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The Times of India
Jayanta Gupta, TNN, 31 January 2010, 02:39am IST

KOLKATA: It’s an ascent from the mundane to the exhilarating. A group of journeymen from Scotland plan to cycle from Kolkata to Kalimpong a 665 km journey from sea level to 4,600 feet above with adrenaline in their blood and charity on their lips.

The expedition, which will kick off from Kolkata on Valentine’s Day, is aimed at raising funds for Dr Graham’s Homes School, a Kalimpong institution for over a century.

Most of the 11 members of the group, including two women, are above 50 years old. “The 11-member team will arrive in Kolkata by February 13 with their bicycles. These are packed in cases and have to be carefully re-assembled. They have plans to leave for Kalimpong at 8 am on February 14 from near the Baptist Mission Church on AJC Bose Road. They hope to reach Kalimpong on February 20,” said Farokh Sabawalla, who is making arrangements for the team in Kolkata.

Dr Graham’s Homes School, which stands on a 500-acre estate, was founded by Rev Dr John Anderson Graham in 1900 for poor children. Till 2008, nearly 8,000 students had passed out from here. For many years now, the UK Committee for Dr Graham’s Homes a charity registered in Scotland has been raising funds for the establishment’s upkeep and maintenance of the children.

This is not the first time that the committee has organised such a ride. In February 2006, nine cyclists successfully completed the journey. They passed through towns and villages and succeeded in collecting over ?20,000 for the school. In 2008, 10 cyclists repeated the feat and raised ?40,000.

The committee selects a team of up to 20 members for the ride. Members have to own a mountain bicycle and possess a reasonable degree of fitness, which means they have to be able to cycle between 70-130 km per day. The members have paid ? 1,500 each for expenses. Each member will also have to express his or her willingness to raise at least ?1,000 for Dr Graham’s Homes either through collections of ?100 each or by organising a charity event. The purpose of the organisation is to help a child Walk this Earth with Dignity’.

The organisers have made it clear that the membership fees or any other expense will not be subsidised by making use of charity funds. Though the ride is bound to be gruelling, the team has been told that it is not a race and members may choose to put their bikes into the back-up vehicle and travel in comfort. Till date, few have actually done that.

After starting from the Kolkata, the team will stop at Krishnagar (63 miles). On Day 2, they will cover 55 miles up to Behrampore. The next stop will be at Kaliachak (53 miles from Behrampore). On Day 4, they will halt for the night at Gajole after a 54-mile ride. On Day 6, they will cover 82 miles between Dalkhola and Siliguri. On the final day, they will make the 44 mile climb to Kalimpong.

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The Times of India
TNN, 30 January 2010, 04:10am IST

DARJEELING: In an apparent climbdown, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) is weighing the option of settling for an interim council rather than the earlier stand of nothing short of a Gorkhaland state. It is also willing to give up its claim on the large parts of Dooars and Siliguri, where it is facing stiff opposition to its statehood call, senior GJM leaders said on Friday.

According to sources, the GJM leadership may opt for a council, within a limited time-frame, having wider legislative and financial powers and a larger geographical area than the present Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC).

GJM, which is facing strong resistance from the Adivasi and Bengali communities in the Dooars and Siliguri, has decided to leave out these “troublesome” parts and instead concentrate on including Gorkha-dominated areas.

Announcing this at a public meeting at Jholung in Kalimpong subdivision on Thursday, GJM chief Bimal Gurung said he has sent a secret proposal to this effect to the Union government for its consideration by 2011. Because of resistance from the Adivasis, a slight change in the name of the proposed “new state” has also been suggested to Delhi, he added.

Though Gurung did not elaborate on his proposal, senior GJM leaders hinted that he could be talking about an interim council with additional powers.

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PTI

STAFF WRITER 19:27 HRS IST

Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung has written to Union Home minister P Chidamabaram, curtailing the territorial boundary of the proposed Gorkhaland state to make the demand for a separate state “more logical”.

