the bihari flavour in gangtok

28 March, 2004; NOW!
THE BIHARI FLAVOUR IN GANGTOK
1
DETAILS ON pg 6
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GREEN SIGNAL FROM LAL KOTHI
Sikkim GNLF seeks Cong alliance,
wants border constituencies
SIKKIM
REQUISITIONS 5
COMPANIES OF
CRPF FOR POLL
DUTY
GNLF (S) SAYS NO TO
DARJ-SIKKIM MERGER
RANJIT SINGH
TURN TO pg4
IXth Regional
Language Day
observed
TURN TO pg5
GANGTOK, 27 March: The
GNLF’s Sikkim unit is keen on
contesting the Assembly elections
in May and seeking to strike an alliance with the Congress [I] to
present a joint opposition to the
ruling Sikkim Democratic Front’s
attempt at returning to power.
Addressing a press conference
here today, the GNLF [Sikkim]
president, Satish Rai, revealed
that GNLF [S] has already held a
round of talks with the SPCC [I]
president Nar Bahadur Bhandari
in this regard.
When pressed further on what
seat-sharing arrangement the party
has in mind, Mr. Rai said, “Though
ideally we would like to contest
from at least 18 constituencies, we
could settle for 12-13 seats provided
Mr. Bhandari assures us of his support in the border constituencies.”
Replying to queries as to why
he wanted the border constituencies,
Mr. Rai explained: “We want to con-
CONGRESSMEN
IN THE FRAY
a NOW FEATURE
GANGTOK, 27 March: Cong [I]
has thus far publicly announced
candidates for eight constituencies.
Add the name of Biraj Adhikari for
the Lok Sabha and the almost definite possibility of SPCC [I] president contesting from two constituencies and that’s eleven constituencies accounted for. Although a
formal announcement is still
awaited, another nine candidates
have reportedly been finalised. This
brings the party’s tally to twenty,
including the Lok Sabha seat. The
twelve that remain undecided are
obviously in wait for either the right
candidate or to adjust the spill-over
that will divert Congress’ way after the ruling party announces its
list of candidates.
Of the eight names announced
C M Y K
Candidates for
10 constituencies
announced,
Cong [I] opts for
fresher fare
thus far, six will be contesting elections for the first time. Except,
Phuchung Bhutia from Rakdong
Tintek, who has been an SSP MLA
and also a minister in the Limboo
cabinet, only Palden Bhutia, given
the Congress ticket for KabiTingda, has any prior electioneering experience. He had lost in the
1999 Assembly elections as an independent and later won the
panchayat elections and was el-
POLLPULSE
evated to the post of Upadhakshya
[North].
Starting with the Lok Sabha
aspirant – Mr. Adhikari’s conciliation with Mr. Bhandari had raised
many eyebrows when it happened
more than year ago. He had earlier
won a case of human rights abuse
against the Bhandari regime and
was one of the founder members
of the ruling Sikkim Democratic
Front. He had stayed away from
elections in 1994 when SDF contested the elections for the first time
and parted ways shortly after. He
returned to Sikkim politics wearing
SSP colours and is reported to have
piped several other contenders to
the LS ticket. Was instrumental in
engineering the SSP-Congress
“merger.”
Another former SDF leader bagturn to pg 6
The President of the GNLF (S), Satish Rai, 2nd from left, at the press conference.
test from the border constituencies
since those are the areas where we
have most of our supporters.”
When asked whether the
Sikkim unit was acting on its
own or in consultation with the
party bosses in Darjeeling, Mr.
Rai said the GNLF [S] had received the green signal from Lal
Kothi to broach negotiations
with the Congress.
He further revealed that the
SPCC [I] working-president Ashok
continued on pg 4
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2; NOW!; 28 March, 2004
NOW!
FIRST WITH THE NEWS
ED-SPACE
NEPAL
Will peace initiative prevail?
By MADAN REGMI
Tongue-Tied
The observance of regional languages day in the capital might or
might not resuscitate the fate that awaits regional dialects, but
offers us the chance to ponder more seriously on where we are
going wrong with our efforts at keeping these languages alive.
Languages are essentially about communication, then they take
on aspects of culture and invariably underline the ethos of a people. That said, a language obviously ceases to be one when there
is no one left speaking it. This does not necessarily happen with
the complete annihilation of a people and is most times caused by
the language becoming redundant as a communication tool. The
best examples of this are Sanskrit and Latin. Both are now pursued for purely academic reasons, but the languages for all practical purposes are dead. But how does a language die? Past experience proves that the moment “outsiders” stop trying to learn a
language, it is already on death-row. And outsiders stop learning
a language when they feel no need for it as a tool for communication. All old members of the plainsmen business community speak
fluent Tibetan. They had to, if they wanted to trade with Tibet. Everyone in Sikkim, including those who have been here barely a
year, speaks Nepali. They have to because they need to get their
message across. Similarly, any Sikkimese going out for studies
comes back equipped with Hindi-speaking skills. The Chinese are
introducing English in their schools because they want to now
converse with the world. That more or less settles what is actually
a redundant argument that language is about communication.
Now, let’s look at Sikkim. Take the Bhutia or Lepcha languages
as examples. We don’t see too many non-Bhutias or non-Lepchas
wanting to learn the language unless they are involved in some
research. Very soon, even the families which still use the language will stop doing so because they have to interact with people from outside everyday. These languages then lose all utility
and within a generation are lost. Also, because there is so little
literary work in these languages, even the aesthetic appeal of
learning them is lost.
Now, let’s look at what is being done about it. The State government has made it mandatory for all government schools to teach
these languages to anyone interested. And that is the best it can
do. The students have to enrol to the classes from there on. Is that
happening? The other problem is that the government diktat runs
only over government schools. Private institutions, which are either cramped for funds or driven by profits, don’t encourage too
many language classes. Since these are also institutes which produce the better achievers, we are also releasing too many nonregional language speakers into positions of power in the coming
years. To cite an example, although the PNGSSS has a Lepcha
language teacher, it has hardly any students taking the language
and the number keeps dropping each year. The number of
enrolments for Nepali and Hindi are much higher even among
those for whom neither language is their mother-tongue. The situation will only worsen with time unless we make it worth the while
of those who take the trouble to learn these languages. For that,
those who complain about losing their language need to create
more awareness, produce more literature, get a pop-culture going in these languages, make it more vibrant. The present generation, with its millisecond attention-span, wants a lot of colour to
keep them interested. Even if this comes at the cost of diluting
some aspects, do it. So what if a compromise has been made, at
least a language would have been saved.
