PHOTO FEATURE: The Lions at the Mahakal Temple in Darjeeling

 PHOTOS BY DIPAK SHRESTHA

People who come to visit the Mahakal temple will not miss the pair of stone lions at the gate. The original were a substitute for a pair of bronze ones which i have shown in the picture. Photos By Deepak Shrestha

BREAKING NEWS: GJM slaps 7-day deadline for WB nod to hold rallies

FROM PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEWS SHARED BY AARDEE

Kolkata (PTI): In a bid to step up pressure, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) has given the West Bengal government a seven day deadline for permission to hold rallies in the plains a day after meeting Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

“We will wait and then decide the next course of action. If our deadline is not met, we will launch hunger-strike in the Gandhian way, which will definitely not be a good thing for the state government,” GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said on Thursday.

Giri’s statement comes after a seven member GJM delegation had reportedly agreed to Bhattacharjee’s request during Wednesday’s talks not to hold rallies in the Siliguri and Dooars plains till normalcy returns.

Vowing not to budge from its demand to carve out Gorkhaland, Giri said a separate state would be a reality in the Darjeeling hills by 2010 and it would include Siliguri and Dooars in the plains.

“Gorkhaland will be a reality by 2010. West Bengal will be our very next neighbour after the creation of Gorkhaland. We are very adamant. We will not budge from our stand,” Giri said.

ESSAY: Gorkha agitation causes storm in tea belt, stir assumes ‘ethnic’ flavour

FROM THE INDIAN EXPRESS

BY KARTYK VENKATRAMAN

ESSAY SHARED BY AARDEE

The scene of a clash betwen GJM workers and tribals in north Bengal's Dooars Region. Photo by Indian Express

ALTHOUGH the talks between a seven-member Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) delegation and Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee resulted in an understanding in which the GJM agreed to refrain from public meetings and rallies in the Dooars region and plains, the events of the past few days have added a new dimension to the Gorkhaland agitation. 

When the standoff in the Dooars teagarden belt of Jalpaiguri district entered its sixth day on Tuesday, a Nepali versus Adivasi showdown seems more and more imminent. By shifting the agitation from the hills to the plains and the foothills of Darjeeling, GJM president Bimal Gurung may have been aiming to increase the pressure on the state as well as the Central government for a settlement. Disruptions in Siliguri and the Dooars create immediate ripples that affect the north-eastern states.

DOOARS TERAI: CPM instigating tribals in N Bengal: GJM

FROM TIMES OF INDIA

KOLKATA: Blaming CPM for instigating violence in the Dooars, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) general secretary Roshan Giri on Thursday said the

Adivasi Vikash Parishad which had led the resistance against GJM was being backed by the ruling party.

A group of GJM supporters, residing in the Dooars, had been taken to the CPM party office at Nagrakata and asked to quit GJM and join Parishad. “This is a clear indication that the Parishad is being helped by CPM. Otherwise, the parishad which is an NGO has no reason to organize Adivasis against GJM.” He feared CPM would keep the Gorkhaland issue alive to make it an election issue.

Giri said during Wednesday’s meeting, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had asked them to wait for permission before holding a public meeting in the Dooars. “Our central committee will discuss the chief minister’s offer. But we are firm on holding this meeting as it is our democratic right. If we have to go on yet another hunger strike for this, it will be shameful for the government.”

While assuring that GJM’s movement would be non-violent, Giri insisted that the boycott of paying various bills and taxes would continue. Besides, from March, packets containing Darjeeling tea would be marked, Flavour of Gorkhaland.

BEACON ONLINE SALUTES NETAJI ON HIS 112 BIRTHDAY

 

Netaji Subash Chandra Bose during his house arrest at Kurseong before his flight to Germany. Photo reproduced from Fallen Cicada - Unwritten History of Darjeeling Hills by Barun Roy

A Letter to Damber Singh Gurung by Netaji Subash Chandra Bose

THE HIMALAYAN BEACON [BEACON ONLINE] EXCLUSIVE

The following is a letter sent by Netaji Subash Chandra Bose to Damber Singh Gurung

