अंदाजा नहीं किसी को कि सत्ता के इस खेल में प्रांत की नहीं, अब राष्ट्र की अखंडता खतरे में है
पलाश विश्वास
मित्रों, यह आलेख आंधी पानी और वज्रापत के मध्य लिखकर तुरंत पोस्ट करद दिया था इस उम्मीद से शहादत के मौके पर बने मातमी माहौल में आपको तुरंत उस खतरे के बारे में बताऊं,जिसपर फिलहाल नजर किसी की नहीं है। चूंकि संसद चल रहा है तो मानीय जनप्रतिनिधियों को सूचना तुरंत देने का तकादा था। इसवजह से बिजली और नेट की आंखमिचौनी के मध्य दुबारा पढ़ा नहीं गया। कुछ भयंकर अशुद्धियां रह गयी हैं।कुछ तथ्यों का खुलासा ठीक से नही हुआ।लिहाजा माफी चाहता हूं और इस आलेख का पुनर्पाठ फिर पोस्ट कर रहा हूं।
मित्रों, जैसा कि प्रचारित है,उसके विपरीत अब मसला तेलंगाना या गोरखालैंड,या कार्बी आंगलोग या विदर्भ या सौराष्ट्र या यूपी की क्षेत्रीय अस्मिताओं को संबोधित करने का कतई नहीं है।
बंगाल की अखंडता के सवाल पर हमने भारत विभाजन की अमीमांसित त्रासदी से लेकर मरीचझांपी नरसंहार तक का उल्लेख करते हुए राष्ट्रद्रोही जनसंहारी सत्ता संस्कृति पर आप लोगों का ध्यान खींचने की लगातार कोशिशें की हैं।हमारे परम आदरणीय उत्तम सेनगुप्त ने आउटलुक के अपने आलेख में भी युद्धबंदी भूगोल के संदर्भ में कुछ सवाल रखे हैं। लेकिन इन सवालों पर अभी कोई बहस हो ही नहीं रही है।
हमने भी शुरु से माना है कि लोग अलग राज्य की मांग कर रहे हैं। कोई अलग देश की नहीं। स्वायत्तता का मुद्दा कितना संवदेनशील है, क्षेत्रीय अस्मिता को संभोधित न करके सैन्यशक्ति के जरिये दमन के नतीजे क्या हो सकते हैं, बांग्लादेश मुक्ति संग्राम का इतिहास देख लें।
भौगोलिक अवस्थान कम से कम गोरखालैंड आंदोलन के संदर्भ में बहुत नाजुक है। बंगाल के पहाड़ों से होकर सिक्किम का रास्ता जाता है। ऐतिहासिक तौर पर सिक्किम, नेपाल, उत्तराखंड, नेपाल और भूटान एक इकाई रही है। इसे बंगाल के लोग भूल रहे हैं और भूल रहा है इस देश का सत्ता प्रतिष्टान भी। इसके बेहद खतरनाक परिणाम हो सकते हैं। जैसे मैंन दुबारा इस लेख को लिखा है, आप भी दुबारा पढ़ लें। राज्य हजार बनाये जा सकते हैं,लेकिन उसके ठोस आधार जरुर होने चाहिये। गोरखालैंड आंदोलन के कारपोरेट इस्तेमाल से पूर्व भारत और पूर्वोत्तर में जो आग सुलगा दी गयी है और उसे बुझाने के बजाय उसे दमन और घृणा के मार्फत जैसे तेज करने की कोशिश हो रही है और इसी के मध्य नेपाल में फिर राजतंत्र की वापसी का जो खेल रचा जा रहा है, जिस तरह से सिक्किम में भारत में विलय के खिलाफ माहौल बनने लगा है और गोरखालैंड में अनिश्चितकालीन हड़ताल से जिसतरह सिक्किम बाकी देश से एकदम कट गया है,कृपया एकदम वस्तुपरक ढंग से इस पर तनिक गौर करें कि असल में राष्ट्रद्रोही कौन हैं।
गद्य और पद्य दोनों विधाओं में मैं इस मुद्दे पर इसलिए लिख रहा हूं क्योंकि मेरी जड़ें हिमालय में हैं और जनआकांक्षाओं की भाषा मुझे अपनी चपेट में ले लेती है। क्योंकि मैं हिमालय, उत्तरपूर्व औरद दंडकारण्य समेत निरंतर दमन के शिकार युद्धबंदी भूगोल की अस्पृश्यता से लगातार जुड़ा हुआ हूं।इसके अलावा भारत विभाजन की अंतहीन त्रासदी में हमारे लोग आज भी नागरिक और मानव अधिकारों से वंचित है। क्योंकि हम निरंतर विस्थापन और प्रकृतिक संसाधनों की खुली लूट के चश्मदीद गवाह हैं।
लेकिन बात बनी नहीं है।कहीं कोई सुनवाई हो ही नहीं रही है। अस्पृश्यता की दस्तक मुख्यधारा के द्वार पर हमेशा निरुत्तरित रहे हैं ,रहेंगे।
इस वक्त जो सबसे जरुरी काम है इस कारपोरेट खेल को समझने के लिए, चिदंबरम और मोंटेक को डीकोड करने की कोशिश में लगता है भारतीय आम जनमानस की किसी किस्म की कोई प्रस्तुति असंभव है।
हिंदी के पाठकों की सीमाबद्धता स्वाभाविक है, क्योंकि हममें से ज्यादातर की जड़ें मृत बेदखल कृषिभूमि में हैं और सत्ता तबके की तरह हम लोग अवधारणाओं और आंकड़ों के खेल के माहिर हैं ही नहीं। अखबारों में इनदिनों माया मृगचिका रचने का काम होता है और सच का बोलबाला के बजाय मिथ्या का अबाद कारोबार है।बहुसंख्य जनगण के पास कोई पीसी नहीं है। मोबाइल से वे चीजें देखते हैं। पढ़ने और समझने का कोई पर्यावरण हमारे लोगों के लिए है ही नहीं। वे हमारे लिखा पढ़ना भी नहीं चाहते,जैसे मीडिया हमें छापना ही नहीं चाहता। फिरभी समस्या अंग्रेजीदां बाजारकब्जाकारों की नहीं, भाषायी जनता की है। इसलिए न सुने जाने,न पढ़े जाने के जोखिम के बावजूद हिंदी में लिखने के अलावा कोई विकल्प है ही नहीं। बांग्ला में अब भी प्रिंट का वर्चस्व है और उस प्रिंट में हमारे लिए कोई स्पेस हो ही नहीं सकता। वह प्रिंच निरंतर धर्मोन्मादी जुनून और अराजक आत्मघाती हिंसा के कारोबार में लगा है।
तो हारकर कल खाद्य सुरक्षा कानून और जीएसटी के परिप्रेक्ष्य में पेंशन, रिटेल, उड्डयन, मीडिया, बीमा ,प्रतिरक्षा समेत कुल बारह क्षेत्रों में एफडीआई और रुपया गिरावट रहस्य, रिजर्व बैंक के इस्तेमाल पर ब्यौरावार तथ्यों समेत अंग्रेजी में दस्तावेज तैयार करके अपने जनप्रतिनिधियों समेत मीडिया धुरंधरों को पोस्ट कर दिया।
लेकिन न कहीं कोई पेड़ गिरा और न धार से कोई गूंज की आहट हुई। मुफ्त में मेरे ढेर सारे ब्लाग पोस्ट करते ही डिलीट हो गये। प्रिज्म की ऐसी महिमा है। हमें फर्क इसलिए नहीं पड़ता क्योंकि जनमत बनाना जिनका काम है, वे ही उंगलियों और आंखों की पुतलियों की तस्वीर समर्पित करके नागरिक सेवाएं बहाल करने की आपाधापी है। नागरिकों की निजता और नागरिक संप्रभुता पर बस कैसे हो जबकि अपनी खुफिया जासूसी कराने में हम सानंद तैयार है। आंतरिक सुरक्षा से लेकर प्रतिरक्षा तक विदेशी एजंसियों और विदेशी पूंजी के हवाले हैं। संवेदनशील भूगोल सीमांत इलाकों में हम राष्ट्र की सुरक्षा और आंतरिक सुरक्षा के लिए भी विदेशी एजंसियों और विदेशी पूंजी पर निर्भर हैं और मजे की बात है कि सारी गड़बड़ियां पिछले सात दशकों में इसी वजह से हुई है। रक्षा मंत्री को भी मालूम नहीं होताकि राष्ट्र की सीमाओं का उल्लंघन कहा कहां हो रहा है।हमारे राजनेता विदेशी इशारे पर विदेशी निर्देशन में अपने इतिहास और भूगोल के साथ खेल रहे हैं और अपनी ही जनता को सलवा जुड़ुम की तर्ज पर एक दूसरे के खिलाप खड़ा करने का गेम है यह आईपीएल।
दरअसल सारा संकट, सारी आपदाएं मानवनिर्मित हैं और अर्थव्यवस्था के महातिलिस्म को तोड़े बिना कारपोरेट उत्तर आधुनिक मनुस्मृति व्यवस्था से कोई मुक्तिमार्ग नहीं निकलने वाला है।
जो धर्मध्वजा और अस्मिताओं के खंडित झंडे दसों दिशाओं में लहरा रहे हैं, वे न धर्म ध्वजा हैं और न अस्मिता पताका।
जिसे हम धर्मोन्माद बता रहे हैं, वह आत्मघाती लोकतंत्र विरोधी सामंती अराजक कारपोरेट हिंसा की गगन घटा गहरानी के सिवाय कुछ भी नहीं है।
आपको बता दें कि सिक्किम के भारत में विलय के खिलाफ सिक्किम में जनमत तैयार करने की मुहिम प्रबल है और दूसरी ओर महानेपाल साम्राज्य के पुनर्गठन और वहां राजा की वापसी की भारी तैयारी है।
मजे की बात है कि धार्मिक,क्षेत्रीय और जातीय अस्मिता की धारक वाहक दिल्ली की सत्ता ही इस राष्ट्रविरोधी खेल के पीछे मुख्य निर्माता निर्देशक हैं और इस धूधू रेगिस्तानी वधस्थल में अपना गला काटे जाने के इंतजार में अधीर जनसमुदाय को इस खतरनाक महा सुनामी का अंदाजा भी है ही नहीं।
सोशल मीडिया के पास दस्तावेज छापने के स्पेस होते नहीं हैं।
फिरभी इस आलेख के साथ संदर्भित बेहद जरुरी दस्तावेज नत्थी कर रहा हूं,जिन्हें आप मेरे ब्लागों पर सिलसिलेवार अपडेट सहित देख सकते हैं।
इस आलेख को पढ़ने से पहले मुलाहिजा फरमाये, संसद जारी है लेकिन हमारे जनप्रतिनिधियों को अपने अपने अकूत कालाधन के अलावा किसी और चीज की कोई परवाह नहीं है।
जाहिर है कि उनकी नींद नहीं खुलेगी।
जलप्रलय के बाद गुमशुदा सैकड़ों गांवों और हजारों लोगों,लाखों लावारिश परिवारों की हकीकत के बावजूद केदार नाथ मंदिर के जीर्मोद्धार और वहां पूजा आयोजन के लिए जो भारतीय नागरिक आकुल व्याकुल हो रहे हैं,जो लोग गोरखालैंड आंदोलन की वजह से दार्जिलिगंग और सिक्किम के इस मौसम में पर्यटन कार्यक्रम स्थगित होने से परेशान विदेश यात्रा या फिर स्वदेश में हीअन्यत्र कहीं घूम आाने की जुगत लगा रहे हैं,उनके लिए सूचना है कि गोरखालैंड आंदोलन से बंगाल के पहाड़ों की नाकेबंदी से भारतीय प्रांत सिकिकम बाकी भारत से एकदम कट गया है।
पाक सीमा पर भारतीय जवानों की शहादत पर उत्ताल,चीनी अतिक्रमण से रक्षा घोटालों की नयी तैयारी के परिप्रेक्ष्य में भारत के ईश्वरों और देव देवियों,अपदेवताओं और अवतारों के लिए यह परेशानी का सबब नहीं है,जाहिर है।लेकिन आप कहां हैं और आपकी सोच कहां है,तयकरे आप ही!