New HIV test using saliva gives
results in 20 minutes
T
he US Food & Drug Adminis
tration on Friday approved the
first HIV test that uses saliva rather
than blood and delivers results in
20 minutes.
Public health officials hope the
new test will encourage wider and
more frequent testing. Around the
world, 95 percent of the people who
carry HIV do not even know they
have the virus and refrain from tests
which are lengthy.
Although the new test is as easy
to use as a home-pregnancy kit and
could eventually revolutionize HIV
testing, the company, OraSure
Technologies of Bethlehem, Pa., is
not yet seeking approval for overthe-counter sales.
The OraQuick HIV-1/2 test is
more than 99 percent accurate, said
Michael Gausling, OraSure’s president. Typical HIV tests require a vial
of blood and are sent to a laboratory
that returns results in two to 14 days.
The company says the new test
can detect HIV antibodies as soon
after infection as earlier tests roughly six weeks, though the time
for each person varies.
Taking advantage of the exacerbating situation, King Gyanendra has
installed himself far above the 1990
Constitution. He is ruling through
ordinance and decrees, thanks to
the performances of the party rule.
The Royal regime is heading
towards arranging a parliamentary
election, which is going to be a
mere mockery. The show of
strength staged by the armed rebels
in Bhojpur in the east and Beni in
the west of Nepal appears that the
international community is in no
mood to entertain the claim of this
Royal regime that it can eliminate
the rebels by the use of force.
Looking at the worsening situation, almost all the countries of the
world are silently rejecting this
plunk of the ruling class. The European Union since the very onset
of armed conflict in Nepal has
taken an unflinching stand for the
peaceful resolution of the conflict,
presumably with the initiative of
France and Germany.
These two Western nations are
in the fore to restore the authority
of the United Nations and of the
international law. The United Nations also has stepped up its scheme
of playing a role of mediator to reinstate peace in Nepal. In its latest
bid no other than its Secretary General Kofi Annan himself has once
again thrown his weight.
The Secretary General in his
official statement rebuffed the
lobby which offers the military action as an easy solution. His statement has expressed serious concerns over the loss Nepal is incurring in every segment of its society
when he declares, “civilian casualties and serious human rights violations are a routine occurrence,
and the country’s economic and
social development is being seriously hampered.”
Kofi Annan’s statement manifests the growing concern of the
world body, which has every reason to observe the current armed
conflict in Nepal as a flashpoint for
a bigger and wider conflict. If it
could not be managed peacefully
in time, it would spread out as a
bush fire beyond the Nepalese
boundary.
Annan’s determination to settle the problem through negotiation
should not be taken as his personal
urge. Rather his growing interest on
Nepal should be viewed as the outcome of the understanding among
the UN members who want to see
the UN back to its heel. Kofi
Annan’s latest deliberation on Nepal beyond doubt has strong support of the majority member of the
Security Council.
Nevertheless it won’t be easily
acceptable to Nepalese political
forces including the Monarchy,
which are dangling in dichotomy.
Particularly for the king’s camp it
will be shocking. They are being
heard for giving priority to inviting the foreign troops to win the
war on the rebels then to give
chance to the United Nations
elsewhere
to make peace.
The Royal government’s louder
rejection of the UN offer for playing the broker’s role has already
been repelled by none other than
the Monarch appointee Prime Minister Thapa who has a long but indiscreet legacy. Some of the socalled Party leaders who are
groomed by Delhi also reject the
idea of UN mediation. The United
States whose hawkish role has been
criticized as one of the major stumbling blocks on the way of peaceful resolution of ongoing armed
conflict, in its latest call has shown
some interest towards bringing the
government and the rebels in the
negotiating table.
However, Washington has not
yet come clean and impartial. Its act
of enlisting of the Communist party
of Nepal (Maoist) in its “watch list”
of terrorists at a time when the
Nepali government and the armed
rebels were under negotiation had
clearly implied that the United
States doesn’t want the peaceful
settlement, rather it is interest to
prolong the armed conflict.
India too had similarly by declared the rebels as terrorists long
before Nepal had considered of taking such decision.
Nevertheless, friendly countries
have been suggesting that Nepal is
capable of solving its problem by
itself. This thinking could have
been realistic had India been
stopped intervening in Nepal and
Nepal’s right to regulate it’s border
with India would have been ensured and implemented.
However, India being given a
clean chit to do whatever it wants
to do in Nepal by our so-called
friendly countries, Nepal’s capability is overemphasized by them. But
they have not ruled out the possibility of military intervention. To
recall an envoy of a great power and
Nepal’s neighbor in an interview to
the Spotlight weekly, had signaled
the possibility of foreign military
intervention in the pretext of quelling the insurgency and had subsequently warned.
In the reminiscence immediately after the Royal carnage of
June 1st 2001 some reliable sources
had pointed out at the possibility
of the Indian military involvement
at the behest of Nepali rulers. The
much-awaited visit of the Indian
Defense and Foreign minister
Jaswanta Singh to Nepal, which
took place a few months after the
Royal massacre, was then taken as
to have done the groundwork to
bring in the Indian army in Nepal.
This speculation got more ground
on the very expression of the Indian defense minister Singh who
proclaimed that India was prepared to provide any help to Nepal. This statement was interpreted
as a signal of the defense deal
clinched by Kathmandu and Delhi:
This was followed by an unusual
groundwork.
The changing of the Royal army
uniform matching to that of Indian
army was alarming. The plan of
inviting the foreign troops however
could not be implemented. The reason is unknown. Moreover for
many watchers, the obvious reason
was the pressure on India from
other powers. As per the official
version of government of India regarding its military involvement in
Nepal, it was denied afterwards by
the new Indian Foreign Minister
Yaswanta Sinha who during his
visit to Nepal was categorical in
saying that India will provide Nepal with all the possible helps except its army. This however was
perceived by two different angles.
