हत्याराहरूको अनुरोधमा प्रस्तावना पारित भएको होइन-गुरूङ
मनोज बोगटी, कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ, 30 मार्च। सिक्किमका मुख्यमन्त्री पवन चामलिङले गोर्खाल्याण्डको मुद्दा विधानसभामा पारित गर्ने वित्तिकै पहाड़मा यसको श्रेय लिने होड़बाजी चलेको छ। गोर्खा जनमुक्ति मोर्चाले यसको श्रेय लिइरहेको छ तर मोर्चामा रहेका हत्यारा नेताहरूको अनुरोधमा मुख्यमन्त्री चामलिङले गोर्खाल्याण्डको बील पारित गरेका होइनन्-गोखार्र्-आदिवासी वेलफेयर सोसाइटीका महासचिव प्रवीण गुरूङले जारी गरेको विज्ञप्तीमा यसरी उल्लेख गरिएको छ। मुख्यमन्त्री चामलिङले दार्जीलिङको जनताको आकांक्षालाई कदर गर्दै आफ्नो बचन पूरा गरेकोमा आभार व्यक्त गर्दै गुरूङले जारी गरेको विज्ञप्तीमा भनिएको छ, गोर्खा जनमुक्ति मोर्चाका अध्यक्ष विमल गुरूङले चामलिङ नेपालका रहेको कागज देखाउँदै गरेको फोटो समाचार पत्रिकामा छापिएको छ।
गोर्खाहरूको शिखर पुरूषकोरूपमा देखाउन सकिने केही व्यक्तिहरू मात्र छन्। डा. महेन्द्र पी.लामा, नरबहादुर भण्डारी, पवन चामलिङ, टङ्क राई, मणिकुमार सुब्बा। यसमध्ये मणिकुमार सुब्बा अनि पवन चामलिङलाई विदेशी बताउने काम मोर्चा र भाजपाले गरिसकेको छ। चामलिङलाई विदेशी बनाउन सिक्किम भाजपा र गोजममोका पदम-विमलले वङ्गला भाषा बचाओ समिति झैं कट्टर जातिवादी काम गरिसकेका हुन्। अहिले चामलिङले गोर्खाल्याण्डको बील पास गर्दा मोर्चाले हामीले भनेर गरेको भन्ने गठ्ठे कुरा गरिरहेको छ। चामलिङले हत्याराहरूको कुरा सन्दैनन्। तिनी पनि गोर्खा हुन् अनि तिनले आत्मको आवाजलाई सुनेका हुन्।मोर्चा र भाजपा एउटै सिक्काको दुइपाटा हो, त्यही भाजपाले सुप्रिम कोर्टमा चामलिङ विदेशी रहेको मुद्दा हालेको हो। यस्ता कुतत्वहरूको कुरा चामलिङले सुनेका अवश्य पनि होइनन्। चामलिङको प्रयासले गोर्खाल्याण्ड आन्दोलनकारीहरूमा उर्जा प्रदान गरेको छ। चामलिङको राजनैतिक सचेतताप्रति पहाड़का आन्दोलनकारीहरू आभारी बनेको छ।
पहाड़मा चामलिङको जय जयकार -प्राधिकरण भन्नेहरूलाई मुख्यमन्त्री चामलिङको झापट हो-दाहाल
मनोज बोगटी, कालिमन्युज,कालेबुङ, 30 मार्च।सिक्किम विधानसभाले गोर्खाल्याण्डको प्रस्तावना पारित गरेपछि गोर्खाल्याण्ड पक्षधरजमातमा खुशीको लहर देखापरेको छ। गोजमुमो कार्यकर्ताहरूले त सड़कमा उत्रेर नाचगान समेत गरेका थिए। पहिलोपल्ट सिक्किमका मुख्यमन्त्रीको जयजयकार पहाड़मा देखापर्यो। यसअधि चामलिङलाई नेपालको नागरिक बताइने अनि मीडियामा मुख्यमन्त्री चामलिङको नागरिकता प्रमाणपत्र देखाइने काम समेत भएको थियो। तर चामलिङले तिनी सम्पूर्ण गोर्खाहरूको एकमात्र इमान्दार मुख्यमन्त्री रहेको प्रमाण हिजो दिए। तिनले विधानसभामा सर्वभारतीय गोर्खाहरूको चिन्हारीसित जोड़िएको साझा दाबी गोर्खाल्याण्ड राज्य गठन हुनुपर्ने सम्बन्धमा सिक्किमको स्वीकृति आधिकारिकरूपमा देशलाई सुनायो। सिक्किमको विधानसभामा गोर्खाल्याण्ड राज्यको गठनको प्रस्तावना पारित गरिएपछि चामलिङप्रति पहाड़का सबै दल र सङ्घसंस्थाहरूले आभार जनाउने काम निरन्तर रहेको छ। चामलिङको यस पहललाई गोर्खाल्याण्ड आन्दोलनमा एक ऐतिहासिक प्रक्षेप मानिएको छ।
गोर्खाल्याण्डको निम्ति जङ्गल पसेका, भूमिगत भएका अनि जेलको हावा समेत खाएका एक क्रान्तिकारी नेता अजय दाहाल सिक्किमका मुख्यमन्त्री पवन चामलिङको प्रयासबाट नितान्तै हर्षित छन्। तिनले भने, चामलिङले जोखिमपूर्ण कामलाई सहजसित इमान्दारीपूर्ण सम्पन्न गरेर गोर्खाल्याण्डको निम्ति आफ्नो पक्षको योगदान स्पष्ट पारे। जब कि यताका नेताहरू जाति फुटाउने, दलीय फाइदाको निम्ति षड़यन्त्र गर्ने, आफ्नै दाजुभाईलाई खेद्ने, खेदाउने, मार्ने र खुट्टा तान्ने राजनीति गरिरहेका छन्। सम्पूर्ण गोर्खाहरूको निम्ति चामलिङ आभारका पात्र हुन्। यो तिनको गोर्खाल्याण्डप्रतिको इमान्दारिता हो। इमान्दारिता कामले देखाउँछ मुखले होइन। तिनले दार्जीलिङ, कालेबुङसित सिक्किमको ऐतिहासिक सम्बन्ध रहेको अनि खुनको नाता रहेको बताउँदै बङ्गालले दार्जीलिङ पहाड़मा गोर्खाहरूबीचको एकता फुटाउने षड़यन्त्र गरिहेको अनि हरेक षड़यन्त्रको सिकार सिक्किम पनि हुनुपरेको बताउँदै भने, चामलिङको यो प्रयास छैटौं अनुसूची, प्राधिकरण भन्नेहरूलाई गतिलो झापट हो।
सिक्किम राज्यको यो प्रयासबाट अन्य राज्य र त्यहॉंका गोर्खाल्याण्डप्रेमीहरूले पनि प्रेरणा लिनुपर्छ। दार्जीलिङमा जनताको आवाज दबाउन षड़यन्त्र भइरहेको छ। हरेकवर्गका षड़यन्त्रकारीहरूलाई चामलिङले इमान्दारिताको पाठ सिकाएका छन्। तिनले अझ भने, गोर्खाल्याण्डको नाममा आफ्नो दुनो सोझ्याउनेहरू, प्राधिकरण भन्ने मोर्चाका नेताहरू,चण्डालहरू, माफिया र ठेकेदारहरूले चामलिङबाट उचित शिक्षा लिनुपर्छ। यता गोरामुमो नेता प्रकाश दाहालले पनि भने, चामलिङको यो प्रयासबाट गोरामुमोलाई अझ बल पुगेको छ। गोरामुमोको माग पनि गोर्खाल्याण्ड नै हो तर कतिपय असुविधाको कारण दागोपाप थापिएको हो। गोर्खाल्याण्ड छिटो हुँदैन यसकारण जनतालाई दुख दिनु पहाड़को अर्थनीतिमाथिको अतिक्रमण हो। यसैकारण छैटौं अनुसूची अन्तर्गत 244-2 धारा अन्तरर्गत दार्जीलिङ हिल काउन्सिलको दाबी गरिएको हो। यसको आफ्नै विधानसभा हुन्छ। योपछि नै गोर्खाल्याण्ड पुग्ने लक्ष्य गोरामुमोले राखेको छ। चामलिङको यो प्रयासले हाम्रो मुद्दालाई सबैपक्षबाट शक्ति प्राप्त भएको छ।
कंग्रेस उम्मेदवार शान्ति शर्माले बुझाए नामाङ्कन पत्र
मनोज बोगटी, कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ, 30 मार्च।जनाकांक्षा छुट्टैराज्य रहेको भए पनि युनियन टेरिटोरीको मुद्दा बोकेर पहाड़मा राजनीति गरिरहेको राष्ट्रिय दल कंग्रेसले पनि पहाड़को आसनमा डटेर विधानसभा चुनाउ लड्ने भएको छ। पार्टीको टिकटको निम्ति निक्कै खिचातानी र आन्तरिक द्वन्द्व चलेपनि आखिरमा शान्तिकुमार शर्मालाई कालेबुङ आसनको निम्ति कंग्रेस हाईकमाण्डले टिकट दियो। कालेबुङ आसनको निम्ति दिलीप प्रधान, ध्रुब गुरूङ अनि प्रवीण गुरूङको नाम अघि आएको थियो तर कसैलाई पनि टिकट दिएन। पार्टीको टिकट पाएपछि आज शान्तिकुमार शर्माले आफ्नो नामाङ्कन पत्र बुझाएका छन्। तिनले जनाकांक्षालाई विधानसभामा उठान गर्ने बचनबद्धता प्रकट गरे। सिन्देबुङ निवासी शान्तिकुमार शर्माले गोर्खा जनमुक्ति मोर्चाका डा.हर्कबहादुर छेत्री, गोर्खा राष्ट्रियमुक्ति मोर्चाका प्रकाश दहाल, गोर्खालीगका त्रिभुवन राई अनि भाकपाका विक्रम छेत्रीसित प्रतिद्वन्द्विता गर्ने छन्। यसपल्ट कंग्रेसलाई पहाड़को कुनै पनि क्षेत्रीय दलले समर्थन गरेन। कंग्रेसले आफ्नै बलबुतामा चुनाउ लड्नुपर्ने भएको छ।
Sikkim resolution on Gorkhaland unfortunate: Govt
ENS, Mar 31 2011, Kolkata: West Bengal Assembly Speaker Hasim Abdul Halim today termed the incident of passing a resolution by Sikkim Assembly in favour of Gorkhaland “unfortunate” and not in tune with Parliamentary norms and tradition. “I cannot call it unconstitutional but it is against Parliamentary norms,’’ Halim today told The Indian Express.
