Yogendra Bali

INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT

GOVERNMENT OF SIKKIM, GANGTOK
in association with
HAR-ANAND PUBLICATIONS PVT LTD.
 Published by
INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
Government of Sikkim, Gangtok
in association with
HAR-ANAND PUBLICATIONS PVT LTD
F-1211, Chittranjan Park, New Delhi-110 019
Tel.: 51603490 Fax: 26270599
E-mail: haranand@mantraonline.com

ISBN 81-241-0924-9

Copyright © 2003 Information and Public Relations Department,

Government of Sikkim, Gangtok

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced

in any form without the prior written permission of the publishers.

Printed in India by Taj Press.

 Foreword

The absorbing and comprehensive biography you are about to go through is the
vivid story of one of the most distinguished sons of Sikkim. His determined
progress from a humble beginning to the exalted position of the Chief Minister
of his state is the stuff that legends are made of.
This book, which traces Mr. Pawan Chamling’s background and political
growth, is more than just a biography. It is a brilliant account of the amazing
career of this extraordinary man and a masterly analysis of Pawan Chamling
the man, poet, humane politician and environmentalist. I would say that to
read this book is to know various aspects of Mr. Chamling’s personality
and understand him better. One may learn aplenty from Mr. Chamling’s trials
and tribulations, his simplicity and modesty, his serene optimism, his
insatiable hunger for learning, his true grit and determination and his
eloquence.
The vivid and unusually exciting narrative penned by Mr. Yogendra Bali
satisfies a long-felt need for a biography of the multi-faceted man who is a
Messiah for the poor and downtrodden, a true democrat, a man who has faith
in possibilities, a poet par excellence and an undisputed leader of his people.

D. DAHDUL, IAS
Commissioner- cum- Secretary,
Department of Information and Public Relations
Government of Sikkim
 Preface

‘Sikkim—A Kingdom of Flowers’, that is what Pawan Chamling, Chief Minister

of Sikkim dreams of making this 22nd State of India. During a warm and frank
conversation on his dreams and desires at Mintokgang in Gangtok, he said, “My
one dream, my ardent desire is to make Sikkim truly a kingdom of flowers, the
number one state in India.” Incidentally, Mintokgang, the official residence of
the Chief Minister, literally means the “Hill of Flowers”. And indeed it is. Having
had the privilege of seeing many official residences of chief ministers of India,
one is fascinated with the beauty of the Hill of Flowers. Not only are the
approaches and garden patches of the Mintokgang abloom with beautiful
flowers, even the visitors’ rooms of the residence are always aesthetically
decorated with charming effect so evident in nearly all facets of Sikkimese life
today.
Chamling tries to make dreams come true all the time. A healthy change is
his major instrument and democratic way, his grand obsession.
First impressions are last impressions. A serious and concerned study of life
and change leads to the investigation of the processes of change and their effect
on the lives of people, which dreamers like Pawan Chamling strive to improve. A
conversation with the political leader led to delving further into the hopes,
aspirations, and changes taking place in the lives of the people of Sikkim under
the spell of the ‘Chamling effect’. Although this was visible in the early 1990s
when the Dreamer-Chief Minister began translating his ideas of a truly people-
oriented democracy into reality against all social, economic and political odds, it
was evident in 2001 more than seven years after Sikkim had been under his
dynamic leadership.
During a tour of Sikkim with my wife, Vijay, in May 2001, and subsequent
gathering of material and research, my impression that Sikkim has much to
offer as a role model to the rest of the Indian nation strengthened. It is one state
that deserves to be noticed by the rest of the north-eastern states in particular
and the rest of India, in general.
Over nearly half a century of my career as a writer and journalist based in
New Delhi, I have had the privilege of meeting and knowing some of the tallest
personalities in India’s social and political events.
When I was finally in Sikkim for this book, a series of interesting and
significant events took place. Sikkim celebrated its 26th State Day, where the
Chief Minister did something which few other chief ministers in India would do.
His address on State Day on May 16, 2001, at the Community Hall in Gangtok
was an exercise in accountability and transparency. It also underlined the
importance of a constructive opposition in a democratic system. In his address,
he listed the achievements and failures of his administration, no holds barred.
He accepted the failures and faults where they were and sought the people's
confidence in his intention of remedying the faults and the future plans of
progress. He also announced the formation of a Planning Commission to work
out plans for the development of Sikkim with some eminent economists and
energy experts. It underlined his vision of maintaining the political and
economic structure of the state and strengthening its bonds with the rest of
India.
The outgoing Governor of Sikkim, Chaudhari Randhir Singh, said, “I love
Sikkim which shall always remain close to my heart.” That indicated that the
Governor-Chief Minister relations in Sikkim could be a model for other states in
India.
On that very day, the new Governor, Kidar Nath Sahani, came to Sikkim and
was sworn in and introduced to eminent people and senior civil servants of the
State by the Chief Minister. The new Governor, though the nominee of a
different political party and ideology than the previous one, received the same
respect and consideration from the political leader of Sikkim who has a record
of good functional relations with the Centre, headed by various coalitions and
parties. He is also exemplary in Centre-State relations, much bedevilled by and
bogged in controversies everywhere else in the country.
In May 2001, Sikkim also played host to the Conference of the North-Eastern
Regional Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, inaugurated by then
Speaker of the Lok Sabha, G.M.C. Balayogi. The Chief Minister, addressing
distinguished legislators from the north-eastern states and the Indian
Parliament, underlined the importance of the nation and its leaders paying
more serious attention to the problems in the north-east to ensure its peace
and progress. Development was a major issue at this significant parliamentary
meet. Sikkim emerged as one of the sanest voices from the north-east and as an
island of peace in the north-eastern Himalayas where other states constantly
face problems of unrest, insurgency, and militancy.
While ecology has been damaged and destroyed in most parts of the world
threatening human and animal existence, in Chamling’s Sikkim, forest cover
has increased by more than 4 percent. Sikkim has a lot to offer to the rest of
India and the world. Chamling is sincerely trying to bring it to the notice of the
world. Sikkim has one of the world’s largest collection of orchids, butterflies and
medicinal herbs. It has India’s highest peak—Khangchendzonga, the second
highest peak of the Himalayan range. It is the land of the ethnic Nepalese,
Lepchas, and Bhutias, besides other tribal groups of great heritage and folklore.
In Chamling’s Sikkim, endowed with great gifts of nature, an even greater gift
is sought to be planted and nourished—democracy. His greatest gift to his
people has been the restoration of democracy.
This ‘Preface’ seeks to introduce the shape of things to come in the following
pages, which are not exactly the biographic chronicle of a man seeking to
realise his dreams for his people and state. It is, in fact, an introduction to his
political journey, which continues. It is not a lone journey. There are many in
this young state keen to journey with one of the youngest chief ministers of
India.
While offering this work to readers, I would like to own up to the flaws owing to
erroneous perceptions and judgement. I would also record my sincere thanks to
many people of Sikkim, including Tika Mayaji, Shri Aashbahadur Chamling and
Shrimati Aasharani Chamling (wife and parents respectively of Chamling). I am
rather very grateful to C.B. Karki, several legislators and senior civil servants,
journalists and eminent citizens for accepting my long interview schedules.
Some of them provided me with illuminating documents and records. I also
express my sincere gratitude to Joel Rai, Copy Editor, India Today and B.P. Rai
for so diligently undertaking the responsiblity of copy editing the entire volume.
My special thanks to Professor Mahendra P. Lama of the Jawaharlal Nehru
University, New Delhi and publisher Narendra Kumar, who inspired me to
undertake a project which I hope will become a lasting bond with Sikkim.

YOGENDRA BALI
 Contents

1. The Boy from Yangang 13

2. The Land of Chamling’s Birth 26
3. Education—Seeds of Change 37
4. A Politician in the Making 40
5. The People’s Revolution 44
6. Sikkim in the Mainstream 57
7. The Journey Begins 67
8. The Nirman Story 76
9. Representative Chamling 88
10. Minister Chamling 100
11. Is Fire Allowed Inside the House ? 115
12. A Party is Born 129
13. He Goes Underground 143
14. Date with Destiny 162
15. The Troubled Times 174
16. Messiah of the Poor 179
17. Honouring the Past 186
18. Building the Future 200
19. Redefining the Security Dynamics 209
20. Sikkimising the Globalisation Process 219
21. Upholder of Women’s Rights 233
22. Into the 21st Century 238
23. Looking Beyond the Horizon 267
24. Pawan Chamling—His Intimate Self 282
25. The Man and His Vision 292
26. Three Cheers for 2002 307
Appendix 323
Index 341
 1
The Boy from Yangang

