05 April, 2004; NOW! 1

C M Y K

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SSP DOES IT AGAINDISSIDENT GROUP THROWS OUT UPRETI, RAI

AND LACHENPA; STAKES CLAIM TO PARTY

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 04 April: The Ti-betan Youth Congress [TYC] onFriday, 02 April, took its battleagainst the human rights abuse byChina in Tibet to the United Na-tions [UN] by resorting to “indefi-nite hunger strike” in front of UNbuilding in New York.

Participating in the hungerstrike was Mr. Gyatso, Vice-Presi-dent of RYTC, Gangtok, along withDolma Choephel, Joint Secretary ofCentral TYC and Sonam Wangdu,an active member of RTYC, NewYork and New Jersey.

TYC President, Kelsang

Phuntsok briefed the Hunger strik-ers. He said that Ms. Choephel, Mr.Gyatso and Mr. Wangdu have servedin their best capacity everywherethey went. Ms. Choephel said that

it is the right opportunity to sit onthe hunger strike. Mr. Gyatso hopedthat this opportunity will enliven theUN’s passive interest to work forTibet and Mr. Sonam Wangdu saidthat it is an honor to serve the inter-est of his Country, which remindshim of the sacrifices that his fatherhad made in Tibet.

The program began with prayersby the monks and the supporters withsolemn prayers of success. It was fol-lowed by singing of the Tibetan Na-tional Anthem and then a minute of

Gangtok TYC vice-president on fastunto death in New York

turn to pg 3

Gangtok TYC vice-president Gyatso sits inhunger strike outside the UN office at New York

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 04 April: TheSikkim Sangram Parishad has doneit again - expelled its president.

Addressing a press conferencehere today, Jerung Lama, CWCmember of the SSP, handed out cop-ies of a resolution purpotedly taken

by the party wherein it had unani-mously decided to expel workingpresident, Rajendra Uppreti and sen-ior members, Kamal Rai and NedupLachenpa for anti-party activities.

The resolution, dated 30 March,gives alleged “indulgence in grossindiscipline, anti-party activitiesand secret ties with the ruling

Sikkim Democratic Front” as thereasons prompting the expulsions.

The party, the resolution detailsfurther has decided to appoint DBBasnett as the President.

Speaking to the press today, Mr.Basnet revealed that the partywould be feilding candidates fromall the 32 Assembly constituencies

in the upcoming polls.Mr. Basnet has also been “au-

thorised” to “appoint suitable per-sons” to the party CWC. The rebelshave also written to the Chief Elec-toral Officer, Election Department,to henceforth contact the new of-fice bearers with any election-re-DB Basnet, appointed SSP

president by party rebels

THE FINAL LIST TODAY?WILL THE SDF

PICK HANUMANJAYANTI TO

FOLLOW UP WHATIT STARTED ONRAM NAWAMI?

TURN TO pg 4FOR DETAILS

turn to pg 4

BASNET HASALREADY

RESIGNED FROMSSP, HE CANNOT

EXPEL ORAPPOINT

ANYONE: UPRETITURN TO pg 5FOR DETAILS

CPMDECIDES TOCONTEST

FROMCHAKUNG;

EXPELSNORZANGTURN TO pg 4FOR DETAILS

2; NOW!; 05 April, 2004

C M Y K

Artist, filmmaker, keen photographer, columnist with internationalmagazines... It’s hard to pin Twan Yang down. Born to a Chinesefather and Tibetan mother, he grew up in Kalimpong and worked inSikkim. NOW! serializes Twan Yang’s autobiography, Houseboy in India...

NOW!FIRST WITH THE NEWS

ED-SPACE

It all happened last week. On theeve of India’s 71st Air ForceDay, Air Commander KK

Nowhar, the chief officer com-manding Hasimara air-base near theIndo-Bhutan border, said India isupgrading the base. The base ishome to 50 MiG-27 supersonicfighters. If New Delhi is determinedto upgrade the Hasimara air-base,operations of Indian fighter jetswould involve flying and engagingtargets in different terrains, in tropi-cal forests and steep mountainsover the Tibetan plateaus. The talkis that the current air base in theChicken Neck, Bagdogra will beused only for civilian purposes.

This indicates that either Indiais preparing to contain China in theregion, or it has decided to convertBagdogra into an international air-port as demanded by Sikkim andNorth Bengal traders. If containingChina is a prime motivation, it canbe inferred that New Delhi stillfeels threatened by China’s grow-ing military ties with Burma, Bang-ladesh and Pakistan. If that’s thecase, the trade between these twocountries will obviously take abackseat.

In his address, the air forcecommander reminded his cadresthat China has on several occasionsadmonished India by claiming that“the Indian Ocean does not belongto India, and China has every rightto show its presence in the Indianocean”. This clearly concerns India.

From Nepal’s commercial per-spective, it is immaterial whetherIndia intends to contain China inthe region or vice versa. What mat-ters is: Are these two Asian giantspreparing to resume trade throughSikkim’s Nathu La any time soon?If yes, Nepal is bound to lose itscomparative advantage as a conduitbetween the two giant economiesonce China and India have directaccess to each other’s market.

Trade between India and Chinahas increased since Indian PrimeMinister PV Narasimha Rao advo-cated “trade should precede poli-tics” policy, which ushered in lib-

eralisation and prosperity in India.India’s exports to China have dou-bled in recent years. It no longerconsiders China as its Asian ri-val. Rather, China is seen as a

friendly country from whom it canstill take many lessons, especiallyon the economic front.

The trade indices between NewDelhi and Beijing show that theformer is preparing to resume thetrade with the latter through NathuLa Pass, no matter how long it takesto resolve the border dispute.Sikkim has recently announced thatit is preparing a master plan thatwill, according to Sikkim’s ChiefMinister, roughly cost New Delhiover Rs. 5,000 million to developinfrastructure.

Before China annexed Tibet inthe 50s, India and Tibet were tradingpartners for almost two millennia.India still thinks that it can supplycheaper goods to Tibet than mainlandChina. The Calcutta port will natu-rally be modernized once the flow ofIndian goods to Tibet actually begins.The greatest beneficiary will beSikkim. Needless to say, West Ben-gal and other northeast Indian stateswill compete among themselves toexport their products to Tibet as theycan easily meet Tibet’s demand foragro-products.

