Proud to be a Sikkimese: Sikkim Travel, Culture & Local Heritage

25 years after SIKKIM - Nepali Times King Palden Thondup Namgyal, the Chogyal of Sikkim was in his palace on the morning of 6 April, 1975 when the roar of army trucks climbing the steep streets of Gangtok brought him running to the window. There were Indian soldiers everywhere, they had surrounded the palace, and short rapid bursts of machine-gun fire could be heard. Basanta Kumar Chhetri, a 19-year-old guard at the palace's main gate, was struck by a bullet and the killed-the first casualty of the takeover. The 5,000-strong Indian force didn't take more than 30 minutes to subdue the palace guards who numbered only 243. By 12.45 it was all over, Sikkim ceased to exist as an independent kingdom. Captured palace guards, hands raised high were packed into trucks and taken away, singing: " Dela sil, li gi, gang changka chibso " (may my country keep blooming like a flower). But by the, the Indian tri-colour had replaced the Sikkimese flag at the palace where the 12t...

GANGTOK, November 29: The news item that appeared in the November 28, 2007 issue of various local dailies has misquoted the Governor, Sudarshan Agarwal, a press communiqué from the Raj Bhawan has said. The Governor, in his speech at a seminar organized by Indian Council of Small Industries, (ICSI), Kolkata, here on November 27, had said, “It is on record that our State is having the fifth highest incidence of poverty among the state with 41.4 percent of the population living below the poverty line” based on the data furnished by the ICSI Kolkata, which relates to the year 1993-94.

The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony will go on a two-day visit to Sikkim beginning Saturday. He will be accompanied by the Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor and other Senior Officials of the Ministry of Defence. During his stay, Shri Antony will be visiting forward areas in the State including Nathu La. He will be briefed by the Army Commanders. The Defence Minister will also interact with the troops and review the security situation besides meeting State Government Officials. This is going to be the first visit of the Defence Minister to the State after he took charge of the Ministry in October last year.

Gangtok, November 28 : Indian Council of Small Industries and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Institute (Sikkim), Government of India organized one day seminar on Capacity of Village and Small Enterprise Sector as Engine of Growth for Development of Sikkim. The objectives of ICSI is to enhance the contribution of the small scale in...

“Youth of Sikkim should pursue higher education at any cost”-Dr. Lama GANGTOK, November 28: “There are ample opportunities and exciting avenues for those who want to pursue their education with interest and dedication,” Dr. Mahendra P Lama, Vice-Chancellor of Central University of Sikkim said. Addressing a huge congregation of students and academicians at a felicitation programme organised by the Sikkim Government College and held at the College auditorium here today, Dr. Lama said that the Sikkim University has been envisioned with the aim to prepare the youth to take up the challenges and the many avenues that are available for them today. Dr. Rajendra Bhandari, an eminent scholar and a lecturer in Nepali in SGC was also felicitated on the occasion. The two academicians were felicitated for their immense contributions in the field of academics.

Statesman News Service SILIGURI, Nov. 28: Brijit Aich and Prabir Dutta were adjudged first and second respectively in Group A of a stamp-designing contest. It was organised by the department of posts, North Bengal and Sikkim Region as part of their two-day philately festival and seminar here today. Anamika Singh and Mainak Chakravorty were declared first and second in Group-B, while Sreyoshi Bannerjee and Megna Dey were adjudged winner and the runner-up in Group-C. Over 200 students from various schools in the town took part in the competition, whose subject was: “India of My Dreams.” The winners were awarded attractive trophies. The prizes were given away by Mr Sanjiv Ranjan, director, postal services, North Bengal and Sikkim Region.  A workshop was later organised to enlighten the participants, their guardians as well as the guests and visitors at the festival on the various aspects of stamp collection. The workshop was conducted by noted philatelist Mr Ashit Ghosh and a ...

Toufiq Rashid DISTRICTWISE BREAKUP: Delhi, Bihar, Haryana, UP among new entrants NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 27: Contrary to conventional wisdom that high prevalence of HIV/AIDS is restricted to southern states and some places in the North-East, a new classification done by the National AIDS Control Programme (NACO) shows that the disease is spread across as many as 20 states in 163 districts. These 163 districts have been categorised as “A districts” in the third phase of the NACO Programme beginning April 1, 2007: districts where more than 1% of the general population and more than 5% of the high-risk group is infected with the virus. Experts say this means these districts have crossed the “epidemic threshold” for the disease. While the highest number of these A districts are, predictably, in states like Andhra Pradesh (21 of 25 districts fall in this category), Karnataka (24 of 27), Maharashtra (30 of 36), the surprise entrants are: New Delhi; eight districts in Bihar (including...

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES RIGHTS AND DZONGU After about a decade and a half of much deliberation, the UN has finally adopted the Resolution on the rights of indigenous people on the September 13 , 2007 in its 107 th plenary meeting. Is it known to Sikkim? As per history and the Supreme Court of India, the Lepchas are the original indigenous people of this land. They are entitled to the rights declared by the UN, as India is a signatory to this Declaration. Looking at the present scenario on Dzongu and the hydel power project development programme, it would be interesting to juxtapose some of the articles of the rights declared by the UN with the protest movement started by Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT). Article 3 Indigenous peoples have the right to self determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development. Article 8 States shall provide effecti...