दो साल में रिटायर होकर फुटपाथ पर गिरना है.इसलिए कुछ ज्यादा ही आपकी नींद में खलल डाल रहा हूं।
बहुत पहले महाश्वेतादी ने मुझे कुमांउनी बंगाली लिख दिया।कुमायूं और पहाड़ के स्वजन मुझे कितना अपना मानते होंगे,नहीं मालूम।उनका अपराध भी नहीं यह,देशभर में बायोमेट्रिक डिजिटल नागरिकता के विरुद्ध जनजागरण मुहिम चलाने और बहुजनों के बीच अर्थव्यवस्था के तिलिस्म का राज खोलने के एकमात्र मकसद से दौड़ता रहा हूं अपने पिता की विरासत कंधे पर लिये।
शायद पिता की तरह कोई कैंसर मेरी रीढ़ में भी पल रहा है,जो इस तरह जुनून पैदा कर रहा है।
लेकिन मैं पिछले पांच साल न बसंतीपुर जा सका और न पहाड़,यह मेरे अपराध हैं।
लिखने की जरुरत इसलिए ज्यादा है, कि हामारा पक्ष लेकर कोई लिखने वाला नहीं है।
घर जाने के लिए कम से कम महीना भर चाहिए लेकिन जैसे मेरे पास अपने और सविता के इलाज के भी पैसे नहीं होते,वैसे ही न हमारे पास लैपटाप है और न स्मार्टफोन।दो चार दिन के लिए हम इधर उधर भटककर फिर अपने पीसी पर मोर्चाबंद हो सकते हैं जैसे दस को भुवनेश्वर निकलुंगा और ओड़ीशा होकर तेरह की सुबह फिर अपनी पीसी पर।लेकिन घर जा नहीं पाता।
लेकिन यह तय है कि बंगाल में जवानी से लेकर बुढा़पा की दहलीज तक पहुंचने के बावजूद हमारी हैसियत यहां मरीचझांपी में बाघों का चारा बन गये शरणार्थियों से बेहतर नहीं है।
हम यहां अवांछित हैं और घुसपैठ की सजा बतौर अलग ही द्वीप में कैद हैं।हमारी ख्याति वीरेन दा और गिरदा जैसे लोगों की चापलूसी और चूतियापे के लिए ज्यादा है।
सन् 1992-93 की बात होगी,तब हम कोलकाता में नये नये आये थे। तभी एक दिन वीरेन दा ने फोन किया कि वे कोलकाता में आयेंगे।ज
नसत्ता अखबार के दफ्तर में वे आये और उनसे मिलने सविता को साथ लेकर हम अपने दफ्तर पहुंचे।
तब वीरेन दा ने कहा था कि कौन कहता है यह कोई महानगर है,यह तो गांव है!बहुत बड़ा गांव! जहां तहां चौपाल! सिर्फ खेत और खलिहान नहीं हैं! पर वही हरियाली है!
ट्राम और बस में नहीं,वीरेन दा इस गांव में घूमते रहे पैदल।
वीरेनदा से भी बहुत अरसा बीता,मिलना हुआ नहीं है।
उनसे चूतिया सुने भी हुए बहुत दिन।
लेकिन पिछले बीस साल के दरम्यान वीरेनदा के बताये उस विशाल गांव को एक कारपोरेट बहुमंजिली कंक्रीट के ह्रदयहीन महाअरण्य में तब्दील होते देखा है हमने तिलतिल।
जहां असुरों का वध ही संस्कृति है,जनपदों का कोई वजूद ही नहीं है और न कहीं भूगोल है और न इतिहास।ए
काधिकारवादी वर्चस्ववाद के प्रदूषित पर्यावरण में सिर्फ उपभोक्तावदी छद्म प्रगतिवादी चेतना सर्वव्यापी दलबद्ध चेतना है और मुर्तिपूजा की अंधभक्ति है सर्वोपरि।
अपनी अग्नि कन्या इस वक्त दुर्गापूजा की उलटी गिनती शुरु होते न होते, महालया से काफी पहले महिषमर्दिनी अवतार में है और पूरा बंगाल असुरदमन के मूड में है। गोरखालैंड आंदोलन की जड़ों की तफतीश के बिना,पहाड़ों की समस्याओं को संबोधित किये बिना कभी सुबास घीसिंग तो कभी विमल गुरुंग को भस्मासुर बना देने वाली शतरंजी बिसात पर दांव पर लगा दिया गया हिमालय और उसके साथ भारत का नक्शा।
बंगाल का नागरिक समाज इस दमन की भाषा के प्रतिबाद में लेकिन नंदीग्राम,सिंगुर या कामदुनि की प्रतिवादी मोमबत्ती जलूस में सड़कों पर अभिव्यक्त नहीं है कहीं।
मीडिया और संस्कृति के हर क्षेत्र में अनवरत घृणा अभियान है गोरखों के खिलाफ।
दीदी राइटर्स को म्युजियम बना रही है और दिल्ली से दौलताबाद की तर्ज पर राजधानी कोलकाता से हुगलीपार हावड़ा में कहीं ले जाकर वाम शासन की स्मृति मिटा देने के स्थाई इंतजाम में लगी हैं,इसे लेकर जितनी उत्तेजना और कौतूहल है,अपने आखिरी उपनिवेश खो देने की आशंका और रोष उतना प्रबल है।आर्थिक बदहाली के आलम में जनपदों की समस्याओं को संबोधित करने के बजाय,पंचायती राज के लिए बजट में दिये 2990 करोड़ का दस फीसद दिये बिना, सामाजिक योजनाओं के लिए राज्य के हिस्से का भुगतान किये बिना, बाढ़ से लेकर चिटफंड घोटाले के शिकार लोगों को कोई राहत दिये बिना राइटर्स की मरम्मत के बहाने हुगलीपार एक व्यवसायिक भवन पर तीन सौ करोड़ लगाकर सरकार दो महाने के लिए पहली अक्तूबर को स्थानांतरित कर रही हैं। स्थाई राइटर्स के लिए हुगली पार उन्होंने पचास एकड़ जमीन बी चुन ली है जबकि उद्योगों के लिए जमीन मना है। टाटा को खदेड़कर सिंगुर के अनिच्छुक किसानों को जमीनदिलाने की जंग वे लड़ रही है और उन्ही के संरक्षित सत्ता के सिपाहसालार उसी सिंगुर में जमीन की मंडी खोल बैठे हैं। इस आर्थिक अराजकता केखिलाप कहीं कोई गुस्सा नहीं है। गुस्सा है तो सिर्फ गोरखों के खिलाफ।
अब जंगल महल में वृहत्तर झारखंड का आंदोलन भी जोर पकड़े लगा है। मामाटी मानुश की सरकार बनने के बावजूद लालगढ़ अभियान का अवसान नहीं हुआ है। केंद्रीयसुरक्षा बल आदिवासी िइलाकों में अब भी तैनात हैं। अगर झारखंडी अस्मिता और प्रबल हई तो हर किसीको बंगाल विरोधी और माओवादी तमगा बांटने वाली दीदी कौन सीभाषा का इस्तेमाल करेंगी,उसका सिर्फ अंदाजा लगाया जा सकताहै।
लेकिन दीदी का यह महिष मर्दिनी रुप जितना प्रकट हो रहा है, वैसे ही रजाकर वाहिनी की तरह धर्मांध तत्वों का पुनरुत्थान हो रहा है बंगाल में। देश कीसुरक्षा के लिहाज से बेहद संवेदनशील पूर्व और पूर्वोत्तर से बाकी देश के लिए यह सबसे बुरी खबर है।
बंगाल का जनमानस बौद्धमयबंगाल और मनुस्मृति मुक्त बंगाल की कोख से निकलती तो बात कुछ और ही होती।भारत का इतिहास कुछ और ही होता।
इतिहास और भूगोल से कटी बंगीयचेतना ब्रिटिश औपनिवेशिक भारत में ही गहरी पैठी है और सामंतवाद के अवसान की ताराशंकरी शोकगाथाओं और सत्यजीत रे की जलसाघर में कैद है उसका विवेक।
ऋत्विक घटक की तमाम फिल्में देखकर आम बंगाली तालियां बजाता जरुर है,पर उन तालियों में अपनी अपनी जमींदारी खोने का विषाद ज्यादा प्रखर है।
रक्तपाती जनसंख्या स्थानांतरण और शरणार्थियों के सामाजिक यथार्थ बंगाल को कहीं से भी स्पर्श नहीं करता। करता तो आज बायोमेट्रिक डिजिटल भारत का सबसे ज्यादा विरोध इसी बंगाल से होता।मरीचझांपी नरसंहार के लिए तीन दशक के बाद भी जांच और न्याय की प्रतीक्षा इसका प्रमाण है।
बंगाल अब भी आजादी के करीब सात दशक बाद अंग्रजी साम्राज्य में ही जी रहा है।
उसकी सबसे बड़ी आकांक्षा कोलकाता को लंदन बनाने की है।
अंग्रेजों को कुलीनत्व बाकी भारत से उसे एकदम अलग करता है और इसी के गर्भनाल से जुड़ी है मार्कसवादी बंगाल लाइन और विदेशी पूंजी की अंधी दौड़।
उड़ीसा और बिहार समेत झारखंड और असम कभी बंगाल में थे और चरप्पे चप्पे में बंगीय उपनिवेश थे मसलन रांची,भागलपुर, दरभंगा, कटक, गुवाहाटी, हजारीबाग, देवघर,समूचा मानभूम और समूचा संथाल परगना।
इस अतीत का भूत वेताल की तरह बंगालियों के कंधे पर सवार है। वह भूतेर भविष्यत को लेकर जितना चिंतित है,उतना अपने जनपदों के लिए नहीं।बाकी भारत के लिए भी नहीं।
इसीलिए ज्योति बसु को कामरेडों ने प्रधानमंत्रित्व तक पहुंचने नहीं दिया।
इसीलिए राष्ट्रपति भवन तक पहुंच चुके प्रणव मुखर्जी अब भी चंडी उपासक ही हैं, भारत के प्रथम नागरिक वे कब बनेंगे,इसका इंतजार करते रहिए।
पंचायती हिंसा और सत्ता दखल की लड़ाई रात दिन सात दिन का मजा है एकाधिकारवादी कुलीन बंगाल के लिए क्योंकि मारे जाने वालों में कोई कुलीन चेहरा होता नहीं है।
और न कारपोरेट महानगरी संस्कृति को यह आत्मघाती हिंसा और अराजकता कहीं से स्पर्श ही करता है।
लेकिन मसला सिर्फ दार्जिलिंग का नहीं है।
उससे बड़ा मसला सिक्किम का उबाल खा रहा है।
बंगाल के लिए महाझारखंड का नया आंदोलन गोरखालैंड का अगला मोड़ है।
कल तक पहाड़ मुस्कुरा रहा था और दीदी महिषमर्दिनी के साथ एक ही मंच पर विराजमान थे गोरखाअसुर विमल गुरुंग।
आज वहां दावानल है।
आग बुझाने के बजाय घी डालने का काम हो रहा है और निर्मम दमन के इस उपाय को आधिपात्यवादी सांप्रदायिक बंगाल का पूरा समर्थन है।
अभी पिछले हफ्ते ही भोजपुरी सिनेमा दर्शकों पर सबसे ज्यादा प्रसारित बांग्ला अखबार की रविवारीय आवरणकथा के जरिये भोजपुरी संस्कृति की जो तस्वीर खींची गयी है ,वह बंकिमरवींद्रशरत के कथापात्र दरबानों से पृथक नहीं है।