September 9, 1992. Zero Hour in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly. The lone
opposition member in the 32-member House seeks the permission of the
Speaker to raise an issue that would normally be allowed. The chair, on this
occasion, however, disagrees.
There is a moment of uneasy calm. The tension is almost palpable. There has
been almost no opposition to speak of in the Assembly's history since 1975.
What will this one man do in the face of such daunting ruling party presence?
Nonchalantly, the opposition MLA reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a
candle. As the 31 other MLAs watch, he calmly lights it, stands up from his seat
and starts making a round of the House, carefully cupping the lit candle in his
hands. No one moves, no one titters. Everyone watches the MLA, who seems to
be searching for something with the help of the candle. Then in a clear voice
that reverberates around the hall, the candleholder asks, “Where is democracy?
I am looking for it here in the Assembly hall.”
The defiant one-man opposition member then walks up determinedly towards
the seat of the leader of the House. Standing resolutely in front of him, he asks,
“Isn't democracy trapped inside the pocket of the chief minister?” His rhetorical
question is an indictment and the 31 members of the ruling party can do little
but sit back in consternation. Then he adds, “I will go to every corner of Sikkim
in search of democracy and I will keep searching until I find it.” With those
words he walks out, leaving a bemused legislature chamber behind. Outside,
the news spreads like wildfire. “Where is democracy?” echoes in all the
picturesque towns and rustic hamlets of Sikkim.
The man who set out to search for democracy in 1992 and then ensured it
did not vanish from Sikkim was Pawan Chamling. A ruling party minister till he
was expelled for objecting to the politics of corruption in the state, he was to
prove that his words in the Assembly hall that day were not said in vain. In
strengthening democratic norms in Sikkim, he had lived up to the expectations
of the homey the Rai clan priest who while naming him had called upon him to
be as firm and pure and tall as Mt Everest, the highest mountain peak in the
world.
Pawan Chamling was born in Yangang in South Sikkim on September 22,
1950 (corresponding to the 7th of Ashoj, Sumbat 2007) between 3 and 4 in the
morning, the first son of Aashbahadur Chamling and Aasharani Chamling. The
place of his birth was perhaps to have a special meaning in the life of Pawan
Chamling, for he was born just 3 km from a hilltop known as Nyaya, or Justice.
In an early history that is replete with skirmishes, there is a story of a hard
battle that Sikkim fought with Nepal at a place called Varam in South Sikkim.
Today there still are remnants of stone barricades as well as a dilapidated fort
there. Many Sikkimese soldiers are believed to have died in that encounter
giving the place its name of Varam, which means a pile or heap. Just above
Varam is a hill called Niya. There Damodar Pandey, commander of the Nepalese
forces, is said to have won the war and felt he had given justice to the day.
Owing to this, local lore has it, the hill was called Niya. Apparently Pandey
washed his sword of his enemies' blood in the Teesta river below Varam.
 It was at this place that Chamling was born. While there are records of sorts
about the various Nepali, Bhutia and Lepcha landlords who served as the
Sikkimese king's feudal thikadars, there isn't any sufficient records available on
tribal lineages. Pawan Chamling’s family tree goes back in the past to the time
when his ancestor Aguwa Raja was strutting the landscape as an independent
chief. After Aguwa Raja, many generations passed without any surviving record
of the family heads. From the little that is available, the heads of the Pawan
Chamling’s ancestry at various points of history were:
1. Dilungjeet Chamling
2. Harkajeet Chamling
3. Birgum Chamling
4. Manbahadur Chamling
5. Aashbahadur Chamling
Pawan Chamling has four brothers, namely Partiman Chamling, Santa
Bahadur Chamling, Rupen Chamling and Ashok Chamling.
For one who looks at the masses as a single entity that has to be served and
shown the way to development, Chamling comes ironically from the multi-clan
Rai ethnic group, which continues to engage the curiosity of anthropologists.
There still is no consensus among them on the exact composition of the Rais,
who are divided into numerous subgroups.
The Rais, like giant tree, branch out into sub-tribes, further into clans, into
kindred and finally into lineages. Thus, the Chamlings are one of more than
fifteen linguistically, and to a certain extent, ethnically distinct segments or
sub-tribes (thar) subsumed under the ethnonym “Rai”. Within the same tribe,
they speak different dialects. So much so that the wide ranging differences at
times give us an impression that the Rais come from different roots. According
to some scholars, there are more than 50 distinct Rai dialects or languages. The
origin of the Rai dialects can be traced to one of the branches of the Tibeto-
Burman family of language.
Pawan Chamling, as the surname denotes, comes from the sub-group
Chamling, which is one of the branches of the ethnic Rai identity.
The Rais, as one of the ethnic groups within the greater Nepali community, are
basically nature worshippers. The tribe, which nurtures an involved kinship
with nature, never consciously developed spiritualism or godliness as its
attribute. Passing through the commune system it was slightly influenced by
the feudal tradition while arriving at the modern world. Indeed, spiritualism
with this tribe, like many other tribes in the world, is a part of life and culture.
Spiritualism here is concerned more with the well-being of people than mere
godliness.
One custom distinguishes the Rais among most tribes and religious followers.
Among Rais, the custom is to bury the dead in a designated burial ground or to
cremate them in a crematorium. This explains their belief in the philosophy of
short-lived bodily existence and the immortality of soul. Some sub-tribes (thar)
of the Rais bury their dead on their own permises. The desire to preserve the
body of their relatives on their own farmland indicates their unwillingness to
come to terms with ephemeral existence. The immortality of soul among Rais is
further reinforced by petre- puja, like worship of ancestors.
The structure of Rai houses is latent with ethnic symbolism. The house altar
located at the extreme interior is the most intimate and sacred site—the
sanctum sanctorum, where no outsider is allowed including the high priest in
the society. In particular, “goat eaters” are meticulously kept away from the
altar. The souls of the dead ancestors as well as ancestral deities are believed to
reside in this altar. The next site sacred in order of symbolic classification is the
hearth, situlung (three stones placed in a triangular formation, used in cooking,
also revered as ancestral stones). The pillar at the intersection of the imaginary
dividing lines acquires special symbolism during rituals.
Many ritual activities centre around the household. All ancestral cults which
occupy an important place in the ritual cycle of the Rais must be celebrated
regularly by each individual household. One that may be mentioned here is the
harvest offering. After the harvest, the Rais offer grains like wheat, millet, rice to
the ancestors as first-fruit offerings. The practice is known as the harvest
festival of nuwagi. The priests of the Rais are generally known as the homey
and mangpa. While the priest chews on ginger, he invokes the souls of dead
ancestors and offers the newly harvested grains at the situlung. All this while
washim (beverage prepared locally from millet and maize) is sprinkled over the
hearth from a chindoh—the dried, bottle-like fruit of the gourd family
botonically known as Lufa cylindrica. The idea is to involve the ancestors in the
share of the produce in the farmland. In pursuance of this ritual, various
ancestral cults associated with different clans are also celebrated in
combinations that vary according to individual household.
With the change of season, pujas known as udhaulee (falling period) and
ubhaulee (rising period) are held for the well-being of people, for plenty and
abundance, health and prosperity. These pujas are normally held in the months
of March to May. In essence, this is worship of nature. The puja is followed by a
long procession in which men and women from the tribe beat drum and
cymbals, sing and perform selee dance. The selee dance is known for its
mimicry. Each step and movement is suggestive of the corresponding song—a
tribal song that celebrates good yields and the blessings of the ancestors.
When a baby boy is born to a family, the naming ceremony is held five days
later. In the case of a girl child the ceremony is held on the third day. The death
rite is accordingly observed on the fifth day for a male and third day for a
female. During the mourning period, the family members refrain from taking oil
and salt as a ritual abstinence. In the period of the mourning rite of chokhine,
i.e. becoming pure, the sons shave their heads and don white clothes. On the
thirteenth day, the death ritual is observed, on the 45th day the anthesti- kriya is
observed. The death anniversary known as barkhi is observed every year.
Although nature worshippers, the Rais have now come under the influence of
different religions. However, they continue to observe the established traditional
customs and rituals. In marriage, Rais have two practices—magi biha, i.e.
literally ‘ask for’, meaning an arranged marriage, and chori biha, i.e. marriage
by eloping with the bride. Under magi biha, the parents and close relatives of
the man go about establishing contact with the family of a potential bride. For
this purpose, matchmakers are employed or hired to negotiate with the family
of the bride asking for the gift of the daughter. While the consent of the
daughter is important, the interest of the parents plays a decisive role. The
success of negotiation depends on the deft persuasive skills of the
matchmakers. The tradition of chori biha, that is marriage by elopement with
tacit consent of the bride, is a common practice. Once the boy resolves to marry
a particular girl, he normally deputes a ‘go-between’ to ascertain the mind of
the girl. Only if some willingness on the part of the girl is felt is there a
possibility for elopement.
Following a successful elopement once the girl has been won, the boy’s parents
send two persons for both information and reconciliation to the girl’s family
along with gifts of wine and meat. The girl’s parents, though initially hesitant,
approve of the union after a long and highly ritualized process of negotiation. As
marriage presentation, Rais use wine and washim and pork—more particularly
the upper half of a pig and trotters (pig legs). Marriage rituals require copper
vessels like pot and cup, traditionally the sat than bhada (that is, seven copper
vessels), and the symbolic Rs. 27.
Further, a gift of one rupee is given to each of the girl’s relatives. As a custom,
money is received by gaazi i.e. the bride’s father and her relatives. The money
from the boy’s side is given to the girl’s family as part of the marriage customs.
While the bridegroom goes around exchanging kinship relationship among the
bride’s family and relatives, a gift of a one rupee coin is used exclusively for the
purpose. The monetary presentation serves not only to show respect but
primarily “to buy the kinship relation”—sainu kinnu, as it is ethnically called. It
may be mentioned here that these days marriage rites vary to a large extent,
diluted in many ways by inter-religious marriages. Many of them borrow
symbolism from the Nepalese Hindu marriage practices. No big amount is
required to observe marriage rituals. It is done only for the sake of observing
continuity of the custom.
There is no such thing as dowry among Rais. Unlike many other tribal
communities, the Rai society is not a patriarchal system. Both males and
females are equal partners with equal rights and responsibilities. Marriages are
not permitted among families coming from same pachhas and gotras (tribal
terms for family root, meaning clans and family lineage). Marriages are
forbidden with members of the matriarchal family for seven generations down
the line.
Rais constitute a big portion of the Sikkimese population. In terms of tribal
composition, they form the largest number in the state, a fourth of the total
population of Sikkim. Although the Rai tribe is scattered across the four
districts, their numbers are much more in south and west Sikkim.
When Pawan Chamling was born, his parents had already moved out of his
grandparents’s house. At his birth, therefore, his family was not economically
stable. As the first progeny and the child born in hard times, Chamling’s infant
days were characterized by unbounded family affections.
The family was dependent on agriculture for its sustenance. Agriculture is still
their principal occupation and the economic backbone of Sikkim. When
Chamling’s father separated from his grandparents, he received twenty nine
acres of land as his family share. Besides growing paddy, cardamom was also
cultivated in his field. Alongside, he also set up a dairy farm. The yield from the
paddy field was sufficient enough to support the family round the year. As time
passed, his family grew. Chamling has four younger brothers and one sister.
From the economic viewpoint and their respective careers, all his family
members are self-sufficient. His brothers are successfully engaged in
contractual work, business and trade. His sister is a government servant.
Chamling has been living separately from his parents for the last 20 years at
Namchi, the South district headquarters.
The life of a farmer in Sikkim of the old days was rather hard. There was
poverty, lack of opportunity, no access to education and poor health facilities.
The administration did not really bother about people in far-flung areas where
even roads did not reach. Heavy bags of salt and other food stuff had to be
carried up the tortuous mountain paths on their backs by sweating young men
from the road head, miles below. Apart from the bare minimal trading in the
village itself there were no outlets or infrastructure to carry the farmers’
produce to the markets outside.
Sikkim was then an independent Himalayan kingdom ruled by the Chogyal, the
king. It is bounded on the north and north-east by Tibet, on the east by
Bhutan, on the west by Nepal and the south, by Darjeeling district of West
Bengal. All these made it geopolitically a very strategic yet quite a backward and
under-developed state.
When Chamling was born, the kingdom of the Chogyal was in its last and the
most decadent stage. China, just three hours drive from some points in Sikkim
today, was not yet a threat. Tibet had not yet been annexed into the Chinese
Communist state. India had already got a long-fought independence from the
colonial rulers. The seeds of change, the people’s realization of what they were
being deprived of under the Chogyal’s reign, had begun to emerge. Did not
Mahatma Gandhi say once that “healthy discontent is a prelude to progress?”
The political journey of Pawan Chamling would at some time become the most
significant part of the political journey of Sikkim itself in its struggle for
democratic change, economic development and mainstreaming into India. It
would be appropriate to take a look at the profile of Sikkim and where it stood
in 1950 that was when the man who was to lead the state to new vistas during
the most significant last decade of the 20th century into the 21st century was
born.
Sikkim spread over an area of 7,096 sq. km is divided into four administrative
zones—North, South, East and West. About two-thirds of the state consists of
lofty mountain which remain perpetually snow-covered. The holy peak
Khangchendzonga, the highest peak of India, is situated in the north-eastern
side of Sikkim bordering Nepal. On the eastern flank of the Himalayan ranges
are situated the strategic passes of Nathula and Jelepla.
Although the indigenous Lepchas of Sikkim trace their origin to the days when
the two great rivers, the Teesta and Rangit, were created by the almighty along
with the great Khangchendzonga, the present political origin of the state which
became the 22nd state of India in 1975, is generally traced by historians to the
17th century. It was in 1642, when Phuntsog Namgyal was consecrated as the
first king of Sikkim by three legendary Buddhist monks at Yoksom in western
Sikkim. The monks who crowned the first king and bestowed him spiritual and
temporal authority were Gyalwa Latsun Chenpo, Ngdak Senpa Chenpo and
Katuk Rinzin Chenpo. They conferred on Phuntsog Namgyal the title “Chogyal”
or the Dharma Raja.
Sikkim was always in the greedy eyes of the British. The East India Company
and then the Vice-regal colonial administration of India always wanted their
presence to be felt in the strategic Himalayan region extending through Nepal,
Bhutan to Tibet. This was primarily to thwart the increasing Chinese influence
in this region. The British always treated Sikkim as their special protectorate
and a springboard for Himalayan diplomacy on the roof of the world. There were
many significant happenings that brought Sikkim gradually closer to India,
which was itself under British colonial rule till 1947.
Sikkim faced numerous invasions from its neighbouring countries from the very
beginning of the 17th century. Bhutan and Nepal invaded this tiny neighbour
many times and annexed considerable portions of its territory. It is on record
that the Nepalese conquered the lower Teesta basin. Bhutan annexed the entire
region on the east of Teesta, including the present day Kalimpong and Jelepla
ranges along Sikkim’s northern and eastern boundaries.
The 18th and the 19th century too saw the neighbours trying to nibble at
Sikkim’s territory. The people of Sikkim were obviously helpless against their
neighbours who had hegemonic military leaders. Sikkim, however, lacked the
leadership that could withstand the conquering lust of its powerful neighbours.
According to some historians, the Anglo-Gurkha War and the signing of the
Treaty of Sigauli between Nepal and the East India Company in 1815 and the
Treaty of Titaliya in 1817 between the East India Company and Sikkim
introduced a new phase in its history. Nepal surrendered to the company all its
hilly regions east of the Mechi river and west of the Teesta river. These were
territories which were originally a part of Sikkim but had been annexed by
Nepal in 1788-90. Under the Treaty of Titaliya, the East India Company
restored the territories of Sikkim. The Chogyals, as the rulers of Sikkim, were
on the one hand victims of the machinations of the East India Company, and
on the other of the territorial aggression of the neighbouring countries.
The British finally succeeded in bringing Sikkim under their influence as a
special protectorate. The Treaty of Titaliya marked the beginning of the spread
of the British shadow over Sikkim. Under the Treaty of Tumlong in 1861, they
gained further foothold in Sikkim, and in 1889 they established their residency
at Gangtok with J.C. White as the first political officer. The very next year, in
1890, the British further managed to pressurize China into recognizing their
protectorateship over Sikkim. But the protector was more a master under that
dispensation. The power of the Maharaja of Sikkim, that is the Chogyal, was so
diluted that he had no direct role in the administration of the country whose
Dharma Raja he was appointed to be. It was only during the long reign of
Maharaja Chogyal Tashi Namgyal between 1914 and 1968 that the full power of
the monarch was restored.
In 1950, the year Pawan Chamling was born in Yangang, significantly the Indo-
Sikkim Treaty was signed to give birth to a new era of Indo-Sikkimese relations
which was to result in the people’s revolution or the movement for democracy.
This finally resulted in Sikkim joining India of its own volition as the 22nd state
in 1975.
The Indo-Sikkim Treaty in the year of Chamling’s birth was a landmark in the
political development of modern Sikkim. With this, the protectorate status of
Sikkim was maintained, the only difference being the protector was now India
and not Britain. The Government of India revoked all previous treaties and
affirmed the protectorate status of the state under independent India. Defence,
external affairs, customs, and communications of Sikkim became India’s
responsibility. It reaffirmed India’s authority and responsibility over the state.
The first step towards emotional and political integration of Sikkim was taken
in the year the man who is now generally admired “for giving the gift of real
democracy” was born.
Chamling was not the son of a Chogyal or a Kazi, a member of the elite
aristocratic class of Sikkim. He was the son of a farmer. His dreams and
ambitions had to be the dreams and ambitions of a common farmer’s son.
Being a farmer’s son in a far-flung area of Sikkim he realised at a very tender
age that there were rich and there were poor, and the rich were few but the poor
were too many.
Pawan Chamling’s educational dream turned him into a poet, philosopher and
scholar of considerable originality and impact at a very young age. He had a
very keen appetite for social work and was eager to help his fellow students and
elders in doing jobs which seemed hard and taxing. He often showed them the
way to solve problems and to tackle situations with ease and confidence. Was
he totally devoid of the joys of childhood and the little adventures boys savour
while eagerly wanting to attain early manhood? According to his parents, “He
was like all other normal village boys and enjoyed doing things the boys do. But
he did them in his own special way and style which made him the leader and
envy of other young boys of his age.”
Another characteristic of this little politician, was his early fascination for
democracy and freedom of speech and action. It seemed that the question of the
identity of man, his society and his country, became a significant obsession
with Pawan Chamling in his boyhood itself. Those dreams and realities
gradually wove into the question of identity. Chamling later used this very new
perception of grassroots identity to usher in a new kind of social democracy in
Sikkim. He had amply demonstrated that confusion of identities in a society led
to chaos, conflict and confrontation in communities and societies. This could
tear the cohesiveness and harmony endangering all efforts at progress and
development. This kind of perception and analysis of the making of a politician
like Chamling from his very boyhood might appear a grandiose formula to
many. But to do so one had to go far back into his personal make-up and its
interaction with the environment and circumstance in which he grew.
Early in his boyhood, he had realized that conflict management must be
replaced by conflict prevention. He felt that crisis prevention was a better
approach to social peace and stability than crisis management. To eliminate the
genesis of social conflict and crisis, identification and strengthening of true
identities of men and women who formed the ethnic and social bricks of a
nation were important. Identity could be the best instrument for building peace
and harmony. It can be the basis for preventing conflict and crisis in a society.
These were some of the things of great significance and consequence that one
would come across, as one went deeper and deeper into the remarkable political
journey of the boy from Yangang. He had stepped into his journey more than
four decades ago, when he was just a school boy. But his journey became more
and more visible, trying, testing when he became totally committed to bringing
in democracy. The strong mainstreaming of Sikkim and its people with the rest
of the Indian nation from 1993 onwards, is a distinct feature of what many
political commentators call the “Chamling era” in Sikkim.
His journey is still unfinished. And like the poet Robert Frost Chamling too feels
that he has “miles to go”. To really understand the traveler on this journey, one
would have to assess and evaluate his promise, pronouncement and
performance, rather than seek criticism from enemies and certificate from
admirers.
Again, as a Chief Minister, Chamling said that more than the role of active
politicians and his individual biography, it is important to tell the people about
what he stood for. How he has translated his dreams into reality for his own
people and the people of the country. He confesses that he has many unfulfilled
dreams with regard to creating a better life and environment for the people of
Sikkim.
His response to several questions about the progress and development of
Sikkim in diverse fields is normally, “Don’t ask me, better come to Sikkim and
see for yourself. Ask the people. Take a look at them and their lives. Listen to
those who are critics and have grievances. Then you will have a clearer picture
of what we seek to achieve. Where we started, where we have reached, and
where we want to go. Just ask, talk and see, and the truth will be known.” Then
one would also know that Pawan Chamling is not alone on his journey. He has
with him dedicated and committed young cadres of his Sikkim Democratic
Front and the majority of the people of Sikkim belonging to all the major ethnic
communities, the Lepchas, the Bhutias and the Nepalese.
Responding to a discussion on the need to tell the rest of India about his hopes,
aspirations, and achievements for Sikkim as also its agonies and sorrows, Chief
Minister Chamling says with some regret,

