India Media black out on Lepcha Hunger strike

An old Lepcha lady on her second day of Hunger strike. Stop the Indian Government from flooding the habitat of the people of Sikkim.

I am angry.

India has once again shown its true colours. When Sikkim was annexed -- oh, we Indians love to rewrite History, and so the 'correct' term is 'merger' -- however, after the annexation of this tiny Himalayan Kingdom in 1975, a special status was given to Sikkim. No legislation could be thrust upon it unless ratified by the people of Sikkim. In the years that have followed, there has been a consitent onslaught to 'bring the Sikkimese' into the 'mainstream'.

Now, it seems, using its immense clout, the Government, which has been already imbroiled in several developmental projects using the gun, sees Sikkim and its nonviolent, peaceful-loving population as pushovers.

Once again, people are trying to use divisive politics.
There are voices in Gangtok saying that it is not a Nepalese issue, it's a lapchay issue.
There are more whispers from the trader community, that there wil be profits in the making, after all, it's not their land, and they're not tribals.
Sikkimese of Bihar origin are told , it's not your problem, keep quiet, mind your dholbi shop, barber shop, and paan dokan.

Nepali, Bhotay, Lepcha, Madhesi or Anglo: make no mistake this is a Sikimese issue. it's the common wealth that will be submerged. POur land will be destroyed, and the lions share of the profits [ha! profits! what porofit!] will be reaped by the people of the plains.

We have no objectionto mini-hydel projects. More than enough electricity can be produced that way. Why spoil the Himalayas?

This is also an Indian issue. Do we want to further ruin our already fragile eco-system and let our remaining rivers run dry?




The strike goes on. The small Lepcha tribe against the might of the Indian government and the docile government of Sikkim. More and more support for ACT and the Satyagrahis on hunger strike has been pouring in from Gangtok and other parts of Sikkim. Lepchas from Darjeeling and Kalimpong too have been coming in regularly to voice support to the cause. People from all walks of life and other communities too have been expressing concern, but this is not enough. We have to turn this into a National issue.

Bloggers over the world have started responding:


While a virtual mainstream news blackout continues to exist with regards to the hunger strike of many Lepcha, the indigenous inhabitants of India’s Himalayan state of Sikkim, against a hydro power project planned along the Teesta River in Dzongu, some enterprising journalist from a website called Asian News International has shown more initiative than all my colleagues in the Western media and written a serviceable summary of the situation.

Michael Deibert, Writer. [click the link for his reaction]




Meanwhile Tenzing Lepcha, who started it all enters the ten day and counting. He's weakening. And still the Indian Media is silent!!!!!

LINK to WEEPING SIKKIM

Sikkim Governmenmt Speak

IT TOOK TEN DAYS FOR THIS, MR MLA?

Ten days after the Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) started their indefinite hunger strike against hydel power projects in Dzongu, the area MLA has finally broken his silence on the issue.

Sonam Gyatso Lepcha has, for the first time, expressed his opinions on this issue, preferring it through a press statement released to the media here today.

“As the elected representative of the Dzongu Constituency and being born and brought up in Dzongu, I am fully aware of my responsibilities and will always protect the rights and interest of the people of Dzongu.”

“I would like to state that in interest of the people of Dzongu, the Government has taken every step necessary as required under the law regarding the hydro project in Dzonguin Dzongu.

The acquisition proceedings were conducted comprehensively and in full consultation with the people of Dzongu. Required formalities have been fulfilled to ensure that the environment, culture and the ethnic character of Dzongu are fully protected.

This project was initiated by the Government keeping in mind the total interest and future of the people of Dzongu and the State,” he says in the press statement.

