KPG GIRL, STILL UNCOMFORTABLE IN SHOES IS 07OFF May, 2004; NOW!TO 1 ON THE MECCA OF WESTERN CLASSICAL MUSIC pg 6 SBICAR Bharat Sanchar LOAN Friday, 07 May, 2004 Vol. 3 No. 37 Gangtok Rs. 3 Nigam Ltd. the convenient option most NOTICE Sanction & Disbursement in 1 day It is notified that Telephone Lowest interest rate at 9% Adalat will be held on 28/05/ No prepayment charges 04 at 11 A.M. in the cham- No processing charge ber of General Manager, Loan up to 90% Telecom, Gtk. The Sub- Free accidental death scribers are requested to insurance of the kindly file their complaints borrower regarding (1) excess billing Repayment up to 84 (2) Service (3) Non-provi- months sion of New Telephone due to various reasons etc. by contact PT Bhutia 98320 35786 20/05/04 addressed to the or Chettri 94340 12824 AO (TR) O/o the GMT/GTK Right leadership important 4 officials transferred for indulging in electoral politics for Sikkim: Chamling a NOW REPORT SOME QUIET AT THE WESTERN GANGTOK, 06 May: The capital hosted the penultimate campaign meet- ing of the SDF, held here at the Old Slaughter House, Arithang, today. About 1,000 people representing the various communities which give FRONT ASSURES CEO Gangtok its cosmopolitan mix gathered to hear the chief minister speak met with the district police officials there mainly consists of such acts as RANJIT SINGH along with other luminaries of the SDF electoral representation. and asked them to stay on “high stone throwing and damaging of ve- NK Pradhan, the SDF candidate from Gangtok and Nakul Rai, the GANGTOK, 06 May: The Chief alert” and attend to any untoward hicles. “Otherwise it is largely peace- Parliamentary candidate, kept their speeches brief to give time to their Electoral Officer, TT Dorjee, has just situation that might arise. ful,” he maintains. He is further con- party president at the dais. returned from a tour of the West Dis- “The recent incidences of vio- fident that there will be no more re- The oppressive heat could not take the punch from the delivery of Mr. trict. The trip was made yesterday to lence in the West District took place ports of violence from the West with Chamling, who, even as he held court on serious issues, amused the crowd assess the law and order situation because of insufficient deployment the deployment of a company of para- with his Bihari imitations. Incidentally, a large section of the Bihari com- there, Mr. Dorjee reveals. of police personnel,” he says. He military force to the district. munity was present to listen to the SDF president who began by asking “There have been incidents of assured that the security personnel “A platoon of ITBP has also the people to not just listen but understand his words. violence reported from the West, deployed in the West at present were been deployed in the west,” he in- The people of Gangtok, he said, need to understand the concept of especially from Soreng and Tharpu. adequate to contain any flare-up that forms. “Stray incidences of vio- having the right leader in the right place. In this context he went back in My visit was mainly concerned with might occur. So, a phase of quietude lence such as stoning and damag- time to exhort that Sikkim at the time of its merger with India had lost out the checking of the police deploy- can now be expected in the West ing of vehicles cannot be ruled out on the status of a tribal state. ment there and ascertain whether the which has been hogging attention and are quite impossible to pre- “There was no leader then who raised the demand that Sikkim be declared a deployment was enough to tackle for all the wrong reasons of late. empt,” he said. tribal state. Had we been a tribal state there would be no question of implementation the existing situation there,” Mr. He also feels that the violence turn to pg 7 turn to pg 4 Dorjee informs. He also says that he HONGHONG KONGKONG GNLF TO SUPPORT CONG BAZAAR IN SIKKIM TOO Any Item Rs. 90 to Rs. 150 FIRST GAC chairman, GM Rai, contest- tics. “We have submitted a list of a NOW REPORT Gift Items, Crockery & Other TIME IN ing from Central Pendam as an In- names to the CEO and are waiting SIKKIM GANGTOK, 06 May: “Purna dependent candidate had an- for him to take action against them. Attractive Goods! Kharka Chettri, the only GNLF can- nounced at a meeting that Congress The Congress maintains that the didate to contest the assembly elec- had agreed to support him at the elections should be held in a free tions [from Hee Bermiok] has Assembly level and that his organi- and fair atmosphere and govern- HOTEL BAYUL, MG MARG, GANGTOK pledged his