Subash Ghisingh Resigns Ultimately!

Darjeeling, March 10: The end of an era and now its official. Today at 11:25 am GNLF Supremo Subash Ghising forwarded his resignation to the District Magistrate and the Chief Minister, so the Hills and the whole country at large witnessed the end of an era of the man that spearheaded the Gorkhaland Agitation of 1986 – 87, and then remained in power for 20 years. This means that the hill blockade on Subash Ghisingh has been lifted officially, GJMM head Bimal Gurung refuses to take any risk if the people ‘Janta’ do the opposite.The people seem to be happy but may be not as happy as the political party that caused the resignation or so as it is being claimed. The people are still confused and some even think that this might be yet another political move of the ‘Mahamahim’ himself.There is yet more confusion on the stand of the GJMM in relation to inducting party workers willing to migrate from the GNLF. In one hand the GJMM criticizes ABGL on inviting the migrating members whereas in one statement by the GJMM leader everyone is supposed to be welcomed but have to start from the lowest strata. Sudhapa Rai, a college student, feels that Ghisingh was forced to resign and that he will or can do anything as revenge and so she warns everyone.Meanwhile, end of Ghisingh’s era brings the celebration at Chowrasta by the GJMM supporters, where Bimal Gurung himself participating in the event shortly.

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Ghising steps down as Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council head March 10th, 2008 – www.thaindian.com Siliguri (West Bengal), March 10 (IANS) Beleaguered Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) chief Subhas Ghisingh Monday resigned from the post of caretaker administrator of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC). “Subhash Ghisingh has already submitted his resignation letter. The letter has been addressed to West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. It would be sent to the state administrative headquarters in Kolkata tomorrow (Tuesday),” District Magistrate Rajesh Pande told reporters in Siliguri, a town in Darjeeling district at the foothills of the Himalayas.“It was a very small letter but I cannot disclose the text,” he said. Asked who the next DGHC chairman would be, he said the state government would take a decision. “I cannot comment on it,” Pande said.“Ghishing is not very well since last night. He has got fever. He will stay in Siliguri for the next few days and then he will head for Darjeeling,” the official said, adding that Ghising’s security escort would remain the same considering threat perceptions.“The security matter is totally decided by the centre and the state government,” he said.The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), a rival of GNLF led by new hill leader Bimal Gurung who has virtually barred Ghising’s entry into the Darjeeling hills, had been demanding Ghising’s resignation for long.The GJM had crippled life in three sub-divisions of Darjeeling district since Feb 20 along with an economic blockade since Feb 17, demanding a separate state and immediate sack of Ghising as DGHC caretaker administrator.Ghising met Bhattacharjee last Thursday in Kolkata and discussed the political situation in the hills.The GNLF leader was forced to knock on the chief minister’s door after hundreds of GJM supporters confined him at Pintail village, a resort three km from Siliguri, for five days since his return from New Delhi Feb 18. He had held talks with the central government over inclusion of Darjeeling in the Sixth Schedule.The constitution’s Sixth Schedule status for Darjeeling envisages greater autonomy.

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Ghising resigns as caretaker head of Gorkha councilCNN-IBNKolkata: Gorkha National Liberation Front leader Subhash Ghising resigned as the caretaker chairman of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council on Monday after an agitation and a huge public outcry for his ouster from the autonomous body.Rebel Gorkha activists had gone on a 13-day-long hunger strike under the banner of Janamukti Morcha in the last fortnight of February, demanding the immediate resignation of Ghising and the scrapping of the proposed tribal status for the people of the hills under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.A high-powered Parliamentary panel had then advised the Centre to review the proposed inclusion of the area under the Sixth Schedule.Later, the West Bengal Government accepted the demands of the Gorkha activists in this regard.The state government had assured the rebel movement that Ghising would be removed from the post of caretaker chairman. The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha had set a March 10 deadline for Ghising’s resignation.Accordingly, Ghising submitted his resignation to Darjeeling District Magistrate Rajesh Sharma in Siliguri.After putting in his papers, Ghising reiterated his demand for a seperate state of Gorkhaland and an open dialogue with the Centre on the issue of the Sixth Schedule status to the hills.The month-long Gorkha Janamukti Morcha-led agitation against the GNLF chief was trigerred by Ghising’s move to ink a deal with the Centre to provide Sixth Schedule status to the hills instead of statehood.