Read the full text here

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Weeping Sikkim

News from Gangtok: Dawa Lepcha, the general secretary of Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) who was leading an indefinite hunger strike here, was admitted to a hospital on Tuesday. ACT has been demanding scrapping of hydel projects coming up in North Sikkim’s Dzongu area. Doctors found ketone level of Lepcha, on a fast for the last seven days, negative which could affect his kidneys. East district additional collector Naveen Chettri said Lepcha’s condition improved on Wednesday.

more on this issue here
http://fragbows2.blogspot.com/

India governemnt sneaky Scheme

They are all sitting on hydro-dollars like petro-dollars. So if you can develop it, it's a way of earning the revenue," he explained. "The only question is in doing so, how do you feel the pulse of the people? But the sensitivity issue of the local concerns has to be addressed in the very initial stage so that vested interests don't come at a later stage and create problems."
if you haven't read the story , click the VOA logo

Dollars? Mr Ramanathan.
And what use are these hydro-dolars, may I ask?
Can your hydro-dollars buy virgin forests, untouched that FEED the Teesta by providing the precipitation that becomes the snow?

Can you buy back the hundreds of rare species of orchids?

The beautiful mountain butterflies that have only this one place in the whole world to exist?
Can these dollars buy back a way of life?

The people of Sikkim don’t need your rehabilitiation

Or your plunder

A few environmentally friendly mini-hydel projects would be enough to sustain the power needs of Sikkim and a few neighbouring areas.
But India doesn’t look at NEED
It’s GREED.

This sneaky scheme was put in place when the BJP was in power at the Centre.

After selling out the Tribals of India and turning their homelands into desolate holes in the ground
The pot bellied Madhesis turned their evil eyes on our Sikkim.

WHY hasn’t the Indian television media made this a story yet ?

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Baichung and more

Baichung Bhutia does not remember the first time he kicked a ball but the poster boy of Indian football has definitely kicked his way to the top to become a household name in the region.
A fan of the legendary Diego Maradona, the 5’8 feet 31 year-old from Tinkitam in Sikkim, dubbed the Maradona of India, has takenIndian football to new heights becoming the first Indian footballer to
break into European football.

Well, i remember Baichung as a 16 year old schoolboy from Tashi Namgyal Academy, teh youngest player in the Governor's Gold Cup national Tournament, playing for Sikkim B.

Here's a link to a story about his visit to Bhutan

Sikkim may be submerged by yet anoither dam prohect.

Read about the agitation here

Reservation for dalits?

I have been rather ambivalent for a while when it comes to the 'reservation' question.
Reservation for dalit christians is an issue that has very string reactions even within the Christian community. by and large the Church Official seems to support it - that means the Bishops and Priests. The laity maintain that there is no 'caste' in Christianity, so if Daits want to become Christians, they should forgo their 'caste' privileges.

St. Stephen's College has made news and sturred up contriversy by putting in a 10 percent reservation [40 seats] for Dalit Christians and has lowered the all round 'cut off' marks to 60 percent, raising an outcry.

This clarified things for me and made me think different.
Click here to see what changed my views.

St. Stephen's shows the way.

I am carrying the full text of an excellent article that I am in absolute agreement with. Other so-called 'Christian' colleges should emulate this as well. St. Stephen's college, Delhi is one of India's best known colleges.

A Christian move
Prakash Louis

Christian tradition holds that St Stephen was a man full of faith and threw himself into his apostolic work with the greatest zeal. God blessed him by enabling him to perform great wonders and signs. This was in the first century CE.

It appears that St Stephen's College by reserving 10 per cent of seats for Dalit Christians has gone back to its tradition. In spite of strong opposition from faculty members, the decision of the college to reserve seats for Dalit Christians and to scale down the cut-off point to 60 per cent is a move in the right direction and at the right time.

This move by St Stephen's is a bold step.

According to the officiating principal of St Stephen's, Valson Thampu, out of a total of 400 seats, 10 per cent would be reserved for Dalit Christians.

But he went a step further and said that all avenues will be explored to ensure that those who are admitted cope with the demands of a rigorous education.

Further, he asserted that the college would carry out a merit audit, taking the wind out of those who always hide behind merit whenever reservations come up.

This move by St Stephen's will now compel the government to make public the report of Justice Ranganath Mishra National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities and to implement its recommendations.

