The Trailer of Still Seeking Justice – The Story of Gorkhaland – A Documentary by Barun Roy

Still Seeking Justice – The Story of Gorkhaland is a documentary by Barun Roy

Story/Direction/Editing- Barun Roy

Produced by The Himalayan Beacon

Today’s Beacon Online Exclusive Wallpaper

Importance and Significance of Education in Darjeeling

By Ichamani Chettri

We know the significance and importance of Education in our life, but yet we are careless. We know this to be the age of Information and Technology but yet we are in Stone Age!

Why aren’t there any Army officers, Naval officers, Air force Officers, I.A.S officers, I.P.S officers, Engineers, Doctors, I.F.S. officers, Ambassadors or other Administrative and Executive officers?

Hardly 0.000006% of our people are I.A.S officer and most of them come from SC or ST quota, percentage is taken 10 out of 1.5 million). Here the percentage is so low that the real question that arises is when will it reach 1 per cent.

If we will not do anything now then our percentage will decrease instead of increasing.

The one and only solution for this is education. I don’t want to say that we are not educated, we are educated If we get our statehood then I am sure our state will be a Liberated state in India with more then 95% literacy rate. The problem is we have college without subjects and lecturers, we don’t have good labs for science colleges, we don’t have options to choose the subjects, we are forced to take compulsory subjects.

Let us take the example of Kurseong College, in Science faculty (Math’s, Physics, Chemistry) are compulsory they don’t have a options to take a combination of (Maths, Physics and Geography), (Mathematics, Chemistry, Statistics), (Mathematics, Physics, Electronics), (Mathematics, Statistics, Geography)…..etc, there are so many other subjects till now we don’t the name of those subject.

Second problem is the syllabus which is offered to us is not good, because I have completed my Madhyamik Pariksha from Pushpa Rani School. I am also the student of Mr. Surendra Podder who is journalist of Himalaya Darpan, teacher of Pushpa Rani School and Member of Kurseong Municipality, whenever he used to come to our class he always said “Throw your learning English in Dhobi Khola”, I do agree with him because the standard was very low. In class nine and Ten we never studied about “Matrix” where as the student of I.C.S.E have to study “Matrix Addition and Matrix Subtraction”, ”Matrix multiplication and their properties “ are included in the syllabus of I.S.C even in the syllabus of C.B.S.E we can find these topics, but in our west Bengal syllabus we didn’t see the word “Matrix” till class 12^th mathematics. After class 12^th we are eligible to appear for NDA Entrance test which is conducted by UPSC. In such test some questions are asked about “Matrix”, Now tell me how we can take commission in Defense without studying “Matrix”. I have given you the example of Mathematics, may be something is happening with other subject also.

Here what I mean to say is that the path which was shown to us we are still following that path we never tried or trying to bring twist to our path. Now I request to all the people of Darjeeling its time to work hard because now its time prepare our own syllabus. My humble request to Surendra sir, Alley Sir, Sushila Madam and also other teachers of Pushparani school and entire teachers, lecturers, If we found in book that something wrong about the syllabus then we have to change the syllabus because your experience of Teaching Knows what is the syllabus of Class 8^th ,9^th ,10^th comparing with other boards.

Tyson fan does India proud in the ring

HE FINDS cricket unattractive and loves Mike Tyson because of the sport he plays. “I just love him and the way he boxed,” he says rather coyly. “That’s the reason why I have donned the gloves.” And cricket? “It has never fascinated me.” Shiva Thapa has no time to regret. At age 15, he is enjoying life and pursuing his passion. Thapa is just back from

his first successful international competition in Azerbaijan. Out of the five boxers who participated in the event, Thapa go to India a historic gold while Devendra Singh won a bronze in the 48kg category. Thapa’s gold came in the 50kg category against Azerbaijan’s Gurbanzade Saikhan during the Hyder Aliyev International Tournament in Baku. “It’s been a great experience,” said Thapa, who is now training at Pune’s Army Sports Institute.

Before his induction into the institute, Thapa learnt to trade punches at the Sports Authority of India centre in Guwahati under coach Amar Deka. While representing the state, he won his first title in the Sub-Junior Nationals three years ago.

Biman blames USA for Darjeeling situation

SILIGURI, May 14: The state Left Front chairman and CPI-M state secretary Mr Biman Bose today raised accusing fingers at the US vis-a-vis the Darjeeling situation. “We do not have evidence to prove the allegation but we have strong doubts that US Intelligence agencies are linked with the political turmoil in the Darjeeling hills,” Mr Bose, said.  [Inset: Biman Bose]

He also indicated strong administrative measures to put down “lawlessness,” in the Darjeeling hills after the panchayat polls.

