Mandals as the boosters of peasants' resistance in Feudal Sikkim

The Mandals or the village heads played a vital role in igniting the idea of resistance among the slumbered conscience of the Sikkimese peasantry. They were appointed by the Kazis or in some cases by the Mukhtiyars. Their machinery role was to work as a village headman and to collect taxes from the peasants of their respective villages. A peasant had to deposit his taxes in time, which included house tax and land tax known as Dhurikhajana and Jamin Khajana. If he fails to pay his taxes on time, he would be given a chance to pay his taxes the following year. But, during his payment the peasant had to pay his tax with a huge interest.However, some provisions were maintained by the Kingdom to rebate interests of the past year’s dues if a peasant made a full payment to his landlord. 25% of reimbursements were to be made by the landlords to the peasants. But, it appears that the feudal officials never implemented these provisions in a sincere manner. The Mandals had to issue a receipt confirming the payment of land tax and house tax to the peasant. Counterfoils of such receipts would be recorded in a register of demand and collection.

 Document written with pen is a tax receipt of the year 1929 of Late Ravilal Pyakurel of Tareythang Busty East Sikkim, Date of payment of Jaminkhazana 8th March 1930. Document written with pencil is tax receipt of Late Man Bahadur Limboo of Rabitar Namchi, Date of payment of Zamin Khajana 29^th December 1941. Both the documents bear signatures of their respective Mandals.

Such receipts were mostly written with pencils which bore the Mandal’s signature. If the Mandal had any grudge against the peasants, they would issue a wrong receipt taking advantage of the illiteracy of the latter.This would lead to a big trouble for the peasants as whatever they earned had to be deposited as land tax. More pathetically, if the amount of tax happened to be registered wrongly, they had no option to appeal. There were several such cases in the various villages of feudalistic Sikkim. A Mandal named Chatur Singh Rai of Assam Lingzey had made such false entry against one Dal Dhoj Rai of his village. The victim made an appeal to Gyaltsen Kazi, the landlord of his village but his appeal remained unheard to the authority. In frustration, the victim openly challenged his Mandal during a feast at the village for this act of “disobedience” Dal Dhoj Rai had to pay Rs. 25/- as fine to the Mandal. Keeping aside the outcome of the outburst of anger, it is now evident that the hidden transcript of the Sikkimese peasantry was taking a shape of a full throated expression.

The Mandals also had the litigation rights and were appointed to provide justice to the needy in the village. But, most of the peasants today believe that their verdict was not satisfying for them as most of the Mandals spoke languages of the higher officials. A notice issued by a Mandal Brihaspati Upadhyay of Tareythang village in East Sikkim to one peasant Late Ravilal Pyakurel affirms this. Written in an intimidating language, the notice asks the latter to be present on 20^th December 1945 at Danak Adda court without fail. However, few cases related to land and taxation of the villagers was forwarded to the Durbar by the Mandals through written complaints.

Notice issued by a Mandal Brihaspati Upadhyay of Tareythang village to one of his villagers Late Ravilal Pyakurel on 18th December 1945 against a report made by another villager Sarvey Bidhyapati Kafley stating that the accused had chopped off a tree.

Due to their proximity to power, these Mandals also exploited the Sikkimese peasants in the same manner as by the Kazis and the Thikadars. It has been revealed by the victims and the descendents of such victims that commoners were heavily exploited by the Mandals especially during special occasions in the palace like the birthdays of Kings and the Princes. During such occasions, these Mandals ordered the peasants to offer some kind of gifts to them which they would give to the Kazis as a memento from the peasants of their respective villages. The peasant had to gift rice, maize, butter, curd, wine and in some cases meat, fish, and other valuable edibles. Yearly collection of such gifts was made during Meshu Purnima in the month of Bhadra (July-August) also known as Bhadau Purnima in Nepali.

Apart from such cupidity, the Mandals, during the process of collection, used to keep a portion out of the collected gifts leaving nearly 85% to the palace. Again, those gifts were deducted by the Mukhtiyars and Kazis leaving hardly 25% for the occasion in the palace. The justification about keeping such gifts is also interesting “Maha Kadnele Haat ta chatcha nai” meaning ‘a person who takes out honey from the hives definitely licks his hands’. Further, the peasants had to send a member of his household to assist the Mandal during farming in the form of Bethi Khetala. This Bethi Khetala was a free service to be rendered by a villager to the Mandals. The sufferers remind their black years in these words:

“We had to go to the fields of the Kazi Thikadars and Mandals for the harvest or for farming; they gave a fistful of dry maize to work for the whole day”.

Receipt issued to a peasant Man Bahadur Limboo in 1945 by a Mandal Kharga Singh 

Auxiliary, when the peasants needed monetary help, they would visit the Mandals for debt to be used for the marriage, or in the death rites of the peasants. If a peasant took loan of Rs 100/- he had to pay interest of 1 Muri of Rice to the Mandal from whom he had taken the loan. Hence, in feudal Sikkim, the Mandals had designated themselves as Kazi and proved to be the one who were directly responsible for the exploitation which ultimately gave birth to the peasant resistance in the secluded Kingdom of Sikkim.

