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