DOOARS TERAI: 25 people, policemen injured in clash in West Bengal

FROM THAINDIAN

Siliguri, Jan 16 (IANS) At least 25 people, including two senior police officials, were injured Friday in a clash between Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), which is spear-heading a movement for a separate Gorkhaland state, and its rival group, Adibashi Bikash Parishad in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district, the police said.”At least 25 people, including District Superintendent of Police Manoj Verma and Deputy Inspector General North Bengal Zulfiqar Hassan, were injured Friday in a clash between GJM and Adibashi Bikash Parishad at Malbazar subdivision,” Inspector General (IG) North Bengal K.L. Tamta told reporters.

The GJM took out a rally Friday at Malbazar sub-division of Jalpaiguri, about 40 km from here to press its demand that Terai and Doors be included in the proposed Gorkhaland territory.

In protest, the Adibashi Bikash Parishad put up road blockades at important points across Malbazar Friday.

The two groups clashed at Malbazar College More near the National Highway-31 (NH-31), when GJM supporters tried to cross one of these blockades.

“The police had to carry out a baton charge and fire 11 rounds of teargas shells to control the situation. Besides, we have already called the para-military force to help us maintain law and order here,” Tamta said.

DOOARS TERAI: GJM/ Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parisad clash 50 injured / STRIKE in Darjeeling Hills

BREAKING NEWS! 

BY BARUN ROY WITH INPUTS BY ANIL ROY FROM MALBAZAAR

MALBAZAAR: 50 Gorkha Janmukti Nari Morcha and Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad supporters including 20 policemen were injured in a clash that sparked out today at Malbazaar suburb between Gorkha Janmukti Nari Morcha and Akhil Bharaitya Adivasi Vikash Parishad. The clash erupted when a Gorkha Janmukti Nari Morcha procession was halted by Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad supporters. Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad had called for a 24 hours strike today on the eve of a Gorkha Janmukti Morcha political rallytoday announced almost a month ago. According to  preliminary reports from Malbazaar police fired 25 rounds of live ammunitions in the air besides scores of Tear Gas Canisters. The injureds were admitted at Gorubathan while an Adivasi youth who is said to have been greviously injured has been admitted at a nursing home in Siliguri. 

The District Magistrate has clamped down IPC Section 144 in Dooars until further notice. 

News of clash in Dooars quickly lead commerical enterprises downing their shutters and at around 12 noon Gorkha Janmukti Morcha officially announced for a shut down though it was not mentioned how long would the shut down last.  Speaking to the Press, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha General Secretary Roshan Giri said the clash was the result of the conspiracy hatched by the State Government and the Communist Party of India Marxists who wants to break the solidarity between Advasis and the Gorkhas.

INTERNATIONAL: SECRET PLAN TO DISBAND GURKHAS

FROM DAILY EXPRESS, UK

By Martyn Brown and John Ingham

Shared by Pranavesh J Pradhan

Medals belonging to Gurkha soldier Ratna Tharpa

THE Army wants to scrap the 200-year-old Gurkha regiment over claims it will cost too much to treat its veterans properly, it emerged yesterday.
Military top brass have warned that the historic brigade could be disbanded if the Government allows thousands more former Gurkhas to settle in Britain.

They say that the introduction of full residency and pension rights for the veterans and their dependants could leave the Ministry of Defence and British taxpayers facing a bill of up to £3billion.

Campaigners last night blasted the plans, which could see the end of the British Army’s most loyal and heroic regiments. The loss of the Gurkhas would be a body blow for the Armed Forces Shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox

Joanna Lumley, 62, whose father fought alongside Gurkhas in the Second World War, accused the MoD of “scaremongering”.

“Even in the unlikely event that the MoD’s figure is correct,” she added, “all these retired Gurkhas have earned the right to settle here by serving and fighting in our Army.”

Ms Lumley last year joined forces with the Daily Express crusade seeking better rights for Gurkhas and delivering a 250,000-signature petition to Gordon Brown demanding justice for the selfless warriors.

She said: “The idea that they will be a drain on the NHS is offensive – these people were prepared to fight and die for the NHS. Many of them actually had money deducted from their pay to help pay for it. They have as much right as any British citizen to use it.”

