We Lubricate the Wheels of Democracy  

“But our greatest strength is in the power of our ideas, which are still new in many lands. Across the world, we see them embraced and we rejoice. Our hopes, our hearts, and our hands are with those on every continent who are building democracy and freedom. Their cause is America’s cause.”

                   -          President Bill Clinton’s inaugural address

                                                                                                                                  January 21, 1993

    The content and delivery of Clinton’s inaugural speech not only fascinated me; it inspired me. For me and for Sikkim Observer and for the people of Sikkim, 1993 was a momentous year. The Observer, which was not very regular since the ransacking of its printing Press in January 1990 and refusal of local printers to print the paper in October 1991, finally ceased publication in May 1993. I was forced to resort to this measure since even printers in Siliguri refused to oblige me for fear of incurring the wrath of those in power in Sikkim.

    Press Freedom Rally in Gangtok, June 19, 1993.

    1993 marked my tenth year in journalism. I had experienced a lot in these ten years and so I decided to write a book on it. The book – “Inside Sikkim :Against the Tide” – was finally released at the Press Club of India in New Delhi in December 1993. The book (387 pages) ended rather abruptly but in retrospect the last chapter (Struggle And Triumph) was significant. The final paragraphs of the book had quotes from the address that I had delivered at the Paljor Stadium to a small gathering of local media during the rally protesting suppression of freedom of the Press in the State.

   In a written message on this historic protest rally as the President of the Sikkim Press Association on June 19, 1993, I stated: “Let me remind you today that media organizations cannot alone ensure and protect the freedom of the Press. In the final analysis, it is the people who have to come forward and provide the much-needed protection to journalists and safeguard freedom of the Press. But we as journalists, must make our stand very clear. We must stand firm and resolute in our stand. While our opinions as journalists may differ on various issues and matters, we cannot and must not allow vested interests or our own selfish motives to creep in and deprive us of the opportunity to stand erect and united on the issue of the Freedom of the Press.

   It is not how many of us are here today to support the cause of the Freedom of Press that matters; but how much faith, sincerity and dedication that we have in the righteousness of our cause…Today, we are here to lodge a symbolic protest. But if our voice is not heard and if the suppression of the Freedom of Press still continues despite the stand that we have taken here today, we must not be content with mere symbolism. We must raise a voice in every village and town in this State…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 Press in Sikkim.”

   The quick and dramatic response of the people was beyond my wildest imagination. On June 22 and 23, just three days after our rally, thousands of pro-democracy activists under the leadership of Mr. Pawan Chamling, President of the Sikkim Democratic Front, held protest rallies in Gangtok. The SDF rally was a significant breakthrough for democratic forces in the State fighting against the dictatorial Bhandari regime. The confrontation between pro-democracy activists and the Bhandari Government in June 1993 is now being seen as a watershed in Sikkim’s contemporary political history.

   While we do not claim to be the champion of the freedom of Press and freedom of expression and movement in the State, it is important to note that both Sikkim Observer and its staff have contributed their share in restoration of democracy and decency in Sikkim. I refuse to believe that Sikkim Observer and our other publications are our only contribution in my decade and half experience in the Fourth Estate. Newspapers have a significant role to play in a small State like Sikkim. But I would like those who know me well and our readers in particular to know that what we at the Observer have tried to do is to build an Institution called the Press.

   The Press is not just journalists, papers and machines. It has to be seen essentially as one of the major pillars of democracy. While legislators in the country and the world raise emotive issues such as restoration of democracy from time to time it is the Press which lubricates the wheels of democracy day in and day out.

   Due to social and political environment in the State in the past few decades, the Press has had to shoulder the additional burden of constantly being the lone torchbearer of freedom and democracy. Recently, the former chief minister, Mr. Sanchaman Limboo, confided to me, “You are a great survivor.”

   My past experience has taught me that the art of survival is to stick to your guts. Credibility pays in the long run. We believe that we have not struggled in vain and that our ten long years of struggling and surviving will pay rich dividends to all in this part of the world in the years to come.

                                                                                                                              (Ref: Sikkim Observer, August 10, 1996)

HAIL MT. HERMON: A TRIBUTE

(125^th Anniversary - 1895-2020)

Foundation stone of school building was laid on June 5, 1924

  June 5, 1924, is a great day for Mount Hermon School and the Hermonites. The foundation of the main school building was laid on this day by the Countess of Lytton. The construction of the school, which was then called Queen’s Hill School (QHS), took about two years.

