Showing posts with label WBCS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WBCS. Show all posts

Bhanu Jayanti and the Endless Mamata Hypocrisy

9:20 AM
Writes: Upendra
Darjeeling 12th July 2016 Tomorrow we celebrate Bhanu Jayanti, in honour of the 1st poet to write and publish in what is today known and regarded as Nepali language. This will be the first time that Bengal government is officially celebrating Bhanu Jayanti since India became Independent.
There is a reason behind it.

Municipal elections are set to be held in December and GTA elections next year and TMC fancies it is in with a chance to win political mandate in the hills, hence Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee accompanied by the President Pranab Mukherjee, who also happens to be Bengali, are going to celebrate Bhanu Jayanti as a Bengal government sponsored jamboree this year at Chowrasta.
There are multiple layers of hypocrisy in Bengal government holding this event, and had ours been a more self-respecting community, we would boycott this indirect slap on our faces. But given that some of our people have sold their self-respect for a few crore rupees, I am certain that there will be a massive crowd present tomorrow to cheer and hoot to everything that Mamata says.

Despite repeated requests for including Nepali as an Optional paper in WBCS, the Bengal government has turned a complete blind eye and deaf ears to our request, yet tomorrow when Mamata announces how the Bengal government is a champion of Nepali language, the sellouts from our hills in attendance will welcome her every word with a rapturous clap of hands.

Ever since Mamata came to power, there has been a deliberate attempt at undermining Nepali language at each and every turn. The government forms are printed in Bengali, scholarship sites have only featured Bengali language, all the government signs and majority of the posters are written in Bengali, and now even the ration cards are being printed in Bengali. Yet tomorrow, when Mamata announces how she has promoted the use of Nepali and Nepali language, the sellouts from our hills will dance and celebrate.
Bhanu Jayanti and the Endless Mamata Hypocrisy
In Pic: Same content... same class... same book... one is in Nepali... another is in Bengali... both the languages are recognized as NATIONAL languages of India under the 8th Scheduled of the Constitution... both the languages are recognized as OFFICIAL languages of West Bengal... yet Book in Nepali is printed in black and white... Book in Bengali is printed in colour... IF THIS IS NOT DISCRIMINATION, WHAT IS? This is the very reason why we need Gorkhaland... as for Bengal, we will always remain 2nd class citizens.
After taking over the reign of Bengal, Mamata has systematically discriminated against the hill students. Books written for Nepali medium schools, including that of Nepali language are full of factual errors and mistakes, and as if that was not enough, the books printed in Nepali are in black and white, where as the same books printed in Bengali are in colour. To add to our woes numerous schools across Darjeeling and Dooars where Nepali students are in majority, are yet to get any of their government issued textbooks, despite the fact that more than half of their school year is over. Yet tomorrow, when Mamata talks of her love for the Nepali speaking people, the sellouts from our community will call her God and perhaps even pray to her.

Tomorrow, Mamata will again claim "Pahar Hasche" and indeed the news channels will show the laughing, smiling face of sellouts - but what she won't tell you is that, Bengal government has not conducted Panchayat elections since 2000 in the hills, that over 500 Panchayat posts are remaining vacant in the hills, that for the past 15 years there have been no promotion granted to any hill panchayat employee, while Panchayat employees from the plains are being gradually transferred to the hills. Same is the case with schools where over 2500 vacancies have not been filled since 2001. Schools are running without headmasters and colleges are running without any principals. Same is also true for almost every other government department, where permanent posts have remained vacant for decades.

Tomorrow, Mamata will again promise numerous development projects in Darjeeling region, but what she won't promise is the equal treatment of Nepali language or Nepali speaking people in Bengal. She won't promise that the next Chairman of PSC will be from the hills, she won't promise that the next VC in any of the Bengal based universities will be a hill academic. She won't promise that non-Bengali students and youths will be provided with equal opportunity, she won't promise that they will be given equal benefits, and she won't promise that these children will have a bright future in Bengal. While students in the plains are given Kanyashree and Sabujh Saathi, hill students are deprived of even most basic of all needs - text books, that itself should be telling.