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GNLF chief Subash Ghising tenders his resignation Zeenews Bureau Darjeeling, March 10: Bucking under intense pressure from his political opponents Subash Ghising, chief of the Gorkha National Liberation Front, on Monday tendered his resignation to the Darjeeling District Magistrate over Gorkhaland status row.The GNLF chief was last week ousted from the Darjeeling Hills by Bimal Gurung`s Gorkha Janamukti Morcha, and Ghising in a bid to stem the revolt against him had renewed the demand for creation of a separate Gorkhaland state.Changing track the GNLF leader recently reverted to his old demand for a separate Gorkhaland state to be carved out of the region and certain areas contiguous to it and sought a dialogue with the Centre on the issue.Last week a delegation of senior GNLF leaders led by Ghising went on to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and pressed for continuing dialogues on the statehood issue between the Centre and parties.The GNLF leadership has also dropped their demand for the grant of Sixth Schedule status to the Darjeeling hills that Ghising has been pursuing since 2005.Ghising’s resignation is a fallout of troubles created by Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), which consider the GNLF chief its principal political adversary.The GJM is also lobbying in the national capital for the Gorkhaland cause.A delegation of senior GJM leaders led by the party’s chief, Bimal Gurung, met Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and emphasised the need for Subash Ghisingh to resign by March 10 as the people have rejected him.

Parliamentary Standing Committee Report – Revealing Secrets!

