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Article 2

March 8, 2016, 12:03 am
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"ULTIMATELY TRUTH WILL PREVAIL," said Union Minister Harsh Vardhan while speaking at a function of the Indian Federation of Working Journalists (IFWJ) in New Delhi recently. 
I took the opportunity to present my book, "The Lone Warrior: Exiled In My Homeland", to the Minister and Union Minister Dr. Mahesh Sharma. 
The Federation has sought Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's "personal intervention" on the issue regarding demolition of my press-cum-residential building in Gangtok.
In a letter to the Home Minister, the Federation said,"We..appeal to the Union Government to give justice" and ensure "speedy resolution" on the matter.
"Mr. Kazi is well known for his fight for Press Freedom" and "independent stand" in "his career spanning 33 years in the Press," the letter said.
In my appeal to the Sikkim Government, I had said, "There have been many judgements in the case but justice has been denied."

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Article 1

March 10, 2016, 9:45 pm
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Birthday message for MH: ‘RIDE THROUGH THE STORM’
In his last message to me and my situation, Rev. David G. Stewart, our beloved Principal who passed away in December 2014, advised me:  “Ride Through The Storm.”
I believe that his advice is not only applicable to me but also to our beloved alma mater, which is passing through perhaps the worst period ever since its birth on March 11, 1895.
So, my fellow Hermonites, and to our beloved MH:  no matter what you are facing and the situation you are in just remember what Mr. Stewart said, “Ride through the storm.”

Mrs. WelthyHonsinger Fisher, wife of one of our Founders, Bishop Frederick Bohn Fisher, during her Speech Day address in MH in mid-’60s reminded us: “It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.”
MH’s history right from the very beginning was a tough one. Just a few years after it began in a cottage near Chowrasta in Darjeeling on March 11, 1895 a number of its students died when the school building collapsed in the 1898’s disastrous earthquake. The school was then called ‘Arcadia’.
But our Founder Miss Emma Knowles did not give up. With God on her side and with a firm determination to continue her mission she began the Queen’s Hill School just above the railway station in Darjeeling.

By 1920s the school was growing and expanding and needed a bigger place. Miss Knowles, assisted by Miss CJ Stahl, shifted the school to the present location. In 1929 the school was renamed Mount Hermon School.
Mt. Hermon went through a difficult phase after the 1935 earthquake and during the IInd World War. But somehow MH pulled through and it was Rev. Stewart (Principal 1953-1963), who made MH one of the top boarding schools in India.

Mr. GA Murray, Rev. JA Johnston and later Mr. Jeff Gardner, assisted by loyal, able and dedicated staff, kept MH’s flag flying high.
Hermonites all over the world know that our school is passing through a tough time. When the going gets tough the tough gets going. MH was born tough. On its 121st birthday let us all wish her the very best and remind her to “Ride through the storm.”
Hail Mt. Hermon!


March 11, 2016
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Article 0

March 11, 2016, 10:15 pm
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LET US RENEW OUR BONDING: 
Over the years and since its formal formation in 1984 the Sikkim Hermonites Association has been a nucleus for the fulfilment of our motto: 'closeness for life' for all Hermonites. 
Those of us who are aware Sikkim Hermonites played a crucial and leading role in the successful celebrations of the school's 100th anniversary in November 1995.

Even as we continue our cherished tradition of preserving our closeness, friendship and camaraderie we meet again on March 14, 2014, just three days after our beloved alma mater's 121st Birthday, to welcome Lucinda Gibbs (Cindy is St. Paul's former Rector Mr. Gibbs' daughter), Pradip Verma (SC 1971) and Mr. Mapley's daughter, Margaret Mapley. They now live in Ireland and UK. The venue is our favourite haunt - Hotel Tashi Delek, located in the heart of the town.

During the reunion we would like to nominate Uttam Pradhan as the next President of Sikkim Hermonites. Uttam has been ably assisting our President Karma Bhutia for a long time and many of us feel that Karma needs a break and Uttam needs a 'promotion'! Both have recently retired from government service.
Karma has done a lot for the Hermonites in general and Sikkim Hermonites in particular. He has provided us sound and effective leadership over the years and we are thankful to him and his family.
Hopefully, the younger Hermonites will combine their strength with the older lot and take us to greater heights. We would like to urge all of them to join us at the reunion dinner on March 14.
You may brings your own booze and there will be some singing session as well!
Cheers!!

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Article 2

June 11, 2016, 4:34 am
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In Praise of Salmons

Tashi Wangdi
Sometimes I am grateful to the many benefits and opportunities I take for granted. Nobody wants to know or investigate how and when we were fortunate to be beneficiaries. It is always owed to a few people, unsung and yet unmindful, who had the moral uprightness to stand up for what they believed as unjust, unwarranted such that it changed the course of our lives for better. These people lead their lives without the pomp and ceremony only to speak when the equilibrium of their scales get upset.
   I like to refer to this tribe of people as salmons, the fish that swims upstream to spawn after travelling across oceans. What feat of nature or madness of flesh that salmons must endure thousands of miles of journey and predators along the way only to swim against the current and give birth where its own life once began. Thus continuing a natural heritage and imprinting the future generations with the same genes.
   Most of us are happy in a herd and go where others go. Our direction is bereft of independent action and limited to that of the herd. We take the softer option, pluck the low hanging fruit and walk the much-traversed path. Our souls are anemic, irreverence is not our creed, stubbornness of heart not an ideal and perseverance not cheered upon.
   Unbeknownst to most of us it is this very irreverence, stubbornness and perseverance of these salmons so adept in swimming up current that ironically ensures that people like you and I continue to live in our cushioned world without exertion or need to invoke our rights. To have a meaningful progressive society it is therefore imperative to have the naysayers, to ponder on an alternative view and champion an incorruptible voice of courage.
   One such salmon I know swims everyday upstream in the streets of Gangtok and our well being as Sikkimese people, however immediate or remote is somehow somewhere connected to his very existence and his name is Jigme N. Kazi. He is the holder of our conscience and keeper of our stories. There could not have been a more apt tribute than Sunanda K. Datta-Ray, the author of “Smash and Grab – Annexation of Sikkim”, a Bible for Sikkimese students in those days, when he anointed  him as a true and loyal son of Sikkim.

(Courtesy: TALK SIKKIM, The People’s Magazine, Vol. 6. No. 5, September 2013)
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Article 1

July 8, 2016, 9:39 pm
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HISTORY REVISITED
With Brexit a reality, a look back at six Indian referendums (and one that never happened)

India, unlike Europe, doesn’t take chances. Referendums were called only when the result was known.