Most hypocritical of all though is the fact that Bhanu Bhawan, which is built in the honour and memory of Kabi Bhanu Bhakta Acharya is 5 minutes walk away from Chowrasta, which has a massive hall where such functions could be undertaken, but no that wouldn't assuage Mamata's ego, would it? She had to dig up and destroy Chowrasta so that she could send proper visuals back to Kolkata and non-Nepali speaking homes and proudly claim "Pahar Hasche" and our sellouts would indeed be laughing like mentally challenged retards who don't know right from wrong.

Via TheDC


Nepali and Darjeeling: The importance of the language in Gorkhaland movement

11:27 AM
Writes Premankur Biswas 

April 23, 2016 Earlier this week, when the State Bank of India included Nepali in the revised list of official languages for its recruitment procedure in West Bengal, the Gorkhaland movement in North Bengal received boost of sorts.

Since 1907, the Gorkhas of north Bengal have demanded a separate administrative unit in Darjeeling, and the Nepali language has played an important role in the scheme of things. Even in this year’s Assembly Election, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, the most prominent party of the area, has actively campaigned on this very issue.

In 1917, in a petition of the Hillmen’s Association to Edwin Montague (the then secretary of state for India) it was stated that “Darjeeling’s inclusion in Bengal was comparatively recent and only because the British were rulers common to both places. …Historically, culturally, ethnically, socially, religiously and linguistically there was no affinity whatsoever between Bengal and Darjeeling.”
Nepali and Darjeeling: The importance of the language in Gorkhaland movement
Nepali was recognized as an official language of West Bengal in 1961, and in 1992 was recognized as one of the Official Languages of India under the VIIIth Scheduled of Indian Constitution
According to Michael Hutt’s seminal book on the Nepali Diaspora— Being Nepali without Nepal: Reflections on a South Asian Diaspora, in the 1951 census the then District Census Officer A. Mitra, (ICS) stated that only 19.96% of the population (numbering a total population 88,958) in Darjeeling district spoke Nepali. He did this by presenting only Kami, Damai, Chettri , Brahmin, and Sarki as Nepali speaking– while the rest of the hill populace Limbu, Gurung, Rai, Mangar, Sherpa, Newar, Lepcha and others whose lingua franca was also Nepali were counted as separate entities on the grounds of having their own dialects. According to Hutt, the total Nepali speaking population in Darjeeling District at that time was 66% (2.90 lakhs). Based on this manipulated data, Nepali was not included as the national languages of India.

Finally in 1961, Nepali was recognized as an official language of West Bengal, and in 1992, Nepali was recognized as one of the Official Languages of India under the VIIIth Scheduled of Indian Constitution.

However, till date Nepali is not offered as an optional subject in the West Bengal Civil Services Examination.

However, in 2011, right after coming to power, CM Mamata Banerjee had included Nepali as one of the six “second official” languages of the state. She also included Nepali as one of the languages for answering question papers in the examinations by the Public Service Commission in February this year. However, The Darjeeling Chronicle, an online civil society forum, which has been actively campaigning for the inclusion of Nepali language as an optional language in the WBCS examination, says that it’s not same thing. “To be able to answer the questions in Nepali is not the same thing as having Nepali as an optional paper,” said Upendra Pradhan, activist from the Darjeeling Chronicle.

Via indianexpress



Academics and Social Leaders Against Non-Inclusion of Nepali in WBCS

4:37 PM
FINALLY: Academics and Social Leaders Speak Out Against Non-Inclusion of Nepali as an Optional Subject in WBCS

The issue of non-inclusion of Nepali as an optional subject in WBCS has finally seemed to woken up academics and social leaders in the Hills, with people from various strata of the society speaking out against this blatant act of discrimination against our language.

