Exams near, Hills schools panic

The offensive in the Darjeeling hills has set alarm bells ringing at the 40-odd schools of the district because the ISC practical exams start on Monday.

The question papers have not yet reached the schools and as things stand now, both boarders and day scholars will find it difficult to reach schools for the exams. The heads of the schools fear that if the warring GJM does not agree to provide a reprieve to students appearing for their board exams, a large number of careers will be affected.

GJM general secretary Roshan Giri, however, allayed such fears saying: “We are aware of the ensuing board exams and do not want students to suffer. We will work out a way for students like always. There is still time for that.”

Of the affected schools, 15 are Anglo Indian boarding schools that have existed for over a century in the Hills and are hence renowned heritage institutions. These institutions have decided to wait and watch the situation for the next 24 hours and then start a dialogue with the GJM so that the board exams can go ahead in peace.

The ISC practical exams are scheduled on February 14, 17 and 20. Thereafter, the written exams start for both ISC and ICSE on February 28. According to rules, the question papers for the practical exams reach schools in advance so that the laboratories can be prepared accordingly. The Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) has already sent the question papers, but those meant for the Hills are still lying with Don Bosco, Siliguri, the collection centre for the Council’s exams for the zone.

St Joseph’s Darjeeling, popularly known as North Point, had kept all boarders due to appear for the board exams in the school itself during the winter break fearing this disruption, but other schools have not done that. In these schools, boarders were about to return early this week, well in time for Monday’s exam. But no one has managed to do that. Students and parents are extremely worried whether the practical exams will take place at all and anxious phone calls are pouring in from all over.

“In case of my school, the problem is two-prong. The boarders due for the board exams are here, but their parents are extremely worried for their safety. On the other hand, there is no way in which I can bring the question papers from Siliguri because of the strike. So how do I prepare the laboratories? Even day scholars of our school who will appear for their board exams, will find it extremely difficult to make it to the venue if the stand-off continues!” said Father Kinley Tshering, head of North Point.

St Paul’s School, another top institution of Darjeeling located in Jalapahar, has to contend with the fact that all its boarders are yet to return. “We are tense and hope things get better over the next couple of days and our boarders set to take the board exams return at least by Saturday. We might have to take the help of the Army to bring the question papers if time runs out,” said rector of the school, Carol Joseph.

A worried father, whose son is a boarder at Mount Herman and will write his ICSE exam on February, is not sure if his son will be able to reach the venue at all. “I am an architect and I work extensively in Sikkim. Right in front of my eyes, I saw protesters set two trucks and a private vehicle ablaze. How will I risk my son’s life and take him back to school for the exam?” he said.

Source: Times of India

Khukuri attacker a woman

A woman had wielded the khukuri thrice at home guard Karuna Tigga, the injured law enforcer said today, recounting the events that led to the police firing at Sibchu in Jalpaiguri yesterday.

“Suddenly, some women grabbed me and dragged me into the crowd. My helmet slipped off my head and I fell in the confusion. A woman hit my head with a khukuri. She hacked me thrice and I heard the report of a shot being fired as I fell,” said Karuna, who was erroneously identified as Kalyani yesterday.

Lying in a bed at the district hospital here, a feeble Karuna said: “I have been posted either at Kumani or Sibchu ever since the Morcha set up camps there. There were other home guards and lady constables deployed in front of the community centre at Sibchu where hundreds of Morcha supporters had gathered shouting slogans.

“We, the women, formed the front of the police barricade as we were confronting mainly supporters of the Nari Morcha (the women’s wing of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha). I was wearing khaki and a helmet and carrying a lathi. Behind the women security ring were policemen and then CRPF personnel.”

She said tear-gas shells had been burst and Nari Morcha members on a hunger strike evicted from the community hall. “The senior officers were urging the demonstrators to disperse and we had once again come face to face with a group of protesters.”

After recounting the khukuri attack, Karuna, a mother of two, said: “I do not remember what took place after that. I woke up at the hospital in pain. However, I am feeling a little better today.”

The home guard job had passed on to Karuna four years ago from her father Shyamal Tigga who had died while in service. Her husband, Samsul Ekka, had died some years ago. “I have no one but my two children who are in hostel. My colleagues are looking after me in hospital,” said Karuna, who lives in a rented room in Panpara near here. According to officials, home guards with Karuna’s experience drew anything between Rs 5,000 and Rs 6,000 a month.

Karuna’s 12-year-old daughter Deepika is a student of Class VI and stays in a tribal hostel in Nagrakata. Ten-year-old son Rohit Ekka studies in Class IX and stays in a similar facility in Banarhat.

Doctors said Karuna was out of danger. “She had received three injuries on the top of her head and on the back and the wounds were stitched,” said a doctor.

Karuna said what happened on Tuesday was not comparable to the small skirmishes she had come across in the past. “They were not like what I experienced yesterday. I do not know where I will be posted next but I will definitely report for duty during similar situations in future,” she said.

A senior police officer said home guards were trained in crowd control and baton charge. Asked why home guards, who were only allowed to wield lathis, had been deployed at Sibchu yesterday, the officer said: “Women home guards are also deputed to control law and order situations as they are counted as lady police in every police station they are posted.”

Source: The Telegraph

Cops march to keep peace - adivasis want ‘biased’ officials removed

An uneasy calm prevailed in the Dooars today even as attempts by pro- and anti-Gorkhaland supporters in Debidanga, one of the focal points of yesterday’s violence, to assemble were foiled by police.

The police continued to patrol the sensitive areas and one company of the SSB was deployed in Debidanga on the outskirts of the town around 8pm. Darjeeling superintendent of police Rahul Srivasta said a close watch was being kept on the situation.

Two persons were killed in the region yesterday when Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters clashed with Adivasis and other Gorkhaland protesters. MORE...

Buddha hope for homeless

Sanjay Bhujel along with more than 100 others had last week trekked for over two hours through the dense Chapramari forest, dogging a herd of elephants on the way, to reach Gairibas.

The men — 112 of them — were fleeing Nagarkata where their homes were attacked allegedly by supporters of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parisad.

The 32-year-old secretary of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s Nagrakata Block Committee is hopeful that he can soon get back to his wife and a five-month-old son after a meeting between chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and a delegation of the hill party in Calcutta last evening. MORE...

GJMM, tribals fan Dooars flames

NAGRAKATA/BANERHAT (Darjeeling News): A Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporter struck by an arrow and two Adivasis beaten black-and-blue the violence ignited in the Dooars spread like wildfire on Saturday along National Highway 31, threatening to spiral out of control.

The situation looked the grimmest at Salugara, outside Siliguri town, where GJMM and DYFI-led mobs bayed for each other’s blood all day, separated only by a cordon of policemen. In the brickbatting, five cops were injured and two rioters were arrested. MORE...