An Open Letter to the People of Sikkim


Jan 17, 2009


The Sikkim National Peoples Party (SNPP) has always maintained that Sikkim’s association with the Union of India was the result of the aspirations of the Sikkimese people for participation in the democratic institutions of India, but reiterates that the terms of association were completely different as compared to the other states of the union. This fact was made explicit by the 35th amendment to the constitution in 1974, which gave the status of an associate state to Sikkim with complete internal autonomy and the right to self determination, which was a unique experiment in India’s constitutional history. These special provisions were later mutilated, and illegally changed by the 36th amendment in 1975 ( An illegal amendment imposed on the people of Sikkim without their consent.), when article 371f was inserted into the constitution, but it still explicitly retained all the provision of an associate state, of course, in a different and more malleable/manipulative form.

The party reminds the people that continuity of our old laws were one of the major guarantees incorporated in the constitution and that the people have stood up for this right occasionally in the past when the people of Sikkim rose together in 1992 to oppose the Income Tax issue, in 1998 against the employment exchange, in 2007 in favour of rule 4(IV) and countless other times. Unfortunately we are now again facing the same situation with the imposition of the Income tax act, which has splintered Sikkimese society in a way which does not bode well for the future. The party through its sister organization, Citizens for Clarity on Art. 371F, has determined that despite explicit provisions for safeguard and continuity of old laws, around 184 central acts have been extended to Sikkim, in violation of constitutional norms, during the last 3 decades despite sporadic protest by the people as mentioned earlier. These extensions are in complete violation of the constitutional safeguards and it is a rather unfortunate matter that while almost 75% of the violation have been committed by the state government, 25% of the violations have been directly committed by agencies of the Central Government.

The party feels that now the time has come for the people to realize that if  we do not protest strongly and in a firm manner, the wrong signals shall go to the people and government of India that all is well in Sikkim and that the people have accepted whatever is thrown at them. This fact has been reflected recently when our Chief Minister recently received one of his nonsensical “National Awards” for the best health services in the country. Every Sikkimese knows this is a lie, as it is commonly seen that our people have to travel to Siliguri for a simple MRI or a simple  appendix operation. In fact the party has determined that no doctor in Sikkim has ever had his own child delivered in Sikkim, a fact cruelly subdued  and suppressed by these sycophantic and meaningless awards and propoganda, which gives others the impression that Sikkim is on the right path of progress, and the people too stunned to react.

The party stands by the belief that violation of these terms has created a situation where none of the communities of Sikkim feel secure in any way any more. This insecurity is seen by the fact that the Lepchas have been agitating for the last almost 800 days on continuous fast for the preservation of their homeland. We have to remember that the Lepchas are among the most vulnerable which has been justified by their declaration as an aboriginal tribe as per UN guidelines. The Bhutias have recently come up with the demand to relocate them so as to save their way of life and their unique culture. We cannot forget the circumstances which have prompted them to ask for such an extreme demand which is clearly an open indication of their insecurities. The small but significant community of old businessness/plainsman are at a crossroad today where their very identity is at stake as there is no coherent policy for them even after 3 decades and this insecurity has been compounded recently when they were not included in the IT exemption given to the others and has led to their isolation and heightened insecurity. The worst fate has been reserved for the Sikkimese of Nepalese origin (SNO), who were the prime motivator for the democratic movement in 1975, but who today have even lost their basic rights like seat reservation. Because of these and other violations, the SNO are losing their identity rapidly and this crisis has been aggravated by the recent disclosure by the BJP of the dual citizenship of our chief minister. The party has now reasons to believe that the documents provided by the BJP functionaries are a copy of the originals and cannot be considered a forgery. This has been ascertained by the party through its sources in Nepal who have verified that the document numbers disclosed by the BJP functionaries, are indeed recorded in the concerned registers in the concerned departments of the Republic of Nepal. The party feels that these are serious matters especially considering the fact, that in the past our CM has been associated with the Maoists of Nepal, as well as extreme fascist forces which were promoting a “Greater Nepal”. This fact has been quoted extensively by the national and international press in the past. The seriousness is that not only will such disclosures be a disaster for the SNO in Sikkim and a threat to national security, but it shall also negatively effect the democratic aspirations of the Nepali/Gorkha people of India as a whole who are already under duress, and have been demanding the state of Gorkhaland. Therefore it has now become imperative that this sort of things are nipped in the bud in time before further damage to the security of the nation.

The party in its meeting, on the 12th of Jan, 2009, discussed these issues at length and concluded that it has become essential that a permanent solution at the earliest as it is shameful that we are in this confused situation after more than 3 decades, and the impunity and the rate at which the violations are taking place, we shall soon have nothing to object about as everything shall have been violated. Therefore, to remind everyone of the sacrifices the Sikkimese people have had to make for these special terms in the past, and also to remind them that we should not let go so easily, the party further passed the following resolutions unanimously.

The party shall call for an all Sikkim Bandh for 12 hours on 26th January and has decided to raise black flags all over Sikkim along with the National flag that  day. The National flag shall signify the Sikkimese peoples commitment to the democratic institutions of the Union, and the black flag shall demonstrate the resentment of the Sikkimese people to the blatant violations in the terms of association of 1973 as enshrined in the constitution .

The Bandh shall also be used to pressurize the present CM, Shri Pawan Kumar Chamling, to live up to his constant declaration of his commitment to the ethics of democracy and morality, and step down from his chair so that investigations regarding his natinality can be carried out in a fair manner and the real truth is laid before the people at the earliest.

We appeal to the people of Sikkim to consider what we have put forth as we feel we have reached a critical time in our political existence where if we do not do something now, we shall forever lose control of our destiny which was otherwise the salient feature of the 8th May agreement of 1973, the precursor to Sikkim’s association with the Union of India. We shall loose the right to self determination and the almost complete internal autonomy, which exists even today as article 371f but which has become almost meaningless. The party would like to go as far to the extent of comparing Sikkim’s fate with that of our neighbour Tibet, where despite the word “Autonomous” and fancy sounding legal instruments, the world knows how it is leading to an almost extinction of their way of life and culture. The Sikkimese have to give the right message to the State and the Central government that we are not going to tolerate these violations and specifically, we shall not let the Central government treat Sikkim like the Central Chinese Government is treating Tibet. And the party has decided that the best day to send the message would be the 26th. January, The Republic Day. Therefore we appeal to all Sikkimese to remember that we have lost almost all our rights because we shy away from confrontation and protests and the fear that a protest, unless called by the ruling party shall flop. This sort of thought and fears shall not stop our party and our workers, though we are a new and a small party, but we shall strive to make sure that we bring this issues to focus for the benefit of our coming generations.

Biraj Adhikari
President SNPP

source:www.articlebase.com