“it is a pity that people in Delhi and the rest of the country know so little
about the 22nd state of India. Today also many have failed to recognise
what the rest of the country can learn from Sikkim and what Sikkim
must learn and gain from the mother country. When we in the north-east
say and suggest to the Centre that each application of ours should be
treated as a rightful demand from important, proud, and patriotic
partners of the Indian federation we should get proper attention. When
there is peace, harmony and stability in Sikkim, there is so much
conflict, confrontation, not only in the strategic north-eastern states but
also elsewhere in southern, western and eastern India. Is it not
important for the Centre to take a look at this island of peace in the
Himalayas? How we, the people of Sikkim and their representatives,
make peace and harmony work. We are at perfect peace with our ecology
and environment.”

The boy from Yangang has now grown into the most unusual politician in the
country trusted by his people and ideological followers. They call him their
“ideological guru”.
The central focus in the political journey of Pawan Chamling revolves around
how good governance can be achieved through practical good sense and how
continuous and living contact between the people and their representatives can
make the system people– friendly. The time-bound monitoring ensures that
promises made are promises fulfilled. The journey also focuses on the need for
a constructive opposition as an essential requirement of democracy and good
governance. Pawan Chamling leaves no opportunity to hammer at lack of
constructive opposition. At the same time, Chamling is ever ready to stand up
against destructive opposition practitioners. Of course, they are part of the
many hurdles and obstacles one has to confront during such a journey, he
says.
From a farmer’s humble hearth to Mintokgang, from Yangang to Gangtok, it has
been a long and eventful journey for Pawan Chamling, rather an chequered
political journey.
 2
The Land of Chamling’s Birth

