The Legendary tale of a Legend – Chandan Singh Rawat, the Gorkha Olympian and the only Gorkha International Football Player

A BEACON ONLINE [THE HIMALAYAN BEACON] EXCLUSIVE

By Barun Roy

Chandan Singh Rawat was probably a household name in Darjeeling. An ex-Olympian and international football player, Chandan Singh Rawat was a prominent and regular player in the Indian National team post independence. The Himalayan Beacon (Beacon Online) salutes the Gorkha Hero and remembers him in his own words. The following is reproduced from the interaction Beacon had with Chandan Singh Rawat when he was still alive. Beacon Online had intended to start a ‘Living Legend Column’ and inaugurate the same with a story on him. Though the ‘Greatest of the Living Legends of the Indian Gorkhas’ is now no more with us, he shall live with us, in our memories and heart.

Date of Birth: 26^th of July 1926

Place of Birth: Dehradun

This story is told by the Legend himself.

I was born on 6^th of July 1926 in Dehra Dun Cantonment in the 9^th Gorkha Regiment Centre. I studied in Gorkha Military High School and started playing from an early age. In those days there used to be three major Football Tournaments played amongst all the Gorkha Regimental teams and the Royal Garhwal Regimental Team. The three Tournaments were ‘The Gorkha Cup’, ‘The Nepal Cup’ and ‘The Garhwal Cup’. These were played in rotation in different centres. I got my inspiration from these Tournaments I played for my school tem when I was only 12 years of age. The school was 2 kms from my house and while walking to and fro from school. I use to keep kicking stones, leaves, flowers, etc., on the road till I reached school. Later a rag ball was used and then a tennis ball. Later I graduated from high School and joined Dayanand Anglo Vedic College in Dehra Dun. The college was 6 kms, from my house and I repeated what I did while going to school. In the very first year I played for the college tam when only 15 in the District League and Knock-Out (All India) tournaments. While playing for my College team, I had the unique distinction of scoring nine goals in a row in a league match (1^st Division) tournament. I passed my 1^st year College and joined the Army 3/2^nd Gorkha Rifles. I fought in the Second World War (1939-45) on the Burma Front in the very first year I joined Army in 1943. I was awarded the 1939-45 Burma Star and the Independence Medal. While in the army I played with distinction for my Battalion team the 3/2 gorkha Rifles.

In 1947, when the country was portioned I left the Army though the British officers requested and forced me to stay with them. My regiment the 2^nd Gorkha Rifle went to the Britishers in Hong Kong and Malaysia. They promised me that they will commission me in the rank of Regular Officer (Lieutenant) after I reached Hong Kong. But I did not want to leave the country and took my discharge from the Army.

I was very good at my game and when the 5 Gorkha Rifles shifted to Dehra Dun from Abbotabad, a place which is now in Pakistan. The then Commandant of the 5 Gorkha Rifles Regimental Centre was very much impressed by my game and he kept on asking me to join them and promised me a commissioned rank later. But I could not get the commissioned rank and left them also. While in the 5 Gorkha Regiment I played for the Regimental team from 1948 to 1951 in an All India Tournament and won many tournaments beating all outstation teams, while in the Army, I was the first player from the services to be chosen for India in 1950. In 1951 when India won the 1^st Asian Games at New Delhi I was a playing member of that time and was still in the Army. When I did not get my Commission. I left again and in 1951 joined the East Bengal Club of Calcutta.

I am a present Sports Advisor and Coach in Chief in the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC). I took the DGHC team to participate in the North East Sports Festival (Organised by Sports Authority of India in roation in the North Eastern States including Sikkim) held at Gangtok in 1996. The team played very well but lost in the extra time to Manipur. In 1997, I took the team to Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh where the team performed very well and won the Bronze Medal.

Considering and keeping in mind my distinguished career and achievements in the field of Football, the All India Football Federation rewarded me at the fag end of my career by appointing me the Manager of the Indian Team which took part in the 1^st South Asian Football Federation in Kathmandu, Nepal from 4 to 14^th September 1997. The participating teams were India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka. India won the Gold Cup, a just reward for me too.

