[Onthebarricades] Satyagraha against power project in Sikkim, north India

[Andy]

A protest movement has been launched against hydro-electric power projects 
in northern parts of Sikkim in India, particularly regarding attempts to 
divert a river in Dzondza.  The movement is led by the indigenous Lepchas 
who claim the affected area is sacred to them and that constitutional 
protections involved in the incorporation of Sikkim into India are being 
violated.  The campaign is taking the classic form of a satyagraha or 
non-violence movement, including marches, rotating fasts and suchlike. 
Despite this emphasis on non-violence the movement has faced repression.

India has faced ongoing protests against its massive hydroelectric schemes, 
which are nearly always located in the impoverished and tribal areas of the 
north, such as the long campaign against the Narmada Dam project.  The 
schemes generally destroy farmland and indigenous ways of life without 
compensation, whereas the benefits flow mainly to the rich and the state.

The last article attached does not deal directly with the protests but helps 
locate the issue in a broader persistence of colonial reasoning in India.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/09/13/stories/2007091354420900.htm

Protest against hydel projects in north Sikkim spreads
Special Correspondent
Hunger-strikes by Lepchas in Darjeeling and Kalimpong of West Bengal; Delhi 
dharna planned

Kolkata: The hunger-strike by members of the Affected Citizens of Teesta 
(ACT), an organisation largely made up of Lepcha ethnic community in Sikkim, 
entered its 85th day in Gangtok on Wednesday.
A renewed appeal by the Sikkim government to call it off has been rejected. 
The organisation is demanding the scrapping of hydel power projects proposed 
in the north of the State.
What started as an indefinite strike has turned into a relay. Similar 
hunger-strikes have been launched in Darjeeling and Kalimpong by members of 
the Lepcha community in neighbouring West Bengal and moves are on to spread 
the movement, Dawa Tshering Lepcha, general secretary ACT, told The Hindu 
from Gangtok.
A fresh phase of protests is also being planned in New Delhi, he added. The 
ACT is opposing the Sikkim government's proposal to set up seven hydel power 
projects in the Dzongu area north of the State - a region that falls within 
the Lepcha tribal reserved area and has a population of nearly 8,000. There 
are less than 45,000 Lepchas, barely five per cent of the State's 
population, across Sikkim.
Dzongu considered sacred
"Dzongu is considered sacred by all Lepchas. The community originated from 
the region and the setting up of mega projects there is being opposed on 
grounds that they pose not just a demographic threat to the community, but a 
threat to its traditions and culture and the environment as well," Mr. 
Lepcha said.
In an appeal in the form of a letter to ACT president, the Sikkim Chief 
Secretary had stated that the Cabinet has approved setting up of a 
seven-member review committee to "examine issues relating to the 
implementation of hydel projects in North Sikkim." The committee has been 
directed to submit its report within 100 days. Till then activities in five 
proposed projects will stop, the letter added.
"We have rejected the setting up of the committee as we have not been 
consulted regarding its constitution. One condition of ours was that half 
its members be eminent environmentalists drawn from outside the State," Mr. 
Lepcha said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSSP65944

Ancient India tribe marches against power project
Sat Oct 6, 2007 7:47am EDT

By Bappa Majumdar

KOLKATA, India, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Thousands of Indian tribespeople protested 
on Saturday against the construction of hydro power projects on what they 
say is sacred land in the remote northeast, officials said.

The ancient Buddhist Lepchas, who say they are already marginalised by the 
growing population of ethnic Hindu Nepalis in the region, strongly oppose 
the project in Dzongu mountain, which they regard as the abode of their 
guardian god of the mountains.

"Dzongu is a reserved territory of the Lepchas and we will protect the land 
of our forefathers with the last drop of blood," said Tseten Lepcha of the 
Affected Citizens of Teesta.

There are plans to construct at least six hydro power projects along the 
Teesta river in the tiny Himalayan state of Sikkim to generate more than 
3,000 MW of power.