The commission has clearly stated that Dalit Christians, irrespective of their converting to Christianity, continue to suffer from the tyranny of the caste system.

It is common knowledge that Dalit Christians are subject to cumulative and multiple discrimination within the caste system since they are untouchables. They are discriminated against by upper caste Christians since they are Dalits; they are subject to exclusion by upper caste Hindus since they continue to be treated as untouchables; and they are denied the provisions of reservation since they have embraced Christianity.

The long-standing demand of Dalit Christians to be brought under the constitutional purview of reservation was denied on the pretext of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950. Taking this into account, the Mishra Commission has recommended that Para 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950, which originally restricted the Scheduled Caste net to Hindus and later opened it to Sikhs and Buddhists, should also include Christians.

This timely action by St Stephen's is in a sense implementation of the constitutional mandate, which directs the state not to discriminate against any citizen on the basis of caste, class and creed. At the same time it demands that the well-being and rights of weaker sections be promoted and protected. Moreover, St Stephen's has reiterated the fact that this decision is in line with its minority status, and that within minorities Dalits deserve to be included.

Expectedly there is opposition from some faculty members and upper caste lobbies in the name of merit being sacrificed for affirmative action.

For ages, these advocates of merit have been direct beneficiaries of invisible but uninterrupted reservation in minority educational institutions like St Stephen's.

For generations these people have benefited out of the educational services of St Stephen's.

But the moment the college has made up its mind to include Dalit Christians in its educational mission, they are up in arms.

It appears that the determination of the management to implement the constitutional directives will triumph over their opponents.

The decision to provide reservation to Dalit Christians seems to be in line with the directions given by B R Ambedkar to judge the social services of Indian Christianity: "It is necessary to bear in mind that Indian Christians are drawn chiefly from the untouchables and to a less extent from low-ranking Shudra castes. The social services of missions must, therefore, be judged in the light of the needs of these classes".

Many conscientious citizens of the country have welcomed this historical decision of St Stephen's. This step has once again proved that education is a tool for inclusion and justice and not an exclusive domain of the elite.

The writer is director, Bihar Social Institute, Patna.

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Sikkim Express Memories

Sarikah is the new Executive Editor of Sikkim Express in 2007.
I had the same post, though not as 'formalised' in 1987.
In those days, it was really just the Managing Editor Mr. Ram Patro [now deceased] and the Executive Editor [yours truly] who were the 'editorial staff'. There was Dhriba Gurung, who was the Editor and staff of the Nepali langauge side called 'Himali Bela'.
Sikkim Express was the first newspaper in the region to go 'offset'. There was an immense composing machine, a primitive comupter which would work on Wordstar commands. We were also the first in Sikkim to have an electronic typewriter on the golf-ball principle.
Sikkim Express was where I received my 'hands on' training in computers. I started on the princely sum of Rs 700 a month, upped to rs 900 two months later, and after six months, I was received the 'princely wage' of Rs 1400 plus a holiday Christmnas bonus which included a return flight to Patna!
I believe that Mr Ram Patro's son, who was an impish little boy at the time has taken over as Managing Editor.
I'm sure that Sarikah is going to breathe life andfire into thepblication.
She was recently given an award by the Sikkim Government.




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ACT FOR SIKKIM NOW

NEWS FROM Gangtok :

Mega Hydel Project planned to submerge virgin forests of Sikkim!

The argument that the mega hydel project is needed to gain revenue is as strange and phony as the picture on the right. Why would the Centre freeze grants to Sikkim? Which are the private comapnies that will benefit from this Hydel project? Is this a state-owned project?

Members of Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) have come down heavily on the ‘coercion, subjugation and administrative intimidation’ that the people of Dzongu are being subjected to.


ACT members say that government functionaries were resorting to pressure tactics to gain support for the Teesta hydel power schemes.


The allegations followed after Dzongu MLA Sonam Gyatso Lepcha came up with signatures of 86 people, apparently in favour of the power project, after a meeting on June 21.