I keep busy coaching and giving advise to youngsters in Darjeeling and always try to motivate them. I have a small coaching camp called The Long Term Non-Residential Coaching Scheme and the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of West Bengal which started in 1989. there are so many players from this camp who are at present playing for different Clubs in Darjeeling. Some have joined the Police Force and some Army because of their game and disciplined life. I keep these boys upto the year of 16. After the seniors leave I take new boys who stay with me for 2 -3 years where they learn their basic techniques and tactics to be ready for the Clubs.

Here’s a chronology of my achievements in the field of football which for me has personified happiness in life

Year	Represented or played for	Tournaments, Tours etc.
1943-1951	Army Teams S.S.C.B	In all major tournaments of the country including Santosh Trophy, IFA shield, Durand Cup, Rovers Cup
1950	India	Tour of Burma, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malayasia
1951	India	Gold Medalist in the first Asian Games
1951	East Bengal Club, Bengal	Won IFA League and Shield, Durand Cup, DCM Trophy and Santosh Trophy (for the State of Bengal)
1952	India	Represented India in the Helsinki Olympics becoming the first Asian Quadrangular Winner
1953	Bengal – East Bengal Club	Santosh Trophy Runner Up. In all major Football Tournaments of the country. Won IFA Shield, DCM and Durand Cup
1954	India	Second Asian Quadrangular Winners beating Burma
1954	Bengal	Won Santosh Trophy
1954	Rajasthan Club	Won Santosh Trophy
1955	India	Winners of the 4th Asian Quadrangular. Toured Moscow, Tashkent, Odessa, Kiev, Stalingrad, Leningrad, Tbilisi, Armenia as the Captain of the Indian National Team
1955	Rajasthan Club	Participated in all major tournaments. Won the IFA Cup. It was the first IFA Cup win for the Club
1956	Mohan Bagan Club	IFA League and Shield Winner. Tour Burma, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malayasia and Indonesia
1957	India	Toured Burma, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong
1957	Rajasthan Club	Won Shri Krishna Gold Cup at Patna

1958 – I effectively retired from Professional Football as a player and left Calcutta to join St. Joseph’s College, Darjeeling as a Football Coach. I coached boys from the age of 5 to 23, which include the College team and the University of North Bengal team. The School and the College teams had great success in the local tournaments by winning them almost every year.

Chandan Singh Rawat was perhaps one of the most successful footballer in the nation but did he receive his share of honour?

Chandan Singh Rawat exchanging pleasantries with Union Home Minister Buta Singh in 1984.

Chandan Singh Rawat won more Santosh Tropies, IFA Shields, Durand Cups, Asian Gold Medals, International Football Tournaments than any other footballer. Chandan Singh Rawat played for the National Team as a player, Captain, Manager and the Coach and won on all occasions. In 1952, while playing for India in Europe, he was given the famous nickname of ‘The Human Locomotive’ by the Hamburg Press. He was the first and only Indian Footballer to be offered to play for European Club. He refused because he was in the Indian Army. Chandan Singh Rawat throughout his career name never sat on the bench.

Chandan Singh Rawat after retiring never received any Pension money or Gratuity. He was never offered any financial help from any organization or institution Government or Private. He was never considered for Arjuna Award for Football, perhaps because a soldier and a footballer, he knew not to pull the right strings in the Government.