The first was that India sensed
something fishy which stopped it
of burning its finger once again.
The second reason might be that
India also calculated that in case its
army moves into Nepal even at the
call of the Nepalese rulers it will
not be digestible to other powers.
But the establishment is once
again orchestrating a rumor that the
Royal government is going to invite the Indian army to help it in its
fight with the rebels. Among the
several buzzes the one which
claims that the Royal Government
is going to announce the date of
general election on the first day of
Nepal’s New Year. The Royal
government as rumor is rife is
planning to complete the general
election in more than a dozen
phases. However, as the country is
almost engulfed in civil war, it
looks impossible to hold a free and
impartial election, which will be
acceptable to the parties as well as
to the people.
Some observers view in a different way. They summarize that
King Gyanendra wants to legitimize his present actions and for it
there must be a poll whether the
turnout is low or high. If this rumor
is true the establishment must have
prepared itself for committing more
monkey business. But such a perfidy will bring more disorder even
if it may comfort those power who
blindly believe in the thought of the
bad Prince of Nicolo Machiavelli,
who had low rating on humanity
and had said that the democracy
and parliaments were superficial
nonsense,” because they could
never produce ‘decision’ and to
apply the adjective sovereign to a
people is a tragic farce”.
(courtesy: Kantipur Online)
C M Y K
NEWSSCAN
SIKKIM
ROUND-UP
SALESMAN
SELLS OUT
GANGTOK, 27 March: RK
Prasad, proprietor of Good-will
Enterprises, Tibet Road has lodged
a complaint against his salesman
accusing him of theft. According to
Mr. Prasad’s statement recorded
with the police, his salesman,
Rajesh Gupta, had stolen Rs.10,000
from the cash box using a duplicate key. The accused has been arrested and the stolen cash has also
been recovered.
5-day field trip
for aspiring
tourist guides
GANGTOK, 27 March: The
students of Radiant Vocational
Training Institute embarked on a
five day field trip for Mangan today as part of their ‘practical
training’ for their course.
The Titanic Park at MG Marg
served as the point of commencement for the field training exercise. The 21 students will be
touring North Sikkim till 31
March. At the end of the sixmonth course, which is to prepare them for the role of tourist
guides, they will be awarded a
certificate which will be valid all
over the country, informs Chairman, Radiant Academy, Subhas
Singh.
Incidentally, the vocational
training provided at Radiant is only
available to those belonging to the
SC/ST category. The programme is
being sponsored by the Social Welfare Department.
28 March, 2004; NOW!
Our duty to inform people on virtues of alternative
therapy, says Governor
2-DAY WORLD CONGRESS
ON HOLISTIC NATURAL
HEALTH SCIENCE BEGINS
SAGAR CHETTRI
GANGTOK, 27 March: The 7th
Anniversary of Mani Himalaya
Academy and VIth World Congress
of Holistic Natural Health Science
started here today at Community
Hall. The inaugural programme
was graced by Governor, V Rama
Rao, as the chief guest and attended
by holistic science doctors, foreign
delegates, members of Mani
Himalayan Academy, departmental
officials and local peoples. The programme, which is to continue into
the next day, was also attended by
research scholars, doctors of holistic natural health science, scientists,
local doctors and others.
Discussions on the conventional therapies and the non-conventional therapies were held. For
better understanding of the people,
there were provisions of slide projectors and CD projectors for the
dissemination of information.
Books on alternative therapies
were also displayed and are being used
to promot holistic natural treatment.
Mani Himalayan Academy is an
organization for holistic health promotion and allied education and
research and training on natural
holistic health. For the last five
years this institute has successfully
conducted health training camps in
Namchi observes
World Theatre Day
different regions reaching treatment
to many patients.
Alternative therapies or alternative medicine is popular throughout the world with about 50 per cent
of the world population having already accepted this way of treatment. But, it is relatively new in
Sikkim, hence the main motive to
organize this programme here is to
introduce the Sikkimese to natural
holistic health science and also to
engage educated unemployed, interested students and health lovers
into this line.
In the welcome speech, Dr.
Manohar Sunar, Chief Coordinator
said that the main objective behind
the programme here was to tell the
people about the advantages of holistic science. The treatment
through natural science cures diseases at its roots, some of them like
yoga asana, ayurveda, acupressure
etc. are also used for treatment, he
added. He also informed that they
were planning to open a medical
college on holistic sciences here.
Dimple Bharati, the first
Sikkimese lady to complete a fiveyear degree course in homeopathy,
also had some words for alternative
treatment. She informed that there
is a homeopathy association with
some doctors in the state. Later, she
also presented the Mani Himalaya
Academy with a Rs.10, 000 cheque.
The Governor, too, spoke in
favour of alternative medicine say-
ing that it was cheaper and also
safer. And since 70 per cent of the
Indian population was poor and
lived in rural areas, they relied more
on alternative treatment as they
could not afford the cost of allopathic treatment.
“It is our duty to tell the people
about this method, so that they can
also try this method and take ad-
small price
NAMCHI, 27 March: Saughat, an NGO in Namchi and Navdit
Pratibhasha Sangh Kitam jointly observed World Theatre Day today at
the Lower Kitam School premises. Mr. Padam Chettri, a lecturer in Nepali
of Govt. College Namchi was the chief guest for the occasion with Gokul
Rai, a National Youth Awardee as the programme president. Roshan
Kaushik, president of Saughat introduced the programme to the gathering
while Samjhana Kaushik, general secretary, Navdit Pratibhasha, presented
the report of the club.
Various cultural programmes were held along with other activities.
Surya Jyoti Sangh, a club from Upper Ghum enacted a play – “Sahi Nirnay
while Saughat, presented “Ekta ne Bal Ho”.
In his address the chief guest, Mr. P. Chettri expressed appreciation at
the youth for their social services while Mr. Gokul Rai focused on the
role of a club in society.
More than 300 locals were present at the occasion.