The protest was seen spreading on Saturday after thousands of Lepchas were 
seen holding placards and shouting "Stop the project" and "Protect Dzongu", 
on the streets of Kalimpong, a tourist town in neighbouring West Bengal 
state, witnesses said.

The ancient Lepchas traditionally revere the Teesta river, and fear its 
disappearance into a series of proposal tunnels will be accompanied by their 
own marginalisation.

It will also cause widespread destruction of vegetation and kill thousands 
of rare fish, they say.

Several rounds of talks with the government have failed to resolve the 
dispute.

"The parleys have all failed and they want nothing less than scrapping of 
the Teesta project, which is impossible," B.B. Gooroong, chief adviser to 
the government, said on Saturday.

The 100,000 Lepchas living in the two states are now coming together on the 
issue.

"Dzongu is all that is left to us, how can we let them destroy it," added 
Dawa Lepcha.

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=10&theme=&usrsess=1&id=172754

Lepcha rally in Kalimpong draws thousands
Statesman News Service
GANGTOK, Oct. 7: Over 5,000 people took part in a mass rally organised by 
members of the Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association at Kalimpong yesterday 
to protest against upcoming hydroelectric power projects at Dzongu, a Lepcha 
reserve in North Sikkim.
People from Nepali, Bhutia and Lepcha communities ad members of various 
social organisations took part in the rally that started from 10th Mile 
Fatak and culminated at Damber Chowk, a stretch of five kilometre.
"We will do whatever we can to stop setting up of hydel power projects at 
Dzongu," said Mr Lyangsong Tamsang, president of ILTA.
The Lepchas from Kailmpong and Darjeeling have already started hunger-strike 
to express their solidarity with members of the Affetted Citizens of Teesta 
who have launched a tirade against the Sikkim government over the issue. The 
relay hunger-strike of the Lepchas has completed 108 days in Sikkim, 47 days 
in Kalimpong and 37 days in Darjeeling.
Mr Dilip Kumar Pradhan, a member of Seva Kalyan Samiti, said: "Not only 
Lepchas, all people should oppose the Sikkim government's bid to disturb the 
sanctity of Dzongu." Those who participated in the rally included members of 
the Government Pensioners' Association, Seva Kalyan Samiti, All India Nepali 
Scheduled Caste Association, Kalimpong, Darjeeling Hill Muslim Association 
and Milanee Club.

http://www.newkerala.com/oct.php?action=fullnews&id=7986

Peace rally to protest mega hydel power projects in Sikkim

Gangtok, Oct 2: Police today detained many monks and youth of the Lepcha 
community when they attempted to take out a peace procession towards Gandhi 
statue to focus their plight in Sikkim.  About 100 monks and Lepcha youths 
under the banner of Sangha of Dzongu (SOD) and Concerned Lepchas of Sikkim 
(CLOS) carrying a portrait of the Father of Nation took out a rally with 
banners, prayer flags along with the tri-colour to protest proposed erection 
of dams and setting up power projects in tribal north Sikkim.  Along with 
the Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT), both the organizations have been 
spearheading a Satyagraha against the proposed implementation of mega hydel 
power projects in north district.  As their relay hunger strike entered its 
104th day today, the rallyists were proceeding to offer floral tributes to 
Mahatma Gandhi's statue at M G Marg here.  The detention came after the 
rallyists defied an order to remove the banners and stopped slogans, except 
the national flag, before proceeding towards the statue.  Police detained 
about 25 people, including monks and later allowed the remaining people in 
groups to offer their tributes to the Mahatma sans banners and posters. 
East Sikkim Superintendent of Police (SP) M S Tuli said the procession did 
not take any permission as required under Section 30 A of the Police Act. 
Mr Tuli said the leaders of the rally would be detained under 151 Cr Pc to 
prevent further trouble while the others would be released.  Meanwhile, a 
state-level function to tribute Mahatma Gandhi was also organized at the 
same place. --- UNI