According to the law for bifurcation of a state, the Assembly of that state should pass a resolution for that purpose with two-thirds majority.
As news of the resolution reached Bengal, the state government condemned it. Speaking on behalf of the state government, Ashok Bhattacharya, minister for Urban Development, said it was unconstitutional.
The Trinamool Congress also condemned the move and said the Sikkim Assembly, by passing the resolution, violated parliamentary norms and vitiated federal spirit.
The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) spearheading the movement for a separate Gorkhaland today decided to felicitate Pawan Chamling, Chief Minister of Sikkim, for taking up the initiative to pass the resolution. “We have decided to felicitate him and we have communicated this to his office,” Benoy Tamang, Morcha spokesman, today told The Indian Express over phone.He also said the Morcha will celebrate the gesture extended by the Sikkim legislature for five days from today. “We are organising rallies and processions to mark this great gesture of the Sikkimese people. We have asked workers of tea gardens to suspend work on Saturday and Sunday and join us in celebration,’’ Benoy further said.
CPRM to keep off ‘drama’ polls
Vivek Chhetri, TT, Darjeeling, March 30: The CPRM has dropped the idea of “consensus” candidates in the three hill Assembly seats and decided not to “participate” in the elections, saying that different political parties have turned the democratic process into a “drama” to fulfil their agendas.
सिक्किमका पत्रकारहरूको कालेबुङ भ्रमण- उत्तर- पूर्वाञ्चलका मिडियाकर्मीहरूको छाता सङ्गठनको आवश्यकताबारे चर्चा
Boga, 33, spent a year in Srinagar working for the respected news portal Kashmir Dispatch as well as a number of international publications and websites, the culmination of a decade covering the troubled region.She received a certificate and 3,000 euros (USD 4,200) in cash from Eric Wishart, AFP's regional director for the Asia-Pacific region, in a ceremony at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong.
“Dilnaz Boga is a more than worthy recipient of the third Kate Webb Award, and her work stood out from a very strong field of applicants from across the region,” Mr Wishart said.
Boga said the prize money would help support her future coverage of Kashmir as an independent journalist.
“I, on behalf of my colleagues in Kashmir, would like to say that we will not stop telling the truth at any cost,” Boga said.
मनोज बोगटी, कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ, 30 मार्च। सिक्किमका मुख्यमन्त्री पवन चामलिङले गोर्खाल्याण्डको मुद्दा विधानसभामा पारित गर्ने वित्तिकै पहाड़मा यसको श्रेय लिने होड़बाजी चलेको छ। गोर्खा जनमुक्ति मोर्चाले यसको श्रेय लिइरहेको छ तर मोर्चामा रहेका हत्यारा नेताहरूको अनुरोधमा मुख्यमन्त्री चामलिङले गोर्खाल्याण्डको बील पारित गरेका होइनन्-गोखार्र्-आदिवासी वेलफेयर सोसाइटीका महासचिव प्रवीण गुरूङले जारी गरेको विज्ञप्तीमा यसरी उल्लेख गरिएको छ। मुख्यमन्त्री चामलिङले दार्जीलिङको जनताको आकांक्षालाई कदर गर्दै आफ्नो बचन पूरा गरेकोमा आभार व्यक्त गर्दै गुरूङले जारी गरेको विज्ञप्तीमा भनिएको छ, गोर्खा जनमुक्ति मोर्चाका अध्यक्ष विमल गुरूङले चामलिङ नेपालका रहेको कागज देखाउँदै गरेको फोटो समाचार पत्रिकामा छापिएको छ।
गोर्खाहरूको शिखर पुरूषकोरूपमा देखाउन सकिने केही व्यक्तिहरू मात्र छन्। डा. महेन्द्र पी.लामा, नरबहादुर भण्डारी, पवन चामलिङ, टङ्क राई, मणिकुमार सुब्बा। यसमध्ये मणिकुमार सुब्बा अनि पवन चामलिङलाई विदेशी बताउने काम मोर्चा र भाजपाले गरिसकेको छ। चामलिङलाई विदेशी बनाउन सिक्किम भाजपा र गोजममोका पदम-विमलले वङ्गला भाषा बचाओ समिति झैं कट्टर जातिवादी काम गरिसकेका हुन्। अहिले चामलिङले गोर्खाल्याण्डको बील पास गर्दा मोर्चाले हामीले भनेर गरेको भन्ने गठ्ठे कुरा गरिरहेको छ। चामलिङले हत्याराहरूको कुरा सन्दैनन्। तिनी पनि गोर्खा हुन् अनि तिनले आत्मको आवाजलाई सुनेका हुन्।मोर्चा र भाजपा एउटै सिक्काको दुइपाटा हो, त्यही भाजपाले सुप्रिम कोर्टमा चामलिङ विदेशी रहेको मुद्दा हालेको हो। यस्ता कुतत्वहरूको कुरा चामलिङले सुनेका अवश्य पनि होइनन्। चामलिङको प्रयासले गोर्खाल्याण्ड आन्दोलनकारीहरूमा उर्जा प्रदान गरेको छ। चामलिङको राजनैतिक सचेतताप्रति पहाड़का आन्दोलनकारीहरू आभारी बनेको छ।
पहाड़मा चामलिङको जय जयकार -प्राधिकरण भन्नेहरूलाई मुख्यमन्त्री चामलिङको झापट हो-दाहाल
मनोज बोगटी, कालिमन्युज,कालेबुङ, 30 मार्च।सिक्किम विधानसभाले गोर्खाल्याण्डको प्रस्तावना पारित गरेपछि गोर्खाल्याण्ड पक्षधरजमातमा खुशीको लहर देखापरेको छ। गोजमुमो कार्यकर्ताहरूले त सड़कमा उत्रेर नाचगान समेत गरेका थिए। पहिलोपल्ट सिक्किमका मुख्यमन्त्रीको जयजयकार पहाड़मा देखापर्यो। यसअधि चामलिङलाई नेपालको नागरिक बताइने अनि मीडियामा मुख्यमन्त्री चामलिङको नागरिकता प्रमाणपत्र देखाइने काम समेत भएको थियो। तर चामलिङले तिनी सम्पूर्ण गोर्खाहरूको एकमात्र इमान्दार मुख्यमन्त्री रहेको प्रमाण हिजो दिए। तिनले विधानसभामा सर्वभारतीय गोर्खाहरूको चिन्हारीसित जोड़िएको साझा दाबी गोर्खाल्याण्ड राज्य गठन हुनुपर्ने सम्बन्धमा सिक्किमको स्वीकृति आधिकारिकरूपमा देशलाई सुनायो। सिक्किमको विधानसभामा गोर्खाल्याण्ड राज्यको गठनको प्रस्तावना पारित गरिएपछि चामलिङप्रति पहाड़का सबै दल र सङ्घसंस्थाहरूले आभार जनाउने काम निरन्तर रहेको छ। चामलिङको यस पहललाई गोर्खाल्याण्ड आन्दोलनमा एक ऐतिहासिक प्रक्षेप मानिएको छ।
