A STRANGER IN ONE'S OWN HOUSE

It is against all personal predispositions that I am sitting down to write this blog today.

As a fellow nepali I was not sure that I could be fair and balanced when discussing this topic and it is only after a lot of rationalizing and waiting (hence the delay in the article) that I have finally decided that I CAN be fair & non judgmental. So here goes….

A few days ago after Prashant Tamang had won the title of Indian Idol, along with his hometown of Darjeeling, spontaneous celebrations had erupted in many places in neighboring Nepal & Sikkim as well. And apparently the other people in the world's largerst democracy could not stomach this.

Initially it was all fine even though the mainstream Indian press and TV News channels (who usually lap up these kind of stories) did not cover it apart from the mandatory blurb.

Bias against a Nepali winner??? Naaa the Nep’s were too magnanimous to think that way. So they kept on celebrating….

Then two odd things happened.

First the Hindustan Times (which incidentally has been fighting for years to prove that it is a national paper of repute like The Times Of India) came out with an article that somehow seemed to suggest that the title was won by a ‘nepali’ because of some deep seated desire of the ‘nepali-speaking’ people of Darjeeling and Sikkim to be associated with Nepal. It went on to dig up some obscure treaty that the British had signed which had robbed the current Darjeeling area from Nepal etc and also mentioned how there was a Gorkha agitation a decade back.

It had no relevance to Prashant’s actual win but the article was quite clear that it was the secessionist tendencies of the nepali-speaking people that won the title.
In short the winner and his supporters weren’t actually ‘Indians’.

Now to set the record straight, Prashant is a member of the Calcutta Police as was his late father before him.
The ‘nepali speaking’ people of Darjeeling had fought for a separate state but even at the height of the agitation they had never threatened to secede as have the ULFA etc in the other North East states.
And scores of nepali-speaking people from the hills have fought and been martyred during many of India’s wars including Kargil.

Which begs the question; “What else does one have to do to show one’s loyalty to the country?”

The second incident was even more prejudiced & bigoted.

A day after Prashant’s win, a dim-witted RJ of some FM station in Delhi (both the RJ and The FM are too obscure to name) decided that this would be the right time for him to debut his stand up comedy and cockily mentioned that now since Nepalis were becoming Indian Idols there would be no one left to guard their houses and work as watchmen.

Following the expected uproar among Nepalis the Indian media dished out the usual freedom-of-speech crap in his defense and made the protesting Nepalis sound like some intolerant hot-heads.

At this stage, I must mention that as far as Freedom-of-Expression goes, there cannot be a more passionate fanatic than myself. I have always believed in the Freedom of Expression and against any kind of censorship. However in this case it simply does not apply and not because I am Nepali.

I remember as a child we used to play a game where we used to annoy our friends by wriggling our fingers right near their noses or eyes and claim we had the right to do so as long as we were not touching any part of their face.

This argument is, I guess, the basis of the whole Freedom of Expression thing and as the childish game recognized that said freedom ends the moment we touch any part of the other person's face.

The RJ had every right to express his views (and prejudices) but he ceased to be just ‘expressing’ his views the moment he insulted the other party.
That’s precisely why there are anti-defamation laws.

And I am just speaking about a small incident involving a small group of peace loving people residing in the hills of India.

When seen on a bigger scale this prejudice and bias is all prevalent in India and esp North India.

Against the North East (Chinkis I believe is the nomenclature used), against the South Indians (or Madrasis as they are commonly clubbed together and referred to as) and most of all against the Muslims (Pakistan being their umbilical cord which can never be severed)

Is it then any surprise that they do not feel part of India?

Not because they don’t want to, but because they are always reminded that they may not be…

And on a completely different note:

Almost all Indians know (or weren’t allowed to forget, depending on your perception) that the Indian National Anthem was written by Rabindranath Tagore but most people don’t know (or weren’t told) who actually composed the song.

It was Captain Ram Singh Thakur of the 1st Gorkha Rifles.

Captain Ram Singh Thakur, extreme right, playing the violin in Gandhi's presence, possibly during one of Gandhi's visits to INA prisoners at Red Fort.

Why am I bringing this up now???

Because he was an Indian of Nepali origin.

