Lepchas agitate for separate council

KOLKATA/ DARJEELING: A new unrest is brewing in the Hills. Days after the formation of the Gorkha hill council, Lepchas, the ethnic group of the Himalayas, are fighting against the "marginalization" of their community.

Groups of Lepchas from Darjeeling held a series of demonstrations under the banner of Lepcha Rights Movement (LRM) in Kolkata last week, demanding protection. With the Gorkha Territorial Administration now under formation, representatives of LRM feel time has come to raise their issues.

On Thursday, LRM submitted a memorandum to the Darjeeling district magistrate, demanding a separate Lepcha Development Council for the protection of their language, culture and economic development.

Lepchas had a nominated representative in the former Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, but this did not help the community, an LRM leader said. Being scheduled tribe, they also want a reserved seat for themselves in the West Bengal assembly.

They complain that their identity and culture are being swamped by people of Nepalese origin. They want the introduction of Lepcha language in schools of Darjeeling. Though land owned by Lepchas, being scheduled tribe land, is protected, they say transfer of their land under different pretexts has taken place.

"The Lepcha Development Board will have nothing to do with the GTA and will function as an independent body to safeguard the Lepchas in West Bengal. As far as the introduction of the Lepcha language in the education system is concerned, we want it to be introduced in primary schools," LRM spokesman Samden

Lepcha said.

He said the government policy on Lepchas needed to be amended. "There are policies in place for the Lepchas but they are not right. The policy decision for Lepcha habitat is taken without the slightest protection measure. It is also without considering the daily plight of the Lepchas. There has to be a new policy in place for the Lepcha community for their uplift and to save the community from extinction."

Unlike the Lepchas of Darjeeling who are spread all over the Hills and Kalimpong subdivision having a larger concentration, Lepchas of Sikkim have Dzongu reserved for themselves. But, the plan to

set up a number of hydel projects in Dzongu, located in north Sikkim, has alarmed them. The arrival of a large number of immigrant labourers for the construction of these projects has threatened their habitat.

Lepchas are not numerically strong. According to the ACT website, their number in Sikkim was about 40,000 in a population of over 5,40,000 in the 2001 census. In Darjeeling, the number of Lepchas is estimated to be small, many of them having merged with the larger Nepalese community.

Times of India

Original inhabitants seek quota

Kalimpong, July 17: The Lepchas, acknowledged as the original inhabitants of the Darjeeling hills, have demanded reservation of seats in the proposed Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) to ensure that the community remains an integral part of the political system in their homeland.

Speaking for the community, the Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Forum, which is the political arm of the Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association (ILTA), said reservation was necessary given that since Independence, the political, cultural and social issues of the tribe had not been addressed at all levels of government — local, state and central.

“All these issues are very vital to the existence of the Lepcha tribe and the preservation of the historic background of the region as a whole,” said Paul Simick, the forum president.

He said the Lepchas constituted about 20 per cent of the nearly nine-lakh hill population and they should be made an integral part of any political settlement.

“During the chaotic political agitation in the 1980s, the indigenous Lepchas were totally ignored in the overall development process. The indigenous Lepchas have felt left out for nearly a quarter of a century because of the apathetic attitude of the DGHC and the state government. There was no thought of their well-being and no attempts whatsoever to conserve their culture, customs and traditions,” said Simick.

The forum also demanded that the Lepchas be officially declared the indigenous tribe of the hills and certain exclusive provisions like quotas in jobs, colleges and universities be provided for them.

“As the indigenous tribe of the Darjeeling hills, the Lepchas deserve space to breathe,” said Simick.

He also reiterated the long-standing demand for inclusion of the Lepcha language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution and said it should also be immediately introduced in schools and colleges in the hills.

“During British rule, Lepcha was one of the official languages of the region. Sadly, in our very own Bengal, successive governments have not taken any step to teach this old language in schools and colleges in the hills where there are enough Lepcha tribal students,” Simick said.

In an effort to preserve the rich cultural heritage of the Lepchas, the forum also demanded the setting up of a Lepcha cultural institute.

“The rich cultural heritage of the Lepchas is being sustained only through verbal and written communication by the Lepchas themselves, some interested individuals, scholars and the Kalimpong-headquartered ILTA. The Lepcha cultural heritage, however, may not be able to withstand the onslaught of multi-cultural invasion in the 21st century if immediate steps are not taken to preserve and advance it,” added Simick.

The Telegraph

Lepcha lexicon’s new edition

Siliguri, April 13: Children attending the 40-odd Lepcha night schools in the three hill subdivisions of Darjeeling will find a treasure trove of knowledge about their community in the second edition of the Lepcha-English Encyclopaedic Dictionary that will be introduced in the institutions soon.

The book was published in October last year.

