NEWS FROM HIMALAYA DARPAN ON GORKHALAND MOVEMENT

West Bengal minister flays Gurung

West Bengal minister Ashok Bhattacharya Thursday called Gorkha leader Bimal Gurung ‘incompetent’ after the latter vowed to work for a Darjeeling state come what may.Urban Development, Municipal and Hill Affairs Minister Bhattacharya criticised the way Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) president Gurung attacked him and the West Bengal government.’GJM is exploiting the emotions of the Gorkha community to achieve political power,’ the minister told IANS. ‘As for Bimal Gurung, he is an incompetent leader and knows nothing.’If he was really concerned about the welfare of the hill people, he would have tried to restore peace and harmony rather than provoking people,’ Bhattacharya said.Addressing a GJM meeting at the Indira Gandhi Maidan in Siliguri Wednesday, Gurung thundered: ‘We will throw out every hindrance that comes in our way to achieve a separate statehood for Darjeeling.’Ashok Bhattacharya has said he will not let us include Siliguri within Gorkhaland. But the GJM will not let go Siliguri at any cost.’If Bhattacharya turns nasty, we will throw him away as we earlier threw away Subhash Ghisingh from the post of Darjeeling hill council chairman,’ Gurung said.Addressing over 100,000 people, Gurung also demanded the arrest by Saturday of three Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) activists who allegedly assaulted GJM supporters during a hunger strike in Darjeeling.’If the three – Jibitesh Sarkar, Mukul Sengupta and Shankar Ghosh – are not arrested by Saturday, GJM will call for an indefinite strike across the district,’ Gurung said.GJM supporters want statehood for Darjeeling in north Bengal instead of a Sixth Schedule status that grants greater autonomy for the region.Gurung has been expelled from Subash Ghisingh’s Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) for ‘anti-party’ activities.(Bombaynews.net)

Man on a mission

The youngest Vice-Chancellor of Sikkim University is on a drive to reformulate the varsity’s syllabus and restructure administrative policies so that there will be no dearth of wherewithal in making the varsity chapter an international success, writes DB Rai Professor Mahendra P Lama, the vice chancellor of Sikkim University, is the first youngest VC of any Indian University. He was a professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, and now he is keen to reform Sikkim University so as to give it world-class repute. He wishes the university to work in terms of an institutional dynamism so that it would attract students from the northeast states as well as Nepal, Bangladesh and South West China.Referring to the vision of the chief minister Pawan Chamling and prime minister Manmohan Singh, Professor Lama said, the leaders have the vision to construct a supreme University in this region, so that there will be no dearth of wherewithal in making the varsity chapter an international success.Elaborating on this he said, “If a candidate will apply for his masters degree in history they would be taught a separate paper along with it that would include studies about the Himalayan features, the ethnicity of the surrounding areas like North East, Nepal and some parts of China. This would enhance their knowledge about this region and would help them appreciate this University.”Professor Lama revealed, “The University is going to function as world-class institute and it is also going to craft four policies. They are making the rules and regulations, academic plans and schedules, infrastructure and revamp of the colleges, which fall under the University.Under the university act, Professor Lama elaborated, “The University is an autonomous body and hence it has the power to decide its own norms. So we do not want to fail and lag behind in anyway.” For the academic programme he said that the university will introduce three categories, traditional, non-traditional and policy studies. Under non-traditional category, there will be study of climates, military science etc. Whereas in policy studies there will be study about border and glaciers of the Himalayan range and so on.Regarding the infrastructure, Professor Lama said that “we have a selected architectural team who are studying to give the design of the University whether the varsity would be in Sikkimese, Oriental or Western style”. The architectural team is also determining the mode of the building so as to make it earthquake-proof, energy-efficient, “disabled”-friendly, etc. Besides, the varsity building set up in a 300-acre spread at Yang-Yang (South Sikkim) will have almost every kind of facilitiy, like a super class football field, hospital, banking, railway and air ticket counters.The university is also planning to revamp the entire administration of the Colleges. As soon as the administration of the colleges come under the University form North Bengal University, they will have semester based examination system and there will be total six semesters for a complete degree course. This will make the students to catch up with their subjects, with a steady help from their Professors, he said.Unfolding the work culture of the University, Professor Lama said, “We would not be having any peons. Every individual officer and teacher will have to clean their own table and chairs by which way they would understand and appreciate the value of self servicing.” The time of the office would be from 9.30am to 5.30 pm. He said, “I am not here to do a government job but I feel like am on a missionary mode and we have shouldered to complete a mission by giving our dedication and hardwork.”We had our conversation for about half-an-hour at the new administrative office of the University. As soon as I finished my queries with a laptop, he went to his table to finish his job. On a missionary mode, indeed.(The Statesman)

