Gorkhaland and Contractor Raj

10:27 PM

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Politics

Any person who has observed the Gorkhaland movement closely will tell you that the biggest stumbling block before any party that fights a Gorkhaland movement has been the "financial reward" its cadres/fighters seek from the party leadership. GNLF fought an armed struggle in the first Gorkhaland movement and almost all those who were part of the 1986-88 movement were rewarded financially. Since the DGHC that was formed after the movement had no authority to give permanent government jobs, it offered these men and women casual employment (~6000 in number today). But a majority of these people got "contracts" - short-term financial reward that would come in the garb of "development" of the area but was actually a "payout" for the erstwhile fighters and party supporters. The journey from revolutionary fighters to petty contractors was a plunging fall in dignity and self-respect. Even hardcore GNLF supporters agree that there was practically no development in the ~20 years of its rule in the hills. And Gorkhaland still remained a distant dream.

Cartoon on Gorkhaland and Contractor Raj

Then came the second Gorkhaland movement after the ouster of Subhash Ghisingh. People had hope that the GJM would learn from the mistakes of the past movement and take a better road to Gorkhaland. It turned out that it took an even more treacherous road! The "financial reward" scheme came into full force immediately, even before the movement had ended, and ultimately the GTA was established - a DGHC-like body that did the "payout" job for the Morcha supporters. Contract again became a coveted profession in the hills. The situation came to ridiculous proportions - a contract of building a new public office worth a few lakh rupees was "shared" by 10-11 contractors with a certain percentage to be handed over to the "party" as commission. The few years of GTA's existence has been a nightmare to people who wished well for the hills. Corruption is at its peak today. And there seems to be no end to this nightmare going by what Mr. Trilok Dewan has just revealed - contractors and drivers control the party, take all decisions, and take part in meetings with government.

When the GTA was formed, against all wishes, I had requested the top GJM leaders to curb contractor raj, stating that it later would lead to the downfall of the party like that of the GNLF. But perhaps no one was listening. Madan Tamang spoke about this contractor raj openly. He was killed in broad daylight and it was revealed that most of his attackers were petty contractors or goons of contractors of GJM. Today, these contractors “make” top decisions in GJM. No wonder they have little interest in Gorkhaland and more interest in GTA – their payout system.


Via Gorkhaland Premi

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Mirik lad Prabhat Thapa, was he a victim of injustice?

12:05 PM

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mirik live news

Prabhat Thapa was an ambitious,hardworking and diligent son of Mirik who died yesterday. He was a helpful person always looking towards the upliftment of the society and fighting for the right of the people. The whole of Mirik is shocked at the sudden demise of a youth who could have contributed so much for the upliftment of our society.

Mirik lad Prabhat Thapa

He was in Kolkata at the time of his death. He was there to file a case against what he thought was an injustice done to him.

Was he really a victim of injustice? I am leaving this decision at the discretion of the readers to decide.

The matter is related to examination for "Recruitment of SI/LSI in West Bengal Police - 2013" (Preliminary Examination).

Prabhat Thapa had appeared in the examination as an OBC (B) candidate.
On declaration of the result Prabhat's Roll No. was not in the list. As Prabhat was expecting good marks he filed an RTI application asking for the cut off and the answer key.

The details in the reply for his RTI were:
1.The cut off for the Unreserved Candidate was- 103.5
2.Prabhat had obtained 115.5

But still he had failed because the cut off for OBC(B) candidate was 119 i.e. more than the unreserved candidate. Whether the cut off of reserved OBC (B) candidate can be more than the unreserved candidate is a legal/constitutional matter and we are laymen. If any expert has a knowledge over this matter. It will be a great favor on us if they illuminate us over this matter.

This matter regarding cut-off is a different matter where a knowledge regarding legal/constitutional norms are to be known. Let the experts comment over it. The next part of the matter is where I would like everyone to pay attention to.

Prabhat matched the answers keys received through RTI with the Question paper. He found two keys wrong:

1. Question no.21 - A salesman sold 20 cars in the month of July and 40 cars in the month of August. What is the percent increase in the numbers of cars the salesman sold?
(A) 50%
(B) 100%
(C) 150%
(D) 200%

***The official answer key showed that option "D" i.e. 200% was the right answer Prabhat was of the opinion that option "B" i.e.100% was the right answer.

What do you think is the correct answer?

2.Question no.97 - Who was the first Indian Woman President of the Indian National Congress?
(A) Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
(B) Annie Besant
(C) Vijaylakshmi Pandit
(D) Sarojoni Naidu

****The answer key showed that option "B" i.e. Annie Besant was the right answer.
Prabhat was of the opinion that option "D" i.e. Sarojoni Naidu was the right answer.

Which do you think is the correct option?

If what Prabhat has argued as the correct answer was the right one in the two cases above then even after deducting the negative marks for other wrong questions his total score would have been 120.5.
That is he would have been qualified for the mains.

Prabhat thought an injustice has been done to him and it was against this injustice Prabhat wanted to appeal in the High Court/SAT and had gone to Kolkata for this. But as we now know destiny had other plans for him.

This article is not being posted to get justice for Prabhat. He is now beyond this worldly concept of justice and injustice.
This article is to highlight how unaware a person may be falling victim to some injustice. It is to highlight that one has the "the Right to Know" and how one can use the Right To Information Act to seek the information he wants. It is to highlight how to stand and fight against any injustice one feels has been done to him. It is to highlight how to have faith in justice and courage in one's heart to stand against an unjust adversary however mighty it may be.

Prabhat could not complete the fight. The Almighty had a different destiny waiting for him. But one day some one else will win the fight. Just will prevail over the unjust. That will be the day when we will find Prabhat once again smiling among us.