http://www.hindu.com/2007/10/07/stories/2007100754401200.htm

Hydro-power projects in Sikkim to be reviewed
Aarti Dhar
NEW DELHI: The Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT), whose agitation demanding 
a halt to all hydro-power projects in Sikkim completed 100 days, got an 
assurance from the Planning Commission that some aspects of the proposed 
projects in the region, particularly in Sikkim, will be reviewed.
An ACT delegation, which met five members of the Commission earlier this 
week, told The Hindu that the members had assured them that a committee 
would be set up to look into "some aspects" of the projects.
The ACT has also submitted a petition to the Supreme Court's Empowered 
Committee to stay the projects, said Dawa Lepcha, ACT general secretary.
The Lepchas, identified as one of the three ethnic tribal communities of 
Sikkim, have been protesting against the projects as they pass through their 
'sacred land' Dzongu. They believe that the rivers and the peaks in Dzongu 
are their places of origin and final resting, and they will be affected due 
to the projects.

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main34.asp?filename=cr290907SATYAGRAHA.asp

Satyagraha For The Teesta
Protestors from across Sikkim are on hunger strike against projects on the 
river. NEERAJ VAGHOLIKAR reports

Mountain in a river: Excavated material
dumped back in the Teesta to slow its waters
Photo: Manju Menon
The Sikkim government's plans to expedite a major plumbing exercise - 
involving 26 large hydroelectric projects in the ecologically and culturally 
sensitive Teesta river basin - is meeting with resistance. Protestors have 
joined together in an organisation called the Affected Citizens of Teesta 
(ACT); they have been on satyagraha against these plans since June 20. The 
ongoing protests are focused on projects proposed in North Sikkim, 
particularly in Dzongu, the holy land and exclusive reserve of the Lepcha 
tribe. The satyagraha has been characterised by a prominent youth presence; 
another important feature was the support lent by the state's Buddhist 
monks, who have been offering prayers to protect the satyagrahis and the 
sacred landscape threatened with desecration.
While Sikkim has seen dam-related protests before, there have never been any 
on this scale. The 1990s saw the construction of the 60MW Rangit project, 
clearances for the 510MW Teesta V project (currently under construction) and 
the scrapping of the Rathong Chu project following protests about its impact 
on a sacred landscape. But in the last three years, the state government has 
signed MOUs for no less than 26 large hydroelectric projects in the state.

Relay team: Protestors who are on a hunger
strike demanding the scrapping of the project
Courtesy:Weepingssikkim.com
On December 12, 2006, ACT met Chief Minister Pawan Chamling. They demanded 
the scrapping of the projects in Dzongu, and sought a review of the other 
projects in Sikkim. Based on an assurance from the CM that these issues 
would be looked into, they called off a proposed rally in Gangtok. But ACT's 
concerns were not addressed and in the months preceding the satyagraha, the 
state government started land acquisition procedures for the 1200MW Teesta 
III and the 280MW Panan projects, both of which involve construction work 
inside Dzongu. This was the last straw and ACT started its satyagraha on 
June 20, with 34-year-old Dawa Lepcha and 20- year-old Tenzing Lepcha on an 
indefinite fast, while others supported them with a relay hunger strike.
The arguments used to justify these large projects in Sikkim are: 
exploitation of the state's perennial water system to produce power for the 
nation; economic benefits to the state through power export; employment 
generation and low displacement of local communities. However, several 
unique features of the state - its ecological and geological fragility, its 
indigenous communities, their cultural and spiritual association with the 
river system and the landscape - pose a challenge to these ambitious plans.
The erstwhile kings of Sikkim had accorded special legal protection to 
Dzongu and North Sikkim, further reinforced after the merger with India 
through constitutional protection of old laws and traditions. "The spurt of 
large hydel projects in Sikkim is in direct contradiction of the 
constitutional and legal protection given to us. The simultaneous 
construction of so many projects is going to involve an influx of a huge 
number of outside labour for a long period of time. These demographic 
changes are going to have a serious socio cultural impact, particularly in 
North Sikkim. We want the seven proposed projects in Dzongu scrapped and 
others in Sikkim reviewed," says Dawa Lepcha of ACT.