“Gorkhaland would now include only Gorkha-dominated areas in the Darjeeling hills and contiguous areas to make the demand for statehood more logical’,” GJM spokesperson Harkabahadur Chetri told PTI from Kalimpong where Gurung was camping.

“The proposal was sent to the Union Home Minister on January 27,” Chetri, a GJM Central Committee member said. “There is no point in including those areas where there is resistance to our demand,” Chetri said. Earlier, the GJM had demanded that Siliguri sub-division in Darjeeling district in the plains and the contiguous Dooars areas in Jalpaiguri district be included in Gorkhaland. “Only those areas in the Dooars where the Gorkhas are in a majority are included in the redefined map of proposed Gorkhaland to make our demand for statehood more logical,” he said. To a question Chetri said that Gurung had said that he had given New Delhi time till 2011 to consider the proposal.

Explaining the factors that had influenced the GJM’s curtailment of the areas, Chhetri said these were the reasons behind state government’s opposition to the statehood demand and the Centre delaying the process of Telengana statehood.

The GJM leaders had also realised that a decision could not be taken by 2011 when the state assembly elections were due and Trinamool Congress and Congress alliance, which were opposed to the Gorkhaland demand, could upset the equation, he said. The territorial boundary, he said, was redefined on the suggestions of a study group set up by the GJM, he said.

Chetri claimed that in the plains there were certain adivasi-dominated areas where there was absolute support for Gorkhaland and would not be left out. The GJM also wanted to include areas in Siliguri subdivision where Rajbanshis also wanted a separate state. “Of course this will be done with the consent of the Rajbanshis,” he said.

GJM’s bid to expand base in the Dooars had earlier met with resistance that had led to frequent clashes with the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad. The Left Front in Jalpaiguri had also warned the people against separatist forces attempting to divide the people in the name of Gorkhaland, Kamtapur and Greater Cooch Behar. Tripartite talks at the administrative level on Gorkhaland in Darjeeling on December 21 had failed to reach an agreement with the Centre saying political consensus needed to be created on the demand by GJM which had sought the next round of talks within 45 days.

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The Telegraph
VIVEK CHHETRI AND RAJEEV RAVIDAS

Darjeeling, Jan. 29: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung is willing to change the name of Gorkhaland, the state that his party wants, to make the statehood demand more acceptable to all communities spread across the hills and the Dooars.

The Morcha president has mentioned this in the “secret proposal” that he has sent to Delhi to make the granting of statehood more “palatable” to the Centre.

In an interaction with The Telegraph, Gurung said: “One of the important points in the proposal (sent to the Centre) is a slight change in the name (of the state the Morcha has been demanding). This is being done because of certain problems in the Dooars.”

Gurung, however, did not spell out the new name that he has in mind.

In the last one year, as the Morcha has been trying to make its presence felt in the Dooars, there have been several clashes between the Gorkhas and the adivasis who are opposed to the inclusion of the Dooars in Gorkhaland that the hill party wants.

The Morcha has been demanding that not only the three hill subdivisions of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong and Siliguri subdivision be part of “Gorkhaland”, but also the Dooars which comprises almost half of Jalpaiguri district.

The majority population in the Dooars consists of adivasis. Even in the foothill areas of Kalimpong subdivision, like Gorubathan, there is a sizeable presence of the tribal community. “The idea behind changing the name Gorkhaland is to make the statehood demand more inclusive one,” a Morcha leader said. “After all, other than the Gorkhas, communities like the adivasis, Lepchas and the Bhutias also live in the hills and the foothills. They should also be made to feel that they are part of the new state that the Morcha has been demanding.” While the adivasis form about 60 per cent of the population in the Dooars, the Lepchas and the Bhutias, who live in the hills, constitute 15 per cent of the population there.

However, the “secret proposal” that Gurung has sent to Delhi has redefined the geographical area of “Gorkhaland” to include only the Gorkha dominated areas of the hills and the Dooars and not the entire region.

But in its efforts to woo the adivasis, the Morcha, during its programmes in the foothills and the Dooars and Terai, calls itself the Gorkha Janmukti Adivasi Morcha and uses a flag with the symbol of a bow alongside the Gorkha khukuri.

