DOOARS TERAI: Adivasis opposes GJMM

BY A K RAI

Dooars Adivasi Vikash Parishad cadres and supporters taking out a procession at Dooars. Photo by A K Rai

Akhil Bharatiya Adivashi Vikash Parishad is campaigning tooth and nail opposing the proposed 72 hrs Bundh of GJMM in Dooars area starting from 27th . New branches and Offices are being set up in the different areas of entire Dooars (The Eastern , Central and Western Dooars). Today at Mal Bazar a rally and procession was organised with a meeting at the Thana More of Mal Bazar in the Western Dooars. Their only slogan was that they will not allow GJMM to observe 72 hrs Bundh in the Dooars area.

On Sunday Hasimara Regional Unit was opened . A public meeting was also organised by the ABAVP at Birsa Munda Ground at Satali near Kalchini. The speakers including Birsa Tirkey, the State President of ABAVP claimed that Dooars has 6 MLAs all belonging to Adivasi tribe which proves Dooars belong to us. They also stated that Adivasis were not included in the previous Gorkhaland agitation of 1986-88 and DGHC, thus Adivasis were deprived and neglected. Condemning the State Government he warned that this time too they will not be deceived by the allurements made by GJMM nor the State Government.

PHOTO FEATURE: Please stop politicising our martyrs

 

Please Stop Politicising of our martyrs. Photo by Jyoti Thapa Mani

NEW DELHI: The Call of Gorkhaland in Jantar Mantar

FROM MORUNG EXPRESS

Gorkha community seen staging a dharna, which is organized by the Bharatiya Gorkha Parishad demanding a separate GORKHA LAND in front of the Janata Mantar in New Delhi on December 21. (UB Photo)

New Delhi, December 21 (AGENCIES): Having suffered the barbs of being erroneously described as settlers and foreigners, the Indian Gorkhas have long been demanding the creation of a state for Gorkhas in India. Such a state would reassert their identity as Indians and clear all misconceptions about their origins and nationality. Residents of India since pre-Mughal times and participants in large numbers in the Freedom Struggle, the Gorkhas of India feel that their being misconstrued as citizens of another country has denied them a fuller role in Indian national life. A state called Gorkhaland would help reiterate their Indianness and bring them fully into the mainstream.

The Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh, a national organization of the 1.25 crore-strong Indian Gorkha community, organized a massive Gorkha Samavesh for Gorkhaland at Jantar Mantar on December 21, to press for the creation of a new state of Gorkhaland. Representatives of 22 Indian states will gather at Jantar Mantar that day to ask Parliament to consider this century-old demand for a separate state for Gorkhas.

Simultaneously, as part of the Gorkha Samavesh, Gorkhas from all over India have been sending faxes to the President of India, the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha in support of Gorkhaland. Individuals and organizations have come out in large numbers to request Parliament to do justice to this demand of the Indian Gorkhas.

PHOTO FEATURE: C. K. Shrestha address the people on Gorkha Samavesh

 

C. K. Shrestha, the working President of Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh making a speech during the Gorkha Samavesh. Photo by an anonymous blogger (Better Shrek)

Asia Evangelical Alliance wishes bloggers at Beacon Online – Happy Holidays

ROY’S MUSINGS: Much ado about nothing – BGP SAMAVESH

I was not able to make it to New Delhi for the BGP conference partly due to my bad health and partly because I wanted to see what would transpire in the National Convention this year. BGP had invited representatives from 22 states and there had been much excitement among the members. But the photos coming in from Delhi with the CPRM flags predominantly intermingling with those of BGP has created more doubts then they were supposed to. Bharatiya Gorkha Parisang speakers at different functions praising R. B. Rai, the General Secretary of Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists have also been eerily awkward. The Gorkha Samavesh which was supposed to be the gathering of Gorkhas from all over the nation became a sort of political bonding of CPRM and BGP supporters and cadres. It seems BGP has confused itself with a political party and the intellectuals behind it have not been able to keep themselves from trying to play the ‘King Maker’ by trying to raise Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists as an alternative for Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, the major force in the Darjeeling Hills and Dooars Terai presently. R. B. Rai has also, it seems been raised to the position of a ’suitable alternative’ for Bimal Gurung. Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh’s  General Secretary Sukman Moktan said on the second day of the three day dharna organised by Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists, “The struggle for Gorkhaland is the struggle for our existence. This struggle is being led by Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists based in a specific principle and discipline. Gorkhaland must be achieved through the ideology of Marxism. Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists will be one of the leading party in the Gorkhaland struggle.” Moktan was a guest speaker. The said statement has been carried by all major dailies, and online news agencies including humble community news blogs like Beacon Online. I don’t know much about why Moktan said such a thing but to me he sound more like one of the leaders of CPRM then Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh. The ‘Hail R. B. Rai’ and ‘CPRM is the party to hearld Gorkhaland’ has been uttered and repeated by almost all political leaders who spoke either at the BGP gathering and the CPRM dharna, so much so that the people back home, seeing C. K. Shrestha, Prof Munish Tamang, Rev. Enos Pradhan and R. B. Rai have come to believe that either both the organisations are intermingling at the etheral level or something is definitely cooking which smacks of BGP’s attempt to dislodge Gorkha Janmukti Morcha at the grassroot level by elevating CPRM to national level when it lacks great deal of grassroot level penetration. 