Via: MIRIK in Photos

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Recognition program for Bikal Rai by Sikkim Rehab family

9:09 PM

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story

Sikkim Rehab family organized a small simple recognition program of the neighbourhood boy Mr. Bikal Rai, the Sikkim's Wonder Boy.
Mr. Bikal Rai, shared his experiences of his life on how he overcame the problems of his life and diverted his thoughts and intention to do something constructive and pursue his dreams in life inspite of his poverty, where he too like any frustrated and broken down teenager could have walked down the path of addiction as an easy way out to escape the realities of his life. But he choose to pursue his dreams of becoming a mechanical engineer with or without support of anyone. His sharing has made a deep impact on the hearts and minds of our boys and open interaction between them has made Bikal a ROLE MODEL amongst our boys.
Bikal Rai has been hitting the social network arena past three years due to his amazing engineering skills. 23 years old Bikal Rai after completing his Class Ten in 2012 from Middle Camp Govt Sr Secondary School at Battish Number (32 No) in Nimtar East Sikkim could not continue his studies due to family problem and financial crunch after his father expired. Bikal Rai looks after his mother, granny and young brother who is studying in Class Eleven getting some earning out of agriculture farming and produces.
Despite having abandoned his schooling Bikal is passionate for assembling things to make it lively scientifically, that’s a reason he’s born talented engineer and an extraordinary boy of 32 No. village. He is fond of engineering mechanics as his previous projects which he built from junkyard stuffs caught the eyes of millions of readers who lauded his work in Facebook. This time Bikal comes up with an Eco Friendly concept car out his house based miniature workshop, which operates on IC Engine and Electric Motor technology.
According to him, he started off project seven months back, he did it by collecting spare parts of vehicles from garage junk and some parts he purchased from his savings, that which amounted him around Rs 40,000 Indian Rupees ($640).
He adds, after planning rigorously it took him last one and half month to make assembly and attach the parts giving a sounding structure finally.
Bikal Rai gave a life to scrapped 149 CC dead IC engine of motorbike with petrol as a combustion fuel for module one, he then added electric motor powered by a battery for his second module of his dual characteristic concept car.
He demonstrates his car running on the road which breaches speed beyond 40 kmph depending upon the power of engine and chassis of his car. Speaking to Bikal Rai, he told VOS that he wants to learn more, but he need to look after his family also who are totally dependent on his earnings.
Profoundly Sikkim should boast to have a talented boy like him for whom nurturing can levy him out of his circumstances making state proud someday if he could go further with his skill in a relevant engineering field where this ‘Genius Boy’s’ destiny awaits for glory.

Via : Sikkim Rehabilitation & Detoxification Society

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How a 4th generation Gorkha in Manipur feels

10:03 AM

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Video

ASK ME HOW I FEEL ABOUT INNER LINE PERMIT

Dinesh Sharma

Before you even start reading the article, let me be clear that I am a 4th generation Gorkha settled in Manipur. And I will accept criticism if you at any point feel that the article is a little biased. I am a confused person right now. Suddenly, after having lived for 31 good years of my life, my belongingness and loyalty towards my motherland is being questioned.

 Manipuris protesting against racism in Delhi Via: ePao

I do not write this article with pride. Infact, it is shameful that despite having been born and brought up as a Manipuri Gorkha, today I am having to publish an appeal to clarify that I too belong to Manipur. From time immemorial, it is always the majority who create history. We have never read or heard about the story of the minority. Today, I will narrate the story of the minority, the voiceless and the helpless.

Recently, there was a video circulating on social media it showed a lady who was being delivered a mob justice. She was being slapped, hit by a shaft, and ever had her hair chopped in public. Whatever be the reason, that was not the right way to vent dissatisfaction in the wake of such political crisis. Tomorrow, some other crowd might just want to do the same thing on another individual. Who is going to take the blame then? As a civilized society with such rich history and culture, a more matured approach would have given a dignity to the agitation.

Watch the video - Helpless Non Manipuri woman beaten mercilessly

We are accused of encroaching the land. We are accused of being a threat to the social fabric of the state. We are asked to pack up and leave the state. How is it even possible? We are not here staying in a rent house that we pack our belongings and move to another house. My family has not grabbed any land or encroached upon anyone else’s territory. We have papers for our land as per the law of the land. We also grew up listening to our grandmother narrating us stories of the Japanese drones flying above the roof. We have heard stories of our grandfathers fighting to protect the land alongside the British and the maharaja’s army. Are our stories any different from the stories of a Meitei, Naga, or a Kuki kid?

They say that our contribution to the land is zero. Turn any pages of history of this land and you will find a Gorkha, Major Subedar Niranjan Singh Chhetry amongst the earliest martyrs of the land. He was hanged to death alongside Bir Tikendrajit and General Gambhir Singh by the British on 13th of August 1847.

They must have also conveniently forgotten that we are the most peaceful community in the state. We live happily with all other communities, be it the Meiteis, Nagas or the Kukis. I have studied Meiteilon throughout my childhood, I can speak a bit of Kuki, and I have lived with a Naga friend for about 7 years of my life.

Like you all, we have recited Ougri Sheirent, listened to Khamba-thoibi with awe, enjoyed the colours of Yaoshang, celebrated Lai Haraiba with equal enthusiasm, and cannot live without Ironba, Nga-Thongba and Ooti as our daily staple. What makes me less Manipuri than anybody else from my state? Perhaps we are the only community in Manipur which never had any law and order problem with the state. We don’t have any armed struggle or resistance to any government policies. We have been one of the most hospitable community both to the armed forces and the rebels. Yes, in the interiors we have stories of people who wake up in the middle of the night to cook and feed rebels who are passing by the village. The same villagers also prepare team when government forces pass by.