However, going by Gurung’s words that there would only be a “slight change” to the name Gorkhaland, observers believe that the Morcha would retain the word Gorkha, but coin another word or words to represent other communities, especially the adivasis.

“Since the Morcha’s demand for a separate state is based on the issue of the identity of the Gorkhas, Gurung is unlikely to drop the word Gorkha altogether,” said a Morcha leader.

But Gurung has made it clear that the “secret proposal” he has submitted to the Centre pertains to the “fundamental demand for statehood”, and has nothing to do with an interim arrangement. “I am least interested in an interim council,” Gurung said.

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The Telegraph

Darjeeling/Siliguri, Jan. 28: The All Hill Transport Joint Action Committee today threatened to call an indefinite strike if the administration continues to “harass” drivers of hill vehicles in the plains. The threat came on a day the outfit had called a 24-hour wheel jam in the three hill subdivisions.

Narbu Lama, the president of the committee affiliated to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, said: “Drivers of vehicles from Darjeeling are being harassed as we have stopped paying road taxes to the government. They (the administration) want us to get our papers updated in Siliguri, which we have refused to do.” (more…)

The Telegraph
VIVEK CHHETRI AND RAJEEV RAVIDAS

Jholung (Kalimpong), Jan. 28: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung today said he had sent a “secret proposal” to Delhi to make the demand for statehood more “palatable”.

Although he refused to elaborate, Morcha sources said the “secret” document had redefined the geographical area of “Gorkhaland” to include only the Gorkha-dominated areas of the hills and the Dooars and not the entire region, as had been its demand so far.

In a map drawn up and circulated by the Morcha earlier, “Gorkhaland” included not only the three hill sub-divisions of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong, but also the entire Siliguri sub-division and the Dooars which make up around half of Jalpaiguri district.

If the Morcha sticks to its revised stand, it will mean that only those areas in the Dooars with considerable presence of Gorkhas, not the entire region, will be included in the demand for a Gorkhaland state.

In the past year, as the Morcha tried to establish its presence in the Dooars, frequent clashes have broken out between the Gorkhas and the Adivasis who are opposed to the demand for a Gorkha state.

In a further “concession”, Gurung said he had given Delhi time till 2011 to deliberate on and consider the “secret proposal”.

Morcha sources said this apparent softening in Gurung’s stand was a reflection of the pressure being brought upon him by members of the party’s central committee to settle for an “interim arrangement” instead of insisting on “nothing short of immediate statehood”.

This is because, Morcha sources said, many of the central committee members have realised that given the political compulsions of the Centre against the backdrop of the events surrounding the Telangana flare-up, Delhi is unlikely to agree to the Morcha’s statehood demand.

Besides, Morcha leaders also realise that the Trinamul Congress is the second-largest partner in the UPA government and that Mamata Banerjee would never agree to a bifurcation of Bengal.

Gurung said he would reveal the contents of the “secret proposal” before the next round of tripartite talks. “I will make it public before the fifth round of tripartite talks, whether or not the Centre responds to it by then,” Gurung said. “But I can assure you that the proposal will benefit the three hill sub-divisions, Siliguri and the Dooars.”

The latest round of tripartite talks was held in Darjeeling on December 21. Delhi had said it would announce the dates for the next round by February 6.

However, despite his assurance that he has given Delhi till 2011 to respond, there was little indication today of any let-up in the statehood movement the Morcha has launched.

A daily two-hour blockade of roads in the hills is on and Gurung urged his supporters to “keep up the momentum of the movement” and “not to lose sight of their goal”.

“The movement will continue in its current form to keep up the pressure on both the state and the Centre, but there might not be something drastic like an indefinite shutdown of the hills as has happened on a few occasions earlier,” a Morcha leader said. “But in the end, everything depends on Bimal Gurung.”

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The Telegraph
VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, Jan. 27: The Janmukti Asthahi Karmachari Sangathan has decided to stop all DGHC tenders for development work from being processed from February 7, a move the union of casual workers hopes will force the government to grant permanent job status soon to its members.