India is likely to export cement,steel and cereal. It has the capacityto export food items to China forat least a decade or two. Besides,India has been investing in the ag-ricultural sector since the mid-70s.The Indian states of Bihar, UP, WestBengal and Assam have as muchpotential as Punjab and Haryana infood production.

This is one area Nepal will dowell to take note of. The pace atwhich India is making progress inagriculture shows that Nepal hasmade a mistake by neglecting its“agriculture”. Though Nepal hasbeen gifted with the perennial flowof water, it has made no progressat all in the agricultural sector.

India considers Nepal a conduitto foreign-made goods destined forIndia. If this is true, then only a hand-ful of businessmen and few in powerare enjoying the benefits. The ma-jority of Nepalis are finding it hardto earn two square meals a day.

Still, the competitive advantagefor Nepal is its agriculture. It hasto invest in agriculture and animalhusbandry in order to build a strongbase for development, and exports,so that foreign investors can set upagro-based industries. Nepal willhopefully be compelled to rethinkits development strategy after theNathu La pass resumes trade. TheChinese goods, already a commonsight, will continue to invade us.

- courtesy The Kathmandu Post

Nathu La will hurt Nepal

lsewhereeby PURAN P. BISTA

Should Things have ComeTo Such A Pass?

Last Friday, the Supreme Court stepped into the sizzling world ofpolitical maliciousness with an order which banned all politicaladvertisements which offend the “morality, decency and religioussusceptibility” of viewers and asked the Election Commission tomonitor them. The same order also cautioned cable networks andTV channels not to air any political advertisement that was “shock-ing, disgusting and revolting.” One wonders here why, if the Courtshad to step in and decide on what should be aired and whatcanned, the order was limited to just political parties. Shouldn’tthose controlling television content be told Not to air Anythingthat offends the “morality, decency and religious susceptibility”of viewers or content that was “shocking, disgusting and revolt-ing”? Do we often see material that falls into this bracket? Whatis the yardstick which rates such advertisements and where dowe draw the line? The Election Commission has been directedto monitor political advertisements on television and since weare not limiting ourselves only to the pay-channels, this meansmonitoring content on every local cable network, too. Can theEC pull off such monitoring?

The logistics apart, it is sad that things should have come tosuch a pass that the Supreme Court has to spell out how politicalparties and television channels should behave in the public do-main. But then again, is such mudslinging of recent make? Politi-cians have for long sustained their careers with constant and per-sonal attacks on their opponents. These attacks have been bothverbal and physical and both very much in public domain. Onemight point out here that legal recourse was available for suchexcesses, to which one can add that there have also always beenlaws which required any content for public consumption to remainwithin the bounds of decency. And yet we have last Friday’s SCruling which reiterates the same. Which brings us to the questionof whether such an order will make sure that our sensibilities, asviewers of the political tamasha underway at present, will not beoffended any more. What guarantees are there that the politicalopportunism and hypocrisy which led to the commissioning of ad-vertisements which offended the Supreme Court so much will notfind a new avataar in the public debates we see everyday on tel-evision, read in the newspapers or hear being mouthed at publicmeetings? Limiting ourselves to television channels here, whatguarantee is there that the media-mandarins, who worked out thosemineral water/ apple juice advertisements to promote alcoholicbeverages, will not work out a way to continue offending our “mo-rality, decency and religious susceptibility”?

Fact remains that ethics and morality cannot be enforced.No court order, law or punishment can guarantee fair-play, not inpolitics, not in private lives. The only deterrent will be public dis-dain for such low-blows and we still have to go through manymore elections before this disdain becomes expressive enough.Till then, those who enjoy political bickering are assured a goodshow and those who get “offended” by it, will have to continuesuffering in silence.

-23-

But one day in madness I called to MissMary, saying she was my darling andmy master heard me. He said that I

was playing with his daughter, and that myillness was only pretence. Then he took alarge stick made of cane to beat me. I was somad in my delirium that his anger did notfrighten me, and I began to laugh at him whenhe brought his stick to beat me. But he didnot hesitate a moment. He pulled me by thearm inside the storeroom and threw me onthe ground. Then he beat me for more than aquarter of an hour. I felt no pain at his beat-ing, but I saw Miss Mary crying. I heard thecook say: “Master, forgive him for his wickedwords. He will not say them again.”

But my master was so angry he did notlisten to any words or excuses but went onbeating me. If you had seen me in this condi-tion, you would have wept for grief at mymisery and suffering. When my master had

finished beating me, he said: “Go away fromhere. I do not want you here anymore.”At the same time he threw out mysmall box with clothes and said:“From now on you keep out ofmy house and never come hereagain, or I will beat you againlike this.” So I picked up mylittle box and said to my mas-ter that I wanted the wages hehad saved up for me for the sixmonths I had worked for him.He said that he would give menothing but another beating.

“All right,” I said to the sa-hib, “I will see you later.” Andso I took my box and went outof that place. It was a Saturday

evening, and that day my master must havelost a great deal of money, which made

him angry, and now he had unloadedall his anger on me.

At the time of the beating I hadfelt no pain, but later I began to have

great pain. My back was in such a bad conditionthat I made a sight to look at. When I reachedthe bazaar, people asked me who had commit-ted this crime, and I told them. A kind Muslimnamed Abdul Karim took me to his house, wherehis wife was cooking the evening food, and Ihad to tell the whole story again from beginningto end. They felt very sad when they heard it.

