Dainandini (दैनन्दिनी) – 18th October 2008

THE HIMALAYAN BEACON [BEACON ONLINE] EXCLUSIVE

 

Dainandini (दैनन्दिनी) is exclusive broadcast online through Beacon Online. You will be infringing upon Indian Copyright and International laws by copying or broadcasting Dainandini without written permission from Beacon Online and Dainandini.

Tourists exit Darjeeling over GJM diktat

FROM MSN NEWS

Siliguri (West Bengal): Tourists have started leaving Darjeeling hills on Monday, anticipating return of unrest with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha stopping movement of vehicles that do not possess GL number plates and several organisations, including the CITU, opposing the move.

The GJM, agitating for a separate state of Gorkhaland, recently called for removal of the ‘Government of West Bengal’ signboards by December 21 and to replace them with that of ‘Gorkhaland’. Party activists are also not allowing a single vehicle to move without GL number since October 17.

The GJM’s latest move to whip up campaign for carving out a separate state has been opposed vehemently by the CITU-affiliated Darjeeling District Taxi and Private Car Drivers Association, Amra Bangali, Bangla Morcha and several other organisations.

CITU’s Bengal unit president Ajoy Chakraborty told reporters today that a memorandum had been submitted to state home secretary Ashok Mohon Chakraborty, demanding arrest of those responsible for changing the vehicle number plates and calling for removal of the West Bengal government signboards.

It threatened to have an agitation in the hills from October 22 for an indefinite period during which no vehicle to and from Darjeeling and Gangtok would be allowed.

Beacon Online exclusively presents – Dainandini

MUST READ!

Dear friends,

Greetings from Darjeeling! I hope you are all doing well. Please do accept my best wishes and deepest regards.

It is my privilege and honour to introduce ‘Dainandini’ to the global diaspora. ‘Dainandini’ is a daily news feature produced from Kalimpong. It offers news stories on current events and also highlights the life and the people in the Hills especially Kalimpong subdivision through ‘Dainandini Features’. Beacon Online is presently negotiating with ‘Dainandini’ to be able to broadcast it ‘exclusively’ online. I hope within a fortnight Beacon Online will be able to broadcast ‘Dainandini’ daily. I also hope that you will enjoy it and appreciate the hardwork put in by the team of Dainandini. Beacon Online will put in a prominent page for the team of Dainandini.

Please let us know how you feel about the programme.

Regs

Barun

Novel Ways Of Promotion – Music

The Governor’s Gold Cup has kicked-off and the Sikkim FA has come out with novel ways to attract the crowds by having a theme song for the tournament which is very youthful and appealing. This is certainly a lesson for the people who run the I-League. Are you there?

FROM GOAL.COM

By Rahul Bali

The north-eastern region is known for its love for football and rock music. Every second fellow on the street would have played football and would be talking of Metallica and Jimi Hendrix.

The media manager for the Governor’s Gold Cup Mr.Shyam Pradhan had this in mind when he asked his sons – Girish and Yogesh to come up with a song.

“I asked Yogesh that can we do something and he composed the music instantly. Girish wrote the lyrics and lent his voice to the song. It was all done in a couple of days,” informs Mr.Pradhan.

The song was released way back in 2003-04 season when the Governor’s Gold Cup returned to the Paljor Stadium which underwent renovation for four years.

Since then, football fans in Sikkim have been humming this song at the stadiums as it has been advertised aggressively on the local TV and radio channels.

“The lyrics are Football my name, football my game, football my pride, football my passion…,” said Yogesh.

And what got the two brothers to come out with this song?

Court can take action: Legal eagles

FROM TIMES OF INDIA

KOLKATA: If the government is not willing to stop Gorkhaland activists from replacing government signboards and changing vehicle registration plat
es in Darjeeling, Calcutta High Court should step in and take action against the violators. This is what a wide spectrum of legal experts, including former Supreme Court judges, had to say about the recent spate of Gorkhaland protests.