ALL INDIA CONGRESS COMMITTEE

38/2 Elgin Road, Calcutta

8th August 1938

Dear Mr. Gurung,

I was very glad to have discussions with you regarding the grievances of the Hill people of the District of Darjeeling. The grievances as jotted down by you are just and legitimate, and I think it is the duty of the Government to remedy them. So far as the Congress Party is concerned, I can assure you that we will do our very best to remove these grievances as early as possible. As you are aware Congress Party represents the opinion of the masses. It is therefore, our duty to serve the masses and to redress their just and legitimate grievances. Most the grievances you mentioned are common to the masses in the rest of Bengal. It is our firm belief that not only should these grievances be redressed but we should aslo give special attion to Hillmen in the District of Darjeeling, who from a small minority in the province and who have been suffering from various disabilities and unfortunately are backward in many ways. When the Congress Party is in a position to remedy the above grievances, not only will it undertake that work as speedily as possible but will also see that a special Committee is appointed to investigate the special problems of the Hillmen and report as to how these problems should be solved. In the light of the above remarks, I hope you will have no difficulty in appreciating the attitude of the Congress towards the special problems and grievances of the Hillmen in your District.

Yours sincerely,

Subash Chandra Bose

 

JALPAIGURI: CPI will form groups to spread peace message

FROM THE STATESMAN

JALPAIGURI, Jan. 22: The CPI district secretary, Mr Pabitra Bhattacharya, recently announced the party’s decision to form voluntary groups that would spread a message of communal harmony to the Dooars.

Mr Bhattacharya said the prevailing political turmoil in the Dooars following the recent clash between the Gorkha Jana Mukti Morcha, Akhil Bhartiya Adivashi Bikash Parishad and the locals, deeply concerns the CPI leaders.

“Considering the present situation, we have no alternative but to fight for the reinstitution of peace in the region. A wide variety of different communities have traditionally lived side by side in the Dooars, but the ominous shadow cast by ongoing separatist movements in the area have disrupted this history of peaceful co-existence. Innocent people have been victimised following the recent troubles”, the district secretary said.

Mr Bhattacharya claimed the people of the Dooars would not sacrifice an inch of their land to the proposed Gorkhaland. “The Gorkha Jana Mukti Morcha’s whimsical decisions serve only to stir up communal rioting and we would not let the situation develop,” he said.

According to the secretary, the voluntary groups set up by the CPI-M would visit all affected areas of the Dooars, including the most remote regions, to heighten awareness among the people. “Each group, of around twenty members each, would visit the village haats and organize street corners or dramas based on communal harmony. Similar programs would also be held in our town after the Madhyamik examination is over. We have also prepared some slogans to deliver our messages to the people”, Mr Bhattacharya said.

NEPAL/BHUTAN: Bhutan jails reporter for over seven years

FROM GULF TIMES

KATHMANDU: A 20-year-old exiled journalist of Nepali origin has been sentenced to jail for seven and a half years for terrorist activities by the royal government of Bhutan even as the party in question denied having any links with him.

Shantiram Acharya, who used to work for the Bhutan Reporter, a monthly newspaper brought out amidst great hardship by Bhutanese refugees living in  Nepal, received the sentencing by Bhutan’s high court for being allegedly involved in subversive activities against the Druk kingdom, including participating in military training conducted by the Communist Party of Bhutan (Marxist Leninist Maoist) in Nepal, an armed underground organisation that is banned in Bhutan and believed to be operating from Nepal and India to end Bhutan’s hereditary monarchy.

According to the Association of Press Freedom Activists (APFA) Bhutan, an exiled Bhutanese media group based in Kathmandu, Acharya, a Bhutanese of Nepali origin who was living in the refugee camps in eastern Nepal, was arrested in 2007 when he visited Bhutan to meet his relatives.

Acharya was kept in secret detention for almost two months and tortured by police to extract a confession, APFA said. According to the exiled media group, the Bhutan police charge sheet said he was arrested for taking photographs of an outpost of the Royal Bhutan Army.

APFA also said it believed Acharya was convicted because he could not hire an attorney to defend him as Bhutan does not have any independent attorney. Also, he had no money since he was produced in the court without the knowledge of his family members.

Though the Communist Party of Bhutan (Marxist Leninist Maoist), from whom Bhutan police said Acharya had received arms training, said it had no association with the exiled reporter, the denial was not heeded by the Bhutanese court.

Condemning the charges and the verdict by court, which APFA said was controlled by the state, the media group is asking the Bhutan government to open the case for review and let the 20-year-old hire an independent attorney.

NEPAL: Nepal bans ‘Chandani Chowk’ screening

FROM SOUTH ASIAN MEDIA NEWS NET

KATHMANDU: The government Thursday imposed a ban on the screening of Indian movie ‘Chandani Chowk to China’ throughout the country from today. Earlier, the Ministry of Information and Communications had floated a proposal to restrict the film in Nepali cinema halls as it contains some controversial narrations and scenes that say Lord Buddha was born in India.