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References:

Tax receipts collected from Harka Bahadur Limboo aka Khukurey Bajey of Chota Singtam East Sikkim on 21st January 2012

  Information collected through personal interview from erstwhile Mandals Kharga Bahadur Chauhan of Temi, Chandra Bahadur Basnett of Namli, Passang Tshering Bhutia of Namin and Phur Tshering Lepcha of Marchak villages during field survey in December 2011 and January 2012

Sikkim State, Office of the Dewan, Order No.4, Revenue Administration, Dated 19th August 1949, Gangtok

 Information collected through personal interview from Ash Man Rai of Assam Lingzey on 27th January 2012

 Scan Copy of the Notice issued on 18th December 1945 by Mandal Brihaspati Upadhyay to Ravilal Pyakurel of Tareythang village, East Sikkim. The document is an important credential to understand the judicial rights enjoyed by the village Mandals.

The Mukhtiyars in Feudal Sikkim

In the feudal administrative hierarchy of Sikkim, the Mukhtiyars enjoyed position next to the Kazi/Thikadars. Anna Balikci presumes that, the term got its origination from Ottoman Empire as the village Chiefs there were known as Mukhtar.We do not have much information about the commencement of this system in Sikkim. The available Official documents issued from the Royal Durbar are silent about the existence of any offices related to the Mukhtiyars hence, they were probably appointed by the Kazis in their Elakhas to maintain law and order in their estates. Auxiliary, documents belonging to Rai Saheb Durga Sumsher Pradhan of Rhenock also indicate that the Mukhtiyars were appointed by the Kazis and by other lessee holders.

Further, my field survey report bears ample testimony to the fact that the Mukhtiyars were given the charge of a whole Elakah of a lessee holder or a Thikadar. He was also granted the charge of litigation under his jurisdiction. Their duty was akin to today’s District Magistrate and was with a few hereditary exceptions, appointed on merit.From the pictures collected from the erstwhile Mukhtiyar family of Namchi in South Sikkim, it can be stated that they had a comfortable and a reverential life.

Photograph of Mukhtiyar San Man Tamang of Namchi South Sikkim. The person sitting on a chair in the middle was the Mukhtiyar. The golden ornaments of the women and the dress they clad in shows that they had a very comfortable way of life. The people standing behind were the peasants of his estate in Namchi. Pic. Courtesy Late Rup Maya Tamang, Namchi Bazaar, South Sikkim

Being a local of the Estate owned by the Kazis, the Mukhtiyars had detail information about the settlers. The Kazis and Thikadars, being the “high born” elites of the Kingdom hardly visited their respective holdings in the villages and preferred to live in comfort in the beautiful mansions in the capital of the Kingdom. The Kazis usually gave charges to trusted persons residing in their estates. In another word, the Mukhtiyars were to serve the Kazis as a bridge between the peasants and the Landlords.They also had to maintain the land records related to the peasants of his Elakah. As the trusted persons of the Kazis, the Mukhtiyars too possessed a vast tract of land for their personal use and the same was distributed among the Pakhureys. The descendents of Tashiding Mukhtiyar still profess the exploitative money lending job to the peasants in their periphery.

The information of the descendants of the Mukhtiyars highlights that they too lived their lives in a great comfort. They had many servants at their residence who were mostly the children of the tax defaulters.They had to make necessary arrangements in their Elakhas during the visit of King and other high ranking native and British Officials.The life standard enjoyed by the Mukhtiyars was almost similar to the Kazis and Thikadars. They had constructed beautiful mansions, travelled on the back of Arabic horses, and possessed enormous wealth. The Kothi of Namchi Mukhtiyar which was constructed nearly a century ago still steals a glimpse or two of every visitor. However, it appears that these officials were not prevalent in every estate hold by the lessee holders like the Kazis and Thikadars. The estates in the proximity of the Kingdom’s capital did not have any office related to the Mukhtiyars.

References

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Balikci, Anna (2008), Lamas, Shamans and Ancestors- Village Religion in Sikkim, Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands

Appointment letter of 1932 of a Mukhtiyar by Rai Saheb Durga Sumsher Pradhan  of Rhenock East Sikkim preserved at Ramgauri Sangrahalaya Rhenock

Information collected through personal interview from Mrs. Rup Maya Tamang, a granddaughter of erstwhile Mukhtiyar of Namchi Late San Man Tamang on 23rd April 2010

Information collected through personal interview from the peasants of Tashiding village in West Sikkim on 21st  and 22nd December 2011

 Information collected from the villages of Assam Lingzey, Kadamtam, Aho, Namin, Marchak and Samdur which are in proximity to Gangtok.

