Historical Background

To comprehend the importance of Vande Mataram, it is imperative to examine its historical origins, a path that connects literature, nationalism, and India’s fight for independence. The development of the hymn from a poetic composition to a national song exemplifies India’s collective awakening against colonial dominance.

• The song was first published in 1875. This is corroborated by a passage in the English daily Bande Mataram written by Sri Aurobindo on 16 April 1907, that it was thirty-two years ago that Bankim composed his renowned song. He further observed that few listened at that time, but during a moment of awakening from long delusions, the people of Bengal looked around for truth, and in a fated moment, someone sang “Bande Mataram.”
• Prior to its publication in book form, Anand Math was serialised in the Bengali monthly magazine Bangadarshan, of which Bankim was the founder editor.
• The song “Vande Mataram” appeared in the very first instalment of the serialisation of the novel in the March-April 1881 issue.
• In 1907, Madam Bhikaji Cama raised the tricolour flag for the first-time outside India in Stuttgart, Berlin. The words Vande Mataram were written on the flag.

Ananda Math and the Religion of Patriotism

The central plot of the novel ‘Ananda Math’ revolves around a group of Sanyasins known as Santanas, meaning children, who dedicate their lives to the cause of their motherland. They venerate the motherland personified as the mother goddess; their devotion is solely to their land of birth. “Vande Mataram” is the song sung by the Santanas of Ananda Math. It stood as the symbol of the “religion of patriotism” that was the central theme of Ananda Math

In their temple, they placed three images of the mother representing the motherland: Mother that was, great and glorious in her majestic grandeur; Mother that is wretched and grovelling in the dust; Mother that will be, in her pristine glory. In the words of Shri Aurobindo ” The Mother of his vision held trenchant steel in her twice seventy million hands and not the bowl of the mendicant.”

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (1838–1894), the author of Vande Mataram, was one of the most prominent figures of 19th-century Bengal. He holds a pivotal role in the intellectual and literary history of Bengal during the nineteenth century. As a distinguished novelist, poet, and essayist, his contributions significantly influenced the development of modern Bengali prose and the articulation of an emerging Indian nationalism.

His notable works, including Anandamath (1882), Durgeshnandini (1865), Kapalkundala (1866), and Devi Chaudhurani (1884), reflect the social, cultural, and moral concerns of a colonised society striving for self-identity.

The composition of Vande Mataram, is recognised as a milestone in nationalist thought, symbolising the synthesis of devotion to the motherland and spiritual idealism. Through his writings, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee not only enriched Bengali literature but also laid the foundational ideological principles for India’s early nationalist movement. In Vande Mataram he gave  the country the vision of the motherland personified as the Mother.

Vande Mataram – Song of Resistance

In October 1905, a Bande Mataram Sampradaya was founded in North Calcutta to promote the idea of the Motherland as a mission and a religious passion. Every Sunday, the members of the society went out in Prabhat Pheris, singing “Vande Mataram” and accepting voluntary contributions from the people insupport of the motherland. Rabindranath Tagore also sometimes joined the Prabhat Pheris of the Sampradaya.

On 20 May 1906, in Barisal (now in Bangladesh), an unprecedented Vande Mataram procession took place, with over ten thousand participants, both Hindus and Muslims marching through the main streets of the town carrying Vande Mataram flags.

In August 1906, an English daily titled Bande Mataram was launched under the editorship of Bipin Chandra Pal, with Sri Aurobindo later joining as joint editor. Through its sharp and persuasive editorials, the newspaper became a powerful instrument of India’s awakening, spreading the message of self-reliance, unity, and political consciousness to an all-India audience. Fearlessly preaching the gospel of nationalism, inspiring young Indians to rise above colonial subjugation, the Bande Mataram daily served as a major platform for articulating nationalist thought and mobilising public opinion.

Alarmed by the rising influence of Vande Mataram—both as a song and slogan—the British administration adopted stringent measures to curb its spread. The Government of the newly created province of Eastern Bengal issued circulars prohibiting the singing or chanting of Vande Mataram in schools and colleges. Educational institutions were warned of derecognition, and students participating in political agitation were threatened with debarment from government service.

In November 1905, a fine of Rs 5 was imposed on each of the 200 students of a school in Rangpur, Bengal, as they were guilty of chanting Vande Mataram. In Rangpur, prominent anti-partition leaders were instructed to serve as special constables and to prevent the chanting of Vande Mataram. In November 1906, at a largely attended meeting held at Dhulia (Maharashtra), cries of Vande Mataram were raised. In 1908, at Belgaum (Karnataka), on the day Lokmanya Tilak was being deported to Mandalay in Burma, the police thrashed many boys and arrested many persons for chanting Vande Mataram against a verbal order prohibiting the same.

Battle Cry for Resurgent Nationalism

The song “Vande Mataram” became the emblem of India’s struggle for independence, encapsulating the collective aspiration for self-governance and the emotional connection between the populace and their homeland. Initially popularised during the Swadeshi and anti-partition movements, it quickly transcended regional barriers to serve as the anthem of national awakening. From Bengal’s streets to Bombay’s core and Punjab’s plains, the refrain of “Vande Mataram” echoed as a symbol of resistance against colonial rule. The British endeavours to suppress its rendition only amplified its patriotic significance, transforming it into a moral force uniting individuals across caste, creed, and language. Leaders, students, and revolutionaries drew motivation from its verses, reciting it at political assemblies, demonstrations, and prior to incarceration. The composition not only motivated acts of defiance but also infused the movement with cultural pride and spiritual zeal, establishing the emotional groundwork for India’s path to independence.

“Vande Mataram” emerged as the rallying cry of rising Indian nationalism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

• Vande Mataram was sung at the 1896 session of the Congress by Rabindranath Tagore.

During the stormy days of 1905, the anti-partition and Swadeshi movement in Bengal, the appeal of the song as well as of the slogan Vande Mataram, became very powerful.

• At the Varanasi session of the Indian National Congress that same year, the song ‘Vande Mataram’ was adopted for all-India occasions.

In April 1906, during the Bengal Provincial Conference at Barisal in the newly created province of Eastern Bengal, the British authorities banned the public chanting of Vande Mataram and eventually prohibited the conference itself. Defying the order, delegates continued to raise the slogan and faced severe police repression.

In May 1907, in Lahore, a group of young protesters marched in defiance of colonial orders, raising the slogan Vande Mataram to condemn the arrest of Swadeshi leaders at Rawalpindi. The demonstration was met with brutal police repression, yet the youth’s fearless chanting of the slogan reflected the growing spirit of resistance spreading across the country.

On 27 February 1908, around a thousand workers of the Coral Mills in Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu) went on strike in solidarity with the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company and against repressive actions by the authorities. They marched through the streets late into the night, chanting Vande Mataram as a mark of protest and patriotism.

In June 1908, thousands gathered outside the Bombay police court during Lokmanya Tilak’s trial, singing Vande Mataram in a powerful display of solidarity. Later, on 21 June 1914, Tilak received a grand welcome in Pune upon his release, with the crowd echoing Vande Mataram long after he had taken his seat.

Impact on Indian Revolutionaries Abroad

• In 1907, Madam Bhikaji Cama raised the tricolour flag for the first-time outside India in Stuttgart, Berlin. The words Vande Mataram were written on the flag.
• On 17 August 1909, when Madan Lal Dhignra was hanged in England, his last words before he went to the gallows were “Bande Mataram.”
• In 1909, Indian patriots in Paris undertook the publication of a magazine called Bande Mataram from Geneva.
• In October 1912, when Gopal Krishna Gokhale arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, he was welcomed by a grand procession accompanied by cries of ‘Vande Mataram.’

National Status

In the Constituent Assembly there was absolute unanimity over adopting both Jana Gana Mana and Vande Mataram as National symbols, and there was no debate on the issue. On 24 January 1950, Dr. Rajendra Prasad addressed the Constituent Assembly, stating that Vande Mataram, due to its significant role in the freedom movement, should have the same status as the National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana, and be honored equally. He said,

“There is one matter which has been pending for discussion, namely the question of the National Anthem. At one time it was thought that the matter might be brought up before the House and a decision taken by the House by way of a resolution. But it has been felt that, instead of taking a formal decision by means of a resolution, it is better if I make a statement with regard to the National Anthem. Accordingly I make this statement.