Can you imagine if he had stayed back to just become a ‘watchman’.

Jana Gana Mana would have a Bollywood tune….

Kajra Re anyone?

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram_Singh_Thakur

AGE IS JUST A NUMBER...

HI Again,

Was reading the newspaper today and came across this article and i had to cut it out and scan it for you guys.

Yesterday was the birthday as well as the release of the autobiography of my best friend's favourite actor. DEV ANAND.

I like him too, esp his older movies like Guide, Johnny Tera Naam etc while H.R.H prefers his later ones like Awwal Number (where Dev played a cricket captain-cum-police commissioner-cum-lawyer-cum-commando who his a direct line to the P.M) and Mr. Prime Minister (where he is a P.M who raps a song in front of the Gateway of India)

Whatever your feelings about Dev Anand and his movies you have to give the man credit for the way he has maintained himself and for his joie di vivre.

They say a pic is worth a thousand words and just look at it.

Of the three, Sonia is 61, Manmohan 75 and Dev is 84.

And guess who is the only one who does not have a single white hair?

Happy Birthday Dev Saab! Happy Birthday Indeed

IN THE NAME OF THE LORD

Hi,

I don’t want to get all political but you have to read on with a certain degree of consternation about the recent ruckus about the sethusamundram project.

For those of you who don’t know about it here’s a brief intro.:

Current shipping routes around India have to go round sri lanka because the other route (the Palk Strait) has the “Ram’s Bridge” blocking it. The Sethusamundram project was meant to solve that. They were to remove about 48 million cubic meters of silt in the palk straight and create a channel 167 km long to make the sea in this region navigable. This will shorten the distance between the east and west coasts by about 780 km for the ships! They no longer will have to take the longer route around Srilanka. This will also be a source of greater financial income to India as all international shipment now can pass through the Indian seas in this region with the benefit of this shorter distance, saving about 30 hours of time!

This new canal construction is also said to increase the Naval security of India due to the obvious reasons of making the connections between western and eastern naval sectors of India shorter and easier and more importantly independent of dependency on Srilanka!

Ancient India
Now a bit about ancient India. The ancient Indian text Ramayana talks about a bridge being built in the seas of Palk Straight by the then king Rama of North India who wanted to take an army to the kingdom of Srilanka. This bridge is said to have been built from “Dhanushkodi”, a place in South Indian coastal region near the sea facing Srilanka, to Mannar in Srilanka.

Satellite Photographs

The satellite photographs (see pics above and below) are of the “Palk Straight”. Clearly visible to a naked human eye can be seen a line connecting the main land of India to Srilanka in these photographs. This is exactly at the same place where Ramayana talks about a bridge being constructed by Rama and his army to cross over into Srilanka. It is visible from Dhanushkodi of India to Mannar in Northwest Srilanka and is about 48 kilometers long.
Controversy
The Hindus call this bridge “Ram Sethu” and is a sacred structure for them since it is mentioned in their ancient texts. The proposed Sethu Samudram project is going to destroy this structure. It is a different question as to whether this is a man made or god made or natural structure..

The issue here is that this project in its current proposed format is definitely going to destroy this structure. The controversy is that do we need to have economic progress at the cost of our cultural heritage?

Anyway while many people felt that we should not cling to religion and myths and let them encumber the economic progress of the country others felt that religious sensibilities should also be taken into account.

Here is when things get murky.

Hinduism is one of the few religions which has its base as much in scriptures and preaching as in mythology. On one hand we are exceptionally reverential (we remove our footwear while entering holy places, don’t wear any leather inside temples, don’t mind being sprinkled with bovine piss etc ) and on the other we are also exceedingly liberal in our views of our gods and religion (we don’t have to go to the temple every week or pray a certain times a day, we are not judged if we are seen enjoying a good glass of wine or prime slice of angus steak).

If that wasn’t enough we must be one of the few (if not the only) religion in the world which has such a informal, casual, familiar and unceremonious relationship with our gods. Who else can be fine with their gods being portrayed as a playboy (Krishna), a blundering chauvinist (Ram), avenging murderer (Kali) or for that matter even as Creatures, eg. simian (Hanuman) pachyderm (Ganesh) rodent ( Ganesha’s ‘vahaan’) , leonine (Singha), reptile (Kakshpati [tortoise]).