Scenes from the last Gold Cup Football Tournament in Darjeeling – 1984

CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO ENLARGE

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Let us all be responsible – We all bear the Burden of our Children’s future – Darjeeling Hills cannot be pushed into Lawlessness

Emotions must be subdued, Darjeeling Hills must not be pushed into Lawlessness

A Beacon Online [The Himalayan Beacon] Exposé and AN APPEAL TO ALL

By Barun Roy

It is now evident that Deepak Gurung had been harbouring unsocial elements who now in police custody have owned up to their intention of ‘silencing’ certain people who were crucial to the decline of Gorkha National Liberation Front in Darjeeling and especially in the Rockville, Salt Hill and St. Paul’s Estate localities. It is now also evident that small arms and ammunition had been supplied to this motley crew by Siliguri’s now fledging Mafia with links to Bihar Underground. Pistols, sidearms and ammos were being brought from Siliguri and Patna. 18 youths arrested from Subash Ghisingh’s house a few hours later were also armed. The Police Authorities, District Administration and the State Intelligence Authorities were aware of the fact but did not act on the directions of the Home Secretariat, Writers Building, Kolkata. Though it remains unconfirmed as to the extent of conspiracy, leaders of Gorkha National Liberation Front especially Deepak Gurung was of the view that GNLF could come back to power by ‘silencing’ eminent Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders. Sources within the party suggest that though most of the leaders did not accept Deepak Gurung’s view on GNLF’s come back to power, a general philosophy prevailed that ‘it would be prudent to dissolve the Party (GNLF) and support Gorkha Janmukti Morcha for the Gorkhaland Issue than try to make a come back or lead the hills into a civil war styled political unstablity.” While GNLF may no longer be able to make a come back to power through such ‘tactics’ employed by the GNLF Darjeeling Branch President Deepak Gurung, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s move to unleash ‘People’s Wrath’ over all of the prominent leaders and cadres of GNLF all over the Hills is deplorable. True, a woman died on the hands of a GNLF Leader and his men, to use the same to subdue all opposition in the hills might not be prudent. Houses of all GNLF leaders in the Hills have been ransacked and burnt. Their properties destroyed and even distributed among the ‘poor’. Today, these disposed GNLF leaders including Subash Ghisingh along with their families may be forced to live in ‘exile’, democratic institutions in the Hills will be next in line, if they do not function as per ‘the People’s and GJM’s Guidelines’.

Gorkha Janmukti Morcha should try to expose individuals like Deepak Gurung and his men who seek to destabilize the Hills not use it as an ‘excuse’ to strengthen itself. Politics of Arson, Ransacking, Mob rule, social boycotting and threats cannot be the foundation of the Democracy in the Hills. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has the responsibility today to maintain peace, uphold democratic institutions, help law to prevail and above all maintain a sense of sanity, or else in the name of the ‘dead martyr’ it might only seem that it is strengthening its own base and using someone’s death as a reason to extract vengeance on whomsoever it deems fit. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha must act as a mature and an ideology based party to which the people can rely for guidance, support and leadership.

It is now fully evident that the West Bengal Government was chaos in the Hills so that it can deploy Paramilitary Forces under sweeping executive powers enjoyed by the District Magistrate. The West Bengal Government is fully aware of the chaos, flow of arms and ammunition from Bihar and Siliguri, yet it has taken no steps to stop it. The West Bengal Government through its numerous institutions has to the extent even guided and facilitated on the development of the ungoing situations in the Hills. The leisurely deployment of Police forces in areas where homes are being burnt, people being shot and cars being ransacked is in gross violation of the Fundamental Right to Life and Liberty guaranteed by the Constitution of this Nation to every citizen. The non involvement of the District Administration in the more than 12 hours that lead to anarchy in the Hills is a black day in the history of Indian Polity. If this is allowed to happen again and the Government of West Bengal through its numerous institutions in cohort with various parties and individuals in the Hills seek to destabilize the social life, I for one have no hope for this state and the nation as a whole.

The West Bengal Government must stop function as a Party and as a community of one race of people. It cannot and should no longer treat Darjeeling Hills as a Colony where all it could do to take care of the situation is send ‘addition Police force’ or the Secretary of Home Affairs. If it wants Darjeeling Hills it must treat the people of the Hills as its own. Bengal has treated Darjeeling Hills thus far as its possession and there in lies the root of all alienation amongst the people of the hills leading to the Demand of Gorkhaland.