State home secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti has made it clear that the government will not use force against the agitators. A senior police officer in Darjeeling admitted they were following a policy of non-confrontation. “This is stopping us from taking action against GJM supporters,” the official said.

“Replacing registration numbers of vehicles with GL numbers is illegal and the state government must stop this immediately. If the government is ignoring this, Calcutta High Court must order police to take action against the offenders,” said former high court judge D K Basu.

Advocate Subrata Mukherjee said changing number plates violated the Motor Vehicles Act. “Offenders can also be charged with conspiracy and waging war against the state,” said Taj Muhammad, deputy director, prosecution directorate.

Former CJI Ranganath Mishra felt that the high court should act if the state government was not doing anything to quell the disturbance. “It could be that the state government is apprehensive of law and order problems. But it should still take steps to prevent lawlessness,” he added.

National Defence Academy Entrance Examination

NDA Entrance Examination (I) 2009 will be conducted by the Union Public Service Commission on 19th April 2009, for admission to the Army, Navy and Air Force wings of the NDA and Naval Academy (Executive Branch) course commencing from December 2009

Date of Notification (Saturday) – 18 Oct 2008

Last Date for Receipt of Applications – 17 Nov 2008 (Monday)

NDA 2009 Exam Date- 19 Apr 2009 (Sunday)

Admission Details

Admission FormAbout a year before the commencement of a Course, a brief notice appears in the leading daily newspapers and a detailed notification in the Government of India Gazette, offering about the entrance examination to be held by the UPSC six months later at Agartala, Ahmedabad, Aizwal, Allahabad, Bangalore, Bareilly, Bhopal, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chandigarh, Cochin, Cuttack, Delhi, Dharwar, Dispur (Guwahati), Gangtok, Hyderabad, Imphal, Itanagar, Jaipur, Jammu, Jorhat, Kavaratti (Lakshadweep), Kohima, Lucknow, Madras, Madurai, Nagpur, Panji (Goa), Patna, Port Blair, Raipur, Sambalpur, Shillong, Shimla, Srinagar, Tirupati, Trivandrum, Udaipur and Vishakhapatnam.

How to Apply

A candidate seeking admission to the examination must apply to the Secretary, Union Public Service Commission, Dholpur, House, New Delhi-110011, on the application form published in newspapers. The candidates may utilise the original form published in newspapers or in “Employment News” and fill up the columns in their own handwriting with ball-point pen. They may also use the application form and the Attendance Sheet neatly typewritten on white paper (foolscap size) in double space typed on only one side of th,e paper. There is no objection to candidates using printed/Application Form and Attendance Sheet, if available, from private agencies as long as the format is exactly the same as published in the advertisement. Candidates who have appeared for the previous examinations will not be considered. The envelope containing the application should be superscribed in bold letters as “APPLICATION FOR NATIONAL ACADEMY EXAMINATION” .

Selection ProcedureThe process of selecting cadets for the National Defence Academy is split into three phases :

* A written examination held by the Union Public Service Commission.
* An interview by the Service Selection Board to assess a candidate’s officer potentialities ( Intelligence and personality test ).
* A medical examination by a Service Medical Board.

Scheme of the ExaminationThe subjects of the written examination, the time allowed and the maximum marks allotted to each subject are as follows :

Subject                                  Code Duration                                 Max Marks
Mathematics                           01 2 1/2                                        hours 300
General Ability                        02 2 1/2                                        hours 600

The papers in all the subjects will consist of objective type questions only. the question papers (Test Booklets) will be set in English only.

Bandh in tour time

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Siliguri, Oct. 19: The hills and the Dooars are bracing for a spell of strikes in the peak tourist season – called by outfits opposing the demand for Gorkhaland.

The Bangla Bangla Bhasha Banchao Committee has called a 24-hour north Bengal bandh on Wednesday. Citu’s indefinite transport strike will also begin that day. The Shiv Sena has called a 48-hour bandh in Siliguri subdivision, parts of Jalpaiguri and the Dooars from Tuesday.