So in the midst of this curious mix of sensibilities is the sethu-samundram project.

Yes we believe in the our heritage yet we are also open minded enough about it to not let it hamper the practicalities of life.

Now you decide if you think the project should go ahead or not.

As the avowed atheist Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (which stands to gain the most from the project) challenged L K Advani to a debate(which LK incidentally did not accept) on the factuality of the Ramayana he let loose a salvo.

“If Hanuman and Ram did indeed build the bridge,” he asked “which engineering college did they go to?”

I won’t even begin to attempt answering that but I can bet you that it does not have a simple answer.

Give me Indian Idol any day.

CONGRATULATIONS & CELEBRATIONS

A big hearty congratulations to Prashant Tamang and more so to the millions of Nepalis (and non nepalis for that matter) who voted for him.

His win is not only a great feat of unity for the Nepali speaking people but also a wonderful show of true Nepali character.

I can think of so many reasons why we are all overjoyed with his win and here are a few….

1) Because he maintained his humility and character throughout.

2) Because he genuinely forgave that bitch who refused to sing with him during the first few rounds (and who tried to be all “Prashant bhaiyya, Prashant bhaiyya” later)

3) Because he recognized what the really important things in life are and remembered to thank and keep his family squarely in the center and his mother most of all.

4) Because his family in turn had remembered to bring ‘khadas’ (nepali garlands) for everyone on stage. Talk about nepali generosity.

5) Because through his mother’s eyes, he reminded us that, at the end of the day, the greatest joy we can get is simply by making our loved ones happy.

6) Because he showed everyone what Nepali friendship is all about when even in the moment of his supreme glory he hugged and shed a tear for his runner-up friend Amit. (Personally I cant imagine anyone else in that situation who would do that, not even Amit)

7) Because he has now given thousands of unemployed and aimless youth a semblance of hope. A hope, that they too can achieve something, if they will only try.

8) And most of all because he said that had the result gone the other way he would have genuinely been happy for Amit. And because every viewer, nepali or otherwise, truly believed that he indeed would have.


And finally as one of the first blogs to begin enlisting support for Prashant, I too am proud to have played my own small part in his win. (You readers didn’t seriously think that I wouldn’t pat myself on my back now did you? Tsk Tsk…)

Dear Friends,


I am sorry that i have not been blogging for such a long time. (Though some of you might even be relieved to get a break from my constant sermonising)


Like you know i was moving my flat and i cannot put into words how difficult it is. The movers were very professional in transporting the stuff but arranging it makes you crazy. And i also realize that its been 2 weeks since i moved, so no more flogging it as an excuse for everything.


Meanwhile my best friend's son had his 'Pasni' or the rice-feeding ceremony for which, i must regretfully inform you that I was neither informed or invited. I understand that it was held in Katmandu while i am in Abu Dhabi but who knows i may have access to a private plane.... And what about that old adage that its the thought that counts.









Anyway here is a pic of the little Prince all decked up in brocade and gold embroidered heirlooms. He is beginning to look like his Grandmother, the wonderfully preserved Mrs. Gyanu Rana of Dhapasi (who on her good days can give some of the British royals a lesson in sophistication and elegance).


In other news Prashanth Tamang is, as you know in the final stretch of the Indian Idol and the final is this Sunday 23rd Sept so please do keep voting. He has done more for the unity of the nepalis than all the politicians put together. Maybe we can make him the King. (My friend HRH-but-wannabe-HM Prabir just had a nervous fit reading the last suggestion).

By the by.... this was one of the first blogs to actually support his quest.

Visionary anyone???

And if any of you value your sanity please do not be swayed by anyone to watch Ram Gopal Verma's remake of Sholay. It is as bad as hindi movies can possible get. Fore-Warned is Fore-Armed

And before i leave you here is a deceptively simple albeit moving story which is currentlly being circulated around by Shraddha Singh nee Rana who has also begun asking everyone around to begin addressing her as THE ONE (dont ask)

Enjoy!

Love

Vish

Two Choices

What would you do? You make the choice!

My question to you is: Would you have made the same choice?

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning disabled children,the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:

"When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?"