At seven o’clock Miss Mary came search-ing for me all over the place and asked for mefrom the bazaar people. They told her where Iwas, so she came to this house and asked meto go with her to her father. But I said: “No,Missie Baba. I will not go back with you un-der any circumstances because of what yourfather has done to me. I cannot work any morefor your father.” She insisted many times, butI refused and so she returned home sadl

Abdul Karim’s wife was in purdah. Shetook me inside and made me sit down on abed. I took off my shirt and showed her my

In Delirium And Fired Again

turn to pg 3

05 April, 2004; NOW! 3

C M Y K

� NEWSSCAN

Sri Hanuman Jayanti - 2004Grand Hanuman Jayanti Programme at

Hanuman Tok Mandir on 5th April, 2004

[Monday]

6:30AM Mandir opens for Darshan

8:30AM Hawan

9:30AM Main Aarati

Bhandara/ Langar/ Prasad 7:30AM onwards.Hanumantok Committee

Gangtok, Sikkim

back. “Oh, my son, you must be ingreat pain!” she exclaimed. “Let mewash the sores for you, my son. Iwill give you no pain at all if youtake courage and have patience.Then she washed the whole of my

Contd from pg 2

In delirium... back very carefully and gently. Shetold me not to put my shirt on again,so that it would not rub against thewounds.

My leg also hurt me, and the fleshhad swollen up where my sahib hadbeaten me and pulled me about. Myleft arm was hurt in the same placewhere it had been broken in

Kalimpong and at the moment it wasquite impossible to move it in anymanner. The kind woman put it in asling. After that the food was servedand I was told to eat with them. Thefood gave me great delight. It wasthe curry and rice to which I was ac-customed from birth.

to be continued

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Today is Hanuman Jayanti, thefestival to celebrate the birth of

Lord Hanuman. The festival will becelebrated in a grand manner atHanuman Tok, Gangtok. TheHanuman Tok Committee has in-vited all devotees to attend andshare the blessings at the puja.

The programme for the day willbegin at Thakurbari, Gangtok, fromwhere a procession will be taken

out at 5:30 in the morning.Prayers at Hanuman Tok will

start at 6:30 AM. At 7.30 is the JyotiDarshan and Sabhamani Bhog Aarti.The havan will be held at 8.30 amand the main aarti will be at 9.30.Langar and prasad servings will begiven from 7.30 am onwards.

Religious items like prayerflags, idols and copies of HanumanChaalisa will be on sale at the tem-

ple premise. The Governor, VRama Rao will be the Chief Guestat the function.

Hanuman Jayanti is an impor-tant festival for the Hindus.Hanuman was an ardent devotee ofRama, and is worshipped for hisunflinching devotion to him. He isalso the symbol of strength and en-ergy. Hanuman is said to be able toassume any form at will, wield

rocks, move mountains, dartthrough the air, seize the clouds andrival Vishnu’s bird, Garuda inswiftness. He is worshipped in folktradition as a deity with magicalpowers and the ability to conquerevil spirits.

He is the embodiment ofNishkam Karmayoga, love, sincer-ity and ram-naam, Rama andHanuman are inseparable. His celi-

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 04 April: Students inthe state are facing a strange di-lemma. Two important entrance ex-aminations have been scheduled forthe same day this year, forcing themto make a difficult choice. Whichone to choose and which to let go?

Says T. Doma, fresh from herclass XII board exams, “This is re-ally unfair. After all that study, nowwe are being asked to give up one

silence was observed in remem-brance of brave men and women ofTibet who have sacrificed their livesfor the sake of Tibet and Tibetans.

Chief Guest, Ms. NgawangSangdrol, a relentless freedom-fighter thanked them and prayed fortheir success. She affirmed thattheir sacrifices would not go inwaste. Ms. Sangdrol lit the prayerlamp and then offered a scarf to theDalai Lama’s picture followed bythe three Hunger Strikers and thenthe public. With words of encour-agements and thanks everyone of-fered scarves to three of them. Theysat down on their mattress and be-gan praying and taking rest.

Among the main demands of the

TYC are to urge China to repealTulku Tenzin Delek’s death sentenceand undertake a fair trial under themonitoring of an international body.

“The TYC appeals to UN mem-ber countries, Secretary General,UN Commission on Human rights

etc. to meet the demands of thishunger strike movement in NewYork. We are confident that our le-gitimate demand will receive duerecognition and support from theinternational community,” saidTYC officials in New York.

Contd from pg 1

THE SCENE OF A PROTEST: The shelter set up for the hunger strikers

Gangtok TYC vice-president on fast unto death in New York

bacy is of the highest order and hedid things, which were almost im-possible for others for the sake oflove of Lord Rama. On HanumanJayanti people observe fast, medi-tate on him and his Lord Rama,practice charity, read the HanumanChalisa and spend the day in re-peating his glories and adventuresand get blessed.

- a NOW REPORT

Day-long festivities at Hanuman Tok to mark Hanuman Jayanti

for the other.”To assure themselves of a fu-

ture course of study, students mostoften sit for entrance examinationsof different institutions.

This year, the Armed ForcesMedical College entrance examina-tions have been scheduled for May02, clashing with the Common En-trance Test [CET] for seats in En-gineering and Medical courses inthe state quota. This is the first yearthat it has been mandatory for stu-dents to clear the CET to get seatsin professional courses, irrespectiveof marks obtained in the Class XII

Board examinations.“I want to sit for both the ex-

ams, as I am not sure which one Iwill get into. Is there nothing thatcan be done?” asks Sharad Pradhan.

A change of dates is what moststudents are asking for.

“This year AIT Pulley, post-poned the date of their entranceexams as it was clashing with thatof the elections, why can’t the Edu-cation Department also be moreconsiderate for our sake?” they ask.

Whether the department will besensitive to their concerns remainsto be seen.

ENTRANCE EXAM DATES CLASH,CHOOSE AFMC OR CET

Pulse Polio Drops For All

A father keeps his date with Polio Sunday and gets Pulse Polio drops forhis daughter at the Sikkim Government College booth on 04 April, 2004.

4; NOW!; 05 April, 2004

C M Y K

POWERPLAY �

DEEPAK SHARMA

MANGAN, 04 April: Incumbentarea MLA, Lachen-Mangshila,Hissey Lachungpa’s campaign trailrolled into Manul-II on 02 April. Themeeting was attended by ZillaAdhakshya, Lobzang Tenzing,former chairman, Nim Lepcha, JigmeLachungpa, ex-RO, Peter Lepcha andblock Panchayats of Toong-Naga,Singhik-Sentam and Manul.

