VU2RVM: the first post merger Radio HAM from Sikkim

BY SHITAL PRADHAN

My story on AC3PT was widely appreciated, and it was something new to the people of Sikkim too. Little did I know that one person in the entire crowd was closely watching my article, and he, too, had been part of Sikkim Ham radioactivity. Meet Rajesh Verma, Director, Department of Information Technology, Government of Sikkim. Rajesh Verma is better known in Sikkim for his well-liked Guide book on Sikkim. Nevertheless, few people really know that he was also an active radio ham with a call sign VU2RVM, and he had also written a book on the radio. His book “ABC of Amateur Radio and Citizen Band” was first published in 1987.

A sample of the VU2RVM QSL Card

Cover of the book written by Rajesh Verma

It was more of an opportunity for me to swap emails with Rajesh Verma. I shall also remain grateful to him for the book that he sent me along with his personal call sign QSL card. I am here sharing his call sign QSL card, which shows eight lucky signs of Buddhist culture, along with other different QSL cards he has received over the years.

I also would like to add Rajesh Verma’s fantasy with Ham in his own words “…… But it is not always talking for pleasure that hams indulge in. There are examples galore in which hams have provided efficient communication during emergencies such as floods, earthquakes, storms, and other calamities. I operated a Ham station from Gangtok from 1979 to 1995 using home-brewed equipment with a call sign VU2RVM (VU2 denotes India). Later as a Club Station of the National Institute of Amateur Radio, I used Kenwood equipment. In 1986, I trained 20 Scouts and Guides and their instructors from Sikkim; many of them got their licenses. Some of them used to operate my equipment for going on air. Sadly, Ham Radio is steadily taking a backseat with the advent of the internet and mobile communication. But in Sikkim, there is still scope for Ham radio to be used as an alternate means of communication during disasters.”

What is more interesting is the fact that when Sikkim was an independent kingdom, it had a call sign AC3 followed by PT, named after Chogyal (King) Palden Thondup Namgyal. Post-1975, after Sikkim merged with the mighty Indian Union, the next call sign licensed was VU2RVM, i.e., VU2 for India and RVM for the person's name.

QSL cards collected by Rajesh Verma:

Also, read

The AC3PT: A story of the deleted country