“The first Lepcha-English dictionary was compiled by General G.B. Mainwaring, an Englishman, in 1898. However, the first dictionary compiled by an indigenous Lepcha, K.P. Tamsang, was published in 1980. The book went out of stock and we undertook the task of coming out with the second edition by adding more words about the community’s religion, flora and fauna and natural resources,” Lyangsong Tamsang Lepcha, the editor of the second edition, told The Telegraph today.

The book includes the mening of almost everything that is relevant to the Lepchas, he added.

“The state despite our continuous demand has not introduced Lepcha language in the government schools. We are undeterred by this indifference and have started night schools to teach the children of our community their language, culture and literature. The dictionary will be supplied to these night schools so that children can refer to them,” said Tamsang.

He added that the book will also be helpful to anthropologists, scholars and writers interested in studying the community.

Tamsang along with two others started compiling Lepcha words and their meanings in both Lepcha and English from October 2008. Within a year, 1,100 copies of the second edition were published. “We have made an addition of around 500 Lepcha words to the existing 26,000 words,” Tamsang said.

The words and their meanings are written in Rong, the Lepcha script, and in English.

“Michael Way, a British national, who is interested in studying the Lepchas has helped us financially to publish the book,” Tamsang said.

Source: The Telegraph

Sreelatha Menon: A cow`s leg for tribals

An environment impact assessment report on a hydel project in Dzongu, the holy land of the Lepchas, overlooks the fact that it is banned to the outside world and falls in a biosphere reserve.

What has chastity of women, belief in spirits and gifting of a cow’s leg in marriages got to do with hydel power? One needs a consultant to give an answer.

Check this out. This is from an environment impact assessment report commissioned by a company called Teesta Urja Limited and prepared by consultants Wapcos Centre for Environment.

The consultants were asked to assess the impact that a 1,200-Mw hydel power project on Teesta river, called Teesta 3, would have on Dzongu, the ancient settlement of the Lepcha tribals in North Sikkim. The Ministry of Environment Ministry’s approval to the project depends on this report.

“Lepchas are animists (having clans named after animals, wherein they worship animals) and believe in many gods and spirits of land, water and trees.’’

The consultants definitely were confused about animism and just stopped of calling Lepchas a species of animals who could not write a consultancy report in English like them.

Teesta 3 is one of the 26-odd hydel projects for which the Sikkim government has signed agreements with sundry private companies.

About 60 per cent of Teesta 3 involves work in the holy land of Lepchas, the mountains of Dzongu.

The Lepcha youth, those who had the benefit of an English education and had transcended the “animal” existence attributed to them by the consultants, found this report hard to take. Already aggrieved by handing over of their mountains to the hydel power companies, they protested with a letter, which of course yielded no reply.

The report gives cultural details unsubstantiated by the authors and smacks of voyeurism. It says: “Among Lepchas, marriages are solemnized with the boy’s parents offering two cows, a pig, 12 chicken and a mun jad (liquor)…In the bride price, jewelery, land, cloth and a right leg of a cow is offered.”

Of course, the report’s obsession with cows matches only that of the RSS and it adds: “Gifting a leg of a cow may not be liked by their Hindu counterparts and this (?) may create discontent among the people.”

The report skips the essential fact that Dzongu is a place banned to the outside world by the government of Sikkim in order to protect the shy Lepchas and their cultural identity. It also skips the fact that it is a world heritage site and falls in the Kanchendzonga biosphere reserve and national park.

Lepchas may agree to lump the cow’s leg but this one really takes their goat. Wapcos says: “Chastity of women at the time of marriage does not hold a lot of importance. Pre-marital and extra- marital relationships are not uncommon.’’

The report concludes that the project doesn’t hurt anyone, least of all Lepchas and hence can be proceeded with, except that the workers should not mess around with the cows and the girls. The blasting of Dzongu for Teesta 3 is in full swing now.

There are 2,200 workers, which is 10 per cent of the population, and the project will last five years. Remember why Goans threw out the SEZs. But then Lepchas are not Goans.

The unlettered tribals, 1,000 in all, are moving out of nine villages of Dzongu, leaving the educated Lepcha youths to sit on a hunger strike in Gangtok which is now 200 days old, of course, with no one listening.

More support for the Lepchas

Gangtok , Sikkim : The Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad has joined hands with members of the Affected Citizens of Teesta who are protesting against upcoming hydroelectric power projects at Dzongu, a Lepcha reserve in North Sikkim.

Terming the ACT's agitation "legitimate", the ABAVP president, Mr Somjibhai Damor, said: "The plight of tribals across the country is similar to the plight of Lepchas in Sikkim. We have started organising awareness campaign at Dzongu," he added.

Mr Damor said a collective tribal body should be formed in all states to unite the tribal population in a bid to overcome government 'atrocities'. If the fundamental rights of the tribal people as inscribed in the Indian constitution are denied, the spark of rebel would ignite the future," he said.

Meanwhile, the issue of the controversial hydroelectric power projects has gained much momentum in the state with the staunch support from the ABAVP. "Irrespective of the place, all Lepchas are one, even though I came from Kalimpong thinking Dzongu is my native and sacred land," said Mr Lyangsong Tamsang, president of Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association.