The composition consisting of the words and music known as Jana Gana Mana is the National Anthem of India, subject to such alterations in the words as the Government may authorise as occasion arises; and the song Vande Mataram, which has played a historic part in the struggle for Indian freedom, shall be honoured equally with Jana Gana Mana and shall have equal status with it. (Applause). I hope this will satisfy the Members.”

His statement was adopted with Rabindranath Tagore’s Jana-Gana-Mana being adopted as the national anthem of independent India, and Bankim’s Vande Mataram being adopted as the National Song with an equal status as Jana-Gana-Mana.

Commemorating 150 Years of Vande Mataram

As the nation celebrates 150 years of Vande Mataram, commemorative activities across India seek to honour its enduring legacy as a song of unity, resistance, and national pride. Institutions, cultural bodies, and educational centres are organising seminars, exhibitions, musical renditions, and public readings to revisit the song’s historical and cultural significance.

The Government of India will commemorate this in four phases.

A Few of the activities are listed below.

On 7th November 2025

• National Level inaugural programme of the commemoration to be held in Delhi (Indira Gandhi Stadium).
• VIP events with widespread public participation will be held across the country till the tehsil level on 7 November.
• A commemorative stamp and coin will be released at the national event.
• An exhibition on the history of Vande Mataram will be organised, and a short film will be screened.
• Films of the stamp and coin releases will be shown at every official event.
• Photos and videos of the events will be uploaded to the campaign website.
• At the national level, the programme features prominent singers from across the country presenting different adaptations of Vande Mataram.

Yearlong Activities

• Special programmes to be hosted on All India Radio and Doordarshan and FM radio campaign.
• PIB to organize panel discussions and dialogues on Vande Mataram in Tier 2 and 3 cities.
• A cultural evening dedicated to the spirit of Vande Mataram to be organized in all Indian Missions and Posts across the world.
• A global music festival dedicated to the spirit of Vande Mataram to be organised.
• Vande Mataram: Salute to Mother Earth – Tree plantation drives to be organised.
• Patriotic murals to be created and displayed on highways.
• Audio messages and special announcements to be made. LED displays at railway stations and airports are to display information about Vande Mataram.

Special Activities

• 25 films of 1 minute each on different facets of Vande Mataram, the Life story of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, the role of Vande Mataram in the freedom struggle, and the history of India to be made, and outreach to be done via social media.
• To channelise the energy of patriotism, the Vande Mataram Campaign and the Har Ghar Tiranga Campaign will be celebrated simultaneously

These initiatives not only pay tribute to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s timeless creation but also highlight its role in inspiring generations during the freedom struggle. Through these celebrations, the spirit of Vande Mataram is being reinterpreted for contemporary India—linking the nation’s proud past with its aspirations for a united, self-reliant, and culturally vibrant future.

Conclusion

The commemoration of 150 years of Vande Mataram underscores the song’s profound historical and cultural significance in the evolution of India’s national identity. Emerging from the intellectual and literary milieu of the late nineteenth century, Vande Mataram transcended its literary origins to become a potent symbol of anti-colonial resistance and collective aspiration. The present observance not only reaffirms the enduring relevance of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s vision but also invites renewed reflection on the song’s role in shaping the discourse of nationalism, unity, and cultural self-awareness in modern India.

The post 150 Years of Vande Mataram – A Melody That Became a Movement appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

PepsiCo, Coco-Cola, Kaisha Industries, Natural water Industries, Parle, Vinayaka Industries, Hornbill Industries, ITC, CG Foods, Perfetti Van Melle were revealed as the top 10 polluters of the Indian Himalayan Region for 2025 at the webinar ‘The Himalayan Cleanup Speaks: Insights to Action’ 8 August 2025 – Zero Waste Himalaya Day. The top polluters were identified through The Himalayan Cleanup audits were conducted across 8 mountain states in which 12500 volunteers cleaned 148 sites and audited 217854 plastic waste collected.

Zero Waste Himalaya and Integrated Mountain Initiative have been anchoring The Himalayan Cleanup since 2018, with a waste and brand audit to name the companies that pollute the Himalaya, and call them out to take responsibility for their plastic waste including designing out of the system. The call is also for the extended producer responsibility rule implementation with targeted focus for the Himalaya that recognises the importance and fragility of the landscape. 

The webinar’s context setting highlighted that existing policies and practices are not sensitive and sufficient to respond to the Himalayan waste crisis, and that there was a need to acknowledge the socio-ecological importance, fragility and challenges of the Himalaya. The need to shift the solution narrative beyond the broom, bin, landfill, burn and roll it downhill and to towards systemic solutions was stressed.The presentation on findings of THC 2025 by Ms. Priya Shrestha, member of Zero Waste Himalaya, highlighted that 217854 plastic waste collected was 93% of the total waste collected. 47% of the plastic waste collected was non-recyclable, thus challenging recycling as a complete solution. There has been a dramatic reduction in the   non-recyclable plastic collected in THC2025 compared to the past 6 years that needs a deeper trends analysis.  53% of plastic waste collected was recyclable and shows that the mountains are struggling with collecting and linking recyclable plastics for processing. 

Food packaging was consistently the highest trashed item at 93% of all plastics that shows the continued trend in the consumption of junk ultraprocessed food and the contribution of Big Food to the Himalayan waste crisis. 52% of food packaging audited was non-recyclable which highlights the limitations of recycling as a solution. 47.5 % of the food packaging was beverage bottles and 11% of it was the energy drink Sting, which had very high consumption among students, though it was not labelled as not recommended for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers. While Sting still topped the list, THC2025 showed an increase in the number of energy drinks . The food and waste intersect was highlighted as very concerning for mountain communities, as there is clear evidence showing that junk ultraprocessed food and beverage to be the leading cause of non-communicable diseases and contributing to mental ill health.

Along with the top 10 polluters, Nimoj Industries, Parshuram Packaged Drinking Water, Nestle, Fresho Beverages, Linggi Lehmo Beverages, Haldirams, Pran, Dabur, Mondelez, Reliance were found in the top 20 companies polluting the Indian Himalayan Region from the Himalayan Cleanup 2025. While the top global and national brands have continued their presence as top polluters, THC2025 showed a big jump of local brands and bottled water brands that calls on targeted localised actions to reduce their plastic pollution. RK Paul Chawang, Amyaa – Arunachal Pradesh; Shirshendu S Das, Midway Journey – Assam; Kamlesh Rai, Biruwa – Darjeeling/Kalimpong; Abdul Rashid Bhatt, Kashmir University – Jammu & Kashmir; Preeti Chauhan, Little Green World -Leh Ladakh; Yoyung Shaiza, Enfogal – Manipur; Subhashish Dasgupta, MIMDI – Meghalaya; Mery Chakma, Mizoram Waste Solutions – Mizoram; Niksungla, Living for Environment – Nagaland; Tshering Uden Bhutia, KCC, Sikkim shared their key insights across the Indian Himalayan Region anchoring the THC2025 in their respective states and regions. While there is a need to look at the Himalaya with focussed urgency, contextual nuances across the IHR including local plastic brands and plastic used in religious spaces have to be factored in too in response to the waste crisis. These reflections also committed to taking THC insights as well as the Zero Waste Himalaya movement further into their states and regions through engagement with educational institutions, communities and Swachh Bharat Missions. 

Representatives of GAIA Ambily Adithyan and Break Free from Plastic Miko Alino responded to THC results and insights bringing in National, South Asia and Global perspectives. Miko stressed the need to go beyond the visual narrative of waste as well as end of life management issues and explore multiple pathways including legal and human rights to redress plastic pollution. Curb on production and systemic changes that also ensures a just transition was shared and put into perspective with global negotiations that are underway to end plastic pollution. Ambily shared her continued surprise about the amount of recyclables collected that shows challenges in mountain waste management systems which is not experienced in the big cities. She shared about the inclusion of mountains in the draft EPR policy that was submitted. The need for expanding allies in the health, wellbeing and front of packaging labelling was also expressed. 

Jigme Bhutia, MD SBM (Sikilkim) mentioned that THC had been instrumental in informing local waste management strategies and hoped that the demand of EPR would lead to meaningful outcomes.

Mr Ramesh Negi, President IMI in his closing remarks reiterated the Himalayan agenda and called out the need for mountain sensitive policies and allocation of adequate resources. He called out a development paradigm for the Himalaya that is not extractive and polluting and congratulated the organisers and volunteers of THC for their stewardship.