The great divide: Hills on the edge again

FROM TIMES OF INDIA

BY KESHAV PRADHAN

Over the past few months, Darjeeling seems to have emerged as one of the most dangerous conflict zones in the country. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), spearheading a movement for a Gorkha homeland, has turned the Left Front government virtually irrelevant by introducing its own vehicle registration numbers, setting up a police wing called Gorkhaland Personnel (GLP), imposing a dress code on civilians, enforcing tax boycott, banning parties opposed to it and writing “Government of Gorkhaland” on official signboards.

Fired up by its success in the Hills, where Nepali-speaking people comprise about 95% of the population, GJM has extended its campaign to the Darjeeling Terai and the Dooars in neighbouring Jalpaiguri district. These regions have a mixed population of Nepalis, Bengalis, Adivasis of Chhota Nagpore stock, Rajbanshis and north Indians.

What’s most worrying is Kolkata is unable to resist GJM either politically or administratively. In 1986-1988, it could use strong measures like TADA to contain the Subash Ghisingh-led Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), which had picked up arms to fight for a separate Gorkhaland. This time Gorkhaland campaigners have refrained from using weapons.

Unlike in the past, the state government can’t depend on CPM either for resisting the Gorkha statehood stir. The major Left party has lost almost all its Nepali cadres, who led an armed resistance against GNLF in the 1980s, to the pro-Gorkhaland Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists (CPRM).

Gorkhaland: Agitations Heat up Hills and Backlash from Plains

FROM GROUNDREPORT

BY SANTOSH KUMAR AGARWAL

For some time now, the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) has stepped up agitations in the hills by replacing the words ‘West Bengal’ with ‘Gorkhaland’ in all signboards, including signboards of state government offices, in the hill council areas of Darjeeling and making it mandatory to change the number plate to ‘GL’ in place of  ‘WB’ for all vehicles going up the hills from entry point in Sukna, 10 km from Siliguri town and other entry points.

However, the signboards of Central government offices, military and paramilitary vehicles, police, district magistrate’s office vehicles and vehicles of forest, health departments and media have been spared.

For the purpose, a camp office has been set up at Sukna, where one has to fork out Rs.30 to Rs.50 to get ‘Gorkhaland’ registration by filling up a form, failing which the vehicles are not allowed to go up. Most of the vehicles are changing the number plate to ‘GL’ while going up and changing back to ‘WB’ while coming back to Siliguri.

In Siliguri, the urban development minister Ashok Bhattacharya described the move from GJM as anti-National. The trade union wing of CPM, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions however made it clear that if the Bengal government fails to act (to stop this practice of putting ‘GL’ number) it would not allow the vehicles to go uphill from 22^nd October’08.

‘Amra Bangali’, a communal outfit, which is highly opposed to GJM’s statehood demand, threatened to go on indefinite strike from 20^th October in the proposed Gorkhaland areas.

It is therefore clear that as the demand for Gorkhaland picks intensity, a backlash of equal ferocity is likely to engulf the whole region of Darjeeling hills and Siliguri plains. The crux of the matter is that the GJM would always be in disadvantage, as all the supply lines to Hills go from the plains.

Your reporter has always maintained that the creation of a tiny separate state of ‘Gorkhaland’ with an area of about 1000 square kilometers and a population of 7 lakh Nepalis (all of them are not Gorkhas) would mean opening of floodgates for creation of hundreds of ethnic states in India, which if allowed has the potential of breaking up India. Just imagine, the Indian state comprises of 32,50000 SQKM area. A state 1000sqkm apiece may mean 3000 states! In fact, the correct demand would have been to merge Darjeeling with Sikkim, which too is a state of Nepali majority. But to me it appears, the personal ambitions of leaders play a major role in movements of this nature and Bimal Gurung may be nurturing an ambition of becoming father figure of ‘Gorkhaland’ if created and becoming immortal historically.

Nepal’s biggest hydropower project under attack again

FROM THE PENINSULA ONLINE QATAR

Kathmandu • Nepal’s biggest hydropower project, in which an Indian company holds 15 percent stake and which has been described by an Indian minister as a “test case” for foreign investors, is under fresh attack again despite the government’s assurances of security.