The cabinet meeting held today passed the proposal, Minister for Information and Communications Krishna Bahadur said.

The government banned the exhibition of the movie considering that it could hurt sentiments of Nepali people and lead to law and order problems in volatile Nepal.

Also today, the cabinet meeting decided to provide facilities such as a residence, a secretariat and fuel to former Prime Minister and Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala.

SIKKIM: ‘Dual citizenship’ documents handed over to BJP central leadership

‘Party high command has taken a serious note’-Padam Chettri

FROM SIKKIM EXPRESS

Gangtok, January 21: “BJP is all set to enter the upcoming Assembly elections with a big bang”, said State BJP unit vice president Padam Chettri today.
The new found confidence has materialized after completion of a ‘fruitful’ meeting of the State BJP leaders with their party high command at Delhi.

The State BJP team had left for Delhi on January 16 with a single objective of submitting their ‘dual citizenship’ allegations against Chief Minster Pawan Chamling before their Delhi party high command.

“We met LK Advani, Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj and Jaswant Singh on January 18 at New Delhi and handed over our documents against the Chief Minister. Now, the party high command has become very serious over this issue and Sikkim. The national leadership will now take up this issue”, said Mr. Chettri.

Mr. Chettri further informed that the documents have been submitted to the legal cell of the party high command at New Delhi. “The petition at Supreme Court is on process and the party high command will keep us informed”, he said.

It may be recalled that BJP in-charge for Northeast States, Harendra Pratpa had alleged that Chief Minster Pawan Chamling holds Nepal citizenship and thus should be disqualified from his post as per the Constitution.

Expectedly, the charges did not go down well among the Sikkimese people and various organizations have been serially condemning the allegations and have demanded BJP to take back its allegations.

SIKKIM: CM’s marathon one to one with grassroots people

FROM SIKKIM EXPRESS

Gangtok, January 21: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling today commenced on a two day tour of East District to feel the pulse of the people and to get a personal feel of their grievances and expectations.

Today, the Chief Minister engaged himself in a day long interaction with the people of Rhenock constituency and periphery areas at Aritar guest house. The interaction that had started at noon continued till late in the evening.

Hundreds flocked the guest house for an audience with the Chief Minister who had laid out an invitation to the local people from Rhenock, Regu and Pathing constituencies for an open interaction. The visiting people met him individually while local NGOs, SHGs and cooperative societies in groups, it is informed.

Sources informed that the Chief Minister was keen on meeting youths who have attained 18 years and casting their votes for the first time. With his Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) party running the government for 15 consecutive years, the Chief Minister was very much interested in meeting these new voters, informed sources.

Mr. Chamling had reached to the doorsteps of the rural people who were facing difficulty in meeting him at Gangtok and having problems in completing their government related works. The people were allowed to meet him individually.

PHOTO FEATURE: 965 chickens culled in Day 2

965 chickens culled in Day 2. Photo by Sikkim Express

DOOARS TERAI: CM invites Adivasi Parishad to talks

FROM THE STATESMAN

Jalpaiguri, Jan. 22: The chief minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, has invited the Akhil Bharitya Adivasi Bikash Parishad for a dialogue on 29 January in Kolkata on the recent Dooars hostilities.

Informing this, the secretary of the Terai-Dooars Coordination Committee of ABABP, Mr Rajesh Lakra, today said that they would send a 10-member delegation to meet the CM. “I along with the president Mr John Barla and two state committee members ~ Mr Raju Bara and Mr Susil Majhi ~ would represent the Dooars region of the organisation while our Terai committee would select two members for the delegation. The rest of four would be from our state committee. Our state president, Mr Birsha Tirkey, would be visiting the Dooars on 25 January and we would list our demands on that date. We have listed 13 demands to submit to the CM but the number could increase after the meeting,” he said.

The Terai secretary of ABABP, Mr Susil Tirkey, said that they were yet to select their representatives. “I would be in the delegation but we are yet to decide on another name. The CM had invited us in December, 2008, too but the meeting was not held. We finally now have the chance to submit our demands to the CM,” Mr Tirkey said.

SIKKIM: Culling continues in Sikkim

FROM THE STATESMAN

Gangtok, Jan. 22: Authorities in Sikkim culled 2,125 chickens at Rabangla in South District (Sikkim) following the detection of Bird Flu in the area, said Dr MK Rai, joint director, animal husbandry and veterinary services, South district, Sikkim. It is learnt that 157 houses owning backyard chickens were affected. The authority also destroyed 611 eggs. A Union health ministry team has arrived at Rabangla with 5,000 surgical masks, 6,000 OSELTAMIVIR capsules, 100 personal protective equipment and100 N-95 masks. They are also monitoring the situation.