Perhaps the timing of the BGP Samavesh and the CPRM dharna at Jantar Mantar are to be blamed for the confusion arising out for news coming in from Delhi. But the photos, the statements made by the leaders are indeed very confusing. Sadly, BGP has taken the national conferance and the simulatenous staging of CPRM dharna to play some political game aimed at dislodging another political party and raising a group of dissident Communists to champion the political cause of Gorkhaland. 

This is what I have to question to our friends at Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh at New Delhi: 

1. Beyond the peace rally, the papers placed at the national conference and the general intermingling of representatives, which were all very praiseworthy endeavours, why was it necessary for the leaders of Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh to intermingle with a Political party and participate in their political dharna at Jantar Mantar? Was it neccessary for leaders of  ’APOLITICAL’ party like BGP to offer their solidarity to a leader of a political party and make statement hailing the leader and his party for ‘leding the Gorkhaland Movement’? 

2. Was the active involvement of BGP representatives from 22 states of the nation in the 3 day CPRM dharna at Jantar Mantar with BGP flags based on any principle of pracitical involvement in a polticial party’s political activity. Does this mean that BGP now supports CPRM’s come back to the polticial scene in Darjeeling Hills in Dooars Terai saying that BGP an  ’apolitical’ organisation which bases in 22 states of the nation behind it? 

3. The statements made by the BGP leaders including Sukman Moktan, among others which speaks of CPRM ‘leding’ the Gorkhaland movement and the achievement of Gorkhaland movement by following the “Marxists” path the official stand of Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh?

4. If Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh simply intended to support a ‘Gorkha’ Political party with numbers at New Delhi and were there simply to boost CPRM’S morale… will Bharatiya Gorkha Parisang do the same with every ‘Gorkha’ political party from Darjeeling Hills and beyond during their different political programmes at New Delhi and this including Gorkha Janmukti Morcha?

5. Should Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh’s closeness to Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxist be interpreted as Parisangh’s increasing desire to create a close ‘political’ ally at grassroot levels in Darjeeling Hills and Dooars Terai? Shoud Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh’s closeness to Communisty Party of Revolutionary Marxists be interpreted as Parisangh’s desire to counter the growing popularity and power of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in Darjeeling Hills, Dooars Terai and the rest of the nation?

6. If all the above questions are baseless and scandalous and that Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh has no political ambition, why was it that Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh not able to refrain itself from participating in CPRM’s three days dharna at Jantar Mantar and concentrate itself in its own three days Gorkha Samavesh?

I have thought it fit to pose these questions in a public forum instead of just calling up one of the leaders and inquring about it. I hope that some one from Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh deems it fit to answer and remove the hovering fog of confusion that has engulfed our mind.

DARJEELING: Hills hopes for early snowfall this Christmas

FROM TIMES OF INDIA

Darjeeling: The Hills could enjoy snowfall this Christmas, going by the temperature recorded for the past few days.

The mercury in Darjeeling town has not crossed the 7 degree Celsius mark in two days invoking the people’s anticipation of an early snowfall. Throughout Sunday, the temperature oscillated between 5 and 7 degrees with a faint hint of drizzle accompanied by the familiar chill in foggy conditions.

Although Sunday was an outing day in the hill town, most citizens preferred to stay indoors because of the severe cold. Chowrasta, the popular promenade usually buzzing with people and activities, wore a deserted look except for some enthusiastic tourists.

Many people of the town, who have their own accommodation in the plains of Siliguri and other areas, have already left to find warmth anticipating a chilly winter this time. Since most schools have already closed for the winter vacation, parents without any accommodations in the plains have left early as finding rent-ins’ is a major problem in the winter season.

“This time the cold is already severe unlike other years. Schools have already closed, and so, to avoid the rush and to get a good accommodation for two months, we will leave for Siliguri tomorrow,” said Bharat Biswakarma, leaving with his family.