History reveals that prior to the 18th century, the territory of Sikkim was much
larger and extended upto the present day Morung and Arun rivers in Nepal.
Towards the middle of the 18th century, Bhutan waged war against Sikkim in
alliance with Manger and later the Gorkhas did the same. From 1750 onwards,
the west of Teesta river fell under the dominion of Nepal. The dominion had
even expanded to the extreme district of north Sikkim along the Dzongu range.
There still can be found many such relics and remnants to support this
historical development in Dzongu region.
At a certain point of time, Nepal was a highly prosperous kingdom and one of
the most powerful nations in Asia. The invaluable natural resources of Nepal
had made it prosperous. The value of Nepal’s currency was once greater than
that of India. Together with its economic power, Nepal also had immense
military power. Owing to its military background, Prithvi Narayan Shah
initiated the unification of the Nepal mainland. It is seen that prior to this
unification campaign, various communities—Mangar, Limboo, Rai, Gurung,
Thami, Chettri, Pradhan (Newars), Kami, Damai, Sarki, and Majhee—were
already living in a number of places in west Sikkim.
This showed that Nepal had invaded many parts of Sikkim and established its
rule in many parts of Sikkim for 37 long years. From all these available
historical footnotes, it becomes clear that most of Sikkim was part of Nepal,
especially after the 1780s, which, however, shrunk considerably after the
Britishers intervened.
But long before the Sikkimese fought for territorial integrity against Nepalese
and Bhutanese army, the region was home to the peace loving Lepchas. Then,
as legend has it, sometime in the 13th century, a prince named Guru Tashi of
the Minyang dynasty in Tibet had a divine vision that he should go to seek his
fortune in “Denzong—the valley of rice”. Accordingly, he headed towards the
southern direction alongwith his family of five sons. During its wandering, the
family came across the Sakya kingdom in which a monastery was being built.
The workers had not been successful in erecting pillars for the monastery. The
elder son of Guru Tashi raised the pillar single-handedly and thereby came to
be known as “Kheye Bumsa” which means “superior than ten thousand
heroes.” The Sakya King offered his daughter in marriage to Kheye Bumsa.
Guru Tashi subsequently died and Kheye Bumsa settled in Chumbi Valley. It
was here that he established contacts with the Lepcha, or Rong, chieftain
Thekong Tek.
Desiring a son, the issueless Kheye Bumsa went to Sikkim in the 13th century
to seek the blessing of Thekong Tek who was also a religious leader. The Rong
chief did not only promise Kheye Bumsa with three sons, but he also
prophesied that his successors would be the rulers of Sikkim. Thekong Tek’s
prophecy was fulfilled in not too distant future and three sons were born to
Kheye Bumsa. The youngest of them, Mipon Rab, moved to Sikkim from
Chumbi and became a local chieftain and his son, Guru Tashi, moved to
Gangtok. Tashi’s son was Jowas Apha, whose son was Guru Tenzing and
Tenzing’s son was Phuntsog (or Pechu) Namgyal, the first Chogyal.
From the time Phuntsok Namgyal was consecrated in 1642 down to the 12th
king, Palden Thondup Namgyal, a written record is available in support of the
unbroken rule of 332 years. Prior to the beginning of the Namgyal dynasty,
Sikkim was originally inhabited by the Lepchas. Sikkim was ruled by a number
of Lepcha chieftains known as ponu. The territory of Sikkim was then spread
out to include the present day Darjeeling and Kalimpong. About the same time,
there were a number of other places in Sikkim where communities like Mangar
and Limboo had their own supremacy and ruled as chieftains. There were also
Nepali landlords as were Kazis and landlords from the Bhutia and Lepcha
communities, to administer the different estates granted to them by the king.
Before coronating the first king, the three lamas namely, Gyalwa Latsun
Chenpo, Ngdak Senpa Chenpo and Katuk Rinzin Chenpo arrived from Tibet and
constructed several monasteries here. Historians say that the three lamas came
to Sikkim with a boy from the Kham region of Tibet named Phuntsok Namgyal
and started the Namgyal dynasty. The 9th Chogyal, Thutop Namgyal and his
queen Yashey Doma, according to History of Sikkim (1908 unpublished)
however, have a differing account. They maintain that Phuntsok Namgyal was
born in Gangtok and his family had been living in Sikkim for five generations. It
is believed that the three lamas came to Sikkim to propagate Buddhism and to
institutionalize it. Under Phuntsok Namgyal and under the initiative of the
three lamas many Lepchas were converted to Buddhism.
The Lepchas regard Mt. Khangchendzonga as their guardian deity and are
nature worshippers. The Lepcha’s priest is called bungthing. In their conversion
drive, the three lamas were largely successful. The Tamang and Sherpa tribes
from Nepali community were also attracted and became Buddha’s followers.
Buddhism, it is evident, made inroads into Sikkim from Tibet, and not from
India. That is why, there is a greater element of Lamaism in Sikkimese
Buddhism. Guru Padmashambhava played a key role in the spread of
Buddhism in Sikkim. The Buddhist followers in Sikkim regard him as a
contemporary of Guru Rimpoche or Buddha himself.
Under the monarchical system, there were 52 thikadars, variously known as
Kazis also, Sikkim was then divided into 52 administrative divisions known as
‘elaka’. These thikadars were a combination of Bhutias, Lepchas and Nepalese,
who were categorized as lessees and were given land pattas falling under each
elaka. The king had bestowed on the Kazis the power to execute administrative
and judicial function in the state, including civil and criminal cases. The Kazis
were vested with powers to collect revenue and look into all land-related issues,
even punish and jail the defaulters. In order to assist them, the Kazis used to
appoint a subordinate called the ‘mukhtiyar’. The mukhtiyars had powers
enough to confine people, jail them and even torture them. During this period of
Sikkimese history, the practice of forced labour and other forms of exploitation
were common in Sikkim which were further perpetrated by the landlords and
their subordinates. Not only were the people forced to work as labour each
household also had to pay a sum of Rs. 5 as house-tax.
Pawan Chamling shares his own experience, “Yangang bazaar is situated at 2
km away from my home. I was studying in Yangang High School. We would visit
bazaar quite regularly, even during our tiffin break. On haat days (market day),
we would regularly visit the bazaar. Influential persons under the then system,
would physically abuse local growers who came to sell their products. I still
remember vividly one incident on one similar weekly market day. I was standing
by a shop. Spread on the ground just in front was local fruits like guava,
pineapple, banana etc. with one Lepcha man from nearby Gagyong village
selling them. One man asked, pointing-‘what costs this?’ Fifty paise. ‘give me in
12 paise!’ No sahib, the Lepcha grower declined. No sooner had he uttered his
‘no’ than the influential man caught the Lepcha man by his collarbone and beat
him. He also took away the pineapple without paying any price. In the evening,
I asked my father about this Sahib. He told me that they are oppressors.
The pedigrees of a host of landlords from the three ethnic communities makes
interesting reading. They had exercised unbridled power under monarchy in the
past. Though the king ruled, the Kazis and landlords were the ones who wielded
real power and influence in running the affairs of Sikkim. Many Nepali
landlords who were lease-holders of several estates in Sikkim present an
impressive chronicle down a many generations. Babu Dalbahadur Pradhan was
the leaseholder of the Taza estate. Similarly Chidam (now Sadam in South
district of Sikkim) and Namthang estates were granted to the descendants of
the late Lachmidas Pradhan. Significant portions of eastern and western
Pandem were under the direct supervision of Naraindas and Khus Narain
Pradhan as landlords. Rai Sahib Haridas and Lambodar Pradhan were
landlords in charge of the Namthang estate.
Among the many pedigree Nepali families were the Taksaris. The Taksari
families were engaged in the money-minting trade activities in Sikkim since
times immemorial. Many such families prospered and commanded a high social
position in the state. Their descendants would automatically inherit the trade
which continued for many generations. The lineage as recorded began with
Maheswar Pradhan, whose baton was subsequently handed down to Taksari
Chandrabir Pradhan, who was followed by Dirgabir (Kalooram), the eldest son,
also the leaseholder of Duga Estate in east Sikkim. The lineage further
branched out to Khusnarayan Pradhan, Bishnu Bakta, Gobardhan Pradhan,
Kashiraj Pradhan and Manikchand Pradhan. The family tree further branched
out to Chetraj Pradhan, Bhimraj Pradhan and Khagendra Pradhan.
Another family engaged in similar trade in Rhenock division in east Sikkim in
the name of Maharaja of Sikkim begins with M.P. Pradhan. He was followed by
his son Bhaju Narayan and later his son Bhaku Dhan, followed by Lachimi
Narayan, Chandrabir, his sons Bhimsa Pratap Pradhan, Mohan Pratab
Pradhan, Bijoy Pratap Pradhan and Ravi Pratap Pradhan. Durga Samsher
Pradhan was similarly followed by Nirmal Chandra Pradhan, Manodar Chandra
Pradhan, Bidhan Chandra Pradhan and Uday Chandra Pradhan.
Similarly, there were many landlords from Bhutia and Lepcha families to
administer respective estates granted to them on lease by the king. A brief look
at the family lineage of some of the leading Bhutia and Lepcha landlord families
in Sikkim, whose descendants later came to occupy important offices after
Sikkim became part of the Indian union:
Bermiok Family: The family derives its name from the Bermiok estate which
was under the direct supervision of the family beginning, as per the record, with
Tumyang Goley. He was succeeded by his son Tasa Aphong, who in turn was
followed by Yukthing Arup, Dzom Tashi, Gyamtso, Changzot Karwang and then
Densa Rangjung Silnon who was also believed to be the reincarnation of Lama
Thor-Chog. He was succeeded by his eldest son Wangyal Tenzing who was also
the chief steward of the royal palace. His son Tashi Dadul Densapa followed
him to serve as private secretary, chief secretary and later retired as the advisor
to the Government of Sikkim. One of Rai Bahadur’s sons, Yapa J.T. Densapa
served as secretary to Chogyal Thondup Namgyal and later as secretary, Motor
Vehicles Department, during the first democratically elected government of L.D.
Kazi in Sikkim.
Yangang Athing Family: The Yangang estate in South Sikkim was under the
Gonsapa family of Changzot Pema Karwang. He was succeeded by his son
Tseepa Tagzig, who was succeeded by his son Rai Bahadur Donyer Ugyen
Gyatso who later retired as deputy magistrate, Darjeeling. Since he died
issueless, his nephew Bonthup Kazi succeeded him.
Libing Family: A descendent named Akhoola who came from the Tsang
province of Tibet, entered the establishment of Gyurme Namgyal, the 4th
Chogyal of Sikkim. He was succeeded by Trunyik Rinzing Wandra. Rinzing
Wandra had three sons—Labrang Donyer Rinzing, Rokang Donyer Namgyal and
Donyer Ten-Nam. They were followed by Libing Dewan Donyer Nim Tenzing,
Yapa Atob, Dr. Bo Kazi, Donyer Duga Kazi, Assong Kazi, Rai Bahadur Depon
Sonam Tobden, Yapa Tashi Topden, Yapa Kunga Tobden, Yapa Wangyal
Tobden, Kazi Dorji Tshering (who retired as Assistant Political Officer of
Sikkim), Yapa Tobjor Dorji and Kazi Sonam Gyatso (who later retired as
Executive Bazar Officer).
Yangthang Family: The family lineage begins with Deba Tsang Rinzing who
was succeeded by Changzot Namkha Wangdu. Later his sons Yangthang Akhey
and Athing Gaden Phuntsog took over the responsibility. They were later
succeeded by Athing Yiwang Namgyal, Karwang Tseten, Athing Kioshing Onge,
Kazi Sonam Wangchuk, Yapa Dorji Dahdul and Yapa Dawa Norbu.
Tokang Donyer Namgyal’s Family: On top of the family records is Akoola, who
was succeeded by his son Trunyik Rinzing Wangdrag, followed by Tokang
Donyer Namgyal. He had four sons namely, Trayling Depon of Trakang, Tseten
Namgyal, Tashi Lhunpo, and Nyagrong Chikhyab Palden Namgyal.
Kenzong Athing Family: The head of the family was Changzot Karwang, who
was succeeded by his fourth son Athing Yongdra. He was later followed by
Tateng Athup, who had four sons namely, Tateng Chung Chung, Khangma
Yapa Ngag-gay, Rechok-pa and Apog Sherab. As per the available record the
second son Khangma Yapa Ngag-gay had two sons, Kenzong Athing Sonam
Topgay and Namgyal Thogyal. Further, Kenzong Athing Sonam Topgay had two
sons Yapa Norbu Dahdul and Yapa Tempo Namgyal alias Yapa Yula.
Tshungshing Athing’s Family: One of the leading families of Sikkim is
Tshugshing Athings. Hungbar, the patriarch, had two sons Karthak Chogyal
and Solpon Tsang Namgyal. Solpon Tsang Namgyal had a son Donyer Chagdor,
who in turn had three sons Khangsar Dewan Donyer Lhendup, Trunyik Nyodup
Gyalsten and Phodang Lama Karma Tenkyong. According to records, the first
son Khangsar Dewan Donyer Lhendup had six sons namely, Phensang Jerung,
Tshugshing Trunyik Ziji, Rumtek Lama Layrab Tsorpo Kusho, Lama Ugyen
Tenzing, Katok Kusho and Jerung Gadhen. The second son Tshugshing Trunyik
Ziji had three sons, Jerung Dazang, Rai Sahib Gyaltsen Kazi (who also served
as Judicial Secretary to Chogyal Tashi Namgyal, the 11th Chogyal), and Kazi
Yonton Gyatso. Both of them had two sons each, Yapa Namgyal Dhondup,
Kunzang Namgyal and Yapa Gompoo Namgyal and Yapa Tempo Rapgyal
respectively.
Enchey Athing Family: Changzot Karwang had seven sons. The first son was
Densa Rangjung Silnon and the fourth Athing Yong-Dra. Athing Yong-Dra had
one son Donyer Dorji Dadul. He had three sons, Gyurme Tenzing, Ngawang
Choky Gyamtso, Trunyik Namkha Gyatso. The third son Trunyik Namkha
Gyatso had four sons Yapa Rabden, Yapa Tshering Gyatso, Yapa Dorji Namgyal
and Yapa Phurba Wangyal. The fourth son Yapa Phurba Wangyal also had
three sons Karma, Thinley and Sonam.
Namchi Athing Family: Lasso Kazi Lha Tenzing was the Vakil of Darjeeling,
the fifth son of Kunga Kotra. Kazi Tenzing had a son Lasso Kazi Tonzang, also
known as Namchi Kazi. He had a son Athing Tenzing Wangyal who inherited his
father’s title Namchi Kazi. He had three sons Yapa Jigme Wangyal, Yapa
Phurba Wangyal and Yapa Tsewang Wangyal.
Agya Martam Tobden Family: Mandal Agya Kunzang of Martam had a son
Agya Martam Tobden, who become president of the National Party,a political
group prior to Sikkim’s merger into India during chogyal’s rule. He was also
elected and served as the Senior Executive Councilor in the Sikkim State
Council. He had three sons Yapa Karma Tobden, Yapa Karma S. Tobden and
Yapa Kunzang Namgyal. The first son Yapa Karma Tobden who worked as
Deputy Secretary to Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal later served the
Government of Sikkim as Secretary. The Central government has now
appointed him as Ambassador to Mongolia.
Jongpon Karmi Pulger Family: Raja Tenduk had five sons and one daughter.
The first son Kumar W. Polden served as Judicial Secretary to Chogyal Tashi
Namgyal. He was also the leaseholder of Daramdin Estate. But since he died
issueless, the estate was resumed by the Sikkim Darbar.
Rhenock Athing Family: Changzot Chungthup had no male issue and
subsequently adopted the third son of Cho-Khor of Drag, Karpo Yapa Tse-Sung,
who was married to his only daughter. The couple had four sons, Patrok,
Palden, Chokar and Phurba. The third son Chokar had a son Kho-Chung who
was better known as Rhenock Kazi. He had a son Rai Sahib Dingpon Sonam
Dadul who also served as Private Manager of Chogyal Tashi Namgyal, the 11th
Chogyal. He had five sons Yapa Nyodup Dorji, Yapa Tseten Tashi, Yapa
Neydung, Yapa Tobgya and Yapa Tshering.
Pachey Athing Family: Shal-gna Badu had a son Shal-gna Yukchoong, better
known as Pachey Athing. His first son Reting Kazi was a leaseholder of Linze,
Aho, Pachey and Pathing, all of which fall in the East district of Sikkim now.
The second son Tshering Thondup Kazi was a doctor who died without any
children.
Chakung Jerung Dewan’s Family: Cheebu Lama was Vakil of Darjeeling. He
had a son, Relling Dewan Sheo Solpon Dadul, who was followed by Sheo
Dewan. He had a son Nyer Tsang-pa Gyaltsen. He died without any children.
His wife, by connection with the Kagyut Avatar Lama Gnawang Chokey
Gyamtso, had a son who was known as Jerung Trang-song, alias Chakung
Jerung.
Namgyal Dynasty: Chogyal Phuntso Namgyal was put on the throne as the
first King of Sikkim in 1642 by three spiritual lamas at Yoksum in West Sikkim.
The first Chogyal was succeeded by his son Tensung Namgyal, who was
succeeded by Chakdor Namgyal. The fourth Chogyal was Gyurmed Namgyal
and was succeeded by his son Namgyal Phuntso. Later the baton was handed
over to his son Tenzing Namgyal as the Sixth Chogyal of Sikkim. Tsugphud
Namgyal succeeded him as the Seventh Chogyal. The eight Chogyal was
Sidkyong Namgyal, Thutob Namgyal’s first son Sidkyong Tulku occupied the
throne as the tenth Maharaja of Sikkim succeeded by his brother Sir Tashi
Namgyal as the eleventh Chogyal of Sikkim. Later on, his second son Maharaj
Kumar Palden Thondup Namgyal occupied the throne as the twelfth Chogyal of
Sikkim.
Although the Chogyal was the official ruler of Sikkim, it was the landlords and
thikadars who actually ruled over Sikkim. They were somewhat similar to the
Ranas in Nepal who enjoyed unlimited power there at about the same time.
Falling under a certain category of people, the Ranas ruled Nepal like their own
fiefdom, despite the fact that the king was supposed to be ruling the country. In
fact, the word Kazi actually came from Nepal, carrying with it inherent
implications of a high born nobleman with the propensity to inflict injury and
untold suffering upon the ordinary, poor citizens.
Under such a system in Sikkim, we can well imagine the plight of the common
people. Those days, life was synonymous with suffering, inadequacy, insecurity
and humiliation. From paying exorbitant taxes to carrying out the diktats of the
Kazis and thikadars, life for ordinary people was nightmarish.
All of Pawan Chamling’s forefathers had shared, one way or the other, the hard
times that Sikkim went through under different phases of Sikkimese history.
However, the winds of change that swept the Indian continent during the “Quit
India” movement of 1942 and the “Non-cooperation Movement” had a fair share
of impact in Sikkim, as well. Resentment among the poor Sikkimese against
feudal bondage became increasingly evident. Encouraged by the non-violent
struggle in India led by Mahatma Gandhi and the subsequent independence of
India, many people in Sikkim, poor people, labourers, as also the intelligentsia
sought to bring themselves into some organization to fight against exploitation
and injustice.
In 1949, the system of landlordism was abolished and the Kazis were stripped
of their power. Although, exploitation at the hands of the landlords decreased,
the Kazis owing to their economic power and royal patronage had not mellowed
down in their attitude. In the 1950s, there was a huge disparity between the
aristocratic class and the common man socially, politically and economically.
Let alone democratic rights, people were deprived of the basic human rights.
It was also a time when there were no literary and cultural activities. There was
no freedom to take out literary magazines—in fact, such an act would be viewed
upon with grave suspicion. Mention may be made that while in Nepal people go
to the king to receive the benediction of a traditional tika, in Sikkim, people had
to go to mandals to seek their blessings and have a tika applied on their
forehead.
As a result of a concerted movement of the Sikkimese people, a five-member
interim ministry was sworn in with Tashi Tshering as the Chief Minister in May
1949. The other ministers who took oath of office were Captain Dimick Singh
Lepcha in charge of Health and Sikkim Public Works Departments, Chandra
Das Rai in charge of Education and Transport, Yapa D. Dahdul in charge of
Finance, R.P. Alley, in charge of Land Revenue and Forest. But the ministry was
to last for only 29 days, as the Chief Minister had differences with the then
Chogyal.
Later the Political Officer deputed by the Government of India, Harishwar
Dayal, took over the administration of Sikkim. This was followed by the
appointment of J.S. Lall as the first Dewan of Sikkim on the recommendation of
the Chogyal. With a series of subsequent political developments, the historic
Indo-Sikkim Treaty was signed on December 5, 1950 by Maharaja Tashi
Namgyal and the Political Officer in Sikkim Dayal, defining the future status of
Sikkim. As per the terms of the treaty, Sikkim continued to be a protectorate of
India which took charge of external relations, defence, and communication of
Sikkim. The people of Sikkim who had borne the ill treatment of the feudal
landlords increasingly raised their voice to opt for self-determination and self-
rule. The terms and conditions as agreed upon in the Treaty of 1950 continued
until Sikkim merged into the Indian union in 1975.
The National Council of the 1950s provided for 50 percent reservation for
Sikkimese Nepalese and 50 percent for the Bhutia-Lepcha community. In the
first election to the National Council in 1953, six seats were reserved for the
Bhutia-Lepchas and another six for the Nepali community. Representatives
from two prominent political parties were included in the governing body. In the
royal proclamation of 1958, provision for one seat each for the general category
and the Sangha or monastery were also introduced while maintaining the parity
of seats between the Bhutia-Lepchas and the Nepalese by providing six seats
each. By yet another royal proclamation in 1966, four more seats for Tsongs
and scheduled castes were added to the National Council. Thus, some progress
was made by Sikkim towards representing the voices of the people at large,
which was a prelude to the final establishment of a democratic system in the
erstwhile independent kingdom of Sikkim.
 3
Education—Seeds of Change