The meeting started with thespeech of zilla member NorchungLepcha in which he said that

Sherpa Assc. thanksChamling for ticket to

Mingma Sherpaa NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 04 April: TheSikkim Sherpa Association hasthanked the SDF president, PawanChamling, for selecting MingmaTshering Sherpa as the party can-didate for Pathing constituency.This selection, SSA believes, hasensured that a Sherpa and a mem-ber of the backward communitywill be represented in this election.

Former MLA from Pathing, RamLepcha, at an SSA meeting chairedby its president Phurba Sherpa atSyari yesterday, has also accepted thedecision taken by his party and hasagreed to “sincerely” support theparty and help Mingma Sherpa con-test and win with a big majority.

Incumbent MLA, Sonam Dorjee,also attended the meeting and wel-comed Mr. Sherpa’s candidature, theSSA release adds. The Associationhas also thanked the ruling party lead-ers and the incumbent MLA for com-ing together to support and extendhelp to Mr. Sherpa.

CPM DECIDES TO CONTEST FROMCHAKUNG; EXPELS NORZANG

a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 04 April: CPI [M]big-wig and West Bengal UrbanDevelopment Minister, AshokBhattacharya, was in Sikkim today.Mr. Bhattacharya, who is also partyin-charge for Sikkim, was here toattend the party’s state-unit meet-ing. An important decision taken atthe meet was to contest “one” seatin the upcoming Assembly polls in

the State. The party has pickedChakung. Interestingly, SPCC [I]president, Nar Bahadur Bhandari,while speaking to journalists inSiliguri recently, had offered to“sleep” in Chakung to make wayfor the CPI [M]. The party has ap-parently taken up the offer, al-though it is not confirmed yetwhether the Congress [I] will va-cate the seat for the comrades.

A CPI [M] press release issued

by its State Committee convenor,Balaram Adhikari, while disclosingthe party decision to contest fromChakung, adds that the party “willnot make any Front with any Po-litical Party.” The CPI [M] has,however, appealed to all the “secu-lar political parties,” including theCong [I], to support its Chakungcandidate.

The release informs that the par-ty’s “main object” of the upcoming

simultaneous polls is to “vote out”BJP and its NDA constituents. InSikkim, thus, CPI [M] will be di-recting its fire against the SDF,which is an NDA member.

The CPI [M] will be approach-ing voters in Sikkim with its ownmanifesto and Charter of Demands,the release adds. Interestingly, theparty has also expelled NorzangLepcha, who has already bagged anSDF ticket from Rakdong Tintek.

though they had supported the SDFgovernment and continue to do so,their requests for such public ben-efits as a veterinary centre, adoordarshan and telephone tower,a higher secondary school and adistrict sports complex had not yetbeen looked into.

“Having supported the SDF forthe past nine years, we will give itone more chance and support it thistime as well,” he, however, added.

He said that the people of the areahad suffered much and added that ifthe SDF still did not take their con-

cerns seriously, they would not be ableto continue supporting the party.

Mr. Lachungpa, sat through Mr.Lepcha’s narration of woes pa-tiently and later, while addressingthe gathering of around 550 peo-ple, agreed with what was said.

“Yes, it is true that there hasbeen negligence by the governmentas far as the Toong-Naga, Manuland Singhik-Sentam blocks areconcerned,” he admitted and wenton to explain that the main reasonwas that the government had towork within certain parameters.

Chamling meetshis voters, thanksthem for 20 years

of supportPURAN TAMANG

NAMCHI, 04 April: A meetingwas held here for the Damthangconstituency today at the residenceof chief minister Pawan Chamling.Around 1,500 local people, alongwith members of gram panchyats,Zilla Panchayat, chelli morcha andyouth of Damthang constituency at-tended the meeting.

Addressing the meeting, Mr.Chamling informed them that the partyhad decided on him again to contestfrom Damthang and sought their sup-port for his bid to return to power.

He disclosed that he would filehis nomination on 23 April. He alsoappealed to his party members toprovide basic knowledge of EVMsto the villagers. He said that therewould be opportunities for the edu-cated unemployed youth to avail ofemployment avenues once he cameback to power.

Addressing his voters, whohave not only routinely voted forhim since 1984 but also assuredhim largest winning margins, Mr.Chamling apologised for any mis-takes committed during his 20 yearsas their representative, of which hehas spent ten as the Chief Minister.

He further said that a multi partysystem was good for Sikkim as thepeople will have more choices. Healso said that the polling booths inDamthang constituency had beenincreased with booths being set upin Tengrithang and Tokzrur. He saidthat though everybody can’t be achief minister or minister it was nec-essary to make a government whichworked for the people of Sikkim.

Hissey admits Toong-Naga has been neglected,promises to make amends in next term

He also assured that many projectreports had been submitted concern-ing the demands. A project report forcardamom had been submitted to thecentral government, amounting to Rs.25 crore, he revealed.

“The Toong-Naga [Chakunghydel project] Construction Workwill also start shortly,” he promised.

He said that the public and gov-ernment had to work in coopera-tion for the people’s progress.

“Let’s bring the SDF back topower and this time your demands willbe met,” he promised the gathering.

lated communication.The mutiny has resulted in the

appointment of Santosh Adhikari asthe Vice-President, Ganesh Siwakotias General Secretary, Deven

SARIKAH ATREYA

Ram Nawami [30 March]last week was the day cho-sen by both the ruling

Sikkim Democratic Front and theSikkim Pradesh Congress Commit-tee-I to officially begin the big fightfor the chair. The former releasedits first list of 22 candidates and thelatter, its manifesto.

To say that astrology is deeplyembedded into the Indian psychewould be stating the obvious. Anauspicious day is thus consideredimportant for revealing importantdecisions. Hanuman Jayanti, 05April, would definitely qualify to bean auspicious day and an importantannouncement is expected. All eyesare now on the SDF camp and itssecond and final list of candidates.Most are expecting it today [05 April]

While announcing the names ofSDF candidates for 22 Constituen-cies last week, BB Gooroong, formerchief minister and political advisorto the SDF president, had indicatedthat the final list would be out by thesecond week of April. The secondweek begins today and since it coin-cides with an auspicious date, the listis also expected.

Party insiders have already in-

dicated that the final list is readyand awaiting the right moment fora public release.

