I try to lift the old and faded camouflage printed bag but it’s too heavy. Someone has brought iskus from Soureni busty and left the bag next to the door. There is no one else in the house apart from my grandmother, who is still out there trying to put the chickens in the coop. So I take an old shawl, cover the bag, and wait for the CRP raid.
बंगाल सरकारकै शरणमा बसेर मुद्दासँग छौँ भनेर यदि कसैले भन्छ भने त्यो वाहियात लाग्न सक्छ । यहाँको वर्तमान सत्ता जतिसक्दो कुनै पनि अन्य व्यवस्था अथवा केन्द्रको सुधार प्रक्रिया पहाड नभित्रीउन भन्ने पक्षमा छन् । यदि कुनै अन्य दल हुनु हो भने पनि त्यो दलको स्तर यहाँबाट माथी उठ्ने अपेक्षा बेकार जान्थ्यो । मुद्दाको अवस्था सुध्रिनु नसक्नुको मुख्य कारण दलहरुको यहि स्वार्थपरक सत्तामुखी सोच हो ।
In “Wai Wai” we trust – that’s the state of journalism in our hills.
In “Syria” we outrage – that’s the state of writers, poets, intelligentsia in our hills.
In “Social-media revolution” we believe – that’s the state of activism in our hills.
In “Finding political relevance” we strive for – that’s the state of academia in our hills.
In “Silence” we dwell – that’s the state of rebellion in our hills
We will vocally decry those who we believe are worthy of our self-righteous scorn, but don’t bother us to speak out against the tyrannical state and the current state of affairs.
NPP Chief and Meghalaya CM, Conrad Sangma writes to Home Minister in support of Permanent Political Solution for Gorkhas
My aunts waited for the cremation to end and sat and gossiped among themselves. They were talking about some place where women had cremated the dead, an unheard of practice, Keti haru lay garnu parcha abo. Someone also mentioned in hushed voices that in some tea garden, a woman had given birth to a dark-skinnned baby, “nikkhur kalo nani”. There was anxiety in their voices. I didn’t really understand the implication of these conversations.
From the 1st to the 14th of every month is the greatest event in the quarantine days for the Philominites. Along with the midday meal the questions of every subject framed by the respective teachers are distributed to the parents along with the essentials of the midday meal. Then the School Principal, along with a group of dedicated teachers are seen in a jeep or a pick-up toggling along the rough broken trails of the villages carrying the essentials of the midday meal and the question papers which are distributed to the parents at some vintage points of the village. The students then submit their workout sheets via their parents at the next midday meal, and the papers reach the school handed to the respective teachers after the papers are quarantined. This unending process have made it possible to connect the teachers with more than 2000 students without any elaborate technology.
सजिलो थिएन नर बहादुर भण्डारीलाई सर्व भारतीय स्तरमा नेपाली भाषा मान्यताको निम्ति नेतृत्व गर्न अनि तिनी जान्दथे यस कार्यले तिनको विरोधीहरूद्वारा नाना थरीका आरोपहरू लगाएर तिनलाई सत्ताच्यूत पनि गर्न सक्छन् भनेर तर त्यसको किण्चित पर्वाह नगरी तिनी आफ्नो कार्यमा डटीरहे जसको फलस्वरूप १९९२ सालमा भारतको संसदद्वारा नेपाली भाषालाई संविधानको आठौं अनुसूचीमा अन्तर्भुक्त गर्न कर लाग्यो अनि नभन्दै नर बहादुर भण्डारी १९९४ को बिधान सभा चुनाउमा अल्पमतमा रहेर सत्ता पनि गुमाउनु पर्यो ।
The Kalimpong Massacre is a pivotal moment in the history of Darjeeling, and literally marks the day when our beautiful, peaceful, silent, and tolerant hills lost its innocence. The anger which was given birth on July 27th, 1986… ended up engulfing all of the hills, Terai and Dooars. Thousands of youth lost their lives, thousands of mothers lost their sons and daughters, thousands of wives became widows and thousands of children became orphans.
As the MLA of Darjeeling, I have several practical proposals in mind to really help all the affected people. I have seen with my own eyes how people have suffered and in my interactions with them have been painfully touching. For the migrant brothers and sisters who were forced to come back to the hills and also others I have few immediate suggestions.
The word “quarantine”, takes me back to 1986 when I was a little girl during the Gorkhaland agitation in Darjeeling. A 40-day strike was declared, which meant a lockdown with no movement of vehicles, no movement of people, rationing of essentials and no schools – a dream come true for us, children and the worse nightmare for parents. While it wasn’t exactly like being caught in a health pandemic, but it has its similarities – working from home, no schools, restriction on transport and the worst one – stocking up on essentials.