Despite all this, we are time and again asked to cite history of our existence in the state. Below are some historical records of the settlement of Gorkhas in Manipur to put across the point that we are not just land grabbers and that we have taken equal part in the nation building process in Manipur:

1. On recorded history, the first batch of Gorkhas came to Manipur during the time of Raja Gambhir Singh. In 1824, the Gorkhas of the 16th Sylhet Local Battalion, later to become the 8th Gorkha Rifles, were included in the Police Levy of Gambhir Singh. During the first quarter of the 19th Century, Manipur was much troubled by Burmese intruders and troops. To secure Manipur, Gambhir Singh raised an army in 1825 and recruited Gorkhas from Sylhet for it. The militia was named the ‘Victoria Paltan’. (Source: The Role of Gorkhas in Making of Modern India)

2. Before the beginning of the 20th century, the Gorkha/Nepali Gwalla (cowherd community) was confined in the Manipur valley. And since the Meitei community were not a great consumer of milk and ghee and land was becoming scarce in the valley, the Govt of Manipur decided to shift the Gorkhali/Nepali Gwalla to the northern part of the Manipur Valley creating a Gorkha/Nepali reserve (18 miles long) in between Sekmai and Kangpokpi in 1915 and later on partially extended up to Maram, Siddim Pukhri and lrang Part-I & II (Source: Manipur State Administrative Report 1915-16 Chapter – V, No. 2 Para V. Durbar Resolution 1 dated 17th February 1915).

3. That, the creation of the Sekmai Kangpokpi Gorkha Grazing Reserve the Nepali graziers began to settle within the reserve areas of Kurapokpi, Sapermeina, Shriwani, Keithelmanbi, Paspati, Kalapahar, Santolabari, Chandraman, Kangpokpi, Irang, Maram Siddim Pukhri. In 1918, a survey of the Gorkha/Nepali Reserve area was done wef. 19th June 1918 to 7th January 1920 and Patta was issued for the Gorkha/Nepali graziers who applied for agricultural land.

4. The 1st Assam Rifles was raised in Manipur in 1915, and had over 80% Gorkha personnel.

5. First Manipur Rifles, raised in 1946 also inducted huge number of Gorkhas. Still today, the family quarters of the battalion has several Gorkha families living there.

6. Even eminent scholars like MK Binodini, the royal family of Manipur confirms that the Gorkhalis have long been a part of Manipurs cultural milieu. She says “…in fact I do not know at what time so called Nepali community actually came to Manipur. Since my childhood beginning from Mantripukhri to Kangpokpi, I have seen their settlement to be in existence long before many years. At the time of my father Maharaja Churachand, when he was in drive on the Dimapur road, I still remember the joyous welcome and applause accorded by the Nepalese children near by the road and I saw many Nepali personnel in the post of high rank and files of the Manipur State Police” (Source: ‘A Yaipha Paojel’ in a journal called ‘Netee’; published by Manipur Nepali Sahitya Parishad in 2006)

7. When the World War II reached till Kanglatongbi-Kangpokpi, the Gorkha community was evicted by the Govt. Many of them left their land temporarily and got back when the war was over. However, the government had by then ceased the Nepali grazing reserve (26th August 1946), giving effect from 1st December 1946. Many who failed to comply with the government order or returned late to their land lost their land and had to seek shelter with their neighbouring tribal brothers for their livelihood.

The Gorkha community is settled for nearly 2 centuries and have lived in an area of 140 sq. miles till 1915. Besides the army settlers, we could rear more than 10,000 cattle and buffaloes. An entire stretch of road named in Jiribam was named as Man Bahadur Limbu’s Road. Today, after almost 2 centuries, our population is not even 1 lakh. How could we possibly disturb the social fabric of the Manipuri society or even snatch away opportunities from the locals?

Today, we are as much a victim of historical circumstances, miscalculation and manipulation as all of you. We too would want to be part of the decision making process which will segregate the outsiders from the insiders. Sadly, despite being a part of the greater Manipuri society for nearly 200 years, we have been pre-leveled as “outsiders”. Look into your hearts and think for once, how would you react, if you and your community were labeled as such?

Most of the Gorkha youths from Manipur today are working in the defence or in the metro cities. This also brings in revenue to the state. How can we possibly exploiting the wealth of Manipur? I would love to know if you have seen anything unjust being committed by any Gorkha in Manipur.

Today, we live outside the state in metro cities. Ask one of your own ‘inside Manipuris’ about how does it feel to be humiliated. If you have no idea of how humiliated your brothers and sisters feel when faced with racism outside the home state, maybe you should go and speak to them. While we outrage over “racism “against our Manipuri people in Delhi and other cities, we have turned a blind eye and deaf ear to numerous instances of racism here in Manipur itself, isn’t that hypocritical?

In this city, we only have people; there is no Meitei, Naga, Kuki, Gorkha, Bengali, Bihari or Marwari. If someone asks me, I proudly call myself Manipuri Gorkha. Here no one accuses anyone of stealing opportunities or ancestral land. No Bihari cries of innocent people being killed, no Meitei accuses a Bihari of depleting his economy. We share rooms to save money, lend and borrow money when we are broke, we share pizzas and drinks together, we contribute for the electricity bills, we wait for each other to walk back home after office, We cook together, we laugh at each other’s jokes, we fall in love, we get married. We live happily here, but we never talk of our problems back home. Why?? Because it divides us.

We are happy out here, but why this indifference back in our own homeland?? I leave this for you to ponder upon.

[Dinesh is a senior member of Gorkha Youth and Students' Association of India - GYASA

In Manipur, currently non-Manipuri's are being persecuted against, and the community which is facing the most vlatant form of Racism are the Gorkhalis... please speak out against this RACISM against our community in Manipur..

Via- TheDC

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Old Darjeeling Nostalgic Cheers, Never Fails to Make You Smile

9:58 AM

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Darjeeling Chowrasta

 Bal Krishna for The Darjeeling Chronicle

Memes: Sherab Rabzyor Yolmo

M – 19, Darjeeling Here, ASL plz? F – 21, Philippines

If what’s written above, makes sense to you, then your youth was awesome… to those who are wondering what that title is all about, read on… may be somewhere in this piece, you may find something you can relate to, and if you do relate… please share… spread some nostalgic cheer.
It has been a while since I last wrote; life happened… as our Darjeeling ko popular saying goes… “Dog no work do, no fursad have,” same thing happened to me… I was busy bitthama… that is, till a week back when an old friend dropped by out of the blue…

Him chai America just returned, me chai Darjeeling never left. 