NOW! can be contacted at 953592 270949
or emailed at sikkimnow@rediffmail.com
vantage of it,” he added. One disadvantage of alternative medicine
he pointed out was its long healing
process which put off people and
forced them to turn to allopathy.
The organisers are confident
that by the time the two-day event
wraps up, more locals would have
been converted to the “obvious”
benefits of alternative medicine.
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NEWSSCAN 4; NOW!; 28 March, 2004
SIKKIM REQUISITIONS 5 COMPANIES OF CRPF FOR POLL DUTY
Admn gets
going on
ensuring
free & fair
polls
SARIKAH ATREYA
GANGTOK, 27 March: With
Sikkim slated to go for simultaneous polls on 10 May, the State administration has also launched its
preparations in top-gear. With
barely a month and a half remaining for the entire electioneering
process to formally begin, it is
about time.
One major issue concerning the
State and its voters is the law &
order situation in the run-up to the
polls even though elections in the
State in the past have been relatively peaceful and incident-free.
Poll-related violence may not be the
order of the day in Sikkim yet, but
the administration is not taking any
changes and is putting all precautionary measures in place to ensure
that the polls are conducted in a free
and fair manner.
The precautions are not misplaced given the fact that the
upcoming polls are a head-on collision between a party in power and
party desperate to get back in power.
The situation in West District,
especially in the Tharpu area, where
incidences of clashes between the
SDF and Congress supporters were
a NOW! file foto
from pg1
SENSITIVE POLLING STATIONS WILL BE DECIDED AFTER CANDIDATES ARE ANNOUNCED
first reported earlier this month, has
the Opposition crying hoarse over
the “total collapse of law and order
situation” in the district and demanding imposition of president’s
rule.
While Sikkim Police and the West
district administration maintain that all
is peaceful and quiet in the district,
suggestions that “curfew” had been
imposed there added more grist to the
rumour mill forcing the DC [West] to
issue a disclaimer clarifying that “no
curfew” has been imposed anywhere
in West Sikkim.
The imposition of Prohibitionary
Order under Section 144 in the North
District, which has not seen any untoward poll-related incident thus far,
also cast doubts over the law and order situation up north and gave rise
to unnecessary speculations.
DIG, Range and Crime, SD
Negi, told NOW! that the imposition of Prohibitionary Order in the
districts is a part of the Preventive
Magisterial procedure recommended by the Election Commis-
Chamling urges
rural youth to
shun violence
a NOW REPORT
GANGTOK, 27 March: Chief
Minister and Sikkim Democratic
Front president, Pawan Chamling
has said that the SDF party, in essence, has not changed in the last
ten years of its existence.
“The basic objectives and visions on which the party was
formed ten years ago have not undergone any mutation,” Mr.
Chamling told a delegation of representatives from the Rhenock and
Central Pendam constituencies at
the Samman Bhawan here today.
“Our language, tone, policies,
ethics and programmes have not
changed. Our struggle for social
justice is still on and will continue
until every Sikkimese becomes
confident, self-sufficient and self-
Sikkim GNLF
seeks Cong
alliance, wants
border...
reliant,” he said.
While calling on the partyworkers to be alert and dedicated,
Mr. Chamling asked them to not to
give in to greed and succumb to
money-power and take on the mantle of the oppressors of the poor.
He also appealed to the youth, especially those from the rural areas,
to abstain from indulging in violence during the upcoming polls.
In another development, a public meeting of the SDF party was
held at Dentam Bazar in West
Sikkim today. The meeting was presided over by West District SDF
vice-president, RB Subba. A rally
of the party was followed by a public meeting, which was attended by
the youth and Cheli Morcha representatives of the party from the
West District.
sion once the formal announcements are made.
Section 144 does not put any
restrictions on organizing rallies,
processions, public meeting etc.
with prior permission of the authorities, or on any political activity related to the elections. However,
there are restrictions imposed on
certain activities in order to ensure
a conducive atmosphere for a free
and fair election and provide a level
playing field to all political parties.
In the case of West District, the
restrictions are on four parameters,
which include restriction on possession and carrying of arms and weapons, restriction on number of vehicles moving together in a convoy,
restriction on giving inflammatory
speeches or posters and banners
which produce hatred between different communities, restriction on
movement of people across the borders, for the West District it would
mean the movement of people from
West Bengal to West Sikkim. People can enter through Akkar Bridge
and Rambang check post.
In order to meet the security
requirements of the State during the
polls, Sikkim Police has already
made some arrangements. Five
companies of CPRF will be deployed to Sikkim on 3 April, the
DIG said. In addition to this, there
are already two companies of IndoTibetan Border Police force in the
State, along with one battalion of
the Sikkim Armed Force. About
four companies of the SAP may be
used for law and order duties during the polls, it is learnt.
Although elections in the State
have been peaceful in the past,
some polling stations will be categorised as “sensitive,” depending
on the stature of the contesting candidates and general political background of the area. The Sikkim
Police is still in the process of
evaluating the potentially sensitive
polling stations, which is expected
to be completed once the names of
all the contesting candidates are
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Anthyesthi Kriya
Our beloved father late D. N. Sharma of Central Pandam
who was a retired teacher of Senior Secondary School
left for his heavenly abode on 16 March 2004. We heartily
thank all relatives, friends and well wishers who stood
with us during the time of bereavement. The Anthyesthi
Kriya falls on 28 March 2004 and all friends, relatives
and well wishers are requested to join us in offering
prayers for the departed soul at our residence at Central Pendam, East Sikkim.
Chandra Kala Sharma (wife), Januki Sharma, Ganesh Khanal
(son), Khagendra, Prakash, Keshav, (son), daughters & inlaws, grandson and granddaughters. Ph: 263809
Tsong had already spoken to GNLF
president, Subhash Ghising, on 20
March and then again on 25 March
when the proposal of giving the
border constituencies to GNLF [S]
was first mooted.
“Now it is up to the Congress to
decide what suits them. If they agree
to our proposal, then we will certainly have an alliance with them. If
they do not agree then we will have
to go it alone,” Mr. Rai said.
When asked to comment on the
recent proposal to merge the
Darjeeling hills with Sikkim, Mr.
