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United News of India
6 days ago
- Politics
- United News of India
BJP leader warns against any move to dilute Article 371F in Sikkim
Gangtok, Aug 9 Former Minister and Chief Advisor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sikkim unit, Tseten Tashi Bhutia, has issued a strong statement warning that Sikkim without Article 371F would be 'a big zero.' He stressed that the special constitutional provision is not a privilege, but the very foundation of Sikkim's merger with India in 1975. Article 371F, included in the Indian Constitution at the time of Sikkim's statehood, protects the ownership rights of Sikkimese people through the Revenue Order of 1917, safeguards the Sikkim Subject Certificates and their descendants, ensures reserved seats in the Legislative Assembly, and preserves pre-merger laws and customs. Bhutia expressed deep concern that in recent years there have been attempts to weaken these protections through legislation, administrative decisions, or court rulings. He said that instead of celebrating Sikkim's 50 years of statehood in 2025 with pride, many people now live with fear and insecurity. He pointed to demographic changes since 1975, claiming that migration from neighbouring countries has shifted political priorities and led to non-locals controlling much of Sikkim's economy. He also warned that permanent settlement of outsiders in sensitive border areas could threaten national security. According to him, some local politicians have encouraged this trend for vote-bank politics, offering freebies and ignoring long-term risks. Bhutia criticised both the state and central governments for failing to act decisively. He noted that Sikkim has only one representative each in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, giving the state limited influence in Delhi. He accused certain IAS and IPS officers of working for personal gain rather than public welfare, in collusion with political leaders. Calling for urgent action, Bhutia appealed to the judiciary, lawmakers, and constitutional authorities to uphold the original spirit of the 1975 Merger Agreement. He said court judgments in the past have sometimes gone against the interests of the Sikkimese people due to misleading information from state authorities. If this continues, he warned, it could erode public trust, harm ethnic harmony, and compromise national security given Sikkim's borders with China, Bhutan, and Nepal. Bhutia urged all Sikkimese citizens to stay united and vigilant in defending Article 371F. He also reminded policymakers that weakening it would not just harm Sikkim's identity, but also threaten India's federal structure and national interest. 'Any weakening of Article 371F is not just an attack on Sikkim's identity, it is a threat to India's federal integrity and national interest,' Bhutia said. UNI SUJ AAB
The Star
15-06-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Sikkim locals fume as India-Nepal climbers ‘defile' sacred Kangchenjunga, world's third-highest peak
KOLKATA: It was in May 1955 that a British mountaineering team successfully climbed Kangchenjunga, the world's third-highest mountain at 8,586m, for the first time. But members of this expedition did not step onto the peak of the mountain on the border of Nepal and India. They instead stopped about 1.5m short of the summit, in deference to the wishes of locals in the region, who venerate this Himalayan mountain and did not want the climbers to sully its sacred peak by stepping onto it. More than 70 years later, locals in the small Indian state of Sikkim, which lies in the heart of the Himalayas between Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet, are fuming over a mountaineering team having done just that. A team comprising representatives from the Indian and Nepalese armies scaled Kangchenjunga's peak in two waves on May 19 and 20, as part of the Indian government's Har Shikhar Tiranga (Hindi for 'A Tricolour Atop Every Peak') initiative aimed at hoisting the Indian national flag on the highest point in all 28 Indian states. The expedition, which flagged off on March 26, was organised by the National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports (Nimas), which functions under India's Ministry of Defence and is based in the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh. As the Indian side of the mountain remains closed to climbers, the team approached it from Nepal. Nevertheless, the ascent to the top of Kangchenjunga has angered locals in Sikkim, particularly members of the Bhutia and Lepcha communities, most of whom are Buddhists and consider the mountain as a guardian deity who has watched over them and their land for generations. 