Speaking to the Press, Prof. Sanjay Bista of Kalimpong college said, “this is politics of the most foul kind that despite Nepali being recognized as a National language of India, West Bengal government has continued to deprive Nepali students from writing the highest examination in the state in our language.”

He further said, “If they can include a dead language like Pali or even Arabic, why can’t they include Nepali as an optional paper? This is not only discrimination; it is also injustice towards thousands of our youth who study Nepali as honours or elective subjects in their graduate courses. The Bengal government has deliberately left out Nepali in order to keep the Nepali speaking people subjugated.”

Mr. Bal Bhadra Sharma of Nepali Sahitya Adhayan Samity also protested against the non-Inclusion and stated, “this is a conspiracy by the Bengal government to undermine our language and our people... what is happening is not right and all our people need to speak out against this discrimination.”
Prof. Sanjay Bista of Kalimpong
Prof. Sanjay Bista of Kalimpong
Registering his protest, Bhasa Andolan stalwart Mr. J B Rai stated, “Incidents such as this reflect the true nature of Bengal government. It is the right of any community whose language is recognized to be able to appear for that paper, in not allowing Nepali speaking students from writing an optional paper in our language betrays the inherent racism that Bengal feels towards Nepali people from the hills.”

Mr. Rai also rued the fact that Hill politicians were not taking up this issue seriously, and said, “Language is important, but politicians don’t see merit in raking up issues that is not going to get them mass support, so they have conveniently skirted this issue and have failed to speak out against this discrimination... In fact our politicians have never spoken out against these important issues.”

Highlighting the good rapport that current Kalimpong MLA Dr. Harka Bahadur Chettri shares with Bengal government, Mr. Rai said, “The Kalmlong MLA is very close to the Bengal government he needs to place this issue with them and get this resolved at the earliest... We cannot continue to allow the Bengal government to impose Linguistic discrimination and imperialism anymore.”

Kalimpong Lawyer Mr. DN Pandey suggested taking the legal route and said, “to be able to appear for Nepali as an optional paper is our Fundamental right, as Nepali is recognized under the VIIIth Scheduled of our constitution... and non-inclusion of Nepali till date shows the government apathy towards us... we cannot remain quiet anymore we have to speak... But the lead in this case needs to be taken up by the students and student organizations... we have to hit the streets in protest if necessary... and if all of that doesn’t work, then we have to go to the courts and demand that Bengal uphold our rights.... Under Article 266 of our Constitution, this is one of our basic rights and we can go to the Supreme Court if need arises.”

Once again, we request all our readers, politicians, social elders and students to kindly speak out and protest against this discrimination.

Source : TheDC


Dr. Rohit Sharma on Non-Inclusion of Nepali as Optional Paper in WBCS

9:28 AM

"Non-Inclusion of Nepali as Optional Paper in WBCS Reflects Bengal's Attitude Towards the Hill People" - Dr. Rohit Sharma.

Slamming the non-inclusion of Nepali as an Optional paper in WBCS, former Kurseong MLA Dr. Rohit Sharma has called for collaborative protests against this blatant act of discrimination. 

Speaking to the Press, Dr. Sharma stated, "I raised this issue in the legislature numerous times, I raised this issue with Mamata Banerjee, with the Home Secretary, with the Chief Secretary and Chairman of PSC West Bengal, and every time I raised this issue, they assured me that in 2016 WBCS examinations, Nepali will be added as an optional paper. But look at this, once again they have deceived the hill people and neglected our concerns... this shows the discrimination that we have to suffer... I condemn this whole heartedly."

Last year Dr. Sharma had placed three demands in the legislature:

1. Introduction of Nepali as an Optional paper in WBCS
2. Appointment of a Gorkha intellectual as a member of the West Bengal PSC, in order to ensure fairness of the interview process, and
3. Shifting of WBCS mains examination center from the plains to the hills, so that the hill students do not have to suffer.

