Skip to main content

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES RIGHTS AND DZONGU

By himalayanreview
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 107th 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 effective mechanisms for prevention of, and redress for:

b) Any action which has the aim or effect of dispossessing them of their land, territories or resources.

Article 10

Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their land or territories. No relocation shall take place without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned and after agreement on just and fair compensation and where possible, with the option of return.

Article 20

Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and develop their political, economic and social system or institutions, to be secure in the enjoyment of their own means of subsistence and development, and to engage freely in all their traditional and other economic activities.

Article 23

Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for exercising their right to development. In particular, indigenous peoples have the right to be actively involved in developing and determining health, housing and other economic and social programmes affecting them and, as far as possible, to administer such programmes through their own institutions.

Article 26

Indigenous people have the right to the land, territories and resources which they have owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired.

Article 29

Indigenous people have the right to the conservation and protection of the environment and the productive capacity of their land, territories and resources. States shall establish and implement assistance programmes for indigenous peoples for such conservation and protection, without discrimination

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

History on Easter Sunday and Padari Ganga Prasad Pradhan

By himalayanreview
By Seira Tamang As noted by various scholars, Hinduism, the Nepali language, the monarchy and a rastriya itihas (a chronicle of progress in which the dark era of Rana rule is contrasted with the enlightened, progressive and modern period of Panchayat rule) formed the core of the Panchayat regime’s national culture. The formation and consolidation of this national culture have required the expunging of uncomfortable facts and stories that might raise ambiguities and questions. While the selection of what and who is and is not acknowledged to exist (or at least exist in historically important ways) in official Nepali history is complex, social scientists have begun to provide more comprehensive historical accounts of the past through oral histories and re-readings of historical documents. Such accounts reveal how ordinary people lived in the past, and offer ways to think through how ‘history’ is crafted, shaped and managed in order to reflect ‘the reality’ best suited to the status quo, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Shapi of Sikkim: Our legacy -iii

By himalayanreview
A Sikkimese with a Shapi The two previous articles I wrote in my earlier edition on Shapi were wonderful to read for people around, and appreciation had been received from different corners of the state. I am thankful and find pleasure in people finding joy in my findings and research work. It was a bit surprising that very few had heard about Shapi, our rare legacy.  Nevertheless, I am happy to be part of history for re-introducing Shapi to those sections of my readers who had never heard about this old and sacred mountain mammal, a native of Sikkim. I dedicate my writing on Shapi to Ongden Daju (RO), who has been very supportive of me ever since I first published its first part a few months back. It was he who wanted me to continue with the third part of Shapi since more findings were evolving after my two writings. I shall always remain grateful to JR Subba, Jt Director from the Forest Department, for providing me with a valuable census report of Shapi done by the Department...
2 comments
Read more

Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal, with his mother Queen Mother Denzong Lhayumkusho and Prince Wangchuk of Sikkim

By himalayanreview
The late Jungkyang Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal, seated with his mother Queen Mother Denzong Lhayumkusho, daughter of Rakasha family of Tibet, and Prince Wangchuk whose late mother hails from the Samdrup Phodrang family of Tibet. Standing next to Denzong Queen Mother is the senior Rakasha Lhachamkusho, daughter of Raja Tsodrak Namgyal Taring of Sikkim, the eldest son of Chogyal Thutop Namgyal, who gave up the Sikkimese throne to his younger brother Sir Chogyal Tashi Namgyal in favour of staying in Tibet.  The Taring family of Tibet enabled into Tibetan high society by the great 13th Dalai Lama, is legitimately the unbroken elder line of the Royal Namgyal lineage of Sikkim, since Raja Tsodrak Namgyal was the Crown Prince of Sikkim, and his sons and grandsons today go by the Taring family name. Standing in the picture is also Princess Kukula, sister of the Chogyal married to the Phuenkhang family of Tibet.  Rakasha Tsetop, Rakasha Tseten, Yap Dr. Paljor, Soden Wangdi, Chimi ...
Post a Comment
Read more