Tax Receipts of Feudal Sikkim collected at Chota Singtam

A tax receipt of 1922

A tax receipt after the abolition of Kazi and Thikadarism

Document plays a vital role for the construction of History; devoid of it, history tastes more story than a factual account. While undertaking field survey, I had been able to gather few documents related to the monarchical Sikkim which are not only rare but are atypical in their own ways. These peasant related documents are not available in any of the collections or in achieve of the State of Sikkim. The documents posted here belong to one Nar Dhoj Limboo of Rabitar Namchi, whose family was shifted to Chota Singtam in East Sikkim during pre Second World War period. These days the family of the said person is residing at the same village of Chota Singtam where Nar Dhoj Limboo found asylum against the recurrent feudal pressure. The once exiled family of Namchi has preserved many documents related to the feudal Sikkim that provide a broader space for the peasants’ history of Sikkim to dwell in. The oldest document which is maintained by the family of Mr. Harka Bahadur Limboo aka Khukurey Bajey of Chota Singtam, East Sikkim belonged to the year 1922. This document is a tax receipt paid by his father Nar Dhoj to the Mandal Kul Bahadur Chettri of Sadam Ilakha on 31^st December 1922. Likewise, one can notice such proof of payments of the subsequent years till 1936 before they got shifted to Chota Singtam. The striking features of such receipts are the utilization of personal seals of the Thikadars by the village Mandals instead of the Lal Mohur or Royal Seals. The position and status of the Thikadars and the Kazis in the feudalistic Sikkim are evident from the use of such personal Seals. The Thikadar of Sadam Ilakha used to be a Nepali, who was a Newar by caste. Therefore, their seals bear an icon of a half moon (Ardha Chandra) and Nepali remark of Shree. But, there is a gradual change in the use of such seals. In a receipt issued by Mandal Wangdu Lepcha of Sadam village to the same person on 31^st December 1932 bears mark of a rubber round seal that inscribes Moti Chand Pradhan, Turuk Ilakha Sikkim. Again, some of the receipts of the 50’s and 60’s have the earlier features.

A receipt of the membership fee of Sikkim State Congress

Tax receipt of 1933 (post World War I and Pre World War II)

The most important document maintained by Mr. Harka Bahadur Limboo is indeed the membership certificate of the Sikkim National Congress. The membership fee to the earliest peasant organization of Sikkim was made by a person named Man Bahadur Limboo, possibly, one of the brothers of Nar Dhoj Limboo. The receipt confirms that the latter made a payment of 50 Paise (Aath Anna) to secure membership of the said organization. It also bears signature of the Joint Secretary of the Sikkim State Congress (probably of Namchi District) Mr. Kali Prasad Rai. Further, many receipts of Kuts and Adhia methods of revenue assessment are also preserved by him.

The information about the family of Nar Dhoj Limboo and the documents were acquired during field survey on 21st January 2012

Nga Dak Monastery once a Palace of Pende Ongmoo

Nga-Dak Monastery at Namchi

Nga Dak Monastery is situated 2 Kms above Namchi that offers substantiation about the early Namgyals in a most voluminous manner. It was primarily constructed as a palace for the most disastrous Princess of Sikkim Pende Ongmo (Pendi Wangmoo) by King Chagdor Namgyal (Tensung Namgyal?) in or around 1700 AD. This edifice has tolerated two major jolts in the recent years and amidst nudges, the structure is yet standing and updating the times of yore of the early Sikkim in general and the Namgyals in particular. Nga Dak is a Tibetan word that corresponds to “promise”. Apart from abhorrence, the monastery also symbolises a struggle for supremacy between Princess Pende Ongmoo and Chagdor Namgyal that took place in the 2^nd decade of the 18^th century. 

King Chagdor Namgyal succeeded his father Tensung Namgyal at the age of 14 in 1700 AD. Soon after his succession, trouble arose between him and his half sister Pendi Ongmoo, who claimed that she was entitled to the throne. Pendi Ongmoo, whose mother was a Bhutanese, approached her maternal relatives for help and invited Bhutanese force to attack Sikkim to evict her brother. As a sequel to this, the Bhutanese attacked Rhabdentse, the then Capital of Sikkim and the areas adjoining to the Capital remained under Bhutanese for more than seven years. The young King was rescued by Yugthing Teshi, a loyal Councillor who took him to Lhasa via Elam and Walong in Nepal. The King remained in Tibet for eight years leaving everything rampant in his Kingdom.

Room where Pende Ongmoo was executed 

Chagdor returned to Sikkim accompanied by a Tibetan named Jigmed Pao and began to consolidate his position in Sikkim by driving out the Bhutanese elements from Sikkimese territories. Under the guidance of Lama Jigmed Pao, Chagdor accomplished the construction of Pemiongchi monastery, one of the oldest and most famous monasteries in Sikkim. The monastery consisted of 108 monks including the Raja himself who was an ardent Buddhist. The most significant works of Chagdor Namgyal include Changa-Yig, a book on monastic discipline, Rong-Chham, a religious dance in the honour of the Takpoo or war like demons and he is also credited of the designing of Lepcha alphabets.