The ministry of Environment & Forests (MOEF), while granting environmental 
clearance to the 510MW Teesta V project in 1999 asked for a detailed 
'carrying capacity' study of the entire Teesta river basin. The clearance 
letter states: "No other project in Sikkim will be considered for 
environmental clearance till the carrying capacity study is completed."

Solidarity: The Lepchas of the Darjeeling
hills also support the Sikkim agitators
Photo: Azuk Lepcha
Pemzang Tenzing, a civil engineer and ACT member, says: "We were hopeful 
that this process would enable a comprehensive assessment of the cumulative 
impact of the many proposed hydel projects and a serious options assessment 
for ecologically and culturally sensitive development in Sikkim. But even as 
the study is being finalised, the MOEF has already granted environmental 
clearance to at least six hydel projects in Sikkim since 2004 in violation 
of its own condition." At least two of these - the 1,200 MW Teesta III and 
the 280 MW Panan - are on the border of the Khangchendzonga National Park. A 
large part of the first is, in fact, inside the biosphere reserve and the 
second involves carrying out ancillary works inside the national park in 
violation of Supreme Court orders.
Tenzing adds, "Even as per official figures, the projects involve diverting 
up to 85-90 percent of the river flow in the lean season through long 
tunnels before the water is dropped downstream. Not only will this destroy 
the riverine ecology but a cascade of projects will mean the Teesta is in 
full flow only in brief stretches between the two hydel projects. That is 
why we are saying that the Teesta is being converted into an underground 
river."
There have been repeated appeals from the state government to withdraw the 
satyagraha and at least six rounds of talks were held between the government 
and ACT, but none led to a conclusive breakthrough. After a personal appeal 
from the CM, Dawa and Tenzing withdrew their indefinite fast on August 21 
after 63 days, but the satyagraha continues with the relay hunger strike by 
other members.

On September 6, the government informed ACT that a seven-member review 
committee is being set up to "examine various issues related to 
implementation of hydel projects in Dzongu area of North Sikkim" and that 
until the submission of a report by the committee within 100 days all 
activities related to five projects in Dzongu would be stopped with 
immediate effect. The government has conveniently left out two major 
projects directly impacting Dzongu - TeestaIII & Teesta IV. While it has 
chosen to leave out Teesta III where land acquisition procedures have been 
on, four of the five projects it claims to stop work on are yet to get 
necessary clearances to start work. On September 10, ACT rejected this 
proposition and renewed the demand for scrapping all hydel projects in 
Dzongu.
During this entire period there has been tremendous support to the 
satyagrahis from around the country and the world. The Lepchas in the 
Darjeeling hills have also lent their support to the cause, with a road 
blockade of NH31A as well as ongoing relay hunger strikes in Kalimpong and 
Darjeeling. Opposition parties have also taken up the issue, but this has 
been conveniently used by the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front government to 
dismiss the entire protest as being "politically motivated". In a speech on 
Independence Day, the CM made personal attacks on several individuals 
associated with the protests, including respected Buddhist monk Sonam Paljor 
Denjongpa. The attack was condemned even by those who support the hydel 
projects.
Sikkim's Information and Public Relations secretary MG Kiran says: "We do 
not yet know what their (ACT's) problem is. These are benign projects and we 
can handle them well." It is ironic that just a few months ago, the state 
Chief Secretary admitted to an environmental governance crisis in the 510MW 
Teesta V project in an affidavit to the Supreme Court-appointed Central 
Empowered Committee. The affidavit says the power company has "grossly 
violated the terms, conditions and guidelines" of the MOEF and dumped 
excavated material "into the river Teesta obstructing its free flow causing 
thereby huge damage to the forest and environment."

http://nagarealm.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4496

Stabbing the mountains

Posted byadminonSaturday, September 29, 2007

In May 2003, the Centre launched the 50,000 MW hydroelectric initiative as a 
step forward to tap the near 78 per cent unutilised hydropower potentials in 
the country. In all 162 new hydroelectric projects across 16 Indian states 
were proposed and the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation was 
identified as the nodal agency for execution.