Under new rules due to be announced by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith in the next few weeks, the rights of ex-Gurkhas are expected to be widened significantly. All veterans will be allowed to settle in Britain and receive a full Army pension.

JOB OPENINGS: HIMACHAL PRADESH PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION RECRUITMENT – POLICE JOBS

HIMACHAL PRADESH PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

Advertisement No. XI /2008.
Web: http://himachal.nic.in/hppsc

Applications on the computerised form to be obtained from the office of the Commission are invited from all the eligible and desirous Indian citizens for admission to the Himachal Pradesh Administrative Service Etc. Combined Competitive (Preliminary) Examination followed by (Main) written examination and viva-voce test for recruitment to the posts/services to be filled in on the basis of H.P.A.S. Etc. Combined Competitive Examination, 2008. The detail of the posts/services is as under: -

Himachal Pradesh Police Service, Class-I Gazetted,: 09 Posts
Pay scale of Rs.7880-13500/-
Excise and Taxation Officer, Class-I Gazetted,: 05 Posts
Pay scale of Rs.7000-10980/-.

Last Date: 31th Jan, 2009

Vacancy Details : http://himachal.nic.in/hppsc/PDF/HAS-2008.pdf

BOOK REVIEW: Growing With The Himalayas

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Growing With The Himalayas (Think Big, Rs 168) by Debarshi Roy is a book that would have been a treasure had its editors not been so outrageously sloppy. It is baffling that such an expensively produced book – there are colour photographs, as well as rare black-and- white ones on almost every page – should have such slipshod editing. But if the shaky and incorrect sentences in the book are ignored, it can be admired as an effort of love. Although Roy had spent his childhood in the foothills of the Himalayas, he had his first glimpse of Darjeeling only after the Gorkhaland agitation in the mid-Eighties. He found Darjeeling to “bask in contentment in a quaint world of its own”.

ESSAY: India an unforgettable experience

FROM  THE SOUTHERN STAR

By Leo MCMahon

Some members of Edith Wilkins Street Children Foundation India committee members pictured with some of the staff and children outside the former centre in Sai Prashanti, Darjeeling.

INDIA is an unforgettable experience. The moment you land at Indira Ghandi International Airport in Delhi, it hits you. The heat, the non-stop activity and teeming masses of a sub-continent with a population well over one billion.There are people everywhere, whether it’s on the frantic dusty highways of the capital or on the three-hour journey up the mountain from Siliguri to Darjeeling at the foothills of the Himalayan mountains in the north of Bengal.

India is a nation of contrasts. It boasts one of the fastest-growing economies in the world yet retains centuries-old customs. Perhaps the reason why this huge country continues to fascinate is its remarkable tolerance, with every type of religion, Hindu, Moslem, Christian, Buddhist and more all co-existing in relative peace.

First stop after a short half-night stop over in Delhi was Siliguri to the railway platform school among the slums near the truck stand. Here, Edith Wilkins Street Children Foundation is doing truly remarkable work in co-operation with local people.

Two of Edith’s foster children, Dolly and Jamsed and their team provide basic education on the platform for children aged between four and ten, most of whom earlier each day, would be at the local dump looking for anything they could re-sell. The children must first be taught how to interact and then learn and play. They all sang a lovely song for the visitors from Ireland.

As we crossed the railway tracks, there was a woman watching over cow dung drying in the sun for re-use as fuel. The shanty town has an open sewer and although the tiny homes, comprising mainly timber and corrugated iron, must be horrendous in extreme heat and during monsoons, there is a great pride and dignity among the inhabitants who maintain them the very best they can. One of the buildings is used as a clinic where Dr. Nosker calls every week on a voluntary basis.

TODAY’S APPOINTMENTS: 32nd annual conference of the All Assam Gorkha Students’ Union

The 32nd annual conference of the All Assam Gorkha Students’ Union and a special convention of the Gorkha Autonomous Council Demand Committee will be held at Government Boys’ Higher Secondary School and Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School, Diphu.