We had lots of catching up to do… in the process of catching up, we talked about growing up days and how things used to be, he wanted to know why I am not on What’sApp, and I wanted to know what that is? He talked about SnapChat, and I am still trying to get over the hangover of Yahoo Chat…

So, I dedicate this write-up to my technologically advanced friend… who at the end of the week went with my bau ko Tongba ko Dhungro, and left me his Tab… I am unable to figure out the tab properly… so my bhatij who is 8 years old is helping me learn how to use it…
This write-up is about technology, and how that has changed over the years… and even though this is specifically meant for Darjeeling region, people in other places could also have gone through the same phases.

Old Darjeeling Nostalgic Cheers, Never Fails to Make You Smile

RADIO DAYS
My earliest recollection of technology is a radio that was mounted on our kitchen wall. It was a small radio, just needed one nail to hold it in place. We had a bigger radio in our sitting-room, still do, that’s bulky. Mom used to tell us how technology had changed from gramophone to bulky radio, to what was hanging in our kitchen a smaller version.

Sadly from my radio days, I cannot recollect much, I was much too young then… but I remember two programs from All India Radio (Akashwani Kharsang) which were my favourites. The 1st one, I guess was called “Sainik Sandesh,” in which those serving in the Army could relay their messages to their families directly. It was fun to listen to them… a typical message would go…

“नमस्ते मा राईफलमेन 077232645 सुधन लिम्बु 1/11 Gorkha Rifles बाट बोल्दै छु... यदि मेरो घर-छिमेक सैलुंग धुरा, दबैपानीको कसैले यो संदेश सुन्नु हुँदैछ भने दया गरेर मेरो घर-परिवारलाई सुनाई दिनु होला... आमा र बाबालाई सेवा ढोग, र सुन्तली लाई धेरै माया भनि दिनु होला.. तल्लो घर को रामे को गाई ले बाछा ब्याउनु अटेको थियो अब त ब्याई सक्यो होला... दुध चै पानी नाफीटि हाम्रो मा पुर्याई दिनु भनि दिनु होला... आले टार को अन्तरे पनी खस्यो हरे... खबर सुनेर सारै दुखः लग्यो... त्येसको काम मा आउनु सकिन, माफ पाउ होला... म जति कुशल नै छु र मेरो साथी भाईहरु पनि सन्चै नै छन्... धन्यवाद अनि जय हिन्द”

For those who cannot read Nepali here is the literal translation

“Namaste I am Rifleman 077232645 Sudan Limbu from 1/11 Gorkha Rifles… If anyone from my family or my village Sailung Dhura in Dabaipani is listening to this broadcast, please relay this message to my family… My Dhog to my Mom and Dad, and love to my beloved Sunthali… Ramey who lives below our house, his cow was about to give birth hope the birthing went well… please tell him to take unadulterated milk to our house… I heard that Antare from Aley Tar is no more, I felt really bad to hear that, I could not be present for his funeral, please convey my regrets to his family… I am fine and all my friends are doing well… Thank You and Jai Hind”

I was so much in love with this program, perhaps having my family members serving in the army made me particularly like this program. Sadly my family members never spoke in Sainik Sandesh.
It was so funny what all these Jawans would say… sometimes they would confess their love for someone; sometimes they would even breakup over the radio – Imagine. But at times they would share heart-breaking news too. This program hit really close to home for most families in Darjeeling whose sons were serving in the army.

The other one was a program where you could write a letter and request songs, sadly for the life of me, I am unable to remember the name of the program right now… hope you guys will help me remember it…
Funny thing about this program was that those reading the names could do so randomly. My brother swears to this day, he literally heard an announcer once say… “ra yas geet ka farmayis karta haru hunu huncha… Bambai bata… Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi, Asha Bhosle ani Sathi haru.” But still it was great fun to send a letter and hope to God they read your request, because if they did read your name, you were the star for the day.

I still remember vivdly it was on our Kitchen radio that I heard the news of Tenzing Sherpa’s passing away.

TAPE RECORDER DAYS
Radio made room for Tape recorders. Almost every house in the village owned one, and there was am amazing pattern to the kind of songs that people would listen to.

Early mornings were time for Bhajan, mostly Anup Jalota ko, followed by some Hindi movie songs, evenings we would' briefly listen to English songs, and at night chai Nepali songs - mostly Narayan Gopal stuffs.
Things changed when tape-recorders came into being. Blank Cassette kindai, dubbing songs was much fashionable. Hamro daju used to gift man pareko keti lai dubbed romantic songs, and when he was doing the dubbing, we were forbidden from speaking, least our voices got dubbed in the cassette.

Kids these days won't understand the joke... which goes like this... a guy was singing facing towards the sky, he sang his hearts out for around 20 minutes, turned around, and again sang for another 20. Curious one guy who had noticed went to him and asked, why did you turn around? the singer guy is supposed to have replied - Side fereko.

TV DAYS
After that, TV happened and the use of radio as a means of information and communication declined considerably.

The earliest I remember of TV was in the 1986 world cup. Back then, like I mentioned above, not every household in Darjeeling owned or could afford to own a TV set. However, each village, locality or neighbourhood did have one or two houses that were lucky enough to be able to afford TV sets. Most of these houses belonged to retired Army personnel, who bought TV after receiving their pension. Majority of the TV sets were black and white, only a handful were colour.

I still remember, in our village there were two houses that owned TV sets during the 1986 world. One was a colour TV and the other a black and white. It’s funny what you remember all these years later hai, I can still visualize that black and white TV set, it had an inbuilt sliding door.

I clearly remember the Argentina-Britian clash of 1986 world cup and Maradona’s famous Hand of God goal, we had to go to our neighbour’s house to watch that game.