   The inauguration of the new school building was performed by Lord Lytton, then the Governor-General of Bengal, on May 26, 1926. The opening of QHS at North Point was a dream come true for the school’s Founder, Miss Emma Knowles, who died in 1924. She founded the school, then called Arcadia Girls School near Chowrasta, Darjeeling, on March 11, 1895.

   In her book, “Under the Old School Topee”, UK Hermonite Hazel (Innes) Craig, who passed away a few years back, gives a clear picture of this era:

    “Emma Knowles worked tirelessly for her school until 1915, and retired from active missionary service a few years later. Her greatest hope was to see her school established in a permanent building `before her call should come'. She died in 1924 aged 84, but she got her wish when Miss Carolyn Stahl, who became Principal in 1918, was able to write and tell her of the purchase of the Mount Hermon Estate in 1920.

    A slump in the tea industry led to the sale of the large estate belonging to the Lebong Tea Company, an ill wind which blew some good for the Methodist missionaries looking for a site for the school. The site was bought for a bargain price of Rs.50,000/- by Bishop Frederick Fisher of the Thoburn Methodist Church in Calcutta. Fred Fisher was the moving spirit behind the purchase of the site and the building of the new school. Later he was to instigate the purchase of Fernhill in 1927, which was to become the senior boys' living accommodation - again at a bargain price, a mere Rs.35,000/-.

   Cottages sprang up on the new estate and the school itself was officially opened in 1926, still called Queen's Hill and by then taking many more boys. In 1930 the school was re­named Mount Hermon School, incorporating the original Queen's Hill School for Girls and Bishop Fisher's School for Boys, eventually becoming the fully integrated co-educational boarding school that I knew in the 1940s.” (www.oldmhs.com – web page of UK alumni)

Hail Mt. Hermon! Hail Hermonites!

 

Hail Mount Hermon: A TRIBUTE

(125th Anniversary - 1895-2020)

Mount Hermon School building was inaugurated on May 26, 1926 by Lord Lytton

“One of the finest buildings in the Orient”: Lord Lytton

   “The inauguration of the new school building – which has been described as “one of the finest buildings in the Orient” – was performed by Lord Lytton, then the Governor-General of Bengal, on May 26, 1926.

   Initially, there were two institutions in the present campus – Queen’s Hill School for Girls and Bishop Fisher School for Boys. Rev. E.S. Johnson of the Thoburn Methodist Church of Calcutta became Principal of the two institutions in 1929. In 1930, the school was renamed Mount Hermon School and became a co-educational institution.

   Today, Bishop Fisher is considered as one of the Founders of the school and a House (Fisher House – yellow) has been named after him in his honour.” (Ref: Inside Sikkim: Against the Tide, Jigme N. Kazi, Gangtok, 1993.)

   Beginning from this day, May 26, 2020, a historic day for my alma mater (Mt. Hermon School), I will be posting something about the school and some notable Hermonites (alumni of the school) and alumni chapters as a Tribute to Mount Hermon School on the occasion of its 125th anniversary (1895-2020).

   In my forthcoming book: “Hail Mount Hermon: A Tribute”, I have not been able to include many aspects of the school and its alumni. I hope this endeavour will, to some extent, make up for my lapses in the book, and also encourage Hermonites to pitch in and throw more light on the subject and pay their own Tribute to MH during its 125th anniversary year (March 11, 2020 to March 11, 2021).

  That apart, it would be in the fitness of things to take note of the importance of the historic day of May 26, 1926, and honour and commemorate this special day annually as a Tribute to the school and all those who have made their valuable contributions for the establishment of this great educational institution. Hail Mt. Hermon!

(This piece is being posted in all groups of Hermonites in Facebook and also in my blog (jigmenkazisikkim.blogspot.com) and my Facebook page, 'MH Souvenir', which is being renamed: 'Hail Mount Hermon: A Tribute'.)

WE HAVE SURRENDERED!
I wrote this piece in my Sikkim Observer in the spring of 2003. It was carried in my third book: "The Lone Warrior: Exiled in My Homeland", published in 2014:

"At this moment, the Organisation of Sikkimese Unity (OSU), whose main objective is to preserve the distinct identity of Sikkim and the Sikkimese people within the Union and within the framework of the Constitution, makes a fervent appeal to all sections of the Sikkimese people to come together, forge unity and march ahead to fight for their legitimate constitutional, democratic and human rights. 