Astrological and religious dic-tates aside, SDF’s second list isperhaps the most anticipated an-nouncement in the run-up to thepolls. While the first list introducedsix new faces and retained most ofthe bigwigs, the remaining tennames are expected to come upwith more surprises.

The first list covered all nineconstituencies in West Sikkim, sixout of the seven in the South andtwo of three in the North.

While South and West districtsare considered SDF strongholds,some constituencies in the Easthave always proven to be difficultfor the SDF. This may be why onlyfive nominations were announcedout of 12 seats in the East.

Awaited now are candidates forthe two SC constituencies ofRateypani and Khamdong. In the199 elections, CK Mohora won theRateypani seat, while theKhamdong seat was won by GopalLamichaney. A candidature is alsoawaited for Dzongu, which hasseen some intra-party fighting andpresents itself as a difficult choiceto make. Last time, Sonam Gyatso

Lepcha had won on an SSP ticketand joined the SDF later.

Rhenock, from where the thenSSP chief Nar Bahadur Bhandariwon the last time, is another high-profile constituency. Mr.Bhandari triumphed over SDF’sBS Pant by a margin of about 800votes in 1999.

Also awaiting a candidate isLosing-Pacheykhani, which votedfor an opposition MLA last timeand recorded the slimmest marginof 5 votes in favour of JK Bhandariwho now sits with the SDF.

Assam Lingzey from where thenow out of favour ruling partyMLA Tseten Tashi Bhutia won thelast time will definitely get a newcandidate and also on balance is thefate of Rumtek and its incumbentMLA KT Gyaltsen. Ranka, neigh-bouring Gangtok, and the capitalcity itself will figure in the final list

and no one is betting yet on whowill bag the ticket.

While Ranka was wrested fromSSP in the last elections, Gangtokremains a confusing constituencymade even more complicated withMr. Bhandari contesting from thecapital in the coming elections.

The candidate for the Sangha seatand the lone Lok Sabha berth will alsobe revealed in the second list, it islearnt. While the SDF did not field anycandidate for the Sangha seat in thelast elections, claiming that they didnot want to politicise a religious body,it is still unclear what its stand will bethis time around. The Lok Sabhanomination has kept everyone guess-ing so far and only the official list willsettle the rumours that surround it.

While the SDF would love tostretch the suspense it is possiblethat the propitiousness of HanumanJayanti will lift the suspense.

Will the SDF pick Hanuman Jayanti to follow upwhat it started on Ram Nawami?

Gurung, Krishna Lama, SahadevSharma and JB Karki, as secretariesand Sonam Gyatso Lepcha as thePublicity Secretary. Tenzing Bhutiais the new Treasurer, AnjanaGurung, Masiney Subba, KishoreMukhia [executive members].

Contd from pg 1

SSP DOES IT AGAIN

05 April, 2004; NOW! 5

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� NEWSSCAN

Vajra Guru Dhungdrupat Pemayangtse Monastery, West Sikkim

The Vajra Guru Dhungdrup or recitations at Pemayangtse Gompa,

Sikkim’s premier monastery in West Sikkim will commence from

8th April 2003 ( Lunar calendar : Dawa Nyipa Tsey Chopgay).

The recitations will be headed by his Eminence Yangthang

Rimpoche.

Devotees and interested persons from all over Sikkim who are

interested to participate at the recitations are invited to join us.

We would also like to inform that we will be providing free fooding

and lodging for those participating at the recitations. However,

please bring your own utensils like plates, mugs and spoons.

Once again all are invited to join us for the recitations.

Dueche, Pemayangtse Gompa

Ka-Wang at Sa-Ngor GompaTo mark the valedictory function of the month-long “Mani

Dzung-Drup Puja” at Sa-ngor Gumpa, Rongnek, His Emi-

nence Dzongsar Ngari Choje of Gyalshing will bestow

Tse-’Ta-Zung-Drel Kawang, a very special longlife empow-

erment to the public devotees on 6th April, 2004 [Tues-

day] at Sa-ngor Gompa at 11:30 AM.

Also, on 9th April, 2004 [Friday], the presiding Lama,

Dorjee Lopen, will give the Mani Kawang at the same

venue at 11:30 AM.

All dharma friends are cordially invited to receive the

Kawangs.Organisers

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ANTI LEPROSY DAY

OBSERVED IN WEST

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On the occasion of Anti LeprosyDay, the West District Leprosy

Society organized a weeklongSAPEL project in remote areas ofWest District such as ChawrisangKhola, Dichenthang, Rimbik &Sindabong under Rimbik PHSCand also at Sepri, KimbukholaDarry Gown & Sopakha underUtteray PHSC.

District Leprosy Officer [West]MO [MLTU], West, NMLO, West,PMW-MPHW & various NGOswere involved in the project.

The main objective behind con-ducting such programmes is to cre-ate awareness and to remove thestigma attached with leprosy.

A total of 1,074 people wereexamined in the project and groupdiscussions on IEC [Information,Education Communication] werealso held. Medicines were also dis-tributed free to the locals of thearea. A training on POD (Preven-tion of Deformities) was also con-ducted for the Medical Officers ofthe west district by experts fromDistrict Hospital, Namchi.

Interpersonal communication isalso being carried out with theschool teachers, panchayats, andNGOs. Four such programmeshave already been conducted.

A NOW REPORT

MANGAN, 04 April: The Co-op-eratives are playing a vital role to up-grade the conditions of the farmingcommunity here. Loans were distrib-uted to 22 members of Mayal MPCSof Singhik/Sentam by the Depart-ment of Co-operatives here on 01April. Present on the occasion wereAsst. Dir. TG Denzongpa, Inspector,PT Lepcha, Manager, LhendupLepcha and President, Dawa Lepcha.

Last year, the MPCS membershad been given loans of Rs. 10,000and having cleared their debts, thistime were given loans of Rs. 20,000each. These loans were mainly forginger cultivation. Of the totalloaned amount, a deduction of Rs.200 is made for Crop Insurance.