Mr RP Gurung, founding member of Zero Waste Himalaya and Integrated Mountain Initiative thanked all the participants and speakers for THC2025. He called out the launch of the Plastic Freedom Challenge 2025 where individuals go without plastic for a week coming out of THC as well as calling out Independence Day Celebrations to be plastic free.

The post The Himalayan Cleanup Speaks: Insights to Action appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

Why is India known as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for women?

Why does a land of rich cultural heritage and historical significance continue to be the epicenter of grave violations of human rights even after 78 years of independence?

Why is it that rapes cases in India face backlog, and the number of new cases supersede the number of cases disposed of every year?

Strict laws were enacted after the 2012 Nirbhaya case, like the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013, but enforcement remains inconsistent across different regions and police jurisdictions.

In 2022, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reported 445,256 cases of crimes against women.

Candlelight vigils, reclaiming nights for women, silent prayers, and thunderous marches occur year after year on city streets across our nation. 

How many more Nirbhayas and Bilkis have to endure the lowest forms of human indignity to wake a nation and its leaders from their deep slumber?

How many more brutal crimes like that of the RG kar Kolkata Hospital rape and murder, Shakti mills south Mumbai rape, Ajmer gang rape, and Hathras rape case will continue to provoke citizens to raise their voices on the streets only to find another innocent life of a daughter, a mother, a sister or an employee lost again?

What will it take for our honourable Prime Minister, who championed ‘Beti Bachap Beti Padhao’, to reclaim women and girls’ rightful place in terms of their safety?

Women, whether affluent or from marginalised communities, whether young or old, a CEO or seamstress, are all subjected to the same level of harassment and abuse, revealing a systemic issue that transcends economic and social boundaries.

As a social worker, I often hear testimonies from women and girls about their nerve-wracking walks alone to school or college, or their constant anxiety while using public transportation.

One girl described the experience, saying “I feel like I’m entering a battlefield where I have to constantly wrestle with fight or flight defense mechanisms.”

Imagine the traumatic experiences every Indian woman can recount from childhood to adulthood: unwanted glances, unwanted touches, and unsolicited advice on how they should conduct themselves to stay “safe” forever etched in their core memory.

We need to change the narrative on women’s safety, because as women we cannot afford to be in a state of high alert when alone on the streets, at work, or in public spaces.

Can we dare to rewrite this narrative by starting with our boys and men, teaching them early on to be part of the solution and not the problem?

We can first begin at home by incorporating these simple practical steps to change the narrative: modelling healthy relationships and communication through treating others with kindness and mutual respect, engaging in honest conversations about consent, teaching boys to challenge negative gender stereotypes, encouraging empathy by discussing feelings and perspectives, using real-life examples to help boys understand the impact of disrespectful behaviour, urging accountability, and supporting positive male role models who embody respect for both men and women.

This will help contribute to a broader cultural shift towards addressing and preventing rape culture by engaging men and boys to become allies in championing women’s safety and to see themselves not as ‘superior’ to women, but equal in dignity and worth.

We cannot allow the growing damaging portrayal of women in media and movies, which heavily influences perceptions carried by men, especially young boys.

What women in India need today are substantial reforms of societal attitudes, school curriculums, and clear and concise legal protections.

We are a country that takes pride in celebrating traditions and festivals across all faiths – why can’t these traditions install values that put protection of its girls and women on a high pedestal?

Efforts should focus on nurturing a culture of respect and equality from a young age and implementing rigorous measures to combat violence against women.

Our states and its CMs need to do better by redefining women’s safety in India – not using cases of violence against women as a political tool, but creating and enforcing laws that actually protect women, deliver benchmark verdicts on rape cases, and set a high precedent for justice.

To be a woman in India requires courage, and it often takes gruesome deaths—the suffering of many lost lives—to draw attention to our plight and to demand better protection from society and political leaders.

For our country’s greatness doesn’t lie in nuclear deals and treaties signed, wars won across borders, or investments in infrastructure, but in how it treats its women and girls, upholding the sanctity and value of their lives.

About the Author: Moumita Khati (Bunu), embodies the ultimate blend of courage and strength, dedicating her life to combating human trafficking through her NGO Light House Disha. With an unwavering passion, she provides a safe haven for rescued girls, empowering them with skills in hotel management, beauty parlour training, and tailoring. Many have gone on to thrive in prestigious establishments like ITC Sonar and other top hotels. A cancer survivor, she faces her third relapse with unrelenting resilience, refusing to surrender to the disease. Her unbreakable spirit continues to inspire hope and strength in all who know her.

The post What Does It Mean To Be A Woman In India?  appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

Yet, a piercing question arises: while the language has found its place in the Constitution, have we, in our daily lives, truly embraced and honoured the Nepali language when we admit that we cannot read, write, count, or even speak properly in our mother tongue? In reality, this is not a matter of pride but a grave disgrace.

Despite the official recognition of the Nepali language in India, it is still treated as a foreign tongue in many regions. Why is this so? Have we ourselves shown the necessary respect and pride towards our language? Have we prioritized Nepali in our homes, schools, and workplaces?

If we fail to protect our language and culture, we must brace ourselves for the inevitable consequences. If we do not love and respect our language and literature, our identity and culture will suffer. Future generations may lose their connection to our language and the essence of our cultural heritage. The knowledge, traditions, and values transmitted through our language could vanish. This erosion could weaken our community’s unity and make it difficult to sustain our cultural programs and traditions.

Nepali Language Recognition Day commemorates the movement, its struggles, and its champions. However, limiting our recognition and honour of the language to just this day may fall short of true reverence and respect. This day serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of our language and the need for its preservation. Now is the time for all of us to truly embrace Nepali in our daily lives, to love it, and to respect it.

Let us cherish our language, honour it, and ensure its future. The Nepali language is not merely a means of communication; it is the mirror of our soul and identity.

A community whose language and literature are not strong will never progress.

On this Nepali Language Recognition Day, let us reflect and renew our commitment to our language.

Jai to Nepali language!!
Jai Gorkha!!

भाषाले त मान्यता पायो तर के हामीले भाषालाई मान्यता दिन्छौं?

नेपाली भाषा आन्दोलनको फलस्वरूप, सन् १९९२ को २० अगस्टमा भारतीय संविधानको आठौं अनुसूचीमा नेपाली भाषालाई स्थान दिइयो। यो ऐतिहासिक दिनको सम्झनामा प्रत्येक वर्ष २० अगस्टमा नेपाली भाषा मान्यता दिवस मनाइन्छ। यो दिनले हामीलाई हाम्रो भाषाको महत्त्व र पहिचानको सम्झना गराउँछ।

तर प्रश्न उठ्छ: भाषाले संविधानमा मान्यता पायो, तर के हामीले नेपाली भाषालाई हाम्रो दैनिक जीवनमा, हाम्रो समाजमा, र हाम्रो हृदयमा मान्यता दिएका छौं? के हामी हाम्रो आफ्नै भाषालाई भन्दा अरु भाषाहरूलाई बढी प्राथमिकता दिइरहेका छौं? के हामीलाई नेपाली भाषामा लेख्न, पढ्न, गन्न र कहिलेकाहीँ राम्रोसँग बोल्न नजान्नुलाई गर्वको विषय हो कि हाँसोको कुरा? यथार्थमा, यो कुनै गर्वको विषय होइन, बरु यो हाम्रो लागि ठूलो अपमानको कुरा हो।

नेपाली भाषालाई भारतमा आधिकारिक मान्यता प्राप्त भए तापनि, अझै पनि धेरै ठाउँमा यसलाई विदेशी भाषा जस्तो व्यवहार गरिन्छ। किन यस्तो भएको होला? के हामी आफैले हाम्रो भाषा प्रति सम्मान र गर्व प्रकट गरेका छौं? के हामीले नेपाली भाषालाई हाम्रो घर, विद्यालय, र कार्यस्थलमा प्राथमिकता दिएका छौं?