The neighbour was crappy.

Why so?
Well, those who did not have TV sets in their own homes would have to go to watch TV in our neighbour’s house... and the neighbour’s wife was a very bitter woman. She would not let us come watch, ‘ghar maila huncha’ bhanthyo... hence the 1986 world cup is the only time we had to go watch TV at someone else’s place.

By early 1987 right before the Gorkhaland adnolan peaked, serendipitously dad had bought a TV and we couldn’t be more thankful. Because that was the year the greatest Indian TV event happened – RAMAYAN.

Having experienced how we felt going to watch TV at someone else’s place, elders in our family were mindful enough not to be anal about having to host other folks. See for those of you who grew up in 1990s this might sound outrageous, but back then the entire village pretty much watched TV programs together. So all of us looked forward to special programs, and especially Sundays.

Back then the broadcast wasn’t 24 X 7 like these days, nor did we have a 1000 channels. All that everyone watched was Doordarshan. If I remember correctly the TV program would start with a Doordarshan ko logo gradually metamorphosing itself into the tune of ‘Sare Jahan se Accha’ [http://bit.ly/1EZ9QVy].

Back then people in Darjeeling were so simple that I heard about this Badee.. who had just entered the house when News was about to start... as she sits down to watch the news, the newscaster comes on and says, "Namastey!!" and Badee being polite goes... "Namastey, Nani" and as the news caster started to read the news, Badee turned around and is supposed to have told the TV owner, "Ammuiiineee katee ramro hau hana... Namastey dharee bhanda raicha..."
Read the entire article here: http://on.fb.me/1GX49uQ

WALKMAN DAYS
Radio was succeeded by TV and then walkman happened. We had an older daju from our village who was rumored to be working in Japan, back then… it was him who carried the Walkman for the first time. I must have been in class 5 or 6 late 1989-90s. It was revolutionary. We couldn’t believe music playing from such a small device, we were unused to earphones – Kut-kuti lagthyo sunda pani.

INTERNET 
Gradually TV led to internet, and internet led to internet parlours. Computers were holy… People had to take off their shows to enter the computer vako room. If I am not wrong, compuset was the 1st internet parlour in Darjeeling, they used to be based in a building near Hotel Shimla.

I remember not knowing how internet worked. I also remember how slow the net connection would be… Tunnnnnnnkaralhyararararararakkkkkkk that’s literally the sound it would make when a computer got connected to internet.

A friend of mine opened my 1st email in Rediffmail, Back then we didn’t have Google or Yahoo even, we had Rediffmail and Hotmail.

You can imagine how old school it was back then, our browser used to be Internet Explorer.

CHAT ROOMS
Internet took off in a much bigger way only after Yahoo introduced Chat rooms. That was when the teenagers in Darjeeling realized we could connect to people all across the world. We could talk to our friends, or flirt with strangers.

Usually the chat started with M-19, Darjeeling here, ASL plz? Hoping that the other end would respond with F-18 or 19…
Me: Male – 19 here
Me: Age, Sex, Location please
Response: Male 25
Me: Bye
Me: Male – 19 here
Me: Age, Sex, Location please
Response: Female 19
Attallyera
Me: Oh… Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii… where from??
And so on…

Many relationships were formed that way… some still last to this day… while most are now lost into oblivion… But I guess, I wouldn’t be wrong to say that most of us learned how to use internet while chatting to unknown strangers over YahooChat.

MOBILE PHONES
The 1st time I had seen a cell phone was in 1996, when I was working in a store. I had seen this rich Delhiite use a cell-phone which resembled a walkie-talkie, and I had asked him, what it is… he looked at me and went, “you don’t know?” I said “no… is that a walkie-talkie?” He said, “no it’s a satellite phone… bahot mahenga padta hai”

Then in 2000 cell-phones came in a big way in Darjeeling. I still remember to this day, I was sitting in Narayan Das when this guy started to hang these small festoons which read “Reliance Mobile Phones – Now for only Rs 250 per month.”

I wanted it real bad…

So I went to find out more about it… It turned out Rs 250 per month was a compulsory fees + we had to buy Sim Cards for Rs 1000 + we had to buy handsets which cost additional Rs 5000 at the least…
Overall it would cost around Rs 7500 to own a cell phone… imagine

I didn’t have that much money, no college going kid carries that kind of money. So I begged, and borrowed…. Finally after around 6 to 8 months I gathered enough to attempt to buy a cell phone. My friends were headed for Siliguri, so I gave them Rs 5000 which I had saved painstakingly. Those two went down and I couldn’t sleep with anticipation.

They came back the next day with cellphone for me – Siemens C 35 – My 1st phone.
I later found out they had to fork around Rs 800 more for the set + connection, but they never asked, so I never paid them… to think of it, I haven’t paid them till date.

What joy was that phone.

Kin-nu ta kinyo tara ghar ma dekhyo vane pitcha… moreover, it was painful to keep as outgoing calls would cost Rs 6.256 per minute, incoming would cost around Rs 3.50, SMS were around Rs 1.20 and the minimum Rs 250 per month chai kin-nui parne.

Imagine for a college kid, that was a nightmare.

So after the initial euphoria, I had the handset with me… tara no calls would come or go… ringtone suni-basthey.

I think cell-phones started to take off really big time around 2002-03. Nokia 3310 was the most popular set when it entered the market and by 2004 Nokia 1100 had come which was the most HEP phone ever (for that time).

Things really took off once Nokia 6600 came, I guess that is when the concept of a Smart phone really entered Darjeeling. People proudly flaunted their 6600s till later Sony and Motorola entered the market, and made carrying Nokia look uncool.

I progressed from Siemens C 35 to C 45 and then to Nokia 6600. After that I stopped. The allure of Cell-phones had left me. I had grown up hola.