Rai clarified that GNLF was “vehemently opposed” to the idea. “We
have already managed to get an
autonomous council status, it won’t
be long before we have a state of
our own,” he explained.
Mr. Rai, during his press
briefing, expressed his dissatisfaction of the 1994 Supreme
Court verdict which declared the
70 per cent Nepali population in
Sikkim as “immigrants”. He said
that the reports on which the Apex
Court had based its verdict were
obviously “wrong” and accused
the frontline parties of the state
for not speaking out against the
verdict.
“Only Subhash Ghising, in his
speech at the Paljor Stadium in
1994, voiced his reservations on
the Supreme Court ruling,” Mr.
Rai claimed. He further said that
the Gorkha community of the
state included everybody such as
the Limbus, Rais, Tamangs,
Subbas, Bhutias etc, and they are
so classified only in the “dictionary of the GNLF.” He further said
that this community was feeling
insecure and was being denied
justice in the state.
Replying to whether he
genuinely believed that the
GNLF could do well in the
State, he said that they had been
working in the villages of
Sikkim for quite a few years
now and if the people voted in
the right manner, they could
surely make a difference especially since GNLF was the only
party caring for the welfare of
the Gorkha community of the
state. He said that he believed
that GNLF [S] would certainly
form the government in the state
sometime in the near future.
The GNLF made an entry into
Sikkim politics on 10 February,
1993 and was formally established
in the year 1994. It also took part
in 1994 state elections and again in
1999 when it participated only in
the Lok Sabha elections.
C M Y K
NEWSSCAN
28 March, 2004; NOW!
IXth Regional Language Day observed
South gearing up for the polls
PURAN TAMANG
NAMCHI, 27 March: A meeting
of the sector magistrates and sector police magistrates of South District was held here today at the
Community Hall. The meeting was
jointly called by DC South and
Returning Officer, Vishal Chauhan
and SP South, MS Tuli.
Various issues concerning the
upcoming state and assembly
polls were the main topics of discussion on the day, including the
model code of conduct, what
constitutes “corrupt practices
and electoral offences”, details
on various sensitive polling stations of South District and duties of the sector magistrates.
Also discussed were the terms
regulating the postering of campaign material of the political
parties in designated areas.
According to the DC, South,
ANAND OBEROI
GANGTOK, 27 March: The 9th
Regional Language Day was observed here today with much zeal
and enthusiasm to a packed house
at Sikkim Government College auditorium. The function was organized by Most Backward Classes
Limboo Tamang Association
[MBCLT].
The main objective behind
holding this function was to access
the development of various regional languages and for an exchange of ideas among the various
groups. This is seen as especially
beneficial to all associations which
have started language schools in the
recent past as the function provided
them with a platform for valuable
exchange of ideas and guidance
from the established languages like
Lepcha, Bhutia, Nepali, Hindi and
English in the state.
The need for such an observance is made more urgent by recent
studies which suggest that about
6,000 languages, dialects and
scripts in the world have become
extinct, and more are on the brink
of extinction.
During the day’s function poems were recited, articles read out
and cultural programmes performed in a celebration of regional
languages represented at the function by sixteen regional language
associations.
The day’s observance was embellished with such performances as
the rendition of a Bhujel folk-story
from the 14th century, recitation of
poems from a spectrum of languages
stretching from “Letter,” in Bhutia
to “the person I am searching for”
in Lepcha to “We have to survive”
in Limboo, to “Wake up” in Gurung
to “My country” in Mangar and “regional day” by Rai. A common
thread was obviously the love and
search for respective roots.
An Exhibition displaying books
on different languages, text books,
journals, magazines, Grammar and
Old hand-written manuscripts in
various regional languages, Newspapers, periodicals, calendars, audio and video cassettes, and photographs added more meaning to
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the day’s proceedings.
Several publications were also
released on the day and certificates
distributed to the participating associations.
The different associations also
thanked the chief minister, Pawan
Chamling for his continued encouragement and assistance to the
development, preservation and
propagation of various languages,
scripts, cultures, costumes, traditions, history and religions of various communities in the state. They
further thanked the State Government for recognizing Rai, Mangar,
Sanyasi, Gurung, Tamang,
Mukhia, Bhujel, Sherpa, Newar,
Thami, Jogi and Dewan as Sikkim
State Languages in 1995.
Additional Chief Secretary, ND
Chingapa, presided over the day’s
proceedings as the chief guest while
Secretary Bhan Subba was present
as the guest of honour. Others who
attended the function were senior
government officials, staff of
Sikkim Government College, students and representatives of various
communities from all over the state.
NOW! can also be
contacted at 953592
270949 or emailed at
sikkimnow@
rediffmail.com
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C M Y K
“Postering will be allowed in certain designated areas as per the order of the Election Commission
for all political parties. Police deployment will be more in the sensitive polling stations. In fact, police patrols have already been deployed there. The mobile patrolling will also be launched.”
When asked about Section 144
being imposed in the south, he admitted it to be a possibility but only
if the situation demanded.
“But,” he added, “the situation
here is peaceful and under control
as of now”.
The meeting was attended
by all the magistrates of the ten
sectors and sub-sectors of
South District. Along with the
sector magistrates, also present
at the meeting were the DFO
South, Joint Director, Education, DE Irrigation and BPO
South.
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ELSEWHERE 6; NOW!; 28 March, 2004
CHHAT PUJA - BIHARI FLAVOUR IN GANGTOK
The crowd out
Thakurbari swells as the
Chief Minister arrives to
wish Gangtok’s Bihari
community on the
occasion of Chhat Puja
observed on 27 March,
2004
GANGTOK, 27 March: While all
civilisations traditionally worshipped the ‘Sun God’, the Chhat
Puja in Bihar and eastern Uttar
Pradesh is the only occassion the
Setting Sun is worshipped. It is celebrated twice a year, once in
Chaitra, which falls in March, and
in Kartik which falls in November.
For the four-day festival, people
maintain sanctity and purity for a
month before the event. Folk songs
sung in the honour of ‘Surya Dev’
- The Sun God and ‘Chhati Maiyya’
- the Twilight Mother - can be heard
at every nook and corner in Bihar.