The Sangathan is a Gorkha Janmukti Morcha affiliate and its decision is likely to halt all new projects, expected to be carried out this year. (more…)

The discovery of the photograph of the Tibetan Mirror Press and its editor Mr. Tharchin (or Rev. G. Tharchin, or Tharchin Babu) necessitates the stitching together of some past stories…

Dr. Sonam Wangyal’s essay about Tharchin Babu titled “Kalimpong’s Lonely Warrior” had a wonderful description of the editor of the Tibet Mirror Press and Kalimpong personality.

However, Tharchin, a Ladakh-born Tibetan who made Kalimpong his home is remembered not for the way he dressed or looked but for a journal he wrote. … Tharchin Babu is and will forever be reminisced for Tibet Mirror which was the only Tibetan language journal ‘in the whole world’. It was read from the grand monasteries of Lhasa to the Oriental departments of esteemed European universities, and it was eagerly awaited upon by the foreign offices of Washington, Peking (Beijing), London, Moscow and New Delhi. When the Chinese presence in Lhasa intensified Tibet Mirror responded with salvos of anti Chinese, anti communist and anti Mao Tse Tung articles.

The photograph from the previous post then put a face to the description. We also see the elegant and proud sign of Tibet Mirror Press back then in 1957.

Then we have yet another photograph that I had taken in Dec 2008 of the present state of the poor press:

It is a pity that Kalimpong’s rich and colorful history has been reduced to this.

… the Kalimpong Calling blog has one of its quarterly updates.

The Telegraph

Darjeeling, Jan. 21: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has decided to set up road blockades from 12 noon, instead of 10am, from tomorrow for the benefit of shoppers from far-flung areas in the hills.

Barring a blockade at Panchnoi on the outskirts of Siliguri, no other Morcha road barricades were set up in the Terai and the Dooars or on NH31 and NH31A, the lifeline to Sikkim. Some blockades were, however, set up in and around Kalimpong town. (more…)

Latest post from Save The Hills.

Whereas there is crucial and immediate necessity of a sustained holistic landslide management program (with much of our work being done during these dry months…) we whittle away precious resources and waste valuable time only to see a recurrence of the entire cycle of events and with much more ferocity and vengeance in just about 120days from now.

Do not be complacent coz it’s dry right now.

Here’s a YouTube video of the Dec 18th procession in Kalimpong.
Thanks to uploader ‘banbikas1′.

Follow this link for more photographs.

Kuensel Newspaper
Contributed by Tshering Tashi
Co-author of Bold Bhutan Beckons

19 January, 2010 – Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel (1594-1651?), who died more than three and half centuries ago, perhaps never visited Kolkata in his times, but a statue of him sits on the landing of a staircase on the third floor of its Asiatic Society building.

The 250-year old statue is a work of art and measures about six feet. The wooden plaque below it reads, “Brass Image of Dhurm Raja. Found at the capture of the Buxa Duar on 7 December 1864.” In bold letters, it is printed, “SAID TO BE HUNDRED YEARS OLD.”

The statue is believed to have been found by Captain Hadyat Ally in the Buxa duar foothills, one of the duars (gateways) to Bhutan. Captain Ally donated it to the Asiatic Society in the City of Joy.

Bhutan fought a war against the British in 1864-65. The small Bhutanese army, equipped with stones and matchlocks, were no match for the British army’s mortar’s and rifles. On November 12, 1864, the Governor General of India issued a proclamation of war against Bhutan. By the end of November, preparation of all military operations had been completed. By 19 December the British had annexed the Bengal duars, which includes the Buxa duar.

This water colour was painted by Lt Col. Armstrong (Engineers) at Dalimkote during the Bhutan war of 1865. It is currently on sale on e-Bay.

Buxa duar is what Bhutanese know today as Pasakha, part of which is still in Bhutan’s possession. This duar is one of the oldest towns in West Bengal. According to American scholar John Ardussi, an expert in Bhutanese history, “Buxa was truly the most ancient trade mart between India and Bhutan, going back centuries.”