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. "I believe,that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes, in the way other people treat that child."

Then he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked,"Do you think they'll let me play?" Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play, not expecting much. The boy looked around for guidance and said, "We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning."

Shay struggled over to the team's bench put on a team shirt with a broad smile and his Father had a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible 'cause Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team had put winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least be able to make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over, but the pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the head of the first baseman, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!" Never in his life had Shay ever ran that far but made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!"

Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to second base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball, the smallest guy on their team, who had a chance to be the hero for his team for the first time. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions and he too intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

By now everyone in the stands were screaming, "Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay"

Shay reached third base, the opposing shortstop ran to help him and turned him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third! Shay, run to third" As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams and those watching were on their feet were screaming, "Shay, run home!"

Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the "grand slam" and won the game for his team.

That day, said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world.

Shay didn't make it to another summer and died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his Father so happy and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

The Child is indeed the Father of Man as long as we are able to learn from his innocence.

Dear All,

I have been crazy-busy with all the moving etc (I moved my flat last week) so therefore was not able to blog. Here is a very interesting and informative article which i saw in a website. After getting permission from the author i am reprinting it here for those of you who have not seen it yet.

Very Interesting.

Ciao

Vish

The pain of losing a nation.

By Sudheer Sharma

On the northern corner of West Bengal state of India , there is a hill station-- Kalimpong, which once hosted celebrities from all over the world. The hill town, where most of the settlers are of Nepali origin, no longer retains its old charm. But until a few weeks ago the last prime minister of a country—that has lost its independence—used to live here. Kazi Lhendup Dorji, who died on 28 July this year at the ripe old age of 103, had played a pivotal role in the merger of Sikkim into India .

Dorji is seen as a ‘traitor’ in the contemporary history. He lived, and died, with the same ignominy. “Everybody accuses me of selling the country. Even if it is true, should I alone be blamed?” he asked me, when I met him in Kalimpong in November 1996. But the allegation of ‘betrayal’ towards one’s own motherland was so powerful that Dorji could no more lead an active political life. He spent his solitary life at the ‘Chakung House’ in Kalimpong for several decades. Few people chose to remember Kazi when he passed away nor took pain to recall his life and times.

So much so that the Kazi was ignored even by Delhi . “I went out of my way to ensure the merger of Sikkim into India but after the work was done, the Indians just ignored me,” Kazi told me during an interview for Jana Astha weekly, nearly 11 years ago. “Earlier, I used to be given a ‘Red Carpet’ welcome. Now I have to wait for weeks even to meet second grade leaders.”
When I visited Kalimpong for the second time in 2000, Lhendup’s anger towards Delhi had reached new heights. At one time, he was received warmly by Indian leaders including Jawaharlal Nehru and Mrs Indira Gandhi. But later he became a political actor whose utility had been finished and thrown away into the dustbin.
The origin of crisis

After India got independence in 1947, the Sikkim State Congress, which was established as per the advice of Nehru, launched anti-King movement. Sikkim managed to overcome the crisis then but after Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister of India, the tiny Himalayan kingdom found itself in a crisis from which it could never escape. The anti-King movement, launched by the Sikkim National Congress (SNC) under the leadership of Lhendup Dorji in 1973, led to the demise of a sovereign nation.

India openly supported the movement against King (Chogyal) Palden Thondup Namgyal. The then ADC to the King, Captain Sonam Yongda, claimed that soldiers of Indian Army in civil dress used to take part in the protests. Some of the protesters were brought from Darjeeling and the surrounding areas. The number of Sikkimese who took part in the protest was quite small. But that was enough.

Lhendup’s protest movement depended mainly on Indian financial assistance. The money was made available through Intelligence Bureau (IB). “The people from IB used to visit me twice or thrice a year. An IB agent, Tejpal Sen, used to handover money to me personally,” Dorji had told me in a recorded interview.

In fact, the main actor behind the “ Mission Sikkim ” was India ’s external intelligence agency, RAW (Research and Analysis Wing). Set up in 1968, RAW was able to disintegrate Pakistan (and form Bangladesh ) within three years. The annexation of Sikkim was their other ‘historic’ success. The strategists of RAW didn’t want to repeat a Bhutan in Sikkim . Bhutan managed to acquire the membership of the United Nations in 1968. So, they launched a movement under the leadership of Lhendup, which is described at great length by Ashok Raina in his book Inside RAW: The Story of India’s Secret Service.