Despite repeated assurances from Bengal government officials, none of these demands have been fulfilled. 

Dr. Sharma stated, "The blatant discrimination against our language and our people needs to be condemned widely and all the hill people should speak against this with one voice..."

He further said that, "I will continue to fight for this cause and I will not rest till the demands I have met are fulfilled."

It is a matter of great sadness that other than Dr. Rohit Sharma no one else has spoken out against this issue. From "intellectuals" like Dr. Mahendra P Lama to Dr. Harka Bahadur Chettri... from political parties like GNLF to CPRM and ABGl, no one has even said a word against this issue. 

Forget public figures, even the students organizations such as GJVM, SFI, NSUI, Chattra Parishad or Youth organizations like GJYM, DYFI, Youth Congress, TMC Youth no one has spoken out.

Via TheDC

Nepali Again Not Included as an Optional Paper in WBCS

7:52 AM

This is why we NEED ‪‎Gorkhaland‬ Nepali Again Not Included as an Optional Paper in WBCS

Writes Upendra for TheDC

Insanity is often described as “doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results,” going by this definition people in Darjeeling are certifiably insane, not all but those who side with Bengal and hope time and again that Bengal will treat them differently.

Here is the news flash – they won’t.

Last year in February we had highlighted the fact that despite Nepali being one of the National Languages of India, in West Bengal, Nepali was not placed as an optional paper for West Bengal Civil Services.

Thanks to our readers, there was enough outrage, leading the Darjeeling MP Mr. SS Ahluwalai had raised this issue in the Parliament.

The then Kurseong MLA Dr. Rohit Sharma to take up the case of including Nepali as an optional paper in WBCS, and he tried his best, we have it on record that he raised the issue in the Bengal legislature, he raised the issue with Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, with the Education Minister of Bengal and also with the Chief Secretary and the Education Secretary of Bengal. All of these people assured and reassured Dr. Sharma and through him the Nepali speaking people that in 2016 Nepali will be included as an optional paper.

However, this year again, Bengal has conveniently left out Nepali from the list of optional papers that people can appear for [Details: http://bit.ly/1SJQ1Zk]

Last year when we had raised this issue, some of our “intellectuals” had questioned our motive and said, “It’s not an important issue.” Well may be not for the “intellectuals”, but for ordinary people like us, it is a matter of great significance. There are two issues here:

1. DISCRIMINATION 
In Darjeeling hills, Dooars and Terai each year thousands of students take up Nepali as an Honours or Elective subject, which means they specialize in Nepali. So when students are not allowed to pick up Nepali as an optional subject in WBCS, all these students are discriminated against, all these students are not allowed to be examined in the subject that is their strongest suit. Given which, the students do not stand a chance to compete to the best of their abilities, and these will forever continue to remain marginalized and treated as 2nd class.

The WBCS Main Examination consists of five Compulsory papers and two optional subjects – only one optional subject if applying for Group C and/or Group D – which the candidates have to choose from, from the list of given Optional Subjects.

For each optional subjects the candidates have to write two papers of 100 marks each.

This is where the Nepali students are discriminated against.

Say if someone took Nepali (Honours) or Nepali Elective in undergraduate or Masters level, and wanted to write IAS or WBCS, his/her natural choice of Optional Subject could obviously be Nepali.

While in IAS examination Nepali is included as an optional subject, but in WBCS you cannot select Nepali as an Optional paper.

Whereas, students who have studied English, Bengali, Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu and Santhali – languages which are used in West Bengal, and even those who study Pali – which is declared as a dead language, or foreign languages such as Arabic, Persian, French have to face no such discrimination, and they can choose any of these languages as an Optional paper.

Sadly, the current format of WBCS leaves the Nepali speaking population of the Darjeeling hill region, Terai, Dooars and rest of West Bengal at a disadvantage.