Jun 24, 2016 · 06:35 pm  Updated Jun 24, 2016 · 07:11 pm
Shoaib Daniyal
Image credit:  Alice Kandell
Brexit – or the British exit from the European Union – has become a reality. In a referendum conducted on Thursday, 52% of voters opted to leave the EU. One of the the most significant referendum in Europe's history, it’s also one in a long line of such exercises. Since 1973, the continent has seen 54 instances where citizens have decided policy – mostly related to the European Union – via a vote.
The rest of the world, however, isn’t too keen on them. Most Indians, for example, wouldn’t even know what to make of it without maybe a quick peek at Wikipedia. But it isn't like they haven’t happened. The Indian subcontinent has actually seen six of them, with one pending referendum in Kashmir being the cause of great friction between India and Pakistan.
Three of the six – Sylhet, Junagadh and North Western Frontier Province – were held in 1947 as British India was partitioned into India and Pakistan. Referendums have also been held in Sikkim and Pondicherry to decide if they wanted to be a part of India. In 1967, Goa voted to not be included in Maharashtra, establishing their Konkani identity as distinct from Marathi. And if Arvind Kejriwal has his way, there might be another on its way: a referendum to decide if Delhi wants full statehood.
Unlike the Brexit, however, all but one – the Goa referendum – had what one could call managed outcomes: their results were mostly known even before the first vote was cast. Nevertheless, each referendum was a result of a fascinating series of historical events and bears recounting.
North-Western Frontier Province and Sylhet
Though Britain has just exited the European Union after an orderly referendum, Indians were not given such democratic options as the former colonial power exited its empire 1947. After plans for a United India fell through, a partition scheme was drawn up by a Malayali civil servant VP Menon who served as the Constitutional Adviser to the Viceroy and had Vallabhbhai Patel's confidence. This came to be known as the June 3 plan (which is when it was announced) or the Mountbatten Plan, after India’s last viceroy.
Ordinary Indians had little choice in the matter. Congressmen and Leaguers, themselves elected by a very narrow franchise at the time, simply decided the matter amongst themselves, electing to partition Bengal and Punjab. People like the Tamils and Sindhis weren’t even asked their opinion and were simply bundled wholesale from the Raj to either India or Pakistan.
However, there were two exceptions: Sylhet and the North-West Frontier Province, currently on the Pakistan-Afghan border, both of saw referendums. One of these, the one in the NWFP, was a farce, since the Congress boycotted it. If they had participated, the Congress would have had a good chance of winning ‒ it was the only Muslim province where they had a ministry in 1947. But the Congress did not want an East Pakistan-style situation where India had a distant satellite province. This led NWPF leader Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan to dolefully declare, “You have thrown us to the dogs.”
The case of Sylhet in 1947 was even curiouser. Then in Assam and now in Bangladesh, it was the only district which got its own vote, out of the blue, even as British India’s largest province Bengal was simply slashed with so much as a by your leave. How then did Sylhet get such special treatment?
Sylhet was a Muslim-majority district within a Hindu-majority Assam. Apart from the religious divide, there was also a linguistic one. Muslims in Sylhet either spoke the Sylheti language or were Bengalis from eastern Bengal. Given this, the Congress in Assam, controlled by upper caste Axomiya Hindus of Upper Assam, were in many ways keen to see Sylhet be shunted out of the province, helping make their political position stronger in a more homogenous province. In discussions with the British Cabinet Mission Plan in 1946, therefore, Assam’s Prime Minister Gopinath Bordoloi said that it was his desire to “hand over Sylhet to East Bengal”.
As a result, during the referendum, the Congress, which otherwise had an excellent network in Assam, didn’t really support the “in” side, which mostly consisted of local Sylheti Hindus. In the end, Sylhet voted to break away from Assam and join what was then East Pakistan.
However, the politics over language and religion didn’t die out with the exit of Sylhet. In fact, the recent Bharatiya Janata Party win in Assam announced on May 19, 2016, was driven by the exact same xenophobic fears of Muslim Bengalis as those that pushed the Congress to welcome the Sylhet plebiscite in 1947.
Junagadh and Kashmir
The British might have been the paramount power in the subcontinent since 1757 but come the Brexit of 1947, it dawned on everyone that they directly only controlled three-fifths of the subcontinent’s land area. Even as India and Pakistan achieved independence, so did a massive 562 princely states from British rule. Here, the last Viceroy of India, Louis Mountbatten, who had close links with the Congress and a personal friendship with Nehru, stepped in.
On July 25, 1947, he called a special session of the Chamber of the Princes and, in his capacity as the Crown’s representative, urged them to merge with India – a successful move, as most states, awed by an appeal from a man who was both Viceroy and cousin to the King of England, signed the instrument of accession with India. Travancore and Jodhpur caused some trouble but negotiations led by Mountbatten eventually won them over.
Three states, however, still held out: Hyderabad, Kashmir and the tiny principality of Junagadh. On November 1, 1947, Mountbatten offered to Jinnah, with Congress backing, an option of a plebiscite in all three states. Jinnah refused, arguing legally that the Independence of India Act gave the ruler and not the people the option to decide – a curious position given that Pakistan’s weak military strength meant that this was an offer Jinnah should have jumped on.
Mountbatten handled the negotiations with Hyderabad but failed to convince the Nizam, leading to the Indian Army invading and annexing the state to India in September 1948.
In Junagadh, the Muslim nawab, a man whose only love, it seems, were animals (he had hundreds of dogs and preserved the Asiatic lion at Gir) opted for Pakistan. In return, Pakistan till this day recognises his claim to Junagadh – a fairly hopeless campaign whose only mark now seems to be thiswebsite.
The nawab's accession might have been technically legal but given that Junagadh was in the middle of Gujarat, with no border with Pakistan, this went squarely against India’s interests. Supported by India, on October 24, 1947, volunteers rose up against the nawab and captured the tiny state. On February 20, 1948, India conducted a plebiscite in which a little more than 2 lakh people voted. India won the vote, with a grand total of 91 people opting for Pakistan.
It wasn’t over though. In many ways, this suited Pakistan. Junagadh was a tiny principality. The real prize was Kashmir. Would the referendum in Junagadh set a precedent for Kashmir – a mirror image of the Gujarati state, with a Hindu king and a Muslim-majority populace? On September 22, 1947, Pakistan’s prime minister asked a Mountbatten aide, “Why, if it was suggested that a referendum should be held in Junagadh one should not be held in Kashmir?”
Kashmir, meanwhile, saw large-scale insurrections against its maharaja in August 1947. Taking advantage of this, Pathan tribesmen, supported and armed by Pakistan, streamed into Kashmir. The Maharaja panicked and acceded to India, which accepted his decision provisionally, subject to the caveat that a plebiscite would take place later, after the invaders had been drive out. The invaders were never driven out – the western half of Jammu and Kashmir is still under Pakistani control.
While Jawaharlal Nehru did make promises of a plebiscite, given that most commentators assumed India would lose, he didn’t pursue it with any real heart. In 1953, all hopes for a referendum were snuffed out as Nehru ousted Sheikh Abdullah, Kashmir’s tallest leaders, from the post of prime minister of Jammu and Kashmir and proceeded to imprisonhim for 11 years.
Sikkim and Pondicherry
The most contentious referendum in the subcontinent took place not, paradoxically, during the bitter 1947 partition but in the tiny Buddhist kingdom of Sikkim in 1975. In 1947, a popular vote in Sikkim actually rejected merger with India and relations continued with Delhi much as they had under the British Raj. Sikkim was a protectorate of India, with Delhi handling Gangtok’s defence and foreign affairs – an arrangement quite similar to Bhutan today.
After the 1962 Indo-China war, though, things changed – made worse in the 1970s by the Sikkimese king, the Chogyal making moves to free his country from Indian control. Indira Gandhi, though, was having none of that. In April, 1975, with intrigue lashing the tiny kingdom, the Indian Army took control of the Chogyal’s palace. A highly controversial referendum was then held on the question of the abolishment of the monarchy and, practically, merger with India. A whopping 98% opted for India. So clouded was this move that no less than an Indian Prime Minister, Morarji Desai, admitted that India’s annexation of Sikkim was “not a desirable step”.
In contrast, Pondicherry, a tiny French colony on India’s south-east coast was the least contentious and most democratic of India’s referendums. The will of the people to merge with India was clear. On October 18, 1954, of 178 legislators, 170 voted to accede with India
Goa
In 1967, six years after the Indian Army had expelled the Portuguese from their Indian colonies, Goa voted to decide whether it would remain a Union territory or be merged with Maharashtra.
Much of the Goan question centered around the the linguistic issue of whether Konkani should be considered a dialect of Marathi. Given the consensus around linguistic states in India, classifying it as a dialect meant merger. Of course, like all issues of socio-lingusitics, the language question also hid a social schism – in Goa this divide was between Hindus and Christians. The former were seen to be more keen on a merger.
In the end, Goans stuck to their Konkani identity and decided by a majority of 54% to not merge their homeland with Maharashtra.
We welcome your comments at letters@scroll.in.