An old wooden printing system preserved at Nga Dag 

Pendi Ongmoo, the King’s half sister however, was not solaced and the anomaly between them continued and culminated into a crisis. She conspired with a Tibetan physician to kill the King and to secure her position on the Sikkimese throne. During a visit to Ralong hot spring in 1717, Pende Ongmoo insisted the physician to open the main artery of the King which eventually caused the death of Chagdor Namgyal. After the death of the King, a force was sent to Namchi to execute the princess. The doctor was granted a fierce death by the Sikkimese ministers. Likewise Pende Ongmoo was put to death with a silk scarf inside a room of the Nga Dak palace.The place is also known as Pende Lhaptse and it needs a serious attention of the concerned officials for its preservation. 

Old Photographs from Sikkim, Darjeeling and Tibet

Bhutias of Darjeeling in 1860's Pic Courtesy Old Indian Photos

Gangtok Residency Pic: Charles Alfred Bell

Chumbi Valley Utensils Pic: C.A Bell

Nepalese in Lhasa Pic: C.A Bell

C A Bell with the Tibetans in Lhasa 

Sky Burial in Tibet Pic: C A Bell

Namchi Bazar in the 70's

Last Sikkimese Queen Hope Cooke with her son Prince Palden

Mr. N.B Bhandari the Second Chief Minister of Sikkim in the 70's

Mr. N B Bhandari  in the 80's

Note: The pictures posted above are collected from various websites and social networking sites. 

Mr. Bal Bahadur Rai: An Artist of Passion

Nepali Ladies- A Work of B.B Rai

 It is said that each acts of an individual is an art and such acts of human always have some artistic values. The human history has witnessed such behaviours of human society from time immemorial. The arts and objet d'art of Indus valley Civilization, Egyptian Civilization, Chinese Civilization and even before it, the anonymous and indecipherable arts of the Stone Age has rendered us some important information for the study of human history. Therefore, art in human society exists since the evolutionary period and has played an important role in expressing hidden feelings of an individual or in many cases the feelings of a whole society. This is also a story related to an artist, or in a truer sense a watercolourist of Sikkim, who has been able to stand himself on a distinct platform of the whole artist fraternity.

Best Painter Award 2007

Mr. Bal Bahadur Rai, popularly known as B.B. Rai was born on 4^th May 1950 at Tinzir Busty, Namchi in South Sikkim. He was the youngest son of late Jaharman and late Ashalacchi Rai. Mr. Rai got his elementary education at Namchi under the guidance of the important pillar of Sikkimese Nepali literature Late Agam Singh Tamang “Apatan”. In 1959, Mr. Rai got stipend from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of India and went to Birla Vidhya Mandir Nainital for his further education. For his outstanding performance in Matriculation in 1966, the Uttar Pradesh Government had provided him scholarship for his further studies but, he could not continue his studies due to some personal circumstances. After accomplishing his matriculation from Birla Vidhya Mandir, Mr. Rai came back to Sikkim and completed his B.Sc. from Darjeeling Govt. College and started his service to the state as a teacher.

Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal with Hope Cooke

Smoking Devkota

During his stay at Nainital, the eminent figure of Indian Cine world, Mr. Danny Denzongpa used to be his senior. It is from Mr. Rai, I have been able to secure much information about our own Danny. While asking about his inclination towards painting, Mr. Rai has told me that he used to make various arts on the Biskun (food grain kept in a courtyard for drying purpose) and was fond of his eldest brother late Kabirman Rai, who also used to be an artist of repute. The only question when should I be a good artist? used to reign the infant mind of Mr. Rai. His childhood task was to look after the Biskun, where he got plenty of time to spend in making sketches of various characters. Thus, a Sikkimese artist grew up at the courtyard making various sketches on Biskun. His talent is noticeable in Vatayan, a monthly magazine of Tilak House of Birla Vidhya Mandir Nainital. This magazine was published by the Tilak House of the school on the occasion of 107^th Birth Anneversary of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak in July 1963. As a student of Class VII, Mr. Bal Bahadur Rai has made a beautiful sketch of Lokmanya Tilak in the front page of the said magazine. His proficiency of art as a young artist is clearly manifested in the sketch of Lokmanya.

Mr. Rai, continued his passion of painting even after his service and has received many awards and certificates both from the state and central art academies. One of his paintings was among the fifth best paintings in an exhibition BRUSH STROKE hosted by Sikkim Academy in 2005. Further, he has exhibited his paintings in various places and has been able to receive approbation from the visitors throughout the country. He is also the founding President of Indradhanush Chitrakala Sanstha and is also associated with various art forums of the state and of the nation. He was also awarded as the Best Painter on the eve of State Day by the Government of Sikkim in 2007.

Portrait of Lepcha Bhutia & Nepali 

Apart from a watercolourist, Mr. Rai is also a versatile singer. Though, he has not recorded any songs so far, but has some remarkable experiences about his singing. During the visit of Shree Panch Maharajadhiraj Mahendra Bir Vikram Shah Dev, the former king of Nepal to Birla Vidhya Mandir, Nainital in 1965, Mr. Rai sang a Nepali song  Swadeshko Mayale aaja Mero Man Rulayo. The lyric of this song was penned by his ideal teacher Late Agam Singh Tamang “Apatan”. His Majesty the king of Nepal got poignant after listening to this song performed by Mr. Rai. There were many other fellows from the mainland of India who were also in the group to sing the Nepali song in the respect of His Majesty the King of Nepal. From his talks it appears that the students of Sikkim at Birla Vidhya Mandir used to be excessively talented.