बंगाल अब भी 1947 से पहले के समय में जी रहा है और जनपदों की समस्याओं को उसी नजरिये से देख रहा है। दूसरे जनसमुदायों को भी ुसी नजरिये से। अस्पृश्योंको देखने की जो परंपरा है।अस्पृश्य भूगोल को युद्धबंदी बनाये रखने की जो विरासत है,उसी का निर्मम निर्वाह है।
सिर्फ दिक्कत यह है कि यह मसला महज बंगाल की प्रांतीय अखंडता का नहीं है। जंगलमहल में अमन चैन गोरखालैंड के दावानल से किस दिन फिर सुलग उठेगा कोई ठिकाना नहीं है।
कामतापुरी और कोच राजवंशी अस्मिता के अलावा बाकी जरुरी मुद्दे भी अभी असंबोधित हैं।
लेकिन सवाल यह भी नहीं है।
अनिश्चितकाल तक सिक्किम के भारत से कटे रहने का राजनयिक मतलब अगर नहीं समझें हम तो राष्ट्र की अखंडता भी निश्चय ही दांव पर है।
हमने पहले ही लिखा है कि कारपोरेट राज मे जातीय धार्मिक क्षेत्रीय अस्मिताएं धर्मोन्मादी राष्ट्रीयताओं में एकाकार हैं।
पहले ही लिखा है कि अर्थव्यवस्था के तिलिस्म की नींव हैं ये अस्मिताओं की बेजोड़ ईंटें।
आर्थिक सुधारों का आवाहन है यह मानवनिर्मित संकट।
क्षेत्रीय अस्मिता के जरिये कैद युद्धबंदी भूगोल के विद्रोह के विरुद्ध हर राज्य में मुख्यधारा की सांप्रदायिकता का उद्बोधन सुधारों की दूसरी पीढ़ी को लागू करने की रणऩीति है।और कुछ नहीं। तेलंगना एक बहाना है।उसकी आड़ में जारी है कारपोरेट खेल यह।
धर्मोन्माद से युक्त कर दिया गया है युद्धोन्माद।
संसद उत्ताल है।
जबकि सही मायने में सबसे ज्यादा विपर्यस्त है भारतीय लोकतंत्र ,इसकी संप्रभुता,राष्ट्रीय एकता और अखंडता
ঝাড়গ্রাম: ঝাড়খণ্ডের সীমানা পশ্চিমবঙ্গে সম্প্রসারিত করার দাবি উঠেছে৷ মাত্র কয়েক মাস আগে পশ্চিমাঞ্চল উন্নয়ন পর্ষদের এলাকায় স্বায়ত্বশাসন দাবি করেছিল এ রাজ্যের ঝাড়খণ্ডী দলগুলি৷ তেলেঙ্গানা রাজ্য গঠনের সম্ভাবনা উজ্জ্বল হয়ে ওঠার সঙ্গে দেশ জুড়ে একাধিক ছোট রাজ্যের আন্দোলন মাথাচাড়া দিতেই ওই দলগুলি আগের সিদ্ধান্ত পাল্টে ফেলেছেন৷ স্বায়ত্বশাসনের বদলে এখন পৃথক ঝাড়খণ্ড রাজ্যেই পশ্চিমবঙ্গকে সামিল করতে চাইছে তারা৷ ওডিশার ৫টি জেলাকেও তাতে সামিল করার পরিকল্পনা রয়েছে৷
পশ্চিমবঙ্গের ঝাড়খণ্ডী দলগুলি এ ব্যাপারে একমত হয়ে যৌথ আন্দোলনের সিদ্ধান্ত নিয়ে ফেলেছে৷ ঝাড়খণ্ডে ক্ষমতাসীন ঝাড়খণ্ড মুক্তি মোর্চার সঙ্গে তাদের প্রাথমিক আলোচনাও হয়ে গিয়েছে৷ এবার আন্দোলনের পরিকল্পনা চূড়ান্ত করতে বৃহস্পতিবার ওই দলগুলির সঙ্গে ঝাড়খণ্ড মুক্তি মোর্চার বৈঠক হতে চলেছে সে রাজ্যের জামশেদপুরের কাছে কদমায়৷ ঝাড়খণ্ডের মুখ্যমন্ত্রী হেমন্ত সোরেনও ওই বৈঠকে উপস্থিত থাকবেন বলে জানিয়েছেন ঝাড়খণ্ড মুক্তি মোর্চার পশ্চিম মেদিনীপুর জেলা সম্পাদক স্বপন মাহাতো৷
প্রস্তাবিত গ্রেটার ঝাড়খণ্ডের ভৌগলিক সীমানা বিস্তারিত ভাবে জানিয়েছেন চুনিবালা৷ তিনি জানিয়েছেন, এ রাজ্যের পশ্চিম মেদিনীপুর, পুরুলিয়া ও বাঁকুড়ার পাশাপাশি বীরভূম ও বর্ধমান জেলার ঝাড়খণ্ড লাগোয়া বেশ কিছু এলাকা গ্রেটার রাজ্যে অন্তর্ভূক্ত হবে৷ মূলত পশ্চিমাঞ্চল উন্নয়ন পর্ষদের আওতার ৭৪টি ব্লককেই ওই রাজ্যে আনতে চাইছেন ঝাড়খণ্ডী নেতারা৷ ওডিশার পাঁচটি জেলা ময়ুরভঞ্জ, সুন্দরগড়, কেওনঝাড়, সম্বলপুর ও রায়গড়ের প্রতিও তাঁদের নজর পড়েছে৷
ঝাড়খণ্ড পার্টির সভাপতি চুনিবালা বলেন, 'গ্রেটার ঝাড়খণ্ডের দাবি যুক্তিযুক্ত৷ কেননা, ঝাড়খণ্ডের সঙ্গে পশ্চিমবঙ্গ ও ওডিশার ওই ১০টি জেলার ভাষা, সংস্কৃতি, কৃষ্টির পুরোপুরি মিল রয়েছে৷' ঝাড়খণ্ড মুক্তি মোর্চার পশ্চিম মেদিনীপুর জেলা সম্পাদক স্বপন মাহাতো বলেন, 'বৃহস্পতিবারের বৈঠকে আন্দোলনের পরিকল্পনা কেন্দ্রীয় নেতারা ঠিক করবেন৷' ঝাড়খণ্ড অনুশীলন পার্টির সাধারণ সম্পাদক অসিত খাটুয়া বলেন, 'গোর্খাল্যান্ডের দাবি যুক্তিযুক্ত হলে আমাদের দাবি নয় কেনও?' এই আন্দোলনে সামিল হবে বলে জানিয়েছে ঝাড়খণ্ড দিশম পার্টিও৷
দার্জিলিংয়ের আন্দোলনের ছবি টিভিতে দেখছি৷ পৃথক রাজ্যের দাবিতে আজ যাঁরা সেখানে আন্দোলন করছেন, আমি যখন সেখানে ছিলাম, তাঁদের অনেকেই তখন জন্মাননি৷ সাতাশ বছর আগেকার কথা৷ শৈলশহর তখনও অগ্নিগর্ভ৷ আজকের থেকে পরিস্থিতি অনেক বেশি কঠিন ছিল৷ প্রথমে অতিরিক্ত জেলাশাসক, তার পর জেলাশাসক, পৃথক রাজ্যের দাবিতে সুবাস ঘিসিঙের নেতৃত্বে যে আন্দোলন শুরু হয়েছিল, তার মোকাবিলা করা ছিল সেই সব দিনে আমার প্রধান কাজ৷ বহু রাত দু'চোখের পাতা এক করতে পারতাম না৷ এক দিকে জনজীবন বিপর্যস্ত, অন্য দিকে খুনখারাপি৷ পাহাড় শান্ত রাখাই ছিল চ্যালেঞ্জ৷ বিগত আড়াই দশকের বেশি সময়ে সমতলের সঙ্গে পাহাড়ও অনেক বদলে গিয়েছে৷ এখন যোগাযোগ ব্যবস্থা তুলনামূলক ভাবে ভালো৷ পুলিশ-প্রশাসনও যথেষ্ট শক্তিশালী৷ তাই আন্দোলন মোকাবিলা করা, পাহাড় স্বাভাবিক রাখা আগের থেকে অনেকটাই সহজ হয়ে গিয়েছে৷
কিন্ত্ত আমার মনে হয়, পাহাড় সমস্যাকে নিছক আইনশৃঙ্খলা রক্ষার দৃষ্টিকোণ থেকে দেখলে চলবে না৷ কেন বার বার দার্জিলিংয়ের মানুষ পৃথক রাজ্য চেয়ে পথে নামছে, সমতলের মানুষকেও তা হৃদয় দিয়ে অনুধাবন করতে হবে৷ বঞ্চনার জায়গাটা ঠিক কোথায়, এটা সকলকেই বুঝতে হবে৷ আশির দশকে ঘিসিংয়ের নেতৃত্বে যখন আন্দোলন চলছিল, তখন পাঞ্জাব উত্তপ্ত খালিস্তানের দাবিতে৷ ও দিকে অসমে তখন বড়োল্যান্ড আন্দোলন তীব্র আকার নিয়েছে৷ তামিলনাড়ুতে এলটিটিই-র কার্যকলাপ চিন্তার কারণ হয়ে উঠেছে৷ কিন্ত্ত বিহার ভাগের দাবিতে কোনও আন্দোলন ছিল না৷ উত্তরপ্রদেশ বিভাজনের দাবিতেও কোনও রক্তক্ষয়ী আন্দোলন তখন হয়নি৷ অথচ এই সাতাশ বছরেই বিহার ভেঙে ঝাড়খণ্ড হয়েছে৷ উত্তরাখণ্ড হয়েছে উত্তরপ্রদেশ বিভাজনের মধ্য দিয়ে৷ মধ্যপ্রদেশ ভেঙে হয়েছে ছত্তিশগড়৷ অসমে বড়োল্যান্ড অটোনোমাস কাউন্সিল৷ ত্রিপুরায় হয়েছে উপজাতি পরিষদ৷ দার্জিলিংয়ের জন্য হয়েছিল দার্জিলিং-গোর্খা পার্বত্য পরিষদ৷ কিন্ত্ত পৃথক রাজ্যের দাবি কখনও পরিত্যাগ করেনি পাহাড়বাসী৷ পার্বত্য পরিষদকে যে স্বশাসন দেওয়ার কথা বলা হয়েছিল, তা বাস্তবায়িত হলে পৃথক রাজ্যের দাবি হয়তো আজ আর এতটা জোরদার হত না৷ এই মুহূর্তে যে আন্দোলনটা হচ্ছে, তার পেছনেও কারণটা তেলেঙ্গানা৷ বিহার, উত্তরপ্রদেশ, মধ্যপ্রদেশ, অন্ধ্রপ্রদেশ বিভাজনের সিদ্ধান্ত দার্জিলিংয়ের মানুষের মনে এই ধারণা বদ্ধমূল করেছে, আন্দোলন করলে তাঁরাও পৃথক রাজ্য পাবেন৷
স্বভাবতই, মূল আলোচ্য হওয়া উচিত রাজ্য ভাগ হবে কি না৷ হলে, কিসের ভিত্তিতে হবে৷ দীর্ঘদিন দার্জিলিংয়ে কাজ করার সুবাদে বুঝেছি, পৃথক রাজ্যের দাবি উত্থাপনের পিছনে শুধু আর্থিক সমৃদ্ধিলাভই একমাত্র বিচার্য নয়৷ এর সঙ্গে সাংস্কৃতিক এবং জাতিগত বৈচিত্রের প্রশ্নও জড়িত যা শুধু আর্থিক দাবিদাওয়া মিটিয়ে সমাধান করা যাবে না৷ আমি কোনও সমাধানসূত্র দিতে পারব না৷ তবে কলকাতা, দিল্লি, দার্জিলিং এই তিন পক্ষের সহমত ছাড়া এই সমস্যার সমাধান হবে না৷ বিহার ভাগের সময় যেখা গিয়েছিল, নতুন রাজ্য ঝাড়খণ্ড খনি এবং শিল্প দুইই পেল৷ বিহার পেল শুধুই কৃষি৷ বিহারের ঘাটতি পূরণ করতে পরিকল্পনা খাতে বাড়তি অর্থ বরাদ্দ করা হয়েছে৷ স্বভাবতই প্রশ্ন থেকেই যাচ্ছে, রাজ্য ভাগের ভিত্তিটা কী? আমার মনে হয়, রাজ্য বিভাজনের প্রশ্নে একটা স্বাস্থ্যকর বিতর্ক প্রয়োজন, যেখানে সব দল, গোষ্ঠী তো বটেই, রাজ্যগুলিরও মতামত নেওয়া উচিত৷ কোনও একটি দল বা সরকারের একক সিদ্ধান্ত নেওয়া উচিত নয়৷
राजा फिर्तीको तयारी ?
Will monarchy be restored in Nepal? A wind of change is blowing across the Himalayan country. Hindus who constitute the vast majority of Nepal's population believed the king was the reincarnation of god. They warmly greeted the former King, Gyanendra, on his birthday, though he was dethroned seven years ago. Recently he visited parts of flood affected areas and distributed relief among the victims. This generosity has undoubtedly raised his popularity. His public meetings were attended by people in hundreds of thousands raising eyebrows of the politicians.Political instability and economic meltdown under a confrontational strife-ridden democracy in the country seems to have made many politicians repentant at the demise of the monarchy, which was the symbol of national unity. There is a clear move for revival of the institution of monarchy for which Beijing appears to be lending positive support.