हाम्रो भाषा र संस्कृतिको संरक्षण नगरेमा, हामीले के-कस्ता कठिनाइहरूको सामना गर्नुपर्छ भन्ने कुरा पनि महत्त्वपूर्ण छ। यदि हामी हाम्रो भाषा र साहित्यलाई माया र सम्मान गर्दैनौं भने, हाम्रो पहिचान र संस्कृतिलाई धक्का लाग्न सक्छ। नयाँ पुस्ताले हाम्रो भाषा नबुझ्ने र हाम्रो सांस्कृतिक सम्पदाको मर्म नबुझ्ने हुन सक्छ। भाषाको माध्यमबाट हस्तान्तरण हुने ज्ञान, परम्परा, र मूल्यमान्यताहरू हराउन सक्छन्। यसले हाम्रो सामुदायिक एकतालाई कमजोर पार्न सक्छ र हाम्रा सांस्कृतिक कार्यक्रमहरू र परम्पराहरूलाई निरन्तरता दिन कठिन हुन सक्छ।

नेपाली भाषा मान्यता दिवसले आन्दोलन, तत्कालीन कठिनाइहरू र उनीहरूसँग जडित व्यक्तिहरूलाई सम्मान गर्दछ। तर केवल त्यस दिनलाई सार्वजनिक रूपमा आफ्नो भाषाको सम्मान र स्मरण गर्नुले वास्तविक सम्मान र सम्भावित अभिमानको पूर्ण अभिव्यक्ति गर्न सक्छ। नेपाली भाषा मान्यता दिवस हामीलाई हाम्रो भाषाको महत्त्व र यसको संरक्षणको आवश्यकता सम्झाउँछ। यो समय हो, हामी सबैले मिलेर नेपाली भाषालाई हाम्रो दैनिक जीवनमा मान्यता दिऊँ, यसलाई प्रेम गरौं, यसको सम्मान गरौं र यसको भविष्य सुनिश्चित गरौं। नेपाली भाषा केवल भाषा मात्र होइन, यो हाम्रो आत्मा र पहिचानको प्रतिबिम्ब हो।

जुन जातीको भाषा र साहित्य बलियो हुन्दैन त्यो जाति कहिले पनि उन्नति गर्नु सक्दैन।

हाम्रो लागि नेपाली भाषा मान्यता दिवसको शुभकामना!

जय नेपाली भाषा!!
जय गोर्खा!!

Writes – Dr. Ugyaal Tshering Lama Yolmo. He is a Assistant Professor, Department of Mass Communication, SRM University, Sikkim

The post The Language Has Gained Recognition, But Do We Accord It The Reverence It Deserves? appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

The three-week fellowship programme is organised by the United States Department of State and administed by Cultural Vistas, under the direction of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US Department of State.

The IVLP was first established in 1940 and is one of the U.S. government’s most prestigious professional exchange programs for foreign opinion leaders.

Isabella is accompanied by five other journalists from India namely Barasha Das (independent journalist), Jaideep Deogharia (The Times of India), Sumir Karmakar (Deccan Herald), Sabita Kumari (Dainik Bhaskar) and Pooja Mehta Batavia (Zee News/Wion).

This project will examine media approaches of generating public awareness and influencing policy makers to address the climate crisis. Through meetings and site visits, participants will explore U.S. governmental programs, non-governmental strategies, and private sector investments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase renewable energy sources, and support vulnerable human and natural populations at greatest risk from climate change. The group will focus on U.S. media efforts to generate campaigns to protect climate, environment and biodiversity through environmental laws and protection policies, scientific research, and environmental education awareness.

The team will visit four cities viz. Washington DC, Detriot (Michigan) Boise (Idaho) and Boulder (Colorado) with the aim to address specific objectives for the projects viz. access US national, state and local progrss in addressing climate change goals, observe how environmental policy-making and media campaigns can be linked with practical solutions to improve human and ecosystem health, assure adequate food and water supplies and provide sustainable livelihoods, discuss priority issues that can be highlighted by media to raise awareness on climate change challenges and discuss media strategies to promote public engagement in environmental conservation to reach zero emissions and limit to global warming of 1.5°C.

Isabella Gurung hails from Kurseong, Darjeeling and is alumna of St Helen’s Convent, Kurseong and Loreto Convent Darjeeling. She completed her graduation in Mass Communication from St. Joseph’s College, Darjeeling and Masters in Mass Communication from Sikkim University.

The post Shout Out to Isabella Gurung of Kurseong appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

To bolster people-to-people connectivity, the “Indo-Nepal Motor Vehicle Agreement 2014” initiative has approved 13 road routes between India and Nepal. Among these routes, the Siliguri to Kathmandu route stands as the 11th, inaugurated by Firhad Hakim, the State Transport Minister, on July, 2022. Operated jointly by a private bus operators –  Urban Paribahan Services Private Limited and the North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) – the Siliguri-Kakkarvitta-Kathmandu Greenline bus service aims to foster regional tourism and strengthen peer-to-peer relations.

Covering a distance of 488 kilometers, the bus departs from Siliguri at 1500 HRS and arrives at Swayambhunath Bus Park, Kathmandu, by 0800 HRS the following day (subject to local road conditions, making it a 17-hour road trip). The Siliguri to Kathmandu Friendship Bus originates from the Tenzing Norgay Bus Terminus in Siliguri, West Bengal, terminating at the Swayambhunath Bus Park in Kathmandu, and vice versa.

On the Indian side, the route extends through the expanding suburbs of Siliguri, along the newly built Asian Highway, passing through Bagdogra, Naxalbari, and undergoing evening border formalities at Panitanki by Indian Customs and Army. After crossing the Mechi Bridge (No Man’s Land), passengers undergo currency exchange aboard the bus, with INR being exchanged for NNP (INR100 for NNP 157). It’s important to note that post-demonetization, INR currency above INR 100.00 is prohibited in Nepal.

This section of the highway received economic assistance from the Indian government for its construction, starting in 1966 and concluding in 1971. Mechinagar, located in southeastern Nepal, lies on the Nepal-India border, delineated by the expansive Mechi River, a tributary of the Mahananda River.

The AC Volvo9600 (semi-sleeper) bus with its large windows and 2*2 seat configuration, equipped with cushion seatings, padded headrests, cushioned leg rests, and charge points, provides a comfortable journey, allowing passengers to observe Nepal’s rapid development strides along the road. From super speciality eyes hospitals to Casino Resorts and the super mart Bhatbhateni at  Itahari , in the fleeting dusk.

Moving from Mechinagar (Kakarvitta), the highway offers a relatively smooth journey covering 108 kilometers to Itahari. Itahari serves as a vital road junction, connecting Biratnagar to the south on the Nepal-India border, and Dharan and Dhankuta to the north. Approximately 42 kilometers from Itahari lies the Koshi Barrage, traversed by the Mahendra Highway between Bhardaha and Bhantabari, where the bus stops for a tea and restroom break.

We hurtle onwards towards the darkness and bumps on the road is well absorbed by the Volvos’ suspensions. Dinner done, the bus makes just a few more cursory toilet halts on the Tribhuwan Highway,  before breaking up for hot steaming tea and snacks at Naubisey before making the final 30 kms run into Kathmandu which presently takes forever due to the roads being built , doubled by the heavy traffic up and down the hill side.

To secure a seat on the Indo-Nepal Friendship Bus, you have several options:

Online Booking: I got mine from Redbus

Rate : INR 2000.00 or NNP 3,200.00

NOTE: I added another INR 29.00 as accidental insurance

Booking Agencies: Travel agencies or ticket booking offices in Siliguri may facilitate the purchase of bus tickets for the journey to Kathmandu. These agencies often handle bookings for various bus operators and can assist you in securing your seat.

Directly at the Bus Station: You can visit the bus station in Siliguri, where the Friendship Bus departs, and purchase your ticket directly from the ticket counter or the bus operator’s office.

• Tenzing Norgay Bus Counter: Siliguri : +91-9002227093
• Swayambhunath Bus Park, Kathmandu : +977-9863025726

Regarding travel details:

Travel Time: The journey from Siliguri to Kathmandu typically spans around 12 to 14 hours, depending on factors such as road conditions and border crossing procedures.

Check-In One Hour Before Scheduled Departure: The passengers are requested to report at the Terminal at least 30 minutes  before the scheduled departure of the bus. Reservation will be cancelled if the passenger fails to report for check-in well in time.

Border Crossing: Passengers must undergo immigration and customs procedures at the Kakarbhitta border crossing between India and Nepal. Ensure you carry all necessary travel documents, including a valid passport and any required visas. Photo-Identity proof issued by respective Government authority like Passport , Voter Identity card for undertaking the journey. Passengers other than Indian or Nepali Nationality are required to have valid Passport and Visa for undertaking the journey.