The worshippers, especially
women, come with their offerings of
flowers and vermillion to the banks of
the Ganges in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh
or gather at a large water body, dressed
in their finery to observe the setting sun
and chant their prayers. They usually
observe total fasting for the day and
only break it on seeing the sun rise the
next morning.
Here in Gangtok, too, the local
Bihari populace observed the festival with zest and fervour turning up
in colourful clothes at Thakurbari
where the puja is traditionally held.
The women sported heavy make up
and of course, vermilion to seek
blessings for their respective families. The puja began at 4:30 in the
evening and ended only as the sun
set as is the custom. According to
the pandit, the women will again
start prayers from 3 in the morning
and it will continue till sunrise.
The Chief Minister, too, attended the prayers at Thakur Bari.
Kutse Shegu
Chhat Puja in Gangtok
Congressmen in the fray
from pg1
ging a Congress ticket is Delek
Namgyal who will contest from
Rumtek. He fell out with the ruling
front in 1999 when the party highcommand chose KT Gyaltsen’s [incumbent MLA and Tourism Minister] candidature over him. He is obviously viewing the upcoming elections as “payback” time.
Two former bureaucrats figure
in the list of eight. Santosh Bardewa,
a former Additional Secretary who
has had a running spat with the ruling party ever since it came to power
in 1994, has bagged the Congress
ticket from Khamdong, an SC reserved constituency. The going
should be tough for him given the
fact that Khamdong is the Chief
Minister’s ancestral home and considered one of the strongest SDF
pockets. Chozang Bhutia, a former
Assistant Director who took VRS recently, will represent Cong [I] in
Ralong where he squares off against
SDF heavyweight DD Bhutia [reports indicate that the SDF highcommand has thus far cleared only
Mr. Bhutia’s candidature].
Then there is a “social-worker”
Congressman from Melli, Taraman
Chettri, whose claim to fame is the
PIL he filed against the then Chief
Secretary, Sonam Wangdi; an MBA
Sonam Bhutia from Sang and the
first Lepcha to contest the Sangha
seat, Tsering Lama, who is an
Acharya to boot.
Informed sources reveal that
Mr. Bhandari is no longer making
any secrets about his decision to
contest from Central Pendam and
Gangtok. While this puts to paid
Balchand Sarda’s election plans, it
frees Rhenock for KN Upreti’s return. Mr. Upreti’s candidature, although not announced yet, has reportedly been communicated to
party supporters in the constituency. Lachen-Mangshila is also
more or less decided for Anil
Lachenpa and it is obvious by now
that Ashok Tsong will stake claim
to Mr. Bhandari’s traditional seat –
Soreong which was bagged by SDF
in the last elections. LP Tewari, the
former Power Secretary, who now
sits in the Congress camp will be
seen in Geyzing, while Pintso
Chopel Lepcha will try his campaigning skills from Ranka again
[he contested on an SSP ticket in
1999 and lost].
Also decided, inform senior
Congressmen, are candidates for
Pakyong [Bharat Basnet], Jorethang
[Purna Kumari Rai, a lady lawyer];
Wok [Yuvraj Rai, Congress youth
president]; Yuksom [Mangal Bir
Subba]; Hee-Bermiok [PR Subba];
Daramdin [Amar Subba, Ashok
Tsong’s son]; Tashiding [Dadul
Bhutia] and Rinchenpong [Pema
Ginzang Bhutia].
These names, inform sources,
will be announced as the Congress
starts its campaign trail in the ear-
The Statesman, 22nd March, 2004
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nest, which should be coming any
time now. As is apparent from the
shortlisted names, there are many
new faces and many from the
Sangram days. The Congress, however, can hardly complain given its
more than dismal performance in
the last elections. Whether the new
format can bring any changes in
Congress’ poll track-record in
Sikkim, only time will tell.
49th Day Kutse Shegu of late
ex-Panchayat Gyen Tsh.
Lepcha who left for his
heavenly abode on 11
February 2004 falls on 29
March.
All the well wishers, friends
and relatives are requested
to join us in offering prayers
for the departed soul at our
residence at Lum Lower
Dzongu, North Sikkim.
I, the present Panchayat of
Lum along with bereaved
family also take this
opportunity to thank all those
who stood by us during the
time of bereavement and
request our inability to thank
them individually.
Family member and
Tshering Gyatso Lepcha,
Panchayat,
Lum Village
Ph: 9434179290
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C M Y K
SPECIALS
AS SOCIETY CONTINUES
TO DEVOLVE WE TAKE A
LOOK AT HOW THINGS
HAVE CHANGED. Y’KNOW
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT
CHANGE – THE MORE
THINGS CHANGE THE
MORE THEY REMAIN THE
SAME. AS MUCH AS
THINGS MAY HAVE
SUCKED FOR OUR PARENTS NOW! SHOWS THAT
WE SUCK JUST THE SAME!
SEE HOW MUCH WE HAVE
PROGRESSED
CARS – YESTERDAY
The best way for an easy, clean
and trouble-less suicide. You could
either crash (but there was always
the danger of surviving without
your limbs) or suffocate your self
in a locked garage with the engine
running. Absolutely no mess.
TODAY
Cars come with a set of electrically
powered windows and doorlocks
that help you to a slow, and maybe
unwanted, death if the battery ever
fails while you’re trapped inside.
Again, absolutely no mess.
CARS – YESTERDAY
Any spare part of your kharala gaari
could be obtained and repaired by
the roadside mechanic, who, after
tampering with your vehicle the
night before is waiting for you.
TODAY
They come with a computerized
auto ignition system that can only
be repaired by a mechanic with a
Ph.D from a Japanese University.
AGRICULTURE – YESTERDAY
CELLONE...
A SHORT TAKE
(would’ve been long
but Network Problem)
Teet! Teet! Teet! Teet!
Is route ke sabhi lines vyast
hain. Kripya thodi der baad dial
karey!
Teet! Teet! Teet!
NETWORK BUSY!
[Three O’ Clock in the morning ]
Teet! Teet! Teet!
Connected SO&SO...