 

SIKKIM: SDF condemns ‘Greater Nepal’ theory of BJP

FROM SIKKIM EXPRESS

GANGTOK, January 14: An outraged Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) party today condemned the ‘Greater Nepal’ insinuations of Harendra Pratap, the BJP in charge of Sikkim made against the Chief Minister Pawan Chamling.

Mr. Pratap had accused the Chief Minister of being involved in anti-national activities for formation of Greater Nepal. He had also accused the Chief Minister of being a Nepal national.

Condemning the charges, SDF party reminded that it has been strongly refuting the Nepal national allegations against the Chief Minister and it metes similar treatment to the latest allegations. BJP leader Harendra Pratap is trying to defame a national figure with its purported ‘Greater Nepal’ theory, said SDF party spokesperson Bhim Dahal in a press statement.

SIKKIM: Limboos celebrate Yuma Manghim Martalong

FROM SIKKIM EXPRESS

SOMBAREY, January 14: The establishment day of the Yuma Manghim Martalong was celebrated today on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti today.

The place, located below Sombarey Bazaar is holy place for the Limboo community where they worship their supreme Goddess (Yuma- Booju devta).

The celebration is organized every year and this year too, the Celebration Committee Yuma Sakhung Samjunpho Sombarey presented traditional cultural show like- Chakbroung Dance, Yo Lang ( Dhan Nach), and beating of Nagara drums.

Limboo Shamans called Phadangmas and Yeabas also performed traditional rituals on the occasion.

The chief guest was Ms. Chandra Maya Limboo, Zilla Adkshaya, West District. Addressing the gathering, she emphasized on preserving the tradition and culture of Limboo community and appealed the older generation to inculcate the values of respecting their rich cultural heritage and the zeal to learn amongst the younger generation.

SIKKIM: SARAS mega fair begins at Jorethang Maghey Mela

FROM SIKKIM EXPRESS

JORETHANG, January 14: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling today inaugurated the first SARAS Fair 1009 here organized on the sidelines of Maghey Mela celebrations.

This 10 day mega fair is organized by State Rural Development Agency (SRDA), a unit of State rural development and is sponsored by Swarna Jyanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana.

Rural artistes groups from Bapreta, Kokrajhar and Bogaigoan from Assam, TRIFIED (Northeast), Orissa, Darjeeling, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Jharkhand, Gujurat, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh and more than 50 Self Help Groups from Sikkim coordinated by State rural development agencies are participating in this event.

The participating artistes have put for a whole range of different rural products for exhibition and sale in this event which fetched tremendous response from the visitors to the mela.

While inaugurating the event, the Chief Minister visited the stalls and interacted with the representatives and appealed them to upgrade the qualities of their products. He also appealed the rural artistes to take maximum benefit from this fair and build a good clientele base.

“This is the first event, organized by State rural management and development department and sponsored by Ministry of Rural Development and is coordinated by SRDA. The participation in the fair by the artisans of other states and local has encouraged us”, said PR Poudyel, SRDA Project Director.

SIKKIM: Natya Akademi award for Hildamit Lepcha

FROM SIKKIM EXPRESS

Hildamit Lepcha. Photo by Sikkim Express

GANGTOK, January 14: Renewed Lepcha folk artiste from Sikkim, Hildamit Lepcha has been selected for the prestigious Sangit Natya Akademi 2009 award from New Delhi based Sangit Natya Akademy for her contributions to preservation and promotion of the indigenous music of the ethnic community.

The decision to present the prestigious award to Hildamit Lepcha was taken during a selection meeting of general body of the Akademi on January 10 at New Delhi, states reports. The body annually felicities individuals who have made valuable contributions towards the preservation and promotion of folk music and darma.

The award for Mrs. Lepcha consists of a cash prize of Rs. 50,000, citation and shawal presentation. The other awardees for this year are famed Assamese folk artiste Bhupen Hazarika, RC Mehata, Khalid Chowdhary and Shitadevi.

Forty six year old Mrs. Lepcha is the third Sikkimese personality to be conferred with this award.

Earlier, Sonam Tshering Lepcha and Narendra Gurung had received this prestigious award.