support for the Con- sation would support Congress’ ment employees involved in elec- gress in the forthcoming elections,” Lok Sabha bid in Sikkim. This ap- toral politics should be sternly dealt Congress spokesperson, Jigme N. peared an unlikely scenario given with. Kazi today informed the press. It is the fact that the SPCC [I] president Mr. Kazi added that by not tak- also believed that GAC today de- and former chief minister, Nar ing prompt action against those of- nied reports of its supposed deci- Bahadur Bhandari was himself ficials named in the list, the gov- sion to support the Congress in the contesting from Central Pendam. ernment had failed to abide by the Parliamentary elections. Mr. Kazi at yesterday’s briefing order of the Chief Election Com- “It does not matter as it won’t had clarified that no such tie-up missioner. make much difference to our pros- was in place although he admitted Mr. Kazi, once again predicted pects,” Mr. Kazi countered on the that even he had heard of Mr. Rai’s a clean sweep of the East and West GAC denial. He had only yester- extension of support to Cong [I] in districts by the Congress in the en- day stated that GAC had decided the Lok Sabha elections. suing polls. “Mr. Bhandari has al- to extend support to the Cong [I] That apart, Mr. Kazi kept up his ways done well in the East which in the Lok Sabha elections. Confu- tempo concerning the Congress’ al- is mostly populated by NBCs, BLs sion over the support issue arose legation of officials of the state ad- and vyaparis,” he said. when reports suggested that the ministration involved in party poli- turn to pg 4 GAC SUPPORT [OR WITHDRAWAL] MAKES NO DIFFERENCE TO OUR POLL PROSPECTS: KAZI CMYK 2; NOW!; 07 May, 2004 ED-SPACE Dressing my master for dinner NOW! with the Governor FIRST WITH THE NEWS -48- were written in the beginning, for they white waistcoat, stiff dinner shirt, y master had dictionaries had been presented to my master by white tie and decorations.” These Decentralised Development of a great number of dif- the authors. My master knew all the decorations my master only wore ferent languages, espe- sahibs who had written these books. when the Governor or the Viceroy Economic development can only happen through true decen- M cially of the Himalayas, China, Ti- My master frequently went out invited him to dine with him, and I tralisation and inclusive democratic governance. This is some- bet, Siam, Burma and all parts of to visit his friends or to dine with think that this was to show his re- thing that even the donor agencies which power “development” Asia. I have counted more than six them, and he also received many spect. The invitation of which I am nowadays have come to realise and lay as a precondition be- different Tibetan dictionaries and visitors in his flat. Twice a year he now speaking was the last one is- fore bringing the dole out. Some might view this as Western even greater number of different had to receive the Viceroy and the sued by Sir John Anderson, the style arm-twisting of unwilling Eastern counterparts into their Chinese ones. There were also dic- Governor of Bengal in the Calcutta Governor of Bengal, for soon after style of governance, but that is the way things are and since tionaries of another kind in which Club, as he was a member of its His Excellancy would retire. the West controls the purse-strings, those pining for their lar- one could find information on any committee, and every year he went In general my sahib was never left gesse can do little but comply. The decision has been prompted subject in the world. I think that the a few times to Government House in peace. People would invite him day primarily by the failure of public servants to deliver the goods. biggest book he had was a collec- for a dinner or hall or garden party. after day for lunch or tea or to some Through most of the 90’s, funds for developmental projects tion of the holy books of Buddhism, One day when he had received an exhibition or meeting or other func- were directly handed over to the concerned government de- which he loved very much. It had invitation from his Excellency the tion. Sometimes he had to go to the partments in countries like India. The model failed miserably thirty-seven volumes and was Governor of Bengal to Dutch or French or Belgian Consul. and thus the change of mind. The adjustments should not be printed in Siamese letters, impos- dine with him, he told Then he would put a rosette on his too tough for India, or its constituent units like Sikkim, which sible to read, of very thin lines me to note the date.