'They have defiled the sanctity of our Kangchenjunga,' said Tseten Tashi Bhutia, the convenor of Sikkim Bhutia Lepcha Apex Committee (Siblac) – an organisation that represents the rights and interests of these two communities – and a former minister with a previous state government in Sikkim. The controversy has ignited concerns that the centuries-old religious and cultural traditions of indigenous Buddhist communities in Sikkim, India's second-smallest state with a population of around 632,000, were disregarded to generate patriotic fervour. It also highlighted the power dynamics between the central government, which organised the climb, and the state government, which expressly prohibits any climb atop Kangchenjunga. Sikkim has maintained a formal climbing ban atop Kangchenjunga since 2001, one that followed another controversy in 2000 when the state government allowed an Austrian team to attempt the near-vertical trek up the peak in exchange for US$20,000. The team failed to make it to the summit. 'Whatever has happened, has happened. Now damage control has to be done,' Bhutia told The Straits Times, stressing the need for a 'purification ritual' to placate their guardian deity. He also called for an apology from the climbers as well as the central government that organised the climb and the state government that failed to stop it. 'This type of blunder should also not be repeated in the future,' he added. Neither the climbers nor the Indian government has issued any statement following the controversy. ST approached Nimas for a comment but did not receive a response. On June 12, Siblac issued a statement saying that the recent climb had 'deeply hurt the religious and cultural sentiments' of the Bhutias and Lepchas, and formally called for an apology. The Lepchas believe they are descendants of ancestors who were created out of the snow of the holy Kangchenjunga. Locals in the state also celebrate their unique relationship with the mountain during Pang Lhabsol, an annual festival that commemorates the consecration of Kangchenjunga as the guardian deity of Sikkim. Siblac will organise a Buddhist purification ritual on June 15 at the Kabi Lungchok sacred grove in North Sikkim to seek the deity's forgiveness and 'restore the spiritual harmony and sanctity of our land'. It was at this historic forest site that the Blood Brotherhood Treaty was signed between the Lepchas and Bhutias in the 13th century, marking the beginning of Sikkim's unified rule. Kangchenjunga was invoked as a witness to the signing of this key treaty. Locals fear angering their guardian deity could cause natural disasters, something the state has often been afflicted with. On June 1, a landslide hit the site of an army camp in Sikkim following days of heavy rains, killing at least six individuals. Anger following the ascent has been widespread in Sikkim. A video of Sikkimese children pleading with everyone not to climb their revered mountain has been circulating online and even Sikkim's Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, who heads the state government, expressed his concern. He wrote to India's Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah on May 24 describing the recent ascent as 'a violation of both the prevailing legal provisions and the deeply held religious beliefs of the people of Sikkim'. Sikkim has maintained a formal climbing ban atop not just Kangchenjunga but also eight other sacred peaks since 2001. However, ascents are made from time to time from the Nepalese side of Kangchenjunga. But Bhutia said the expedition team, irrespective of their approach path, had violated the sacred peak. 'They have blown the law (preventing any ascent on Kangchenjunga) to smithereens,' he said. In his letter, Tamang also urged the Indian government to convince Nepal to ensure that no further expeditions are permitted on Kangchenjunga. The demand for such a climbing restriction is not unique. China, for instance, prevents any climbing activity on Mount Kailash in Tibet, given its deep religious significance for followers of not just Buddhism, but also Hinduism, Jainism and Bon, an indigenous religion practised in Tibet. Even Nepal, which has otherwise embraced mountain tourism enthusiastically, bans climbing on Machhapuchhare, an iconic 6,993m mountain whose name translates to 'fishtail' and which is revered by local Gurung people. Jiwan Rai, a political commentator based in Sikkim's capital Gangtok, said it is important to view Kangchenjunga similarly through a 'time-honoured Sikkimese lens', one that does not consider the mountain as a 'trophy for adventurers' but a symbol of cultural heritage and 'the pinnacle of religious identity' for a significant section of the state's people. 'This centuries-old indigenous world view now stands desecrated for the sake of some thrill to be felt by army personnel. Isn't that a massive cultural cost?' Rai told ST. Furthermore, the recent ascent of Kangchenjunga is being seen as an affront to not just Sikkimese cultural and religious values, but also their political rights. Rai added that the Sikkim state government had failed to uphold its rights by not preventing the Indian government-led climb despite its official ban on any ascent atop Kangchenjunga. 