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July 10, 2016, 7:25 am
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COME WHAT MAY, I'M READY!
The final hearing of my house demolition case which has entered the 19th year will come up in the Sikkim High Court on July 19, 2016. I have been fair, patient and law-abiding for nearly two decades. I am ready for talks but there will be no compromise on the basic issues of Sikkim and the Sikkimese. 
I am innocent and the gist of the case, placed below, has already been placed before the authorities, including the High Court and the Sikkim Chief Minister:
GIST OF JIGME N. KAZI’S OBSERVER BUILDING, NAM NANG SITE CASE
Jigme N. Kazi’s Observer Building site dispute at Nam Nang, Gangtok, which began in 1998, has been going on for 18 years. The case has been built on an allegation against Jigme N. Kazi levelled by Urban Development and Housing Department (UD&HD) and upheld by Buildings & Housing Department (B&HD) and various authorities, including courts. A section of the encroached portion of the building was demolished by the Sikkim Government on March 23, 24, 2015.
The gist of the case is as follows:
1. In 1996 a site measuring 1089 sq. ft. was allotted to Jigme N. Kazi’s Hill Media Publications, publishers of Sikkim Observer, an independent English weekly established in 1986.
2. Due to various reasons Kazi encroached some portion of the land/space on all four sides of his building. The space – and not land – encroached on first and second storeys of the building is around 1,400 to 1,600 sq. ft. On the ground floor the encroached area is less than 300 sq. ft.
3. On 20.12.2000 UD&HD alleged that Kazi had encroached 1,628 sq. ft. of land at the back side of the building which was to be used for Chintan Bhawan’s banquet-cum-conference hall. (Annexure – I)
4. In his letter to the East District Collector, dated 05.04.2001, Principal Chief Engineer-cum-Secretary, B&HD, alleged Kazi had encroached an area of land measuring 1,628 sq. ft. “at the back side his building which falls under the Assembly complex.” (Annexure – II)
5. In his show cause notice to Kazi, dated 07.06.2001, Principal Chief Engineer-cum-Secretary, B&HD, alleged: “...you have encroached upon an area measuring 1628 sft. of land beside the allotted site.” (Annexure – III)
6. While sketch map on site encroachment provided by UD&HD and accepted by B&HD show that area encroached is on all four sides of the building, the two departments alleged that the encroached area (1,628 sq. ft.) of land falls at the back side of the building. UD&HD map shows that the encroached area at the back side of the building and outside the retaining wall and boundary fencing of Chintan Bhawan is only 834.75 sq. ft. and not 1,628 sq. ft. as alleged. (Annexure – IV)
7. The contradictory and misleading information provided by UD&HD and B&HD and upheld by the courts is false, baseless and mischievous.
8. When the case came up in East DC court (Prescribed Authority) in 2005 Kazi asked for re-inspection of the site to show the encroached portion. The Commission formed by the DC undertook a joint inspection of the site. The report of the Commission pointed out that an area of 1,449 sq. ft. and not 1, 628 sq. ft., had been encroached on all four sides. However, DC’s order did not take note of the Commission’s report and ordered for demolition of the encroached area. Commission’s report and sketch map is annexed as Annexure – V.
9. In 2003 Kazi’s Review Petition in the Sikkim High Court pointed out that only 834.75 sq. ft. and not 1,628 sq. ft. had been encroached at the back side of the building. But the court failed to take note of this plea and upheld its order of 2003 that the area measuring 1,628 sq. ft. of land at the back side of the building should be vacated and handed over to government for construction of banquet hall. Such a huge area of land at the back side of Kazi’s building is non-existent.
10. Though the same facts of the actual area of encroachment was presented to the Law Department’s Appellate Authority it did not take note of them and upheld the earlier orders of the courts and dismissed the petition in June 2014. Kazi came to know of the order only on March 6, 2015.
11. When the encroached portion of the building was demolished on March 23, 24, 2015 the authorities failed to find 1,628 sq. ft. of encroached land at the back side of Kazi’s building. Sketch maps and photographs show areas demolished on all three sides of the building. (Annexure – VI)
12. The Sikkim High Court, while staying further demolition of the building, called for all records of the disputed site. The records show that Kazi had not encroached 1,628 sq. ft. of land at the back side of the building. The encroached area of a few feet wide which is on all sides of the building is of no use to the government. As per law the encroached portion may be regularised as done in similar cases.
13. There have been many judgements in the case but justice has been denied.
Pradip Singhania Jigme my heart breaks to see what you are going through. Wish you and family all the best during these trying times.
LikeReply1 hr
Althea Cole All the best ...............keep at it
LikeReply1 hr
Jigme N Kazi Let all the hypocrites in India see what is happening in Sikkim. India is a great country and the Indians are great people but they are ruled by petty politicians and corrupt bureaucrats. Let the national media see what is happening in Sikkim and suffer in silence. That is the real face of India and Sikkim. I'm a simple person and my greed is limited. So I can take the heat. Cheers!
LikeReply58 mins
Jigme N Kazi “I am confident that I will fulfill my task as a writer under all circumstances…No one can bar the way to truth and to advance its cause I am ready to accept even death.”
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Jigme N Kazi's photo.

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August 10, 2016, 9:53 pm
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Sorry, Obama, the System Is Rigged
Trump is right: Elections favor the rich and powerful
By Michael Sainato • 08/10/16
During a press conference last week, President Barack Obama called Donald Trump’s recent claims that the general election will be rigged, “ridiculous.” The retort is the latest attack on Trump from Obama, who has emerged as the Clintoncampaign’s spokesperson while Hillary Clinton herself makes low key campaign stops in swing states like Pennsylvania and Florida.

In January, Obama touched upon what Trump was trying to get at when he said the general election will be rigged. But to Obama, this critique is merely about Americans’ interpretations, not the facts.
“Democracy breaks down when the average person feels their voice doesn’t matter, that the system is rigged in favor of the rich or the powerful or some narrow interest,” Obama said during his final State of the Union speech. “Too many Americans feel that way right now. It’s one of the few regrets of my presidency—that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better.”
Denigrating these suspicions as “ridiculous,” despite who said them, isn’t going to do anything but exacerbate these attitudes. And mocking Trump for connecting on one of the biggest issues he can attribute his popularity to will only increase his support.
Although Trump failed miserably to articulate what exactly he meant by “rigged,” he still touched upon an attitude with which millions of Americans widely agree. The sentiment that elections and the system that runs them is rigged has emerged as the issue with the most bipartisan support this election year. A 2015 Gallup poll found trust in the media is at a historic low. A 2015 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found trust in the government is similarly bottoming out.
The political reality and the ideals of everyday Americans are at such odds because of the influence big money has on democracy. This political polarization directlycorrelates to broadening income inequality. The growing animosity toward the political system has popularized anti-establishment sentiments across the ideological spectrum. Since the 2008 economic recession, nearly 99 percent of all new income has gone to the wealthiest one percent of Americans. Middle and working class Americans have seen their wages remain stagnant while the wealthy have grown richer.
The 2011 Citizens United Supreme Court decision opened the floodgates for wealthy donors to provide their candidates of choice with unlimited campaign contributions. The power and influence every American citizen is provided in the right to vote has been stripped of its inherent bargaining power.
Clinton has profited off of this rigged system more than any other candidate this election. She managed to raise more money than Sen. Bernie Sanders’ grassroots campaign with the use of SuperPACs, including a controversial joint fundraising committee with the Democratic National Committee (DNC), which laundered money to the Clinton campaign. The Wikileaks and Guccifer 2.0 releases revealed that the DNC strategized and actively worked on behalf of the Clinton campaign while working against Sanders.
The Democratic National Convention was privately funded for the first time, while the donors are still hidden in anonymity by Democratic Party leaders. Despite accusations of favoritism and corruption over former DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s leadership as early as September 2015 from Sanders supporters, no remedy was provided until after Clinton secured the nomination. As soon as Wasserman Schultz resigned, Clinton hired her, sending a message to establishment loyalists that they will be taken care of as long as their actions help maintain the status quo..
Trump’s presidential campaign has been fueled by the media sensationalism surrounding his uncensored mouth. The disdain and resentment for Trump within the Republican Party establishment is based less on his policies, and more on his inability to adhere to what the Republican Party establishment wants him to do. His recent drop in the polls has been driven by the mainstream media’s full court presson his campaign, while Clinton also happens to be running for president, but is rarely placed under a critical eye.
Regardless of the flaws Trump has as a presidential candidate, Clinton has received a free pass from any criticism. She has won endorsements from billionaires Warren Buffett, Mark Cuban and Michael Bloomberg while still claiming to be a fighter for the middle class. Her retort to Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again” epitomizes her out-of-touch elitism that “America is already great.” For millions of Americans who live under or near the poverty line, things continue to spiral on a downward trajectory, with neither Trump or Clinton capable of doing anything but making things worse.
The idea that the elections are rigged isn’t ridiculous, as Obama claims. His attempt to dignify the allegations with a soothing response confirms that he knows the anti-establishment sentiment in the American public is worsening. Instead of admitting that there is some truth to Trump’s clunky claim, Obama felt compelled to pacify those sentiments as hysterical. But they aren’t. The elections are rigged, because the voice of the average American is silenced, and millions of voters are disenfranchised. Along with the mainstream media, the establishment in both political parties will continually fail to restore Americans’ trust in a system overtly rigged to work against them by endlessly preserving the status quo.

(Courtesy: Observer Media)
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September 2, 2016, 5:06 am
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LAST & FINAL CALL TO PRESERVE
‘SIKKIM FOR SIKKIMESE’ WITHIN THE UNION
   As the Sikkimese society further disintegrates into tiny pieces, leaving us with an unknown, insecure and unchartered future we must realise that the time has come for all of us who are deeply concerned about our future in the land of our origin to take a serious look at what is happening and where we are heading.