Like many other children in the village, Chamling’s school life began quite late.
He says,

“I was fortunate that I could at least go to school and learn. Even today
children are engaged in different productive activities owing to acute
poverty from a very early age. Or else, they are required to look after their
younger siblings while parents go to tend the field. Today the attitude
has largely changed and the parents at least want to keep their sons
away from this assignment. Due to backwardness and lack of options,
many parents in rural Sikkim still do not encourage girl children to
attend school. Ever since my childhood, I have witnessed this rural
backwardness around me coupled with inaccessibility to education.”

Having been a victim, he says, he is trying to rectify the situation. At this

juncture, his government is trying to attend to this unfortunate historical
aspect of economic disparity and rural backwardness and enrol as many
children in schools as possible. The government is trying to compensate for the
loss that the family may incur while sending their children to school through
various means. In additions, school children are provided with free textbooks,
exercise books, uniforms and education is free of tuition fees.
In his school days, Chamling took every opportunity to improve upon his
performance and build his personality. In addition to academics, he became
proficient in sports, cultural, and literary activities. He had great interest in
football and volleyball and represented his school many a time in inter-school
and inter-district tournaments. As for literary activities, drama was one of his
intimate literary genres. After matriculation, his formal education came to an
end. However, Chamling says, “concepts like education runs parallel to the
journey of life on earth. I am never satiated in my quest to learn more good
things and still do the best. I find myself depressed sometimes for not being
able to read and learn more owing to my hectic schedule.”
His schoolmates would recall that he was original in everything he did. He was
every time elected to head the locally-designed, democratically-run organization
within the premises of the High School. The function of the organization would
include anything from conducting morning prayer to organizing major events in
areas like sports, drama, literature. In their boyhood fancy, Pawan Chamling,
as head of the organization was always playing the Prime Minister with his
friends playing the role of cabinet ministers. In a unique show of political
maturity in his early age, he would impress upon his ministers to submit
monthly report on various activities undertaken in the school on a monthly
basis. In the scheme of things, his Agriculture Minister was above all other
ministers for the simple reason that agriculture was the mainstay of the people!
In school activities, performed more in the spirit of team work, Pawan
Chamling was slowly but steadily developing into a leader par excellence.
For helping him in his early development as a litterateur, Chamling holds Tulsi
Ram Kashyap, one of his teachers in Yangang Senior Secondary School, in high
esteem. During an off period in the class, or during tiffin break, Kashyap used
to recite verses from Muna Madan, an epic by Mahakavi Laxmi Prasad Deokota,
and explain them in simpler diction. They used to be often engrossed in the
flight of creative imagination. Chamling has accepted Kashyap who later
became the Speaker of Sikkim Legislative Assembly in the late 1980s, as a
major source of inspiration for his literary and creative activities. Together with
this, he was also greatly influenced by his paternal aunt, Ms Yamuna Devi Rai,
so perfect with her throat and so consuming in her rural lyricism. She was a
folk singer who used to sing about rural life and culture that is closely knit
together with the sentiment of the rural populace. This inspired Chamling to
write poetry on themes revolving around rural people and their surroundings.
Despite being so engrossed and so active in sports, literature, and cultural
activities, there was within Chamling some form of unfamiliar aspiration
stretching its wing. When he grew up, he wanted to establish an organized and
disciplined school in his area. He told the author that “after adolescence,
without realizing it myself, all such aspirations dissolved into thin air. I soon
realized that politics can finally take care of all such problems”.
 4
A Politician in the Making

Since Chamling’s parents and forefathers all took up farming as their main
occupation, he still considers himself basically a farmer. Even at present, his
family is primarily engaged in agricultural activities. His family always drew
sustenance from agricultural products and they still continue to be self-
sufficient. Besides supporting the family, their farm products are also sold in
the market to meet other expenses. They mainly grow rice. They also extensively
cultivate ginger, cardamom, vegetables, and flowers. Besides, cattle farming,
milk production, poultry and piggery are additional income generating activities
with his family. His brothers are engaged in construction work and are equally
self-sufficient. At a certain point of time, Chamling himself was a successful
government contractor. As a first-class contractor, he built a number of roads,
bridges, buildings and irrigation canals. This gave him adequate ideas about
the practical issues involved in the grassroots development activities.
Chamling was actively involved in the cooperatives movement in Sikkim. After
completing a Diploma in Cooperatives from Pune’s Cooperatives Institute, he set
up a ‘Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society’ at Yangang in 1976. He held the post
of secretary and president of the society for a long time. During those days, he
also dabbled in politics, contract works and the panchayat. He remained
equally active in literary and cultural activities. In 1977, he established Nirman
Prakashan and began the publication of Nirman a monthly literary magazine.
These years in the 1970s happened to be the most fruitful and innovative phase
of his life. His talents and dynamism as a leader actually matured during this
time.
There, however, is some form of discontentment within him vis- à- vis his
activities in the 1970s. Chamling says,

“There is comfort in my mind that I was successful as a contractor and

as a farmer. Although not an eminent littérateur, I was able to contribute
towards the development of language and literature. But as far as
spreading the movement of cooperatives is concerned, I was not satisfied
as anticipated. Therefore, after becoming Chief Minister, my government
has undertaken to spread this movement to every part of the state. We
have established a cooperative society in each gram panchayat unit. The
government has been giving every possible support to people to open
more and more cooperatives. The success of the cooperatives movement
depends on collective participation of people. We feel that it is equally
necessary for the people to be aware and conscious about their rights
and duties.”

Politics for Chamling is not a means to realize his personal interests. He

strongly feels that at the core of politics should be the welfare of the people. He
says,

“Indeed, through my poetry I always wanted to change the world and my

environment. Yet I have no reservation in accepting that my society and
my environment could never be revolutionized and provoked by artistic
 medium alone. I strongly believe that the man who wields a pen should
have ploughed the field, carried people’s festoon and placards, held
revolutionary flags and if driven to the wall, pulled a trigger to safeguard
justice. Together with my poetic journey I was in favour of social
transformation. While I was working for the overall development of our
people I was slowly pulled into the political realm. After you enter
politics, it becomes secondary to define your social standing. When we
sacrifice our lot for the welfare of people, it is the people who decide
where we stand. While I work for the people, the people elevated me to
the post of Panchayat President, and later elected me as an MLA. Today I
am the Chief Minister because of people’s mandate, support and
cooperation. If I don’t hold this position in future, people will still remain
the centre of my political focus. To be a successful politician, I feel that
we need to be decent and ideal as an individual—with high moral
bearing, modest, and with a sincere love for the people. Anybody can be
successful in politics, but a true politician is successful even after
momentary setbacks”.