Despite Nepal’s Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam pledging security, two of the West Seti project’s information offices in Baitadi and Dadeldhura districts were attacked, vandalised and torched by miscreants during the festival break while a third in Doti district was looted, the management said in a press statement.

The company said the pre-meditated series of attacks were a blow to plans to develop the backward remote far west.Though the company sent SOSes to the prime minister, home minister and Finance Minister Baburam Bhattarai, urging for security and action against the miscreants, the government has not taken any action so far. The 750MW West Seti project, Nepal’s largest development project, is supported by the governments of neighbours India and China and the Asian Development Bank.

Its main developer is Australian SMEC Developments with India’s Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services holding a 15 percent stake.

The History of Nepal Sambat

FROM NEWSBLAZE

By Dirgha Raj Prasai

Over the last several years, I published several articles on Bikram Sambat, Nepal Sambat and other Sambats. Several Newar communities have attempted to blame me. I am not biased against the Newar community and have always respected them. I accept that Newars conserve the Hindu and Buddhist religions, cultures and traditions and have done so for centuries. But, I never believed the story of conversion of Sand into Gold. I have received several instances that prove that Sankhdhar did not start Nepal Sambat. King Ragha Dev was given the title as mentioned in Gopal Bansabal – it was ‘Pashupati Bhattarak Sambatsar’ – 63. The concluding sentences from Bishnu Dharma, a handwritten book at the time of King Raghav Dev is in Nepal Sambat 167.

The story of conversion of sand into gold is imaginary. Nepal Sambat was born in Nepal and during the Malla Period, it was prevalent in Tibet, Bengal and several neighbouring countries. It was also in use during Prithavi Narayan Shah and the Rana period. But due to inconvenience in changes in tithi (date), Chandra Shamsher started to write only on the present Bikram Sambat. Bikram Sambat proved chroncically because it contained 365 days in a year in contrast to 354 days in the Nepal Sambat. Many historians have studied its proponents and its founder.

Similarly, the Shaka Sambat was started by King Kaniska from 78 AD and it was gradually lost during the Moghal and the British Empire in India, but Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru restarted it in 1957. But as it had only 354 days in a year, it was not practical and AD was reused. Historian K. B Udaya wrote that there is no proof of the rich Sankhadhar at Kathmandu in the Gorakhapatra on Nov 13, 2007. He writes – The culture regards the King as an incarnation of Lord-Narayan or Vishnu. Sankahdhar. Sankhadhar is rendered one wielding the conch. After the mid-term elections in 2056, through an ad-hoc decision of the Council of Ministers chaired by Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, presented by minister Omkar Prasad Shrestha made an erroneous decision of declaring Sankhadhar Sakhwa a national hero (Bivuti). Such a decision made in haste is unsuitable.

Indo-China golf ties built in Nepal

FROM HINDUSTAN TIMES

Sandwiched between India and China, the Himalayan Nation of Nepal has suddenly become the new ground for a stronger Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai diplomacy.

Even though Beijing has been trying to make its presence felt in Nepal, to shrink New Delhi’s political influence, the Chinese ambassador Zheng Xianglin on Sunday exhibited a new example of stronger diplomacy with India.

Zheng, an ace golfer on Sunday chose to represent the Indian team at an Indo-Nepal golf tournament at the Le Meridian Golf Resort in Gokorna at the outskirts of Kathmandu city.

“It was great to see the Chinese ambassador representing the Indian team at the tournament,” Vikram Singh, general manager of Le Meridian Golf Resort told Hindustan Times after the tournament.

Dressed in the navy-blue T-shirt and cap, the Indian team’s uniform, Zheng was one of the first golfers to complete the 18-hole amateur tournament. His contribution had a big role in India’s victory. The Indo-Nepal golf tournament was for the prestigious Maharaja of Baroda trophy.