   Even as the decades-long demand on restoration of our political rights through Assembly seat reservation is yet to be fulfilled our identity as ‘Sikkimese’ is under constant attack and undergoing severe test even as our so-called leaders are scrambling for power using the Assembly seat issue and Scheduled Tribes status for Nepali-Gorkha community in Sikkim.
   Significantly, Chief Minister Pawan Chamling recently rightly reminded us that the ‘Sikkimese Nepalese’ have a ‘distinct identity’ in Sikkim and urged everyone to maintain unity and harmony and not be led astray by communal elements.  Unfortunately, because of petty politics the Chief Minister’s call had few takers.
   The time has come for all of us to look beyond politics and set aside our personal and political differences and come together to preserve ‘Sikkim for Sikkimese’ for all times  to come within the Indian Union and within the Constitution of India.

   Sikkim and the Sikkimese people are at the crossroad. We cannot change the past but we can and must shape the future of our choice.  Let all bonafide Sikkimese possessing genuine Sikkim Subject Certificate be declared Scheduled Tribes in Sikkim and let Assembly seat reservation be based on ethnicity and not on ST basis. There must be a give-and-take attitude on parity/proportional representation demand in the Assembly from all sides once our identity issue is amicably resolved.
   On a personal level I reiterate my appeal to all Sikkimese – Lepchas, Bhutias, Nepalese and members of the old business community – to come together and preserve ‘Sikkim for Sikkim’ within the Union. I am willing to end my 12-year-old self-imposed exile in my own homeland and join a movement to save Sikkim and Sikkimese for our future generation if there are those who share the same sentiments and come out openly on the issue. 
    However, if there are no takers to our call let us reconcile ourselves to the present reality and accept a Sikkim without the Sikkimese and move on without fear or bitterness.

Jigme N.Kazi

Gangtok, September 2, 2016
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September 10, 2016, 3:41 am
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INSIDE SIKKIM

My first book, 'Inside Sikkim: Against the Tide' was released by former Indian External Affairs Minister, K. Natwar Singh, at the Press Club of India, New Delhi, on December 28, 1993. Later it was launched in Gangtok in early February 1994 by Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, who was then leading a pro-democracy movement in Sikkim.

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September 29, 2016, 5:18 am
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China is India's primary security challenge: UK think-tank
29 September 2016                                                                                         
India's relations with Pakistan and Nepal have deteriorated in the past year but China remains the country's ''primary security challenge'', according to an annual strategic survey by an influential London-based think-tank released on Tuesday.
The Strategic Survey 2016: The Annual Review of World Affairs of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) reviewed India's troubled relationship with Pakistan and referred to the intensive ''retaliatory'' firing across the Line of Control under the Modi government, fluctuations in the dialogue process, the Ufa summit and the terror attack on the Pathankot airbase.
''India's major security threat remained the terrorism emanating from Pakistan, on which (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi took a tougher position than his predecessor,'' it said, but identified China as India's ''primary security challenge''.
The survey said the challenge from China was because of its assertiveness on the border dispute with India, exacerbated by Beijing's growing trade and defence partnerships with New Delhi's South Asian neighbours and by an expansion of Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean.
''For policymakers in New Delhi, this created fears of encirclement and hardened their attitude towards Beijing, even as China continued to be India's largest trading partner, and Modi sought to establish stronger trade and investment links with Beijing,'' it said.
Referring to shifts in Pakistan's policies, the survey said, ''As ever, the main driver of Pakistan's security policy was its rivalry with India. This consideration trumped all other factors.''
Rahul Roy-Choudhury, IISS senior fellow for South Asia, told The Hindustan Times, ''Instead of any 'knee-jerk' military-focussed reaction that will at best be symbolic rather than substantive, India needs a calibrated and sustained multifaceted approach towards Pakistan.
 ''This could seek to target Pakistan-based terrorist groups, effectively operationalise counter-terror cooperation with India's strategic partners in the Gulf region and the West, and highlight India's emerging economic and global influence with the international community.''
Roy-Choudhary, who contributed to the survey, said India also ''needs to ensure that its main constituent in Pakistan - the people - is suitably empowered through the democratic process''.
The survey further said that India's ''neighbourhood first'' policy has paid few dividends beyond Bangladesh and Bhutan.
''This was due to the complex domestic politics of countries in the region, their historical suspicion of India as the dominant regional power, the influence of India domestic and ethnic politics, and increasing Chinese engagement with the region,'' it said.
''Equally important was the failure to meet expectations generated by Modi's initial outreach to other leaders in the SAARC, after he invited them to his May 2014 inauguration ceremony.''
At the global level, the survey said, institutions and norms that dampen the risk of conflict are under assault from populism in developed states and the assertive behaviour of rising and reviving powers.

IISS director general John Chapman said, ''The underpinnings of geopolitics have splintered so much in the past year that the foundations of global order appear alarmingly weak. The politics of parochialism now mix with the instincts of nationalism, and both clash with the cosmopolitan world order so carefully constructed by the technocrats of the late 20th century.'' (domain-b.com)
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September 29, 2016, 9:23 pm
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Column
The next president unbound by the 'Obama overreach'
By Victor Davis Hanson
Donald Trump’s supporters see a potential Hillary Clinton victory in November as the end of any conservative chance to restore small government, constitutional protections, fiscal sanity and personal liberty.
Clinton’s progressives swear that a Trump victory would spell the implosion of America as they know it, alleging Trump parallels with every dictator from Josef Stalin to Adolf Hitler.
Part of the frenzy over 2016 as a make-or-break election is because a closely divided Senate’s future may hinge on the coattails of the presidential winner. An aging U.S. Supreme Court may also translate into perhaps three to four court picks for the next president.

Yet such considerations only partly explain the current election frenzy.
The model of the imperial Obama presidency is the greater fear. Over the last eight years, President Barack Obama has transformed the powers of presidency in a way not seen in decades.
Congress talks grandly of “comprehensive immigration reform,” but Obama, as he promised with his pen and phone, bypassed the House and Senate to virtually open the border with Mexico. He issued executive-order amnesties. He allowed entire cities to be exempt from federal immigration law.
Perils of presidential power
The Senate used to ratify treaties. In the past, a president could not unilaterally approve the Treaty of Versailles, enroll the United States in the League of Nations, fight in Vietnam or Iraq without congressional authorization, change existing laws by non-enforcement, or rewrite bankruptcy laws.
Not now. Obama set a precedent that he did not need Senate ratification to make a landmark treaty with Iran on nuclear enrichment.
He picked and chose which elements of the Affordable Care Act would be enforced — predicated on his 2012 re-election efforts.
Rebuffed by Congress, Obama is now slowly shutting down the Guantanamo Bay detention center by insidiously having inmates sent to other countries.
Respective opponents of both Trump and Clinton should be worried.
Either winner could follow the precedent of allowing any sanctuary city or state in the United States to be immune from any federal law found displeasing — from the liberal Endangered Species Act and federal gun registration laws to conservative abortion restrictions.
Could anyone complain if Trump’s secretary of state were investigated by Trump’s attorney general for lying about a private email server — in the manner of Clinton being investigated by Loretta Lynch?
Would anyone object should a President Trump agree to a treaty with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the same way Obama overrode Congress with the Iran deal?
If a President Clinton decides to strike North Korea, would she really need congressional authorization, considering Obama’s unauthorized Libyan bombing mission?
What would Americans say if President Trump’s IRS — mirror-imaging Lois Lerner — hounded the progressive nonprofit organizations of George Soros?
Partisans are shocked that the press does not go after Trump’s various inconsistencies and fibs about his supposed initial opposition to the Iraq War, or press him on the details of Trump University.
Conservatives counter that Clinton has never had to come clean about the likely illegal pay-for-play influence peddling of the Clinton Foundation or her serial lies about her private email server.
But why, if elected, should either worry much about media scrutiny?
Obama established the precedent that a president should be given a pass on lying to the American people. Did Americans, as Obama repeatedly promised, really get to keep their doctors and health plans while enjoying lower premiums and deductibles, as the country saved billions through his Affordable Care Act?
More recently, did Obama mean to tell a lie when he swore that he sent cash to the Iranians only because he could not wire them the money — when in truth the administration had wired money to Iran in the past? Was cash to Iran really not a ransom for American hostages, as the president asserted?
Can the next president, like Obama, double the national debt and claim to be a deficit hawk?
Congress has proven woefully inept at asserting its constitutional right to check and balance Obama’s executive overreach. The courts have often abdicated their own oversight.
But the press is the most blameworthy. White House press conferences now resemble those in the Kremlin, with journalists tossing Putin softball questions about his latest fishing or hunting trip.
One reason Americans are scared about the next president is that they should be.
In 2017, a President Trump or President Clinton will be able to do almost anything he or she wishes without much oversight — thanks to the precedent of Obama’s overreach, abetted by a lapdog press that forgot that the ends never justify the means. (Chicago Tribune)
Victor Davis Hanson is a classicist and historian at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and the author, most recently, of “The Father of Us All: War and History, Ancient and Modern.”