The North-east topped the list with 76 hydroelectric projects proposed 
across Sikkim, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, 
which on completion would alone generate 31,885 MW power. The ten projects 
proposed in Sikkim, as estimated, would yield 1,469 MW energy. All these 
projects were envisaged in the river Teesta and its tributaries. The Teesta, 
with a 7,755 square km catchment area, traverses a 414 km distance cutting 
across Sikkim, parts of Darjeeling hills and the plains of Jalpaiguri before 
submerging into the mighty Brahmaputra in Bangladesh. Four years down the 
line, now in 2007, of the ten proposed hydroelectric projects, the Teesta 
stage-V is near completion, Teesta stage-IV is under survey and 
investigation, while another five projects in north Sikkim have been stalled 
due to agitation by the ethnic Lepcha community.
Two other hydroelectric projects in the Teesta basin, located in Darjeeling 
district bordering Sikkim - the Teesta Low Dam Project-III & IV - are under 
construction. Both the TLDP III & IV are coming up alongside National 
Highway 31A that connects Sikkim with the rest of the country, via Siliguri.

As is the case with big hydropower projects elsewhere in the country, 
conservationists had vehemently opposed the river taming projects in the 
Teesta. They demanded scrapping of the TLDP III & IV at the very conceptual 
stage, arguing that the hydropower projects would result in large-scale 
damage to the natural environment and would put an adverse impact on the 
lives of surrounding habitants. However, giving a damn to the environmental 
concerns and twisting the rules and norms, the NHPC ultimately managed to 
get the go-ahead signal from the Union ministry of environment and forests. 
As was apprehended by conservationists, construction of the two hydropower 
projects, coupled with other factors, have now started taking their toll on 
the overall natural environment, both in Sikkim and the Darjeeling hills. 
Landslips and landslides in the region, this time around, have shot up to a 
worrisome high. Residents and environmentalists say that after 1950 the 
situation has degraded to an all time worst both in terms of frequency and 
devastation caused by the landslides.

The magnitude of the landslides is such that in August-September alone, the 
Sikkim lifeline NH 31A was closed for over 15 days. The 92 km highway has 
degraded to such a miserable state at Kalijhora and Rambhi (TLDP project 
sites) that the arterial road might simply get eliminated in the near 
future. Given the context, there is a need to take a re-look at the 50,000 
MW hydroelectric initiative that facilitated an intensified river taming 
activity in the country. Rectification of the 3:97 adverse hydro-thermal 
power ratio and taking it to the ideal 40:60 contribution was laid down as 
the prime motivator for the 50,000 MW initiative launched in 2003. The major 
thrust was put on exploitation of the abundant and commercially viable (sic) 
hydropower potentials in the eight north-eastern states. And here comes to 
fore the typical colonial approach to development, wherein the 
powers-that-be try to impose everything from above. On most of the occasions 
developmental needs are identified within a prejudiced and biased framework. 
In a larger context, it is the inherent malady of the development philosophy 
across Third World nations. Instead of taking a customised approach, as the 
diverse natural and social settings demand, developmental plans are often 
adopted as a uniform replica.