The leaders of the Gorkha National Liberation Front must realize now that they are no longer in the People’s good book, there bid to come back to power by ‘hook or crook’ will only further doom them and their party. The leaders if they are determined towards the formation of Gorkhaland can work socially in Delhi or other parts of India but no longer in the Hills at least for the present.

Gorkha Janmutki Morcha must come out as a more practical and responsible party. It must understand that though being a new and an evolving political unit, it must shred its ‘mob mentality’. Diplomacy must the key to all Politics. It has the power to use the people but it must do so wisely. People cannot be led as an army. Mob Rule can never lead to any good. Gorkha Janmutki Morcha must be learn to allow the Law to Prevail and in fact insist on it. There in lies the Democratic Movement it so much strives to ‘cherish and champion’. The struggle of Gorkhaland is no longer in Darjeeling Hills. Without support from all Gorkhas no matter where they were born and live is the key to the formation of Gorkhaland. Gorkha Janmutki Morcha should not turn Gorkhaland Movement into ‘Darjeeling Hills intrinsic’. This will ultimately lead to Gorkha Janmutki Morcha remaining a ‘regional Darjeeling Hills based party’, not a national party which represents and champions the rights of Gorkhas scattered all over India. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha must also learn to garner the support of all those lovers of Gorkhas and Darjeeling Hills scattered over the world. Whether they be European Socialites, American Adventurers, Indian Social Workers etc, their support could place the issue of Gorkhaland in good light in national and international media. Last but not the Gorkha Janmutki Morcha must now start involving the voice of Gorkha Intellectuals spread across India, it will have to grow out of the Darjeeling Hills Mentality, the world is larger than Darjeeling Hills.

Let Peace Prevail. Let Sanity Prevail. Let Democracy Prevail. Let Honesty Prevail!

I pray for Chandan Singh Rawat, the Great Gorkha Olympian’s death. I also pray for Pramila Sharma. We are all responsible of what we make of our present and the future of our children. We are all responsible for everything that we do. Let us all think before we do anything and let us be prudent. Let us be responsible. We all bear the burden of our children’s future.

Pramila Sharma’s mother lights memorial lamps at the Gymkhana Hall

Dawa Pakhrin’s House Ransacked and Burnt in Kalimpong

[Above] Kalimpong GNLF Branch President Dawa Pakhrin’s house being ransacked and set on fire

[Below] Mourice Kalikote’s Car and Motorbike after being set on fire

Subash Ghisingh and family displaced from Darjeeling!

A BEACON ONLINE (THE HIMALAYAN BEACON) EXCLUSIVE

BY BARUN ROY

Subash Ghisingh with his wife Dhanmaya Ghisingh at Siliguri

Darjeeling: The District Administration has not been able to live in peace even after making all security arrangements for Subash Ghisingh and his family in Siliguri. Subash Ghisingh along with his wife Dhanmaya Ghisingh and their son Mohan Ghisingh reached Siliguri yesterday. After spending some hours at the Sinclairs Hotel and having their lunch there, the family was taken to the NHPC Guest House at Tinbatti More. However, the authorities at the NHPC refused to offer accommodation to the family at the Guest House and while negotiations were made between the NHPC authorities and the District Administration, Subash Ghisingh and his family had to spend several hours sitting in their car amidst tight security. The negotiations ultimately broke down at around 7:30 pm and the family was taken back to the Sinclairs’ Hotel.

It has been learnt through unconfirmed sources that Subash Ghisingh and his family might be taken to New Delhi. It may be noted that the former Chairman of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council and the President of Gorkha National Liberation Front had been attacked and his house laid under seize by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha cadres. The Ghisingh family had been offered refugee at the Army Cantonment in Jalapahar. However, not being convinced that he and his family will be secure in the Army Cantonment, Subash Ghisingh had petitioned to the Police to be transferred to Siliguri. The Police Authorities had made the State Home Secretary aware of Ghisingh’s petition and the West Bengal Government had immediately issued orders to safely transfer the former Chairman and his family to Siliguri.