To achieve this goal the OSU calls for formation of “Democratic Alliance” of all like-minded political and social organizations in Sikkim to lead a mass movement for restoration of the political rights of the Sikkimese people. It is through unity that we will be able to arrive at a seat formula in the Assembly which is reasonable, just and acceptable to all sections of the people, the State Government and the Centre.
We know and are deeply aware that the odds are great. The agents of division and disunity are working overtime and are actively at work for their vested interests. There is no better and effective way to frustrate their evil designs then for all of us to join hands and mobilize people power to fight against money power.
Let this hour of crisis and confusion herald the dawn of a new era in Sikkim politics. Let us all resolve to stand firm, resolute and maintain our self-respect and dignity, unity and fight on. Let those who make tall promises and yet relentlessly pursue their hidden agenda know that we are able and determined to pay any price and bear any burden to safeguard the unity and identity of the Sikkimese people. Let them know once and for all that............ We shall fight in the Assembly. We shall fight in the Parliament. We shall fight in the Court and in the Press. And if need be, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets. Wherever we are, whatever we do, we shall fight. We shall never surrender. Never.
(Jigme N. Kazi)
Chairman
ORGANISATION OF SIKKIMESE UNITY

ROOT CAUSE

Opinion | Nagaland on edge over peace talks and special status

Sudeep Chakravarti

Govt must offer face-saving deal for Naga people, or risk having the 2015 peace agreement fail

Some panic buttons are being pressed in Nagaland over the fate of the peace deal on account of the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), and bifurcation of the erstwhile state into Union territories. If the special status of J&K has been withdrawn, then what is the guarantee that the special status of Nagaland—and other states in North-East India—won’t be revoked.

There is also some concern with the interlocutor of peace talks, R.N. Ravi, taking over as governor of Nagaland in early August. In addition, statements by Ravi that the Naga peace deal has a deadline of three months, by October-November this year, is being seen by the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah), or NSCN (I-M), and its proponents in media, as both downgrading of talks and arm-twisting.

Comments to that effect have been attributed to Thuingaleng Muivah, general secretary of this largest Naga rebel group. The August issue of Nagalim Voice, a mouthpiece, even described a meeting earlier this year, before Ravi’s appointment as governor: “… it became a matter of discomfort for NSCN negotiators led by chief negotiator Th. Muivah when the government of India started turning capricious and bossy as reflected by the body language of Ravi."

The complicated truth is somewhere in between.

It’s likely that public relations benefits of fulfilling its election promise of abrogating Article 370 and its companion, Article 35A—which provided special land ownership and benefits to J&K residents, similar to special provisions in several north-eastern states—will be contained by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) within what is sometimes called Mainland India.

The alternative, revoking special provisions in the North-East, will lead to massive protests across that region, irrevocably upset the Naga people, jeopardize peace talks with NSCN (I-M) and other Naga rebel groups, and destroy any trust towards the current government.

The spillover of developments in Jammu and Kashmir onto the Naga peace process, for example, is likely to be a negation of demands such as a separate flag for Nagaland—or Naga homelands—and what has sometimes been described as “shared sovereignty". Agreeing to these in Nagaland will open another Pandora’s Box in Jammu and Kashmir: If it’s okay for the Naga people, why not for Kashmir? And yet, the Union government must offer a substantial, face-saving deal in Nagaland and for the Naga people, or risk having the Framework Agreement for Peace signed on 3 August 2015 by Ravi and Muivah, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, implode as an empty gesture.

While these are complications of the government’s own making, I-M’s position, too, is tricky.

Muivah’s reaction to Ravi being appointed governor and yet remaining interlocutor is really a perception of loss of face: Ravi downgraded from being the Prime Minister’s envoy to a figurehead, and the peace process to the beck and call of the home ministry. This is erroneous. In real terms, Ravi remains an extension of India’s national security apparatus, in which the Prime Minister, home minister and national security advisor form the trinity.

I-M’s drumbeaters have also played up I-M as the sole voice of the Naga people. They cite a meeting with former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao in Paris in 1995 to stake that claim. Here it’s important to discount embellishment. I-M leaders did indeed meet Rao. But they also met former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda in Zurich in early 1997.

A ceasefire with I-M was signed in August 1997, when I.K. Gujral was premier. It took until Modi to convert that ceasefire to talks for a final settlement. It isn’t about one premier, but a process.

It’s also important to remember that NSCN’s Khaplang, or K, faction, arch-rivals of I-M, signed a ceasefire in 2001, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was premier. That alone is acknowledgement of another party also being a claimant to representing aspirations of the Naga people. That ceasefire broke in 2015, and now a major breakaway faction of K is both in ceasefire and peace talks, alongside six other Naga rebel groups—and Ravi is the interlocutor for all.

What is often ignored in this jostling for advantage is that the Naga people as a whole are the main claimants and beneficiaries of a lasting solution. Both the government and the rebels would do well to remember that political capital rests with the people.