गोर्खाल्याण्डको निम्ति जङ्गल पसेका, भूमिगत भएका अनि जेलको हावा समेत खाएका एक क्रान्तिकारी नेता अजय दाहाल सिक्किमका मुख्यमन्त्री पवन चामलिङको प्रयासबाट नितान्तै हर्षित छन्। तिनले भने, चामलिङले जोखिमपूर्ण कामलाई सहजसित इमान्दारीपूर्ण सम्पन्न गरेर गोर्खाल्याण्डको निम्ति आफ्नो पक्षको योगदान स्पष्ट पारे। जब कि यताका नेताहरू जाति फुटाउने, दलीय फाइदाको निम्ति षड़यन्त्र गर्ने, आफ्नै दाजुभाईलाई खेद्ने, खेदाउने, मार्ने र खुट्टा तान्ने राजनीति गरिरहेका छन्। सम्पूर्ण गोर्खाहरूको निम्ति चामलिङ आभारका पात्र हुन्। यो तिनको गोर्खाल्याण्डप्रतिको इमान्दारिता हो। इमान्दारिता कामले देखाउँछ मुखले होइन। तिनले दार्जीलिङ, कालेबुङसित सिक्किमको ऐतिहासिक सम्बन्ध रहेको अनि खुनको नाता रहेको बताउँदै बङ्गालले दार्जीलिङ पहाड़मा गोर्खाहरूबीचको एकता फुटाउने षड़यन्त्र गरिहेको अनि हरेक षड़यन्त्रको सिकार सिक्किम पनि हुनुपरेको बताउँदै भने, चामलिङको यो प्रयास छैटौं अनुसूची, प्राधिकरण भन्नेहरूलाई गतिलो झापट हो।
सिक्किम राज्यको यो प्रयासबाट अन्य राज्य र त्यहॉंका गोर्खाल्याण्डप्रेमीहरूले पनि प्रेरणा लिनुपर्छ। दार्जीलिङमा जनताको आवाज दबाउन षड़यन्त्र भइरहेको छ। हरेकवर्गका षड़यन्त्रकारीहरूलाई चामलिङले इमान्दारिताको पाठ सिकाएका छन्। तिनले अझ भने, गोर्खाल्याण्डको नाममा आफ्नो दुनो सोझ्याउनेहरू, प्राधिकरण भन्ने मोर्चाका नेताहरू,चण्डालहरू, माफिया र ठेकेदारहरूले चामलिङबाट उचित शिक्षा लिनुपर्छ। यता गोरामुमो नेता प्रकाश दाहालले पनि भने, चामलिङको यो प्रयासबाट गोरामुमोलाई अझ बल पुगेको छ। गोरामुमोको माग पनि गोर्खाल्याण्ड नै हो तर कतिपय असुविधाको कारण दागोपाप थापिएको हो। गोर्खाल्याण्ड छिटो हुँदैन यसकारण जनतालाई दुख दिनु पहाड़को अर्थनीतिमाथिको अतिक्रमण हो। यसैकारण छैटौं अनुसूची अन्तर्गत 244-2 धारा अन्तरर्गत दार्जीलिङ हिल काउन्सिलको दाबी गरिएको हो। यसको आफ्नै विधानसभा हुन्छ। योपछि नै गोर्खाल्याण्ड पुग्ने लक्ष्य गोरामुमोले राखेको छ। चामलिङको यो प्रयासले हाम्रो मुद्दालाई सबैपक्षबाट शक्ति प्राप्त भएको छ।
कंग्रेस उम्मेदवार शान्ति शर्माले बुझाए नामाङ्कन पत्र
मनोज बोगटी, कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ, 30 मार्च।जनाकांक्षा छुट्टैराज्य रहेको भए पनि युनियन टेरिटोरीको मुद्दा बोकेर पहाड़मा राजनीति गरिरहेको राष्ट्रिय दल कंग्रेसले पनि पहाड़को आसनमा डटेर विधानसभा चुनाउ लड्ने भएको छ। पार्टीको टिकटको निम्ति निक्कै खिचातानी र आन्तरिक द्वन्द्व चलेपनि आखिरमा शान्तिकुमार शर्मालाई कालेबुङ आसनको निम्ति कंग्रेस हाईकमाण्डले टिकट दियो। कालेबुङ आसनको निम्ति दिलीप प्रधान, ध्रुब गुरूङ अनि प्रवीण गुरूङको नाम अघि आएको थियो तर कसैलाई पनि टिकट दिएन। पार्टीको टिकट पाएपछि आज शान्तिकुमार शर्माले आफ्नो नामाङ्कन पत्र बुझाएका छन्। तिनले जनाकांक्षालाई विधानसभामा उठान गर्ने बचनबद्धता प्रकट गरे। सिन्देबुङ निवासी शान्तिकुमार शर्माले गोर्खा जनमुक्ति मोर्चाका डा.हर्कबहादुर छेत्री, गोर्खा राष्ट्रियमुक्ति मोर्चाका प्रकाश दहाल, गोर्खालीगका त्रिभुवन राई अनि भाकपाका विक्रम छेत्रीसित प्रतिद्वन्द्विता गर्ने छन्। यसपल्ट कंग्रेसलाई पहाड़को कुनै पनि क्षेत्रीय दलले समर्थन गरेन। कंग्रेसले आफ्नै बलबुतामा चुनाउ लड्नुपर्ने भएको छ।
Sikkim resolution on Gorkhaland unfortunate: Govt
ENS, Mar 31 2011, Kolkata: West Bengal Assembly Speaker Hasim Abdul Halim today termed the incident of passing a resolution by Sikkim Assembly in favour of Gorkhaland “unfortunate” and not in tune with Parliamentary norms and tradition. “I cannot call it unconstitutional but it is against Parliamentary norms,’’ Halim today told The Indian Express.
According to the law for bifurcation of a state, the Assembly of that state should pass a resolution for that purpose with two-thirds majority.
As news of the resolution reached Bengal, the state government condemned it. Speaking on behalf of the state government, Ashok Bhattacharya, minister for Urban Development, said it was unconstitutional.
The Trinamool Congress also condemned the move and said the Sikkim Assembly, by passing the resolution, violated parliamentary norms and vitiated federal spirit.
The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) spearheading the movement for a separate Gorkhaland today decided to felicitate Pawan Chamling, Chief Minister of Sikkim, for taking up the initiative to pass the resolution. “We have decided to felicitate him and we have communicated this to his office,” Benoy Tamang, Morcha spokesman, today told The Indian Express over phone.He also said the Morcha will celebrate the gesture extended by the Sikkim legislature for five days from today. “We are organising rallies and processions to mark this great gesture of the Sikkimese people. We have asked workers of tea gardens to suspend work on Saturday and Sunday and join us in celebration,’’ Benoy further said.
CPRM to keep off ‘drama’ polls
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| Rai in Darjeeling on Wednesday. (Suman Tamang) |
The CPRM is considered to be a force to reckon with in the Kurseong Assembly constituency, where its absence from the electoral arena is likely to ensure a head-on clash between the GNLF and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.
Reeling off the reasons which shaped its decision, the CPRM accused the state government of stalling the democratic process in the hills.