“Most of the landowners are primitive tribesmen, docile, god-fearing and submissive by nature and a majority of them do not want to part with their ancestral land,” said Tseten Lepcha, the chief coordinator of ACT. “But they are being threatened that if they do not part with their lands all government facilities will be stopped. All those fighting for their lands, rights and future are being branded anti-national and politically motivated.”


Pressure tactics are not new to Sikkim politics, or to politics anywhere in India. During the raj of the Sikkim Sangram Parishad under Mr Nar Bahadur Bhandari, pressure was of a far more direct kind. I remember when his Sangram Youth Wing came to 'apply pressure' following an article that appeared in the Sikkim Express, or how the district administration applied 'pressure' to the publisher of Forthrightly, a Sikkim weekly to stop a very popular column on Sex Education and HIV issues called 'Body Talk'.


However, read on:





“The government should settle the matter amicably,” said Mr Thukchuk Lachungpa, president of Citizen Forum. He said that if the government still fails to act, Citizen Forum is ready to join the hunger strike.


The Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee is also supporting the ACT. The party has appealed to all the NGOs and political parties to extend their support for satyagraha and the strike to check the arbitrary, thoughtless, discriminatory and anti-people activities of the state government and “save Sikkim from becoming another Nandigram and Singur.”


Mr NB Bhandari, SPCC president, said: “Even the locals need legal permission to go there because it is a restricted area. How can these power projects be constructed there?”


Mr Bhandari said.





That's a laugh. Sikkim will never become another Nandigram and Singur. There are too few people. Would Mr Bhandari have sung the same tune had his own party been in power? I would say, yes, because Mr Bhandari has fought valiantly for Sikkimese identity.


The issue is whether we need to submerge our beautiful hills which have pristine forests, rare butterflies, even rarer species of orchids. It is one of the last sanctuaries for Alpine flora and fauna. It is the homeland of the Lepchas, the vanishing tribe. This is a Human rights' issue that must be raised.


LET'S ACT NOW AND RAISE THE ISSUE ON EVERY FORUM AVAILABLE.


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Bizarre Bihar

From Katihar in North Bihar: Just when you thought police complaints can’t get any more bizarre, comes the case of a twoyear-old boy in Bihar who’s charged with rioting and firing at police. He faces arrest and has been asked to surrender.
Toddler Raj Kumar Jha, son of Raju Jha of Nababganj village in Katihar district may not be able to stand without holding his parents’ hands, but in the eyes of the law he stands charged with firing at the police at Nababganj and has a warrant of arrest out against him. A case has been registered under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 349 (using force) and 34 (common intent) of the Indian Penal Code.
This is what happened.
The Manihari Police lodged an FIR (no 10/07) on January 30 against a dozen people, including the infant, charging them with attempted murder and rioting after a clash between two groups during a Muharram procession.
Police had to open fire to break up the mobs but no one was injured, sources said. Fearing police reprisal and arrest of their son, the parents are said to have fled from the village and are on the run.
Katihar superintendent of police Anil Kishore Yadav said he had ordered his deputy to get details of the warrant against the twoyear-old, saying he couldn’t do anything to revoke the order until he received a full report. The officer-in-charge of Manihari Police station couldn’t be contacted despite several attempts. His staff said he was busy with arrangements for a lok adalat.

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Rare Sikkim Documentary by Ray

It's a film by Satyajit Ray --- one that has never shown in India, courtesy the ban imposed on it by the Union Government.

The world lost track of Sikkim , the Ray documentary made at the request of the Chogyal, when the king's American wife Hope Cook left the Himalayan kingdom to go back to New York, never to return.

There are only three copies of the film left, but not in very good condition.

Can we start a campaign to restore it?

Click here for the full story

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Random thoughts

Bihar Police foolishness never seems to subside. click here

However, the most distressting story of the week has been the blatant violation of the rights of the physically challenged by Sahara Airlines. NGOs, in the interest of protesting and affirming the righst of the disabled, should rethink booking flights by Sahara for their conferences et al. Bycott Air Sahara tillthey come out with a catregorical apology and a compensation package and ensure that the disabled get dignified treatment on board.