Source: The Statesman

Sikkim Govt. orders to stop project in Dzongu

Gangtok , Sikkim : The Sikkim government has ordered that work on all the five hydel power projects in Dzongu, North Sikkim, be stopped for now.

The government has also constituted a committee to review the projects. The projects were supposed to have come up at Ringpi, Lingza, Rukel, Rangyang and Panam.

The government order is being seen as a victory for members of Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) who had been protesting against the hydel power projects.

The decision was notified through an order issued today by the home department. The review committee will have Sikkim chief secretary N.D. Chingapa as the chairman, additional chief secretary T.T. Dorji, the development commissioner and ACT president Athup Lepcha as members. Pintsho Namgyal Lepcha, a resident of Lingthem in Dzongu, and environmentalist Sanjay Kumar Jain will also be part of the team. The principal chief engineer-cum-secretary for energy and power, D.D. Pradhan will be the member secretary.

The committee has been asked to submit its report within 100 days from today.

ACT had begun its agitation more than two months ago with the demand for scrapping of all the five projects proposed for the Lepcha reserve of Dzongu in North Sikkim. It had argued that the projects would disturb the ecological balance of the area and hurt the religious sentiments of Lepchas.

The members of the organisation simultaneously began relay and indefinite hunger strikes in support of their demand. With time the movement secured support even from people in the Darjeeling hills. Later, the organisation scaled down its demands and asked for an impartial committee to review the projects. Sikkim chief minister Pawan Chamling then appealed to ACT members to call off the fast and resolve the issue through talks.

The government today also advised the ACT president to call off the relay hunger strike immediately to enable the committee to deliberate on the matter in a congenial atmosphere.

The relay hunger strike has completed 77 days.

Source: The Telegraph

Lepchas campaign at New Delhi

Gangtok , Sikkim : Lepchas from Darjeeling and Sikkim are campaigning in New Delhi in support of the agitation launched by members of the Affected Citizens of Teesta against the upcoming hydroelectric power projects in the Lepcha reserve of Dzongu in North Sikkim.

The Lepchas recently met BJP president Mr Rajnath Singh to express their reservations against the hydel power projects at Dzongu. "I have taken the matter seriously. Since the hydel power projects would pose a threat to the sanctity of Dzongu, it is an important issue. We should all join hands to support religious issues of the indigenous tribal community of the Eastern Himalayas," Mr Singh told reporters from New Delhi.

Source: The Telegraph

Sikkim Dzongu made itself heard in New Delhi

Kalimpong : The protest against hydel power projects in the Lepcha reserve of Dzongu in North Sikkim made itself heard in New Delhi today.

A joint delegation of the Rong Ong Prongzom (Lepcha Youth Organisation), Darjeeling, and Concerned Lepchas of Sikkim met Mani Shankar Aiyar, the minister in-charge of the department of north-eastern region (DoNER) in Delhi today and urged him to help save Dzongu, which is sacred to the Lepchas.

The 11-member team also submitted a memorandum to the DoNER minister. Lepchas of Darjeeling and Sikkim have been on a relay hunger strike here and in Gangtok demanding the immediate scrapping of the hydel power projects at Dzongu.

President of the Prongzom and the leader of the delegation, Dorji Lepcha, told The Telegraph over phone from Delhi that Aiyar heard them out and advised them to meet minister for environment and forests.

“He also told us that he was not aware of the protest spreading to the neighbouring Darjeeling hills as well,” said Lepcha.

The delegation will be camping in Delhi for some more days in an effort to meet UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. They are scheduled to meet tribal affairs minister P.R. Kyndiah tomorrow.

Source: The Telegraph

Projects on Lepcha Reserve Review

Gangtok , Sikkim : The Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) has written to Sikkim chief minister Pawan Chamling asking for an independent quasi-judicial committee to review all projects including those proposed in the Lepcha reserve of Dzongu.

In the letter, the ACT members thanked the chief minister for his pledge to uphold the sanctity of Dzongu and added that they had always sought an amicable and peaceful solution to the problem.

“Since negotiations with the authorised committee seem to have reached a stalemate, we seek your direct intervention in this matter,” read the letter signed by ACT president Athup Lepcha and other senior members.

The ACT members have demanded that the composition of the committee would have to be agreeable to both sides. They have also demanded that all activities related to the Panan hydel project in Dzongu, including land acquisition, be kept in abeyance.

A meeting between the chief minister and ACT seems likely tomorrow, according to some of the mediators.

The hunger strike led by ACT general secretary Dawa Lepcha and 20-year-old Tenzing Lepcha has entered the 35th day today. The two are continuing their fast at Sir Thutob Namgyal Memorial Hospital where they are admitted. Both are suffering from high fever, headaches and nausea, sources said.

Source: The Telegraph