Jesus Christ being taken out of the Cross

Portrait of Bal Gangadhar Tilak by B.B. Rai on Vatayan 1963 

After getting voluntary retirement as a Joint Director Planning and Development, Government of Sikkim, Mr. B.B Rai has dedicated himself in painting. His favourite is oil painting but his brush has touched all the other rivulet of paintings as well. His portrait of Smoking Devkota is indeed the best of its kind and also a new imagination of him. Similarly, the painting of Jesus, in which Mr. Rai has featured the corpse of Jesus, is taking out from the Cross by his followers. I have seen many paintings of Lord Jesus that also includes the Last Supper, but, this painting by Mr. Rai is a new and novel for me. Likewise, the painting featuring last Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal and his Queen Hope Cooke of Sikkim is a beautiful creation of Mr. Bal Bahadur Rai. Here I am reminding the famous saying of Bal Krishna Sama, the eminent writer of Nepali literature “Hey Ishwar, yedi pratibha garibko Jhopadi mai janmincha bhane malai aajha dukha dey”... Oh God!! If a calibre only borns in the hut of a poor; make me broke. 

Jaharman Rai: The unsung Hero of Sikkimese History

Late Jaharman Rai

The ordinary people have always played an indispensable part for the development of human society by producing agricultural items, rendering free services for the constructive works of a state and by providing forced labour. Further, by paying tax and rent of the land and agricultural products they make a greater contribution for the economic prosperity of a country. Being the nucleus of human development, the peasants in particular and ordinary people in general, who are always in a larger number, have never been treated at par. It is not only a case of a particular province or a state or a country, injustice against the peasant is a phenomenon which is rampant in every nook and corner of the world. The pricks, pains and the wounds the peasants have been subjected to in the past are simply irreparable which are very much similar throughout the globe. Their service to mankind in general and their Landlords or the Kings in particular, the burden of taxation upon them, the yoke of forced labour on their shoulders share a similar nature and feature throughout the earth. Amidst their large contribution, they have been frequently ignored not only by the authorities in the past but by history as well. Further, history of ordinary people which also covers resistance made by the peasants is always regarded as a sundry event by the contemporary historians. This is the major reason why the hardships of the peasants in the past have not got their mention in the pages of history. To quote Howard Zinn “...not only to the orthodox history of those years, but to the very idea of history told from the point of view of the authorities- a history confined to the “important” people that ignores the struggle of ordinary people”. In reality, it is an irony to monitor that human society is driven by a marginal force. It may be in the case of chieftaincies or later in the case of large empires; the majority have always been administered by the minority. In a truer sense, the suppression of the voices of the powerless or the marginalized, which always form the major group, continues even in today’s so called democratic set-up. The government, which is in minority, hardly bothers to listen what the majority are asking for and arrangements for settling the dilemma that occurs frequently between the minority governed state and majority of interests is seldom seen.

Late Rai on Second Row L-R during the construction of Sikkim House in New Delhi

Hence, being a student of history, this is my unpretentious attempt to bring into light about those unseen heroes of Sikkim who have contributed a lot for the erstwhile kingdom but are forgotten by the pages of History. I prefer to articulate them as the Unsung Heroes of our society, which was a composition of the ordinary people and peasants, and that never made any headlines in the leading newspapers and journals to drag the attention of the elites. For me, they are the real contributors, the altruistic and the most selfless human folks who played an important part in the development of Sikkimese society by dint of their labour and hard works.

Late Jaharman Rai was also a son of an ordinary Sikkimese peasant of Tinzir Busty at Namchi in South Sikkim. Born on 2 July 1915, Late Rai was the youngest child of Late Ashdhan Rai. After the death of his father, Late Jaharman Rai took up the task of tax collector under Lahso Kazi and later under Tenzing Wangdel Lahso. After witnessing the deplorable condition of the peasants during his service, he made his mind to resign from the job. The condition of Sikkimese peasantry thence was at a wretched stage, where they not only had to pay the tax but also had to carry Kalobhari and Jharlangi, the most crooked system devised by the Colonial Government. When the peasants failed to pay their taxes, their household items were auctioned of which they could not object as they were under the strict surveillance of the Kazis and the Zamindars, the self-styled super class of the erstwhile Sikkim.  

When the level of repression reached beyond the tolerance of the ordinary Sikkimese, they founded the first ever political party of Sikkim which was known as Rajya Praja Sammelan. This party, though it lacks agenda and ideology, is regarded as the first political party of the erstwhile Himalayan Kingdom of Sikkim. Late Jaharman Rai joined this party and became an active cadre. Later, the Praja Sammelan along with other two political parties namely, Praja Mandal and Praja Parishad was united to form Sikkim State Congress in December 1947. After the foundation of Sikkim State Congress, Late Rai continued to play an important part to ignite the slumbered minds of Sikkimese peasantry. He became the Secretary of Namchi branch of Sikkim State Congress for achieving the determined goal of democracy in the Kingdom. His correspondence with Late Pratiman Rai, Late Kashiraj Pradhan and Late Jainarayan Sapkota reveals his active participation in the people’s movement that was launched by Sikkim Sate Congress. Further, Late Jaharman Rai had also played a key role in raising party fund for the Sikkim State Congress.