Raina writes that New Delhi had taken the decision to annex Sikkim in 1971, and that the RAW used the next two years to create the right conditions within Sikkim to make that happen. The key here was to use the predominantly-Hindu Sikkimese of Nepali origin who complained of discrimination from the Buddhist king and the elite to rise up. “What we felt then was that the Chogyal was unjust to us,” said CD Rai, editor of Gangtok Times and ex-minister. “We thought it may be better to be Indian than to be oppressed by the king.”

Lhendup—who belonged to the Kazi family—had a historic enmity with Sikkim ’s ruling Chogyals. He said he wanted to pressurise the King through public protests but lamented that the King never came forward for reconciliation.

Under pressure from Delhi , the Sikkimese King was forced to hold tripartite talks with SNC and India . The talks not only curtailed royal powers, it also turned Sikkim into an Indian ‘protectorate.’ In the elections held in 1974, Lhendup’s SNC got overwhelming majority in the parliament. The government and the king saw each other as enemies. Ultimately, the cabinet meeting, on 27th March 1975 , decided to abolish monarchy. The Sikkimese parliament endorsed it and decided to hold a referendum on the future of monarchy. Four days later, the outcome of the poll in 57 stations across the country was: ‘Abolition of the monarchy.’
In an interview, then Agriculture Minister of Sikkim KC Pradhan recalled that the referendum was nothing but a charade. “Indian soldiers rigged the polls by pointing rifles at the hapless voters,” he said. Immediately after the referendum, Kazi Lhendup moved a motion in the parliament proposing that Sikkim be annexed to India . The 32-member parliament, which had 31 members from Lhendup’s SNC—passed the motion without a blink. Needless to say that the entire episode was being orchestrated by India . The then Indian envoy to Sikkim (known as ‘political officer’) BS Das wrote in his book The Sikkim Saga, Sikkim ’s merger was necessary for Indian national interest. And we worked to that end. Maybe if the Chogyal had been smarter, and played his cards better, it wouldn’t have turned out the way it did.”

But Chogyal didn’t play his cards well. When Sikkim was undergoing turmoil, the Chogyal visited Kathmandu in 1974 to attend the coronation ceremony of King Birendra. According to insiders, King Birendra, Chinese deputy premier Chen Li Yan and Pakistan ’s envoy advised Chogyal not to return to Sikkim . “They narrated a ‘master plan’ to save Sikkim from Indian hands but the King didn’t accept,” said Captain Yongda. “It was because the King couldn’t think even in his dreams that India could use force to annex Sikkim .”

A ‘double game’

In fact, India was playing a ‘double game.’ On one hand, it was supporting Lhendup in whatever way possible against the King. On the other hand, it was assuring the king that monarchy would survive in Sikkim . The Chogyal was also an honorary Major General of the Indian Army. He never thought that his ‘own army’ would act against him. It was only an illusion.

The Chogyal of Sikkim was in his palace on the morning of 6 April 1975 when the roar of army trucks climbing the steep streets of Gangtok brought him running to the window. There were Indian soldiers everywhere, they had surrounded the palace, and short rapid bursts of machine gun fire could be heard. Basanta Kumar Chhetri, a 19-year-old guard at the palace’s main gate, was struck by a bullet and killed—the first casualty of the takeover. The 5,000-strong Indian force didn’t take more than 30 minutes to subdue the palace guards who numbered only 243. By 12:45 pm it was all over, Sikkim ceased to exist as an independent kingdom.