'This lapse reveals the current government's inability to withstand pressure from the centre. The only way to disprove this perception is by firmly demanding recompense for the violation of law and redress for the cultural sacrilege,' he said. The state is currently governed by the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM), a regional party that Chief Minister Tamang leads as its president. The SKM is part of the National Democratic Alliance government at the centre, led by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Siblac had opposed the ascent publicly as early as April, with a letter sent to the state's Governor O. P. Mathur, requesting him to call off the expedition. The governor of an Indian state is appointed by the Indian president on the advice of the prime minister and serves as its constitutional head, taking decisions based on the advice of the chief minister and council of ministers. Said Rai: 'A widespread perception is emerging that India is steering towards a uniform national identity, and a state with its distinct personality like Sikkim comes in the way. If Sikkim does not make its voice heard now, it risks losing its unique identity to India's broader and increasingly homogenised national narrative.' - The Straits Times/ANN
Straits Times
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Sikkim locals fume as India-Nepal climbers ‘defile' sacred Kangchenjunga, world's third-highest peak
Members of the joint India-Nepal mountaineering expedition that successfully summited Kangchenjunga in May. PHOTO: ADGPI/X - It was in May 1955 that a British mountaineering team successfully climbed Kangchenjunga, the world's third-highest mountain at 8,586m, for the first time. But members of this expedition did not step onto the peak of the mountain on the border of Nepal and India. They instead stopped about 1.5m short of the summit, in deference to the wishes of locals in the region, who venerate this Himalayan mountain and did not want the climbers to sully its sacred peak by stepping onto it. More than 70 years later, locals in the small Indian state of Sikkim, which lies in the heart of the Himalayas between Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet, are fuming over a mountaineering team having done just that. A team comprising representatives from the Indian and Nepalese armies scaled Kangchenjunga's peak in two waves on May 19 and 20, as part of the Indian government's Har Shikhar Tiranga (Hindi for 'A Tricolour Atop Every Peak') initiative aimed at hoisting the Indian national flag on the highest point in all 28 Indian states. The expedition, which flagged off on March 26, was organised by the National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports (Nimas), which functions under India's Ministry of Defence and is based in the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh. As the Indian side of the mountain remains closed to climbers, the team approached it from Nepal. Nevertheless, the ascent to the top of Kangchenjunga has angered locals in Sikkim, particularly members of the Bhutia and Lepcha communities, most of whom are Buddhists and consider the mountain as a guardian deity who has watched over them and their land for generations. 'They have defiled the sanctity of our Kangchenjunga,' said Mr Tseten Tashi Bhutia, the convenor of Sikkim Bhutia Lepcha Apex Committee (Siblac) – an organisation that represents the rights and interests of these two communities – and a former minister with a previous state government in Sikkim. The controversy has ignited concerns that the centuries-old religious and cultural traditions of indigenous Buddhist communities in Sikkim, India's second-smallest state with a population of around 632,000, were disregarded to generate patriotic fervour. It also highlighted the power dynamics between the central government, which organised the climb, and the state government, which expressly prohibits any climb atop Kangchenjunga . A view of Kangchenjunga, one of the five highest peaks in the world, taken from Sandakphu, the highest point in India's West Bengal. PHOTO: ST FILE Sikkim has maintained a formal climbing ban atop Kangchenjunga since 2001, one that followed another controversy in 2000 when the state government allowed an Austrian team to attempt the near-vertical trek up the peak in exchange for US$20,000. The team failed to make it to the summit. 'Whatever has happened, has happened. Now damage control has to be done,' Mr Bhutia told The Straits Times, stressing the need for a 'purification ritual' to placate their guardian deity. He also called for an apology from the climbers as well as the central government that organised the climb and the state government that failed to stop it. 