Lhaksam Shabdek Badhar- The Silver Medal presented by the Chogyal of Sikkim

Apart from the politics, Jaharman Rai is also remembered for his philanthropic works at Namchi. Due to utter poverty he could not get his formal education and learnt to write in Nepali in bamboo tablets as a shepherd. Therefore, to annihilate such hurdles in education, he managed a night school at Tinjir which is now raised up to a Junior High School. Further, in the unparalleled landslides occurred from 3^rd to 5^th October 1968, which is popular in Sikkim as adshat shaal ko pairo, Late Rai had given refuge to many of his co-villagers in his house. He arranged Government help in the form of edibles, household items and beddings for the affected people of the catastrophe. It was under his guidance and initiative the citizens of Tinzir and Kamrang, reconstructed the brush off roads between Jorethang, Melli and Gangtok after the catastrophe. Recognising his social services, the Chogyal of Sikkim Late Palden Thondup Namgyal rewarded him with the Service Medal (Lhaksam Shabdek Badhar) in 1969.

Further, Late Jaharman Rai was a skilled craftsman, whose dexterity is visible at the Old Sikkim House, New Delhi which was known as Sikkim Residency before its merger with India. Still one can notice the huge sign board of “Sikkim Residency” in front of the Old Sikkim House. Most of the wooden works there is the creation of Late Jaharman Rai. In 1971, he led a group of Sikkimese craftsmen to give a typical Sikkimese look to the Residency.

Though he passed away in 2009, at the age of 94, his works are still alive at the Old Sikkim House helping the mainstream people to understand Sikkim in a better way. Sikkim is always proud of having such ordinary, but significant characters in its past. The history of ordinary people is also thus important like the history of “essential” people and their contribution should never be underestimated.

Namchi grieves for the earthquake victims

Namchi mourns for the Earthquake victims

The earthquake of 18^th September has greatly astounded Sikkim, the tiny Himalayan State of Indian Union. The incident was perhaps a shocking episode in the history of Sikkim and it is hard to forget to all those who have come across the catastrophe. Even after the span of 5 days from the apocalypse the government measures are still struggling to reach to the victims. We all are getting reports, some official and some unofficial about the desolation caused by the earthquake. Amid to these reports, the rumor is playing a vital role to create panic among the traumatized people. Yesterday morning I received a text on my mobile which was a sufficient stuff to get terrorize for all of us who are trying to surmount the fatality. It states thus:

Students of Namchi Govt. College

Earthquake can occur within 48 hours due to lava at Guru Dongmar Lake and it can damage entire Sikkim. These people, whom I prefer to, say anti-socials are leading a key role to play with the innocence of the Sikkimese people. 

The cataclysm came and gone but has left an untold miseries. I saw a picture published on an English Daily from Gangtok which has greatly stroked me. It was a picture of a school girl from Mangan who was searching her books and copies on the debris of her dismantle house. Every newspaper is chock-full with the reports and pictures of devastation. It is really harsh to believe that all the pictures are from our state and the people on those pictures are our fellow brethrens.

Silent Prayers of Namchi 

In order to show our concern to all the departed souls, ailing individuals and affected families of the disaster, NTSF has organized a “Candle Rally” at Namchi on 23rd September.  A crowd of around 500 have made a “Candle March” which was started from Central Park Namchi at 6:20 P M.  The march was attended by the students, teachers, journalists, and lawyers and so on. The accomplices were holding placards on their hands to show their concern towards the departed souls. I have also witnessed few Buddhist Monks chanting “Om Mani Padme Hung” to prevent such incidents in the near future. People gathered for march have prayed for the salvation of the departed souls as well as for the speedy recovery of injured in the catastrophe of September 18th. The only prayer of every individual before his almighty was to bless the Mayalyang in the near future from such apocalypse.    

The aftermath of Earthquake at Namchi

Statue of Lord Shiva- The Trisul is broken Pic. Pranika Gurung

The earthquake that occurred on 18^th of September will be always remembered by every Sikkimese till the end. It was a horrific shake, a mind-boggling of which none of our people have ever imagined. The earthquake measuring 6.9 Richter Scale nearly swept the smallest state of the Indian Union. The massive event took place at 6:10 on Sunday evening when most of our people were busy in their homely affairs . The sound was terrible, a bloodcurdling one. The whole structure was shivering and I got tuck within my room doing nothing to help my family. It was perfectly a dying situation, a catch 22. In such circumstances, when my wife hugged me, I realized how important life is for all and also apprehended the value of a loved one during a trouble. After the shake of almost 40 seconds the horror got solace and we managed to make ourselves out of the building. After the wobble, when I rushed down to the street I saw an unusual gathering in which most of them were crying with their near and dear ones.