[HEAR YOUSELF BREATHE]
Teet! Teet! Teet!
Connected SO&SO...
[HEAR 4 PEOPLE SPEAK]
Ring! Ring! Ring!
SO&SO Calling... Accept!
[HEAR 4 PEOPLE SPEAK,
two of them in Bengali]
Teet! Teet! Teet!
Connected SO&SO...
[Converse for 13 seconds
EXACTLY, Auto-Terminate
probably enabled somewhere]
Teet! Teet! Teet!
The mobile you have dialed is
switched off OR out of reach
[The mobile belongs to a friend,
who’s right next to you on
titanic, and the two of you were
just seeing what the female in
the phone would say.]
Teet! Teet! Teet!
OUR OATH! NATION’S
GROWTH!
Ha! Ha! Ha!
GROWTH? NETWORK BUSY!
- KARCHOONG -
C M Y K
28 March, 2004; NOW!
Developed to the
point where it could
produce three crops
of paddy a year depending upon the humour
of the monsoons.
TODAY
It has been developed to
the point where it can produce three crops of paddy
a year depending upon the
humour of the monsoons.
SPARE TYRES – TODAY
An emergency spare tyre that
takes up 20% less space in
the trunk and takes you 99% fewer
miles on the road.
YESTERDAY
spare tyre that was your trunk and
felt good against your back as you
waited for the next car to give you
a lift coz you had a flat.
CARS – TODAY
That run on gas and can travel 500
kms on a full tank which is almost
far enough to get you to the next
gas station.
YESTERDAY
A petrol car that could run 5 kms
on a single tank which was far
enough to get you to the next petrol pump
AGRICULTURE – TODAY
An amazing breed of fertilizers that
enables you to grow tomatoes
twelve inches in diameter – and
create mutant worms twelve feet
long to eat them.
YESTERDAY
A twelve centimetre worm nibbling
on a twelve cm tomato without the
help of any fertiliser to serve as
catalyst
CAMERAS – YESTERDAY
They were very mysterious as they
only clicked in Japanese and the
instruction manual which was all of
four lines was the same.
T
o long time Incubus fans, this album will be
widely accepted. To the teenyboppers who
are afraid of anything different, it will be hated.
This album definitely surprised me, in a good way. It’s, as
every album has been, different. And that is a good thing.
A few songs are kind of mediocre, but as for the rest, I
like it. Even the mediocre songs are good, and will probably grow on me. On every CD, there are a few songs that
you think suck.. until you listen to them a few more times.
My first impression... Megalomaniac was obviously made
for the radio, but that’s not a bad thing, because it’s still a
great song. I really liked Zee Deveel, just because
Brandon’s voice was so crazy, and it really showed what
he could do. Here In My Room was awesome as well,
because it’s one of those songs you can listen to over and
over again, and it hits you right in the heart. Sick Sad
Little World was cool, with the extra vocals from Ben
Kenney, their new bassist. It kind of switched things up
and made it neat! -sounding. The lyrics in most of these
songs were as good as they’ve always been, and of course
there are those lines that really make you think. I first
really got into Incubus after watching a few songs on MTV,
and the first album I bought was Morning View, because
that was the only one I could find. I soon found SCIENCE,
Enjoy Incubus, and Make Yourself, and was delighted.
This one’s the icing on the cake!
- DIGITAL HARI.
TODAY
Digital cameras with multiple
facilities for maximum utility –
assuming you can read
and understand the accompanying booklet
which is the instruction manual on how to
use it!
EDUCATION YESTERDAY
The ‘F’ word was a letter
among 25 other letters
which comprise the
alphabet
TODAY
The ‘F’ word is the
word among 25 others
which comprise your vocabulary!
FLYING – YESTERDAY
Airplanes were synonymous
with smiling air-hostesses and you
didn’t want to land till you’d fixed a
date with one
TODAY
If you’re lucky there’ll be no midair collisions or engine faults or
technical snags. The air-hostess
may actually give you a genuine
smile but watch out! – the man
across the aisle is a bearded, bush
browed, flare nosed @#$%$^&&*
who might yet fix your fate!
- OTIS
THIS VIEW’S
DEFINITELY BETTER!
I
MOVIE REVIEW by BHAI SCOPE
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NOTICE
State Bank of Sikkim Employees’ Association raffle draw extended up to
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Norbu Tamang,
General Secretary
ph: 9434117402
281469 [r]
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worth a cry
saw a film called “50 First
Dates” all alone. How sad!
What do you do, right? Anyway, thanks for caring, but it’s not
your problem. Let’s get to the review. Heck, I liked the film. Yeah,
I laughed, I cried (granted I may be
a little more disposed toward crying these days), but a good cry
never hurt nobody. I’ve always
been a Sandler fan and he’s great
here, very funny, absurdly so at
times, and extremely graceful carrying off serious heartfelt moments.
Barrymore also deserves kudos,
and let me tell you - that walrus he’s such a big lush! I wanted to
take him home with me, slap him a
7
big high five, hand to fin. Yeah, it’s
Sandler and it’s funny, sometimes
over-the-top,
occasionally
sophomoric funny, but it’s essentially a tender love story that works.
The production is strong and even
believable, but a weak climax robs
it of an otherwise well deserved A-.
Fear not, it could have also rounded
up with a very disappointing ending (after 1.25 hours of solid production), it’s only the climax that’s
somewhat lame. The resolution returns to the strength and seriousness,
the real heart of the picture. And,
despite the fact that we may have
seen it coming, the resolution is still
rewarding, fulfilling even.
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THEFINALONE 8; NOW!; 28 March, 2004
today in
History
28th March
1941 Virginia Woolf novelist/
critic, dies
1969 Dwight D Eisenhower
the 34th US president dies in
Washington at 78
1980 Jesse Owens dies at the
age of 66, in Tucson, Arizona
1797 Nathaniel Briggs of NH
patents a washing machine
1917 Jews are expelled from
Tel Aviv & Jaffa by Turkish
authorities
1960 Pope John raises the 1st
Japanese, 1st African & 1st
Filipino cardinal.