(Courtesy: Livemint, 21.8.2019)

KHANGCHENDZONGA

SACRED TO SIKKIM, PRIDE OF INDIA, A WORLD HERITAGE SITE

  The UNESCO has recognized and declared that the worship of this sacred mountain (Khangchendzonga) “by the indigenous people of Sikkim” constitute “the basis for Sikkimese identity”

The Khangchendzonga National Park, a unique biosphere reserve located in North Sikkim, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in July 2016. This is for the first time that any Indian destination has been under the Mixed criteria of UNESCO's heritage sites list, thus recognising the outstanding universal values for its both natural and cultural significance.

The park gets its name from the mountain Kangchenjunga (Khangchendzonga) which is 8,586 metres (28,169 ft) tall, the highest peak in India, third-highest in the world. The total area of this park is 849.5 km2 (328.0 sq mi).

   UNESCO has recognized and declared that the worship of this sacred mountain (Khangchendzonga) “by the indigenous people of Sikkim” constitute “the basis for Sikkimese identity”:

    “Located at the heart of the Himalayan range in northern India (State of Sikkim), the Khangchendzonga National Park includes a unique diversity of plains, valleys, lakes, glaciers and spectacular, snow-capped mountains covered with ancient forests, including the world’s third highest peak, Mount Khangchendzonga. Mythological stories are associated with this mountain and with a great number of natural elements (caves, rivers, lakes, etc.) that are the object of worship by the indigenous people of Sikkim. The sacred meanings of these stories and practices have been integrated with Buddhist beliefs and constitute the basis for Sikkimese identity.

   Mount Khangchendzonga and other sacred mountains – represents the core sacred region of the Sikkimese and syncretistic religious and cultural traditions and thus bears unique witness to the coexistence of multiple layers of both Buddhist and pre-Buddhist sacred meanings in the same region, with the abode of mountain deity on Mt Khangchendzonga. The property is central to the Buddhist understanding of Sikkim as a beyul, that is, an intact site of religious ritual and cultural practice for Tibetan Buddhists in Sikkim, in neighbouring countries and all over the world. The sacred Buddhist importance of the place begins in the 8th century with Guru Rinpoche’s initiation of the Buddhist sanctity of the region, and later appears in Buddhist scriptures such as the prophetical text known as the Lama Gongdu, revealed by Terton Sangay Lingpa (1340-1396), followed by the opening of the beyul in the 17th century, chiefly by Lhatsun Namkha Jigme.

   Khangchedzonga National Park is the heartland of a multi-ethnic culture which has evolved over time, giving rise to a multi-layered syncretic religious tradition, which centres on the natural environment and its notable features. This kinship is expressed by the region surrounding Mount Khangchendzonga being revered as Mayel Lyang by the indigenous peoples of Sikkim and as a beyul (sacred hidden land) in Tibetan Buddhism. It is a specific Sikkimese form of sacred mountain cult which is sustained by regularly-performed rituals, both by Lepcha people and Bhutias, the latter performing two rituals: the Nay-Sol and the Pang Lhabsol. The kinship between the human communities and the mountainous environment has nurtured the elaboration of a profound traditional knowledge of the natural resources and of their properties, particularly within the Lepcha community. Mount Khangchendzonga is the central element of the socio-religious order, of the unity and solidarity of the ethnically very diverse Sikkimese communities.”

Pix of Khangchendzonga (lama dance during Panglhabsol celebrations in Gangtok): courtesy Late Yap Penjorla)

KHANGCHENDZONGA GETS UNESCO RECOGNITION

Stories about the sacred mountain "constitute the basis for Sikkimese identity"

The UNESCO's World Heritage Committee has placed Sikkim's Kanchenjunga National Park on the Unesco World Heritage list.

In a statement, Unesco said "mythological stories" associated with this sacred and majestic mountain - Khangchendzonga, the adjoining caves, rivers, lakes etc., and the "sacred meanings of these stories and practices" have not only been integrated with Sikkimese Buddhist beliefs but also "constitute the basis for Sikkimese identity."

That this recognition comes just before the annual celebrations of Pang Lhabsol - worship of Sikkim's Guardian Deities - in Sikkim is a big boost for those who believe that Sikkim is one of the most sacred places for Buddhism.

Pix (courtesy Late Yap Penjorla) shows mask dance (chham) depicting the traditional worship of Khangchendzonga, Sikkim's Guardian Deity, during the annual Pang Lhabsol celebrations at the Tsuklakhang Monastery in Gangtok)