However, Nicholas Rhodes, who has compiled the duar war documents, has raised some doubts about the size of the fort in Buxa capable of housing such a statue. Paintings and written records of that time do not show or mention any large monastery.

But records maintained by Captain Warren, a british officer, who served during the duar war, says that ‘Buxa itself consisted of a large two-storied house, substantially built, with carved verandahs on the upper storey – this was used for a hospital and as officers’ quarters.”

So where could such a statue have come from? Before the Anglo-Bhutan War, in addition to the Buxa fort, Bhutan had three other hill forts. The first fort is the Yongla goempa and the only one in present Bhutan. The second fort hill is between Kalimpong and Sikkim, India. John Ardussi, describes the location, “The Damsang Dzong is on a hill above Pedong, on the road from Kalimpong up to Tibet. This small hilltop fort is at least of 17th century vintage, and is now in ruins. Ardussi said, “The Bhutanese during the 18th century took over this area and held it until the British seized it in the 1865 war.”

The third and the most likely place for the origin of the statue is the fort hill of Dalimkote. It is a long way from Buxa, about 45 miles west and much closer to Kalimpong. According to Ardussi, Buxa and Dalimkha did have a monastery during the 18th century. Kalimpong district was annexed by the British after the war, along with 18 Duars that had previously been part of Bhutan.

Dasho Zepon Wangchuk supports Ardussi. He knows that the Paro monk body appointed the chief abbot of that monastery. Oral history records Lam Sangay Dali Jamtsho as the last abbot of the fortress. Oral stories, commonly told in Haa, talk of how Lam Sangay built a replacement monastery in Haa after the fortress of Dalimkot was razed to the ground.

Written British records describe the attack on the fort of Dalimkot, “a detachment of 400 infantry with the artillery, went up against Dalimkote, on the 6th of December…”

After ten hours of bombing the fort, the British took possession of it. The British suffered, “eight of their men were killed and fifty-six wounded.”

Ardussi explores another option. “When this war broke out, or at the threat of war, might not the Bhutan government have had the monk body transport this large statue to the frontier, for the purpose of imposing a kind of “protective” guardianship?

According to the librarian of the Asiatic Society “scrolls of paper were found with the chant of Aditya inside the statue.” In the Rigveda, the Adityas are the seven celestial lords. For Buddhists, it is a normal practice to put scrolls of paper with appropriate chants inside statues. Without these chants, a statue is just an art piece.

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The Telegraph

Darjeeling, Jan. 18: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has decided to hold “mass rallies” and two-hour blockades from Thursday to demand a final date for the fifth round of tripartite talks on Gorkhaland.

“During the fourth round (of negotiations on December 21), we had demanded political-level talks and the government was to respond within 45 days. The deadline (of 45 days) comes to an end on February 6, but we have decided to hold rallies and blockades from January 21,” said Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri, indicating that the party would keep the government under pressure till the date was finalised for the fifth round. The decision to start a fresh agitation was taken by Morcha president Bimal Gurung at a meeting yesterday. (more…)

The Economic Times

17 Jan 2010, 1214 hrs IST, AGENCIES

KOLKATA: Former West Bengal Chief Minister and senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Jyoti Basu, who suffered multi-organ failure, passed away in Kolkata on Sunday. Basu was given a temporary pacemaker early on Sunday morning.

Doctors at the AMRI Hospital, where Basu was undergoing treatment had stated that his heartbeat had dropped below 50 when the normal is 60 and a temporary pacemaker had been installed.

The SLEDD, which was to be underway for eight hours, was stopped after seven-and-a-half hours because of the drop in blood pressure.

On Thursday Basu’s lung congestion had reduced, while his pulse rate and blood pressure was stable.

The veteran leader was admitted to the AMRI hospital on January 1 following a severe chest infection.

Doctors there said he was suffering from slight pneumonia.

Basu was last admitted to the hospital in July 2009 complaining of discomfort in the abdomen and of disturbed sleep.

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