Thus, we plan Delhi-like high-rise shopping malls in the Darjeeling hills 
and want to drive Mercedes to the Everest! Irrespective of the actual need 
and suitability, big dams, flyovers and expressways et al have emerged as 
the key indicators of "development" in our times. The decision to tap the 
huge hydropower potentials of the North-east, was based on the consideration 
of commercial viability, and bypassed the vital aspect of environmental and 
social affordability of such exploitation. Like, while envisaging the Teesta 
basin hydroelectric projects, it was plain overlooked that the soil in 
Sikkim and the Darjeeling hills primarily consisting of gneissose and 
half-schistose rocks, is coarse and shallow in nature and simply cannot 
withstand big hydropower projects. A large portion of the Sikkim territory 
is covered by the precambian rock and is much younger in age than the hills. 
The rock consists of phyllites and schists and therefore turns the slopes 
vulnerable to weathering and is very prone to erosion. Excessive rainfall, 
which is a common feature in the region, further intensifies the erosion and 
causes heavy loss of soil nutrients through leaching. This makes the hills 
very fragile and vulnerable to even a little disturbance. Again, the Teesta 
river basin falls under zone IV of the Indo-Myanmar seismic map and often 
experiences tremors of low to moderate intensity. Between 1897 and 1990, a 
total of eight earthquakes measuring 6 to 7.6 on the Richter Scale was 
recorded near the TLDP project sites in the Teesta.

>From its origination point in lake Chho Lhamu, at an altitude of 5,488 
metres in the Himalayas, the Teesta emerges as a snout from the Zemu glacier 
located above the Lachen Gompha. It is a rain and snow-fed river. About 
158.40 square km area of the river basin remains permanently covered with 
snow. During a 1999 study, the International Commission for Snow and Ice 
found the glaciers in the Himalayas receding faster than in any other part 
of the world and at present rates, are likely to disappear by 2035. 
High-altitude lakes formed by the glacial avalanching are potentially 
dangerous. Moraine dams (created by debris accumulated by glacial action on 
mountain slopes and valley floors), which hold back these waters are 
comparatively unstable and a sudden breach can lead to the discharge of huge 
volumes of water and debris, which would eventually result in devastation in 
the downstream. A 2002 report by the Geological Survey of India, Kolkata 
branch, made the case against the Teesta hydroelectric projects further 
strong. It specifically warned that "A number of active and dormant 
landslides are present within the project area due partly to anthropogenic 
activities and partly to adverse geological condition/slope morphology... 
further destabilisation of already vulnerable slopes cannot be ruled out. 
Proposed constructional activities may also cause landslides.

"Though NH 31A will be at a much higher elevation of the FRL of Stage IV 
dam, but in those stretches where mud-stone and clay-stone will come into 
contact with the reservoir water, stability of the existing road bench may 
become vulnerable." The expert warnings could not deter the decision makers 
who put commercial considerations first. Nor did they think that with its 
dense forest cover and rich biodiversity, the Teesta river basin hosts one 
of the 25 biodiversity hotspots in the world and any hindrance in the 
natural flow of the turbulent river would eventually invite disaster on the 
surrounding habitants. Thus, keeping in tune with the national hydropower 
policy of India, the Union ministry of environment and forests gave its nod 
to the TLDP projects in 2003-04. West Bengal, in whose territory the TLDP 
III & IV are coming up, was happy to ink a deal that facilitates 12 per cent 
power share for the state free of cost and other related benefits. The 
cumulative result: the over 5.40 lakh population in Sikkim and the near half 
a lakh in Kalimpong sub-division (as per the 2001 census) in Darjeeling 
district, every now and then suffer the risk of getting cut off from the 
rest of the country. Carrying forward the devastating march, the NHPC is now 
all set to build another five hydroelectric projects in the Teesta at Dzongu 
in north Sikkim. The government of Sikkim is trying to "convince" the Lepcha 
community which has stalled the proposed projects by virtue of its 
indefinite fast. It is being touted that "the hydropower projects would 
usher in social and economic prosperity in Sikkim". The fact is, just like 
the failed battle against the TLDP III & IV projects in West Bengal, 
concerns against the hydropower projects proposed at Dzongu have got more 
than enough scientific and logical footings.