Bird Flu was confirmed in Rabangla on 18 January. All steps required to prevent the disease from spreading were obtained. Culling teams are working deep into the night to complete the exercise within the shortest possible period.

SIKKIM: Delhi Cong team due in Sikkim today

FROM THE STATESMAN

Gangtok, Jan. 22: A team of Congress leaders from New Delhi would reach Gangtok on 23 January to look for youths from the North East who can expand Mr Rahul Gandhi’s ‘vision’ of the future.

Congress leader Mr Tariq Ahmed announced today of the team’s arrival. He also said that the team of senior Congress leaders would meet youth members of Sikkim Pradesh Congress to develop base in the state under the presidentship of the state Congress chief, Mr Nar Bahadur Bhandari, in Gangtok .

It was learnt that the visiting team would form a 25-member youth state level body comprising of four vice-presidents, 10 general secretaries, 10 secretaries and one treasurer. The party’s central leadership comprising Mr Jagdish Tytler (MP), Mr Deependra Hooda (MP), Mr Jitendra Singh, AICC secretary, Mr Ashok Tanwar AIYC president would visit Sikkim.

DARJEELING HILLS: Now, GJM toes Netaji line

FROM THE STATESMAN

Siliguri, Jan. 22: Harking back to the legends is but natural. Yet, a shallow romance with the past has its danger of blurring history.

With the debate gaining momentum over the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supremo Mr Bimal Gurung’s recent statement hinting at a change of track in the context of the Gorkhaland movement, from the Gandhian non-cooperation to Subhas Chandra’s armed insurrection, the question whether such fantasizing with history is justified or not has assumed significance, more so, with his birthday tomorrow. Ridiculing the hinted change of track, Forward Bloc general secretary Mr Debabrata Biswas said over phone from New Delhi that Mr Gurung and his followers were distorting history. “Dragging the luminous Netaji legacy down to the level of a statehood aspiration of a particular Indian community amounts to an infantile attempt to twist history for a sectarian purpose,” he said.

Differing with such a view, history professor, North Bengal University Dr Ananda Gopal Ghosh said that Mr Gurung’s recent straightjacketing of the Netaji legacy and a possible anti-state armed movement should not be read in the strict perspectives of history. “The juxtaposition is indeed wrong from the historical standpoint yet, the emotive statement exemplifies the Indian Gorkhas’ unwavering adulation for Netaji. They identify more with the indomitable conviction of redoubtable Subhas Chandra than with the soft-spoken apostle of non-violence. It is wrong to subject the statement to historical nitty gritty,” he said. According to Dr Bani Prasanna Mishra, the former director of the Department of Himalayan Studies, NBU, Mr Gurung’s recent statement inadvertently rekindled the ticklish question of the extra territorial loyalty of a section of the Indian Gorkhas.

SILIGURI: Search on to trap sick jumbo

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

Siliguri, Jan. 22: The sighting of an injured and starving elephant in the jungles of Bengdubi has prompted foresters to pitch tent in the area and launch a search for the animal so that it can be treated.

According to sources, the lone male animal was spotted limping by guards in the forests near Bagdogra and close to defence installations a couple of days ago.

“They informed us and officers from the wildlife squad in Sukna went to the spot,” Sumita Ghatak, the divisional forest officer, wildlife-1, said today. “As the elephant had a swelling on one of its legs and it was thin and unsteady, we suspect that the animal had gone without food for quite a few days.”

The guards posted in the Bengdubi forest photographed the elephant and they are yet to confirm whether it is weak because of the swelling or any disease.

“We have called vets and till they examine the animal and share their opinions with us, we cannot say if it has any disease,” said the DFO. “Instructions have been given to the staff of the wildlife squad to try and trap the elephant for its treatment.”

SILIGURI: Threat to habitat

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

(From the top) Lesser whistling teals, common kestral and kingfisher are some of the common species found in the waterbodies and forests of north Bengal

Siliguri, Jan. 22: Disappearing waterbodies and pollution are the main reasons behind the drop in avian numbers in north Bengal. Waterfowl in particular and even some raptors have borne the brunt, a census has revealed.

A few of the species can no longer be sighted in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts.