By Barun Roy

The Nexus between the State Government and Subash Ghisingh was laid bare by the Report submitted by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs on the Sixth Schedule Amendment Bill. The report on the Sixth Schedule Amendment Bill which ultimately restrained the Bill from being passed in the Indian Parliament reveals the testimonials of the Caretaker Administrator of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council and the secretary to the West Bengal Government and the Member of Parliament from Darjeeling Hills, Dawa Narbula. The Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs on the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution Amendment Bill 2007 and the Constitution (one hundred and seventh amendment) Bill 2007, was established on the 5th of August 2007, after Lal Krishna Advani the opposition leader raised opposition to the placement of the Sixth Schedule Amendment Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Home Minister of India, Shivraj Patil without having it first referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee. The Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) on Home Affairs under the chairmanship of Sushma Swaraj thus started work to report on the Sixth Schedule Amendment Bill to the Parliament. The PSC comprised of members from Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and the (Parliament) Secretariat. The members of the PSC were as follows: Sushma Swaraj (Chairperson); Members from the Lok Sabha L.K. Advani, Dr. Rattan Singh Ajnala, Ilyas Azmi, Km. Mamata Banerjee, . Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo, Biren Singh Engti, Tapir Gao, Raghunath Jha, Naveen Jindal, Ajit Jogi, Prof. K.M. Kader Mohideen, *Amitava Nandy, Ram Chandra Paswan, Sachin Pilot, Ashok Kumar Pradhan, G. Karunakara Reddy, M. Rajamohan Reddy, Baju Ban Riyan, Choudhary Bijendra Singh, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Mohan Singh – Members from the Rajya Sabha – V. Narayanasamy, Rishang Keishing, R.K. Dhawan, S.S. Ahluwalia, Janeshwar Mishra, Prasanta Chatterjee, N. Jothi, Satish Chandra Misra, Sanjay Raut – Members from the Secretariat – Tapan Chatterjee, Joint Secretary, P.P.K. Ramacharyulu, Director, D.K. Mishra, Deputy Director, Bhupendra Bhaskar, Committee Officer. The Committee held nine sittings in all spread over eighteen hours on the Bills. In its meeting held on 13 December, 2007, the Committee heard the presentation of the Home Secretary, Government of India and other officers of the Ministry of Home Affairs, on the Bills and held preliminary discussion thereon. Keeping in view the political sensitivity and implicationsof the proposed legislations and the large number of representations received from organizations and public, the Committee heard the oral evidence of local MPs of both the Houses of Parliament, namely, Shri Dawa Narbula, representing Darjeeling in Lok Sabha and Shri Saman Pathak representing State of West Bengal in Rajya Sabha; former Members of Parliament from that area, namely, Ananda Pathak, R.B. Rai and S.P. Lepcha and Dil Kumari Bhandari; eighty-four witnesses representing twenty organizations including political parties and seven individuals including some of the former Councilors of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, in its sittings held on 20th December, 2007, 10th and 11th January, 2008. Almost all the witnesses representing groups/organizations who appeared before the Committee and the organizations/individuals who had sent written memoranda, requested the Committee to visit Darjeeling to make on the spot study of the area and assess the situation at the ground. Since divergent views had been expressed before the Committee, it unanimously proposed to visit Darjeeling and Siliguri in its sitting held on 21st January 2008, to assess for itself the actual situation prevailing therein. The Committee also decided to hear the Administrator, DGHC and the representatives of the Government of West Bengal at Kolkata while returning from Darjeeling . The Committee proposed to undertake the study visit tentatively from 6th to 8th February, 2008. 3.9.2 As per practice, the Chairperson had sent a formal request to Hon’ble Chairman seeking permission for the Committee’s proposed visit. However, Hon’ble Chairman in his minutes dated 25th January 2008 marked to Secretary General/Secretary referred to a communication dated 24th January 2008 alongwith a report from Darjeeling Police authorities, indicating the prevailing circumstances and a request to review the proposed visit of the Committee. In the said minutes Hon’ble Chairman suggested that in the given circumstances, it would be appropriate that the Committee may review the proposed visit. The note of Hon’ble Chairman based on the report of the Government of West Bengal, Home Department, suggesting that in the context of the circumstances prevailing in Darjeeling , theproposed visit of the Standing Committee be reviewed, was considered by the Committee in its sitting held on 31st January 2008. As desired by Hon’ble Chairman, the Committee reviewed its proposed visit to Darjeeling and decided to drop the proposal.

Full Text of the Report on the Sixth Schedule Amendment Bill submitted by the Parliamentary Standing Committee

Film for kids with message on nature

Kalimpong, March 10: Director Tulsi Ghimiray is back in his hometown to shoot a children’s film in Nepali that he hopes will not only entertain but also educate impressionable young minds. [Inset: Ghimiray with Prakriti (left) and another actress in Kalimpong on Monday. Picture by Chinlop Fudong Lepcha]

The filming of Swarga Ko Pari (Angel from Heaven) got rolling here today with a muhurat shot that featured Prakriti Bhattarai, an eight-year-old girl from Kathmandu who plays the lead character. Ghimiray has written the script and is also co-producing the film with N. Lama of Namchi in South Sikkim.

The director refused to divulge much about the movie, but said the theme is environment. “As elders, we have a responsibility to spread awareness on the importance of nature among children,” he said.

Although Ghimiray hails from Kalimpong, he has earned his spurs in the Nepali film industry in Kathmandu. “I do believe children’s film, made well, can enjoy commercial success. But more than that what we hope to achieve with this film is become part of the children’s film movement,” he said.

Pari will be shot mainly at various locales in Kalimpong, but some of it will also be filmed in Sikkim. Like always, Ghimiray will have his wife, Bharati, to assist him for this film. “Before I married her she was my assistant and has remained one even after our marriage,” said the director.