Baggage: Maximum weighing up to 25 kg. is permissible along with one shoulder bag.

Food/Refreshment: The bus provides one pet bottle mineral water but will halt at designated halts where the passengers can have food/refreshment at their own cost.

It is advisable to book your ticket in advance, especially during peak travel seasons, to secure availability. I got mine 3 days prior to travel date and in fact could choose my seat ( #4 on Siliguri to Kathmandu)On way back , seats were more free so tried their bask seat # 36, which wasn’t a bad experience at all too . Additionally, confirm the departure time and any other pertinent details with the bus operator or booking agency before your travel date.

This trip highlighted the significance of travel in overcoming both temporal and spatial barriers. It reminded me that distance should never hinder the maintenance of relationships or the cultivation of meaningful connections. Reuniting with my school friends in Nepal after more than two decades proved to be an incredibly fulfilling experience. Despite the years that had passed and the distance that separated us, our camaraderie remained as strong as ever. This reunion wasn’t merely about catching up; it served as a testament to the enduring bonds we had formed during our formative years. Moreover, it demonstrated how travel can offer an affordable and accessible avenue for reigniting old friendships and reminiscing about cherished moments from the past.

Upon reflection, I feel compelled to encourage others from our region to take advantage of similar travel opportunities. Whether it’s for organizing family or friends reunions, embarking on religious pilgrimages, or simply enjoying leisurely tours to Nepal, such journeys provide not only affordability but also invaluable opportunities to strengthen bonds and create enduring memories.

I firmly believe that by embracing cross-border travel opportunities, we can transcend physical limitations and enrich our lives through shared experiences and connections. In doing so, we not only bridge geographical divides but also foster a deeper sense of community and solidarity within our region.

Writes: Siddarth Pradhan

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Although with regard to the overall political situation in Kashmir valley, some might argue that it has been a slow and long path since the abrogation of disputed articles, the recent all-party meeting in New Delhi on June 24th, 2021 with PM Modi has given new hopes to all the stakeholders. However, at present, the centre is looking forward to starting the next level of political transition- assembly elections- in the UT and seek support for the legitimacy of the delimitation process.

Amidst all this, it is hard to overlook the positive changes in the social and economical fronts since the abrogation of the disputed articles. Gender equality, equal rights to West Pakistan refugees (WPR) along with equal rights to SC, ST, and other backward sections of society have become major tools for development.

With regard to gender equality, things have changed a lot, wherein never to be thought of opportunities, have opened up for women in the region in a safer environment towards personal and social development. Now, every Kashmiri women are at par with Kashmiri men as their ‘State Subject Status’ along with their right to property are in safe hands.

Looking at the refugees from West Pakistan, who were earlier been deprived of the citizenship of the state and were not issued the permanent resident certificate (PRC). Similarly, the sanitation workers brought in the state in 1953 to quell protests were also deprived of their citizenship rights. The Abrogation of Article 370 ushered in a new ray of hope for these two marginalized sections of the society by providing them citizenship.

In this ‘changing Kashmir’, the youth have moved far from the ‘stone-pelting Fridays’ to talks of education, business, and development. The unemployment rate has reduced significantly, wherein thousands of young aspiring entrepreneurs are taking advantage of the government’s financial support. The central government has also taken stern steps in establishing premium Indian educational institutes like IIT, IIM, and AIIMS in the region for the betterment of youth and to channelize them towards education.

With regard to mega projects in the erstwhile state, the central government has sanctioned funds, which is essential for fast and sustained development in the region. As many as 15 power projects were inaugurated and the foundation stone for 20 others worth Rupees ten thousand crores were laid which will take the power production capacity of J&K to 20,000 MW. Separately, the Jammu Baramula Railway Line was fast-tracked and now is nearing its completion, wherein the world’s highest railway bridge over river Chenab is being made, considered to be an engineering marvel. Also on Jan 7, 2021, the central government gave approval for a mega industrial development project worth Rupees 28,400 crore for the UT.

Furthermore, the government has reiterated its focus on tourism for the land to be known as ‘heaven on earth’, by easing rules for both small businessmen and tourists on all fronts by approving a business revival package of Rupees 1,352.99 crore. The government also initiated the new Wool Processing, Handicrafts and Handloom Policy, 2020 to revive the horticulture and handicraft industries, which providing livelihood to about 30 lakh people directly and indirectly in Kashmir.

Moving our focus to terrorism, incidents of violence have reduced significantly in Kashmir valley. According to the MHA report, security forces have achieved major success against terrorists and that terror-related activity has been reduced to one-third in the valley after the abrogation of Article 370. There has been a 40% decrease of involvement of local youth of Kashmir valley who were brainwashed and made to take up arms against India.

Although the road from abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A has been rough politically, due to many external and internal entities factoring in, the step of integration of people to people by revocation of the articles has proven to be a maiden step towards equality for citizens of J&K. This, not only ensures of providing equal rights to deprived sections, at par with citizens of rest of the country but has also proved to be a milestone in the assimilation of J&K with rest of India. This abrogation is acting as a foundation stone for the new J&K along with a bridge connecting the region with the rest of India in its truest sense.

Writes – Anoop Tamang. He is a Research Scholar of ICFAI University and can be contacted at annop2017@gmail.com

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In 1989, Vishwanath Pratap Singh became the Prime Minister of India and with him came the execution of the Mandal Commission which had placed its report in 1983 offering 27% extra reservations in educational sector and jobs to Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
The newspapers and magazines changed its colours. It started looking gory. India Today shocked us when the self-immolation image of Rajiv Goswami was splashed. It made it to the front page of the magazine. We knew something was amiss.

We belonged to the general caste so we felt that there was nothing for us. We did not understand the logic. Nobody discussed these matters with us. Not even our teachers. Reading newspaper was boring (especially the OP-Ed pages). The Statesman was too eclectic. The Op-eds were intellectually of the highest order written by the best of minds theorizing the social context in the realm of the present times. The terms and social science jargon was unknown. No one discussed these with us.

My father was a weird person. One of those days when we happened to discuss the matter; all he said was – “It’s going to be tougher for us to get jobs , so better study hard”. Well that was the final inference that he had derived for us. He did not mince words. We exactly understood what he meant to say.

For the masses V P Singh , Lalu Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan, Sharad Yadav, Kanshi Ram, Chandrashekhar, Devi Lal, and all the dalit leaders were the poster boys of India. They were seen everywhere giving out press conferences or addressing rallies. Doordarshan had to toe the government line and fed news that was relevant to the present dispensation. There were no live TV debates or chatter mayhem as we see nowadays. However the newspaper and the magazines covered both sides. As I say again, we hardly understood the theorization. For us they were enemy number one.

Image via The Week magazine

A few days back Ram Vilas Paswan passed away. Today, I recollect those times. By now I have read Gandhi and Ambedkar. I have also read the grand idea of India by Jai Prakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia. I have soaked myself with a good deal of Marxist literature and a lot of Social Science papers theorising these conceptual framework that makes the caste and class divide in India .

Today, I understand what it is to be a Dalit during those times or say even now. I am sometimes branded by many as a letftist. Don’t know how they make such categorization in the present context when we talk about the concerns of having a secular India or a talk about social and economic alleviation of Dalits and Minorities. You do not have to belong to the Communist Party of India who jointly call themselves the Left Front.

Today, we see an excess of capital driven privatisation of the Public Sector Units or even telecom, railways, ports and airports. Where was the private sector when people had to be evacuated during the pandemic? When basic education and healthcare are in shambles, how do we reciprocate to this grand idea of shining India and privatising these sectors in the coming days in the name of PPP? How do we counter the forces when there are job losses and when people at the edge of poverty are left out of development discourses leaving them more vulnerable to the capitalist forces that tend to gobble up India. We do not need an East India Company…perhaps we have bred a few here itself.

How do I respond to all the morons who send me WhatsApp messages celebrating a few Indian billionaires as Forbes top ten businessmen? Should I feel happy that we have Indians in that list or should I be angry when I read that the wealth of 9 richest Indian is equivalent to bottom 50% percent of India. Should I not be angry when wealthy individuals are amassing India’s wealth by all possible means and tweaking government policies, while the poor are struggling to eat their next meal or pay for their child’s medicine or quality education? These are basic questions that we need to ask ourselves. If feeling for someone’s pain is being labelled as a leftist , well so be it.