Asok says CM open to talks

Statesman News Service SILIGURI, May 8: The state urban development minister Mr Asok Bhattacharya today said that chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharya would soon invite the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha leadership for a dialogue. “The state government is resolved to sort out the Darjeeling Hill political crisis through negotiation,” the minister said. However, the minister at the same time said that the CPI-M would demand immediate arrest of the GJMM general secretary, Mr Roshan Giri in connection with the recent seizure of suspected RDX from Mallaguri in Siliguri. “There is evidence that Mr Giri is involved in subversive activities in Siliguri,” Mr Asok Bhattacharya said.Reacting to the minister’s allegation Mr Giri said from Darjeeling that the allegations were baseless. He demanded the minister’s role in the seizure of the explosives instead.The minister said that though there is incontrovertible evidence of an intimate connection between the GJMM with several terrorist anti-national outfits like the KLO, Ulfa, and Boroland Tiger Force, the chief minister is eager to open dialogue with the Hill-based party. “We are for peace in the Darjeeling Hills to facilitate speedy development of the region. Yet, to make the proposed dialogue meaningful the GJMM leadership must eschew its hostile approach towards the state government,” Mr Bhattacharya added.Making specific charge against Mr Giri, Mr Bhattacharya said that the state had evidence in its possession confirming that Mr Giri was involved in transporting suspected RDX in Siliguri. “Mr Giri frequented the house in Mallaguri from where the suspected RDX was seized recently. A woman leader of the GJMM is also involved in subversive activities in the town. An FIR has been lodged against them at the Pradhan Nagar Police Station by some local people. Action is expected soon,” Mr Bhattacharya said.(The Statesman)

Row over use of ‘Pintail Village’ by Opp

Bappaditya PaulSILIGURI, May 8: A controversy has erupted over the use of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) tourist resort ‘Pintail Village’ in Siliguri by the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha for political purpose.Waking up late to the arbitrary act, the DGHC caretaker administrator and the Jalpaiguri divisional commissioner, Mr Bihari Lal Meena today said that the administration would not allow the GJMM to use the tourist resort any further. “All senior officials in the civil administration were busy in maintaining law and order for the past few days. The GJMM started indiscriminate use of ‘Pintail Village’ to put up party cadres and also for holding Press conferences taking advantage of the situation. But now we have taken cognisance of the matter and would not allow the GJMM to use the resort any further,” Mr Meena said. The DGHC administrator further added that he would hold a meeting with the GJMM leadership on Monday in Darjeeling and would categorically convey the message to them. “I would also attend office at the DGHC headquarters Lal Kothi in Darjeeling from Monday to monitor the affairs properly,” Mr Meena said. The GJMM president Mr Bimal Gurung, however, said that the Pintail Village was a property of the Hill people and hence, they had every ‘right’ to use the resort. “Pintail Village is our property. It is the yield of the struggle of past 21-years and hence everyone from the Hills has the right to use the tourist resort,” Mr Gurung told media persons at the ‘Pintail Village’ today. The tourist resort ‘Pintail Village’ near Dagapur in Siliguri was a dream project of the former DGHC chairman, Mr Subash Ghisingh. The resort was built on a plot leased out by the state government to the DGHC as per provisions of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council Agreement of 1988. The resort was inaugurated for tourist use on 12 November 2006. (The Statesman)

