www.kalimpong.info

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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The Telegraph

Calcutta, Jan. 15: The final hurdle to the introduction of night-landing facilities at Bagdogra airport has been cleared with the transport department announcing that the state government has agreed to acquire 14 acres for the purpose.

Transport secretary Sumantra Chowdhury said at Writers’ Buildings today that the government has already sent Rs 40 lakh to the Darjeeling district magistrate. “We need Rs 84 lakh to acquire the land and the rest of the amount will be sent soon,” he said. (more…)

Title: Anderson Bridge
Caption: 20th November 1933: The new Anderson bridge over the Teesta Valley in Bengal, with the old suspension bridge in the background. The new bridge links the road between India and Tibet. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
Date created: 20 Nov 1933
Photographer: Keystone/Stringer
Collection: Hulton Archive
Credit: Getty Images
Source: Hulton Archive

Title: Darjeeling, Cane Bridge c 1865.
Caption: INDIA – JANUARY 11: Photograph by Samuel Bourne of a footbridge over the Tista River leading into Bhootan (Bhutan), near the Indian town of Darjeeling, (now Darjiling, in West Bengal). Bourne, a pioneer of travel photography, began his working life as a bank clerk. ln 1863 he went to India where he established a studio in Simla, in partnership with Charles Shepherd. Between 1863 and 1870 he undertook several photographic expeditions, including trips to the Himalayas, producing a collection of landscape views unsurpassed in technical skill and compositional elegance. By 1870 the Bourne and Shepherd catalogue contained 2,000 views from all parts of the subcontinent. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

Date created: 11 Jan 2005
Photographer: Science & Society Picture Library/Contributor
Collection: SSPL
Credit: SSPL via Getty Images

The Telegraph
RAJEEV RAVIDAS

NTPC trainees at a rock-climbing session near Damsangri on Wednesday. (Chinlop Fudong Lepcha)

Kalimpong, Jan. 13: The nooks and corners of Kalimpong is a bundle of contradictions: they promise a holiday spent in the quiet and calm of the hills with an adrenaline high.

Determined to give more than what the other parts of the hills have to offer, the people of Damsangri, Sillerey, Tinchuley and Reshi, villages around Pedong, 20km from here, are focussing on adventure sports.

The USP includes crash crash courses in rock-climbing from experts, crossing rivers with ropes and bamboo or trekking for miles along the forests rich in flora and fauna.

The villages too have not been disappointed: they have been getting a steady flow of visitors even in the off season, which usually lasts till March.

“We are promoting these places through Explore New Darjeeling-campaign. The response has been encouraging,” said Sebastian Pradhan, the owner of Reshi Eco-Tourism Resort and the main person behind the campaign.

A team of 32 trainee engineers from the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) based in Farakka were visiting the area today to indulge in rock-climbing and river-crossing as part of their five-day training programme.

“I am really enjoying this new experience. We have never participated in such adventure activities in the past,” said Shravan Dasari, a team member.

For a day-long rock-climbing course, one has to pay Rs 300. According to Pradhan the amount has to be paid to the organisers who also arrange for the equipment. Experts train the interested individuals in groups of 20.

Amit Seth, co-trainer of New Horizon India Limited, which is organising the trip for the engineers, said they will organise similar programmes in the area for 60 more trainee engineers of the NTPC in the next couple of weeks.

These places are popular because they have managed to for retain their pristine character. “We only practice eco-friendly tourism. In Sillery, for instance, the local tourism development committee has resolved not to allow people from outside to indulge in any construction activities,” said Pradhan.

He added that a home stay project has been implemented in Damsangri. “Villagers are being encouraged to add a room or two to their houses with attached bathrooms to keep tourists,” said Pradhan.

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www.kalimpong.info

The Telegraph
VIVEK CHHETRI

Tribeni (Teesta), Jan. 13: Any car approaching the DGHC complex on the confluence of Teesta and Rangeet rivers is dutifully flagged down by a member of the Gorkhaland Personnel who then directs the vehicle to a parking space. The car enters through a makeshift gate to the “GLP camp” — a prominently inscribed signboard on the boundary walls of the complex.

In the compound, 35km from Darjeeling town, a flag of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha flutters in front of the unfinished three-storied building which houses the “office of camp commandant” and dormitories for members of the GLP, a special voluntary squad of the hill party with around 3,000 members. The party, however, puts the figure at 15,000. Within the complex, young boys, who are supposedly paid Rs 2,000 a month for their voluntary service to the party, practise march past. (more…)

Here’s an important and informative discourse on the demographic politics played in the Dooars since partition. The essay is a little heavy with the numbers, but the numbers are important so please do not be intimidated by the figures and the statistics. This is a very relevant article, and has important information for the inclusion of the Dooars in the state of Gorkhaland.

The article is a little long, but I decided to put the whole thing up without breaking it up into parts. Do take the time to read it all. Book mark the page if necessary.
-Admin

PRE-INDEPENDENCE The ethnic people, the autochthones, were the Rajbansis,[1] or the Koches,[2] the Totos and the Mechis[3] Dukpas and the Garos. I will not claim that the Gorkhas are indigenous to the Dooars, a claim the Bengalis too cannot assert, but one can claim that the Gorkhas are one of the oldest non-autochthones. This report will also attempt to show that over the passage of time the natives and the ancient settlers got swamped by the continuous flood of Bengali immigration to the extent of making the area a Bengali subdivision.