“It (state government) did not allow the Morcha to take out a padayatra in the Dooars and refused to start a judicial inquiry into the Sibchu police firing. Besides, the state and the Centre were not ready to start negotiation on the Gorkhaland issue,” said CPRM president R.B. Rai.
The party did not spare the Election Commission either in its criticism.
“The Election Commission did not hear all voices before arriving at its decision (of certifying normalcy in the hills). Events leading to the release of the GLP members who were in possession of murder weapons (khukuris) also proves that there is no writ of administration in the hills,’ said Rai.
“In the given situation (where parties are fighting for the Sixth Schedule, interim council), the CPRM believed that the voices of Gorkhaland could not be heard through the elections,” said Rai. “Elections will only be a drama and the CPRM does not want to participate in this polls,” said Rai.
The CPRM had earlier tried to field common candidates with the ABGL in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong. But all its efforts were in vain.
Observers believe that with the CPRM sensing little chances of winning the elections, it has taken a middle path like in the past. “In this elections, it has received very little importance not just from the Morcha but also from the ABGL, which announced its own candidates. This has forced the CPRM to keep away from the elections,” said an observer.
Battlelines drawn for crucial Bengal Assembly poll
DDI News: Sailing against a strong wind of change, the Left Front is facing the toughest test-ever challenge in its 35-year rule while Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress in alliance with Congress and other fringe players is pulling out all stops to bring about 'paribartan' or change in the West Bengal Assembly polls.
The elections would be held in six phases with the first phase polling scheduled for 18th April in 54 constituencies in north Bengal. The sixth and the last phase is slated for 10th May.
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who is leading the Left Front charge, and the Trinamool supremo have already hit the campaign trail either addressing meetings or participating in marches.
Bhattacharjee is seeking re-election from Jadavpur constituency on the southern fringe of the city while Banerjee, currently a member of the Lok Sabha from Kolkata South, is not contesting the polls.
For the ruling Left Front, it is a make-or-break election having tasted defeats in successive elections through panchayat, Lok Sabha and municipal elections since 2008.
Battling against anti-incumbency, the CPI-M leadership admitted that it was up against a strong challenge, but it could still bounce back.
"Trinamool-Congress alliance has bagged 11 lakh more votes than the LF in the last Lok Sabha polls, which can be made up if the Front managed to garner additional 10 votes in each of the 60,000 booths across the state," CPI-M central committee member and housing minister Gautam Deb said.
Riding on an apparent pro-change wave, Trinamool is confident of dethroning the Left.
"There will be polarisation between the Left Front and our alliance and there will be no other force. The people will vote for a change to end the 35-year 'misrule' of the CPI(M)-led government," Banerjee has said.
Undeterred by Trinamool's no-holds-barred thrust for taking over the Writers' Buildings, Bhattacharjee has launched a strong bid to return to power for the eight time in a row, though admitting the mistakes his party made.
"We have won election seven times we will win for the eight time too," he told a public meeting in his constituency Jadavpur recently.
"We have learnt lessons from our defeat in the last Lok Sabha poll and have taken up a rectification drive," he stated.
Putting up a brave face about the Trinamool-Congress alliance, he remarked, "Politics is not an arithmetic. Two and two may be a zero in politics."
Of the 294 seats in the state Assembly, Trinamool Congress alone has fielded candidates in 226 seats, leaving 65 for its ally Congress, two to Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI-Communist) and one to NCP. The Left Front has put up nominees in all the seats.
BJP, which did not have any member in the outgoing Assembly, has announced candidates in 280 seats.
In a minor jolt to the opposition alliance, Trinamool's ally SUCI(C) has announced that it would field candidates in 29 seats against Congress triggering the possibility of division of opposition votes.
This had irked the Congress with state party president Manas Bhuniya saying it was mysterious that an ally of Trinamool has fielded nominees against us.
BJP-GJM differ over seat sharing in north Bengal
DDI News:The GJM has dismissed BJP's claim of having left four seats, including three in Darjeeling, to the hill party in return for support to the saffron party in six seats in the plains and said it was prepared to support the national party in only one seat.
GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said his party would support the BJP in the Madarihat constituency in Jalpaiguri district in north Bengal.
"No, no! We will contest in the hill sub-divisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong and Kalchini in Jalpaiguri district and support the BJP in the Madarihat seat," Giri said in Darjeeling on Tuesday.
He said regarding the other seats in north Bengal, the party would shortly take a decision after it received reports by GJM fact-finding committees.
West Bengal BJP president Rahul Sinha claimed that the Morcha would support the BJP for Matigara, Naxalbari, Kumarigram, Mal, Madarihhat and Dabgram-Phulbari Assembly segment in the state.
Asked about Giri's statement, Sinha said, "I have said this on the basis of discussion with GJM."
In the 2009 parliamentary elections, the BJP and the GJM went for an alliance and BJP leader Jaswant Singh was elected from Darjeeling seat with a big margin.
Meanwhile, PCC president Manas Bhuniya has refused to make any comment on the reported statement by the president of the Party's hill unit, K B Chettri, that it was looking at an electoral understanding with the GJM for the three hill Assembly segments of the district.
"I will rather not make any comment," Bhuniya said.
On whether the Congress high command will be agreeable to the idea of seeking an electoral tie-up with the GJM which is demanding a separate Gorkhaland state, Chettri said that the local leadership was already in favour of Union Territory status for the hills.
Asked if there was any possibility of a tie-up with the Congress, Giri did not rule it out, saying, "We will take a stand later on some other seats where we have not put up candidates as yet".
The GJM, a major force in the region, is yet to decide on whether to put up its own candidates or support an Independent or back nominees of a non-Left political party in the hills and in certain constituencies with a substantial Gorkha population in the north Bengal plains.
"The leadership has set up three fact-finding committees for Darjeeling, Terai and Dooars to seek the opinion of different political parties and groupings as well as a cross-section of the people to facilitate a decision regarding its position in the coming polls," senior GJM leader and member of the party's central committee Harka Bahadur Chettri said.
There are 54 seats in north Bengal out of a total 294 seats in West Bengal.
Elections would be held in six phases with the first phase poll for 54 seats in north Bengal scheduled for 18th April.
Sikkim bandh
Battlelines drawn for crucial Bengal Assembly poll
DDI News: Sailing against a strong wind of change, the Left Front is facing the toughest test-ever challenge in its 35-year rule while Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress in alliance with Congress and other fringe players is pulling out all stops to bring about 'paribartan' or change in the West Bengal Assembly polls.
The elections would be held in six phases with the first phase polling scheduled for 18th April in 54 constituencies in north Bengal. The sixth and the last phase is slated for 10th May.
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who is leading the Left Front charge, and the Trinamool supremo have already hit the campaign trail either addressing meetings or participating in marches.
Bhattacharjee is seeking re-election from Jadavpur constituency on the southern fringe of the city while Banerjee, currently a member of the Lok Sabha from Kolkata South, is not contesting the polls.
For the ruling Left Front, it is a make-or-break election having tasted defeats in successive elections through panchayat, Lok Sabha and municipal elections since 2008.
Battling against anti-incumbency, the CPI-M leadership admitted that it was up against a strong challenge, but it could still bounce back.
"Trinamool-Congress alliance has bagged 11 lakh more votes than the LF in the last Lok Sabha polls, which can be made up if the Front managed to garner additional 10 votes in each of the 60,000 booths across the state," CPI-M central committee member and housing minister Gautam Deb said.
Riding on an apparent pro-change wave, Trinamool is confident of dethroning the Left.
"There will be polarisation between the Left Front and our alliance and there will be no other force. The people will vote for a change to end the 35-year 'misrule' of the CPI(M)-led government," Banerjee has said.
Undeterred by Trinamool's no-holds-barred thrust for taking over the Writers' Buildings, Bhattacharjee has launched a strong bid to return to power for the eight time in a row, though admitting the mistakes his party made.
"We have won election seven times we will win for the eight time too," he told a public meeting in his constituency Jadavpur recently.
"We have learnt lessons from our defeat in the last Lok Sabha poll and have taken up a rectification drive," he stated.
Putting up a brave face about the Trinamool-Congress alliance, he remarked, "Politics is not an arithmetic. Two and two may be a zero in politics."