SECURITY GUARD
STABBED AT ROCK
CONCERT
A
security guard was stabbed
during a SOUTH BY
SOUTH WEST showcase
in TEXAS for electro-rock outfit
CHIKINKI.
The altercation occurred at
around 1am last Saturday (March
21) after the Bristol-based band had
finished their set at The Copper
Tank in Austin.
A spokesman for the bar said
the incident had not been fatal but
the victim had needed surgery.
“There was a problem in one
part of the bar and a security guard
went over to deal with it. It was at
that point that he was stabbed.” he
added.
“After the show we were just
chilling out and suddenly the police came running in, they closed
the place and told us to go home,”
Chikinki frontman Rupert Browne
said, adding, “There was an ambulance and we saw a stretcher being
carried out. I think it happened in
the kitchen which was also the
backstage area.
“Things like this seem to happen to us all the time,” he admitted, “We played at Cargo (in London) about a month ago with
Kasabian and we got bottled. This
guy took offence when I jumped off
stage and landed on his girlfriend.
She didn’t seem to mind but he
smashed a bottle and threw it at me.
It missed me but hit Steve (drummer) on the shoulder. Later that
night he hurt someone really badly
and the police turned up to take him
away.”
CALL NOW! @
270949
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CRUISE AND CRUZ CALL IT QUITS
LOS ANGELES - Hollywood
power couple Tom Cruise and
Penelope Cruz have ended
their romance after nearly three
years, though they remain
“good friends” and are not dating anyone else, their publicists
said on Friday.
“They broke up at the end
of January,” Robert Garlock, a
spokesman for the Spanishborn actress, told Reuters. “It’s
amicable, they are good friends
and talk often. There’s no other
person involved.”
He added that neither star is
dating anyone else at the moment.
Cruise’s sister and publicist,
Lee Anne DeVette, also confirmed “they did break up,” but
said the two stars are “very
good friends” who talk fre-
quently. “They’re just not boyfriend and girlfriend anymore.”
The couple met in 2000
while working together on the
Cameron Crowe -directed film
“Vanilla Sky” and began dating
in July 2001 after Cruise’s decade-long marriage to Oscarwinning actress Nicole Kidman
fell apart.
A source said Cruise, 41,
and Cruz, 29, ultimately split up
because of the difficulty of
maintaining a relationship
while spending much of their
time apart in distant locations
making movies.
Cruise, a three-time Oscar
nominee and star of the recent
historical action drama “The
Last Samurai,” is currently in
pre-production on a third “Mission: Impossible” film.
THE FUTURE, NOW!
ARIES: Your thoughts turn to love
and this is a favorable time to
bring out any concerns you have
in your personal relationships.
Agreements and cooperation can
be achieved easily now.
TAURUS: You are contentious,
argumentative, and impatient
now. Disagreements erupt because you aren't willing to overlook minor irritations as readily as
usual.
GEMINI: You feel quite amorous
and affectionate now and will very
much want to share this time with
someone you love or at least with
congenial company. Your creative
or artistic inclinations are also
stimulated.
CANCER: Your desire for love,
companionship, and affection
predominates at this time. A new
friendship or romance could begin, or an established relationship
can be revitalized and enhanced.
LEO: You feel love, affection, harmony with others, and a need for
beauty in your surroundings. Doing something to add to the attractiveness of your environment or
appearance will make you happy.
VIRGO: Your usual routine is
likely to be disrupted now, either
by "freak" accidents beyond your
control or by your own impatience
with the status quo.
LIBRA: This is an excellent time
to make decisions about your financial affairs, as your judgment
is sound and reliable, though a bit
conservative. Investing in beautiful things which are likely to increase in value over time (such
as jewelry or fine art) is favored.
SCORPIO: Exchanging information, ideas, and opinions plays an
important role in your life now. A
significant conversation with
someone who has a very different attitude or perspective than
your own is likely.
SAGITTARIUS: You are impulsively affectionate and flirtatious
at this time, and you feel quite
restless if you are in a stable, predictable relationship that offers little excitement.
CAPRICORN: Your vitality and
courage are strong now and you
are eager to meet challenges. You
can accomplish a great deal of
work, especially if it involves
physical effort.
AQUARIUS: You are contentious, argumentative, and impatient now. Disagreements erupt
because you aren't willing to overlook minor irritations as readily as
usual. Confrontations with others
may be fruitful if you don't allow
your anger to get out of control.
PISCES: Underlying or previously
hidden aspects of a situation
come to light now.
Sony Sets Stage for
‘Spider-Man 3’
LAS VEGAS - Even before comic
book hero Spider-Man can weave
his crime-fighting web in movie
theaters for a second time, Sony
Pictures Entertainment on Wednesday set a May 2007 launch date and
star lineup for “Spider-Man 3.”
Returning for a third film in the
hit series will be Tobey Maguire
(news) as the man with the powers
of a super spider and Kirsten Dunst
(news) as his love interest, Mary
Jane Watson. Sam Raimi (news)
will be back to direct, Sony Pictures
Entertainment Vice Chairman Jeff
Blake said here at the ShoWest convention for movie theater owners.
Blake added that Sony is “so
excited” about “Spider-Man 2,” the
sequel to the 2002 box office smash
“Spider-Man,” that it is debuting
the second film on June 30 this
year, two days earlier than planned.
In “Spider-Man 2,” the
superhero battles a new nemesis Dr.
Otto Octavius, a.k.a. Doc Ock (Alfred Molina). Ock’s four mechanical appendages give him superpowers, too, but unlike Spider-Man,
Ock’s heart is cold and hard.
Along with fighting his rival,
Spider-Man’s alter ego, Peter
Parker, battles personal demons and
deals with his love for Watson. In
one revealing clip shown on
Wednesday, Parker gives up his
Spider suit in search of true love.
But don’t mistake “Spider-Man
2” for all romance because the
comic hero wrestles with Ock high
atop city skyscrapers and inside
rushing subway trains. If “SpiderMan” fans can’t wait for June’s
“Spider-Man 2” or, for that matter,
the May 4, 2007, debut of “SpiderMan 3,” then Sony promises to
have their newest promotional clips
in theaters by next month.
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