Quoting a highly placed unidentified source, weekly People's Review of Nepal reported this week that efforts were on a roadmap to restore stability and protect sovereignty of the country. Claiming close connections and frequent meetings with the deposed king, Maoist leaders and others, the source said that he (Gyanendra) was not involved in small things like elections. "Instead I am trying my best to give stability to this country," he said explaining his roadmap – giving space to the king as head of the state, allowing premiership to UCPN (Maoist) chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda and bringing NCP (Maoist), Rastriya Prajtantra Party (RPP) and Tarai-based political parties in the government by keeping NC and UML in the opposition.
Dahal is no longer in the good book of Delhi following the resignation of its blue-eyed boy Baburam Bhattarai last month from the post of Vice Chairman of UCPN as Dahal declined to accommodate him as the party's co-chairman. The UCPN is likely to be divided again. Hardcore Maoists had deserted it over a year ago and formed the Nepal Communist Party (NCP-Maoist) under elderly leader Mohan Baidya alias Kiran.
With bases in India, the Maoists had fought a decade long guerrilla war against the Nepal government until a Delhi orchestrated deal was accepted by major political parties – UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress and UML (Marxist-Leninist) – in 2002 to end the monarchy and switch over to People's Republic to rule the landlocked Nepal. The war ended in 2006 leaving around 13,000 people killed. Democratic elections to a constituent assembly (CA) was held in 2008 giving mandate of writing a constitution in 2 years for the new republic and rehabilitate 19,000 guerrilla fighters. But Power hungry politicians were so divided that they could not complete the tasks even after extending the life of CA to four years. Finally the CA was dissolved and Bhattarai of UCPN headed an interim government which has handed over power to the country's Chief Justice Regmi for holding elections of a fresh constituent assembly. The date for polls was set for November 19.
NCP (Maoist) leading an alliance of 33 smaller parties has declared to boycott the election, which it alleged, was a blueprint of India to get elected its yes men to perpetuate its interest. The NCP's front ranking leader Netra Bikram Chand said: "Efforts for distribution of Nepali citizenship to Indians (living in Nepal) and holding election are on for (the) Sikkimization and annexation of Nepal." His party is ready to develop alliance with the former King, Nepal Army and other patriotic forces for protecting the national interest, integrity and sovereignty.
Political observers say Dahal now wants to develop a greater nationalist front even by giving space to the former King. He and many of his colleagues have understood that they had already lost precious seven years. They have now realized that in a country like Nepal, the role of a king is vital. He has, under compulsion, come closer to Baidya, his political guru. They can join hands anytime sidelining Bhattrai camp.
The source further told the weekly that he had sent the proposal of alliance to the former King and if he gets a positive response, "within hours Dahal is ready to issue a statement urging restoration of the institution of monarchy and developing a greater alliance among the nationalist forces."Even the Nepali Congress Party, a long time ally of India, is convinced. Dr Shasanka Koirala, son of BP Koirala, founding member of NC and former prime minister, in an interview with BBC said "the institution of monarchy should be restored to save the country …. Institution of monarchy is a symbol of national unity. We committed a mistake in removing the institution from the constitution." Beijing is known to have given positive indication to the move considering its own security interests. Perpetual political instability and increasing external intervention in Nepal are worrisome factor for China.
SIKKIM STORY: PROTECTION TO ABSORPTION
Posted by The Himalayan Voice:
[The Government of India claims that the absorption of Sikkim 'reflects the true aspirations of the Sikkim people' as expressed through the Assembly. Certainly, this is a cruel joke played on the people of Sikkim. Like every regime that carries on its anti-democratic designs on another people, the Government of India does so in the name of 'protecting and extending democracy'.]
By Narasimhan Ram[1]
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Map: Google
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The modalities of Sikkim's absorptioncertainly lacked the finesse and diplomatic sheen that the External Affairs Ministry under Sardar Swaran Singh is credited with by the Sardar's admirers. It was a sneaky and cynical act of consummation of a process that had been going on ever since independence, a process marked by twists and turns and periods of lying low and edging forward.
Consider the essential scenario:
Sikkim, a 'protectorate' inherited from the British, is brought closer to India by the unequal treaty of 1950. Its constitutional and political status is left indeterminate; its sovereignly open to interpretation. After 1954, the official maps published by the Government of India depart from British practice and begin to show not merely Sikkim, but even Bhutan, within India's borders. Notwithstanding this, the then Minister for External Affairs, M C Chagla, tells the Lok Sabha in 1967 that Sikkim is not part of India.[2] All the same, the maps continue to show the two Himalayan states within India - despite protests from these states. Meanwhile, India sends in its army and the Central Reserve Police; builds strategic highways; and promotes the penetration of Indian merchant and usurer's capital into the tiny Sikkimese economy.
Following the suppression of the popular movement in April 1973 and the tripartite agreement among the Government of India, the Chogyal and Kazi Lhendup Dorji, a new political and constitutional arrangement is worked out under the label of 'democratization'. As an outcome of a rigged election held in early 1974 - an election supervised by four battalions of the Indian Central Reserve Police and marked by blatant irregularities perpetuated by the candidates of the Sikkim National Congress - Kazi Lhendup Dorji, the feudal overlord of the Chakhung region, is manoeuvred into power. The election manifesto of the Sikkim Congress does not dare mention the issue of 'association' with India. Nor is the issue raised in any other form in the election campaign.
Through the tripartite agreement and the Government of Sikkim Act, 1974, a dictatorial constitution is imposed on the 'protectorate' by the Government of India. On May 11, 1974, the Assembly passes a resolution on new forms of association with India - a resolution sprung on the Assembly in cloak-and-dagger fashion. The resolution, drafted by an Indian 'legal expert' and in hardly comprehensible legal terminology is read out once, in a raging hurry, in English - which is, incidentally, not understood by 80 per cent of the Assemblymen. It is passed by a show of hands.[3]
Wrangle over 35th Amendment
Six of the 32 Assemblymen refuse to sign the resolution, and two Sikkim Congress members even resort to a hunger strike outside the Assembly gates to register their Gandhian protest.[4] Popular opinion in Sikkim is outraged. Former loyal supporters of the Sikkim Congress turn against their party, unable to take in so suddenly the enormity of the act of their leaders. Newspaper reports filtering through the heavy censorship show that prominent persons opposing the new association are harassed, roughed up, and kept virtually under house arrest; and that demonstrations against absorption are being broken up by the CRP and by goons engaged by the Government of India. The Government of India, of course, characterizes the demonstrations opposing absorption as 'pro-35th Amendment'.
The 35th Constitution Amendment Bill is passed with a road-roller majority in the Indian Parliament, with the MPs of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) alone voting against it. Sikkim is thus converted into an 'associate' of the Union of India and from now on, the Government of India is "responsible for securing the economic and social development of Sikkim and for ensuring good administration and for the maintenance of communal harmony therein!"
Sikkim's western neighbour, Nepal, protests strongly through its National Assembly; angry students and youth voice their rage on the streets and at the Indian Embassy in Katmandu. Ignoring the fact that nearly 75 per cent of Sikkim's population is Nepali in origin, the Government of India maintains, at first, that the developments in Sikkim are none of Nepal's business; then, in a delayed gesture of conciliation, that Nepal's fears have been allayed. Bhutan, Sikkim's eastern neighbour and newly admitted member of the United Nations, lets its displeasure be known, and makes it clear that the many Indian 'advisers' including the senior police official planted in the Bhutan administration by the Government of India need not come back once their terms are over, and are to be replaced by Bhutanese as soon as possible.[5]Reports extremely adverse to the Government of India's action appear in newspapers in the neighbouring Bangla Desh, Pakistan and Ceylon, and in most of the world's press.
Can any objective and honest-minded person disagree with China's People's Daily's characterization of this wretched and sordid affair as "a monologue produced and performed by the Indian government"?[6]
Land and People
Sikkim is a tiny Himalayan country covering 2818 square miles and situated to the north-east of India. Topographically, Sikkim is shaped like a roughly hewn amphitheater: the bowl of the amphitheater is formed by the Tcesta Valley in the south, and the steps of the amphitheater rise northwards towards the snowy ranges of the Himalayas and the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Sikkim is bounded on the west by Nepal, on the east by Bhutan, and on the south by the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. A narrow triangular projection of the Tibet Autonomous Region, known as the Chumbi Valley, extends between Sikkim and Bhutan, and has traditionally been Tibet's only means of communication with the southern region.
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Image credit: Bibliopolis
Tibet, Sikkim, Chumbi Valley and Bhutan
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While the area of Sikkim is tiny, its geographical-political position gives it considerable strategic importance. For Sikkim is a nest on the front line of India's border dispute with China. It is the gateway to Tibet, particularly to Lhasa and the other major towns, such as Gyantse and Yatung, of southern Tibet. The formidable wall formed by the northern Himalayan range is breached in three places in north-east Sikkim - at the Jelep La, the Nathu La, and the Cho La passes. Sikkim opens out in the south into what is known as the Siliguri corridor. This is the narrow neck of land that connects India with the north-eastern states, where even today many hill peoples are facing the brutality of the Indian Army and the CRP.
The entire population of Sikkim can be accommodated, with some difficulty, in a large modern international football stadium. Sikkim has a population of about 2 lakhs, compared with Bhutan's 11 lakhs and Nepal's 130 lakhs. The population of Sikkim is composed of three distinct nationalities. The first is the Lepchas who comprise 12 per cent of the population.
Their language is Sikkimese, a dialect of Tibetan. The second is the Tibetan speaking Bhutia nationality who are of Tibetan origin and make up 13 per cent of the population. The Nepalis are by far the numerically preponderant nationality in Sikkim, comprising nearly 73 per cent of the population.
Economy
The economy of Sikkim is based on feudal landlordism with a high concentration of ownership and a wide prevalence of rack-renting. This landlordism is dominated by the debauched petty tyrant, the Chogyal, and the Kazis, the hereditary feudal overlords. As in Tibet before the liberation, landlordism has imposed several extremely perverse forms of exploitation. The poor and middle peasantry of Sikkim groans under the weight of debt, usury, rack-renting and oppressive forms of land tenure, and all the material and moral deadweight of this archaic formation. Their daughters and wives are not infrequently molested and raped by the feudal overlords and their henchmen.
Rice is the staple cereal in the valley regions of Sikkim. In the higher regions, coarse foodgrains such as miliet, buckwheat and rye take the place of rice as the major foodcrop. In these regions, sheep, goats, cattle, yaks and mules help to support an undernourished population.
Basically, it is a system of subsistence agriculture imprisoned in a feudal cage. The tiny villages, with 15 to 20 houses, are cut off from one another and, since there is no modern transport or communication in most parts of Sikkim, are a few days' weary trudge to the capital. This isolation is particularly marked in the northern regions and in areas where the strategic needs of the Indian government have not yet made themselves felt.
This Himalayan stagnation has been penetrated, at first sporadically, and later more significantly, by commodity-money relations. The cultivation of cash crops such as cardamom, corn, apples, pineapples and potatoes has begun to make an impact on the economy. Cardamom is the most important cash crop, and sizable tracts of cardamom fields are already in the hands of the Kazis. The commodity is generally sold through commission agents to big Indian wholesalers, in Gangtok and the bazaar centres, who conduct a parasitical trade with the plains.
Indian Businessmen and Protectors
Symbolizing this lop-sided development, the huge gap between town and country, is the capital city, Gangtok, with its posh stone houses, its hotels, modern shops and liquor stores, predominantly owned by Indian merchants and moneylenders.[7] Swollen by the trappings of Indian bureaucracy and the Indian Army, Gangtok presents an especially vivid picture of the presence of the 'protectors'.