In the town, people have already taken the ever so trusted help of bonfires and the heavy woollens to keep themselves warm. For the youths playing the guitar and singing beside the warmth of the bonfire, is both the means to hone their aspiring skills and leisure their time away.

PHOTO FEATURE: CPRM-BGP Rally New Delhi 21st December 2008

 ALL PHOTOS BY JYOTI THAPA MANI

A Riot Controal Vehicle on standby

C K Shrestha making some notes

The intermingling of CPRM and BGP

Determined Youths

A CPRM flag at the entrance

The Red power

A contingent of Gorkha ladies from the CPRM party

R. B. Rai of CPRM, C K Shrestha and Munish Tamang of BGP sharing the dias

Pappu Pradhan and Joel Rai sharing a thought

Reverend Enos Pradhan of BGP

NEPAL: Maoists attack media, beat editors

FROM SOUTH ASIA MEDIA NEWS NET

KATHMANDU: Continuing their attacks on the media, Maoists today attacked Himalmedia injuring at least 12 senior journalists and other senior-level employees.

A group of some 50 persons led by president of the Maoist-affiliated All Nepal Hotel and Restaurant Workers’ Union (ANHRWU) Ramesh Panta stormed into the meeting hall of Himalmedia’s Hattiban office at noon.

The group attacked Chief Executive Officer of Himalmedia Ashutosh Tiwari as soon as the Lalitpur chief of Maoist-affiliated All Nepal Communications, Printing and Publication Workers’ Union (ANCPPWU) Ramesh KC identified him.

They also attacked the editor of Nepali Times weekly, Kunda Dixit, executive editor of Him-al Khabarpatrika – a vernacular fortnightly – Kiran Nepal, its senior reporter Dambar Krishna Shrestha, Shambhu Guragain, finance manager Bindira Shakya, Surendra Sharma, Subhash Kumar Das, Karma Lama and Bir Bahadur Tamang. They also vandalised the office and left the scene after 15 minutes of vandalism.

The unions had threatened Himalmedia for writing against the workers in its latest issue. Earlier, they had torched the copies of the news magazine and vandalised its distribution office.

“These people appeared to be martial arts experts. They had military training. One of them could kick a tall person like me in the head,” said Kunda Dixit. Dambar Krishna Shrestha suffered the most while trying to protect Kunda.

“They asked me who I was. When I replied I was a journalist, they said, ‘Oh you’re not a worker but a journalist,’ and beat me up,” Shrestha said.

Bindira Shrestha, the finance manager was hit in the chest. CEO Ashutosh Tiwari’s glasses were broken and was injured in the eye. Surendra Sharma of the administration was also beaten up.

“All of these people are Maoists, and we should stop calling them by any other name,” Kunda said. “They are fully controlled by the party.” None of the people had worked in Himal Khabarpatrika before. Meanwhile, Maoist spokesperson Dinanath Sharma said his party had no policy to attack the media and such incidents should be independently probed and the guilty should be booked. “Such incidents should not be politicised,” he said, maintaining that the incident was the result of internal conflict between the workers and the owners.

Following the attack, a delegation of the members of Parliament visited the Himal office, including Nabindra Raj Joshi, KP Oli, Amrit Bohara and Ishwar Pokhrel. Former CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal too visited the Himalmedia office following the attack. They said it was not just an attack against Himal, but the whole media and democracy.

BHUTAN: Bhutan’s ‘Nelson Mandela’ released

FROM SOUTH ASIAN MEDIA NEWS NET

THIMPHU: Bhutanese democratic fighter Dhan Kumar Rai, who was slapped life sentence by the Bhutanese regime on charges of treason, has finally been released after 17 years imprisonment inside Chemgang jail in Bhutan, reports Kantipur Daily.

Rai, who is suffering from severe mental illness problem due to the tortures inflicted upon him while inside the prison, was taken to Kathmandu on Friday for medical treatment. Called the Bhutanese “Nelson Mandela” for serving such a long period in jail, Rai, along with four other ethnic Nepali political prisoners, were freed on Nov 1 by the Druk regime. The international Red Cross Society and various other human rights organisations had exerted pressure on the Druk regime for the release of Rai, who is also the founding general secretary of Bhutan’s People’s Party (BPP) which is fighting for respectful return of Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal and establishment of democracy in Bhutan.

Rai, a resident of Pakahagaun in southern Bhutan’s Samchi district mostly dominated by ethnic Nepalis, was arrested by the Indian police from Dooars region in West Bengal state on Nov 17, 1991 and extradited to Bhutan. At the time of arrest. Rai was 28 years old and living a life of a political exile in India.