The Chogyal also lost the second opportunity. The Sikkim Guards had the capacity to stop the Indian Army for two hours. If the Chogyal had informed Beijing and Islamabad about the Indian invasion from the transmitter set up at his palace, both the countries had assured him—during the Kathmandu meeting—that they would instruct their security forces to open fire along the borders with India . Chinese army could even travel to Gangtok to rescue the Chogyal.
Captured palace guards, hands raised high, were packed into trucks and taken away, singing: “Dela sil, li gi, gang changka chibso” (May my country keep blooming like a flower). But by then, the Indian tri-colour had replaced the Sikkimese flag at the palace where the 12th king of the Namgyal dynasty was held prisoner. “The Chogyal was a great believer in India . He had huge respect for Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Not in his wildest dreams did he think India would ever gobble up his kingdom,” recalls Captain Sonam Yongda, the Chogyal’s aide-de-camp. Nehru himself had told journalist Kuldip Nayar in 1960: “Taking a small country like Sikkim by force would be like shooting a fly with a rifle.” Ironically it was Nehru’s daughter Indira Gandhi who cited “national interest” to make Sikkim the 22nd state of the Indian union.

During a meeting, former Chief Minister of Sikkim BB Gurung told me that the King and Lhendup were just fighting a proxy war. “The real battle was between an American and a Belgian lady.” If that was true, the real victor was the third lady—Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Two Foreign Ladies

Chogyal Palden met the 24-year-old New Yorker, Hope Cook, in Darjeeling in 1963 and married her. For Cook, this was a dream come true: to become the queen of an independent kingdom in Shangri-la. She started taking the message of Sikkimese independence to the youth, and the allegations started flying thick and fast that she was a CIA agent. These were the coldest years of the Cold War, and there was a tendency in India to see a “foreign hand” behind everything so it was not unusual for the American queen to be labelled a CIA agent. However, as Hope Cook’s relations with Delhi deteriorated, so did her marriage with the Chogyal. In 1973, she took her two children and went back to New York . She hasn’t returned to Sikkim since.

Then there was Elisa-Maria, daughter of a Belgian father and German mother who left her Scottish husband in Burma and married Kazi Lhendup Dorji in Delhi in 1957. The two couldn’t have been more different. Elisa-Maria wanted to be Sikkim ’s First Lady, but Hope Cook stood in the way. “She didn’t just want to be the wife of an Indian chief minister; she wanted to be the wife of the prime minister of an independent Sikkim .” With that kind of an ambition, it was not surprising that with annexation, neither Hope Cook nor Elisa-Maria got what they wanted.
Meanwhile, in New Delhi Indira Gandhi was going from strength to strength, and India was flexing its muscles. The 1971 Bangladesh war and the atomic test in 1974 gave Delhi the confidence to take care of Sikkim once and for all. Indira Gandhi was concerned that Sikkim may show independent tendencies and become a UN member like Bhutan did in 1971, and she also didn’t take kindly to the three Himalayan kingdoms, Bhutan, Sikkim and Nepal, getting too cosy with each other.

When the Indian troops moved in there was general jubilation on the streets of Gangtok. It was in fact in faraway Kathmandu that there were reverberations. Beijing expressed grave concern. But in the absence of popular protests against the Indian move, there was only muted reaction at the United Nations in New York . It was only later that there were contrary opinions within India —(Former Indian Prime Minister) Morarji Desai said in 1978 that the merger was a mistake. Even Sikkimese political leaders who fought for the merger said it was a blunder and worked to roll it back. But by then, it was already too late.

Lhendup Dorji became the first chief minister of the Indian state of Sikkim and retained the post until 1979. The Indian government conferred on him ‘Padma Bhusan’ in 2002 and he was also awarded the ‘Sikkim Ratna’ by the state government in 2004.

Despite such “rewards,” Lhendup and his wife Elisa spent their last years in Kalimpong repenting their past deeds. After the death of his wife in 1990, Lhendup was forced to lead a solitary life. He neither had any children nor relatives to take care of him. He cut himself off from his own people to avoid their wrath and hatred.

In the elections held in 1979, Lhendup’s SNC failed to bag even a single seat in the Sikkim ’s legislature. This effectively brought to an end to his political career. At one time, when he had gone to file his nomination, his name was missing from the electoral roll. In his resolve to dethrone the Chogyal dynasty that had 400-year-old history in Sikkim , Lhendup ended up delivering his motherland into the lap of India . In return, all he got was a life haunted from the shadow of the past and an ignominious death.

(Sharma is the editor of NEPAL weekly magazine and can be reached at sudheer@kantipur.com.np. This article has been excerpted from his original article which appeared in Nepalnews.com and reproduced here with the author’s consent.— Vishal)