'This type of blunder should also not be repeated in the future,' he added. Neither the climbers nor the Indian government has issued any statement following the controversy. ST approached Nimas for a comment but did not receive a response. On June 12, Siblac issued a statement saying that the recent climb had 'deeply hurt the religious and cultural sentiments' of the Bhutias and Lepchas, and formally called for an apology. The Lepchas believe they are descendants of ancestors who were created out of the snow of the holy Kangchenjunga. Locals in the state also celebrate their unique relationship with the mountain during Pang Lhabsol, an annual festival that commemorates the consecration of Kangchenjunga as the guardian deity of Sikkim. Siblac will organise a Buddhist purification ritual on June 15 at the Kabi Lungchok sacred grove in North Sikkim to seek the deity's forgiveness and 'restore the spiritual harmony and sanctity of our land'. It was at this historic forest site that the Blood Brotherhood Treaty was signed between the Lepchas and Bhutias in the 13th century, marking the beginning of Sikkim's unified rule. Kangchenjunga was invoked as a witness to the signing of this key treaty. Locals fear angering their guardian deity could cause natural disasters, something the state has often been afflicted with. On June 1, a landslide hit the site of an army camp in Sikkim following days of heavy rains, killing at least six individuals. Anger following the ascent has been widespread in Sikkim. A video of Sikkimese children pleading with everyone not to climb their revered mountain has been circulating online and even Sikkim's Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, who heads the state government, expressed his concern. He wrote to India's Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah on May 24 describing the recent ascent as 'a violation of both the prevailing legal provisions and the deeply held religious beliefs of the people of Sikkim'. Sikkim has maintained a formal climbing ban atop not just Kangchenjunga but also eight other sacred peaks since 2001. However, ascents are made from time to time from the Nepalese side of Kangchenjunga. But Mr Bhutia said the expedition team, irrespective of their approach path, had violated the sacred peak. 'They have blown the law (preventing any ascent on Kangchenjunga) to smithereens,' he said. Anger following the ascent has been widespread in Sikkim. PHOTO: ADGPI/X In his letter, Mr Tamang also urged the Indian government to convince Nepal to ensure that no further expeditions are permitted on Kangchenjunga. The demand for such a climbing restriction is not unique. China, for instance, prevents any climbing activity on Mount Kailash in Tibet, given its deep religious significance for followers of not just Buddhism, but also Hinduism, Jainism and Bon, an indigenous religion practised in Tibet. Even Nepal, which has otherwise embraced mountain tourism enthusiastically, bans climbing on Machhapuchhare, an iconic 6,993m mountain whose name translates to 'fishtail' and which is revered by local Gurung people. Mr Jiwan Rai, a political commentator based in Sikkim's capital Gangtok, said it is important to view Kangchenjunga similarly through a 'time-honoured Sikkimese lens', one that does not consider the mountain as a 'trophy for adventurers' but a symbol of cultural heritage and 'the pinnacle of religious identity' for a significant section of the state's people. 'This centuries-old indigenous world view now stands desecrated for the sake of some thrill to be felt by army personnel. Isn't that a massive cultural cost?' Mr Rai told ST. Furthermore, the recent ascent of Kangchenjunga is being seen as an affront to not just Sikkimese cultural and religious values, but also their political rights. Mr Rai added that the Sikkim state government had failed to uphold its rights by not preventing the Indian government-led climb despite its official ban on any ascent atop Kangchenjunga. 'This lapse reveals the current government's inability to withstand pressure from the centre. The only way to disprove this perception is by firmly demanding recompense for the violation of law and redress for the cultural sacrilege,' he said. The state is currently governed by the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM), a regional party that Chief Minister Tamang leads as its president. The SKM is part of the National Democratic Alliance government at the centre, led by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Siblac had opposed the ascent publicly as early as April, with a letter sent to the state's Governor O.P. Mathur, requesting him to call off the expedition. The governor of an Indian state is appointed by the Indian president on the advice of the prime minister and serves as its constitutional head, taking decisions based on the advice of the chief minister and council of ministers. Said Mr Rai: 'A widespread perception is emerging that India is steering towards a uniform national identity, and a state with its distinct personality like Sikkim comes in the way. If Sikkim does not make its voice heard now, it risks losing its unique identity to India's broader and increasingly homogenised national narrative.' Debarshi Dasgupta is The Straits Times' India correspondent covering the country and other parts of South Asia. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