The Co-operative Bank,Gangtok sanctions the disburse-

a Govt. of India enterprise

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a NOW REPORT

GANGTOK, 04 April: “This is aconspiracy hatched by the Congressto divert attention from theSangram Bhawan issue,” workingpresident of the Sikkim SangramParishad, Rajendra Upreti, saidhere today when asked to commenton the recent announcement that hehad been expelled for “anti-partyactivities”.

Speaking to NOW!, Mr. Upretisaid, “The self-appointed president,DB Basnet, has no right to expel or

appoint anyone. Mr. Basnet is noteven a member of the party anymore.He had resigned from the party anddeclared that he would be joining theCongress. His resignation letter iswith the party, how can he claim tobe in the party and decide whom toexpel and whom to keep?”

“Mr. Basnet has been plantedby the Congress to upset ourprogress in the property claims mat-ter,” Mr. Upreti said.

“Until yesterday, we were theones who held on to the SSP andfought relentless for its survival.

The Election Commission’s verdictin our favour and our growingpopularity has sent alarm bells ring-ing in the Congress camp. This ispart of the Congress’sefforts to cre-ate fissures within the SSP and up-set our claims on what is rightfullyours,” he said.

The SSP vice-president, KamalKumar Rai, who has also been“exepelled” by the rebels is in NewDelhi at present to consult legal ex-perts on the property claims, Mr.Upreti revealed.

“In fact, we have already served

a notice to Mr. Bhandari on theSangram Bhawan issue through Su-preme Court advocate, Dr. FrancisJuli,” he revealed. Copies of thisnotice will be made available to thePress “very soon,” he assured

“The SSP is still intact and wewill continue with our agenda ofstrengthening the party and fight-ing for our properties,” Mr. Upretisaid while reiterating that DBBasnet and others had no moral orconstitutional authority to effect theexpulsions and appointments theyhad announced to the Press.

Basnet is not with SSP anymore, he cannotexpel or appoint anyone: Upreti

SSP Working President sees “desperate” Congress’ last ditch effort in latest move

COOPERATIVE LOANS FOR FARMERS

ment of the loans at the rate of 9per cent interest.

If the loans are cleared before thetenure period is over, then the mem-bers can avail of a further loan of Rs.40,000. Should any member face lossesdue to damage of the ginger crop, the

matter will be investigated and the loanwill be exempted for the year.

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Kutse SheguThe 49th day Kutse Shegu of late Tshering Doma who leftfor her heavenly abode on 20th February 2004 falls on 7thApril 2004. All friends, relatives and well wishers arerequested to join us in offering prayers for the departed soulat our residence at Manjushree Niwas, Tadong, Gangtok.We heartily thank all those who stood by us during the timeof bereavement and regret our inability to do so individually.

H. R. Sharma (Husband), Vijay Sharma, Ajay Sharma (sons), Neelam

Sharma, Dr. Yogita Sharma (daughters)

Kutse SheguThe 49th Day “Shegu” of late Manoj Tamang whoexpired on 26th February 2004 falls on 14th April 2004.All relatives, fiends and well-wishers are requestedto join us in offering prayers for the departed soul atour residence at Ranipool Bazar, East Sikkim. Wewould also like to take this opportunity to thank all

those who extended their help in our hour of bereavement.Smt Man Maya Tamang, Smt Suk Maya Tamang (Mother), Smt Sakuntala Pradhan

(wife), Sisir Tamang, Basant Tamang, Sunil Tamang (Brothers), C Doma (Sister in

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Kutse SheguThe 49th day Kutse Shegu of late Sonam PintsoBhutia who left for his heavenly abode on 24th Feb-ruary 2004 falls on 12th April 2004.All friends, relatives and well-wishers are requestedto join us in offering prayers for the departed soul atour residence at Rongong, Phodong, North Sikkim.We also take this opportunity to thank all those who stood by usduring the time of bereavement and regret our inability to do soindividually.

Khamsum Bhutia (Father); Diki Doma (Mother); Pema Yangchen (Wife); Sonam

Tenzing (Daughter); Peden Bhutia (Sister); Sonam Thendup (Brother);

Tenzing Namgyal (Brother); Gita Pradhan-Bhutia (Sister-in-Law);

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MANGAN: The RinghemCholing Gumpa Committee organ-ised Lama Gongdue Puja for worldpeace. The event, which is ob-served every year, was held from24 to 31 March, this year.

A total of 311 lamas from allover Sikkim participated in theprayers. They were led by theLachen Gompchen Rinpoche andKhey Rinpoche of Phensong.

The prayers were also attendedby incumbent Sangha MLA, PaldenLachungpa, and Congress candi-date for the seat, Tshering Lama.Around 8,000 devotees gathered on31 March for the wang ceremony.

The Ringhem Gumpa Commit-

Baby’scorpse found

in fieldsNAMCHI, 04 April: The body ofa newly born baby was found inthe cardamom fields at Bakhim,5 km from Ravangla, SouthSikkim. The corpse, discovered on3 April, was brought to Namchigeneral hospital for post mortemand thereafter was handed overto Mingma Phutia Sherpa, a lo-cal guardian. The body was in avery advanced stage of decay.

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tee has expressed its gratitude to-wards all the lamas, Rinpoches,devotees and donors for making theprayers successful.

Lama Gongdue Puja at Ringhem Gumpa

The Wang ceremonyat the prayers

KARAN SHAH

KALIMPONG, 04 April: The in-cident of last Thursday, when a 25-year-old driver Binod Lama was ar-rested by the Traffic Officer InCharge, which trigerred a bandh re-solved only after the higher-ups in-tervened, is refusing to die down.Today, the Kalimpong Main LineDivers Association [KMLDA] or-ganized a meeting to give their ver-sion of the rising harassment of theauthorities.

The meeting also resolved tosubmit a memorandum to the SubDivisional Officer on Wednesdayenumerating all the existing prob-lems which included the demandsfor more taxi permits and a proper

motor-stand.Speaking on the matter, Tara

Sundas , CITU Leader and Presidentof the KMLDA, said that every onepresent in the meeting had various liabilities, hence this was their wayof providing for their families and tosome extent played a major role inproviding for the society .

“There are now about 44 vehi-cles providing daily service to vari-ous schools and in certain casesalso providing emergency serv-ices,” he added.