FIRs to fight Morcha deadline to cops

Siliguri, May 8: The CPM today dug up three FIRs lodged in the hills and plains against some Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders and urged police to act on them.
Observers said the move was in retaliation to the Morcha’s seven-day deadline to the police for arresting three CPM leaders in connection with the incidents on May 2 when supporters of the hill party were assaulted in Siliguri. The Morcha had set the deadline yesterday at its public meeting here.
“On April 9, a day after explosives were found in a house in Mallaguri, a resident of the area, Amal Khawas, lodged an FIR with the Pradhannagar police station. In it, Khawas said the owner of the house, Ganga Majhi, was an active Morcha worker and its leader Roshan Giri frequently visited the house,” said Jibitesh Sarkar, a senior district leader of the CPM.
“Khawas also stated that the explosives were brought here by the Morcha members as part of a plot to eliminate local CPM leaders,” claimed Sarkar, who is one of the three CPM leaders whom the Morcha wants arrested.
A number of improvised explosive devices were found in three places in town after two of them went off on April 3, killing three alleged bomb-makers. Initial findings had pointed the finger at Bhutan Maoists.
Sarkar added that CPM supporters in Kurseong had also filed an FIR at the Sadar police station there on April 9, accusing Morcha leader Pradeep Pradhan of guiding an attack on the local office of the party. “A similar FIR was lodged against Morcha leaders in Kalimpong for the arson attack on our party office there. The police should act on all these complaints.”
Darjeeling police chief Rahul Srivastava confirmed that the police had received the FIRs. “We have started investigations, but no one has been arrested yet,” he said. (The Telegraph)
Sarkar said the Morcha was constantly breaking the law by stopping the district magistrate from going to Darjeeling, shutting down government offices and raising their own police force.

Gurung on hunt for backers

Siliguri, May 8: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha wants neighbouring Sikkim and Gorkhas across the country to back its demand for a separate state. Not only that, it is time the celebrities whom the Morcha had once cheered, reciprocated, party chief Bimal Gurung said.
“I will write to Pawan Chamling, the chief minister of Sikkim, who is also the president of the Sikkim Democratic Front, to support us,” said Gurung.
This is the first time since its formation that Gurung is going public about seeking Chamling’s support. This afternoon, while addressing journalists at Pintail Village, 4km from here, he said: “Through a letter to Chamling, we will appeal to all residents of Sikkim to extend their support to our cause,” Gurung said.
The Morcha leader will also appeal to Gorkhas living across the country to support him. “I will also approach celebrities like soccer star Bhaichung Bhutia and Indian Idol 3 Prasant Tamang. When they score a goal or win a competition, we celebrate. Now it is their turn to reciprocate,” he said.
The party will also ask all police personnel from the community to support the demand for a separate state.
Twenty-four hours after the Morcha meeting at Indira Gandhi Maidan where the CPM and its minister Asok Bahttacharya were verbally bashed up for more than 20 minutes, Gurung today came down upon them once more. Bhattacharya and his team have described the Morcha demand as ugro jatiyatabad (ultra nationalism) and accused them of not allowing other parties to hold political programmes in the hills.
“If they (CPM leaders) have the courage, let them come (to the hills) and hold programmes like the one we did here yesterday. It was peaceful and democratic,” said Gurung.
“If KLO, Bodoland Tiger Force and Bhutan Communist Party were present at the meeting, then what were the police doing?” the Morcha leader said in response to the minister’s charges that members of extremist groups were present at the meeting yesterday.
Roshan Giri, the general secretary of the Morcha, said: “After seeing the success of our meeting in Siliguri, the minister has lost his senses.” (The Telegraph)