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September 29, 2016, 9:35 pm
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After surgical strike, China 'hopes' India, Pakistan can resolve issues through dialogue
By IANS , Sept 29, 2016


BEIJING: Following India's claim that it launched "surgical strikes" on the terrorist launch pads in Pakistani Kashmir on Thursday, China has said that Beijing was in touch with both New Delhi and Islamabad through "various channels".
Responding to a question during the daily briefing, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson here said: "We hope that they (India and Pakistan) can carry out dialogues to properly resolve disputes and maintain regional peace and security."
The statement comes after tensions between Pakistan and India escalated after India announced that it has carried out surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads across the Line of Control, which divides Jammu and Kashmir between the two countries.
Pakistan has dismissed Indian claims that it carried out any strike on terrorist launch pads on territory under its control.
The spokesman added that China was a friendly neighbour to both Pakistan and India.
Asked about the Kashmir issue, the spokesperson said: "China has been following the Kashmir situation and takes seriously Pakistan's position on Kashmir."
"China believes that the Kashmir issue is a left-over from history which shall be resolved by relevant parties through dialogue and consultation." (The New Indian Express)


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October 1, 2016, 3:15 am
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THE WAY WE FOUGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS  
   A decade and seven years ago, six Sikkimese representing the three ethnic communities of Sikkim – Lepchas, Bhutias and Nepalese – held a 12-hour hunger strike in Gangtok on October 2, 1999, demanding restoration of their political rights on seat reservation in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly.
(Left to Right) Tenzing Namgyal, Jigme N. Kazi, Nima Lepcha, Pintso Bhutia, K.C. Pradhan and Gyamsay Bhutia.
   The participants were:  the Late K.C. Pradhan, former Minister and Advisor of the Sikkimese Nepalese Apex Committee (SNAC), Nima Lepcha and Pintso Bhutia, Convenors of the Sikkim Bhutia-Lepcha Apex Committee (SIBLAC), Jigme N. Kazi, Chairman of the Organisation of Sikkimese Unity (OSU), and Tenzing Namgyal and Gyamsay Bhutia of the SIBLAC.
   The protestors “sought the blessing of the ‘Father of the Nation’ and the Guardian Deities of Sikkim in their struggle on restoration of their political rights” as reflected in Article 371F of the Constitution of India.
   “We held the hunger strike on October 2 to remind the world that we were determined to struggle on till our demand on restoration of our political rights were met. While others fought the elections we fought for our people. We are not concerned with who wins or loses in the polls; our main concern was that if the Assembly seats were not restored to us in the near future we would be the ultimate losers and the electoral process would then become a meaningless ritual as the Sikkimese people would have no future to look forward to.”


Ref: The Lone Warrior: Exiled In My Homeland, by Jigme N. Kazi, published by Hill Media Publications, Gangtok, 2014. 
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October 1, 2016, 3:35 am
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China teases India, blocks a Brahmaputra tributary in Tibet to build dam
As India mulls utilizing its full entitlement under Indus Waters Treaty to make Pakistan feel the pinch of its terror policy, China has teased India again in Tibet. China has blocked an important tributary of Brahmaputra river to construct a dam in Tibet.

The state-run news agency of China, Xinhua has reported that China "on Friday blocked a tributary of the Yarlung Zangbo (the Tibetan name for Brahmaputra) River as part of its most expensive hydro project." The hydel power project is cause of concern for India as the dam may impact the flow of water into the lower riparian countries including Bangladesh.
"The Lalho project on the Xiabuqu River in Xigaze (which is very close to Sikkim), involves an investment of 4.95 billion yuan (740 million U.S. dollars)," Xinhua reported.
Xigaze is also known as Shigatse and it is from this location Brahmaputra flows into Arunachal Pradesh.
The hydel project was launched in June, 2014 and scheduled to be completed in 2019. Its reservoir was designed to store up to 295 million cubic meters of water, the agency reported.
NOT THE FIRST DAM
This is not the first time that China has tried to alter the flow of rivers, flowing into India. In 2015, China operationlised the largest hydel project in Tibet, Zam Hydropower Station, built on Brahamputra river.
China's first dam on the main upper reaches of the Brahmaputra was built at Zangmu in 2010. The green light was given for three more dams in the 2011-15 five-year plan, on which work is on-going.
Though, China has maintained that its dams are run of the river projects, which are not designed to hold water, India has expressed deep concern over the implementation of the hydel project. The hydropower project on Brahmaputra or its tributaries make the northeastern states vulnerable for both untimely flood and lack of water.
NO WATER TREATY
There is no water treaty between India and China but the two countries have devised an Expert Level Mechanism (ELM) on trans-border rivers. The two governments signed a memorandum of understanding on strengthening cooperation on trans-border rivers under which Beijing provides data to India on the water flows.
China's decision to block a Brahmaputra tributary came at a time when India has mounted diplomatic and strategic offensive against Pakistan in the aftermath of Uri terror attack, in which 19 jawans lost their lives. China's response to Uri attack and subsequent developments has been very guarded.
Some of the rivers under the Indus Waters Treaty originate in Tibet including Indus and Satluj.

(India Today– Oct 1, 2016)
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February 20, 2017, 2:29 am
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Former CJI Justice Altamas Kabir is no more
“India has lost a legal luminary”
Hailed as one of the brilliant judges of the Supreme Court, former Chief Justice of India, Justice (Retired) Altamas Kabir passed away on Sunday (Feb 19) after prolonged illness. He was 68.
Justice Kabir was unwell for quite some time. Suffering from kidney-related ailments, Justice Kabir was admitted to a private hospital in the city last week. He breathed his last in Kolkata, where he spent many years as lawyer. Justice Kabir is survived by his wife, a daughter and a son.
Justice Altamas Kabir enrolled as an Advocate in 1973 at Kolkata Bar Association. Justice Kabir practised in the District Court of Calcutta and later in the Calcutta High Court. Nephew of the well-known Bengal writer and politician, Humayun Kabir, Altamas Kabir was known for his erudition and tongue-in-cheek humour.
Former and late Chief Justice of India Justice Altamas Kabir being felicitated by alumni (Hermonites) of Mt. Hermon School (Darjeeling) at his residence in New Delhi in 2012 after being appointed as the 39th Chief Justice of India. (Left to Right) Advocate Mahesh Singh, Jigme N Kazi, Justice Altamas Kabir, Krishna Goenka, Advocate Udai P. Sharma and Karan Anand.
Born on July 19, 1948 in Kolkata, Justice Kabir completed his LLB and MA from the University of Calcutta. The soft-spoken judge started his legal career in 1973 when he enrolled as an advocate.
As a lawyer Justice Kabir was considered an authority in both Civil and Criminal cases. As an advocate, Kabir practised in the Calcutta high court and the district session court between early 1970s and late 1980. He was appointed as a judge in the Calcutta High Court in 1990.
In March 2005, Justice Altamas Kabir was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court. Later that year, he was elevated to the Supreme Court on September 9. Three years later, he was appointed the 39th Chief Justice of India on September 29, 2012. He retired on July 18, 2013 after a brief tenure of about nine months. Justice Kabir was the fourth Muslim to hold the top post in India’s history.
Justice Kabir’s amicable behaviour endeared him to fellow judges and lawyers.
Says Supreme Court advocate Parmanand Pandey, “In the death of Justice Altamas Kabir,we have lost a judge, who gave more importance to equity in his verdicts. He was very indulgent to lawyers in giving patient hearings.Courts presided over by him used to sit normally up to 6 or 6.30 p.m. Once he heard me quite at length and I thought to have carried the day.While dictating the order, he was about to dismiss my SLP but in the nick of the time the then puisne judge RM Lodha whispered something to him in his ears prompting Justice Kabir to ask for some clarification from me, which turned the table in my favour. I never saw him misbehaving with anybody. 
He was eclectic and humane to the core.One of his sisters is married to a Hindu and another cousin Liela Kabir is to a Christian and famous politician George Fernandes.His uncle Humayun Kabir was a known Bengali writer and a freedom fighter.”
Born in Faridpur (now in Bangladesh) on July 19, 1948, Justice Kabir studied at Mount Hermon School in Darjeeling and Calcutta Boys School and Presidency College, Kolkata.
He is the nephew of late union minister Humayun Kabir, who served with Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi.
During his brief tenure as Chief Justice of India, Justice Kabir delivered several landmark judgments particularly on human rights and election laws.
As the Chief Justice, he was part of the Supreme Court Bench which heard the case of the two Italian marines in 2013.
In another noted judgement in December 2012 as the Chief Justice of India, Justice Kabir along with Justice H.L. Dattu directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to go ahead with its probe into the disproportionate assets case against Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son Akhilesh Yadav.
In May 2011, Justice Kabir with Justice Cyriac Joseph, quashed the disqualification of 11 BJP MLAs by the then Karnataka Assembly Speaker K.G. Bopaiah as it did not fulfil the criterion of natural justice and fair play.
Expressing her condolences Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted: “Condolences on the passing of former CJ Altamas Kabir ji. My thoughts with his family/colleagues. India & Bengal have lost a legal luminary.”
(Ref: India Today, The Hindu, Hindustan Times)