The film features actors from Nepal, Sikkim and Kalimpong. “I am playing Prakriti’s mother,” said Sandhya Pradhan, a local actress.

A shy Prakriti only said: “Yes, I am happy to be playing the main character.”

MESSAGE FROM THE HILLS

You cannot fool all the people all the time. Lincoln’s utterance could not ring truer in Darjeeling at present. But Subash Ghisingh does not give two hoots for it. He would have, had he and the state government considered the people of Darjeeling little more than a flock of sheep. In fact, Ghisingh would then have spared himself the blatant ignominy of his fast-paced, dramatic downfall.“O… kichhu na!” a senior minister of the state had brushed aside journalists’ questions on what the government thought of hill opposition after his party was forced to change the venue of its district conference from Darjeeling to Siliguri following the agitation in November last year. Elaborating on the “herd mentality” of the people he even said: “It is like the story of jewellery shop owners — one of them names his shop Lakshmi Narayan Ka Sona Chandi Ki Dukan, it does well, and all others do the same…. It (hill opposition) is just a temporary phenomenon… Once the Sixth Schedule is in place, people will think of nothing else!” … Bimal Gurung, who?The government went wrong on two counts. It is not surprising why it had relied on Ghisingh so much. It had trusted him to mind his people, a calculation that went wrong. Worse, it assumed the people’s quiet surrender to Ghisingh’s whims as a reflection of their ‘herd mentality’.True, the people in the past 20 years never questioned Ghisingh. He said “don’t vote” and people locked themselves up in their rooms on election days. He said vote for the Congress at the nick of the hour, and his people put all their might in electing Dawa Narbula to parliament. Ghisingh declared, rather embarrassingly, that Darjeeling should be given to Bihar, if not Bangladesh, and the people nodded without question. They watched silently as the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council and the panchayati system were rendered defunct. And they dared not question where the money from the government went. They put up with the water crisis, unemployment, and so on.

Jubilation and speculation all over the Hills

Kurseong, March 10: Mr Subash Ghisingh’s resignation from the post of the DGHC administrative caretaker today has sent waves of jubilation across the Darjeeling Hills.
Thousands of GJMM supporters poured out on the streets to celebrate Mr Ghisingh’s resignation bursting crackers and observing Holi in advance. They sang and danced, brought out rallies both political and social to mark what many described as an “occasion.”
The GJMM leadership attributed the success to all the support it received from the people. But the leaders were careful in their expression of gratitude and drew the line when it came to the CPI-M. There were words of praise for the Suci and the CPI-ML though.
The point of interest for the people is now Mr Ghisingh return to the Darjeeling Hills. The GJMM leadership said that it would not oppose Mr Ghisingh’s return but would not vouch for how the people would react to the idea of Mr Ghisingh’s return to the Hills.

GJM not to contest council polls, sticks to Gorkhaland

Kurseong, March 9: The GJMM held a Press conference in Darjeeling, in which it disclosed its further activities for a separate state of Gorkhaland. The party decided not to contest the council elections so as to give importance to the demand for a separate state. They have also decided not to pay any revenue or tax to the state government as well as to the Central government from April. From the second week of April they will accelerate their agitation for a separate state of Gorkhaland and in the second week of April only, they will also organise a huge public meeting at Lebong, in which, Mr Bimal Gurung will disclose their mode of agitation. In today’s press meet, Mr Bimal Gurung also said that we will hold a meeting with tea gardens’ management and with the help of them, we will not pay any revenue of the gardens to the government. During their next phase of agitation they will give more importance to the Dooars Terai areas and Siliguri. On the other hand today the GJMM Pankhabari Longview Committee organised a rally at Pankhabari. In the meantime they also burnt five high profile leaders of the GNLF at Pankhabari ground in effigy.On the other hand regarding the GJMM stated that they will not include Mr Madan Tamang in further all-party meetings on Gorkhaland issue although they will allow other leaders of the AIGL. Over the development Mr Madan Tamang said that through this type of activities the State and the Central Government were trying to isolate him politically, which is a conspiracy and also added that he will not compromise anyhow on the Sixth Schedule. He further added that whatever the GJMM is may try to say about him they will know the exact details in one and a half months’ time. [The Statesman]