Expressing concern over the fast deteriorating situation in the Darjeeling hills Mr Bose said that the state government and the people must be vigilant about a possible involvement of the US secret agencies there. “We have no concrete evidence to connect the two, yet our experience says that the USA adept in ‘the art of Balkanisation’ or vivisecting non-conformist countries into smaller ones may have some role in the ongoing disturbances in the Darjeeling hills. The objective is to weaken the non-conformist countries to cripple their economy and penetrate into their markets at will,” Mr Bose added. Warning of strong measures if the lawlessness continued in the hills the CPI-M leader said that the state administration was now extremely occupied with the three-tier panchayat poll process but would definitely take steps after the polls to put down lawlessness in the hills.

Over 20,000 fouls killed, culling to continue

Siliguri (PTI): Culling of birds which began in two blocks of Siliguri and one block of Kurseong in birdflu-affected Darjeeling district will continue for another two days.

A total of 20,298 birds were culled in the blocks since May 10, Darjeeling district magistrate Rajesh Pandey said.

Few thousands were yet to be killed due to non-cooperation in a few villages, he said.

It was decided at an emergency meeting today that the mopping drive which began today would also continue, officials said.

Following the outbreak of avian influenza at Bagdogra, Matigara, Naxalbari in Siliguri and Sukna in Kurseong sub-division, the administration had banned trading of chicken and poultry products in the affected areas.

But, poultry market in this commercial hub, was still open. [The Hindu]

Girl critical after fall from vehicle

GANGTOK, May 13: A case has been registered against the driver Prabin Rai of a vehicle bearing registration number SK: 04/7480 yesterday. According to the complaint lodged by Karma Tshering Lepcha of Wok Busty, South Sikkim, when her daughter Doma Lepcha was on her way to home from Namchi along with some of her friends on May 11 in the vehicle, she fell from her seat and sustained injury on her head. Further, when she asked the driver to stop the vehicle, the driver instead reversed the car and drove back in the opposite direction as a consequence the girl fell off the vehicle.

The injured girl has been taken to a nursing home in Siliguri. The driver is yet to be arrested.

Express highway for Sikkim – American company shows interest in Sevoke-Gangtok–Nathula expressway

GANGTOK, May 13: An American company has shown interest in financing and building a state-of-the-art expressway in Sikkim. Star Universal Resource Company Inc, an American company with its head quarters in New York, has come up with a project proposal to construct the Sevoke-Gangtok–Nathula expressway, meeting one of the long-pending demands of the State.

A file photo of Mumbai Express Highway

According to a State Government communiqué issued by the Department of Information and Public Relations, this was revealed at a meeting of the representatives of the Company with the Chief Minister, Pawan Chamling at the Chintan Bhawan here today.

The Company, which specializes in the construction of express highways, tunnels, airports the world over, made a presentation on this project during the meeting.

The company, who is also ready to finance the entire project, said that the total cost of this express highway will come to about Rs 1550 crores. The two-lane express highway will consist of about 10 tunnels and bridges each. The slope of the tunnel will be less than 3 percent, with all-weather concrete road, open round the clock. Only about 30 km of the highway will be in West Bengal, for which the company has already received the approval from the government of West Bengal.

Sikkim Democratic Truck Drivers Assc demands probe into fake driving licenses

GANGTOK, May 13: Representatives from the Sikkim Democratic Truck Drivers Association in a meeting held yesterday at the party office here have demanded a thorough probe into fake driving licenses used by drivers. As informed in a press release, the association members also demanded strong action against those drivers who are indulged in drug peddling in the State.

In the meeting chaired by the president of the association TT Bhutia, Tobzang Lepcha from North Sikkim brought into the notice that the critical condition of the road from Singtam to Mangan has made the life of the drivers miserable.

Plagued by the lack of a parking place, the association also put forth the demand for a suitable parking place for the trucks. They also felt that the hydel power companies in the State should give priority to the local truck drivers in transportation.

After giving a patient hearing, the president assured of all possible help to the association members. [Sikkim Express]

GJMM withdraws blockade

DARJEELING, May 14: The Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha has withdrawn its blockade plans on the National Highway-31 and the National Highway-55 respectively after the arrest of six CPI-M cadres involved in the assault of GJMM supporters on 2 May in Siliguri. “Since they have arrested the people involved in the attack we are withdrawing our blockade plans,” Mr Roshan Giri, general- secretary of the party said.