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Article 1

March 14, 2017, 1:02 am
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BHUTAN BECKONS, SO LONG SIKKIM!
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
(The Bible, 2 Timothy 4:7)

To those who know me well this move will not come as a surprise. After nearly three and half decades in Sikkim I’ve now decided to move on and pursue my next dream – to set up what hopefully will one day become one of finest educational institutions in the Himalaya.
Last month, me and some of the ex-students and staff of our alma mater, Mount Hermon School, Darjeeling, decided to start a boarding school in Paro Valley in western Bhutan. The location seems perfect in all respect. Ah, a school up on the mountain and down by the river!
My active engagement with Sikkim affairs came to an end in the summer of 2004. I spent the past decade or so tying up loose ends and now its almost time for me to move on. There’s a calling to which I must respond timely and positively.
So I call upon all my friends and fellow Hermonites, family members and relatives, supporters and sympathisers, allies and adversaries et al to wish me luck in my new mission. Your continued support and contribution – cash & kind, ideas & inputs etc. – will be greatly appreciated. We are thinking big but starting small.
Therefore, help us to move forward inch by inch, step by step, one day at a time towards the fulfilment of our hopes and aspirations.
Cheers!
(Posted on my Facebook page on March 7, 2017)
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March 16, 2017, 2:58 am
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HAIL TO THE HERMON KNIGHTS
“We Shall Overcome”
Knowles
Dear Hermonites,
   First of all on behalf of the alumni let me wish our beloved alma mater Mount Hermon School and all Hermonites everywhere a very Happy Birthday! Today it is MHS’s 117th Birthday.
   Ever since the first week of the New Year (2012), when the Sikkim Hermonites Association (SHA) took the initiative to involve all Hermonites to campaign for ‘MH Revival’, there has been an overwhelming response from the alumni of all ages and places on the school’s future. The concern for our beloved alma mater – Mount Hermon School (MHS) – from Hermonites of the ’30s, ’40s, ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and right down to the present generation is not only very encouraging but also very inspiring. This is great! Which school in the world can boast of the ‘Hermonite spirit’? Hardly any. It is, therefore, our honourable duty to preserve this rich and unique heritage of MHS.
   Barry Ison – former MH student and teacher – once explained this unique phenomenon: “It is not emotion; it is passion.”
Stahl
   In the past so many decades since I left the old and friendly walls I never failed to think and even dream of MH! This is but natural for all Hermonites but more so for a person like me who did his schooling (1963-1972), Teachers Training College (TTC – 1974-1975), and even taught at MH for four years (1976-1979).
   Ex-students of the school under Rev. Mr. DG Stewart, who not only revived MH when he took over in 1953 but actually placed it among one of the best boarding schools in India – MH was on top of the list in 1961-62 – are still showing great concern for the school. This is amazing and an inspiration to us all.
“We Shall Overcome”
   Ever since its inception in 1895 when the school (then called Arcadia or housed in Arcadia cottage, located on the Lebong side of Chowrasta in Darjeeling) was born MH has had its ups and downs. But we pulled it through. With faith in God and missionary zeal our founders – Miss Knowles, Miss Stahl, Mr. Dewey and Bishop Fisher – made sure that failures and obstacles were stepping stones to success.
Fisher
   After shifting the school from near Chowrasta to above the railway station in Darjeeling and calling it Queen’s Hill School the school grew in leaps and bounds leading to the acquisition of the present premises for further expansion.
   Fifteen years after the school was renamed Mount Hermon School in 1929-30 MH almost closed down due to dwindling enrolment. The cause of this was the Second World War when many of its foreign students and staff members of the school left MH. It was Mr. Dewey, Bishop Fisher and finally Mr. Stewart who helped MH to pull through the crisis and regain its past glory. Mr. Graeme A. Murray, who stepped into Rev. Stewart’s shoes in 1964, built on the foundation laid by his predecessors. There was no looking back for MH after Mr. Murray’s takeover.
   However, in the 1980s MH and many schools in the hills passed through a very difficult and trying period due to uncertain political situation in Darjeeling. But Rev. Mr. John Johnston from Australia and later Mr. Jeff Gardner (India) kept the school going. Thereafter, MH faced a crisis of another sort as those who headed the school stayed only for a brief period.
Dewey

   The present Principal Mr. George Fernandes, who worked under Mr. Murray, Mr. Johnston and Mr. Gardner and who is also married to an ex-Hermonite (Saroj Pradhan), was able to stabilize the situation when he took over in 2000-1. We are, therefore, grateful to Mr. Fernandes for his contributions to the school.
    Hermonites all over the world have expressed their apprehension of MH’s future after Mr. Fernandes retires this month. Damages caused by the recent (Sept 18, 2011) earthquake to the main school building and falling enrolment, coupled with Mr. Fernandes’ departure and doubts over who is to step into his shoes, have prompted Hermonites to play a leading role in the choice of the next Principal.
   Hermonites now want an able and trustworthy Hermonite to head the school during this very trying period. They have backed Mr. Jigme N Kazi’s (Sikkim) candidature for the post and want the Managing Committee to appoint him as the next Principal.
MH Revival
   Several names were floated for the post of MH Principal last year. However, during Mr and Mrs. Johnston’s visit to Darjeeling and Sikkim in December – January 2012 it was revealed that though Mr. Barry Ison, Mr. John Glasby and Mr. and Mrs. Sherab (Roslyn) Namgyal – all ex-students and teachers of the school –were willing to help the school they would not be able to take the top job at the present juncture. Mr. Kazi’s name was then proposed and the Sikkim Hermonites Association (SHA) passed a resolution on this and urged all Hermonites to support his candidature and other resolutions on ‘MH Revival’. Sherab and Roslyn (SC 1972 & 1971), who were on a visit to Sikkim from Australia during this period, supported this move.
Johnston, Murray and Stewart

    One of the suggestions of the Hermonites is to have at least two active and credible Hermonites in the Managing Committee, which not only frames policy matters of the school but also appoints the Principal. Two other suggestions made by the Sikkim chapter and endorsed by global Hermonites was allotment of a space for the alumni to function from the school premises and also to route all Hermonites-initiated projects and funds of the school through Hermonites International (Hi!), a global body conceived during the centenary celebrations in 1995, when many ex-principals and teachers and students were present, and formed in 2005-6.
   No matter what the future holds for MH the resolution on ‘MH Revival’ must go on. It must not begin or end if and when Mr. Kazi gets the top job. The campaign for MH Revival is led by Roslyn & Sherab (Australia), Dipak Mirchandhani (UK) and Lucinda Gibbs (India). They are being assisted by a group of active and concerned Hermonites from all over the world.
   The Methodist Bishop, who resides in Bangalore and who is temporarily the Chairman of the Managing Committee of the school, has been briefed on the prevailing situation. We are eagerly awaiting his response to our proposals.  However, irrespective of what the Managing Committee decides on MH’s future the campaign for MH Revival must go on. The present crisis has motivated us into action. This is a good thing and must go on. We must say and sing the hymn “We Shall Overcome” and mean it and show the world that we can triumph over all our trials and tribulations.
   They may succeed in taking a Hermonite out of Mount Hermon, but they will never succeed in taking Mount Hermon out of a Hermonite!
   We must continue to believe that the Almighty is on our side and that He has a great future for MH and that while the past has been great and small the best is yet to come!
Hail Mount Hermon! And Happy Birthday to MH and All Hermonites!