“In the course of the Asian Waterfowl Census, at least one raptor and three varieties of ducks which could be seen in numbers even a couple of years ago, could no longer be sighted,” said Animesh Bose, the programme coordinator of the Siliguri-based Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation (Hnaf) today.

The AWC is conducted by Wetlands International, an NGO working around the globe on the conservation of birds. In north Bengal, its network partner is Hnaf.

“The population of birds like the ruddy shelduck and the cotton teal has substantially reduced,” he said. “Among the raptors that are water-based, the Pallas’s fish eagle could not be sighted and we suspect it has vanished from this part of the country now.”

The Indian Bird Conservation Network, another partner of the census, has identified 465 important bird areas or IBAs, of which 10 are in Bengal. Of these, three each are in wildlife sanctuaries and national parks, two in tiger reserves while two are yet to be officially marked.

“Climatic changes, encroachment and pollution of waterbodies and poaching have led to the decline in the population,” Bose said.

SILIGURI: Vehicles few, attendance low in offices

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

The deserted Hill Cart Road in Siliguri on Thursday. (Kundan Yolmo)

Jan. 22: Barring a minor incident, the 12-hour general strike called by the SUCI passed off peacefully in north Bengal today.

The strike was called to protest against rise in the prices of essential commodities, petrol, diesel and LPG and to fulfil many demands the party had put forward to the state government.

While the bandh passed off peacefully, 108 SUCI supporters were arrested in Cooch Behar, 16 in Alipurduar, 13 in Balurghat and one in Siliguri.

Alipurduar, Malda and Raiganj witnessed a total shutdown as all commercial establishments, offices and educational institutions remained closed.

Although government offices were open, the percentage of attendance was low. Most private and state-run vehicles stayed off the roads and only emergency vehicles were seen plying.

Five persons – three of the Citu and two of the SUCI – were injured when members of both the outfits clashed at Mathabhanga in Cooch Behar district. The strike was near total in the district with most shops, schools and government offices remaining shut.

The bandh did not have much impact in South Dinajpur where most offices functioned normally and shops remained open.

DARJEELING HILLS: Buddha hope for homeless

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

A boy with a Morcha flag in Kalimpong on Thursday. Picture by Chinlop Fudong Lepcha

Darjeeling, Jan. 22: Sanjay Bhujel along with more than 100 others had last week trekked for over two hours through the dense Chapramari forest, dogging a herd of elephants on the way, to reach Gairibas.

The men – 112 of them – were fleeing Nagarkata where their homes were attacked allegedly by supporters of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parisad.

The 32-year-old secretary of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM)’s Nagrakata Block Committee is hopeful that he can soon get back to his wife and a five-month-old son after a meeting between chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and a delegation of the hill party in Calcutta last evening.

However, the Morcha  leader still believes that much groundwork needs to be done before he can feel secure enough to be with his family.

“I did follow the outcome of the meeting on TV. The fact that the chief minister has talked about compensation and normality has given us hope. But I still believe that it will take at least a week before we can go back home,” Bhujel told The Telegraph over the phone from a makeshift camp that has been set up by the Morcha at Gairibas in Kalimpong sub-division.

KALIMPONG: Bias charge after Calcutta meeting

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

A rally brought out by minority communities in Kalimpong for Gorkhaland. Picture by Chinlop Fudong Lepcha

Siliguri, Jan. 22: The Darjeeling district Left Front will write to the chief minister and its chairman Biman Bose demanding action against those responsible for violence in the hills and the Dooars ever since the Gorkhaland movement was revived by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) .

“We welcome the chief minister’s decision to sit across the table with the Morcha  leaders. But before the government considers its demand, it should also look into issues like compensating the affected families at Rohini where supporters of the hill party had set fire to 20 homes. The culprits responsible for the incident should be arrested,” said Asok Bhattacharya, the district left front convener and local MLA.

Bhattacharya, also the urban development minister, said it was Morcha supporters who had attacked his and sabhadhipati Mani Thapa’s vehicles. “They had also attacked the residence of Joachim Buxla, the RSP MP from Alipurduar. If the government takes action against people responsible for attacking Morcha supporters, the culprits of these incidents should be punished as well.”

The Morcha   leaders have been demanding permission to hold public meetings in the Dooars. But they never allow any other outfit to organise similar programmes in the hills, Bhattacharya said.

At a meeting in Writers Buildings yesterday, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had assured a Morcha delegation that action would be taken against those responsible for launching attacks on the party’s supporters during its Dooars Chalo movement.