The GJMM president Mr Bimal Gurung had publicly demanded the arrest of three CPI-M leaders, Mr Jibitesh Sarkar, Mr Mukul Sengupta and Mr Shankar Ghosh after the 2 May incident.

Six CPI-M cadres were arrested between 6 and 9 May in connection with the incident. “The accused have been arrested and produced before the court, so we have withdrawn the blockades,” informed Mr Giri. [The Statesman]

PM to halt at Bagdogra on 17 May

SILIGURI, May 14: Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh would halt at the Bagdogra airport in Siliguri on 17 May on his way back from a two-day tour of Bhutan commencing tomorrow.

According to the Siliguri office of the state information and cultural affairs department, the PM’s aircraft would halt at the Bagdogra airport for refuelling on 17 May. [The Statesman]

CPM goons kick pregnant woman in stomach, shoot Trinamul supporter

AMTA (Howrah), May 14: CPI-M workers allegedly kicked a pregnant woman in the stomach when she tried to protest after they started beating up her husband, a Trinamul Congress polling agent at a booth in Howrah this morning. Villagers of Mohishgoha village under Chandrapur gram panchayat, Amta-I block, alleged that after shooting a Trinamul supporter, and injuring him, CPI-M workers did not allow them to take the injured duo to the hospital.

When this correspondent arrived there at 3 p.m., the two were still lying on the floor in their houses in an injured state. It was only after this correspondent spoke to the injured duo and asked villagers and CPI-M supporters questions, that police, which were present at the village, suddenly decided to swing into action to take the pregnant Mrs Roshanara Begum and bullet-injury victim Mr Akash Ali to a hospital.

Trouble began in booth number 98 of Chandrapur gram panchayat around 11 a.m., when CPI-M supporters tried to capture the booth by force, villagers said. When Trinamul Congress polling agent Mr Ansar Ali Sheikh tried to protest, CPI-M supporters allegedly beat him up.

Film unit gheraoed

SILIGURI, May 14: A Tollywood film unit was today gheraoed by the people of Gulma Khari near Milan More on the outskirts of Siliguri for hours after three local spectators, including two children, were hurt in a mishap during a film shoot. Bengali cine star, Prasenjit Chatterjee was waiting to pose for a shot on the location, when the incident took place at about 11 a.m. Prasenjit however, managed to motor out of the site a little after the trouble broke out, while the rest of his unit members remained gheraoed till 1.30 p.m. The police finally bailed them out. [Inset: Prasenjit Chatterjee]

According to the locals and the police, the shooting for the Bengali movie Rajkumar was going on in an open field at Gulma Khari since morning. A sizeable number of locals gathered at the location to watch the shooting when a supporting male character steering a tractor, lost control over the vehicle and hit two children and their mother present there as spectators.

Engineers’ team to draw development plans for Darjeeling

DARJEELING, May 14: A team of engineers would visit Darjeeling next week to assess and draw out a plan for developmental projects in Darjeeling. “The priority will be on sewerage lines and repair and change of pipelines,” said Mr Pemba Tshering Ola, the chairman of Darjeeling Municipality.

The chairman, who is presently in Kolkata, has met with the principal secretary of the West Bengal Municipal Affairs Department and the chief engineer of the West Bengal Municipal Engineering Department. “A total amount of Rs 25 crores would be sanctioned for the overall development once the survey team submits its report,” he informed. An additional fund would be sanctioned especially for the pipelines and sewerage projects.

Blog demands release of bullet Bonds

Siliguri, May 14: The father and boyfriend of an American woman arrested at Bagdogra airport last month for carrying bullets in her baggage have launched a blog to raise money to meet the legal costs of the case. [Inset: Heather (left) and Monica. A file picture]

Heather Bond and her mother Monica from Santa Barbara, California, are out on bail and are staying in Siliguri, occasionally visiting the nearby tourist destinations and trying out Bengali food, said one of their lawyers. Their passports and visas are with the authorities and they have to report to the investigating officer once every fortnight.

In the blog, www.freethebonds.blogspot.com, Heather’s father, Lawrence, and her boyfriend, Sean McGaughey, have asked people to sign a petition to support the demand for the Bonds’ release. In the petition, Sean has acknowledged that the clip of ammunition belonged to him and he had mistakenly left it in the backpack. Around 350 people have signed the petition so far.

ACT fast, 66 days & counting

Gangtok, May 14: The indefinite fast against mega hydel power projects in Dzongu entered the 66th day today, with general secretary of Affected Citizen’s of Teesta (ACT) Dawa Lepcha and member Tenzing Lepcha going past their earlier record of 63 days without food.