(Jigme N Kazi)
President
Hermonites International (Hi!)
Email: jigmekazi@gmail.com
+9434630097
Gangtok, Sikkim

March 12, 2012
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April 17, 2017, 4:13 am
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To Sir with Love and Gratitude For ‘a feast of memories’
Rev. John Johnston, who passed away this morning in Tasmania, wrote this letter to us after his trip around the world with Mrs. Johnston in 2010.


Dear Friends around the world……

This may not be of great interest to everyone who received my “Christmas” letter last November;   but I did promise to make a “report” of the expedition outlined then.  Many of the ‘reportees’ are those whom we met in India between Nov 24 and March 8, so it’s easier to go back to the email IDs I used before, and I trust  others in UK etc. will enjoy the ride!
I realised after some working of the old memory, that mostly this is a Hermonite report….. In our notes I can make out over 100 Hermonites, students, staff and TTCs with whom it has been our privilege to make connections… so you will appreciate too much detail would be overwhelming!  and I apologise to any who may feel “left out”!   During the course of these weeks we have covered a history going all the way from Val’s first contact in 1953,until our final visits from DGH in 2002….almost exactly 50 years of beloved Mount Hermon.     Also I find there are nearly a dozen “places” where these connections were made. We started in Perth when a touchdown there enabled us to meet Ranjit’s lovely daughter Shaheen (one of my junior monitors in 1986) and HER daughter Rachael   
The next bit of course is part of more recent history, when we spent the first weeks at our last Indian home, BarnesSchool, Devlali.   Even here MH caught up with us, as the new Principal Bryan Martin, V-Principal Trevor Jacob, and long time staff member, Brian Fernandez are all ex-TTC.   It was part of our “working holiday” to enter into the Barnes activities….chapels, dorm prayers, matrons’ meetings, blessing of new dorms and swimming pool, rehearsals for a splendid Christmas programme, Sports Day heats, and of course lots of interest in our former 8s and 10s who were getting ready for this year’s ICSE and ISC.    
 Taking an outing from Devlali we enjoyed meeting up with former staff, Frank and Val Freese in Pune, and inspecting Frank’s two wonderful new schools, extensions of Bishops, where Hermonite TTCs and staff, Henry & Hema Soggee, and Ferdinand Bunyan are in charge.  Also mention should be made of Shalini ( another of my 80s monitors) and her “little” sister, and Mrs.deSousa (widow of Norbert) and old MH and Darjeelingfriend, Mrs. Nuges Madan.
From Devlali we went to South India for almost a week with Mrs.Mathai and Shanta, and latterly meeting George and his family, and former staff, P C Mathews and his family.  That week deserves a whole letter to itself, it gave so much pleasure! 
 But then it was off to Kolkata via Cochin and Bangalore  (sad not to be able to meet up there with a whole list of friends from Coonoor days.)    It was wonderful to be met by Sujit and Dipak from the plane at midnight.  Courtesy of Sujit (via Manoj’s P.O. connection) and Dipak’s India Oil connection we enjoyed first-rate guest house accommodation in Kolkata.     Our Christmas day visit to St.Pauls was a lovely experience and even there MH cropped up!    Anjali’s choir  (sadly for the occasion without Anjali) lifted our spirits, and a bit of old Darjeelingcame up there when we met Jogen Khan (ex-St.Pauls) and Mary Ann Das Gupta (ex-Calcutta Girls).               For years Kolkata Hermonites depended on Anup and then Santosh, so it is great to see Sujit, Dipak, Sajan, Dipkantha and Dibyendu carrying on the good work.    Sujit, with much help from may others, finally got dates from us(!) and later organised a great get-together on Jan 9th.   There must have been between 40 and 50 at Hathi’s place, and Sujit has prepared a full set of pics of that occasion, and a complete list of Kolkata Hermonites…..thanks Sujit!         As usual we also enjoyed a lovely meal at Sajan’s with the old timers, including Rajeev; Singhanias have a 2 generation connection with MH!    Prabir mounted a great outing to his ancestral home for several of us, including Anjana, Anup’s sister, who was one of Mrs.J’s senior girls in 1953….time goes by !  

In between the two sessions at Kal we went to Siliguri, from where we were able to visit Kalimpong - only 4 hours thanks to the Gurkha agitation,  but time to visit  Gyanu Rongong, Binod Yonzon and his fine son Sidarth, Gandhi Ashram (sadly now without Fr.McGuire) and the sisters at St.Josephs convent .  The Siliguri visit in the hands of Ravi and his sons , along with Rajendra,  Kavita and family, and  Sushil  was really wonderful …how proud we are of these fine young(?)people.   After Kalimpong the Lakhotia vehicle took us on to Gangtok to be guests at the famous Tashi Delek Hotel.    A sensational morning visit to Hanumantok with Motilal Lakhotia left us with wonderful images of the Kanchenjunga range for our digitals !    The next day was one of the Highlights of our travels, when no less than 17 Sikkim Hermonites enjoyed dinner at the Hotel….among all the boys it was special to have Nim and Yanki Shipmo!   A great experience to see “my” students from the 80/90s mixing with our old timers from the 60/70s.   We were also proud to be the guests of Sikkim’s new Minister for Education, Narendra Pradhan, at a conference for his teachers, supported by another Hermonite, Roshni Pradhan……Dr.Uttam, and several others came again to the hotel next morning…….a feast of memories.
Besides THE Reunion during the second session in Kal, other highlights were meetings with the S K Agarwals ( Parents of Rashmi, Divya and Priya), Ramdin and Mridula,  Yasmin Mukand, old Committee member Alfred Martin (and Arpita), and DGH ex-Principal Bernard Brooks.  Also Dipkantha was able to fix a meet with Subirmal Chakraborty, now Principal of La Marts, where we also met Anjali who teaches there too.      A final meeting was with Aparna, and a ride with Runa to see Carol & Benu’s new apartment and meet Anuva.         Senior girls from the 80s will be interested to know of Ma’am’s visits with Sr.Decklen (St.Josephs K/P) in Siliguri,  Sr.Stella ( Loreto Dj.) in Kolkata Loreto (both of them now very unwell) and Sr.Cyril at Sealdah Loreto.        Then all too soon Sujit and Dipak saw us onto the train for Delhi, and all we had planned was history.
The Delhiphase is very much Firdausi’s story !   From her first appearance at the Station to whisk us off to her apartment (if anyone can whisk anybody in Delhi!!) until we left nearly a month later, she was our guardian angel.  (Firdausi Rahman was the star of 4 musicals in the 80s !).    As with Kolkata the Delhi visit was in two parts…a week of various visits….Dr.Navreet Singh;  Ex-TTC  Troy Calvert, Head at Frank Anthony School; the Lalls from Soom Tea Estate;  ex-TTC sisters at Ashok Vihar school, courtesy Thinleys’ taxi;  meals with Rajendra’s family (sadly in Delhi because of Anand’s accident); with Ritesh and his lovely wife and daughter; and an outing with Lance Fuller – ex-TTC and ex-DGH Principal.     Then a quite wonderful luncheon Firdausi organised for nearly 20 Hermonites at a very smart hotel at the end of the week……Sashikala, Ayinla, Pema, Anita, Beauty, Jasmina,Naveen, Harsh, Dipak, Gita,,…..even ex-TTC Andrew Hoffland,  and so many others (photos in Facebook) not least Firdausi’s beautiful little girl, and her honorary Hermonite husband Matthew, and Beauty’s daughter who is ditto her mum..   Then Mehaboob took us for two nights to stay in Meerut with his family.   There we also met Patricia Ismail and her family…..
Then the scene shifted to Dehra Dun, for a week with ex-TTC/staff Tashi and Tsering Dhondup, and 10 days with Namla Tsarong, where Ma’am did a workshop for the Monks and Nuns of the Tibetan centre where Namla has been director with Norzin assisting……what a thrill also to welcome Rigzin all the way from Dharamsala (for many years Secretary to His Holiness), and have tea with him and Sopal Tethong (Matron in 1953), and also with Namla’s brothers and parents.      Tashi &Tsering organised a meal for us to meet Rockey Gardner and Charlotte, Debasis Brahma with his wife… Thinley and his wife…..wonderful!  I also managed to squeeze in a visit with Debasis to DoonSchool, where he works, and a visit with Barnes ex-Principal and ex-DGH, Albert Temple to see his new school.
A very special item at this stage was a 3 day visit to WynbergAllen in Mussoorie…(where we were happily settled in 1977 until Mr.Murray came and called us back to MH !)   The new Principal, Leslie Tindale was our student in class 7 and 8… and our art teacher Mr.Misra and steward Terence Cashmore are still there.   Mussoorie holds many happy memories for us with Jenni and Lyndy…..I think I took most pics of Mussoorie!!