Sikkim has no industry worth mentioning, beyond small food-processing units and a distillery in the plains. There are also a few mines that work at scraping Sikkim's small zinc, lead and copper deposits. The promising power resources of this tiny country have not been developed, either by the British or by the successor Government of India. The transport system depends on a network of roads and highways that is chiefly geared to the requirements of the Indian Army. A few Indian-built bridges have replaced the swaying cradles of bamboo and cane which had served as bridges for centuries; cars and trucks have entered the field; and a small system of aerial cable ways has been constructed. The strategic highways such as the Natliu La-Gangtok Highway, built by the Government of India under Treaty of 1950; the North Sikkim Highway, built in 1962, linking Gangtok to the northern border areas, the nest of Tibetan 'refugees'; and a highway from Rangpo on the Indo-Sikkim border to Gangtok through Pakyang are the outcome of the Government of India's 'forward policy' in the area in relation to China, not of any serious developmental activity. Every heavy monsoon severely breaches Sikkim's modern communications system. The misery of the people on such occasions leaves a deep impression on every visitor.
Although official statistics put the annual per capita income of Sikkim around Rs 700 - and this is significantly higher than that of Bhutan or Nepal - this cannot conceal in any way the abysmal poverty, the disease and the backwardness that is the lot of the common people under the 'protection' of the Government of India. No visitor has failed to note the atrocious lack of elementary medical, sanitary and civic facilities. Diseases such as goitre, beri-beri and intestinal worms, which manifest themselves in acute anaemia, are rampant.
Sikkim in Modern Times
In its modern historical development, territory, economy, culture, psychological make-up and language, Sikkim has an identity that is sharply different from India. As we shall see the 'protectorate' status, was imposed on Sikkim by British imperialism - an imposition that was continued by the Government of India after 1947.
Both Bhutan and Sikkim were created out of the extension of the military-feudal power of the principal chiefs or governors of the adjoining areas. Sikkim was settled in the thirteenth century by the Lepchas, migrants from the Assam Hills which were then part of Tibet. It became a political entity in 1641, when, it is reported, the Lama of Lhasa, with the aid of two others, converted the people of Sikkim to the Buddhist faith and appointed 'Penchoo' Namgyal as the first king or Gyalpo.[8] The new kingdom established political relations with the Tibetan government which had all along regarded Sikkim as its vassal territory.
In the first three decades of the eighteenth century, Sikkim was subjected to invasions by warring Bhutanese, who plundered the settlements and carried off a few hundred inhabitants as slaves to Bhutan. In the last two decades of the eighteenth ccntury, the territorial integrity of Sikkim was once again threatened by foreign invasion - this time not merely by the Bhutanese warlords on the eastern frontier, but also by the Gurkhas on the western frontiers.
At that time, Sikkim was much larger in area than it is today. It included the present caitern section (Ilam district) of Nepal; and parts of the Chumbi Valley of present-day Tibet and of the Ha Valley of present-day Bhutan. Its southern frontier reached the Indian plains and included the Kalimpong and Darjeeling areas of India. Caught in a vice between two warring feudal states, Sikkim lost much of its territory to invaders in 1788 and 1789.
British Colonialism Gains Foothold
It was in the last decade of the eighteenth century that the British colonialists came into contact with Sikkim. They found that Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan were all in varying degrees of dependence upon, or allegiance to, China; and that Lhasa looked upon Sikkim as a Tibetan vassal state. Gradually, British colonial policy in the region took shape: Inevitably, the British saw such Tibetan - and hence indirectly Chinese - hegemony over these cis-Himalayan states as a challenge, potentially a menace, to their own position. The achievement of British policy through the nineteenth century was a reversal of the allegiance of the Himalayan states, in reality so far as Nepal was concerned, and in form as well in the cases of Bhutan and Sikkirn.[9]
Warren Hastings' interest in the Tibetan Himalayas looked expansively to piercing the mountain range and paving the way to trade between Bengal on the one hand and Tibet and the provinces of Central Asia on the other. The early explorations under Hasting particularly the missions of Bogle and Turner, established conclusively the value of the road to Lhasa that lay through Sikkim. "The British colonialists first acted following the expansion of the Gurkhas, for this development acted as a pretext for launching a policy that brought Sikkim effectively under British power."[10] The 'Gurkha War' of 1814 - 16 and the decisive defeat of the Gurkhas by a strong British force brought British India and China's Tibet into much closer physical contact. The peace treaty of Titalia in 1817 established the Nepal-Sikkim boundary to the satisfaction of British colonialism. Sikkim was now very close to becoming a British protectorate. In return for a British 'guarantee' against Gurkha raids, the Sikkimese authorities placed their foreign relations under a 'measure' of British control and promised British Indian merchants preferential treatment. The Treaty of Titalia was an ominous sign of things to come.
In 1835, the ruler of Sikkim was bullied into 'presenting' the hills of Darjeeling (then spelt Dorji-ling) to the East India Company, 'out of friendship' for the Governor-General, William Bentinck. All land south of the Rangit River was thus ceded to the British Government of India. The Government of India, in return, granted the ruler of Sikkim an allowance of Rs 3000 per year which was later raised to Rs 6000. Tibet, which had so far considered. Sikkim its vassal state, held the cession of Dorji-ling an illegal act by the Sikkim king.
Into Tibet through Sikkim
From 1841 - 42, with the shaping of a strongly expansionist policy towards Tibet - which aimed at forcing the dcmarcation of the Indo-Tibetan frontier along the lines of the Himalayan watershed - the British kept a brigand's watch on the Himalayan states.
In 1849, the alleged maltreatment of a pair of British officials travelling in Sikkim provided the pretext for the advance of British troops on Tumlung, then the capital of Sikkim; and for the assumption of effective control over much of the kingdom by the British Government of India.
By the early 1860s, with a tea industry dominated by British capital flourishing in Darjeeling, and with a growing interest in opening up Tibet for trade, the process of reversal of Sikkim's allegiance was completed. In 1861, the first official treaty between Sikkim and British India was signed. By this treaty, Sikkim, described officially as a 'protectorate' of British India, had to pay regular tribute to the Government of India. More important, it was formally opened up as a transit route to southern Tibet.
In 1888, alleged Tibetan incursions into Sikkim served as another pretext to the British for a 'punitive expedition' against Tibet. Following the success of the mission, the British Government of India appointed a Resident Political Officer to administer the affairs in collaboration with local officials. Thus, British imperialism gained complete control over Sikkim.
The status of Sikkim as a 'protectorate' was confirmed by the Anglo-Chinese Convention of 1890. This made Britain responsible for the conduct of Sikkim's internal and external affairs and disallowed Sikkim from having any official contact with other powers. The mountain passes became regular channels of imperialist trade with China's Tibet. They were also converted into military outposts for British India's official borders with China.
British imperialism, in the first decade of the twentieth century, tried to exercise its exclusive influence over Tibet. Curzon raised the bogey of a threat from Tsarist Russia to justify and cover up this 'forward policy', aimed at establishing a "chain of protectorates". The notorious Young husband Expedition of 1903-04 - which saw a strong British force proceed unopposed through the Jelep La, through the Chumbi Valley and into the Tibetan frontier post of Phari, and thereafter wade through blood to Tuna, then to Gyantse and finally to Lhassa to impose a brigand's terms on the Tibetans - demonstrate the strategic importance of Sikkim as a nest of operations against Tibet.
Indian Nationalist View, 1921
It was natural for British imperialism, anxious that the people of India should not be brought into any unsettling contact with either Russians or Chinese across the border, to follow such a policy; it was equally natural for nationalist-minded Indians to see in Britain's attempts to consolidate India's borders nothing but measures to confirm their own subjection.[11] A little known fact in this connection is that in 1921, the All India Congress Committee resolved that the Government of India's policy in no way represents Indian opinion and that their policy has been traditionally guided by considerations more of holding India in subjection than of protecting her borders; that India as a self-governing country can have nothing to fear from the neighbouring states or any state as her people have no designs on them ... and that the people of India regard most treaties entered into with the Imperial Government by neighbouring States as mainly designed by the latter to perpetuate the exploitation of India by the Imperial Power, and would therefore urge the States having no ill will against the people of India, and having no desire to injure her interests, to refrain from entering into any treaty with the Imperial Power.[12]
Most emphatically, this exhortation was to the people of Sikkim as much as to the people of Bhutan, Nepal and other neighbours of India. But gradually, the attitude of the Congress Party and the big bourgeoisie in India towards the frontier with China changed. As the transfer of power drew near, the Congress leaders made it clear that independent India would continue the British policy so far as the northern borders were concerned.
Showing True Colours in Lhasa
In JuIy 1947, following the fears expressed by the reactionary authorities in Lhasa, the British government and the Government of India issued formal statements that on transfer of power, British obligations and rights under existing treaties with Tibet would devolve on the successor Government of India; and that it was hoped the Tibetan government would continue with the successor Government of India the same relations it had with the British Government of India.[13] The government of independent India showed its readiness to take over from Britain the 'right' to station an Indian Political Agent at Lhasa, to maintain trade agencies at Gyantse, Gartok and Yatung, as well as post and telegraph offices along the trade route up to Gyantse, and for protection of this commercial highway, the 'right' to station a small military escort at Gyantse. True, these 'rights' were based on 'established practice' and treaties. But the Govern- ment of India's action in laying claim to them went directly against the letter and spirit of the 1921 resolution, which specifically called upon subject peoples to repudiate unequal treaties.
On August 15, 1947, the British Mission in Lhasa was formally converted into the Indian Mission in Lhasa. The last British representative in Lhasa, H E Richardson, was retained as India's representative. In his book, Tibet and Its History, this notorious schemer against China's suzerainty over Tibet noted the transformation thus: "The change was almost imperceptible. The existing staff was retained in its entirety and the only obvious change was the change of flag."[14] In mid-1949, the Tibetan reactionaries expelled the Chinese Mission from Lhasa, stating that they feared that the Chinese were becoming Communist. The Government of India responded favourably to the Tibetan authorities' appeal for arms and ammunition. High-ranking military officers of the Indian Army were sent to Tibet for negotiations, and towards the end of 1949, the Government of India sent its Political Officer in Sikkim on a not-so-secret mission to Lhasa.[15]
Buffer against Chinese Revolution
Some months before the complete victory of the Chinese Revolution, its leaders were strongly denouncing the Government of India's interference in Tibet. An article in World Culture[16] pointed out that in a situation where U S imperialism, in the wake of its operations for the seizure of markets in the Far East, began actively to participate in the aggression against Tibet and to send spies and saboteurs into that region, it was deplorable that British imperialism and the Government of India declared in unison that Tibet never acknowledged China's suzerainty.
Later on, in 1959, the Government of the People's Republic of China was to charge openly that Indian reactionaries were hand in glove with the Tibetan counter-revolutionaries; that they encouraged the rebellious activities against China's suzerainty over Tibet; and that, in fact, the command centre of the rebel-lion was in Kalimpong.[17]
More recently, Nepal's Home Minister has charged some "powerful and rich countries which have their interest in the region" of having, in the past, assisted Khampa 'rebel' tribesmen (who had taken shelter in Mustang District in Nepal) to create a problem in the kingdom's northern region.[18] The Government of India is, by implication, held guilty. Nepali press reports have let it out that the 'Khampa problem' - which means, primarily, guerrilla war waged against the Chinese power in Tibet - originated not with the flight of the Dalai Lama in 1959, but in 1952 - 53. They have revealed that using New Delhi as a base, an MP from Andhra Pradesh, Dr Lankasundaram organized with American assistance a group comprising Palden Thondup Namgyal (now Chogyal of Sikkim), Kazi Lhendup Dorji (now Chief Minister of Sikkim), one Kamal Sharma of Patna and others including Tsering, a Tibetan trader, to conduct counterrevolutionary activities against China's Tibet. The activities of this group, which in the initial stages was confined to collecting and taking photographs of Chinese military installations, airstrips, petrol and ammunition dumps, artillery posts, barracks and major bridges, were later expanded to include the provision of money and photographic material to the Tibetan rebels, and the smuggling of arms and ammunition into Tibet.
India and Sikkim: Nehru's Policy
Such, then, is the sordid responsibility on the northern frontiers that the government of independent India inherited from the British and tried to uphold as best as it could. There can be no reasonable doubt that Nehru's government sought, until the final crushing of the serf-owners' rebellion in 1959, to maintain an independent or autonomous Tibet as a 'buffer' against the Chinese Revolution, a lesson deeply learnt from British imperialism.[19]
Such a policy was doomed to fail ignominously, for as Neville Maxwell observes, with the end of British rule on the subcontinent and with the emergence of the People's Republic of China with a strong centralized authority, "the advantage would lie north of the Himalayas, not south. This change was demonstrated and confirmed by China's reassertion of her authority in Tibet.[20]
The government of independent India has long tried to negotiate the Sikkim Tibet border with People's China, making the 1890 Convention as the basis. China has consistently refused to negotiate these boundaries with the Government of India, for it considers Sikkim an independent country illegally annexed by India. Nevertheless, the Government of India has steadily tightened its grip over little Sikkim, a process which has culminated in its present absorption as an 'associate'.