In a sense, he was motivated towards politics from his early days. But for him
to fulfil his destiny it took the political situation in Sikkim to turn volatile in the
seventies. When he was 23 years old, a letter reached him on March 31, 1973.
The letter was written by Kazi Lhendup Dorjee and read, “...in Sikkim there is a
movement for establishment of one man-one vote system. Thus, you please
reach Gangtok on April 3 along with people from south district... .” Having
received the letter he headed for Gangtok, leading a group of people from south
Sikkim. He suddenly found himself caught in the vortex of a revolution. There
was a mass procession along the Singtam road. It was a new dawn when this
procession with revolutionary zeal reached Middle Camp no. 32. After a short
tea break, the procession advanced further. Although shivering with fever,
Chamling led the procession and reached Gangtok.
Tens of thousands of people were pouring into Gangtok from all four districts. It
was drizzling. All hotels and tea shops were full, there was no place to retire for
the night. The administration had obstructed the people’s march at the Bansilal
petrol pump at Gangtok.
April 4 was the Chogyal’s birth day. On this auspicious occasion, the
revolutionary leaders had gone to the King to demand the system of one-man
one vote in Sikkim. But the Darbar was not very forthcoming. The subjects,
who went with a rightful demand, were turned away with teargas, lathi charge,
and bullets. Chamling was one of the victims who suffered the beatings of the
police. Unable to withstand the combined onslaught of Sikkim Police and
Sikkim Guard, people fled and reached Singtam [some 30 km from Gangtok].
People from South and West districts had already overpowered some police
personnel, and a few outposts at Singtam had fallen under the control of
people. People began to congregate at Singtam.
On April 9, 1973, they again assembled at the Palzor Stadium in Gangtok.
Chamling was actively distributing rice, sugar, and medicines to the gathered
crowd. People cooked for themselves. In order to demoralize people, pro-Chogyal
elements spread the rumour that poison was being mixed with water. They were
also informed about some impending movement from North Sikkim of army
personnel wielding spears and swords. The people remained awake all night
and patrolled the area with khukuris [a sharp weapon mainly used by the
Nepalese both for domestic (chopping, cutting) and defence purposes] in their
hands.
Finally, the people’s anger subsided after the Indian government intervened
through its political officer. At that time, India’s Foreign Secretary, T.N. Kaul
was in Sikkim. Under his personal initiative and intervention, the volatile
situation was de-escalated and people returned home. All people arrested
during the period were released unconditionally. The event was followed by the
signing of the May 8, 1973 Tripartite Agreement between the Indian
government, representatives of political parties in Sikkim, and the Sikkim
Darbar. The Agreement provided for safeguarding the interest of all three ethnic
communities, non-aggression, one-man-one-vote system and equality in the
political-economic and social development activities for all people. To run the
administration, the Indian government deputed B.S. Das to Sikkim as Chief
Executive Officer. Although monarchy as an institution continued, the real
power was vested in the Chief Executive Officer.
After the May 8 Agreement the first Sikkim election held in 1974 under the
supervision of the Indian government gave L.D. Kazi a clear mandate. His party
won 31 seats out of the total 32 Assembly constituencies. One seat went to an
independent candidate Kalzang Gyatso from Kabi Tingda constituency. Kazi
was sworn in as the first Chief Minister on September 4, 1974 with the Chogyal,
Palden Thondup Namgyal, remaining as the constitutional figurehead. On the
basis of a referendum held later in 1975, Sikkim was formally merged with the
Indian Union by the Constitutional (36th Amendment) Act, 1975. Sikkim became
a state of democratic India from May 16, 1975. And the institution of the
Chogyal was, finally, abolished.
 5
The People’s Revolution

The Jana Kranti or the “People’s Revolution” was gathering momentum and
had reached its peak by 1973. The youth and intellectuals were on the
streets of Sikkim demanding more rights, participation and representation of
the people in the governing process. Kazi Lhendup Dorji, member of an elite
family of landlords but the symbolic figurehead of the people’s revolution,
had with him people young and old with affiliation to various shades of
political ideology. The major political force at the time was of course the
Sikkim State Congress. The pro-Chogyal and pro-Durbar elements always
seemed to consider the snowballing protests and processions as mere storm
over their morning cup of tea that would blow over. But that was not to be.
If they could clearly perceive the future, they would have realized that
Sikkim was on the threshold of a radical new phase in its political journey.
The reign of the Chogyal dynasty was nearing its end.
Pawan Chamling, 23 now, had already acquired his political soul. He observed
the development with a keen poetic mind and political insight. The then
political leaders, who were with the people’s revolution, did have different
shades of aims and objects. On the other hand, young people like Chamling
were engaged in visualizing a society where all Sikkimese, the majority of whom
were rural folk, would live a life of dignity, equality, and opportunity.
Underlining the significance of the people’s revolution which marked the
beginning of the democratic movement in Sikkim, Pawan Chamling and his
colleagues looked at the historical background of the movement in the “Political
Programme” of the Sikkim Democratic Front, the party that Chamling was to
form later. It highlighted that while he was actively participating in the people’s
movement, the future President of the Sikkim Democratic Front and the future
Chief Minister of Sikkim was also going deep into the annals of history to draw
lessons and strength for his future political ideology and programme.
In the important document of the political literature of his party, Pawan
Chamling’s view of the historical background was presented. It said:

“Sikkim’s political history as a subject of study has attracted the least

attention so far of scholars of history and as such it remains a daunting
challenge that needs to be suitably met. Nevertheless, whatever facts and
fiction are presently available to us, these must form the basis of its
assessment and study. However, according to a rough estimate, Sikkim’s
history, ever since its recorded journey from the past, seems very likely
to have passed broadly through four phases that are noteworthy.
The first phase was some sort of democratically run tribaldom. Even
while kingdom after kingdom ruled by autocrats and feudal overlords
had become established, Sikkim was still a tribaldom. It was broken up
into as many fragments as there were tribal heads, who virtually led a
nomadic existence. Amongst the various tribes constituting the
inhabitants of the then Sikkim, the Lepcha tribe was solely led by the
Panu, the Bhutia tribe was ruled by their religious head, the Tsongs were
administered by their elected heads, the Subba, while the Mangars were
led by one whose claim to leadership rested purely on his physical
strength and fighting prowess. Besides, other ethnic groups like Sherpa,
Chettri-Bahun, Newar, Kami Damai, Gurung, Rai and Tamang also lived
in different parts of the State and ruled through their elected heads. All
these tribes constituted Sikkim’s ethnic group whose existence was
mostly secluded, and removed from the modern concept of society and
state.
The Lepchas, as a rule, were universally accepted by all as the original
dwellers of the land. Hence, all other tribes who came later to this land
(Sikkim) had no qualms about accepting Panu, the Lepcha leader, as the
supreme head. This is despite the fact that it was the individually elected
leader of each tribe who was responsible for running the affairs of each
clan. This democratic system of running the affairs of the land that had
not yet attained the status of a kingdom seemed to have survived till the
end of the fourteenth century. Even if it had made initial inroads into the
nomadic life of the clannish tribes of the day, agriculture was far from
being accepted as a way of life to augment the economic well-being of the
mixed populace that inhabited the then Sikkim.
Raising animals, mainly cattle and sheep, was the main occupation of
the people. Even the institution of marriage lacked firm basis of legal and
moral acceptance. There was no such thing as rule of law to regulate
everyday life– acceptable to all tribes. As a result, constant fighting
amongst the various tribes often erupted to mar social harmony.
Weapons of defence and offence being strictly limited, physical strength
and fighting prowess in combat often played vital part in determining the
outcome of a clash that settled the controversial issue. For this reason,
the election of a leader from the Lepchas Panu downwards was strictly
based on the physical strength and the fighting ability of the would-be
leader.
The people of this land (Sikkim) in those balmy days, therefore, practised
and enjoyed a unique form of democracy and freedom where the concept
of class was totally absent. Even though the Panu and other leaders of
the clans commanded a unique status during the period of crisis that
often led to physical combats based on strength, these leaders from Panu
downwards, in normal times of peace and tranquility were always one
among the equals. The concept of wealth then being unknown, there was
no distinction which separated the rich from the poor, the big from the
small. The concept of status and class was absent from the then existing
social milieu. Nobody had ever thought of drawing a line that
distinguished a master from his slave or servant.
The second important phase of the historical background began with the
advent of kingship. In 1642, Phuntsok Namgyal, as King of Sikkim,
started the dynastic rule that was to last for 332 years. By this time, the
neighbouring countries like Tibet and Nepal, had come under the full
sway of princely rule, where power had become polarized on the ruling
monarch. Thus, Sikkim too, was subsequently drawn into the maelstrom
of power monopoly that converted the erstwhile Sikkim, enjoying
absolute democracy into a freedom, though ruled by a benign king in the
beginning.
Animal raising, accounting mostly for pursuing nomadic lifestyle was
made imperative by the constant need to look for greener pastures, thus
gave way to agricultural pursuits. In the long run, this only served to
strengthen the hands of the monarchy. Agriculture gradually became the
mainstay to augment the economic well-being of people, while raising
domesticated animals like cattle, sheep and horses as part of the
agricultural process. It was considered a normal practice for men to
marry and maintain a number of wives. On the other hand, such a
marital misadventure on the part of the female was considered a social
taboo. This gave way to the founding of the institution of marriage, where
a woman had a role to play and fulfil by being faithful to her spouse and
raise the children begotten through him.
The rights and privileges of the people, hitherto enjoyed by them, became
pawn at the hands of the palace to be doled out to public as and when
the Durbar was pleased to do so. The king, along with his kith and kin,
began wilfully to run the administration of the country. Dictatorial rule
in a milder form came into being to ensure that the palace was the
ultimate authority and that all power flowed from there. In the capital
itself, some noblemen close to the ruler, became absolute masters to rule
over those sections of the populace who came directly under their
influence. The people under such overlords were subjected to ruthless
oppression and subjugation.
Due to internal conflict that manifested itself from time to time within the
palace and the external threat that materialized from attacks from Nepal
and Bhutan, which the country (Sikkim) had to often face, the king and
his followers had often to flee from the palace, seeking safety elsewhere.
In spite of such early uncertainties that plagued it, the Namgyal dynasty,
however, continued to rule over Sikkim for 332 years, in itself a unique
record.
Whatever the Chogyal, did or did not do for their subjects over those
three centuries and more would have to be seriously studied by future
scholars and historians. But the fact remained that even they could not
completely destroy some of the basic democratic social structures
ingrained in the tribal systems. But the long rule did create ground for
the democratic movement of the 1970s which was ultimately to change
the political and social face of Sikkim.
In the analytical run-up to the genesis of the democratic movement, it
was also important to understand the foreign influence on Sikkim’s
polity. At a time when Nepal was bent upon extending its boundaries
through conquest, Sikkim’s giant neighbour to the south (India) had
already become a part of the British empire. Therefore, it had become
expedient for the Englishman to put a stop to the growing “menace” of
the Gurkha expansionist ambitions. The tactical British policy to contain
the Gurkha advance consisted in acting as a mediator on the one hand
between the marauding Gurkhas and the country under siege (Sikkim).
On the other hand, it attempted to work out a peace treaty so that it
would prevent the attacking Gurkhas from taking over the captured
territories of the vanquished country. It was during the reign of Tenzing
Namgyal that the Gurkhas under the command of Damodar Pandey had
succeeded in capturing many parts of Sikkim.
The Sugauli Treaty of 1815 put the final stop to Nepal’s ambitions of
conquest. As per terms and conditions laid down in the said Treaty,
 Nepal had to surrender whatever territories it had won over and annexed
from Sikkim to Sukhimpati (the Chogyal). Despite the fact that the Treaty
of Sugauli enabled Sikkim to retrieve its lost territories, the next two
years saw the whole of Sikkim being annexed by the British Raj under
the Treaty of Titaliya. This put the sovereignty of Sikkim under the
hegemony of the Raj. Even a territory like Darjeeling, with its unique
scenic beauty and salubrious mountain climate was more or less
annexed by the Raj in 1833.
In the 19th century, under Dewan Namgyal, who earned the epithet of
Paglah Dewan because he had dared to defy the British, the Chogyal rule
tried to attain its peak of power as the king made determined efforts to
assert Sikkim’s independent status. But the Treaty of 1861 between
Sikkim and East India Company only served to make Sikkim all the more
dependent on its giant neighbour to the south.
When the Company decided to establish a trading relation with Tibet,
Sikkim was reduced to the status of a buffer state between China in the
north and British India to the south. In 1888, Tibet was forced to vacate
Ringtu. Meanwhile a treaty of mutual friendship was signed between
China and the Company Raj in 1890. Thus Sikkim was further reduced
to a protectorate of the British Raj.
And then came the fourth and the vital phase of modern Sikkim’s history
which gave birth to the democratic movement which the young
Sikkimese radicals called the jana kranti or the ‘people’s revolution’. The
beginning of the democratic movement in Sikkim was obviously
influenced by the tides of freedom and democracy which had swept India
and many other colonial nations in the wake of India’s independence."
Pawan Chamling and his friends were to analyze this historic phase as follows:

“With the escalation of the freedom movement in India under the care of
the Raj, a sign of similar aspiration apparently began to take root among
the Sikkimese. It fell on the lot of the educated youth of the day in
Sikkim to raise their voice in favor of democracy and democratic rule in
the State rather than the dictates of the (Chogyal) Durbar. The stalwarts
who led the early movement for democracy in Sikkim were purely
inspired by the freedom movement. It is interesting to note that even
those early movements for democracy in Sikkim were not without the
Indian influence, as those leaders of the day had a penchant for
duplicating everything that was being undertaken by the leaders of the
Indian National Congress in contemporary India under the Raj. It was for
this reason alone that the then leaders in their preoccupation to ape and
photocopy the Indian leadership for freedom movement in the sub-
continent, ended up ignoring nationalism they inherently owed to
Sikkim.”

The hope, aspirations, and pains and sorrows of the Sikkimese people at this
juncture were reflected with great sensitivity and power in the writing of Pawan
Chamling. His writing was treated as a mirror of the hopes and inspirations of
his young contemporaries who wanted change, a change for better life, identity,
dignity, and equality of opportunity.
Reflecting on his association with the revolution, he would record later,
 “Like the greater chunk of the Sikkimese society, I also had to bear
sorrow, trouble, injustice, exploitation and hatred since an early age. The
same condition had sown the seeds of revolution within me and a
burning desire to change the situation. Although restless in mind, due to
lack of maturity in my age, wisdom and experience, I was compelled to
remain directionless, in a way. Although I was propelled by winds to
struggle and finish such a situation, I had no concrete plan to end social
distortion.”

He was not content with his voice remaining just a cry in the wilderness nor did
he want to remain oblivious to the situation. In his own words,

“For me, I was to mingle freely with people and sow the seeds of change
and revolution from amongst themselves. Before the people’s revolution
of 1973, my poems and literary creations were crutches of my revolution.
Through my poems, I wanted to voice my revolt and create a ripple of
change and a sense of revolt among the masses…
Disillusionment could not root out my conviction but the experience did
help me to engage in some other constructive work along with politics. In
order to provide positive support to the Nepali literary world and to
encourage good literary creations to the poor people, I started Nirman
Prakashan, a publishing house, with a purpose. This literary publication
house was started from Yangang, my native village, with assistance from
some friends. Together with politics, I engaged myself in editing,
publication work and other services to society.”

If one traced carefully the process of revolutionary growth within Pawan

Chamling, one would find that he is an unusual political being, always
simmering with new ideas and perceptions. And he was ever enthusiastic about
putting them into practice to bring about the desired change. One cannot
classify him as a conventional communist, socialist or revolutionary socialist.
He does not refrain from drawing experiences and practical political wisdom
from all ideologies of change from Gandhian to that of Marx. He combines these
ideological strands with those of his own to help him evolve a middle path that
answers his need. And with his deep knowledge and experience of the
conditions of his own people he urges for a change that he seeks. His political
followers, some of them highly educated lawyers and educationists, recorded
their response unambiguously when asked what political philosophy they
follow.
One of them said, “It can be called the Chamling philosophy. A philosophy of
change, involving emotional integration, pro-poor, pro-rural development, pro-
women and pro-children, pro-India, pro-ecology, pro-youth and more than all
that pro-Sikkim and its masses.” And they have faith and confidence in their
ideological mentor whom they credit with a special kind of charisma. They all
accept that he is a big dreamer. But he is a dreamer with a difference. He is
always dreaming, not for himself, but all for his beloved Sikkim, his beloved
India, and his beloved common folk. His dreams often come true because they
are honest dreams borne of a close sense of the needs and aspirations of the
people. And when his dream becomes a reality, the confidence of the people in
him is strengthened. One of his party functionaries said, “Pawan Chamling has
faith in the people and we all have faith in him. The two faiths together are also
a special ingredient of his successful implementation of development projects
which are always people-oriented and not projects for the elite alone.”
To understand the kinds of motivation and inspiration of the people’s revolution
and the spirit which brought about perhaps the most significant political
change in the history of Sikkim in the 20th century, one needs to take a close
look at his political philosophy, thought and contribution.
Looking back at his political journey, it is evident that his overwhelming desire
to change society took shape and form as he stepped into adulthood. As a child
he saw inequality, injustice, backwardness, poverty, and suffering among
people all around him. As a youth he thought and believed that things must
change. He was not content with just thinking about change and groaning,
grousing and developing a studied but ineffective frustration of the elite. He was
a man of action, always. He often put into practice what he preached to others.
He has a very special style of transparency and public participation in a
continuous striving for change. He has never desired change in isolation but
right among the people. That, he managed by sowing the seeds of change, of
active revolt, within the people. He knew that the most successful revolution
was that which was a revolution within the people. This explained why he was
constantly restless and never tiring in harping about change. But he was no
idle dreamer. He was a pragmatic revolutionary who sought to involve people in
collective efforts to correct social distortions and ills.
Pawan Chamling’s “open mouth style” has made him a favourite of the people,
said one of his party cadres. It seemed an intriguing compliment on the face of
it. Explained the young worker,

“Pawan Chamling does not mince words. He does not indulge in double
talk. Chamling talks to people, direct, as equals and important human
beings. If you meet him once, you will never forget his serious and
sincere face when he listens to you, and the sunshine smile which
breaks on his face when he shares a joke with you. He is unforgettable
and the language he speaks is easily understandable. When he says, ‘in
a popular regime, people reign supreme’ he is understood with
considerable sympathy by the people. It also demonstrates the level of
his intimacy and direct interaction with the people whom he represents
and whose lives he wants to change. His relationship with the people
becomes closer and closer every day. The people are his power and he is
the darling of the people. Few political leaders elsewhere in the country
can claim such a very special relation with the masses.”

When Pawan Chamling tells the people of Sikkim that they are the real masters,
they believe that he speaks from both his heart and mind. He puts the
Sikkimese people at the centre of his thought, that is why his political
philosophy is highly life-oriented and people-centric, say the Sikkimese people.
Others speak of the same sentiment in slightly different words. They say that
his philosophy is more Sikkim-centred and people-oriented.
As Bhim Dahal, one of Pawan Chamling’s colleagues who represents Sikkim in
the Lok Sabha, puts it, “He is the only and the first politician in Sikkim to work
for the emotional integration of Sikkim with the rest of the country.”
Mainstreaming the Sikkimese society and politics with the rest of the country
was one of the engines of mind functioning behind the revolution of 1973.
However, some unscrupulous leaders later sought to politically blackmail New
Delhi by promoting two political words which were heard more in Sikkim during
their election campaigns and less outside. They called Sikkim Desh which
carried the nuance of an “independent and separate country” and the rest of
the country “India”. Whenever they felt politically threatened, they raised highly
emotional and inflammable slogans like “Sikkim for Sikkimese only” and “Back
to Our Own Desh”.
Nar Bahadur Bhandari went on record with the infamous threat, “If India does
not give us rice that we want, we shall get it from China.” What was disturbing
in the political metaphor of such political adventurers was the separatist and
jingoistic connotation of their phrases. It was Pawan Chamling who took pains
to make the people understand that “Sikkim has merged with the Indian union
and that they are one with the Indians.” That was the important keynote of
Chamling’s political philosophy.
This also signified a difference between his political vocabulary and that of some
Sikkkimese power-holding and power-wielding politicians of yesteryear. Never
mind what the political adventurers and destructive opposition rejected by the
electorate might say, Pawan Chamling has done a good deal of effective work
and continues to strive hard to bring about the mainstreaming of Sikkim with
the rest of the country and particularly the North-eastern states of India
popularly called the “Seven Sisters”. He strove and succeeded in getting for
Sikkim a place in the North Eastern Council to become a brother to seven
beautiful and proud sisters as the eighth member of the grouping.
Going deeper into the revolutionary thought process which remained alive
and active in Pawan Chamling’s mind, one has found that as a committed
politician, his political thinking seeks to dissect human dilemmas as the
prime subject of his continuous political reflection. Indeed, his deep concern
for human life has been variously interpreted as humanistic thought. But
his humanism and humanistic thought defies any kind of categorization. It
would be a mistake and injustice to him to carry out such a categorization.
His political philosophy just cannot be confined to known and hackneyed
constructs.
There are few politicians in the world in whose sensitive hearts and minds
both politics and poetic sensibilities continuously interact and balance one
another. There is an abundance of poetic sentiments in him which makes
him see beyond the mere optic vision. Seeing is one thing, perception
another. Pawan Chamling is more a man of perception and vision than a
mere watchman of men and events. Of course, due to his long association
with active political struggle and radical politics, he has developed and
operates with a well defined political goal and mission with his own original
and people-oriented politics. This might be called a kind of progressive
humanism. Some prefer to simply call it the “Chamling Epoch”.
One thing is clear. When he immersed himself in the 1973 people’s
revolution, he was fighting for democracy. He is one politician for whom a
revolution is a continuous process. Changing Sikkim’s agrarian, backward,
neglected, and uncared for society where the majority are poor, needs a
continuous, though peaceful revolution. None knows better than Pawan
Chamling that though monarchical rule might have gone, and even the rule
of their successors, the feudal landlord elite, the kazis, might have gone the
feudal attitudes still persist in both the political and bureaucratic elite in
Sikkim as much as in the rest of the country.
 Chamling firmly stands against the feudal culture. He himself was a victim
of the feudal culture where honest differences of opinion were branded as a
crime and invited persecution from the feudal barons, be they elected or
appointed wielders of power and privilege. He recognized the vital need to
wipe out feudal attitudes and practices that sometimes masqueraded behind
the privilege-and-perk enjoyed by the elites among the political and
bureaucratic clans. Some secret and open feudalists naturally branded
Chamling a “casteist and communalist” and even a “communist” whenever it
suited their anger and frustration. But any sensible human being and
student of politics would see through the game of Chamling baiters. One
clearly cannot be all three things at the same time.
An important fact is that the people of Sikkim did not believe these people.
Feudalism is basically a caste and class-based system of hegemonistic rule.
One who was a constant fighter against feudalism just cannot be communal.
Of course revolutions, revolutionaries, radicals and political and social
reformers are bound to attract strong reaction from those vested interests who
fear and dislike change. Their fear of change stems from the fact that it would
displace and destroy centres of power, patronage, and profit under which the
feudal elements prosper. When people rise, feudalism falls. To find some stick
with which to bash Pawan Chamling was the feudalists’ game. His ceaseless
revolutionary inclination and commitment continued to strike fear in their
hearts. The pro-feudal, the no-changers and the oligarchists were quick to see
traces of communism in the young leader.
 6
Sikkim in the Mainstream