Bhaichung still hungry – Hero at home

Gangtok, March 9: The captain of the Indian football team, Bhaichung Bhutia, has dismissed talks of retirement and said his hunger for the game remained undiminished. [Inset: Bhaichung Bhutia - Photo Courtesy All India Football Federation]

“The hunger to attend every practice session and win every match is always there,” said the most famous footballer to come out of Sikkim.

Bhaichung spoke after returning to the state and receiving a warm reception at Rangpo yesterday. He was felicitated for winning the Padma Shri award this year.

“There was a time when I wanted to retire because there was nothing to look forward to. However, things have changed. AIFF president Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, along with my well-wishers, encouraged me to carry on and now Indian football seems to have a bright future ahead,” Bhaichung said.

Darjeeling zoo best in the country for animals, says survey

Darjeeling, March 9: The Central Zoo Authority of India has adjudged Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in Darjeeling as the best zoo in the country. [Inset: Save the Animals]

“This is the first time that the central zoo authority has conducted such a survey and we are happy that ours has been selected as the best one in the country,” said A.K. Jha, the director of Darjeeling zoo.

The 1830-odd zoos across the country were judged on 41 parameters like mortality and breeding rates of the animals, standard of veterinary services, overall maintenance and success in various programmes including conservation of animals.

The survey was conducted over a period of three years. The Darjeeling zoo is the only zoo in the six districts of north Bengal.

“Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park is the first zoo in the country to have not only bred red pandas in captivity but also successfully released them in the wild. The success of this programme helped us a lot in bagging the best zoo award,” said Jha.

Fatal crash in hills, close shave for plains – Jeep falls into gorge, five dead

Kurseong, March 9: Five persons died and 13 were injured when a Commander jeep travelling on a single-lane hill road plunged 1,000ft into a gorge near Sittong Bustee around 8.30 last night.

The vehicle (registration number WB 77 6095) was travelling from Siliguri to Mana, a small village after Sittong located around 35km from here. It had taken the narrow road after turning left from NH31A.

“It went off the road at 6th Mile near Sittong and fell into a 1,000ft gorge,” said police.

The five persons who died have been identified as P.R. Rai (64), D.B. Gurung (47) and N.P. Gurung (59) — all residents of Sittong Bustee — and Shanti Gurung (44) and Kumari Khawas (17) of Mana.

Khawas is said to be a student.

The bodies were brought to Kurseong Subdivisional Hospital this morning and were released in the afternoon after post-mortem, a source in the hospital said.

Residents of Sittong, who came to the rescue of the passengers took the injured to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) in Siliguri and Kalimpong Subdivisional Hospital, which is also located around 35km from the spot.

Morcha lifts no-entry with rider & caution

Darjeeling, March 9: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has made it clear that its president Bimal Gurung never said the party would think beyond statehood if its demand for Gorkhaland went unheeded. [Inset: Bimal Gurung]

The Morcha has also decided to allow Subash Ghisingh to go back to the hills once he resigns from the post of caretaker administrator of the DGHC, but warned that it would in no way be responsible if people stopped the GNLF chief on the way. The party, on the other hand, will go to the plains with its Gorkhaland demand.

“Our president had pointed out that Darjeeling is surrounded by four international borders. He wanted to draw the government’s attention to the fact that an early fulfilment of the demands raised by the people in the hills would be better as a situation of uncertainty carried the potential of being misused by forces inimical to the country’s interests,” said Roshan Giri, the Morcha general secretary.

Giri also spelt out the Morcha stand on issues it has raised:

All Morcha demands were within the Constitution of India