The year 1947 saw great unrest among the people of Sikkim. Crushed by feudal oppression, the suffering people of all the three nationalities began to see their enemy in the hated regime of the Chogyal. The movement that grew out of this discontent demanded the abolition of landlordism and the formation of an Assembly as a precursor to representative government,
Nehru, then a member of the interim Indian cabinet, met the Maharajkumar (the present Chogyal) and other representatives of the Sikkim Durbar in January 1947. The policy that the Government of India was to follow in the area began to take shape: Retain Sikkim as a 'protectorate' and suppress ruthlessly the democratic rights of the Sikkim people. Prop up the Chogyal, the Kazis, and all the reactionary socio-economic and political forces represented by them for as long a time as possible. At the same time, cow down the leaders of the popular movement outside the palace walls. Keep the militancy of these movements in check by installing in their midst leaders who would shout "Closer Ties with the Government of India" and declare that such a demand reflects the will of the people of Sikkim.
Despite the opportunism of some leaders of the popular movement in the immediate post-1947 period, the militancy of the masses spelt evil for the Government of India. On May 1, 1949, a crowd of over 5000 people stormed the palace at Gangtok. The Indian Army descended on the crowd, cruelly beating and injuring them, and broke through to rescue a terrified Chogyal.
Unequal Treaty, 1950
The 'police action' of 1949 paved the way for the Sikkim Treaty of 1950.[21] While the treaty began by declaring all the earlier agreements of India and Sikkim null and void, it stated in its second article that "Sikkim will retain the position of Protectorate." The unequal treaty made India entirely responsible for the conduct of Sikkim's military affairs. Except for a small decorative bodyguard for the Chogyal, Sikkim was not allowed to keep any forces or buy any weaponry. The Government of India was specifically given the right to station troops anywhere in Sikkim. (By virtue of this provision, India has an active division, the 17th Mountain Division, apart from troops of the 4th Corps with its Headquarters in Siliguri, and troops of the Eastern Command with its Headquarters in Calcutta, stationed in Sikkim. There is another mountain division in Kalimpong, also used for manoeuvres in Sikkim.) Sweeping powers were given to the Indian Police to pursue any person unhindered into any part of Sikkim; and to the Government of India to try any person in its service or any foreigner regardless of the procedure established by law in Sikkim. The treaty disallowed Sikkim from maintaining any official contact, formal or informal, with any foreign power. India was made solely responsible for the communication system of Sikkim. The treaty banned the imposition by Sikkim of any levy on goods from India. As if these were not enough, the internal administration was to be managed by an IAS Officer nominated jointly by the Government of India and the Chogyal.
The treaty, which robbed the people of Sikkim of their right to manage their own affairs, was crowned by the provision that in the event of any dispute arising in its interpretation, "the dispute shall be referred to the Chief Justice of India whose decision thereon shall be final."
Popular Movement, 1973
Between 1957 and 1973, five elections were staged in Sikkim, in which the people of Nepali origin were effectively denied their right to participate. In any case, the resultant Assemblies had only a decorative role to play. The movement of last year was an expression of the extreme dissatisfaction of the people with the cruelties of the socio-economic system perpetuated by the Chogyal, the Kazis and the Government of India, and with the lack of any democratic forum in which to express their political aspirations.
In April 1973, people all over Sikkim converged on Gangtok where they determined to depose the Chogyal. The arrogance of the Chogyal's trigger-happy son, who went to the Gangtok market in a jeep and shot at random at the rebel crowds, increased their fury. At this time, the Indian Army and the CRP were mobilized in a big way to see that the rebellion did not get out of hand. Where a mere show of arms did not cow down the people, Indian troops tear-gassed and brutally beat up the heavily outnumbered and unprepared crowds.
The leadership of the movement at this stage passed into the hands of Kazi Lhendup Dorji. Immediately after the rebellion was suppressed, and following the tripartite agreement, it was announced that Sikkim would hold fresh elections in early 1974. The new 32-memher Assembly was to have 15 members from the Lepcha-Bhutia nationalities; 15 from the Nepali nationality; one from the Budhist Sangha and one from the Scheduled Castes. Once these reservations were made, elections were to be held on a one-man-one-vote basis. Secondly, the Government of India was to appoint a 'legal expert' to draft a new constitution for Sikkim.
In the elections, the Sikkim Congress was declared elected with an overwhelming majority, and Kazi Lhendup Dorji became the leader of Assembly and the Chief Minister of Sikkim. How this mandate was won was exposed in the Indian parliament:
One Member of the Sikkim Assembly, under the age of eligibility, was elected in the name of his dead brother. A girl, aged 21, a student of Kalimpong College, was also elected despite being under age. Apart from these irregularities, there was open rigging of the elections, with four battalions of the Central Reserve Police bullying the people of Sikkim in the villages. The protest raised by the group of United Independents (who later formed the Sikkim Prajatantra Party) with the Election Commissioner was imperiously overruled.[22]
How does the Government of India justify this blatant and ugly violation of the right of the Sikkim people to manage their own affairs?
Let us examine its main arguments.
'Autonomy Preserved'
According to the Government of India's spokesmen, Sikkim still retains its 'autonomy' or 'personality'[23] for all that has been done is to bring it 'closer to the Union' by giving it 'associate' instead of 'protectorate' status. The dictatorial powers given to the Chief Executive Officer and the manner in which the affairs of the Assembly have been conducted give the lie to this claim.
If the treaty of 1950 was 'a grossly unequal one', by the Government of Sikkim Act, 1974 and the 35th Constitution Amendment Bill, the Government of India has bound Sikkim hand and foot. By the provisions of the Government of Sikkim Act, 1974,[24] the head of the administration in Sikkim is the Chief Executive nominated by the Government of India and appointed by the Chogyal [Section 28 (3)]. The Chief Executive has been vested with all powers to ensure "compliance with any decisions taken or orders or directions issued by the Government of India in the due discharge of its responsibilities" [Section 28 (3)]. In the event of a difference of opinion with the Chogyal "in respect of any matter ... the decision of the Government of India shall he final" [Section 29 (2)]. The Chief Executive is the President of the Assembly and performs all the functions of the Speaker [Section 13 (1)]. The Chief Minister and the other Ministers are appointed by the Chogyal "on the advice of the Chief Executive" [Article 25 (1)]. The Chief Executive has the power to veto legislation covering finance, home, minorities and relations between the Chogyal and the Sikkim government. The subjects on which the Assembly may "discuss, make recommendations or make laws" are carefully specified so as to exclude the effective management of even Sikkim's internal affairs.
'Will of the People'
The Government of India claims that the absorption of Sikkim 'reflects the true aspirations of the Sikkim people' as expressed through the Assembly. Certainly, this is a cruel joke played on the people of Sikkim. Like every regime that carries on its anti-democratic designs on another people, the Government of India does so in the name of 'protecting and extending democracy'.
The Congress government's claims of protecting democracy in Sikkim are open to question: It does not lie in the mouth of the Government of India to talk of responding to the democratic urges of another people. It was this government which had used MISA against its political opponents, arrested large numbers of striking railwaymen, and even physically liquidated hundreds of political opponents in recent years.[25]
The main aspiration of the people of Sikkim is the abolition of landlordism and the hated institution of the Chogyal and the Kazis. In the name of meeting the aspirations of the people, the Government of India has given the feudal institutions of the Choyal and the Kazis a fresh lease of life and has swallowed up Sikkim's national identity.
Refusing to Learn from History
The 'forward policy' of Nehru stands discredited in the eves of the people of India and in the eyes of people all over the world. That policy, pursued with historic incompetence and muddleheadedness in the period 1960 - 62, ended in a war with People's China and an unprecedented military and political debacle in the later half of 1962.[26] The Indian ruling classes have not learnt from the judgment that history has passed on the northern frontier policy and on their stance in the border dispute with China. It is as though the 'forward policy' after years of lying in wait and building up forces has been sneaked up again, against China's frontiers, this time between the Aksai Chin region and the McMahon Line. Once again, the calculation seems to be that China (not to mention the two other Himalayan states) will not be in a position to do anything about it.
The ruling Congress and the Jana Sangh have expressed themselves on this question with vicious chauvinism and arrogance. The Right Communist Party, the DMK, the ADMK, the Congress (0) and various other parties have taken an opportunist stand on this vital question. The Right Communist Party, playing its familiar role of courtier to the lady, even heralds the absorption of Sikkim as "a step towards democratization and anti-imperialism."[27] Among the major political parties, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) alone has spoken out against this latest act of folly by the Congress government.
It will not be long before the people of Sikkim, dispelling the climate of fear and illusion that the Government of India, the Chogyal, and Kazi Lhendup Dorji are trying to sustain, will begin their serious resistance. In absorbing this little Himalayan country, the Congress government of Mrs Indira Gandhi has sown an evil wind in the northern frontier region. It must now wait to reap its international and internal consequences.
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[1] [This paper was published in 'Social Scientist' Vol. 3, No. 26, September 1974. We found it intensely interesting in current Nepalese political context also. - Editor]
[2] Cited in Neville Maxwell, India's China War, enlarged edition, Jaico Publishing House, Bombay 1971 (with a new postscript), p 83.
[3] Letter from K N Uprety, Representative for Gangtok, SikkirnYouth Congress, published in The Statesman, Calcutta, September 5, 1974.
[4] Ibid.
[5] See report, "Bhutan Against Appointment of New Indian Advisers", The Hindu, September1974; also report, "Bhutan Asserts Its Independence", Everyman's (weekly), September 21, 1974.
[6] 5 People's Daily, quoted in report, "China Criticises Sikkim Bill," The Hindu, September 4, 1974.
[7] 6 Indian, chiefly Marwari, moneylenders and traders began to establish themselves in Sikkim from 1904. Their usurious rates ranged from 37.5 per cent to over 100 per cent. Over the years, a growing section of the people of Sikkim have fallen into their clutches. For the arrival of this class of parasites in Sikkim, see Charles Bell, Tibet Past and Present, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1924, p 262.
[8] For our information on this and on political developments in Sikkim till the advent of British colonialism, we have mainly relied on the account provided in The Himalayan Kingdoms: Bhutan, Sikkim and Nepal by Pradyumna P Karan and William M Jenkins Jr, D Van Nostrand Company, Princeton 1963. This hook, viciously biased against People's China and absurdly flattering to the Government of India, is itself an indication of the US imperialist interest in Sikkim.
[9] Maxwell, op. cit., p 37, emphasis added.
[10] For our information on this, and the general British colonial policy in the area, we have relied upon Britain amd Chinese Central Asia: The Road to Lhasa 1767 to 1905 by Alastair Lamb, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London 1960; and also on the books hy Charles Bell and Maxwell cited above. Lamb's is a useful study, but can by no means be considered anti-imperialist, or sympathetic to the subject peoples of the area. Maxwell's penetrating and, indeed, startlingly original study suffers nevertheless from his inability or unwillingness to indict British imperialism in relation to its policy in the area.
[11] Maxwell, op. cit., p 67.
[12] Quoted by Gunnar Myrdal, Asian Drama: An Enquiry into the Poverty of Nations, Vol I, Pantheon, New York 1968, p 181.
[13] See H E Richardson, Tibet and Its History, OUP, London 1962, p 173
[14] Ibid., p 173.
[15] Ibid., p 178.
[16] Published in Shanghai, September 9, 1949, quoted by Girilal Jain, Panchsheela and After : A Reappraisal of Sino-Indian Relations in the Context of the Tibetan Insurrection, Asia Publishing House, Bombay 1960, p 7.
[17] New China News Agency (NCNA), March 28, 1959, quoted in Jain, op. cit., p 87.
[18] Brahmanand Mishra, "Nepal: Who Armed the Khampas?", Economic and Political Weekly, September 7, 1974, pp 1531 and 1533.