After Mao, Marx and Lenin to get marching orders

FROM CENTRAL CHRONICLE

Kathmandu, Oct 19: After Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, who inspired a 10-year ferocious guerrilla war in Nepal, it is now the turn of Communist icons Karl Marx and Vladimir Ilyich Lenin to get marching orders in the country that is trying to present a new face to the world. [Inset: Lenin. Source:  Department of  Applied Mathmematics, University of Washington]

Close on the heels of the nation’s ruling Maoist party last week declaring that it was planning to drop Chairman Mao from the name of party, the second largest Communist party, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (UML), is now considering axing the “tails” in the party name.

“We too are against keeping the tags in our party name,” UML chief Jhalanath Khanal announced at the party office in Kathmandu Saturday. “The final decision will be taken at the general convention of the party.”

The general convention of the UML, the second largest party in the coalition government headed by Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, will be held in Butwal town Feb 16-21.

If the meet endorses the proposal, the UML will bid farewell to Marx and Lenin and be re-christened the Communist Party of Nepal.

Tea office for small growers

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Siliguri, Oct. 19: Around 15,000 small tea growers in north Bengal have got something to cheer about in the festive season.

Union minister of state for commerce and power Jairam Ramesh announced that an office of Tea Board of India and a training centre would be set up in the region. The small growers have been demanding both for the past three years.

Ramesh made the announcement in Jalpaiguri yesterday. “Considering the emergence of small tea sector in the region, we have decided to open an office of the tea board in Jalpaiguri,” Ramesh said. “The office will primarily concentrate on small tea growers and their activities and will extend help to them.”

At present, a regional office of the board is located in Siliguri.

Bijoygopal Chakraborty, the vice-president of the United Forum of Small Tea Growers’ Associations, appreciated the government’s move. “The Jalpaiguri office is being set up essentially because of the increase in the number of small growers and the bought-leaf factories over the years,” he said.

North Bengal Tea Auction Centre Committee also expressed happiness. Its secretary N.K. Basu said the committee decided to provide space for the board office at the auction centre in Jalpaiguri.

The training centre that the Union minister has announced will be at Bengdubi, near Bagdogra.

“Several small growers lack the knowledge necessary to harvest tealeaves,” said Basudeb Banerjee, the tea board chairman who had accompanied Ramesh. “Courses will be conducted at the centre to train them in planting saplings, fighting pests and diseases, harvesting and preservation of tealeaves and use of fertiliser and pesticides. They can also learn basic tenets of maintaining accounts and in turn, share the knowledge with others.”

Tech update show for jawans

ARMY LIVE

Trishakti Corps Electronics and Mechanical Engineers personnel at surveillance work A conference-cum-demonstration was organised under the aegis of Eastern Command Signals Headquarters at Sukna from September 25 to 27. The programme showcased new technologies and equipment that would enhance the existing communication infrastructure. The conference was inaugurated by Lt Gen. P.K. Rath, the General-Officer-Commanding of Trishakti Corps and chaired by Maj. Gen. NV Pande, the chief signals officer of Eastern Command. All senior signal officers had attended the programme. Vendors, specialised in the fields of communication and information technology from across the country were present to demonstrate various equipment. Corps Day The Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers celebrated its 66th Corps Day on October 15. The Corps plays a vital role in enhancing the fighting efficiency of the army by maintaining its exceptionally diverse and sophisticated equipment in a state of operational readiness at all times. With the induction of modern equipment into the army, the onus of technology transition management is now on the Corps. Technology centres located across India are actively engaged in assisting the army in the absorption of technology and promotion of innovative spirit among all ranks.

Conversion’ booths to open from tomorrow

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi (centre) in Kalimpong on Sunday. Bimal Gurung had said on Friday that a Morcha delegation would meet Gandhi to apprise him of their demand. (Chinlop Fudong Lepcha)

Siliguri, Oct. 19: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today announced that two booths to help drivers convert number plates from “West Bengal” to “Gorkhaland” will start functioning from tomorrow.

Not only that, all vehicles would have to change over to the new number plates from tomorrow, failing which they will not be allowed to enter the hills.