In 2001-2006, the Centre for Inter-disciplinary Studies of Mountain & Hill 
Environment, University of Delhi, conducted a study on the carrying capacity 
of the Teesta basin in Sikkim. The key findings of the study (pages 161-220) 
read: "Physiographic studies show that the valleys in the northern parts of 
Teesta basin are asymmetrical which indicate instability and proneness of 
slopes to sliding. Glacial moraines, mostly confined to north Sikkim, along 
with numerous active landslides in the region, indicate that this locale 
represents a fragile ecosystem. During the formation of Darjeeling-Kalimpong 
or the Sikkim Himalayan ranges, intense folding, faulting and thrust 
movements have taken place. These tectonic features act as trigger points 
for catastrophic manifestations of the natural dynamic forces resulting in 
earthquakes and landslides. These events represent serious geological 
hazards and make the region highly fragile - and sensitive to any 
disturbance." The report specifically cautions: "The thick moraine deposits 
at several sites in north Sikkim provide weak substrates on which it seems 
very unsafe to establish any mega developmental project."
For the time being, the Lepchas of Sikkim have become successful in stalling 
the hydroelectric projects at Dzongu. However, only time will tell whether 
they ultimately succeed in getting the projects scrapped or succumb like the 
activists who had risen against the TLDP projects in West Bengal. For, 
fighting an all-powerful state is not an easy task, more so is to battle its 
mindset.

(The author is on the staff of The Statesman, Siliguri)

http://sikkimnews.blogspot.com/2007/09/relay-hunger-strikes-continue-in.html

Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Relay hunger strikes continue in Darjeeling, Kalimpong

GANGTOK, Sept. 18: The Lepchas from Darjeeling and Kalimpong are still on 
their relay hunger strike, which completed 27 days in Kalimpong and 18 days 
in Darjeeling. Also, they have successfully completed their Delhi tour where 
they had pleaded with the UPA and Union ministers. "We met Mr Oscar 
Fernandez, union labour minister and he has assured us", said Mr Dorjee T 
Lepcha president of the Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association (ILTA). "We 
also met Mr Nilotpal Basu, Mr Fernandez and Mr Abani Roy, RSP, and they too 
have taken the matter seriously," he added. "Mr Fernandez was surprised that 
no one had brought up the issue and was under the impression that everybody 
was happy with the projects," said Mr Lepcha. "So now he had will take the 
matter seriously," he added. "We also wrote letters to the Human Right 
Commission and they are sending some journalists and politicians to look the 
matter" said Mr Ajuk Tamsangmo, chief coordinator of the lepcha youth 
organisation (LYO). "They are also committed to solve the matter soon, " he 
added. "We are waiting for the state government to fulfil its commitment as 
the hunger strike by the affected citizen of Teesta (ACT) continues", said 
Mr Tamsangmo. "Our religious sentiments and our faith which we have been 
practicing for thousands of years is at stake. So we are ready to sacrifice 
our selves to protect Dzongu sanctity", he added. "Now we are also planning 
a mass rally in Kolkata and demonstrations in Delhi next month, " he said. 
Earlier, they had met tribal minister, Mr PR Kyndya and Mr Raj Nath Singh, 
national president of BJP and they had receives a positive response.
at 8:46 AM Posted by The Sikkim Times

www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=31&theme=&usrsess=1&id=170790

A colonial haunting
When decolonisation dismantles the residues of a humiliating past, and even 
as Bombay has been renamed Mumbai and Calcutta Kolkata, we await the day 
when Darjeeling will become Dorjiling, writes Sreejith Kalandy