Of the 294 seats in the state Assembly, Trinamool Congress alone has fielded candidates in 226 seats, leaving 65 for its ally Congress, two to Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI-Communist) and one to NCP. The Left Front has put up nominees in all the seats.
BJP, which did not have any member in the outgoing Assembly, has announced candidates in 280 seats.
In a minor jolt to the opposition alliance, Trinamool's ally SUCI(C) has announced that it would field candidates in 29 seats against Congress triggering the possibility of division of opposition votes.
This had irked the Congress with state party president Manas Bhuniya saying it was mysterious that an ally of Trinamool has fielded nominees against us.
BJP-GJM differ over seat sharing in north Bengal
DDI News:The GJM has dismissed BJP's claim of having left four seats, including three in Darjeeling, to the hill party in return for support to the saffron party in six seats in the plains and said it was prepared to support the national party in only one seat.
GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said his party would support the BJP in the Madarihat constituency in Jalpaiguri district in north Bengal.
"No, no! We will contest in the hill sub-divisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong and Kalchini in Jalpaiguri district and support the BJP in the Madarihat seat," Giri said in Darjeeling on Tuesday.
He said regarding the other seats in north Bengal, the party would shortly take a decision after it received reports by GJM fact-finding committees.
West Bengal BJP president Rahul Sinha claimed that the Morcha would support the BJP for Matigara, Naxalbari, Kumarigram, Mal, Madarihhat and Dabgram-Phulbari Assembly segment in the state.
Asked about Giri's statement, Sinha said, "I have said this on the basis of discussion with GJM."
In the 2009 parliamentary elections, the BJP and the GJM went for an alliance and BJP leader Jaswant Singh was elected from Darjeeling seat with a big margin.
Meanwhile, PCC president Manas Bhuniya has refused to make any comment on the reported statement by the president of the Party's hill unit, K B Chettri, that it was looking at an electoral understanding with the GJM for the three hill Assembly segments of the district.
"I will rather not make any comment," Bhuniya said.
On whether the Congress high command will be agreeable to the idea of seeking an electoral tie-up with the GJM which is demanding a separate Gorkhaland state, Chettri said that the local leadership was already in favour of Union Territory status for the hills.
Asked if there was any possibility of a tie-up with the Congress, Giri did not rule it out, saying, "We will take a stand later on some other seats where we have not put up candidates as yet".
The GJM, a major force in the region, is yet to decide on whether to put up its own candidates or support an Independent or back nominees of a non-Left political party in the hills and in certain constituencies with a substantial Gorkha population in the north Bengal plains.
"The leadership has set up three fact-finding committees for Darjeeling, Terai and Dooars to seek the opinion of different political parties and groupings as well as a cross-section of the people to facilitate a decision regarding its position in the coming polls," senior GJM leader and member of the party's central committee Harka Bahadur Chettri said.
There are 54 seats in north Bengal out of a total 294 seats in West Bengal.
Elections would be held in six phases with the first phase poll for 54 seats in north Bengal scheduled for 18th April.
Sikkim bandh
TT, Gangtok, March 30: The Sikkim Democratic Front today called a 48-hour strike in the state from April 4 to pressure the private sector, including power plants and educational institutions, to provide employment to the local people.
The bandh has also been called to protest the “discrimination” against the local workers by the sector.
मनोज बोगटी, कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ 30 मार्चः छिमेकी राज्य सिक्किमका पत्रकारहरूको एउटा टोलीले आज कालेबुङको भ्रमण गर्यो। पत्रकार तथा राजधानी साप्ताहिकका सम्पादक हेम सुब्बाकी मुमाको निधनप्रति संवेदना प्रकट गर्न वरिष्ठ पत्रकार विजय बान्तवाको अगुवाइमा यहॉं आइपुगेको उक्त टोलीले कालेबुङ प्रेस क्लबको कार्यालयको पनि भ्रमण गर्यो। उक्त भ्रमणको अवसरमा दुवै भेकका पत्रकारहरूमाझ सौहार्दपूर्ण ढङ्गमा कतिपय महत्त्वपूर्ण विषयहरूमाथि अनौपचारिक बहस भयो। उक्त बहसको अवधिमा सिक्किम र दार्जीलिङ भेकका पत्रकारहरूले आ-आफ्नो स्थानमा निर्वाह गरिरहेका कर्तव्य अनि उत्तरदायित्वबारे चर्चा भयो अनि आफूहरूले पाउनुपर्ने कतिपय सुबिधा तथा हक अनि समय-समयमा आइपर्ने आपत्तीहरूबाट छुटकारा पाउनका लागि दुवैतिरका संवादकर्मीहरू एकबद्ध हुनुपर्ने समयको माग भएको सबैले अनुभव गरे।
यसै विषयलाई औपचारिक स्वरूप प्रदान गर्नका लागि निकट भविष्यमै कालेबुङ, दार्जीलिङ, खरसाङ, डुअर्स लगायत सिक्किम अनि उत्तर-पूर्वाञ्चलीय इलाकाका क्षेत्रीय पत्रकारहरूमाझ एउटा बैठक गरिनुपर्ने राय सबैले व्यक्त गर्दा सो कार्यका लागि कालेबुङ प्रेस क्लबले दार्जीलिङ भेकमा अनि सिक्किम प्रेस क्लबले आफ्नो राज्य स्तरमा पहल गर्ने सल्लाह भयो।
यसरी नै पत्रकारहरूमाथि आइपर्ने व्यक्तिगत तथा पारिवारिक समस्याहरूको समयमा एकार्काको सहयोग हुनुपर्ने अनुभव हुँदा यसबारे मूलतः दुवै क्षेत्रका पत्रकारहरूमाझ प्रगाढ़ परिचय स्थापित कायम राख्नलाई कतिपय सौहार्दपूर्ण कार्यक्रमहरूको आयोजना गरिनुपर्ने विषयमा पनि चर्चा भयो। यसै सिलसिलामा कालेबुङ प्रेस क्लबले शीघ्र नै दुवै क्षेत्रका पत्रकारहरूमाझ आपसी तालमेल कायम राख्ने लक्ष्य लिएर एउटा औपचारिक अनि सौहार्दपूर्ण भेटघाट कार्यक्रमको आयोजना स्थानीय डेलो टुरिस्ट लजमा आयोजना गर्ने अनि सिक्किम प्रेस क्लबले सिमाना क्षेत्र रम्फूमा आगामी हिउँद महिनामा दुवै इलाकाका पत्रकारहरूमाझ बन्धुत्व वृद्धि गराउनका लागि भलिबल खेलको आयोजना गर्ने विषयमा पनि चर्चा भयो।
सिक्किमबाट आएका पत्रकारहरूमा इण्डियन फेडेरेसन अफ स्मल एण्ड मिडियम न्युजपेपरको सिक्किम राज्यका अध्यक्ष विजय बान्तवा, सिक्किम पत्रकार संगठनका महासचिव भीम राउत, वरिष्ठ पत्रकारहरू कमल मुखिया, विष्णुप्रताप कणेल, प्रणय लामिछाने, प्रवीण खालिङ, नन्दु दूतराज आदि रहेका थिए भने कालेबुङ प्रेस क्लबबाट अध्यक्ष अरूण कुमार रसाइली, उपाध्यक्ष सामतेन काबो लगायत पत्रकार मनोज राई, मणि तामाङ अनि प्रशिक्षणरत पत्रकारहरू सञ्जिला राई, स्मृति छेत्री अनि अञ्जली पौड्याल रहेका थिए।
Indian journalist wins AFP prize for work in Kashmir
PTI, Hong Kong, 30 MARCH: Dilnaz Boga, an Indian reporter and photographer, received the Kate Webb Prize from Agence France-Presse today for her courageous investigative work in Indian-administered Kashmir.
