PD Rai Presents the GLOBE COP21 Legislators Summit Communiqué

PRESS RELEASE

Sikkim Lok Sabha MP Prem Das Rai presented the GLOBE COP21 Legislators Summit Communiqué to MoS Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju at the annual Meet of the Mountain States in New Delhi on 11 December 2015. The event was organized by Integrated Mountain Initiative to celebrate the International Mountain Day.

Rai updated the gathering about his participation at the UNFCC COP 21 in Paris, particularly the keen interest in supporting measures for disaster risk reduction in mountain states shown by Margareta Walhstrom, Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the UN for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The GLOBE COP21 Legislators Summit was hosted by the Assemblée Nationale, France’s National Parliament, and supported by GLOBE France in collaboration with the GLOBE International secretariat. The summit was attended by over 221 parliamentarians from over 67 countries.

The theme of the summit was TOWARDS COHERENCE & IMPACT: The challenge of Paris and the 2030 Agenda for a prosperous and sustainable world.

The Summit concluded with for more integrated action on the climate and 2030 Agenda, and greater parliamentary engagement in implementation. The legislators committed to:

1. Ensuring consistency of national legislation and policies on climate and of other societal objectives, such as access to energy, gender equality and financing for development;

2. Ensuring that all necessary means are put in place on national level to implement the Paris Agreement through advancing legislative action and strengthening the dialogue with all other stakeholders;

3. Reviewing INDCs and/or national climate change action plans to ensure appropriate ambition, funding and coherence with commitments under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction and other related international processes;

4. Accelerating the ratification of the Doha Amendment establishing the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, and achieving the ratification of the Paris Agreement by the end of June 2017;

5. Increasing effective scrutiny of implementing national legislation on climate and improving transparency and accountability on climate action.

Rai, along with Bhubaneswar Kalita (Rajya Sabha MP, Assam), Jairam Ramesh (Rajya Sabha MP, Andhra Pradesh), Sanjay Jaiswal (Lok Sabha MP, Bihar), V.P. Singh Badnore (Rajya Sabha MP, Rajasthan), Mmhonlumo Kikon (Parliamentary Secretary for Labour& Employment, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Border Affairs, Government of Nagaland), Malini Mehra (Chief Executive, GLOBE International) and Pranav Sinha (Director, GLOBE India) were part of the GLOBE India delegation to the summit.

GLOBE is an international network of legislators comprised of national parliamentarians from over 70 countries and chapters established in over 40 legislature, that are committed to finding legislative solutions to the challenges posed by climate change and sustainable development.

JANHA BAGCHA TEESTA RANGIT

This was a national song of Sikkim sung in the Nepali language during the monarchy system. During the merger with India, the song got banned and later re-released. Two words on the 8th para, which earlier said 'Rajah rah Rani,' were replaced with "Janmah bhumi." This song was dedicated to the King and Queen of Sikkim. The song lyrics were penned by Sanu Lama, and the music was composed by Dushyant Lama. The song was first sung on the birth anniversary of Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal on April 4, 1970, at Gangtok by Aruna Lama, Dawa Lama, and Manikamal Chettri. JANHA BAGCHA TEESTA RANGIT, JAHAN KANCHENDZONGA SEER YEHI HO HAMRO DHANA KO DESH, TAPAWAN HO PYARO SIKKIM INTERLUDE PHULCHAN YEHA AANGANAI MAA, CHAAP , GURAS, SUNAKHARI SWARGASARI SUNDAR DESH KO HAMRO PYARO PYARO JANMAHBHUMI JANHA BAGCHA…… BATASHLE BOKCHAA YAHA, TATHAGAT KO AAMAR WAANI ...

Sikkim Mahinda Thero: A national hero of Sri Lanka

Sikkim Mahinda Thero BY SHITAL PRADHAN I first heard about S Mahinda Thero in 2005 while in Kolkata when I was asked by one of the stamp dealers whether I was interested in a 20 paisa stamp of S Mahinda Thero issued by the Sri Lankan Postal Department in the early 1970s. I collected philatelic items on Buddhism, but I never understood who he was talking about. He told me, as I was from Sikkim, I might be interested to know more about the person, and he went on to add it was Sikkim Mahinda Thero, a Buddhist monk who is regarded as a national hero, a famous poet in the Sinhalese language whose poetry promoted patriotism and the revival of Buddhism to this part of the Island. He promised to send me the stamp of S Mahinda Thero from Colombo through the mail, but I have never heard from him since then. However, regarding my limited concern, it was enough to know that such a person keeps the name Sikkim with honor and pride in Sri Lanka. I had the name...

Pandam Garhi and its surmise

--> RUINS OF PANDAM GARHI BY SHITAL PRADHAN The stories of the legendary ruined walls at Pandam, a 16 km uphill climb from Rangpo, as I had heard from old folks a few seasons back, had ever since excited me to visit this place. Never in the pages of a history book do we come across its talk about when it was built or how it was constructed at the top of the hill? Over the years, many theories have evolved regarding its origin. Some theorists associate the fort with some Lepcha legends, while few disagree with it and have their own adage. They make us believe one of the Chogyals constructed it to stop the approaching Bhutanese army from entering Sikkim. The last theory to add up, already baffling and controversial, says it was one of the Gurkha Generals from Nepal who constructed the fort along with the Kalika Mandir, also called Nishani Mandir, just below it. With each theory making questions over my mind, I decided to have my second trek to the Pandam Garhi. I had ...

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

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