Lal
Bahadur Basnet was born on 17th December 1926 at Nazitam, Sang in
East Sikkim. Born to Lieutenant (Honorary) Prem Bahadur Basnett and Narbada
Devi, Lal Bahadur Basnett is an enigmatic personality of Sikkimese politics. At
the age of 4, Late Basnett, along with his parents, left Sikkim for Dehradun
(then United Provinces now the Capital of Uttarakhand) and returned to his
native land only after 15 years. He got his basic education at Dehradun and
went to Ludhiana and admitted to Punjab University for his graduation. After accomplishing
his Graduation, in 1945, he went to United Services Pre-Cadet College Belgaum. He was court-martial from the Army due to his direct
and open letter to a High ranking Army Officer. In his Letter he stated about “the
dissatisfaction prevailing in 2/5 Ghurkha Rifles”, which was not engrossed by
other high ranking Officers. He was sent for a rigorous three months imprisonment
but, later released after spending one and a half months in the jail. After resigning
from the Indian Army, he went to Pokhara (Nepal) and served as a school teacher.
He
sat for the Sikkim’s first Civil Service Competitive Examinations and qualified
the same by scoring more than 80% marks in both written and viva examination
and was appointed as a Magistrate in 1961. His ideas of egalitarianism could
not match with the monocracy. For him, the Sikkim Monarchy was standing on the fundamental
principle of theocracy and chauvinism. In order to show his resentment against
such system of Sikkim, Late Basnett resigned from his job and again went to
Nepal. There too he sat for another competitive examination, which he cleared
with a first position and got his job as Assistant Editor for a semi government
English Bi-weekly “The Nepalese Perspectives”. Due to his immense faith on
radicalism, which was visible in his writings, Late Basnett came under the
direct surveillance of Nepali Monarchy and was put behind the bars for nearly
11 months. His days as a prisoner in the Nepali Jail paved the way for the
writing of his famous novel “His Majesty’s Paying Guest” (Shree Panch ko
Pahuna).
After
getting expelled from Nepal Late Basnett came back to Sikkim and joined Sikkim
National Congress, a political party headed by L.D Kazi. Very soon he was
appointed as Joint Secretary of the Party and became an important element and was
begun to be regarded as a “Think Tank” of the Sikkim National
Congress Party. His ideas of democracy and egalitarianism could not stop there.
In 1966, he published series of three articles on the topic of Democracy
in Sikkim (Sikkim ma Prajatantra) which ultimately led to the portrayal of
Late Basnett as an anti-national. He was sent to prison for using satirical and
sardonic languages against the Sikkim Monarchy. Later he was granted a bail of
Rs. 1 Lakh but, within a few days he was again sent to jail on the same alleged
reason. It was due to his endeavour the
Sikkim National Congress had been able to win 10 out of 18 seats in the General
Election of 1967. The sole credit of the victory goes to late Basnett for his
political stalwartness.
Due
to his deviating political views with L.D Kazi he resigned from the Sikkim
National Congress and founded Sikkim Janata Party. Though, the party had never
been active in the political sphere of Sikkim but, the demands made by Late Basnett
and his party cannot be disregarded. After his victory in the election of 1979,
he was elected as the Deputy Speaker of Sikkim Legislative Assembly.
Late Basnett as a Sportsman:
During his youths he used to be a skilled sportsman. He participated at the
National Boxing Championship in 1944 held at Irwin Stadium (now National
Stadium) and became the first Sikkimese to become a participant in a national
sports event. He was also a Captain of the Western Command Football Team in the
Durand Cup in 1953. He is arguably the first Sikkimese football player to play at
the National level.
Late Basnett as a Writer:
A part from a political figure, Late Basnett was a prolific writer as well. He has
written many books which include Sikkim-
A Short Political History (1974), His
Majesty’s Paying Guest (1982), a collection of Nepali short stories Dharma
Chada (1983) and The Ghurkhas of India are of importance. He has also
written Rape of Sikkim a controversial book about the annexation of
Sikkim by India. He wanted to publish it from India; therefore he replaced the
word Rape
with Merger.
But, most unfortunately the Indian army seized his manuscripts at Bagdogra
airport on his way to New Delhi in May 1978. Thus, this book of him remained unpublished.
Late Basnett as a Journalist:
His writing habits did not allow him to sit ideal, after leaving the Editorship
of “The Nepalese Perspectives” he made his tie-ups with Himalayan Observers an
English Newspaper published from Kalimpong from 1967. He was also a founding
editor of this Newspaper. His articles were published in many reputed
newspapers of India like Blitz, Current, Himmat, Now and Surya.
One of his short stories was also broadcast by BBC London in 1975 and the
same story was published by a journal Imprint in 1976.
Due to lack of other relevant sources I am unable to
mark the later part of his life. His other achievements will be updated as I
will get further information. This article is written on the basis of an Appeal
published by Sikkim Gorkha League Party for the Election of 1984.
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