in 1979, challenged  reservation of 12 seats of the Bhutia-Lepchas and 1 seat for the Sangha in the 32-member Sikkim Legislative Assembly, in the Supreme Court.

The verdict delivered in 1993 went in favour of reservation of the former Buddhist Kingdom’s indigenious Bhutia-Lepcha:
Bench: Supreme Court Chief Justice M. N. Venkatachaliah
"But in the case of the Sangha, it is not merely a religious institution. It has been historically a political and social institution in Sikkim and the provisions in regard to the seat reserved admit to being construed as a nomination and the Sangha itself being assigned the task of and enabled to indicate the choice of its nominee."
"In view of this historical association, the provisions in the matter of reservation of a seat for the Sangha recognises the social and political role of the institution more than its purely religious identity."
"Clause (f) of Article 371F is intended to enable, a departure from Article 332(2)."
"We are of the opinion that the provisions in the particular situation and the permissible latitudes, cannot be said to be unconstitutional."
"But, in our opinion, clause (f) of Article 371F is intended to enable, a departure from Art. 332(2). This is the clear operational effect of the non obstante clause with which Article 371F opens."
"The departures are not such as to negate fundamental principles of democracy. Thus, the provisions in the particular situation and the permissible latitudes, cannot be said to be unconstitutional."
"The reservation of seats for Bhutias and Lepchas is necessary because they constitute a minority and in the absence of reservation they may not have any representation in the Legislative Assembly."
"The provisions of clauses (f) of Article 371 F and the consequent changes in the electoral laws were intended to recognise and accommodate the pace of the growth of the political institutions of Sikkim and to make the transition gradual and peaceful and to prevent dominance of one section of the population over another on the basis of ethnic loyalties and identities. These adjustments and accommodations reflect a political expediencies for the maintenance of social equilibrium."
"Historical considerations and compulsions do justify inequality and special treatment."
"Indeed the argument in the case, in the perspective, is really one of violation of the equality principle rather than of the democratic principle. The inequalities in representation in the present case are an inheritance and compulsion from the past. Historical considerations have justified a differential treatment."