यसै विषयलाई औपचारिक स्वरूप प्रदान गर्नका लागि निकट भविष्यमै कालेबुङ, दार्जीलिङ, खरसाङ, डुअर्स लगायत सिक्किम अनि उत्तर-पूर्वाञ्चलीय इलाकाका क्षेत्रीय पत्रकारहरूमाझ एउटा बैठक गरिनुपर्ने राय सबैले व्यक्त गर्दा सो कार्यका लागि कालेबुङ प्रेस क्लबले दार्जीलिङ भेकमा अनि सिक्किम प्रेस क्लबले आफ्नो राज्य स्तरमा पहल गर्ने सल्लाह भयो।
यसरी नै पत्रकारहरूमाथि आइपर्ने व्यक्तिगत तथा पारिवारिक समस्याहरूको समयमा एकार्काको सहयोग हुनुपर्ने अनुभव हुँदा यसबारे मूलतः दुवै क्षेत्रका पत्रकारहरूमाझ प्रगाढ़ परिचय स्थापित कायम राख्नलाई कतिपय सौहार्दपूर्ण कार्यक्रमहरूको आयोजना गरिनुपर्ने विषयमा पनि चर्चा भयो। यसै सिलसिलामा कालेबुङ प्रेस क्लबले शीघ्र नै दुवै क्षेत्रका पत्रकारहरूमाझ आपसी तालमेल कायम राख्ने लक्ष्य लिएर एउटा औपचारिक अनि सौहार्दपूर्ण भेटघाट कार्यक्रमको आयोजना स्थानीय डेलो टुरिस्ट लजमा आयोजना गर्ने अनि सिक्किम प्रेस क्लबले सिमाना क्षेत्र रम्फूमा आगामी हिउँद महिनामा दुवै इलाकाका पत्रकारहरूमाझ बन्धुत्व वृद्धि गराउनका लागि भलिबल खेलको आयोजना गर्ने विषयमा पनि चर्चा भयो।
सिक्किमबाट आएका पत्रकारहरूमा इण्डियन फेडेरेसन अफ स्मल एण्ड मिडियम न्युजपेपरको सिक्किम राज्यका अध्यक्ष विजय बान्तवा, सिक्किम पत्रकार संगठनका महासचिव भीम राउत, वरिष्ठ पत्रकारहरू कमल मुखिया, विष्णुप्रताप कणेल, प्रणय लामिछाने, प्रवीण खालिङ, नन्दु दूतराज आदि रहेका थिए भने कालेबुङ प्रेस क्लबबाट अध्यक्ष अरूण कुमार रसाइली, उपाध्यक्ष सामतेन काबो लगायत पत्रकार मनोज राई, मणि तामाङ अनि प्रशिक्षणरत पत्रकारहरू सञ्जिला राई, स्मृति छेत्री अनि अञ्जली पौड्याल रहेका थिए।
Indian journalist wins AFP prize for work in Kashmir
PTI, Hong Kong, 30 MARCH: Dilnaz Boga, an Indian reporter and photographer, received the Kate Webb Prize from Agence France-Presse today for her courageous investigative work in Indian-administered Kashmir.
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| Boga with her award (Photo: SNS) |
“Dilnaz Boga is a more than worthy recipient of the third Kate Webb Award, and her work stood out from a very strong field of applicants from across the region,” Mr Wishart said.
Boga said the prize money would help support her future coverage of Kashmir as an independent journalist.
“I, on behalf of my colleagues in Kashmir, would like to say that we will not stop telling the truth at any cost,” Boga said.
She vowed to “fight the battle against forgetfulness ~ for we know that there can be no peace without justice”. The Kate Webb Prize was launched in 2008 in honour of a legendary AFP correspondent in Asia who blazed a trail for women in international journalism.
India unites to celebrate victory over Pakistan
IANS, New Delhi, March 31 : An overjoyed Indian nation erupted in undisguised ecstasy Wednesday as Team India crushed Pakistan in a World Cup cricket semifinal that at one stage seemed going the other way.
Across hundreds of cities and smaller towns, innumerable thousands — perhaps millions — poured on to the streets dancing, shouting, screaming, beating drums and bursting firecrackers as the last Pakistani batsman fell in the final over at 10.45 p.m. in Punjab’s Mohali town.
In many places, impromptu processions were taken out. Complete strangers hugged one another, repeating parrot like: “We have done
it! We have done it! We have defeated Pakistan!”
As the Pakistani challenge ended in the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium, watched by a cheerful Manmohan Singh and a glum Yousuf Raza Gilani of Pakistan, the Indian mood was epitomized by Congress president Sonia Gandhi who stood up and raised both hands in sheer joy.
At the same time, millions all across the country who had been glued to their televisions since afternoon — when India chose to bat — rose like one man for a boisterous celebration that continued beyond midnight.
Thousands of firecrackers exploded in city after city, lighting up the night sky. From Mohali to Thiruvananthapuram, from Mumbai to Shillong, from the young to adults, from soldiers on the India-Pakistan border to industrialists, from street corners to pubs, there was no stopping anyone, anywhere.
Bollywood joined them — with stars tweeting their joy over a victory that takes India to the final in Mumbai where they will face a determined Sri Lanka Saturday.
Bangalore and the rest of Karnataka saw some of the loudest celebrations. Young men zipped around on motorcycles and cars honking, whistling and shouting slogans hailing Indian captain M.S. Dhoni and his men.
Hyderabad was no different. The city’s skies lighted up with firecrackers soon after Misbah-ul-Haq was caught by Virat Kohli off the bowling of Zaheer Khan in the last over. Waving Indian flags, young men took to the streets raising slogans of “Bharat mata ki jai”.
“It is a great moment. I had kept my Diwali crackers ready for this victory. We have reached the World Cup final and have also beaten Pakistan. It is simply amazing,” entrepreneur Sunny Singh told IANS in Mohali which Wednesday was the epicentre of some explosive cricket.
Man of the Match Sachin Tendulkar’s hometown Mumbai was not to be left behind. There was veritable madness after Pakistan’s captain Shahid Afridi — a fighter to the core — was caught by Virender Sehwag off the bowling of Harbajan Singh.
The roar of firecrackers and the pounding of drums in Mumbai reached a peak when the game ended.
Similar celebrations were reported from Kolkata, Chandigarh, Delhi, Chennai, Panaji, Shillong, Guhawati, Bhopal, Raipur, Lucknow, Patna and of course Dhoni’s hometown Ranchi — and everywhere else.
The celebrations were in complete contrast to the stillness that enveloped India when the game began in Mohali.
For over seven of the eight hours when the match lasted, it wasn’t clear who would win — India or Pakistan. Streets across India thinned out while offices and workplaces reported poor attendance right from the morning.
Every Indian run was cheered and every four and six led to joyous eruptions. And there were tense moments when, at one time, it looked as if a resurgent Pakistan might outclass India.
But it was not to be — and India celebrated.
HARD ROAD AHEAD - A spell in opposition may be just what the Left Front needs
BHASKAR DUTTA, TT, Opinion, 31 March:In a few days’ time, voters in West Bengal will cast their verdict on the three decades of Left Front rule in the state. During all the previous elections after 1977, the only question on everyone’s lips was the size of the eventual majority for the ruling coalition — there was no doubt that the Left Front would come back to power. It is vastly different this year — most political pundits give the Left only a slim chance of returning to Writers’ Buildings.
Predictions about election results in India have often been wrong and they could also go awry this time around. But predictions are based on ground realities and this one is no exception. The initial euphoria dissipated long ago, only to be replaced by growing disenchantment with Left Front rule. This disenchantment was given concrete shape during the last Lok Sabha elections when the alliance led by the Trinamul Congress secured well over half the seats in the state.
Is this bitterness and disappointment of the typical voter in West Bengal unreasonable? How has his relative position changed compared to his brethren in other parts of the country?
The Left Front government started its innings in Sehwag-like fashion, blazing away with the launch of Operation Barga soon after coming to power. The successful implementation of this hugely important reform ensured legal protection to tenant farmers against eviction and also ensured that they got their rightful share of the produce. There is no doubt that Operation Barga made a tremendous difference to the lives of vast numbers of poor and marginal farmers. It has been the Left Front’s most impressive achievement.
Unfortunately, this has been virtually the only policy initiative of such major significance undertaken by the ruling coalition. It is difficult to think of any criterion according to which the Left Front will get more than a passing grade. Consider first the overall income criterion. In the early 1960s, Bengal’s per capita income was higher than that of India as a whole. The position of the state declined in the latter half of that decade during the first spell of Left Front rule, when there was a marked flight of capital out of the state. The ratio of the state’s per capita net domestic product to that of per capita net national product has remained virtually unchanged at just below one between 1977-78 and 2008-09.