Day 2: Arrived At Bagdogra Town after a domestic flight followed by an 8hr jeep ride to Yuksam, Sikkim Bagdogra town.. Cows still roam ard freely! Finally arrived at Yuksam, Sikkim. This is Trekkers' Lodge , our humble abode for the next 2 weeks! Sights and scenes at Trekkers' Hut Happy Photo at the Herbal Nursery ! Tiring climb of 2.4km! The Herbal Nursery :)! Nice View After the tour around the town, we have to start work!!!! haha, we were supposed to start our hard labour . We must set up a herbal garden for the local school there and plant tree saplings at their temple. It was tiring, but nevertheless rewarding and a totally new experience.

visited Sikkim form the 9th to 25th and here are the photos that i promised! These photos are from Ivie 's album... The crazy bunch of us atop Dzongri Peak.... Super exhilarated to be up there. Our faces are numb from the cold! Photos at changi airport before our flight. Thanks anthea and moon for sending ivie and me off! notice the happy faces :)!! Day 2- Calcutta... The guys' pict! hehe... Well, we stayed at this hotel called Heritage Hotel for the 1st night. Quite a decent hotel actually with freakin cold aircon and multi-channels tv! Sights And Scene In Kolkata City, India... Notice hw izzit different from Spore... well, we did nth much for this day, except to arrive in Kolkata, checked in the hotel and had a good night rest... more photos coming up! rahh, its late in the night, gotta go n sleep. i m sleepy! http://blacksesamemochi.blogspot.com/2007/11/sikkim-trip-photos-1.html

Gangtok, November 27: 'Druk Denjong: A Historical Perspective' the Sikkim - Bhutan photo exhibition, is inaugurated by Dago Tshering, Bhutan Ambassador to India, Japan and Nepal on November, 26.   The Photo Exhibition was third in series and organized by Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, Deorali. The first photo exhibition was held with the theme-'Who ...

It goes without saying that Sholay remains the greatest entertainer popular Indian cinema has ever produced. But the makers never expected it to become such a monumental hit. It was the firm belief of ‘one man’ Ramesh Sippy whose conviction, passion for filmmaking, and unflinching dedication towards his craft resulted in this memorable film. Here’s a small account on ‘The Making of Sholay’.   1. It all started with a four-line concept about a retired army officer whose family is massacred and he plans to take revenge with two junior officers whom he knew from his army days. Interestingly the concept was first offered to director Manmohan Desai, who opted for a comedy Chacha Batija instead, and later Prakash Mehra who was busy with Zanjeer.   2. Danny Denzongpa was the first choice for Gabar Singh. His photograph was also featured in the trade magazine when the film was announced. He turned it down because he couldn’t adjust dates that he had committed to Feroz Khan fo...

A heart-wrenching appeal by a young Lepcha in support of his Vanishing Tribe,   by: Uttam Lepcha, Gangtok. Today the Lepchas are shattered – their tears mingle with the Teesta waters, and their pleas echo in the mountains they worship. We are the Lepchas, dwellers of the mountains or the ravine folk – the distressed natives of Sikkim, our homeland. Very soon they will call us history. Why – yesterday they spoke of Human rights, the right to work, eat and live that befits a human. And today they say we have no right to keep our home as we plead it to be. Yesterday, the Supreme Court adjudged that we are the indigenous inhabitants of Sikkim; and today some are trying to flush us out of our last surviving home, our sacred land Dzongu. They speak kind words (developmental purpose they say) while their motives are sinister. Yesterday they had assured us that Dzongu was a protected reserve of the Lepchas, our emblem of origin and culture – our hallowed land. And today, i...

Nathu La Pass at 14000 feet is breathtaking in its beauty and altitude.  Watching the Indian soldiers make banter with the Chinese generals is kind of cute and unreal… I’ve never seen a Chinese soldier on duty … at the Chinese border… its kind of serious… friendly but not friends. You can shake hands with them. But do not overstep any area which is fenced by the military - its sensitive - and you’ll quickly have a soldier asking you to come back. You feel so proud seeing our soldiers at that altitude - maintaining the place for us ‘tourists’ to come and make a nuisance of ourselves - asking stupid questions, clicking snaps and doing things which make no sense. I felt like saluting the Indian soldiers out there and when they weren’t looking, I did! Oh, we had a military escort who drove with 3-4 tourist jeeps including ours.. we felt quite important…. Tsomgo Lake - which is on the way to Nathu La pass - had pet yaks all over - the lake is a letdown.. beautiful but small.. ma...

By Source: The Statesman on November 28,2007 Neeraj Vagholikar The late Nari Rustomji who served as Assam’s chief secretary and Dewan of Sikkim had, through his writings, warned that development inputs into Sikkim needed to be within the absorptive capacity of the region. In 1998, the Expert Appraisal Committee on river valley and hydroelectric projects, appointed by the ministry of environment and forests, noted Rustomji’s observations while examining a proposal for environmental clearance for the 510-MW Teesta V hydroelectric project in Sikkim. Since this was one of the multiple large hydroelectric works in the ecologically and culturally sensitive Teesta river basin, it recommended a detailed study on the “carrying capacity” of the river basin before taking a decision. But the MoEF cleared the project in May 1999 without giving environmental clearance and conducting the carrying capacity study. However, one of the conditions for clearance was that “no ...

DARJEELING, November 25: Life in all three sub-divisions of the Darjeeling district remained paralysed as the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF)-sponsored indefinite bandh entered the second day today. Shops remained shut and the Police patrolled the streets with prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC following the attack on the life of a prominent GNLF leader K B Gurung, who is the organisation’s Darjeeling Sadar-II unit, on Friday. The GNLF chief, Subash Ghising has decided to continue with the bandh till 20 Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJMM) activists, including its president Bimal Gurung, were arrested. The GNLF have alleged that the attack was carried out by GJMM supporters. While GNLF supporters used strong-armed tactics to impose the bandh in many places, stranded tourists were the most affected. The tax-stand here were jammed packed with tourists desperate to get out of the town at the earliest since Saturday morning. But most drivers were unwilling to v...