Then a few more days with Firdausi, where she hosted visits from Krishna, Shibesh and Narottam, and Joysree & AK;   then  we were on our way to Devlali to finish where we started,  at Barnes.   There a  special visit from Pune by Jayanta kept MH in sight.     Finally a couple of days in Mumbai to have a meal with Indranil and his new wife Sweta (all the way from Patna)….and a time with Tehmi Master, daughter of Dr.Master whom Hermonites of the 60s will remember…..a bitter sweet meeting since it was the first time seeing Tehmi since Mrs.Master passed away last year at 92.
Now if you think “this is more than enough”, find room for two more days….. in Singapore with 80s ex-staff Sunny Mathai and his delightful family…but after 4 months it WAS nice to land in Melbourne, to be met by Kris and Jenni’s big girl Annie, for whose graduation we remained a few weeks more in Melbourne until finally reaching Tasmania in April    ...Now greetings to all….      And the last question, when and where next ??!!

 John & Val, April  2010





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April 19, 2017, 4:58 am
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'JOHNNY' ALWAYS CAME BACK:
At this moment I would like to share with the Hermonites something very personal. As I recall, in his 50+years in India Mr. Johnston left Mt. Hermon many times but always came back. I broke down when he and his family left us - I think in 1970. But he returned again. 
1979 was my last year teaching in MH and 'Johnny' (many of us students referred to him as 'Johnny' on the quiet) was the Principal. Mr. Murray left for good at the end of 1978 and Sir was the natural choice to replace 'Bhuntay'. And that is why I got the attached letter from him when I left MH - after 16 years - at the end of 1979. It appears from the letter that he knew me quite well!

It is customary for the Principal to give a gift to the outgoing teachers at the end of the year during a staff meeting. I didn't get one as Mr. Johnston informed the staff at the farewell meet that I was taking a 2-year leave. I never went back to MH but MH never left me and I have never left MH!
Sir visited Gangtok in early 1990 or 1991 after he retired from MH. He again visited us during the centenary celeb in 1995. He may have come in between but we remember his visits in 2010 and 2011 (his last one) with Mrs. Johnston and we had a good time.
Now that he has left us his visits will be no more. But we shall cherish the memories that we shared together in MH and elsewhere. Thank you, Sir for sharing your life with us. Now you have become our Guardian Deity! Cheers! Hail Mt. Hermon!

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July 17, 2017, 6:53 am
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OBITUARY
Bhandari gave us Sikkim’s ‘finest hour’
 Jigme N.Kazi
   He had been suffering from back pain – injuries incurred from police beating during his anti-merger days in early 1970s – for a very long time and finally hospitalized in Delhi. But he breathed his last in a New Delhi hospital on July 16, 2017, due to cardiac arrest.  “Dad was fine till the last moment. He did not reveal any signs that he was leaving us,” said his daughter Primula who was beside him when he passed away.
   Nar Bahadur Bhandari ruled Sikkim, the former Himalayan kingdom – now the 22nd State of India, for more than a decade and half (1979-1994). The teacher-turned-politician began his political career in early 1973, when pro-India forces in Sikkim under the leadership of Congress leader Kazi Lhendup Dorji Khangsarpa – a Sikkimese Lepcha aristocrat – were gradually tilting towards India. Despite opposition from the Sikkimese people Sikkim became a part of India in mid-1975. The Sikkimese people led by the Chogyal (king), Palden Thondup Namgyal, Nar Bahadur Bhandari and other Sikkimese nationalist leaders lost the fight to retain Sikkim’s distinct and unique international status. Despite the odds heavily stacked up againstthem pro-Sikkim forces swam against the tide. Theirs was a losing battle but come what may they would go down fighting. The Indira Gandhi-led Congress Government, Congress dominated Parliament, Indian officials at the helm of affairs in Sikkim, Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Indian Army – were no match to the people’s movement opposing the ‘merger.’
    However, four years after Sikkim’s annexation the Bhandari-led Sikkim Parishad scored a decisive  moral victory when it trounced Kazi’s Congress-turned-Janata Party in the first Assembly elections in Sikkim as an Indian State and formed the government on October 18, 1979 with Bhandari as the Chief Minister.  Kazi, the grand old man of Sikkim politics, lost his own seat to a Parishad candidate, Athup Lepcha, from the remote Dzongu constituency in North Sikkim. The Parishad won 16 seats and with the help of an Independent (Sangha MLA, Lachen Gomchen Rinpoche, was actually a Parishad candidate) formed the government.  The Congress (R) party led by Kazi’s Cabinet member Ram Chandra Poudyal, who revolted against Kazi and New Delhi for unilaterally and illegally abolishing the 16 seats reserved for the Sikkimese Nepalese in the 32-member House, won 11 seats, leaving Nar Bahadur Khatiwada’s Sikkim Prajatantra Party with 4 seats. Khatiwada, the former Youth Congress leader who spearheaded the merger movement, fell out with Kazi in 1977 alleging that the ‘merger’ was ‘illegal’, ‘undemocratic’ and ‘against the wishes of the Sikkimese people.’
   The rest is history. Petty politics does not deserve much attention. But what needs to be mentioned here is that Bhandari’s downfall began when he, against the wishes of the people, merged the Sikkim Janata Parishad with Indira’s Congress party in July 1981. Three years after this unfortunate merger Bhandari was dethroned in May 1984 by dissidents within the Congress party. He was accused of being corrupt and communal. However, he fought back and formed the Sikkim Sangram Parishad (SSP) and returned to power in March 1985, winning 30 of the 32 seats. The Congress party had to bite the dust and had to be content with only 2 seats. Significantly, till date no national parties have won Assembly polls in Sikkim.
   For two terms beginning from 1985 Bhandari ruled Sikkim singlehandedly like an autocrat. His critics accused him of acting like a dictator until he was finally ousted from power by dissident SSP MLAs on the income tax issue in May 1994. His protégé and SSP legislator, Pawan Kumar Chamling, aroused the imagination of the people and using the OBC (Other Backward Classes) card and leading a pro-democracy movement, challenged Bhandari’s authority and came to power in the Assembly elections held in December 1994. Ever since Chamling’s Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) has been in power. Bhandari tried his luck for a comeback but his efforts to do so when he joined the Congress (I) in August 2003 and thereafter to revive his own SSP in 2009 failed.
    “Despite his age we still cannot write off  Bhandari politically,” observed  Suresh Pramar, former editor of Sikkim Express and Eastern Express. A day later Bhandari breathed his last. Significantly, Bhandari’s death came at a time when Sikkim has been in the headlines in the national media for almost a month. China has not only threatened to strike India at the strategic and highly sensitive border area in eastern Sikkim, it has also – for the first time since 1974-75 – stated that Sikkim was annexed and that China may back pro-independence movement in the former kingdom after de-recognizing the ‘merger’.
   When he was abruptly ousted from power in 1984 Bhandari claimed that he was thrown out because he refused to yield on his demands on constitutional recognition of Nepali language, citizenship for ‘stateless persons’, and Assembly seat reservation for Sikkimese Nepalese. Except for the Assembly seat issue the two other demands were met during his tenure as Chief Minister. The third issue, yet to be resolved, is posing a big headache to the Chamling Government.
  When he was ousted from power in 1984, I wrote:  “Perhaps history will look back to this era and recall this period as Sikkim’s “finest hour”. Bhandari then will not be remembered for the wrongs he has done but for the things he hoped to do and for the dreams that he set out to fulfill.”

   His stand, “We have been merged, we shall not be submerged” still echoes in the heart of many Sikkimese. Sikkim faces yet another crossroad even as the man whom many looked up for political leadership is no more. Between China’s latest bid to liberate Sikkim and India’s ‘democracy’ lies the Sikkimese people, who are uncertain and insecure of a future in their own homeland.     
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