Thirty years back , I was angry for the 27% rise in the affirmative action that the government had taken for the OBCs or may be even the quotas availed by the SCs and STs, But, today I feel happy . Thank god there were people like Mulayam, Paswan and Kanshiram.

Writes: Satyadeep Chettri. The author is a regular columnist and teaches at NBB Degree College, Tadong, Gangtok.

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Life in Kalimpong town on Saturday, the haat day of the week, despite the prohibitory orders as envisaged under 144 CrPC having been clamped as early as the evening of Friday, was perfectly normal. Rather, deceptive enough to instill in the people a false sense of security and assurance that the third programme the following day would be a repeat-bonanza of the ’72 hour bandh’ in middle May. An immature leadership of the Chief Convener, GNLF, Kalimpong was apparently showing in his failure to stick to the directives of the Central Command. An over-doze of valor and ambition, when discretion should have prevailed.

What the people in their ignorance failed to notice in the evident behavior and gesture of the rifle-toting CRP jawans were their open hostility and cock-sureness to do something drastic that was dripping all over all the place. The dead-pan expression accentuated by the American G.I.s type helmet to match their dark somber faces, while they patrolled their rounds, were all too ominous. This time they were determined to display their expertise. Everything, when added up, pointed to one single fact that they had standing orders to shoot on the slightest provocation.

The tragic event that unfolded itself in the afternoon of Sunday left little doubt as to how meticulously and painstakingly the entire gamut of massacre and manslaughter had been thought out and planned that was finally executed to ghastly perfection. In real Communist style.

Little wonder, the D.I.G. (C.I.D.), West Bengal, had been assigned to the task of conducting the whole operation. Perhaps, the ‘Operation Red Star’ in the Marxist terminology.

The psychological climate in which the entire plan seems to have been hatched may be traced to a basic human weakness. An overdose of misguided ambition. “But for his ambition, I slew him.” So said Brutus when Caesar lay slain by his own friends, Roman, and countrymen.

Mr. Binoy Chowdhury, the then acting West Bengal Chief Minister, was overambitious to establish his right of accession to the chair he temporarily occupied by mobilizing every bit of power his august office made available to him so that his multi-pronged action on all fronts would come as the final Coup de Grace delivered to completely uproot the G.N.L.F. movement in the Hills. As if Mr. Jyoti Basu, the Chief Minister, apparently failed to do just that. Mr. Buta Singh, the Union Home Minister, seemed to agree with Mr. Chowdhury. He agreed to furnish eight companies of CRP jawans to boost the sagging morale of the West Bengal administration…

As a matter of fact, the very imposition of 144 CrPC with everything it implied, to discourage the protest-demonstration was an act of flagrant violation denying the Constitutional rights of the people.

The very basics of the Fundamental Rights were trampled underfoot when prohibitory orders to silence the voice of the people was clamped in the pretence of maintaining law and order.

If unchallenged and unprovoked, the demonstrators would have assembled at the Mela Ground, as usual, to burn the copies of the said Articles of the treaty. Perhaps, the majority did not even know the implication of the act – the burning of the copies. That the people of the hills were so naïve and ignorant may be indicated by the fact, that when the curfew was clamped on the 26th of July, beginning from 6.00 p.m. the previous evening, many villagers were coming to town to see what the Curfew was like. They had to be sent back home by the sympathetic Army personnel. And then, as usual, the platform would have been adorned by the same run-of-the-mill bunch of Soap-box orators to blabber away their proto-typed and very often self-contradictory speeches, by now repeated umpteenth times – in the midst of thunderous clapping that sometimes would have little connection to the orator’s off-the-beat renderings.

If I remember right, in the last meeting held on the 19th of July, 1986, a group from the far corner of the eastern portion of the stadium suddenly clapped away when a lady-speaker was emotionally recounting the tragic drama of shooting in Kurseong on 25th May, 1986. That was perhaps the anti-climax of the day. At its worst, there would have been a slogan shouting of Ghising Zindabad with gusto and enthusiasm, and the crowd would have dispersed, ready to go home, thoroughly elated…

There was no stopping the people once they decided to go ahead with the programme, scheduled to be held on the Mela Ground. Slowly but surely, the town began to be thronged, at first by curious crowds of onlookers, who came in small groups to loiter around the town aimlessly, but with keen eyes to watch the mood and attitude of the patrolling CRP jawans.

As the tempo of outpouring mass began to swell, by now marching with determined steps and a sense of purpose; by 11.00 a.m., the patrolling jawans were virtually on edge, their innards tightening to a hardball. The expected inevitable just seemed around the corner.

As the hands of the clock struck 11.40 a.m. the town witnessed the first spurt of action when the jawans made the first charge of the day on a couple of isolated groups of students. About twelve in number were arrested and put under police custody. The arrest was made in the vicinity of the Kalimpong P.S. Another group of about twenty-five young boys and girls coming from the upper Cart Road were confronted by the CRP jawans in a bid to disperse the girls. The boys were apprehended and locked behind the hajat. By now the inside accommodation of the Police Station was almost filled to overflowing with boys confronted and arrested.

The spell of high noon saw the ominous panorama of converging columns of humanity from the far-flung outskirts of Greater Kalimpong – the outlying villages and small settlements like Lava, Algarah, Pedong and even those tiny villages scattered all along the Lava-Gorubathan road. Platoons of CRP jawans had already been kept posted at several key points to stem the inflow of the marching column of the crowd to prevent them from entering the heart of the town – the Mela Ground, the targeted venue.

By 1.20 p.m., this particular column of men, women, both old and young, and boys and girls of the age group of twelve to fifteen years had reached the intersection point of Rishi Road and R.C.Mintri Road, just beyond the Power House. They had been debarred by a cordon of rifle-toting jawans from entering the town premises…

The first blood of the day was drawn at about 1.15 p.m. when the CRP jawans intercepted the upcoming marchers from the 7th Mile, an earmarked area, on their way to town. The CRP jawans tried to disperse the crowd by throwing canisters, which attempt was foiled. The subsequent action on the part of the CRP jawans that followed was rather drastic and unexpected. They came out blazing with their guns that resulted in seven casualties. Two girls had their right thighs almost torn away; another, her ankle badly wounded…

Thus, the premier opening show of the first act of the ‘Bloody Drama’ had been made. The venue was the length of the Rishi Road between the Engine Ghar and the bend nearly two hundred feet down the road just above the Custom Office. The first shooting that started here brought most of the big-wigs to the scene of the firing, leaving the Head Quarters situated at the main junction to the charge of minor officials. At that very moment, the marching columns of demonstrators, the biggest and the loudest, made its sweeping thrust, coming as they were from the Bong areas via the East-Main Road, down the Ongden Road that, running parallel to the Mela Ground below, leads on to the Motor Stand. From the Motor Stand, the head of the procession made a stab for the R.C.Mintri Road, straight ahead, for God alone knows, why, as the proposed plan had been to assemble on the Mela Ground for the said programme.

It must be mentioned here that maximum effort had been directed to thwart and prevent the entry of the demonstrators into the Mela Ground. In other words, the display of the mass-protest on the Mela Ground was a forbidden act that would be dealt with utmost severity. All the four entry-points into the Motor Stand and then on to the Mela Ground had been completely sealed off by rifle-toting CRP jawans, with rifles held menacingly in their hands. Therefore, all earlier efforts by a smaller column to make a breakthrough had been foiled. Some, perhaps, did not dare. In their excitement, the marchers suddenly made their way straight ahead towards the R.C.Mintry Road that heads east through the lower portion of the town to join the Rishi Road, that runs parallel to it through the upper portion of the town, just beyond the Fire Brigade complex located at 10th Mile…

As the mighty column of demonstrators, snowballing as it forged ahead along the R.C. Mintri road (they were coming on) connects the Rishi Road to form a three-way junction. The CRP jawans who had been holding back the marchers from Algarah-Pedong-Lava (mentioned earlier), were taken aback by this sudden turn of event. However, discretion prevailed as they were hopelessly outnumbered by a column of more volatile marchers. No shooting took place at this point, as the marchers, though emotionally super-charged, were perfectly disciplined, their faculties intact. As this massive column of marchers made a U-turn to make a return journey via Rishi Road to the town, the protest-marchers pinned down at the junction also joined them to make an outrageously long procession column nearly a mile long.