Dawa and Tenzing’s earlier hunger strike had been on the same issue. This time, Ongchuk Lepcha has joined them in the protest. A relay hunger strike being held simultaneously has completed 330 days. However, there has been no response from the Sikkim government so far.

“We will continue to fight till our land, people and the ecology of the area are safe from rich capitalists who care for nothing except money and are trying to spread the disease of avarice and destruction,” Dawa Lepcha said today.

The condition of the fasting trio is stable and they are currently at B.L House after trips to the hospital. [The Telegraph]

US study on landslip zones- Hills eye tie-up

Kalimpong, May 14: A detailed mapping of the hazardous slopes could form the basis of an engineering solution to the problem of landslides in the Darjeeling hills. If all go according to plan, such an exercise would be taken up in Kalimpong with the help of the University of Pittsburgh in the US. [Inset: The Pittsburgh team with members of Pahar in Gangtok. A Telegraph picture]

An indication to this effect was given by Kent Harries, the leader of a visiting team from Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering. Besides Harries who is the assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, the team includes three students.

They were here on a study tour of the region at the invitation of Gayatri Kharel, a structural engineer and a member of the Planners Alliance for Himalayan and Allied Region (Pahar).

Harries, who spoke over the phone from Darjeeling yesterday, said the slopes were a significant regional problem that they were not aware of till their arrival and there was a need to find a sustainable engineering solution to it. “Kalimpong could be taken up as a case study,” he added.

Mop-up operations begin

Siliguri, May 14: Culling teams this morning started mop-up operations in the bird flu-affected areas of Kurseong and Siliguri sub-divisions.

The animal resource development department (ARD) staff have culled 25,272 birds in 31 villages since May 10,” said Paritosh Roy, the additional district magistrate of Siliguri.

“Our teams will go door-to-door in each of these villages to see whether any chicken has been left out or not brought to the village culling centre.”

Roy said the administration decided to pay compensation for chicken culled during the two-day mop-up period, which is a break from the usual practice, to encourage villagers to come up with the chickens not culled earlier. [The Telegraph]

Ad-hoc teachers in hills fear for jobs

Darjeeling, May 14: Ad-hoc teachers serving in hill schools are preparing to fight the DGHC’s initiative to appoint 44 people who qualified through the School Service Commission (SSC) examination in 2000. [Inset: Ad-hoc teachers agitate in Darjeeling. (Suman Tamang)]

Around 700 ad-hoc teachers, recruited by the DGHC when it was controlled by the GNLF, fear losing their jobs if the new appointments are made. They have formed an association and have demanded that their services, too, should be regularised.

In all, 182 candidates passed the SSC in 2000. However, GNLF chief Subash Ghisingh refused to appoint them, saying that the commission’s rules should not be implemented in the hill schools because they are linguistic minority institutions.

Morcha refrains from strike

Darjeeling/Siliguri, May 14: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today decided against calling an indefinite strike in the hills even though police had failed to meet a seven-day deadline for arresting three CPM leaders. [Inset: Supporters of Kamtapur People’s Party and All-Kamtapur Students’ Organisation demonstrate in front of the divisional commissioner’s office. Picture by Biplab Basak]

The hill party had demanded the arrest of Jibitesh Sarkar, Mukul Sengupta and Shankar Ghosh, who had been named in an FIR for allegedly assaulting Morcha supporters in Siliguri on May 2. The Morcha deadline for their arrest got over yesterday.

The CPM has denied the charges.

“Since the police have arrested six persons based on video recordings of the incident and have forwarded them to court, we have decided not to start any agitation from tomorrow,” Roshan Giri, the general secretary of the Morcha, said today.

Darjeeling spared bandh

Darjeeling/Siliguri, May 14: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today decided against calling an indefinite strike in the hills, though police had failed to meet its seven-day deadline for arresting three CPM leaders.

The hill party had demanded the arrest of Jibitesh Sarkar, Mukul Sengupta and Shankar Ghosh, who had been named in an FIR for allegedly assaulting Morcha supporters on their way to a hunger strike at Hospital More in Siliguri on May 2. The Morcha deadline for their arrest elapsed yesterday.

The CPM has denied the charges against the trio.

“Since the police have arrested six persons based on video recordings of the incidents and have forwarded them to court, we have decided not to start a fresh agitation from tomorrow,” said Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri.

Political observers believe that the Morcha, which has revived the demand for a new Gorkhaland state, was under pressure to not call strikes as tourists have finally started trickling into Darjeeling. The hill economy largely depends on the two tourist seasons of the year. [The Telegraph]