[19] Charles Bell, Political Officer in Gangtok, drove home this lesson thus in 1924: "In Tibet also we had an ideal barrier against Bolshevist influence ... Chinese soldiers, stationed in Mongolia, had been found to be infected with Bolshevism. If China reoccupied Tibet, their troops ... might well form a focus of Bolshevist intrigue against India." (Bell, op. cit., p 191). Writing 35 years later, but from the other side, Anna Louise Strong makes the same point: "... when songs of jubilee spread across Tibet, nothing remained (for India] but to slam that door shut by a physical and emotional storm." (China Reconstructs, March 1960 quoted in Jain, op. cit., p 224).
[21] See the CPI (M) Central Committee statement "On Sikkim", and the report, "The Unequal Treaty -and Now the Absorption", in People's Democracy, Calcutta, September 15, 1974.
[22] Rajya Sabha Proceedings, New Delhi, September 7, 1974; Speech by Mathew Kurian of the CPI (M).
[23] See Swaran Singh's statement in the Rajya Sabha, The Mail, September 7, 1974.
[24] See the report in People's Democracy, op. cit.
[25] Speech by Samar Mukherjee of the CPI (M) in the Lok Sabha, reported in the Indian Express, September 5, 1974.
[26] This story has been convincingly and most readably told by Maxwell in his book cited above, especially pp 173 - 288 and Postscript, pp 447 - 466.
[27] Speech by Bhogendra Jha of the CPI in the Lok Sahha, reported in the Indian Express, September 5, 1974.
KING BIRENDRA HAD REJECTED INDIAN PROPOSAL FOR SECURITY, WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, INDUSTRY AND COMMERECE
Posted by The Himalayan Voice:
[ This morning we post below a 'secret draft proposal' forwarded by the Government of India to then His Majesty's Government of Nepal for security, water resource management and industry and commerce also. The slain King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev is reported to have rejected this proposal. For that matter, Nepalese people should heartily thank the slain king. The proposal, though soft in language, is extremely cruel and dangerous in substance and meaning. Had the King told his men to sign on the proposal, Nepal's military would have been paralyzed, sovereignty and independence would have been compromised, ownership of water resource would have been lost and big Indian business houses would have swallowed up Nepalese business entrepreneurs etc. Although, The Himalayan Voice received the draft proposal from a credible source in Kathmandu, it has no independent corroboration for it. Posted for discussion only as, there are these days loud talks in Kathmandu or elsewhere that Nepal in Bhutan's shoes is morphing into a present day Sikkim. - Editor]
***
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King Birendra
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Agreement between the Government of India and His Majesty's Government of Nepal on Mutual Cooperation,
The Government of India and His Majesty's Government of Nepal (hereinafter also referred to as the Contracting Parties),
Recalling the unique, age-old and traditional friendship between the peoples the peoples of India and Nepal based on the bonds of history, geography and of shared social and cultural values,
Reaffirming their adherence to the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the Governments of India and Nepal of 1950, which has ever since been and remains the cornerstone of Indo-Nepal relations,
Keen to sustain and further strengthen the bonds of friendship, good neighbourliness and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries and peoples,
Determined to strengthen economic cooperation between them.
Desiring to develop their economics in their own and common interest.
Convinced of the benefits of mutual sharing of scientific and technical knowledge and experience to promote trade between them, have agreed as follows:
Part- I
Treatment of Each Other's Nationals in Their Respective Territories
Article I
Subject to such exceptions as may be mutually agreed upon, the Contracting Parties undertake not to enact and to repeal any laws, rules, regulations, and Government orders which restrict the rights and privilege of the nationals of one Contracting Party in the territory of the other in matters of residence, ownership of property, employment, participation in trade and commerce, movement, participation in industrial and economic development of such territory and the grant of concessions and contracts relating to such development and other privileges of a similar nature as enjoined by the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the Government of India and the Government of Nepal of 1950 and the Letters exchanged along with the Treaty.
Article II
Each Contracting party shall have the freedom to bring to the notice of the other any laws, rules, regulations, and Government orders of the other Contracting Party which may restrict such rights and privileges of its nationals in the territory of the other.
Part- II
Defence Cooperation
Article I
In the interest of strengthening their defence capabilities, the Contracting Parties have agreed to cooperate with each other in the military field. To this end, His Majesty's Government of Nepal shall consult and enter into suitable Protocols with the Government of India concerning the acquisition by Nepal of arms, ammunition and other materials and equipment necessary for the security of Nepal.
Article II
Such cooperation between the Contracting Parties in the military field shall include assistance by the Government of India by providing arms ammunition, other materials and equipment and in coordinating training for the raising of additional formations and units for the Royal Nepalese Army, on the basis of the details to be mutually determined by the representatives of the Contracting Parties.
Article III
The cooperation between the Contracting Parties in the military field shall also include cooperation in the training of Nepalese Armed Forces personnel.
Article IV
The Contracting Parties undertake not to enter into any military alliance with any other State against each other. His Majesty's Government of Nepal, in this respect, agree mentioned in Articles I to III above with any other State or organisation without prior consultations and agreement with the Government of India.
Article V
The arrangements envisaged in Articles I to IV above shall have no bearing on the independent foreign policy of either Contracting Party.
Part- III
(Agreed Articles on Trade to be included ion this Part)
Part- IV
(Agreed Articles on Transit to be included in this Part)
Part- V
Cooperation to Control Unauthorised Trade
(Agreed Articles on Cooperation to control Unauthorised Trade to be included in this Part).
Part- VI
Economic Industrial and Water Resources Cooperation
Article I
In the traditional spirit of friendly cooperation between India and Nepal and for the benefit and welfare of the people of Nepal, the Government of India undertake to provide, at the request of His Majesty's Government of Nepal, such developmental assistance as may be mutually determined by the Contracting Parties from time to time.
Article II
Should His Majesty's Government of Nepal decide to seek foreign assistance for the development of the natural resources of Nepal or for any industrial project in Nepal, they shall give first preference to the Government or the nationals of India, as the case may be, provided that the terms offered by the Government of India or Indian nationals as the case may be, are not less favourable to Nepal than the terms offered by any other State or its nationals or by any international organisation or agency.
Article III
The two Contracting Parties being equally desirous of attaining complete and satisfactory utilisation of the waters of the commonly shared rivers, undertake to (i) plan new uses or projects subjects to the Secret protection of the existing uses on the rivers and (ii) cooperate with each other to formulate and modify the planned new uses or projects taking into consideration the water requirements of the parties.
Article IV
The Contracting Parties agree jointly to plan, construct and manage projects of mutual benefit. In this regard, the involvement of a third party, where felt to be necessary and in the common interest, shall be subject top mutual consent.
Part- VII
Final Clauses
Article I
To facilitate the effective and harmonious implementation of this Agreement, the Contracting Parties shall consult each other regularly, and review the implementation of this Agreement, within the forum of India-Nepal Joint Commission. They shall meet for this purpose at least once in twelve months.
Article II
For the purpose of this Agreement, the various parts specified therein are inter-related and shall be considered as a whole
Article III
Part I of this Agreement shall remain in force for the same duration of time for which the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the government of India and the government of Nepal of 1950 shall be in force.
Part II of the Agreement shall remain in force for a period of ten years and it may be renewed for further periods of ten years by mutual consent, subject to such modifications as may be agreed upon.
Part III of the Agreement shall remain in force for a period of _________________years and it may be renewed for further periods of _____________________ years by mutual consent, subject to such modifications as may be agreed upon.
Part IV of the Agreement shall remain in force for a period of ______________________ years and it may be renewed for further periods of _____________________ years by mutual consent, subject to such modifications as may be agreed upon.
Part V of the Agreement shall remain in force for a period of ______________________ years and it may be renewed for further periods of _____________________ years by mutual consent, subject to such ,modifications as may be agreed upon.
Part VI of the Agreement shall remain in force for a period of _______________________ years and it may be renewed for further periods of _________________ years by mutual consent, subject to such modifications as may be agreed upon.
Article IV
This Agreement shall come into force on ____________ 1950 and remain valid for the same duration of time for which the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the Government of India and the Government of Nepal of 1950 shall be in force.
Done at Kathmandu on __________ day of _____________ One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety in two originals each in Hindi, Nepali and English languages all of them being equally authentic. In case of doubt the English text shall prevail.
For His Majesty's Government For the Government
of Nepal of India
_________________________
Frequent and often loud talks of Nepal's 'Bhutanization' and eventually 'Sikkimization' are being heard these days down here also. Will that really happen ? Will India, a country that promotes democracy in the region, really do so ?
As the US, India also has suffered severe Islamist attacks or so to say, is very much worried about its homegrown Islamists. Nepal has open border with India and lax security system frankly. But, I do not think India would do that anytime soon. Should Nepal fail to hold November 19 elections, the situation might become even worse and challenging certainly !
________________________________________________________________
" There shall be everlasting peace and friendship between the Government of India and the Government of Nepal. The two Governments agree mutually to acknowledge and respect the complete sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of each other,"
Whereas:
_________________________________________
" Sikkim shall continue to be a protectorate of India and subject to the provisions of this , Treaty shall enjoy autonomy m regards to Its Internal affairs. "
Indo-Bhutan Friendship Treaty of 1949 Article 2 also reads:
_______________________________________
"The Government of India undertakes to exercise no interference in the internal administration of Bhutan.On its part the Government of Bhutan agrees to be guided by the advice of the Government of India in regard to its external relations."
"In keeping with the abiding ties of close friendship and cooperation between Bhutan and India, the Government of the Kingdom of Bhutan and the Government of the Republic of India shall cooperate closely with each other on issues relating to their national interests. Neither Government shall allow the use of its territory for activities harmful to the national security and interest of the other."
A tough resistance will follow if Nepal's "complete sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence" are not respected ! At how many fronts will India fight?
The Gorkhas or Nepalese have a glorious history of service and sacrifice for the cause of their motherland.