Monday 25 June is when Worldspace Radio will finally take a stand. Bangalore based SPIN, channel 44 will broadcast from 7 am till 10 am music by Queer singers, songwriters, and musicians.

It's nice to see the community slowly coming out of the closet.

I have specifically written in a commendation and a comment acknowledging India's queer activists Ashok Row Kavi, Nitin Karani, Owais Khan, Pawan Dhall, Arif Jafar, Shivnanda Khan, Sylvester Merchant, Vjay Nair, and several others for their brave and pioneering work giving the gay, transgendered and lesbian communities a voice in India.

Where do pets come from?

A newly discovered chapter in the Book of Genesis has provided the answer to, "Where do pets come from?"

Adam and Eve said, "Lord, when we were in the garden, you walked with us every day. Now we do not see you any more.

We are lonesome here, and it is difficult for us to remember how much you love us."

And God said, I will create a companion for you that will be with you and who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will love me even when you cannot see me.

Regardless of how selfish or childish or unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourselves."

And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam and Eve.

And it was a good animal.

And God was pleased.

And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and Eve and he wagged his tail.

And Adam said, "Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom, and I cannot think of a name for this new animal."

And God said, "I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him DOG.."

And Dog lived with Adam and Eve and, was a companion to them, adored and loved them. And they were comforted.

And God was pleased.

And Dog was content and wagged his tail.

After a while, it came to pass that an angel came to the Lord and said, "Lord, Adam and Eve have become filled with pride.

They strut and preen like peacocks and they believe they are worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed taught them that they are loved, but perhaps too well."

And God said, I will create for them a companion who will be with them and who will see them as they are.

The companion will remind them of their limitations, so they will know that they are not always worthy of adoration." And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam and Eve.

And Cat would not obey them.

And when Adam and Eve gazed into Cat's eyes, they were reminded that they were not the supreme beings.

And Adam and Eve learned humility.

And they were greatly improved.
And God was pleased..

And Dog was happy.
And Cat didn't give a s----t one way or the other.

Uncouth Bihari Minister

Bihar's Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh was in the eye of a storm for pushing an elderly woman in Bhagalpur district when she went up to him to ask for a job, causing her to fracture her arms.

Singh has denied the allegation.

Singh reportedly pushed Phoola Devi, whose husband had died three years ago, during a function in Bhagalpur district, about 200 km from Patna on Thursday. Phoola Devi's arms were allegedly fractured due to the push Singh gave her when she approached him for a job on compassionate grounds.

This Bihari minister is not a servant of the people. Uncouth and belligerent, he's not the person who thinks he owes his position to his constituents. After all, we know how 'free' and 'fair' elections really are in Bihar, and how much depends on muscle power and caste calculations. The Bihari Minister has an ugly face. Chief minister Nitish Kumar may be more of a gentleman, but it's a tough task getting his Ministers to behave.

The opposition members in Bihar baying for Singh's blood are no less uncouth and unmannerly. Ask many of these opposition MLA's what their role is, and they'll say it's to oppose, to prevent the ruling party from gaining ground, and that means to sabotage any proper development plans!

In the caste equations and tussles, the real poor are left to wallow in poverty.

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Personal notes

It's just one of those days that drags on. Listlessly. the weather is dull, wettish.

I've just been browsing and have come across this very interesting blog. It's about a 'closet gay' and his experience in India. Appealing.

It's still a tragic fact of life that a nation which was the most liberal in thought has been enslaved by Victorian thought and still accepts Macaulay's nineteenth century legislation.