They had also previously de-manded for more taxi permits fromthe Regional Transport Officer , butto no avail. Barely 20 taxi permitshave been issued in the past fouryears, it is learnt.

Kpg drivers allege harassmentby authorities

BIRENDRA S.

DARJEELING, 04 April:Darjeeling continues to reel undera acute water crisis situation andthere is no sign of reprieve.

Suffering alongside the resi-dents, are tourists who can’t com-prehend how the problem remainsunaddressed still.

“We arrived two days ago witha plan to stay for a week, but wewill be leaving tomorrow. We findit very difficult to adjust to thisweird situation,” said Amiyo Dutta,a tourist from Dhanbad.

The hotel owners are spending

sleepless nights. Bipin Sharma ofHotel Chanakya said: “If this crisiscontinues for a few more days, wemight even have to close down.”

Though the tourist season hasbegun and there is a steady inflowof tourists, most fear that the trafficwill be diverted to Sikkim and evenKalimpong if the problem persists.

With the acute crisis, the privatewater suppliers are the most in de-mand and they too are very diffi-cult to locate. A foreign tourist ad-mitted that this was his first brushwith a drought-like situation. Inci-dentally, a few days ago when thesituation was even worse, theDarjeeling Sadar Hospital had to

postpone all operations due to lackof water and were only taking careof delivery and emergency cases.

“We are trying our best andwork is going on in a war-footingto try to fill the near empty waterreservoirs at Sinchal by pumpingwater from the RoongdoongKhola,” said Deepak Gurung,DGHC Councillor, Public HealthEngineering Department. A newpump has been installed which ispumping water round the clockfrom Roongdoong, and a anotheris to be installed in the next fewdays. Meanwhile the DarjeelingMunicipality continued to distrib-ute water in tankers in the town.

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Portrait inWords

by Penny

I heard a picture paints a thousand words,

So I’ll venture out to see,

Whether the colours of the rainbow

Can paint all you are to me.

Violet for your tenderness,

Your support and strength in indigo,

Blue and green for your calmness,

For your laughter I’ll use yellow.

I’ll paint your warmth in orange

And your vivacity in red,

For the stars in your eyes and your love

I’ll mix all the colours of the palette.

Now the supplies are all used up

And yet so much is left unsaid,

Oh! But how foolish of me

not to see it before

To realize it too late.

That a picture does paint a thousand

words

But how can a mere thousand

of them be

Enough to sing the wonders

Of all you are to me.

My friend Sarita was the most sought after girl in school. Shewas tall and beautiful. Her dark hair and her fair complexion accentuated a pair of dark slanting eyes. She was anepitome of their beauty for most; a few detested her as

though her looks cast aspersion on their plainness. God had given hermore than her share of talents. She was a superb debater, an actress andabove all scored straight ‘A’s. In fact, it was a joke in the class that shewas what our class stood for on the annual day she would dominate theshow by her successive prizes. It came as no surprise, when in our finalyear she was awarded the most outstanding student of the school.

We left school, each with our dreams; drifted to Delhi. I saw my oldschool friends but rarely did I see Sarita.

It was on April sixth, I remember the day because it was Sarita’s birth-day, Rehna, a college friend and I went to Nirulas to eat something after amovie at Chanakya. Rehna’s local guardians lived in Chanakyapuri andthat was where we were supposed to go next. As I bit into my burger, Ilooked around the crowded room. There were lots of people of all kindswaiting for their turn to sit down. Suddenly I saw a couple of people turntowards the entrance.

A handsome couple stood in the doorway trying to maneuver theirway in. The man in leather jacket,a helmet in hand, was tall and strik-ing. His blue eyes scanned the roomfor a seat as his arms were protec-tively around the most exquisiteface in the room. She smiled atsomething he said as they began descendingthe stairs. As she looked up our eyes met. Itwas Sarita.

They came towards us and Sarita intro-duced her friend Abdul. After a brief introductionwe shifted to make place for them to share our ta-ble. That was the first time I met Abdul.

Abdul was a foreign student studying in DelhiUniversity. His striking looks and his indulgentdevotion for Sarita left a lasting impression on me.In the days following I came to know them as acouple; I knew Sarita was a winner again. You couldalmost see Abdul’s eyes looking at Sarita withamusement and affection as she passed silly com-ments and pottered about her room. If ever Saritacomplained of ill health, we would hear Abdul roaroff on his motorcycle till he could find a remedy.Sarita was a princess in his sight and he her knightin shinning armour. Their blissful romance wassomething out of a fairytale.

Rarely did I see them quarrel. Onetime I did, I know they were bothmiserable without each other. I remember the incident as though it wereyesterday. It was in Abdul’s room in Defense Colony where we had gonefor a visit. Sarita sat by Abdul leaning on his shoulder playing a game ofcards. I never liked the game much so I decided to retire in a corner witha magazine. Our friends, Idzes and Senti were busy with the card. Saritagot up from her place and drifted towards the kitchen. As I looked up Isaw her come back into the room eating a slice of bread. Her loose tanktop, her white shorts accentuated her slender figure. Abdul looked at heras her eyes lingered over a black suitcase. For some odd reason I saw

Abdul stiffen as he picked up the keys beside him which he slid into hispocket. Sarita petulantly watched Abdul’s face as he sat leaning againstthe wall.

‘Abdul…..please.’“Saru, come and sit here”‘Abu…..please’“Don’t start it all over again, Sarita.”After this small exchange I could hardly read. Sarita for some reason

stomped off to the verandah, three of us sat uncomfortably as Abdul fol-lowed Sarita out. We could overhear them, arguing, and next we heard amotorbike roar off as Sarita came into the room sobbing her heart out. Wedidn’t know what to make of it but Idzes was of the opinion that Saritawas being unreasonably childish. Senti and I agreed with her.

Finally, at seven Abdul came back with a nice Chinese dinner from‘Phaleys’. Sarita ate very little and Abdul’s gift of carnations layunaccepted. This was the first time I had seen this mercurial side ofSarita. I wasn’t sure I liked this side of Sarita. It was obvious Abdul hadspoilt her.