As the head of this mighty procession reached the central junction of the town in the vicinity of the Central Bank and the Gompu’s (Hotel), the words of earlier firing, the first shooting spree of the CRP jawans in the premises of ‘Engine Dara’, leaked out to the emotionally-charged crowd of demonstrators. It was at this point, as hinted earlier, destiny intervened once again to divert the courses of the marchers from its intended destination, the Mela Ground. Instead of making a ninety degree left-turn, the head of the column forged straight ahead through the Main Road towards the Police Station about one thousand feet ahead. An instinctive reaction in response to the earlier shooting.

And at that very quivering moment of fateful decision, the tiny dot of time so infinitesimally brief, many a young people in the very prime of their youth, had reached a point of no return. They had already, as fate decreed, crossed the threshold – the ‘Laxman Rekha’ beyond which these brave young ones had a tryst with death.

When the tormented head of the emotionally-charged column of demonstrators shot ahead with shouts of ‘Jai Gorkha’, about fifteen to twenty CRP jawans, with rifles held ready to shoot and all standing in a single file across the Main Road began to retreat in their futile bid to stave off the advancing mob.

However, it must be particularly mentioned here that except for the attempt to forge ahead, not one single attack had so far been made on the CRP jawans, despite the earlier shooting, and despite the provocative display of hardwares by the CRP jawans almost on edge. Display of guns would not cow down or frighten the Gorkhas, once they believed that their demand was constitutionally right and viable, and that their aspiration to seek for themselves a place in the sun was perfectly human as fully envisaged in the Charter of Human Rights by the UNO. Let us not forget that.

Just when the head of the procession reached the junction just in front of the Police Station, a hail of stones of sizes big enough to be conveniently thrown, began to greet the advancing marchers. The stones came from the direction of the General Post Office building ahead, and from the second floor of the Boral Mansion directly above. Now, whoever masterminded the strategy of provocative incitement had its desired result in full measure. Thoroughly provoked, and at the end of their dither, the angry mob started pelting the CRP jawans with the same stones in retaliation.

This was the opening that the trigger-happy CRP jawans were looking for. No tear gas canisters were thrown, or any lathi-charge made to disperse the crowd. They simply came out shooting with the result that the Thana-junction area was littered with bodies of the dead and wounded. The people began to scatter and run in every possible direction…

Now with the shooting commenced at the junction of the P.S., the biggest tragedy of the day began to take shape, with the tail-end of the procession being somewhere far beyond the Kanchan Cinema area. The young people in procession now on the Main Road became the victims of cold-blooded murder, an uncalled for ‘Act’ that fully justifies the assumption of a ‘Jallianwalla Bagh’ repetition, as also endorsed by the position taken by the ‘CRP-Ambush-Squad’ mentioned earlier.

The Kalimpong Main Road, now made famous for the football team (always unpopular with the Kalimpong public for reasons unknown), it represents in the local tournament, particularly the tournament held in honor of the Independence Shield, suddenly became the ‘Valley of Death’ with buildings and houses towering on either side of it (Main Road) with narrow gullies and lanes in-between them.

Synchronizing with the firing up ahead at the Police Station area, a hail of bullets greeted the marchers entrapped on the Main Road. Those bullets were fired from the rifles of the CRP jawans, sitting in ambush on the house-tops on the left-hand side of the Main Road. It was a shooting spree they could have carried out blind-folded.

The Main Road suddenly became littered with the bodies of young boys and girls, all in their teens. Some of them had khukuri brandished in their delicate hands, and the slogan of ‘Jai Gorkha’ on their lips, as they went down with terrible head injuries sustained by the cold-blooded assassins’ bullets. They all died with their boots on…

As the shooting became intensified, at times quite at random, and utterly senseless, pandemonium broke loose, with panicked crowd running helter-skelter in every possible direction. This was the first and a most natural reaction to a situation the peace-loving hill-people have never had the occasion to confront with. But, by this time, the blood of the young men who saw with their own eyes the bloody massacre being committed by these CRP demons without the slightest regard for human life, began to rise to boiling point.

Suddenly, there was a wave of reprisal that burst forth on many a front. The head of one CRP demon rolled, the chopped head allegedly landed up-right with the helmet intact. The upturned moustache fluttered for a brief second that synchronized with the fluttering of the eye-lids, and the head was dead. The beheaded body ran for a short distance with blood gushing out and fell headlong (or shoulder long since the body had no head) in a dead-heap…

In their panic to get away from the bullets of the CRP jawans shooting from their ambush position, the crowd in an attempt to make their escape through the gullies and lanes down into the Ongden Road, were caught squarely by the CRP jawans standing at the end point of the lanes. Another shooting spree was going on here on the Ongden Road and its vicinity just above the Mela Ground, by a group of CRP braves. They were fortified by a small embankment provided by the sloping Ongden Road, with the approach road that branches out in a sharp U-turn leading to the Nehru Manch on the Mela Ground, and down to the Baghdhara Road further below. The funniest thing is that while you are shooting at point-blank range to the panicked, fleeing crowd, the shooters do not require a trench or, for that matter, an embankment for their own safety against counter-attack. ‘Were they fighting the enemies on the battle front?’

From the vantage point, the CRP jawans fired away at the fleeing mass in three different directions: one towards the Ongden Road leading to the Motor Stand; another towards the Nehru Manch and Baghdhara; and still another towards the head of Ongden road close to the Frontier Office.

Six dead bodies were recovered from under the overgrowth and weeds-covered slope that extends from the top of the Ongden Road in front of the Frontier Office down to Baghdhara, a natural source of spring (dhara) which has been running since time immemorial – a major source of water supply for a number of Municipal wards of the town. Until now, the attack on the CRP jawans had been confined to the act of hitting back in direct retaliation on the spur of the moment, to what those brave, dying women were meted out – the fatal bullet wound that killed them. In fact, the yellow streak inherent in those trigger-happy CRP jawans began to spill over the moment women, old and young, began to resist and fight back tooth-and-nail as shown by the examples cited on the foregoing pages; the final spurt of do-or-die attack with khukuris and a stout heart by the young Gorkhas that finally subdued the killers to a whimpering dog…

Until now, the attack on the CRP jawans had been confined to the act of hitting back in direct retaliation on the spur of the moment, to what those brave, dying women were meted out – the fatal bullet wound that killed them. In fact, the yellow streak inherent in those trigger-happy CRP jawans began to spill over the moment women, old and young, began to resist and fight back tooth-and-nail as shown by the examples cited on the foregoing pages; the final spurt of do-or-die attack with khukuris and a stout heart by the young Gorkhas that finally subdued the killers to a whimpering dog…

The first attack, perhaps a deliberate one, was made on the D.I.G., and the circumstances leading to this unfortunate happening is, indeed, baffling. The whole thing, the entire gamut is shrouded in mystery. The episode as it happened is deeply regretted. According to informed sources (and there are many with as many versions), the alleged attack was made while the D.I.G. was standing on the verandah of the Frontier Office, busy talking over the walkie-talkie, while in the midst of violent commotion and confusion of shooting and running, that were going around in the vicinity of the Kalimpong P.S. The alleged attack was made with a kukri, a number of assaults, as they say, by a single attacker; and the attacker, without being captured or shot at, simply dissolved into the crowd.

It was, perhaps, destiny again that masterminded the strangest drama of the day. How else can the episode be explained – the entire gamut of sequence from the first sudden attack, attack going unimpeded, and the final vanishing act. As if the whole thing was a carefully constructed plot, which it definitely was not. After all, the D.I.G., as the head of the entire operation and the proceedings of the day, must have had his personal security guards, letting aside other officials like the SDO, SDPO, and the CRP commandant. He could not have be standing there all alone, speaking over the walkie-talkie to his girlfriend! …

As the wounded DIG was being rushed to the Military Hospital, two jeeps full of CRP jawans that followed the DIG’s jeep ahead were shooting away at random as the jeep carrying there were running at a break-neck speed. It must be truthfully mentioned here that no single bullet hit a human target though the road between the Municipality building and the Kalimpong PS was almost choked with masses of people gripped in varying degrees of emotional trauma as the three jeeps shot through the crowd in their way to the Military Hospital.