It was raining outside- the day was also disobliging. Due to the power cuts we were unable to recognize each other on the street but, I can witness fear in everyone’s eyes. Most of them were shivering and telling the tale of how they got escape from the mouth of fatality. From the street, one and all were busy in getting connected to their family members. I too made a call and got a relief to know that my family was safe without any physical damage. Though, the cell phones were not working we had been able to receive few calls from outside the state. My friends from Mumbai, Pune and New Delhi informed me about the magnitude of the earthquake. After hearing it I literally got frisson. On my silence my wife asked me about the matter but, I simply answered her “We escape death”.  

A Cracked House at a Village of South Sikkim Pic. Pranika Gurung

After the havoc, rumor reined the entire state. Many of them in the crowd were talking about a next devastation. Most of them were equating the event with the judgment of God. Few intellectuals were discussing about the movement of tectonic plates and many others were listening to the rumors of another fatality. After spending nearly three hours on the street we made our way to our house. The entire night no one slept in the whole town and in the whole state. Everyone spent the night of 18^th September in counting the aftershocks. All together there were nearly 20 aftershocks subsequent to the big hit of 6:10.

The next day when our cell phones began to function, I got many calls from my friends scattered all around India. Few local friends informed me about the damages taken place in various heritage sites of Sikkim. I felt very bad to hear that the famous Enchey Monastery in Gangtok, Tashiding Monastery in West Sikkim and Dubdi Monastery (the oldest monastery of Sikkim) was badly damaged due to the massive earthquake. Pende Laptse, popularly known as Nga Dak Monastery which is also a lone heritage site of Namchi might have born the shake. If possible and if it is standing, I will be posting more posts on this 300 year old monument of Southern Sikkim.

Today I got a report from one of my students Miss Pranika Gurung of Namchi Government College about the devastation made by the Hit at the periphery of Namchi. According to this Official Report there is a massive destruction in the south Sikkim as well.

Earthquake Updates form Namchi as Informed by DPO LR&DDM Pempa Narbu Sherpa.
Miniram-Singithang: 65 house severely damage.
Lunchuk-kameray: 50 houses severely damage.
Ralong-Nalang GPU; 50 houses fully damage and three houses collapsed.
Mikhola-Kitam: 7houses fully damaged and 1 mandir damaged.
Tingrithang GUP: 29 houses fully damaged 100 houses severely and partially damaged and 20 families will be shifted at Namchi Government College by 9pm today and 10 families had given safe shelter at Chief Minister’s home at KLholaghari.
Temi Tarku GPU; 114 houses severely Damaged and 20 families are safely evacuated and provided safe shelter.
Namchi: More than 50 RCC buildings severely damaged and had cracks.
SPIL buildings got crack on walls and cracks on walls and staff quarters of Namchi District Jail. 
Boomtar landslide aggravated and nearby houses was shifted to safe shelter.
Sai Mandir Assangthang: several cracks had been reported.
Solophok Char Dham; Trisul broken, Ringfinger holding dammaruo broken, several cracks on the body of statue of 5mm.
Gate leading to statue sustain cracks about 2 to 6 inch and many cracks had been found leading to Solophok road.
Melli PHC had been severely damaged and shifted to nearby school and private houses.
More than 9 school buildings fully collapses including kaccha building and 8 schools got major damaged.
BAC Sikip: 7 houses fully damaged.
Namthang BAC: 30 houses damaged.

Namchi mourns for the victims Pic. Pranika Gurung 

Apart from Namchi, Mangan the epicenter of the earthquake is in a total distressing situation. The death toll is increasing hour after hour at the epicenter. I have been trying to call my friends there but unable to do so due to network hurdles. I wish everyone’s safety at Mangan and pray for those who have lost their lives in the earthquake.

Namchi- The Head Quarter of South Sikkim in 1966

South Sikkim occupies an important place in igniting the slumbered Sikkimese populace against the oppression made by the Kazis and Thikadars, the erstwhile ruling cliques of Sikkim. It is to be mention here that in the 40’s of the last century, few sons of Sikkimese peasantry, who hailed from this part began to dream for an egalitarian set up for the better administration of the kingdom of Sikkim. Keeping this in mind, they started an underground movement known as Member Party at a place called Namthang in South Sikkim. Amid to the paucity of political agenda and ideologies we are compelled to accept it as the first political organization of politically barren Sikkim. The foundation of such organization among the isolated Sikkimese peasantry has not only lighted the idea of political consciousness but, also rejected the opinion of Karl Marx which says “they cannot represent themselves: they must be represented”. But, Sikkim formerly being a secluded Kingdom, such instances had never received any attention from the enlightened historians.  

Namchi in 1966

 In the midst of a hegemonic, autocratic or authoritarian political structure people from the other parts of the Kingdom began to raise the voices against the corrupt practices of the ruling cliques. If we have to justify these incidents from a subaltern perspective than one can say that a tussle was on its way between the subalterns and the elites.  With the foundation of Rajya Praja Sammelan in 1946, by the peasants of Temi Tarku, South Sikkim has plunged itself on its way towards democracy.