In Bengal, Nepalis are ethnically the largest minorities, and by not including Nepali while including a dead language – Pali and three foreign languages Arabic, Persian and French which only a handful of students may learn each year, the Bengal government has shown that it treats us, and will continue to treat us as 2nd or 3rd class citizens.

For this reason, it is the DUTY of every Nepali speaking Indian, as well as equality and justice loving Indians to protest against this blatant act of discrimination on the part of West Bengal.

2. OUR RIGHTS
Language is what defines us, and gives us an identity, which is why our elders fought to get Nepali included as one of the national languages of India. However, despite the fact that Nepali has been recognized under the VIIIth scheduled of our Constitution since 1992, our language is still treated as 2nd class in Bengal. This translates to the fact that WE – the Nepali speaking have been, are, and will continue to remain a 2nd class citizen in Bengal.

Coming back to the point on insanity, I have a question for Hill Trinmool leaders, and also for Dr. Harka Bahadur Chettri who seems to be best friends with TMC regime, and those who are supporting TMC due to Development boards... don’t you guys feel even a little ashamed or sad to see our community being discriminated against this way? Do you guys seriously think and feel that Bengal will treat you all with respect and as an equal? Don’t you think you guys should speak out against such forms of discrimination with one voice?

इतिहास सक्छि छ, बंगालले हामीलाई हेला गरेको, हामीलाई हेपेको, हामीलाई कान्छी आमा को छोरा-छोरि जस्तै गरि छुट्टाको... तर पनि किन तपाईंहरु बंगाल कोइ पछी कुदी रहनु हुन्छ? Isn’t what you all are doing, insanity? Even your children will suffer as a consequence, please do reflect on these facts.

To GJM and other hill oppositions, it is high time you all spoke out against this blatant act of discrimination. Last year all of you people remained quiet, including not even a peep from the Gorkha Janmukti Vidhyarthi Morcha. We hope that this year, all of you won’t remain quiet, and protest against WE – the Gorkhalis being treated as a 2nd class citizens.

Some of our readers pointed out last year that “if we want Gorkhaland then why should we care about WBCS?” We should care because, as long as Bengal refuses to allow Gorkhaland to be formed, it is their duty to treat us as equal citizens, and by repeatedly undermining our language they have time and again proven that for them we will always remain “Ora – the others.”

This incident is clear, very clear indication of why we not just want, but NEED Gorkhaland statehood.

बंगाल साँचै हाम्रो चिहान हो... बंगालमा हामी बस्नु सक्दैनौं !!

[Links from last year reports: http://on.fb.me/1YUOBivand http://on.fb.me/1uFs9ip andhttp://on.fb.me/1YUOHqm andhttp://on.fb.me/19gil4L and http://on.fb.me/1RAydkY]

JNU Gorkha Students protests Non-Inclusion of Nepali Language in WBCS Exams

12:25 PM
Condemn the policy of Continuous Exclusion of Nepali language in West Bengal Civil Service Examination by Bengal Government!
JNU Gorkha Students protests Non-Inclusion of Nepali Language in WBCS Exams

“It’s not the big walls or iron cage of prisons but,
One day our own silence and indifference will imprison us!”

The ruling class of Bengal and its stooges has once again come up with their brazen display of power and contempt towards the Gorkha people of Gorkhaland, whose democratic aspiration for self determination has always been a thorn in their flesh. Despite 60 years of barbaric regime involving intense economic exploitation, state sponsored ethnocide of 1986 (where CRPF butchered 1500 people in Darjeeling Hills), snatching away of livelihoods of tea garden workers and pushing them into starvation; the appetite of the Bengal Government for repressing the Gorkhas seems to be yet insatiable. West-Bengal Government has yet again unmasked its hideous and desperate agenda of orchestrated discrimination towards the Gorkha community by not including the Lingua franca of Gorkha community i.e. Nepali as the optional language paper in West Bengal Civil Service Examination (WBCS).