SIKKIM: Jorethang Maghey Mela ushers in New Year revelries – Green signal not yet given for party tickets: Chamling

FROM SIKKIM EXPRESS

BY SUREN MOHRA

Chief Minister Dr. Pawan Chamling. Photo by Sikkim Express

JORETHANG, January 14: Hammering down a strong lid on the party ticket circus, Chief Minister and SDF party president Pawan Chamling today categorically stated no ‘green signal’ has been given to any party member for the upcoming Assembly elections.

“No green signal has been given to any member of the SDF party as far as the party tickets to the upcoming elections is concerned”, said the Chief Minister in his inaugural address of the two day Jorethang Maghey Mela celebrations here.

Stating that SDF high command has not finalized the list of party candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections, Mr. Chamling said that vested interests within the party are misleading the people. “Some persons are going around in the villages claiming that I have given the green signal to them and are misleading the people. I have not given any green signal”, he said appealing the people not be influenced by such elements.

Mr. Chamling further said that he is a seasoned leader and will not tolerate such nonsense within the party. “I can distribute party tickets in 10 minutes even in the last hour of the election”, he remarked.

DOOARS TERAI: Adivasis call bandh as GJM organises march in Dooars

FROM THE STATESMAN

JALPAIGURI, Jan. 15: Showing signs of spilling over to the Dooars in Jalpaiguri district, the Gorkhaland movement could be heading towards trouble.

While the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), championing the Gorkhland cause, has decided to congregate at Nagrakata tomorrow in the Dooars for a subsequent march up to the Sankosh River bordering Assam in a show of numerical strength, the Tarai-Dooars Coordination Committee of Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Bikas Parishad has convened a 24-hour bandh in the Malbazaar sub-division and areas under the Banarhat police station, both in Jalpaiguri district, to thwart the GJM.

According to the Tarai committee secretary of the TDCCABABP, Mr Sushil Tirkey, his organisation would not allow the GJM to stage its political agenda in its area, “at any cost.”

“The TDCCABABP has convened a 24-hour bandh in the Malbazaar sub-division and in areas under the Banarhat police station tomorrow. We would block off the Jaldhaka Bridge and areas near the Grassmore Tea Estate that lie in the route of the GJM’s proposed march to Sankosh. The GJM has no right to claim Dooars. Apprehending trouble, we have readied over 10,000 supporters to resist the GJM. The Dooars belongs to the tribals and we would not allow the GJM to claim it under any circumstances,” he said.

The tribal leader further said: “Tomorrow and henceforth, we would request the GJM activists to go back to the Hills. If they refuse, we would call police. But if they try to force their way or assault our supporters, the administration might have a serious law and order problem in its hands. We have informed the police about our programme and have asked for sufficient forces to keep the situation under control.”

SILIGURI: Army displays weapons in Siliguri

FROM THE STATESMAN

Siliguri, Jan. 15: Maj. Gen. VK Pillai, General Officer (Commanding), Striking Lion Division, today inaugurated the two-day “Know Your Army” programme organised by the Trishakti Corps, to celebrate the Army Day 2009 in the Military Station at the Sevoke Road in Siliguri.

The programme featured attractive horse shows, chopper displays and parades by National Cadet Corps cadets. Displays by sniffer and trained dogs during the three-hour-long programme stole the show.

The organisers had made special arrangements for free ride on tanks for the visitors to the programme, which included a large number of students from various schools in Siliguri and its rural outskirts.

An exhibition was also organised in which almost all relevant military weapons and equipment were put up on display at different stalls in the military station.

Besides the exhibition and free tank-ride, the visitors to the programme tomorrow would be treated to a mock infantry assault, which will replicate an assault on bunkers at the battlefield.

DARJEELING: SSB under fire for ‘intrusion’

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

 Darjeeling, Jan. 15: Nepal has accused the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), which mans the border with the Himalayan country, of encroaching on its territory. Residents of the Illam district of Nepal, too, have been demonstrating against India’s alleged expansionist motive.

Surendra Prasad Dhakal, the chief district officer of Illam, told The Telegraph over the phone: “The SSB camp in Chabbasey (on the Indian side) is using our territory. In at least two other places which fall within a radius of 1km from Chabbasey, the Indian forces have erected gates and temporary structures. Those places are within our territory.”