When I see the latest iPhones and Black berries and Samsungs… all I do is shake my head and start wishing that life was much simpler back in land-line days, where one family in the whole village would have a phone, and would relay the messages to everyone else.

Technology is changing so much that its impossible to keep up. Things become obsolete in a matter of few months. Nothing is durable these days, including relationships.

So when old friends drop by and talk old stuffs, that’s when nostalgia flows…
I miss the old Darjeeling very much… the one where they didn’t have a giant TV screen in Chowrasta.

Via - The Darjeeling Chronicle

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How the day unfolded - Gorkhas protest in Gurgaon

8:51 AM

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Opinion

Dinesh Sharma

Today (21.5.2015), a few concerned Gorkha citizens from across the nation gathered at Gurgaon (Sahara Mall) for a peaceful protest in solidarity with the three youths from Darjeeling who were grievously assaulted (on 16th May 2015) by local goons in Nathupur area. The idea was to hold a peaceful march from the mall to the DCP’s office of East Gurgaon, Deepak Sharan and submit a memorandum with our demands. It was 9:00 AM in the morning and I was perhaps the first one to be there on the field. As I was waiting for others to join the gathering, I observed an unusual movement of police personnel in the shopping mall area. Perhaps the cops had a whiff of the gathering plan through Facebook and other social media. As the number of people started to grow, some of the police personnel came over and question us on our plans and tried their best to dissuade us from carrying on with the gathering. Must say here that they were polite in their behavior and were only trying to convince us that the police is doing their best in the case, and that there is no need for the gathering today. Basically we were exchanging thoughts on the following points:

1. Why only 5 of the culprits have been booked and where are the remaining 10 plus more?
2. Why has not the police charged the culprits with section 307 (attempt to murder)?
3. Why did the police take 2 days to even file the FIR of the incident?
4. Why has not been Article 153A (racial discrimination) added to the charge? 

Gorkha citizens from across the nation gathered at Gurgaon (Sahara Mall) for a peaceful protest
 in solidarity with the three youths from Darjeeling who were grievously assaulted .

There are ample witness claiming that the perpetrators shouted kill all these Nepalis. In any case, the wounds of the victims prove beyond doubt that the attack by 15-20 guys with iron rods on three people was racially motivated.

The discussion was held with polite exchanges from both the police and us. As we went ahead with the gathering,a couple of police cars and a mini bus filled with police personnel also tagged along. During the march, we were clear that ours is a peaceful protest and the crowd did not at any point forget their discipline. We reached the DCP’s office and submitted the memorandum, after which the DCP confirmed that Section 308 has been added to the charges, and gave us an assurance that the racial discrimination charges will be investigated upon by the police. The crowd thanked the DCP for the prompt action and we were just about to dismiss the gathering on a happily positive note.

Just when we were thinking the day was over, we got to know that an ASI/SI passed an obscene and derogatory remark against the Gorkha community.  One of the protestor had gone to drink water near the gate when he happened to overhear the police official make the remark. Roughly translated, he said ‘The Gorkha men are basically momo sellers and jhaadoo-poochha guys. And the Gorkha women are basically *andis running their Dhanda(with hand gestures) here.’ One hearing the remarks, the witness informed the gathering about the remark. As some from the gathering went to check what was happening, the police official fled from the scene in a Chevrolet Beats car, bearing Haryana registration number 6627. What was disheartening is that the incident happened right inside the premise of the DCP’s office, and that too by a police personnel posted for the solidarity march. That was a blatant case of racial discrimination right on your face.  The witness has given his statement in written as well as video recording and promises to do so whenever required.

We then start another protest right then and there demanding that the official be booked immediately. The sudden emotional sentiment that ran through the crowd was unimaginable. We all wanted to push our way inside the DCP’s chamber, until sanity prevailed. Upon insistence, the DCP came out to meet the crowd again and gave an assurance that the accused police officer will be soon identified and brought to the office for further action. The crown decided to sit on a protest dharna in the office complex till action is taken upon the racist ASI/SI. As we started spreading the incident through the media, social network sites, personal contacts, and bureaucrats, the pressure might have soon rerouted to the East Gurgaon DCP’s office and this time the ACP came to meet the crowd. The indent occurred around 1:00 PM and it was already over 5:00 PM by the time the ACP addressed the gathering. The ACP accepted our complaint and took the witness’s statement and promised swift and appropriate action to the guilty police officer. Though our demand for immediate action was not fulfilled, we respected the ACP’s assurance that the incident will be impartially investigated and will not disappoint us. The crowd had decided to follow up with the case after 48 hours and plan further actions based on the outcome of the investigation. Meanwhile, we proceeded to the victim’s place to enquire about them and assisted the family with whatever little we could collect from the spot, shared a few words with them and call it a day.

Now, that was how the day unfolded for me as I witnessed. Personally, today was a day of retrospection for me. The mix of success, near successes, and some disappointments kept me thinking about my Identity and why should I care about it:

• Why is it that despite being one of the largest migrant community (above 10 lacs) from the North-East in Delhi, we still do not have a voice that the authorities can hear? 
• Why do we fail to rise above petty regionalist politics and think of Indian Gorkhali as a whole? 
• Why do we insist on know which jaati a person belongs to when being introduced for the first time?
• Why do the bureaucratic and administration circle think of Gorkhali as the most disjointed community in the entire North-East?
• Why do individual/parties always attempt to politicize such an important social issue? Can we not think beyond our small territory and political affiliation for a while and try and do something positive for the community?
• Why do we always remain confine to calling ourselves to our place like Darjeelingey, SikkimeseGorkhali, Assamese Gorkhali, Manipur Gorkhali, Nagaland Gorkhali, ShillongGorkhali, Arunachal Gorkhali, and so on? Whats with this prefix to the word Gorkhali? Can we not call ourselves as Indian Gorkhali for once?
• Why for such an important issue, we only have around 100 people joining us. Where are the remaining 999900 people? At least try reaching out even if you can’t make it. Do something at least.