The Gorkhas in the Dooars is not a recent phenomenon and the Gazetteer of West Bengal Government itself admits: “They began to immigrate and settle down in the district (i.e. Jalpaiguri) especially in the western parts of the district, as agriculturalists, from the beginning of the eighteenth century.”[4] This would mean that the history of the Gorkhas in the Dooras stretches to a minimum of 300 years. The recorded accounts of the Gorkhas inhabiting the area in the days of yore are also to be found outside the official gazetteers. The official history of Cooch Behar mentions of a gang of Sanyasis that used to raid Cooch Behar in the 1770s. The group seems to be so large and strong that the State police and the armed forces of the Maharajah could not stop the raids and the Government of Cooch Behar had to seek assistance from the East India Company. Even the Company’s representative seems to have been frustrated and he eventually appealed to the Nepal king to intercede[5] since the Sanyasis were almost entirely Gorkhas. This book Cooch Beharer Itihas (in Bengali) documents that Nepalis (Gorkhas), Bhutanese and Bengal Moslems would often combine and attack Cooch Behar with deadly effect.[6] The same source enlightens us that prior to Sino-Gorkha War, Nepal used to send tribute to the Chinese Emperor through the Raja of Baikunthapur.[7] This would have been impossible if the Gorkha king did not have substantial influence over the ruler of the place. The Sanyais were active even as late as the 1770s and many of them were employed by the Bhutanese “as means of enforcing collection of tribute from recalcitrant payers.”[8] The second phase of Gorkhas settling in the Dooars, according to the Gazetteer, was “in the mid-nineteenth century” with the opening of the tea gardens[9] and even in this case the Gorkha history in the Dooars is 150 years old. (more…)

Via Getty Images

(Admin: The renowned Tharchin Babu)
Title: Newspaper Editor
Caption: circa 1959: Mr Tanshi, editor of The Tibetan Newspaper, beside the sign on the door of the Tibet Mirror Press at Kalimpong, Sikkim, India. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
Date created: 01 Jan 1959
Photographer: Keystone/Stringer
Collection: Hulton Archive
Credit: Getty Images
Source: Hulton Archive

Title: Bengali Market
Caption: 24th February 1951: A Tibetan lama or Buddhist monk, is seen in Kalimpong market, Northern Bengal, with a number of Nepalese and Indians.

Title: Tibetan Refugees
Caption: 24th February 1951: A Tibetan woman and her child in Kalimpong, northern Bengal, after fleeing Tibet following Chinese oppression in her homeland.

Title: Tibetan Family
Caption: A Tibetan mother and child on the road between Tibet and Kalimpong, Bengal.
Original Publication: Picture Post – 5210 – Tibet Dissolves – pub. 1951 (Photo by Bert Hardy/Getty Images)
Date created: 24 Feb 1951

(For last 3 photographs)
Original Publication: Picture Post – 5210 – Tibet Dissolves – pub. 1951 (Photo by Bert Hardy/Picture Post/Getty Images)
Date created: 24 Feb 1951
Photographer: Bert Hardy/Stringer
Collection: Hulton Archive
Credit: Getty Images
Source: Hulton Archive

Hat tip to Mr. (Transhimalaya) Tempa for pointing me towards the images.

(Click on the photos for full images)

The Times of India

GJM seeks consensus on Gorkhaland
TNN, 8 January 2010, 05:07am IST

DARJEELING: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) has started the process of garnering political consensus on the issue of creating Gorkhaland.

From Thursday, a letter of appeal on the Gorkhaland demand is being sent to more than 22 national and regional political parties. “We are sending letters to the presidents of various national and regional parties from today, seeking their support for creation of a state of Gorkhaland,” GJM secretary Roshan Giri said in Darjeeling on Thursday. (more…)

From: HImalayan Times, Kalimpong
Thursday, January 7, 2010

GORKHALAND & TELANGANA – States of Confusion

By Sandip C Jain
Editor, Himalayan Times, Kalimpong

Whether the dramatic green signal shown by the otherwise honourable Union Minister for Home Affairs Mr.P.Chidarambaram to the people of the Telangana region for their demand of re-de-merger, will actually translate into the creation of the twenty-ninth state of the Indian Union or whether it will turn out to be one of the biggest con act pulled out in the Political history of Independent India, still remain a part of the next Act. Only time will tell whether a new state of Telngana will become a reality or whether the midnight assurance given by the Government of India to the Telangana Rastriya Samity was just a ploy to make its supremo K.Chandrashekhara Rao, withdraw his 11 days hunger strikes. Telangana’s fate appears as hazy and shrouded in mystery as the polices of the Central government in matters relating to creation of new states in India.

For the time being of course, all it has managed to do is to set ablaze all the three regions of Andhra Pradesh, (Telangana, Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra Pradesh) which now the Central Government and the Congress Party in particular will find extremely different to extinguish and even if it somehow manages to bring this raging inferno into control, it will only do so at the expense of being severely scalded itself. (more…)