In March 1929, British officialdom in Darjeeling, headed by the deputy 
commissioner, Blandy, was busy making plans to commemorate what was assumed 
to be the centenary of its founding. Officially, the British had come to 
possess the town only in 1835, and, therefore, some time still remained for 
the completion of the 100th year of its possession. But as a certain H 
Hosten, defending official wisdom, commented in Bengal Past and Present, 
"May we not say that 18 June, 1829, the date of Lloyd's first report 
indicates the beginning of Darjeeling, and that therefore 18 June 1929 might 
suitably be celebrated as its first centenary?" He also suggested that the 
"first documents (old diaries, family papers, newspapers, printed books) to 
which Darjeeling owes its existence as a British city be published or 
republished this year" as a means of leaving behind "some enduring form of 
the public spirit aroused by a century of peaceful occupation... and some 
lasting remembrance of the men who lived here and are gone".
For the colonisers, the history of the region effectively began with their 
arrival. The natives were seen as incapable of independent existence - a 
non-historical people destined to be absorbed by larger nations. The 
Lepchas, among others, as Dozey, the historian, observed, "have no history 
either of themselves or of others". On those rare occasions, when native 
actors like the "pagla dewan" of Sikkim do find their way into the pages of 
colonial historiography, it is inevitably in the form of villains, counter 
posed as they are to apparent Anglo-Saxon heroes like Campbell. The 
rapacious colonial territorial conquests in these parts were legitimised 
through a deployment of the myth of Pax Brittanica, which, it has to be 
said, has been internalised by many a modern day Anglophile, caricatured to 
a fault by Chhabi Biswas in the Ray classic, Kanchenjunga.

In Darjeeling, fear of disease and disorder prompted the British to 
demarcate where the whites and the locals were to live. The result, as 
elsewhere in India, was two different worlds - the English settlements with 
well-planned streets and gardens, whereas the locals had to live alongside 
narrow filthy lanes. In the white areas, apart from Auckland Road and 
Lavendar Lane, reveal the distinctly English names given to half-timbered 
dwellings modelled after English country cottages, which may have partly 
mitigated the nostalgia the early settlers felt for an England left behind. 
More than that, perhaps, naming and renaming of places in the imperial 
agenda constituted a symbolic as well as literal act of mastery.
The areas inhabited by the British, including its armed barracks, were self- 
contained in order "to keep them away from the baneful influences at work in 
the bazaar". On the infrequent occasions the British ventured to those areas 
inhabited by the locals, they were repulsed by the filth and poverty they 
were confronted with. While entering a monastery, Newman's Guide to 
Darjeeling warned intending visitors to "provide themselves with a good 
supply of eu-de-cologne as the sacred atmosphere of the interior is a good 
deal removed from that of 'Araby the Blest'."
For many among the English, India's present was akin to Britain's past. On 
seeing a devil dance in a monastery, W Brook Northey exclaimed, "As a 
picture of medievalism, I know nothing to compare with it." In the 
construction of a "British" identity, demarcation of difference and 
inferiorisation of the "other" was something the colonisers could not do 
without. In Darjeeling, to describe one as "enlightened" meant that someone 
else like the Lepchas or the Bhutias had to be demonised. Thus, of the 
native coolies, Captain Hathorn had this to say, "Strange, wild, dirty, 
uncombed, independent semi-savages they are... with the Mongolian cast of 
countenance."
The region was thought to be rich in resources with great potential for 
economic development, but the ignorance of the locals and the obsolete 
social customs they followed were blamed for hindering the possibility of it 
being transferred into a commercially viable economy. The above-mentioned 
guide, for instance, claimed that "the European tea planter has done more to 
develop the natural resources of this beautiful country within a short span 
of years, than could be accomplished in centuries without his aid". In 
colonial discourse, imperial Europe was projected as the "centre" and the 
areas that lay outside it at the margin or the periphery, lacking in 
civilisation. Consequently the colonisers' attempts to bring those areas 
under the influence of "enlightenment" became the rationale for their 
exploitation.
Decades after independence, we are yet to confront our colonial past, let 
alone question it. What else but a masked Raj hangover is it when we take 
pride in the repair of a colonial watch-tower or the renovation of the tomb 
of Captain Lloyd, one of the architects of the dubious acquisition of 
Darjeeling by the British. While decolonisation elsewhere dismantles the 
residues of a humiliating past, and even as Bombay has been renamed Mumbai, 
and Calcutta Kolkata, we still await the day when Darjeeling will become 
Dorjiling. And, indeed, that hour, when the USA next decides to invade a 
Third World country, while the rest of the world protests, we will think 
twice before donning the Stars and Stripes.
(The author is a Lecturer in History of Darjeeling Government College.)