At first sight, this may not seem so bad since it suggests that the state has kept up with the impressive rate of growth achieved by the Indian economy as a whole during the last three decades. However, much of the increase in state output has come from agriculture, which has actually performed very well. The flip side of the coin is that there has been a virtual de-industrialization of the state. This neglect of industry has been an almost deliberate act of state policy, and can have disastrous long-term consequences. The agricultural sector simply cannot grow as fast as the rest of the economy, and so the state’s relative position in the income ladder will slip if the industrial sector is not strengthened.
Supporters of the Left may claim that the Front should be judged on the basis of how the state has performed in terms of distributional criteria such as the incidence of poverty and indicators of human development. In 1978, the ratios of the rural and urban populations in the state below the poverty line were 56 and 38 per cent, while analogous figures for India as a whole were 51 and 41 per cent. The corresponding figures in 2005 are 38.2 (rural) and 24.4 (urban) per cent for West Bengal, while they are 41.8 (rural) and 25.7 (urban) per cent for India as a whole. In other words, the reduction in rural poverty in the state has been better than that for the country as a whole, perhaps because of Operation Barga and the impressive growth of the agricultural sector. The reduction in urban poverty has just about kept pace with the rest of the country. This is surely not a creditable achievement for a ruling coalition which claims that its USP is “caring for the poor”.
Life expectancy in the state is roughly the same as the all-India figure. However, the state has been able to achieve a much faster decline in infant mortality compared to the rest of the country. In contrast, its performance in the education sector has been pretty dismal for a state which takes great pride in its literary and cultural traditions. Bengal’s relative position in terms of literacy rates amongst the major states is much lower today than it was in 1981.
Can the Left Front come up with legitimate alibis and excuses which can possibly explain what has been at best a very mediocre performance? Throughout the three decades in power, a constant refrain of the ruling coalition has been the allegation that the Central government has been biased against the state. There is some truth behind this claim. There is ample empirical evidence that successive governments at the Centre use Central grants to the states to further their political objectives, discriminating against those states which are ruled by Opposition parties. It did not help the cause of West Bengal that an overwhelming majority of its members of parliament have also been from the Left.
However, this can only provide a partial explanation of the experiences during the last three decades. For example, the Left enjoyed a lot of clout with the first United Progressive Alliance government until it withdrew support over the nuclear deal. But there is no evidence suggesting that the state government used this influence to further the economic prospects of the state during this period.
Moreover, the Left Front has also enjoyed an advantage that should have more than offset what has often been labelled the “stepmotherly” treatment from the Centre. The coalition has been remarkably stable during this long period, in stark contrast to virtually all other coalitions that have been in power in other states. This political stability has meant that the state has been spared the populist policies and rent-seeking activities which are typically associated with unstable coalitions, and which have plagued many other states in India. In addition, the overwhelming majority of its leaders have been honest and upright — qualities that are not typically associated with Indian politicians.
Unfortunately, the Front has not been able to translate these advantages into concrete economic benefits for the state, almost entirely because of its doctrinaire mistrust of the capitalist system. Until very recently, there has hardly been any attempt to attract capital into the state — at a time when other Indian states were falling over each other to get fresh investment projects for themselves. No state in India possesses the financial resources to set up large public sector enterprises that can generate adequate levels of gainful employment. So the failure to attract private capital has meant that the growth process in the state has been almost solely dependent on agriculture. Unfortunately, the sector is structurally incapable of absorbing additional labour. Indeed, no large, overpopulated, land-scarce economy can grow without a sizeable industrial sector. West Bengal has been no exception. The leaders of the Left Front must have been extremely myopic and unbelievably naïve to believe otherwise.< Elections are a great disciplining device. The threat of losing power can induce good governance. The lack of any credible opposition has enabled the Left to come back to power repeatedly, and has resulted in arrogance and the inability to learn from past mistakes. Perhaps a spell on the opposition benches is just what the doctor should order for the Left. The author is professor of economics, University of Warwick
ANOTHER CLASS
TT, Opinion:Surveys of anything to do with sex usually yield conservative results, particularly in India. So the fact that the ministry of women and child development found 53 per cent of Indian children to be victims of sexual abuse in its 2007 study of child abuse in 13 states is an alarming indicator of the magnitude of the evil. From that study, the ministry has formulated the protection of children from sexual offences bill, 2011. The bill now awaits passage in Parliament.
Targeted chiefly at penetrative and non-penetrative sexual abuse of children, and the use of children for pornography, the proposed legislation is meant to include all those specific sexual offences not covered by any other law. Any law will have its weak points, but no critic would deny the long-felt need for the proposed legislation. It has taken many years and much talking for the Indian government to accept that the sexual abuse of minors, when absorbed into the law against homosexuality, for example, or that against custodial rape or even minor marriage, not only loses the specificity of the criminal act, but is also fragmented into secondary bits of broader crimes. And many forms of it vanish through the gaps. The crime needs to be regarded separately.
The child abuser is a criminal like no other. The evil is, and has always been, widespread. The Indian joint family environment and the value accorded to men, together with the culture of respect towards authority, have simultaneously nurtured and silenced this horror. Any law would help.
Inevitably, the bill has a number of problems. In a stretch of pragmatism, it qualifies abuse in the case of children between 16 and 18 years of age by basing it on the lack of consent. The confusion in Indian laws regarding the ages of consent, marriage, adulthood and so on throws long shadows. How soon do children have independent agency in sex? How is the notion of childhood affected by the sexual consciousness of the child?
These questions are never easy, even less so when they concern people of widely differing standards of education and income, of varied, many-layered cultures, caught in a time of rapid change. And that, perhaps, is the greatest difficulty of the bill. All societies, in cities and villages, must comprehend its full impact. Otherwise it will not be used, or be merely abused to punish innocent people. And it will completely miss the children who need it intensely — in shops, fields, factories and kitchens.
India unites to celebrate victory over Pakistan
IANS, New Delhi, March 31 : An overjoyed Indian nation erupted in undisguised ecstasy Wednesday as Team India crushed Pakistan in a World Cup cricket semifinal that at one stage seemed going the other way.
Across hundreds of cities and smaller towns, innumerable thousands — perhaps millions — poured on to the streets dancing, shouting, screaming, beating drums and bursting firecrackers as the last Pakistani batsman fell in the final over at 10.45 p.m. in Punjab’s Mohali town.
In many places, impromptu processions were taken out. Complete strangers hugged one another, repeating parrot like: “We have done
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| Victory Rally in Siliguri (Photo-BNA) |
As the Pakistani challenge ended in the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium, watched by a cheerful Manmohan Singh and a glum Yousuf Raza Gilani of Pakistan, the Indian mood was epitomized by Congress president Sonia Gandhi who stood up and raised both hands in sheer joy.
At the same time, millions all across the country who had been glued to their televisions since afternoon — when India chose to bat — rose like one man for a boisterous celebration that continued beyond midnight.
Thousands of firecrackers exploded in city after city, lighting up the night sky. From Mohali to Thiruvananthapuram, from Mumbai to Shillong, from the young to adults, from soldiers on the India-Pakistan border to industrialists, from street corners to pubs, there was no stopping anyone, anywhere.
Bollywood joined them — with stars tweeting their joy over a victory that takes India to the final in Mumbai where they will face a determined Sri Lanka Saturday.
Bangalore and the rest of Karnataka saw some of the loudest celebrations. Young men zipped around on motorcycles and cars honking, whistling and shouting slogans hailing Indian captain M.S. Dhoni and his men.
Hyderabad was no different. The city’s skies lighted up with firecrackers soon after Misbah-ul-Haq was caught by Virat Kohli off the bowling of Zaheer Khan in the last over. Waving Indian flags, young men took to the streets raising slogans of “Bharat mata ki jai”.
“It is a great moment. I had kept my Diwali crackers ready for this victory. We have reached the World Cup final and have also beaten Pakistan. It is simply amazing,” entrepreneur Sunny Singh told IANS in Mohali which Wednesday was the epicentre of some explosive cricket.
Man of the Match Sachin Tendulkar’s hometown Mumbai was not to be left behind. There was veritable madness after Pakistan’s captain Shahid Afridi — a fighter to the core — was caught by Virender Sehwag off the bowling of Harbajan Singh.
The roar of firecrackers and the pounding of drums in Mumbai reached a peak when the game ended.