After this incident we rarely saw Sarita. It was on New Year’s Eve1990 that we met Sarita again. She looked radiant and beautiful as she

confined that she and Abdul were engaged to be married in May,the coming year. They both looked happy as they sat with us thatevening. They discussed their plans and asked us to do our bitwith all the arrangements. We were enthusiastic because she was

the first friend who was all ready toset the ball rolling as Idzes put it.Senti, ever the artist decided to bein charge of the decorations. Idzesand I were to look after the cateringwhile his Arab friends would pickup the bill. It was fascinating justthinking and planning. We didn’t re-alize how time passed. When we fi-

nally parted that evening, it was with promises thatwe meet in April to settle the arrangement.

In April, some four months later we saw Saritaagain. But this time she wouldn’t talk to us. Silentlyas we moved past an array of policemen, Sarita satstaring past us motionless. There was a stunned smileon her lips as Abdul’s friends and cousins surroundedher. They spoke in Arabic as they glared at her. Inthe corner, the black box lay open and in Sarita’shand was a picture of a small boy. Tear stained andoblivious to the insults, she looked small, vulner-able and alone. As I look back on the evening I won-der at the irony of it all. Sarita had everything on a

platter expect the confidence of a man she loved and lost. Abdul had diedin a motorcycle accident in a fit of fury when Sarita had come across aletter and the snap of his son he had lovingly hidden away from the womanhe had loved and adored.

After five long years, yesterday I met Sarita again….her pale brownshirt accentuated the pallor of her skin as she smiled and waved at mefrom across the street. As I crossed the street to talk to her, I noticed shehad her arms protectively around a little boy with blue eyes and for somereason it brought back a picture of Abdul holding my friend Sarita thefirst time I saw him.

I met SaritaYesterday,

againfiction bySHYLL

in

NOW!Associationwith

INTRODUCING SIKKIM TO SERVICE @ ITS BEST

8; NOW!; 05 April, 2004

C M Y K

FACE WEEK

Published by Lt. Col. (retd) P. Dorjee and printed at Darpan Publications Pvt. Ltd, Siliguri. Editor: Pema Wangchuk. Executive Editor: Mita ZulcaNow! Near Ayurvedic Clinic, Gairi Gaon, Tadong. East Sikkim. ph: 03592 270949 email: sikkimnow@rediffmail.com

THEFINALONE �

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ARIES: Support from family members

will be there. Medical expenditure is in-

dicated. It may not be a good time to take

up a long journey. Worries will disappear.

TAURUS: Your ambitions will be ful-

filled by your hard work. Encouraging

communication will be received from

your partners. Financial crisis will be

over. Unwanted expenses may occur.

Happiness will prevail at home.

GEMINI: You will be successful. You

will have the support of the management.

Students will face a tough period. The

automobile business will flourish. Those

in the stock market will benefit. Family

life will be harmonious.

CANCER: Your business is likely to ex-

pand. Tensions will be reduced. You will

receive good news. You will enjoy sound

health. You may purchase immovable

property.

LEO: Understanding with your life part-

ner will be good. Life will be peaceful.

You may have a minor health problem.

Tensions will be over. Those dealing with

electric and electronic equipment, and

home appliances will enjoy easy returns

and healthy profits.

VIRGO: Unexpected speculative gains

will be enjoyed. You may travel abroad. Fi-

nancial position will be maintained. Politi-

cians will do better. Happiness will prevail.

LIBRA: There will be a sudden growth

in business. Domestic happiness is in-

dicated. Those dealing with paint, var-

nishes, ceramic, hardware and chemi-

cal businesses will find improvement.

Software professionals will have a

greater chance to go abroad. Businesses

will be profitable.

SCORPIO: Politicians will have a

tough period. Export businesses will pick

up. You will be satisfied with your chil-

dren’s education. You will enjoy good

health. You will have the support of your

life partner. You will do well in business.

SAGITTARIUS: New ventures are

indicated. Overseas travel will be ben-

eficial. Health will be good. You may ac-

quire a new vehicle. Political life will be

profitable. Businesses will see an aver-

age cash flow. Students will have a suc-

cessful career.

CAPRICORN: You may gain through

ancestral property. Worries will be over.

Politicians will enjoy popularity. Dancers

and musicians will get good recognition.

Worries are indicated. Your studies may

take you out of town.

AQUARIUS: A change of environ-

ment will cheer you up. You will purchase

a new vehicle. Long drawn litigation will

be over. You may enjoy an easy cash

flow. Last two weeks will tight. Your busi-

ness partner will support you.

PISCES: Encouraging news will be re-

ceived. Litigations will be in your favour.

Support from life partner and family

members will continue. usinesspersons

will take a new decision. Medical ex-

penses will go down. You must watch

you’re your parents’ health carefully.

SALESALESALESALESALESALESALESALESALESALESALESALESALESALESALE

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FACE WEEKof the

MAHESH DARNAL

of Deorali loves

Modelling and

listening to music

The Face of the Week wins a Tie from TOP-IN-TOWN, top-10 brands

under one roof, MG Marg, Gangtok [Sikkim]

around a film producer who goeson Safari and returns to New Yorkwith a giant ape.

Falling for a beautiful woman,King Kong makes his last stand ontop of the Empire State Building

with the film’s star Fay Wrayclutched in his hands.

On its release its makers RKORadio Pictures described it as thethrill of thrills and the AmericanFilm Institute ranked it as among the50 best films of the 20th century.

KING KONG, STILL THE BEST MOVIEMONSTER AFTER SEVEN DECADES

Lara Dutta denied rumours thatshe was just charging Rs. 15

lacs for a film and hence had pro-ducers and directors tripping allover to sign her. “I have beenpaid more for my first film. Sowhy would I charge less now,”she said. Lara has quite a fewfilms on hand including theabout to be released Masti, whereshe plays a glamorous womanwho happens to meet VivekOberoi. “It leads to a funny situ-ation,” she smiles. Lara has justcompleted a major schedule ofVikram Bhatt’s Elan in Switzer-land. She has also signed SatishKaushik’s Phir Hera Pheri withAkshay Kumar and K Subhash’sSipahi with Ajay Devgan.

LARA: NOTCHEAP