The silent whispers of the remote villages began to make a huge clamor when the educated sons of peasant families like Chandra Das Rai of Namchi, Nayan Tshering Lepcha of Namthang, and the Tiwari brothers of Temi Tarku began to join it. The need of an umbrella organization in Sikkim was also felt by the South District which ultimately paved the way for the establishment Sikkim State Congress on 7^th of December 1947. Mr. Chandra Das Rai from Namchi delivered a flamboyant speech to the masses in his flawless Nepali which also played a vital role in breeding the ideas of resistance among the politically illiterate Sikkimese peasants.

In the anti-merger movement of the 70’s people like Durga Prasad Rajalim of Namchi played an imperative part to protect the inviolability of his motherland. Further, the place has also produced people like ex- Chief Minister Mr. N. B. Bhandari (who had his education at Namchi and later started his political career from the very place) and the present Chief Minister Dr. Pawan Chamling. In sports too, South Sikkim has given us Mr. Bhaichung Bhutia, the star of Indian Football and Tarundeep Rai the Indian archer. In addition to these, the district has given birth to poets like Agam Singh Tamang APATAN and many other talents related to various fields. Thus, the historical importance of South Sikkim cannot be underestimated.

During my eight years of stay at Namchi, I tried my best to find some old pictures of it. I have been able to stumble on an old picture that dates back to the 40’s but, due to a very low resolution I am unable to identify the place. Somebody told me that the picture was taken in 1949 in the midst of No Rent Campaign at Alley Ground. It is to be noted here, the new Indian Dewan John S Lal had to face a great difficulty posed by the State Congress when he reached Namchi to collect the tax from the peasants in the said year. He got an experience of the people’s attitude during his visit to Namchi; he had to face a huge demonstration led by the State Congress leaders Nayan Tshering Lepcha and Chandra Das Rai.

But, I am not sure weather the picture is related to this event or not. Therefore, until I will not be able to get authentic information about it its not appropriate for me to post it on my blog. However, picture of today’s post is reliable. It is a view of Namchi Senior Secondary School in the present day. This was taken by some unknown person in 1966. I am greatly thankful to Anup Sarkar for sharing this valuable piece of information with me. The picture speaks many words about Namchi, the present District Head Quarter of South Sikkim.

Pende- Lhaptse in the verge of Crumple

Pende Lhaptse- Counting its days for collapse

Namchi has played an imperative part in the history of Sikkim. If we go back to the reign of   Chador Namgyal (1700-1716 AD) the Pende Ongmoo affair allocates a special place in the Sikkimese history. It is said that Pende Ongmoo was executed at a place called Pende-Lhaptse, a few kilometers away from today’s Namchi town. It is necessary to discuss here about Pende Ongmoo, who has shared, such a special place in the early history of Sikkim. Pende Ongmoo sometimes written as Pende Wangmo was born of the first wife of King Tensung Namgyal (1670-1700 A D) who was a Bhutanese princess. During the accession of Chador Namgyal, she put a strong opposition regarding the succession of her brother. For her, being the eldest child of the deceased King Tensung Namgyal she was the legitimate successor to the throne of Sikkim after her father. Her stubborn nature led her to invite a force from Bhutan to assassinate the boy king who was just 14 during his accession. A loyal minister of the Sikkimese Court Yugthing Yeshe took the boy King to Lhasa via Ilam and Walong (then in western Sikkim now in Eastern Nepal). The event led to the Bhutanese occupation of Rhabdentse, then capital of Sikkim. For nearly 8 years of occupation the Bhutanese withdrew themselves from Sikkim with the mediation of Sixth Dalai Lama of Tibet. But, Pende Ongmoo was not reconciled. She was in search of an opportunity to take a beautiful chance to capture the throne of Sikkim. In 1716, when the King Chador Namgyal was at Ralang hot spring Pende Wangmo conspired with a Tibetan doctor to cause bloodletting from a main artery. The doctor, in a pretext of check-up cut the main vain of the king that caused his death.

After the death of the king, a force was sent to Namchi to execute the Tibetan doctor and the crooked princess. The doctor was granted a fierce death by the Sikkimese ministers. Likewise, Pende Wangmo strangled to death with a silk scarf inside a room of the said palace.

Few years back, I have visited the said place which is now at the verge of its downfall. It is a palace built for Pende Wangmo by then ruler of Sikkim. The most unfortunate matter which I witnessed during my visit was the least paid attention of the concerned authority to preserve the heritage. In some unknown period, to keep the structure stand, few iron pillars were erected which now bowing down due to the heavy load of the building. If some effective measures are not taken to protect this ‘living history’, within few years it will get collapse which would not only lead to a loss of an old building but also a treacherous page of Sikkim History.  

Note:- The picture shown above was taken few years back and due to a low resolution its not properly visible. Latest picture of  the site will be featured soon on this blog.