DARJEELING: Lepchas vow to preserve their culture

FROM THE STATESMAN

Darjeeling, Dec. 21: More than 20,000 Lepchas vowed to die for their community and to preserve their culture on the 227th birth anniversary of their King Gyabu Achok, at Mela ground in Kalimpong.

Organised by the Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association (ILTA) with affiliate organisations like Darjeeling Lepcha Association, Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) and Kolkata Lepcha Association, community members from India and other parts of the world participated in the event.

“We should focus on uniting the entire Lepcha community. I take this opportunity to congratulate all the Lepcha people for preserving our culture, customs and language so that we will continue to be Lepcha in our heart and soul,” said ILTA president, Ren LS Tamsang Lepcha.

The occasion emboldened the Lepcha community, which has been recognised as an indigenous tribe by Charter 309 of the United Nations and is striving to protect their ethnicity and region of Dzongu in Sikkim.

“We have been petitioning to the Centre for the recognition of the ancient Lepcha language. We repeat our appeal on this occasion too,” said Indigenous Lepcha Forum president, Ren Paul Simick Lepcha.

Lepchas, one of the three indigenous tribes in Sikkim, were successful in scrapping four out of six hydroelectric power projects proposed to be built in Dzongu, the last existing refuge for the indigenous tribe. Three Lepcha youths who survived a record 86-day indefinite hunger strike for the “cause” were awarded today.

PHOTO FEATURE: Peace Prayer

 

PEACE PRAYER~ A nun attends the last mass before Christmas at the Latin Catholic Church in Gaza City on Sunday. - AFP

DARJEELING HILLS: Morcha study carrot for Dooars -Bimal’s outfit offers to sponsor Adivasi students in hill institutions

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Members of the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh at a dharna for Gorkhaland at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on Sunday. (Prabin Khaling)

Darjeeling/Siliguri, Dec. 21: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has decided to sponsor the education of financially weak Adivasi students from the Dooars in the hills.

“The decision was taken by our party president (Bimal Gurung). We will soon sit with the principals of the hill institutions and work out a plan to ensure that deserving Adivasis are admitted there,” said Roshan Giri, the general secretary of the Morcha in Darjeeling.

The move is being seen as an attempt to woo the tribals so that they support the demand for Gorkhaland. The community is in the majority in the Dooars region of Jalpaiguri district. The Morcha wants a part of the Dooars to be included in the new state.

According to the Morcha, Adivasi leaders like Rabinson Xalco, Dhanu Murmu, Bijay Tikka, Bidhan Tathi, Prakash Minz and Phillip Minz were present at the meeting. Raju Pradhan, the assistant general secretary, and Binay Tamang, the media and publicity, among others, represented the hill outfit.

Dhanu Murmu, the secretary of the Dooars Jansangharsh Morcha, said: “We have earlier told the Morcha that several tribal students from poor families find it difficult to study in the hills. At yesterday’s meeting, the hill party agreed to help them.”

SILIGURI: Cash-less but huge hit – ‘Expert’ tee-off

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

A golfer at Sunday’s tournament in Bengdubi. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

Siliguri, Dec. 21: On its 13th year, the Himalayan Endeavour North Bengal Open Golf Tournament was teed off at Bengdubi today by 52 participants, most of whom were from the armed forces and the tea industry.

“It was nice to see golfers of the region and even from Nepal and Bhutan turning up to participate in the tourney. The event was enjoyable and competitive,” said Maj. (retired) P.S Gurung, the managing director of the Himalayan Endeavour Group.

“Of late, the emergence of Indian golfers like Jyoti Randhawa, Jeev Milkha Singh and Arjun Atwal have heightened the popularity of golf. We found it important to convene an annual event in a region which boasts of nearly a dozen small and big courses,” Gurung added.

SILIGURI: State offices under one roof

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Siliguri, Dec. 21: A central administrative building is being planned here to house all the offices of the Bengal government which are currently scattered in town.

Urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya, who met officials of different departments here yesterday, said: “At present, the state government offices are located in different parts of Siliguri. This is causing inconvenience to officials as well as people who often have to search for the exact location of the departments. They also face the parking problems. We have decided to build a central administrative building like the Writers’ Buildings in Calcutta to ensure that all these departments can be housed in it.”

The government will need a plot of four acres to construct the building. “We have started searching for this purpose and have already visited sites at Burdwan Road, Hill Cart Road, Sevoke Road and Mallaguri. We will try to ensure that at least 100 vehicles can be parked on the campus of the proposed multi-storied building at a time. Once the land is selected, we will approach the finance department for the sanction of funds,” said Bhattacharya, who is also the chairman of the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority.

He has asked the engineers of the SJDA to draw up a plan and give an estimate of the expenditure.