Similar celebrations were reported from Kolkata, Chandigarh, Delhi, Chennai, Panaji, Shillong, Guhawati, Bhopal, Raipur, Lucknow, Patna and of course Dhoni’s hometown Ranchi — and everywhere else.
The celebrations were in complete contrast to the stillness that enveloped India when the game began in Mohali.
For over seven of the eight hours when the match lasted, it wasn’t clear who would win — India or Pakistan. Streets across India thinned out while offices and workplaces reported poor attendance right from the morning.
Every Indian run was cheered and every four and six led to joyous eruptions. And there were tense moments when, at one time, it looked as if a resurgent Pakistan might outclass India.
But it was not to be — and India celebrated.
HARD ROAD AHEAD - A spell in opposition may be just what the Left Front needs
BHASKAR DUTTA, TT, Opinion, 31 March:In a few days’ time, voters in West Bengal will cast their verdict on the three decades of Left Front rule in the state. During all the previous elections after 1977, the only question on everyone’s lips was the size of the eventual majority for the ruling coalition — there was no doubt that the Left Front would come back to power. It is vastly different this year — most political pundits give the Left only a slim chance of returning to Writers’ Buildings.
Predictions about election results in India have often been wrong and they could also go awry this time around. But predictions are based on ground realities and this one is no exception. The initial euphoria dissipated long ago, only to be replaced by growing disenchantment with Left Front rule. This disenchantment was given concrete shape during the last Lok Sabha elections when the alliance led by the Trinamul Congress secured well over half the seats in the state.
Is this bitterness and disappointment of the typical voter in West Bengal unreasonable? How has his relative position changed compared to his brethren in other parts of the country?
The Left Front government started its innings in Sehwag-like fashion, blazing away with the launch of Operation Barga soon after coming to power. The successful implementation of this hugely important reform ensured legal protection to tenant farmers against eviction and also ensured that they got their rightful share of the produce. There is no doubt that Operation Barga made a tremendous difference to the lives of vast numbers of poor and marginal farmers. It has been the Left Front’s most impressive achievement.
Unfortunately, this has been virtually the only policy initiative of such major significance undertaken by the ruling coalition. It is difficult to think of any criterion according to which the Left Front will get more than a passing grade. Consider first the overall income criterion. In the early 1960s, Bengal’s per capita income was higher than that of India as a whole. The position of the state declined in the latter half of that decade during the first spell of Left Front rule, when there was a marked flight of capital out of the state. The ratio of the state’s per capita net domestic product to that of per capita net national product has remained virtually unchanged at just below one between 1977-78 and 2008-09.
At first sight, this may not seem so bad since it suggests that the state has kept up with the impressive rate of growth achieved by the Indian economy as a whole during the last three decades. However, much of the increase in state output has come from agriculture, which has actually performed very well. The flip side of the coin is that there has been a virtual de-industrialization of the state. This neglect of industry has been an almost deliberate act of state policy, and can have disastrous long-term consequences. The agricultural sector simply cannot grow as fast as the rest of the economy, and so the state’s relative position in the income ladder will slip if the industrial sector is not strengthened.
Supporters of the Left may claim that the Front should be judged on the basis of how the state has performed in terms of distributional criteria such as the incidence of poverty and indicators of human development. In 1978, the ratios of the rural and urban populations in the state below the poverty line were 56 and 38 per cent, while analogous figures for India as a whole were 51 and 41 per cent. The corresponding figures in 2005 are 38.2 (rural) and 24.4 (urban) per cent for West Bengal, while they are 41.8 (rural) and 25.7 (urban) per cent for India as a whole. In other words, the reduction in rural poverty in the state has been better than that for the country as a whole, perhaps because of Operation Barga and the impressive growth of the agricultural sector. The reduction in urban poverty has just about kept pace with the rest of the country. This is surely not a creditable achievement for a ruling coalition which claims that its USP is “caring for the poor”.
Life expectancy in the state is roughly the same as the all-India figure. However, the state has been able to achieve a much faster decline in infant mortality compared to the rest of the country. In contrast, its performance in the education sector has been pretty dismal for a state which takes great pride in its literary and cultural traditions. Bengal’s relative position in terms of literacy rates amongst the major states is much lower today than it was in 1981.
Can the Left Front come up with legitimate alibis and excuses which can possibly explain what has been at best a very mediocre performance? Throughout the three decades in power, a constant refrain of the ruling coalition has been the allegation that the Central government has been biased against the state. There is some truth behind this claim. There is ample empirical evidence that successive governments at the Centre use Central grants to the states to further their political objectives, discriminating against those states which are ruled by Opposition parties. It did not help the cause of West Bengal that an overwhelming majority of its members of parliament have also been from the Left.
However, this can only provide a partial explanation of the experiences during the last three decades. For example, the Left enjoyed a lot of clout with the first United Progressive Alliance government until it withdrew support over the nuclear deal. But there is no evidence suggesting that the state government used this influence to further the economic prospects of the state during this period.
Moreover, the Left Front has also enjoyed an advantage that should have more than offset what has often been labelled the “stepmotherly” treatment from the Centre. The coalition has been remarkably stable during this long period, in stark contrast to virtually all other coalitions that have been in power in other states. This political stability has meant that the state has been spared the populist policies and rent-seeking activities which are typically associated with unstable coalitions, and which have plagued many other states in India. In addition, the overwhelming majority of its leaders have been honest and upright — qualities that are not typically associated with Indian politicians.
Unfortunately, the Front has not been able to translate these advantages into concrete economic benefits for the state, almost entirely because of its doctrinaire mistrust of the capitalist system. Until very recently, there has hardly been any attempt to attract capital into the state — at a time when other Indian states were falling over each other to get fresh investment projects for themselves. No state in India possesses the financial resources to set up large public sector enterprises that can generate adequate levels of gainful employment. So the failure to attract private capital has meant that the growth process in the state has been almost solely dependent on agriculture. Unfortunately, the sector is structurally incapable of absorbing additional labour. Indeed, no large, overpopulated, land-scarce economy can grow without a sizeable industrial sector. West Bengal has been no exception. The leaders of the Left Front must have been extremely myopic and unbelievably naïve to believe otherwise.< Elections are a great disciplining device. The threat of losing power can induce good governance. The lack of any credible opposition has enabled the Left to come back to power repeatedly, and has resulted in arrogance and the inability to learn from past mistakes. Perhaps a spell on the opposition benches is just what the doctor should order for the Left. The author is professor of economics, University of Warwick
ANOTHER CLASS
TT, Opinion:Surveys of anything to do with sex usually yield conservative results, particularly in India. So the fact that the ministry of women and child development found 53 per cent of Indian children to be victims of sexual abuse in its 2007 study of child abuse in 13 states is an alarming indicator of the magnitude of the evil. From that study, the ministry has formulated the protection of children from sexual offences bill, 2011. The bill now awaits passage in Parliament.
Targeted chiefly at penetrative and non-penetrative sexual abuse of children, and the use of children for pornography, the proposed legislation is meant to include all those specific sexual offences not covered by any other law. Any law will have its weak points, but no critic would deny the long-felt need for the proposed legislation. It has taken many years and much talking for the Indian government to accept that the sexual abuse of minors, when absorbed into the law against homosexuality, for example, or that against custodial rape or even minor marriage, not only loses the specificity of the criminal act, but is also fragmented into secondary bits of broader crimes. And many forms of it vanish through the gaps. The crime needs to be regarded separately.
The child abuser is a criminal like no other. The evil is, and has always been, widespread. The Indian joint family environment and the value accorded to men, together with the culture of respect towards authority, have simultaneously nurtured and silenced this horror. Any law would help.
Inevitably, the bill has a number of problems. In a stretch of pragmatism, it qualifies abuse in the case of children between 16 and 18 years of age by basing it on the lack of consent. The confusion in Indian laws regarding the ages of consent, marriage, adulthood and so on throws long shadows. How soon do children have independent agency in sex? How is the notion of childhood affected by the sexual consciousness of the child?
These questions are never easy, even less so when they concern people of widely differing standards of education and income, of varied, many-layered cultures, caught in a time of rapid change. And that, perhaps, is the greatest difficulty of the bill. All societies, in cities and villages, must comprehend its full impact. Otherwise it will not be used, or be merely abused to punish innocent people. And it will completely miss the children who need it intensely — in shops, fields, factories and kitchens.
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