Enough of these petty politics and jaativaadiamongst Gorkhalis. Let us keep our regional politics to our own respective regions and not carry it wherever we go. In a city like Delhi, we don’t need regional Gorkhalis, we need Indian Gorkhalis. Let us work for a bigger vision and think out of the box for a change. We have been living in our cages for too long a time. It is high time we speak as once as one united voice. Let us all walk as one Gorkha identity and make things better for our generation to come. Like a friend says, we have grown up listening to what people say ‘GORKHALI KO SALLA, KHARAANI KO DALLA’, do we also want our future to hear the same thing? This is our time to change how we look at ourselves and what we want to change within us.

IF NOT NOW, THEN WHEN?

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FROM "NO WHERE" TO "NOW HERE" - TIME TO UNITE OR PERISH

6:23 PM

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Opinion

Upendra for The DC

Without telling the purpose, when I asked this question my brother, " what comes to your mind when you hear the word "Gorkha..." and asked him to list 5 adjectives that came to his mind, he listed... "Brave, Fierce, Short, Hospitable, Patriotic..."

TIME TO UNITE OR PERISH

If you ask someone what comes to their mind when they hear the word "Gorkha," everyone - almost 99.99% out of 100 will say - 'Brave'.... If you ask them 'ok, what else other than that?' - they will say - 'Loyal'... push it one more notch and ask, 'ok, what else other than that?'.... I will bet they would have run out of things to say about us.

I am yet to hear words like, "Intellectual," "Artistic," "Thinker," "Musical," "Talented," "Ambitious," "Tacktful," "Respectable," "Sensitive," "Versatile," "Confident" associated with us.

Therein lies our greatest glory, as well as our greatest loss.

I can't remember who wrote the lines, "हामी वीर छौँ र नै बुद्धु छौँ... शायद हामी बुद्धु भएरनै वीर भएको होलौं - We are brave, and we are dumb... may be we are dumb, which is why we are brave" but I agree to each and everything stated therein.

We are brave, but for others. We are loyal to a fault, but for others. We will trust a master - in fact any master, but we will rarely trust one of our own. Perhaps it is in the 200 years of colonial construct as being "brave" and "loyal" that we see ourselves reflected, and without realizing that it is the same construct that has confined us as well.

Time has come for us to break out of the narrow confines, which the history, through our glorious ancestors has imposed on us.

GURGAON - A WAKE UP CALL
Three young men got beaten up to an inch of their life in Gurgaon. The police refused to file an FIR. Forget police giving them assistance, they had to escape to Delhi to get themselves treated.

Out of the three boys [amongst four, one managed to hid himself when the attack happened] who were beaten up, one is still in AIIMS trauma center. He has multiple injuries all over his body, and hospital sources are saying even his liver has been badly damaged.

Another was so traumatized that he ran away fearful for his life - imagine he had to run away after getting beaten up - not after beating, and could only be admitted yesterday at Safdarjung hospital, after his sister calmed him enough to be able to bring him to see the doctors.

Had their case been not highlighted through the social media, I am confident that, no one would have given a damn.

As a friend so eloquently put it, "Thank God for the internet this matter came to light, else the guys would have to come home with hearts full of sorrow and marks all over their back... धन्न Internet थियो र खाली... नत्र केटाहरु ढाड भरि लट्ठीको सुम्ला, र मन भारी बेदना बोकेर... घर फर्किनु पर्थ्यो होला... "

As this incident played out, one thing which bugged me the most is the fact that for a whole 24 hours, these three boys who were so brutally beaten up had no one to turn to. After the only authority they knew - the police had turned them down, they didn't have anywhere to go to. They did not have anyone to ask for help.

For me this is a WAKE UP CALL.

DELHI DENIZENS 
In the past 1 year, the reported cases of racism has come down significantly in Delhi. Thanks to the newly developed Delhi Police For North East Folks initiative under the able and dynamic leadership of Jt. Commissioner Robin Hibu, this cell has helped numerous people from across the North East region, and whenever regular police stations have failed to provide justice to the victims from NE, DPNEF have stepped up to the plate and provided justice.

We who live in Darjeeling may not see or feel the need for a specialized cell to tackle issues relating to NE in Delhi, but incidents such as the horror that unfolded in Gurgaon is a good reminder why we need this Cell, and in fact more such Cells to be functioning in every city across India.

DPNEF has given people from NE a new hope, a new friend where there was none before, and this is where the NE people draw their inspiration and strength from.

However, more important than that, it is the individual community organizations that have strengthened themselves so well, helped and assisted by their respective state governments, that only stupid people dare take them for granted.

Sadly for the Gorkhas, we do not have any such community organization in Delhi that would speak on our behalf. It is true that we don’t have a state to begin with, but truer is the fact that even amongst ourselves we severely lack unity.

Here in Darjeeling, politically we are tied to Bengal… but socially, ethnically, geographically and culturally we identify more with the North-East than West Bengal. Perhaps this is the very reason why we are treated with disdain and discrimination by the West Bengal government. Other than Mizoram, the Gorkhas who live in the rest of North-East are treated as “outsiders” by their respective communities.

We are literally “No Where” people

DISUNITY 
But what hurts us more is the realization that even our own do not care. During the Gurgaon incident, when people helping the boys in Delhi could not contact Darjeeling MP SS Ahluwalia, they contacted Sikkim MP PD Rai and requested help, I have been informed that he said he was in Shillong, and feigned helplessness. All these people needed help with was to ask the Gurgaon police to file a case and take the boys for medical treatment. Mr. Rai who is actually an IIT graduate and a real “intellectual” from our community, failed us when we needed him.

Many people have asked us why did Darjeeling ko people vote for SS Ahluwalia? Because if nothing else, at least he is effective. As soon as he came to know about the situation, since he was in Darjeeling, he dispatched his PA who was in Delhi to render assistance to the boys at AIIMS. He called up the Gurgaon police and demanded action. He has offered to pay the medical expenses for the three boys and promised to help the boys get justice.