As I have said time and again, it's time to make a change.... let's take a look at ourselves honestly, and we'll see so many things that are very real , some experiences that are so much a poart of ourselves, our families, our village, and yet we are afraid to acknowledge that they exist, that it's human nature... and so we let the steel shutters come over our eyes...

http://1body2soul.blogspot.com/

on another topic altogether, this time in Bihar click here

VOTE MANIA

I think most Indians would agree that Abdul Kalam has been one of the most outstanding Presidents that India has ever had.
If Giani Zail Singh was the first President that cast a shadow on his office by openly saying that he would gladly take a broom and sweep for Indira Gandhi, President Abdul Kalam has brought vision, integrity, intellect and dignity to the office.
Most of us would love to see him at Rashtrapati Bhawan for another term.
However, politicians have their own agendas, so let's see what happens.

Indians love to vote, it seems.
Here's a take on another kind of vote

iDOLS AND iDEALS

Indian Idol 3, the desi version of American Idol, has suddenly attracted the attention of the Sikkim and Darjeeling hills because of this man. Such was the frenzy of voting for him that the network got jammed and the mobile phone providers were in for a rough time.

While voting for your favourite singer is fine, shows like Indian Idol somehow enhance MORE REGIONALISM THAN TALENT. I’ve seen appeals on e-groups, like Coolbihari for Biharis to vote en-masse for a Bihari contestant. So are we looking at musical talent or the emergence of regional feeling?

It’s great the way in which the Government of Sikkim is going ahead with its green programme. Every department has to set aside one percent of their budget for tree planting and ensuring that Sikkim remains green. In Bihar, there’s no such vision, or priority. The forest cover is perpetually shrinking, and the water table is being depleted at an alarming rate, but who’s bothered? Not the Bihari Bureaucrats. Not the Bihari Politicians.

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Maria and the Others

The Patna Cine Society screened three Porteguese films this week.
This is thefirst time in its two decade old history that Portuguese films awere screened here.
I caught the third one, by Jose de sa Caetano on Sunday.

Maria, an executive from Oporto, is in the search of Mr Right.

Her two friends, Joana, a doctor that has fallen in love to a co-worker, and Isilda, a funky and quirky hairdresser seem to be happy with their lives.
One day though, everything changes. Maria is forced to take care of her father, who suddenly becomes bed-ridden .
During these days of turbulence, Maria thinks she has found the perfect man, a mysterious Star, an habitué of chat channels on the Internet.
The three friends find out that sense of humour can be the key for a happy life.
A film where love arrives when you don't expect it and goes away when you think it is safe.
It's a film that is very much a woman's film, and deals with contemporary issues.

Sadly, we were only five people watching this movie.
Cinema buffs in Bihar need to become pro-active.


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Education Puzzle

With the Patna University and the state government deciding to de-link colleges from the Intermediate Council, it's a tough time for several bihar students as even hole-in-the wall schools with a +2 curriculum have jacked up fees to near astronomical heights.

Students who have passed out from government schools wil face problems as +2 faciities haven't been started in all government secondary schools.

On the other hand, vocational courses are the answer for the middle classes.

Here, we see several fly-by-night 'vocational institutes' especially those trying to cash in on the 'Media' craze. Even colleges like BN college can't do justice to their 'Functional English' course which has a component for media.

Credible courses are given by Ravi Bharati Institute of Communication, but they are strictly for institrutions and social groups. Notre Dame Communication Centre runs an effective video production course.








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In Memoriam

The strangest thing about somebody dying is the ritual of seeing off the corpse.
It’s called paying one’s respects.
It’s understandable that a person’s relatives, friends, and colleagues feel a sense of loss, and that being present at the last rites holds a meaning for them. But just adding to the crowd at a funeral because it’s the done thing?
This may sound indelicate to you, but why must somebody be obliged to go to somebody’s funeral just because you happened to know the person?
In the past three days, I’ve had several people ask me why I didn’t visit Notre Dame where Sister Jayshree was laid out in state, and some were very surprised when I chose not to attend the funeral.
The nun and I weren’t exactly on the best of terms.
We were civil to each other.
Appropriately bobbed our heads while passing and all that.
She was known as a good administrator. She ran her school admirably well.
She really couldn’t be described as a very social person.
was very surprised to hear of her death, but not surprised when I came to know what caused it. She usually came across as somebody who was under a lot of pressure, and had this habit of sounding off! Patna has lost an able educationist.
The Sisters of Notre Dame, no doubt, are still to get over the sudden loss of an accomplished and able family member.
Her accomplishments in the field of education and administration will be remembered.