The residents of Dassh Gaja, a border village in Nepal adjacent to Chabbasey, 45km from here, have been demonstrating against India’s alleged expansion, prompting senior officials from the neighbouring country to visit the area.”An official of the external affairs ministry along with a surveyor visited the disputed place yesterday. They have conducted a survey and a report on the intrusion will soon be prepared in Kathmandu,” said Dhakal.

B.B. Joshi, the deputy inspector-general of the SSB based in Ranidanga, near Siliguri, has refuted the allegations. “We have not encroached upon even an inch of Nepal territory. So far there has been no official complaint on Chabbasey. We are only using the structures set up in 2002 (when the SSB was deployed for the first time to guard the frontiers). I, too, have heard that demonstrations were held but we suspect it was the handiwork of groups which wanted to stoke anti-Indian sentiments.”

Bayern proposes to take two players to Germany

Siliguri, Jan. 15: FC Bayern Munich II has proposed to take two footballers of Siliguri to Germany for training.

“We have received the proposal from the German club. The Siliguri Mahakuma Krira Parishad has been given the responsibility to identify the two players, one of whom will be from the tea estates. The names are likely to be finalised shortly,” said Ashok Bhattacharya, the state urban development minister. “It will be a great opportunity for the duo.”

Last year, the German club had taken two players from Burdwan and sent them back after training.

Bhattacharya said the details of the proposal would be discussed with officials of the team when they land here on January 20 for a football match against Mayor’s XI at Kanchenjungha Stadium the next day.

The German team has also agreed to auction the players’ jersey, football and some other sporting gears used and signed by them and the soccer legend Gerd Mueller.

The auction will be held after the 90-minute match.

“We are yet to finalise the venue for the bidding to be held in the evening,” he said. “Mueller himself will be present and put some of his items on the bid. It is a chance for sports lovers to grab items for personal collections.”

The organisers hope to collect Rs 5-6 lakh from the auction. “The proceeds, to form part of the Mayor’s Relief Fund of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation, will be spent later to extend financial help for treatment of players and needy children,” he said.

The 27-member contingent, including Mueller and 20 players, will reach Siliguri on January 20. The next morning, they will go to the stadium for practice.

BENGAL: Shafiqul set up base in UP – Cops – Uttar pradesh police team to visit calcutta by saturday

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Calcutta, Jan. 15: During his intermittent visits to India between 1997 and 2008, Shafiqul had developed a strong network in Uttar Pradesh.

Shafiqul, the Lashkar-e-Toiba operative arrested from Malda on Monday, had not only ferried 20kg of RDX in batches to Bareilly, but had also developed a “base” in Uttar Pradesh through acquaintances and tried to connect with a large number of youths for indoctrination. He had kept in touch with his contacts on a regular basis.

Uttar Pradesh police have already learnt about some of Shafiqul’s activities in the state and a team of senior officers is scheduled to reach the city by Saturday to interrogate him.

“It now appears that Shafiqul had built a base along the Indo-Nepal border in Uttar Pradesh, particularly in pockets of Gorakhpur and Siddharthnagar. Shafiqul is not coming clean and he is claiming that he has so far ferried only two persons from Bangladesh to India,” a senior officer of the CID told The Telegraph.

Sleuths interrogating Shafiqul and the former army driver Haji Akhtar Hussain suggested that apart from the Lashkar, the 32-year-old youth from Rajsahi was also engaged by the ISI to look after its operations in India.

The Bangladeshi had been picked up from Haji Akhtar’s house on the day of his daughter’s wedding. The army man was arrested the next day.

“There are two faces of Shafiqul. For the Lashkar, he ferried militants to Jammu and Kashmir through Bengal. For the ISI, he looked for youths for indoctrination and subsequent operations. It appears that he was also in close touch with the Pakistan embassy,” a source in the CID claimed.

For Shafiqul, visiting Bengal has been a way of life. Way back in 1989, when he was barely 15 years old, he had entered India and took lessons in a madarsa in Malda. Interrogations reveal that Shafiqul sneaked in and out of Bengal several times as a madarsa student between 1989 and 1995. In 1996, he came to Bangladesh and joined a madarsa in Yatrabari near Dhaka.