Where a Gorkha MP – though from a neighbouring state let us down, a non Gorkha MP elected by US, came through for us…. And I believe that is the beauty of democracy.

The GTA is also doing what little it can, with Bimal Gurung personally getting involved to demand justice for the boys, and has assured full cooperation to the boys and their family for any need that may arise during the course of their treatment and matters relating to police.

Meanwhile, civil organizations that promise pan-India presence such as Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh, or the Delhi based Jan Awaz were conspicuous by their absence.

This then brings us to the most important question of all; could all of this have been avoided? Could the boys have been saved?

UNITY – WE ARE ONE
The answer to that question is both yes and a no… assigning fault is easy and we can blame everyone. But we all need to recognize the fact that the most important aspect of this whole sorry affair is – had we had better economic opportunities here at home in Darjeeling, those guys would not have been forced to seek jobs so far away from home.

If those guys were sensitized before going to Gurgaon on the do’s and don’ts… on the difference between lifestyle here in Darjeeling and outside… on the cultural and social difference, perhaps they would not have gotten into the altercation to begin with.

If the Gorkhali organizations and politicians in India were strong and powerful, the police wouldn’t have taken our people for granted, and would have rushed to file a complaint and an FIR, it wouldn’t have required pressure from above to get the police to do their job.

If we had a United Gorkha forum which keeps track of our people spread across India, then perhaps the three guys could have gotten assistance much before they got help this time.

Hence, the panacea to all our problems, as I see it, is to call for UNITY… not only amongst all the people living in Darjeeling, Terai and Dooars region, but also amongst Gorkhalis all over India. If we can unite ourselves, no force on earth will dare to touch us… But as long as we are divided amongst ourselves – on the basis of where we are from, our religion, language, caste, political party we support and so on… we will continue to get beaten up… no only in Gurgaon, but across the length and breadth of India.

Today if anyone from the 8 north east states are beaten up, they rally together… when people from Darjeeling got beaten up, no one came in our support, other than the Gorkhalis. Not because others don’t care, but because others know, our own don’t care to begin with.

I still remember the incident when students from Darjeeling studying in Kolkata wanted to organize a fresher’s welcome for new students from Darjeeling who had joined different colleges in Kolkata, the Salt Lake ko Gorkha Bhavan demanded Rs 25,000 from the students for 8 hours use.

Gorkhalis living across India, were hurt when GTA Chief Bimal Gurung said “Gorkha Bhavan in Delhi will be for the use of people of Darjeeling…” because they are Gorkhas too.

So if we are to deserve and demand respect from others, we need to learn to give respect to our own first. Mr. Bimal Gurung will do well to learn a lesson or two from our Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi. Where ever he goes Mr. Modi makes a point to interact with the Indian community and ask about their welfare…

Mr. Bimal Gurung, we don’t have Modi, we have you… and I hope you will take actions to develop a strong network with local governments on behalf of the Gorkhalis all over India. Better yet, please take necessary steps to get the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration region + Dooars into North East Council. That way we will have both geographical and political oneness with rest of the North East.

As for us common people, we need to come together and show our unity whenever anyone of us needs, and we can start by assembling today [20 May 2015] at 9: 30 A.M at Sahara Malls in Gurgaon, for a silent rally to demand justice for the three guys.

We need to make sure that the world knows, they should not mess with the Gorkhas.. otherwise “लहरा तान्दा पहरा गर्जिन्छ”... and through our unity is how we will move from being “No-Where” people to “Now-Here” people... who are always there for those who need our help... and if we fail to do that... let us prepare ourselves mentally that our community is going to become the punching bag of India.

Via: The DC

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How To Check Your House For Damages After Earthquake Hits

5:31 PM

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disaster news

Many of us are wondering if our houses have suffered any damages from earthquakes, but what do we look for in this case? Will damages show up later?

How To Check Your House For Damages After Earthquake Hits

We gathered some information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Here is a checklist on what to look for inside and outside your house to see if it had suffered damages from the earthquake.

1. Check The External House Structure:

• Survey all portions of your house to see if any part collapsed or sustained damage.

• Check to see if the house shifted on its foundation, or fell away from the foundation in any place.

• Check to see if the house is noticeably leaning, or looks tilted from a distance.

• Look for severe cracks or openings, especially around outdoor steps or porches.

• If inside the house, check to see if you are experiencing seriously increased vibrations from passing trucks and buses.

• Look for cracks in external walls. Check to see if existing cracks in the walls are getting bigger.

• Check to see if mortars are separating from the blocks.

• Look for sink holes or large divots in the ground next to the foundation.

2. Check The Chimneys:

• Look for cracks between the chimney and the exterior wall or the roof.

• Look for cracks in the liner.

• Check to see if there is unexplained debris in the fireplace.

3. Check Utilities:

• Check to see if power lines to your house are noticeably sagging.

• Check to see if hot water heater is leaning or tilted.

• Check to see if all the water connections, dry-pipes, toilets, faucets are secure.

4. Check the Inside Of the House:

• Check to see if doors and windows are harder to open, and if doors do not shut properly.

• Check to see if the roof is leaking. Look for water damage to the ceiling.

• Check to see if the furnace has shifted in any way, and if ducts and exhaust pipes are connected and undamaged.

• If inside the house, check to see if you are experiencing unexplained draftiness. Look for cracks in the walls, poorly aligned window frames, and loosened exterior siding. They can all let in breezes.

• Check to see if the floor is separated from walls or stairwells inside the house.

• Look for cracks between walls and built-in fixtures such as lights, cupboards or bookcases.

• Look for gaps around plumbing pipes that exit the foundation wall.

According to FEMA, the effects of an earthquake are sometimes slow to appear. Residents are urged to inspect their homes for damages that may have just come to light. Officials said walls can separate and cracks start to form weeks after the earthquake strikes.

Via- news9

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