India Shining or India Whining?

Are we India Shining or India Whining? Thus asked a journalist in an article in The Economic Times.
It’s become common, the police standing by and the district administration twiddling its thumbs as the politicians do the ostrich act as mobs go berserk on the street.
The moment the police take a tough stand, all hell will break loose, with politicians falling over each other to set up enquiries when the rioters are injured by police action.
It’s a shame, all right.
And it’s also a shame that the real issues get muddied in the melee… are the Gujjars really tribes? Can tribe and ethnicity be changed by government order?

By The Way, my moodometer is on display here

Still, I'm Sad...

It's another day at the office. The same grind, maybe.

Even so, there's a lot one can do when seated at a desk, in the gaps between tasks.

So, while waiting for something to materialize, I'm filling up this blog.

I still haven't got over the way my squirrel passed away in the night.

That's what happens.

But I've got a lot of advice on that.

Someone pointed out that the Vaastu of my flat should be changed.

The terrarium should be shifted one way.

Another said that somebody with an evil eye may have watched me feed my squirrel with a milk bottle.

That's why babies should be fed in private, he said.

Another said that it was probably the opressive heat.

Still, I'm sad..... like in the Boney M song.



Anyway, here are some articles tat you may like to read about Bihar on Frank Opinions.

Farewell Sister Jayshree

Sister Jayashree SND(59), the Principal of Notre Dame Academy passed away on 7, June 2007. She suffered a massive heart attack compounded with asthama.

The paradox was that CBSE officials from Delhi contacted the school on the same day morning announcing that Sr. Jayashree was selected as the Best Principal at the national level!

Sr. Jayashree was known as a strict Principal. Jayshree was known to be a woman who spoke her mind, at times brutally frank. She was completing her sixth year as Principal of Notre Dame. The chief Minister, Nitish Kumar sent his condolences and directed the Collector of Patna to offer a wreath on his behalf.

The school hall was overflowing with her , students, teachers, parents, from Kerala, Religious and priests. Archbishop Benedict Osta SJ was the main celebrant.

Honorable Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly Uday Narain Chowdhary too was present. Fr. Peter Arokiasamy SJ preached the homily.

Death of a Squirrel

Whew!

It's good to be back.

The automatic Google Robots decided that this blog was not the prouct of Darth Vader.

Okay

I'm a bit depressed today, because a squirrel died.

It had fallen from a nest 14 days ago. This is how it looked 14 days ago.

I nursed it and it was doing fine.

It became sprightly and was growing.

then suddenly, this morning

We found it dead.

No reason apparently.

Well fed.

It was frisky at eleven last night.

Four in the morning we held its warm, lifeless body.

Still soft.

What killed it?

Heatstroke? A weak heart?

Really don't know.

Sikkim Update

Heavy rain damaged more than 10 houses and triggered a number of mudslides in Sikkim's East district on Sunday in a repeat of Saturday’s storm and fury.
The downpour snapped power and water lines, a few hours after they were restored.
In Kopibari, below Deorali, a suburb of Gangtok, a number of houses were damaged when the water supply lines of the army collapsed, causing landslides.
The slush and debris from the steep incline rushed down to the village, hitting around 10 houses.
Two persons were injured.
The affected families have shifted to safer locations.
Similarly, in Tathangchen above Gangtok, a family has been asked by the district authorities to evacuate their house as the building has sustained damage making it unsafe for living.
Another building — a house owned by Pratap Tiwari, the additional secretary of the buildings and housing department — located on Indira Bypass was evacuated after a landslide left it perched atop a hill dangerously.
Damage to four more houses has been reported from Dikchu in East Sikkim, 40 km from here.At Burtuk, along the bypass, debris and boulders washed down by the jhoras have blocked Indira Bypass.
Repair work is still on.