By 4.00 p.m., the tide of cold-blooded violence perpetrated by the CRP jawans began to ebb, as groups of young men mounted their counter-attack over a wide area. One young man, Sri Subodh Subba, a Black Belt in karate, went down fighting bare-handed in an attempt to save young children in the age group of 6 to 8 years, when CRP’s rifle bullets began to whistle past in the vicinity of the Central Bank and Gompu’s. His karate attack laid out three jawans while the fourth jawan shot Shri Subba through his left eye blowing off the back of his head as the bullet propelled out through the other side leaving a gory, gapring hole in the back of his head…

Suddenly, to these young men, death lost its terrifying meaning – that stamp of utter finality which all mortals dread. Instead, it was normal, inevitable fact of life to be accepted, even embraced bravely, as their fallen friends and comrades had done before them the same day. Almost blinded by tears in their eyes, these young men with naked kukris in their hands, went on a rampage that left many CRP jawans mortally wounded and felled; many of them making hasty retreat to find shelter in the safety of private homes.

By 4.45 p.m., the retaliation was so complete that not one single shot was fired by the now whimpering CRP jawans on the battle-charged Gorkhas completely gone berserk. The attack on the CRP jawans were immediately withdrawn, once their rifles became silent. Right in front of the rifle-toting CRP jawans, four state buses were set on fire and pushed down into the ditch. Totally subdued and demoralized, the entire rank and file of the CRP jawans with rifles in their trembling hands, stood witness to the entire carnage of destruction. At that moment, if they had done some shooting to prevent the destruction of public properties, that was the time to do it, when their action would have been fully justified. What a travesty of human failure, indeed!!!

The general consensus of the media reporting on the shooting that took place on the 27th July, reflects the same old run-of-the-mill types of a fracas that our brave CRP jawans normally involved in the cities of this sub-continent. For instance, “There was a communal riot in such and such place, that led to the senseless killings, the burning of shops and destruction of public properties. Then the CRP jawans intervened by first using tear-gas canisters followed by lathi charges. Then the inevitable happened – the shooting and the ruthless killings.”

By 5.30 p.m., the ugly mob of battle-charged young Gorkhas became almost uncontrollable, with platoons of CRP jawans completely subdued and tamed even with rifles, the Army had to be called in to restore the fast deteriorating law and order situation in the town. As the clock struck six, the Army jawans in their battle-dress took over from the Police Station point to spread out over the town in systematic, machine-like precision. But as the Army jawans took over the situation in hand, their systematic presence all over the key points of disturbances was one of security and reassurance that all was well. The unconcerned looks that were almost friendly and understanding, as they patrolled the town area exuded confidence and hope that almost renewed our faith in the institution we had always believed in. with the advent of the Army jawans in the panic-torn town of Kalimpong, the Centre, with its message of the government of the people, by the people and for the people had, at last, intervened.

This short narrative would be incomplete without mentioning the stellar role played by that section and category of humanity in which love and compassion for the fellow-beings in distress almost inevitably rouse in them their inborn capacity to rise to the occasion to serve them, irrespective of the circumstances and situation that might summon them to their calling…

In spite of the Curfew clamped since 6.00 p.m. on the evening of the 27th, groups of self-appointed volunteers took up in respective duties in the hospital. Emergency funds were raised (there was no dearth of contributions) to meet the expenses for medicines, special food, vitamin, and tonics required for the wounded. No stones were left unturned to forge a bond of comradeship amongst volunteers who stood to the respective posts assigned to them so that the injured and the suffering kith and kin could feel a deep sense of security in the selfless service of those wonderful young people who rendered it.

The spirit of sacrifice displayed in the face of personal risk and danger, when those wonderful people went about their job of collecting the wounded; the selfless service of those volunteers who tended to the needs of the sick and the sufferings in the hospital are glimpses of sparks divine in man that help to revive and restore one’s faith in the goodness of human race.

Mr. Jyoti Basu, the Hon’ble Chief Minister of West Bengal, in his leaner days as a rising Communist leader had the courage to tell Mr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, the then Chief Minister, as well as a towering personality of the time, that the hill district of Darjeeling had all the makings for the grant and award of statehood. That was way back in 1955. But as a towering figure himself now in today’s Bengal holding the august office of the Chief Minister, Mr. Jyoti Basu lacks the courage to accept and implement what he himself propounded – the honorable fulfillment of the very cause he so courageously championed in favor of the people of the hills of Darjeeling some three decades ago…

Resigned to their fate and yet with smiling faces, the Gorkhas of Darjeeling Hills have endured with saintly patience everything that was dished out to them, without a whimper.

But the ominous handwriting on the wall which appeared with the expulsion of more than ten thousand Gorkhas from Meghalaya, who were driven out right across the borders of two states, Assam and West Bengal, and dumped across Kakari Bhitta in Nepal. As act committed in flagrant violation of the text of the 7th Article of the Indo-Nepal Treaty of 1950. It just went down the drain. And the Nepal government took the beating without a whimper. And again the slogan that ‘Assam for Assamese’, and the ‘Punjab for Punjabis’ and not even the Hindu Punjabis began to be heard in rising crescendo, the Gorkhas residing in India seemed to have got the message. Now, all we want is the acceptance in spirit and deed, the identity of the Gorkhas as an entity standing at par, vis-à-vis their Indian counterparts in a country we so dearly loved and served.

And, what’s wrong with that utterly human aspiration?!!!

Today, there is a big question – as large as life itself – that looms uppermost in the mind of each Gorkha who has been living in India since generations: Should the Gorkhas living in India as domiciled second rate citizens are asked to shed their blood on the battlefront and die for India?

The end!!

TheDC editorial note: 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.

The ensuing Gorkhaland Andolan and the betrayal by Subash Ghising and later by Bimal Gurung has left over a million Gorkhalis angry and frustrated.

Will we ever get justice? will we ever find an equitable place in our great nation?

Perhaps the answer lies in us – each of us, and it will serve us well if we strive for Gorkhaland together, instead of blindly following a particular politician.

We salute the spirit of our martyrs, for it is their sacrifice, that continues to inspire us to strive for a better-brighter future.

Jai Gorkha, Jai Gorkhaland!!

An account of the July 27th, 1986 massacre, recorded by Mr. B Khaling and later reproduced in an online magazine – Cafe Dissensus. We are thankful to the Magazine for giving us permission to re-produce the amazingly vivid and heartbreaking narrative, which changed the destiny and people of Darjeeling forever.

The post Gorkhaland and The Kalimpong Massacre – July 27th, 1986 appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

According to local media sources in Sitamarhi, locals along the border villages of Jankinagar and Soharwa were headed to a wedding in Nepal, when they were not permitted to travel into Nepal further, owing to the ongoing border sealing between the two nations, due to Coronavirus.

Local media have reported that, the Indian nationals then protested against it, which lead to further confrontation between Nepal APF and Indian nationals.

According to Nepal news outlets, the protest quickly escalated and two Nepal police officials were beaten up, after which those protesting tried to snatch the gun of one of the jawans, that is when Nepal police resorted to firing. All of this, they say happened inside Nepalese territory and not immediately along Indo-Nepal border. MyRepublica has claimed, “The Indian nationals are said to be smugglers who were trying to enter Nepal. Amid the lockdown and tightened security along the border, the alleged cross-border movement of smugglers has also been restricted.”

However, locals in the area have reported that Nepal police fired upon farmers who were simply tending to their fields.

Meanwhile Sitamarhi SP Anil Kumar has said that “There was troubles across Pillar Number 319/24 under Sonbarsa Block, when some youths from Janki Nagar and Soharwa clashed with Nepal SSB, when one of them was killed and three others have been injured. We are inquiring into the incident. भारत नेपाल सीमा पर पिलर संख्या 319/24 के पार सोनबरसा प्रखण्ड के जानकी नगर एवम सहोरवा के कुछ ग्रामीणों एवम सशस्त्र नेपाल पुलिस के बीच हुई झड़प में नेपाल पुलिस की फायरिंग से तीन स्थानीय (भारतीय) युवक को गोली लगी, एक की मौत ।”

As such, India-Nepal border areas has seen rising tensions in the recent days, Sitamarhi incidence is bound to add more fuel to the fire if not reported objectively.

The post Sitamarhi Tense After Firing Near India-Nepal Border: One dead, two injured appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.