Nepali language is already included in the Eight Schedule of the Indian Constitution and even the UPSC examinations allow candidates to choose Nepali as an optional language subject. While all other optional language/subject like Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit, Santhal and even Pali is retained; What message does the Bengal Government want to convey through this belittling unconstitutional Act of repeatedly neglecting only Nepali language without giving any explanation?

This discriminatory move is essentially part of the unbroken chain of exploitation wielded by the West Bengal Government against Gorkha community on basis of its linguistic identity. Recently, the merit panel published by West Bengal College Service Commission for the post of Assistant Professor in different subjects shows abysmally low number of Nepali speaking candidates from the hill district of Darjeeling.

In Economics, Not even a Single Nepali speaking candidate was selected. The total number of vacancies in Economics was 117, for which 98 candidates were empanelled for counselling in the final recruitment. The majority of the Nepali speaking candidates who fall under ST category were out-rightly excluded by empanelling only 1 candidate (non-Nepali speaking) against 14 ST vacancies. Several Nepali speaking candidates who cleared the final selection interview for Political Science were denied Jobs saying they did not possess “adequate knowledge” of Bengali for teaching in Colleges whose medium of instruction is English.

Be it the denial of eligible candidates in WBCSC for not knowing Bengali language or the issuing of panchayat and scholarship forms exclusively in Bengali or the exclusion of Nepali in Railway test or the faulty Edition of Nepali text books of Class XI and XII, the Bengal Government has left no stone unturned to discriminate Gorkhas and deny them equal opportunities for education and employment.

This display of administrative highhandedness is just one among the many that has come to notice recently. It is certainly not an aberration but rather a reflection of the Deep Rooted Colonial Practice of the Ruling Class that has continuously strived to use exploitative tools to dominate Gorkhas and curb all possibility of their development and self-assertion.

The deliberate political domination of Gorkhas historically has been operationalised through different forms of ‘othering’ of the community- Culturally, Administratively, and Economically. Behind this unabashed audacity is the sheer insecurity and arrogance of the political masters of Bengal that is continuously masterminding obnoxious ways to trample upon the aspiration of Gorkha candidates and spread discouragement, despair and insecurity. This is one among the many used tactics of the Bengal Government to retain their hegemonic control over White Collar Jobs - a domain they consider only themselves suitable for and not for the Gorkha to aspire. Their interest lies in keeping Gorkhas in subordinate positions vis-a-vis the Bengali speaking majority in West Bengal.

The rampantly visible endemic unemployment among educated youths, high rate of human trafficking, massive distress migration for low-end and low paying jobs and rising drug abuse are not isolated phenomena but in fact organically connected to the denial of equal opportunities to the Nepali speaking population in every socio-political and economic sphere by every ruling class that has governed Bengal. The heinous part is that the success of the state’s propaganda in spreading hate-mongering also reflects in prejudiced opinions in the social media such as “how many Nepalese sit for civil services?”.

These colonial expropriation polices of the Bengal government must be Exposed and Condemned. The future of our present and coming generations should not be allowed to be continuously manipulated and wrecked by the Bengal Government and a few other local leaders who have repeatedly betrayed the faith and support of the masses.

The silence or indifference maintained by the intellectuals of Gorkha community for a long time on such pertinent issues is also perplexing. Political leaders who are disconnected from prime concerns of suffering masses and the intellectuals succumbing to conformism will only strengthen this regime of exploitation. The continuance of such an exploitative relation that only engineers to obstruct the aspirations of Gorkhas in every realm of life reiterates the utmost and uncompromisable need for immediate Separate Statehood and realization of our Political Identity.

We strongly condemn the open and highly discriminatory move of the state to jeopardize the careers of Nepali speaking candidates from Gorkhaland. We urge all progressive thinking organisations and individuals to come forward and condemn the arrogant display of racial and communal discrimination by the West Bengal Government.

Gorkha Students, JNU, New Delhi


 
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