Kalimpong:

The body of 20-year-old Suchitra Chettri, who had been missing from Saturday, was recovered from the bottom of a cliff at Ramitaytar on the outskirts of the town today.
Suchitra, who studied in Class XII in Sai Institute of Education and Research (formerly known as Kamal Jyoti School) here, had apparently committed suicide by jumping off the edge of the cliff from a height of more than 1,000 ft, police said.
According to family sources, Suchitra had been reprimanded by her uncle on Friday evening after she returned late from school and lied to him about it.
“She told me that the principal had held her back, but when I called up her principal, he denied doing so,” said her uncle G.B. Chettri.Originally from Teesta village, Suchitra, had been brought up by Chettri, who is a resident of East Main Road here.
Chettri had brought the girl to the hill town after her mother left them and her father hit the bottle. It was her uncle who lodged a missing persons’ diary at the Kalimpong police station on Saturday.
However, despite the efforts of the police, her family and friends, she remained untraced till today.Early this morning, a couple of boys, who were out for a stroll near Ramitaytar, came across a pair of lady’s sandals lying in the area. Having heard about the missing girl, they searched around and chanced upon what to them looked like a body below the cliff.
They immediately informed the residents of the area and with their help they went down and identified the body as Suchitra’s.
The police later recovered the body, and sent it for post-mortem.
“It could be a case of suicide,” said Humayun Kabir, additional superintendent of police, Kalimpong.
The principal of her school, D.K. Bhandari, said Suchitra was a disciplined girl and good in studies as well.
He said he could never imagine that she could take such a drastic step.

Bihar: Stranger than fiction

Sour grapes?

Three sex workers in Muzaffarpur, about 70 km from Patna were declared untouchable in a meeting convened on Saturday by the self proclaimed community chief Rani Begum, who was defeated in the civic bodies elections that concluded last week. She was elected ward councillor in the last elections held in 2002.
Rani Begum reportedly appealed to the community members not to visit the three boycotted sex workers even in event of a death in their families.
Officials said the three sex workers who were facing social boycott approached the district administration Monday for help. The District Magistrate Vinay Kumar said, 'I advised them to file a police complaint against those who decided to impose the boycott'.
The socially boycotted sex workers have sent a complaint to the National Human Rights Commission and are planning to file a complaint in the court.

This picture showa a 'launda' or dancing boy [traditional male sex worker] at a Bihari village wedding. Certain castes consider eunuchs, effeminate males, or sex workers 'auspicious' and they have a rtiual function at weddings.

Pick of the day

People living in Bhutan in the early '90s who didn't prescribe to a
particular openess of Buddhism, speak a particular language, and whom weren't able to trace a couple generations back to the area they were living in, were dealt a brackish card of life: Leave the country.

Now, the elements established
by the Bhutanese government as to who was and wasn't a citizen were somewhat
simple, yet for those who were safe and allowed to stay, the dilemma of living
in a country that limits your representation in public affairs became even more
complicated. After some debates and certain agreements between India, Nepal and
Bhutan were made, people not classified as citizens of Bhutan left the singular
peace of the country they called home, with others somewhat affected by the
event following in tow. Finding a home was to be a difficult task. Eventually
most settled temporarily in eastern Nepal, a bed for communist insurgents primed
to dethrone the Nepali crown. Unbeknownst to these travellers from abroad, in
one full swoop they became both refugee and illegal immigrant.

An excellent piece on the politics of Bhutan. I remember when i was in Sikkim we did a number of stories on the Ethnic Nepalese in bhutan who were being pushed across the border. What does the new-fangled 'democracy' exercise in Bhutan mean?

Rather insightful article here

Bihar is next. The Super 30 experiment is quite famous by now. but corruption never ceases. Read the story here

Closing down the Super 30 experiment is no solution. the names of these bogus institutions should be published. And in future, the children and ther parents should sign undertakings to be honest and not endorse rival products!