However, vehicles registered in states other than West Bengal would not have to sport “GL” number plates. The conversion booths will be set up at Sukna and Sevoke, 7km and 25km from here.

“The cars of the district magistrate, police, subdivisional officer, army, and press, ambulance and goods carriers will be exempted,” Ganesh Pradhan, the chief adviser to Morcha-affiliate All Transport Joint Action Committee told reporters at the end of a meeting in Pintail Village today.

Representatives of some apolitical transport syndicates had attended the meeting. They have agreed to the number plate conversion. Around 600 owners and drivers of light vehicles are members of these syndicates. Citu, the CPM’s labour wing, has 300 drivers as its members. However, the CPM labour wing wields more influence because of the number of heavy vehicles like buses, trucks, goods and commercial carriers, that are under it.

“We have agreed to the conversion. Our vehicles will change number plates at Sukna and ply in the hills. While returning, a similar change would be done before entering Siliguri,” said Kamal Khawas, the secretary of the Siliguri Taxi Owners’ Association that runs 500 vehicles to Darjeeling everyday.

Tribals cry action against blackening

FROM THE TELGRAPH

Alipurduar/Siliguri, Oct. 19: The Akhil Bharatiya Adivashi Vikash Parishad today asked the state government to take action against the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters who had been blackening the “West Bengal” on signboards and pasting posters with “Gorkhaland” printed on them in their places.

The Parishad voiced the demand at a rally attended by nearly 10,000 people in front of the Kalchini police station. The meeting came a day after the Morcha supporters had blackened two government signboards with paint in the Madarihat block, adjoining Kalchini.

“It is the responsibility of the administration to take action against those who are pasting ‘Gorkhaland’ stickers. We will not interfere in it,” said Birsha Tirki, the state president of the Parishad.

Tirki reiterated his organisation’s stance to protest against the Morcha’s move to include the Dooars and the Terai in Gorkhaland. “This is our own land because we have been living here for generations. No one in India can snatch this land from us,” he said.

The Parishad had observed a 24-hour strike in the region on October 16 to protest against the Morcha move and demand the Sixth Schedule status for the Dooars and Terai.

The Morcha’s movement has, however, led to emergence of another front. The Dooars Jansangharsh Morcha and the All Adivasi Welfare and Cultural Society today expressed its support for Gorkhaland.

Three bandh threats in peak season – Citu calls for wheel jam

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

The meeting of transporters and Morcha leaders in progress at Pintail Village on Sunday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

Siliguri, Oct. 19: Threats of at least three bandhs, each for not less than 24 hours, seem to be looming over north Bengal at a time when the tourist season in the hills and the Dooars is inching towards the peak, which is usually in November.

The Citu has called an indefinite transport strike from Wednesday. It is unlikely to affect light traffic because other transport syndicates, which have around 500 member vehicles, will ply their cars with “GL” number plates. But drivers of goods and commercial carriers and petrol tankers will join the Citu strike.

While the Shiv Sena has threatened with a 48-hour bandh in Siliguri sub-division, parts of Jalpaiguri and the Dooars from Tuesday, the Bangla O Bangla Bhasa Bachao Committee has called a 24-hour shutdown in north Bengal on Wednesday.

Amra Bangalee agreed to postpone its indefinite bandh after the additional district magistrate of Siliguri purportedly sought 24 hours to see if the organisation’s demand could be met. “If the administration fails to provide us with satisfactory evidence, indicating that steps have been taken to curb the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s highhandedness, we would be forced to go on an indefinite strike from Tuesday,” said Khushiranjan Mondal, the north Bengal zonal secretary of Amra Bangalee.

The organisers of all three strikes are anti-Morcha forces, protesting not only against the hill outfit’s diktat to vehicles owners and drivers to change the “WB” number plates to “GL” but also the blot-out-Bengal-from-signboards mission launched by the outfit.

Amra Bangalee has demanded that the district administration rewrite “West Bengal” on all signboards, which the Morcha has replaced with “Gorkhaland” and arrest those responsible for assaulting drivers at Dilaram on October 9.