AS FUEL RUNS OUT NEPALESE ETHNO-FEDERALISTS BACK DOWN
Posted by The Himalayan Voice:
[Are the Nepalese ethno-federalists backing down because they have run out of fuel ? The news report from Kathmandu posted below reads so. Were those federalists apparently pushing hard but from donor agencies back that included prestigious Carter Center also ? What is the reality on the ground ? But a noted sociologist Prof. Krishna Bahadur Bhattachan has disapproved of this accusation. What The Himalayan Voice believes also in is that Nepal enter into a federal government system to ensure fundamental rights to everyone in the country but has always disfavored ethno-federalism which would be a complex problem for Nepal to resolve.- Editor]
दाताले हात झिक्दा हराउँदै जातीय पहिचानकोमुद्दा
[आदिवासी जनजाति आन्दोलनलाई आइनजीओ/एनजीओले सोत्तर पारेको स्वयं महासंघ नेतृत्व गरेका निवर्तमान अध्यक्ष लेखि र वर्तमान अध्यक्ष नागेन्द्र कुमाल स्वीकार्छन। 'आइएनजीओ/एनजीओले आन्दोलन उठ्नसकेको छैन। त्यस्तो हुन नदिन हामी छलफलमा जुटेका छौं', अध्यक्ष कुमालले भने। लेखि र कुमालको स्वीकारयुक्तिप्रति अर्का पूर्व अध्यक्ष पासाङ शेर्पा सहमत छैनन्। शेर्पाले भने– 'नेतृत्वमा भर पर्छ। म अध्यक्ष हुँदा पनि आइएनजीओ थिएन।']
लेखक उजिर मगर
काठमाडौं - नेपाल आदिवासीजनजाति महासंघले मंगलबारआयोजना गरेकोमोटरसाइकल र्यालीमासहभागी उल्लेख्य न्यूनदेखिए। '१९ औं विश्वआदिवासी दिवस'पूर्वसन्ध्यामा आयोजितर्यालीमा सहभागिताकोन्यूनता हेरेर आदिवासीजनजातिको मूल मुद्दा 'जातीयपहिचान' कमजोर बन्दै गएकोटिप्पणी सम्बद्धअभियानकर्ताहरूले गरेकाछन्।
संविधानसभा विघटन हुनु तीन दिनअघि चर्किएको जातीय पहिचानसहितको संघीयतायतिबेला लगभग शून्य छ। दिवसको अवसर पारेर ती मुद्दाहरूलाई पुनः ब्युँत्याउन खोजिएपनि त्यसले कुनै जनमत तयार गर्न सकेको छैन। बरु, आदिवासी जनजातिका मुद्दालाई'आइएनजिओ, एनजिओ' हुँदा मात्र चर्काइने अगुवाहरूबीच आरोप–प्रत्यारोप छ।
२०६६ मा महासंघमा आएको १२ करोड रुपैयाँ बेलायती सरकार सहयोग नियोग (डिफिड) लेएकाएक फिर्ता लियो। १२ करोड फिर्ताको संस्मरण गर्दै तत्कालीन अध्यक्ष राजकुमारलेखीले नागरिकसँग भने, 'जातीय पहिचानको आन्दोलन अघि बढाउनुपर्ने। डिफिडलाईसोधेर मात्रै उसैको योजनामा आन्दोलन गर्नेलगायत सर्त नमान्दा १२ करोड फिर्ता भएकोहो।'
१२ करोड फिर्तालगत्तै युरोपियन युनियन, विभिन्न राष्ट्रका राजदूतहरूले जातीय पहिचानकोमुद्दा उठाउन अनेक प्रयत्न गरेको लेखीले स्विकारे। 'शक्तिशाली राष्ट्रका नेपालस्थित राजदूत,अमेरिकी संस्था स्कोर, कार्टर सेन्टर, युरोपियन युनियनले जातीय पहिचानका लागि लबिङगर्न बेस्सरी दबाब दिए, मैले स्विकारिनँ,' उनले भने।
'जातीय समस्याको समाधान जातीय होइन भन्ने मेरो प्रस्ट मान्यता हो। म त्यसबाट पछिहटिनँ। मैले पहिचानको राज्य स्थापित हुनुपर्छ भनेको हुँ। संघीयता एउटा जातिको होइन,सबै भाषा, संस्कृति, समुदायको हुनुपर्छ भन्दा सबैले आलोचना गरे', उनले भने। खस भाषा,हिन्दु धर्म, दौरासुरुवाल र अलंकार नै जातिवाद भएकाले त्यसविरुद्ध जातीय राज्यलेसमाधान नदिने लेखीको जिकिर छ।
डिफिडले १२ करोड फिर्ता लिएपछि आदिवासी जनजातिका सबै बुद्धिजीवीले आफूलाईआलोचना गरेको अनुभव उनले सुनाए। आदिवासी जनजातिका बुद्धिजीवीको ठूलो जमातडिफिडमा पुगेर गोरखा भूतपूर्व सैनिक संघ (गेसो) मार्फत उक्त १२ करोडको कार्यक्रम गर्नेप्रस्ताव गरेका थिए।
१२ करोडपछि आदिवासी जनजाति महिला महासंघ, आदिवासी वकिलहरुको सञ्जाल(लाहुर्निप), आदिवासी एनजिओहरुको सञ्जाल 'एनजिओ फोनिन'बाट लगानी भए।उनीहरूले एकल जातीय मुद्दामा पैरवी गरे। एकल जातीय मुद्दा उठाउन अहिलेआइएनजीहरुले केही पुराना आइएनजीओमा काम गरेका व्यक्ति, संस्था मार्फत कार्यक्रमपरिचालन भइरहेको स्रोतले बतायो।
आदिवासी जनजाति आन्दोलनलाई आइनजीओ/एनजीओले सोत्तर पारेको स्वयं महासंघनेतृत्व गरेका निवर्तमान अध्यक्ष लेखि र वर्तमान अध्यक्ष नागेन्द्र कुमाल स्वीकार्छन।'आइएनजीओ/एनजीओले आन्दोलन उठ्न सकेको छैन। त्यस्तो हुन नदिन हामीछलफलमा जुटेका छौं', अध्यक्ष कुमालले भने। लेखि र कुमालको स्वीकारयुक्तिप्रति अर्कापूर्व अध्यक्ष पासाङ शेर्पा सहमत छैनन्। शेर्पाले भने– 'नेतृत्वमा भर पर्छ। म अध्यक्ष हुँदापनि आइएनजीओ थिएन।'
विगठित संविधानसभामा आदिवासी जनजाति सभासद्हरूको 'ककस' गठनमा मूख्यभूमिका निर्वाह गरेका शेर्पाले भने संविधानसभामा ७० लाख रुपैया खर्च भएको स्वीकार्छन।जुन रकम आइडिया इन्टरनेशनल र युएनडिपीले सहयोग गरेको शेर्पाले बताए। अर्कोरमाइलो पक्ष के छ भने उक्त ७० लाख पासाङको समुदाय तोप्केगोला समाज सेवा समितिकोखाताबाट सञ्चालन भएको छ।
ककसका संयोजक रहेका एमाले पोलिटव्युरो सदस्य पृथ्वी सुब्बा गुरूङले आइएनजीओबाटजातीय मुद्दा उठाएको स्वीकार गर्न तयार भएनन्। 'हामीलाई बद्नाम गर्न त्यस्तो भनिएकोहो', गुरूङले भने। ककसलाई आइडिया इन्टरनेशनल र युएनडिपीको सहयोग किन गर्योत? भन्ने जिज्ञासामा उनले केही बताएनन्।
यतिबेला एकल जातीय पहिचानको मुद्दामा बढि पैरवी गर्ने लाहुर्निप देखिएको छ।लाहुर्निपमा आबद्ध समाजशास्त्री डा.कृष्णबहादुर भट्टचनले आइएनजीओबाट आन्दोलनसञ्चालन भएको स्वीकारेनन्। एनजीओको पैसा आउँदा मात्रै आन्दोलन देखिने जिज्ञासामाभट्टचनले भने– 'अब आन्दोलन उठ्छ। मधेस उठि सक्यो। आइएनजीओले पैसा दिएर मात्रैआन्दोलन उठ्छ भन्ने गलत तर्क हो।'
एनजीओबाट जातीय मुद्दा उठाउँदा भावनामा मात्र उठ्ने गरेको महासंघका पूर्व महासचिवपरशुराम तामाले स्वीकारे। 'विचार, सिद्धान्तबाट निर्देशित जातीय मुद्दा सहि ठाउँमा उठेकाछन्। तर, आइएनजीओ/एनजीओबाट उठ्ने मुद्दा भावनात्मक हुन्छन। त्यो प्रवृत्तिआदिवासी जनजाति आन्दोलनमा हावी छ', तामाङले भने।
आदिवासी जनजाति आन्दोलनलाई नजिकबाट हेरिरहेका समाजशास्त्री झोकेन्द्र घर्ति मगरलेभने– 'अवसरवादी, उपयोगितावादी र आइएनजीओ/आइएनजीओका अवसरवादीहरुलेवास्तविक आदिवासी जनजातिको मुद्दा उठे पनि समाधान हुन सकेका छैनन्।' टाँठाबाठाआदिवासी जनजातिले राज्य, सबै दलमा फाइदा लिइरहेको तर्क गर्दै उनले भने– 'जान्नेसुन्ने आदिवासी जनजातिले राज्य, पार्टी सबैबाट फाइदा लिएको प्रष्टै छ। तल्लो तहकाआदिवासी जनजातिको मुद्दा जहाँको तँही छ।'
केही टाँठाबाठा आदिवासी जनजातिले आन्दोलनबाट सम्पत्ति आर्जन गरेको चर्चा समेतअगुवाहरुबीच आलोचना हुने गरेको छ। अहिले सबै भन्दा आलोचित पासाङ छन्। बाबुरामभट्टराई अर्थमन्त्री रहेको बेला साना किसान बैंकबाट ४० हजार रुपैयासम्म ऋणलिएकालाई ऋण मिनाह गर्ने घोषणा गर्दा पासाङ त्यही मिनाह कृषकमा परेका थिए।
एक आदिवासी जनजाति नेताले प्रश्न गरे– '२०६५ सालमा ४० हजार रुपैया तिर्न नसकेकाकृषक पासाङको बुढानिलकण्ठमा आलिसान महल, चिल्ला गाडी, महंगा मोवाइल सेट, ठूलोपरिवारको उच्च जीवनशैली कसरी चलेको छ? आन्दोलन त्यहीभित्र छ।' पासाङले यसलाईस्वीकार गरेनन्। उनले भने– 'मेरो बदनाम गर्न त्यस्तो भनिएको होला। म आन्दोलनमालागेपछि ४०, ५० लाख ऋण लागेको छ। जो कसैले हेर्न सक्छ।'
कुन जातीय संघ/संस्थालाई आइएनजीओ/एनजीओले कति लगानी गरेको फेहरिस्टअगुवाहरु बताउँदैनन्। अहिले आदिवासी जनजाति आन्दोलनमा हिड्ने निष्ठापूर्ण पूर्णकालिनकार्यकर्ताको नभएको लेखिले बताए। 'एनजीओको भत्ता आए हिड्छन। नभए माग हाम्रो होभनेर कोही पूर्णकालिन बन्नेवाला छैन', उनले भने।
एकल जातीय पहिचान सहितको मुद्दामा एमालेबाट आदिवासी जनजाति नेताहरूले नयाँपार्टी गठन गरे। संविधानसभाको राज्य पुर्नसंरचना तथा शक्ति बाँडफाँट समितिले पाँचसार्मथ्य र चार पहिचानका आधारमा संघीय राज्य हुनुपर्नेमा सबैको सहमति थियो।सहमति लगत्तै दलका दोस्रो, तेस्रो तहका नेताहरूले युरेपियन युनियन लगायतकोपरिभाषालाई आधार बनाए एकल जातीय पहिचानमा जोडेर विरोध गरे।
सार्मथ्य र पहिचानका आधारमा बन्ने संघीयतालाई एकाएक जातीय पहिचान भनेर कांग्रेसउपसभापति रामचन्द्र पौडेल, एकीकृत माओवादीका लेखराज भट्ट, एमालेका भीम रावललेसंविधानसभामा विरोध गरे। आदिवासी जनजाति सभासद्हरुको ककसले त्यसको प्रतिकारगर्न नसक्नुमा एनजीओको मुख्य भूमिका रहेको आदिवासी जनजातिका एक अगुवालेबताए।
'सार्मथ्य र पहिचानका आधारमा संघीयता भन्नेमा सबैको सहमत भयो। दलका दोस्रो, तेस्रोतहका नेताहरूले त्यो जातीय पहिचान भयो भन्दा हाम्रा आदिवासी जनजातिका सभासद्हरुस्वयं पृथ्वी सुब्बा गुरुङ, अशोक राई, पासाङ शेर्पा, वर्षमान पुनहरुले विरोध गर्न सकेनन्',ती अगुवाले भने।
महासंघसँग पहिले १९ करोडको कार्यक्रम सकेर दोस्रो पटक १२ करोड फिर्ता लिई सम्बन्धतोडेको डिफिड पछिल्लो पटक एकल जातीय पहिचानका मुद्दा पुनः चर्काउन थालेको स्रोतलेबतायो। 'आइएनजीओमा काम गरेका पुराना केही आदिवासी अगुवाहरु विभिन्न नाममाउग्र कुरा गरिरहेका छन्। त्यो जातिवादी कुराले मात्रै मुलुक कहाँ पुर्याउने हो थाहा छैन', तीअगुवाले भने– 'आइएनजीओ/एनजीओले उचालेर देशमा सधैं जातीय द्वयस फैल्याउने मात्रैकाम गर्छ। वास्तविक जातीय समस्या समाधान हुँदैन।'
संयुक्त राष्ट्र संघको घोषणा गरेको '१९ औं विश्व आदिवासी दिवस–२०७०'सम्म आइपुग्दादेशका मुख्य शहरहरुमा मध्यम वर्गीय आदिवासी जनजातिहरुले आ–आफ्नो भेषभुषा,खानपिन गरेर मनाउनु बाहेक अर्को कुनै प्रगति नभएको घर्ति मगरले टिप्पणी गरे। प्रत्येकवर्ष अगष्ट ९ मा राष्ट्र संघले घोषणा अनुसार अहिले १९ औं विश्व आदिवासी दिवस मनाइँदैआएको छ। डिफिडको बजेट हुँदा तामझाम काठमान्डौ ठप्प हुने गरी गरिने जातीयपहिचानका र्याली यो वर्ष खल्लो बन्दै गएको छ। 'अहिले हामीसँग कुनैआइएनजीओ/एनजीओको कार्यक्रम छैन। आफ्नै स्रोत र साधानमा अगस्ट ९ (साउन २५गते) मा भव्य मनाउने तयारी गरेका छौं', अध्यक्ष कुमालले भने।
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