For many people in Sikkim, 1975 was a landmark in the people’s revolution
that had sparked off the movement for democracy. On May 16, 1975, Sikkim
formally joined India as the 22nd state of the Indian Union. For the democratic
fighters, it was literally the “liberation” of Sikkim.
Of course, this merger with India was unique and quite different from the
manner in which many other Indian princely states had joined the Indian
Union. Perhaps learning from the experience in Jammu and Kashmir and some
of the north-eastern states, the negotiators of the merger both in Gangtok and
New Delhi had shown considerable patience, care, and wisdom to eliminate all
possible elements of future confrontation and conflict between the state and the
Centre.
The May 8, 1973 Agreement, was in fact, an important first step that led
towards the merger. Its vital safeguard was Article 371 F which was designed to
protect the customary and prevalent local laws and cultural identity of the
Sikkimese. Article 371 F(k) of the Constitution was the main anchor sheet of
the honourable merger and the emergence of Sikkim as the 22nd state. This
provided for the complete safeguard of Sikkimese rules and traditions that were
in operation before the merger. There was no room for conflict and
confrontation at the hands of unscrupulous political elements. This was
important because to such elements both Sikkim and India had less
importance than their own political ambitions and the amassing of personal
power and wealth.
When one looks back at 1975 more than a quarter century later, one begins to
see the political journey of Sikkim merging with the vision and political journey
of Pawan Chamling. As he saw clearly, the democratic history of a liberated
Sikkim in today’s parlance, based on adult franchise, began after the merger
with India in 1975.
The leaders from the generation earlier than that of Pawan Chamling’s often
tried to create confusion, willingly or otherwise. Some of them seemed to have
intentionally done their best to delude the people of Sikkim and the rest of the
country on the true nature and importance of the peaceful merger of Sikkim
with India. They know best what their political motivations and interests were.
The fact remains that some older politicians thought with ambiguity and spoke
equivocally about the merger. Their words in Gangtok were markedly different
from their words in New Delhi or anywhere else. Gradually the masses were to
get wise to their methods and motives. The people thus rejected their
ambiguous political rhetoric and then their leadership, itself. But that was to
come later after 1975.
One has to take a look at the political parties and pressure groups which were
there on the scene in April 1975. Some of these parties sought to duplicate the
Indian National Congress or similar democratic political parties, at the same
time serving the feudal culture and interests of the erstwhile Sikkim Durbar, or
the court and courtiers of the displaced Chogyal.
Then there was the National Party. Its sole objective, initially, was to thwart and
neutralize the democratic aspirations of the Sikkimese masses and to preserve
and uphold the “nationalistic fervour” of the state. This was strictly confined to
the sections of the population that formed a minority in the state. If the
National party, on the one hand, was led by leaders loyal to the interest of the
Durbar, the Sikkim State Congress, on the other hand, had workers,
sympathizers and followers who came from the bulk of the commoners. Its
leadership, however, was wholly manned by stalwarts who apparently hailed
from the upper echelon of society.
The rival leadership that opposed each other within the Congress only
neutralized each other’s effectiveness. While one group lacked nationalism
which was non-existent in their manifesto, despite its massive support base,
the other, despite its nationalistic fervour in maintaining its sovereignty, even if
it was self-effacing, lacked in magnitude and support. This group had remained
by and large passive and cold towards the Durbar’s overtures. Consequently,
the democratic movement which although a precursor of the people’s
revolution, initially was devoid of nationalistic overtones. Therefore, when the
merger came, it was considered the only option left open for the Sikkimese
masses at large yearning for democracy as they could see and feel around them
in the rest of India.
The merger of Sikkim in 1975 with India was unique. It was a historical
political change without violent conflict and bloodshed. Activists of the
democratic movement must have watched the great transition with some
satisfaction. It was a harbinger of hope and a springboard for further political
and social change and economic development. In fact, it was also a great
turning point in the political journey of Pawan Chamling, who was then just 25
years old.
The demagogues and demi-gods on the political scene in 1975 were, however,
constrained by their limited vision and confined motives to grab power and
wealth. An impatient but sharp-visioned youth leader like Chamling knew very
well that these so-called messiahs could not usher in and nurture democracy
on their own. They had no guts and imagination, so vitally required for injecting
democracy into a mainly disorganized, widespread and rural society comprising
some distinct ethnic social streams. All these years, these people had lived in
passive compliance with the dictates and whims of feudal monarchy, aided and
abetted by the landlord class.
The important task of building up a modern democratic society, in fact, had
just begun in Sikkim. The burdens of the past had yet to be shaken off. The
challenges of the future, entirely new from the traditional system of obedience
without protest, had yet to be faced. The political parties and their leaders had
to work hard and realize that a sound and sensible democracy could be
structured and constructed through dedication, sacrifice and hard work, with
the masses and from within the masses. But the political aristocrats were least
willing to sweat for the poor and the deprived masses. They lacked the will and
effort necessary for this great and continuous responsibility which the
liberation of Sikkim had brought.
In all fairness to the leaders and the political parties at that critical political
juncture, they no doubt believed in the right thing when they expressed their
faith in the potential of a true and mass-based democracy. The good things they
could bring to their motherland and its inhabitants further attracted them.
They all had to contribute to the culture of peace and democracy. Democracy in
the context of once tribal-feudal Sikkim had to have something for each of the
ethnic streams and even smaller tribal groups. They had been made aware of
democracy by the Jana kranti, but they had to be educated, inducted and made
effective participants in the process of building a healthy and functional
democracy, truly of the people, for the people and by the people.
As sensed then and analyzed by political historians later, the National Party, in
tow with the Durbar was extremely keen to retain Sikkim more or less as an
independent entity. Even after a formal merger with India, their successor
politicians and people with similar attitude referred to Sikkim as desh or
country. People with such frame of mind were not inclined to establish a
democratic set-up responsive to the needs and aspiration of the people. The
Chogyal to them was a symbol of unity and nationalism. But the Chogyal on his
part, whatever might have been his virtues or flaws, did little to evoke and
nurture the kind of patriotism that would have made the masses feel they were
part of the system of growth, development and governance of Sikkim. The
masses were seldom taken into confidence, never consulted or informed when
decisions concerning their lives and property were taken.
The hangers-on of the Chogyal’s Darbar, through their machination, made sure
that the monarch was isolated from the masses and the masses were alienated
from the monarch who at best was a distant and romantic symbol of the state,
divorced from the ordinary lives and their burden of sweat and toil. Therefore,
when the merger came in 1975, it seemed the most natural and obvious thing
that could have happened to Sikkim. They could raise their voice. They could
demand redressal of their problems. They could organise and activate
themselves for collective action to bring about change and better their lives with
their own efforts. They could now do so without fear and terror of the state
pouncing on them, muzzling their voice or jamming their activities. It was a
great feeling. Chamling was to maintain, consolidate this new spirit and
awakening in the years to come.
It was obvious that when the great doors of change and opportunity opened,
there would be a scramble to corner the benefits of power and wealth by the
elites and the higher class. There was indeed a scramble, and Chamling
watched it. There were two main contending parties fighting for the control of
power under the new democratic dispensation. Both were led by persons of
considerable means the leadership of both the parties by and large comprised
the landlord class. A party of the masses, for the masses, the real party of the
common people was yet to be born.
Instead of turning sincerely to the people to seek their support for their political
strength, the two contenders for the new throne of democracy turned to New
Delhi. In 1975, when Sikkim merged with India, distortions of the national
governance and the political system in India under the rule of Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi were themselves fast heading towards a difficult situation which
finally resulted in a traumatic happening with Indira Gandhi clamping the
Emergency in the month of June of that year.
The leaders of the two large parties of Sikkim at that time were in frenzied
competition for New Delhi’s attention and favours. These leaders went out of
their way to please the leaders at the Centre. Little wonder, New Delhi finally
responded by doing what, according to Indira Gandhi, should have been done
much earlier. The point is that at the time when democracy came to Sikkim,
Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India. Called the “Iron Lady” by none
less than President Richard Nixon’s famous Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger,
she was amongst the toughest of politicians who dealt with the opposition with
a heavy hand. Some of the politicians in Sikkim tried to emulate her style. But
the crude and callous way in which they did the job did more harm to
themselves than their opponents. It ultimately resulted in their rejection by the
masses. Routed at the polls, they passed into political oblivion.
The merger had started the process of the Sikkimese people going closer to the
Indian mainstream. The process had its hurdles, problems and benefits. With
the formal advent of democracy, the dynastic history of over 332 years of the
Chogyal’s rule came to an end. The Chogyal became part of history. The
inevitable had happened. A common destiny pushed the Chogyal and all those
who had been instrumental in the merger to play their respective roles as
prisoners of history.
Although Sikkim’s merger with India marked the beginning of parliamentary
democracy in Sikkim, the fruits of democracy did not reach the grassroots
masses. Some of the reasons for this blemish were linked with the history of the
erstwhile Sikkim state.
As Chamling saw it, at the time of merger, the state was devoid of a properly
planned communication network. It lacked comprehensive infrastructure for
heavy and light industries. The very geography of the tiny kingdom had in a
way put it at a disadvantage. It had been reduced over the years to a thoroughly
backward region. Only its majestic mountains and inaccessible terrains were its
natural heritage. They endow Sikkim with rich, unmatched and untouched
scenic beauty.
With the merger, democracy was formally introduced into the governance and
the administrative machinery of Sikkim. However, it did not seem to reach the
masses at the base of the social pyramid. Funds were pumped into government
coffers. Development funds were provided and some of the fruits of development
were visible. However, this brought forward a new emerging burgeoning class
which ensured that it stood to gain from this change. This development process
later showed disturbing contradictions. The grassroots people still remained
practically isolated from the winds of change and development and the fruits
they were expected to bring with them. Democracy seemed an unknown
paradise which meant little or nothing to them. An inherent fear of the rich and
the mighty remained embedded in their psyche. It haunted them with the same
intensity it had done over the years of feudal rule, before the merger and the
advent of democracy. There were inherent factors, which had to be clearly
identified in order to make the new liberation and democracy work. What were
they?
Pawan Chamling could see clearly what ailed the masses. He had been one of
them, with them always, and shared their sorrows and sufferings in a life full of
drudgery and lacking reward and adequate recompense for most of their hard
labour. But he, in his characteristic manner, was engaged in identifying and
analyzing the political and social problems and finding innovative solutions for
traditional ills and maladies. This trait was to give considerable impetus and
meaning to his political journey. He would be increasingly recognized as the
“poor man’s Pawan”.
At this crucial point of his journey, at the time of the merger and the days after,
he saw that the bulk of Sikkim’s population remained riddled with illiteracy,
superstition and other ills which a backward society always inherited. It was a
vicious cycle. Illiteracy and superstition caused backwardness and it
perpetuated and sustained superstitions and illiteracy. These were among the
basic factors that contributed to nourishing the third negative factor, the ever–
haunting fear of feudal and feudalistic authority in which the masses were
always at the receiving end for no fault of theirs.
The common people were easy victims of the vagaries and whims of those in
authority. Their only fault was their poverty and the fact that they lived on the
lowest rung of the society, poor, weak and vulnerable. One could not have
identified these crucial factors plaguing the lives of the people as an outsider.
One had to be an insider like Pawan Chamling to see and understand what the
feudal elements still tried to do to the masses, despite the formal democracy
that had been brought in. Chamling simmered with anger with a burning desire
to change the lot of the deprived and the downtrodden. He always considered
himself one of them and his political journey always sought to take them along.
It was the perpetual, paralysing fear psychosis that blighted their hopes and
initiatives for change and to gain the basic dignity of a better life, a decent
one. The fear psychosis was instilled in them first by the Durbar and the
Kazis, the landlord courtiers of the king who ruled the roost for years. They
had ruled with an iron hand. The people were frightened of the Chogyals,
the kazis and the chief ministers and their officials who symbolized the
perpetual, persecuting authority. They feared ministers, they feared MLAs,
and they feared their political and bureaucratic minions. Over the years,
they had learnt to live in fear.
When the political system in Sikkim went into transition from monarchy to
democracy, the masses still could not get rid of the fear that was so deeply
embedded in their hearts and minds. The landlords always insisted that the
word kazi denoted a superior clan and all others were the inferior lot in the
social set up.
The abiding obedience and respect for the ruling monarch, both out of fear and
tradition, got translated into the creation of habitually pliant and compliant
subjects. They offer their silent respect and obedience to the rulers as a matter
of habit to stay at peace with the feudal masters and safely away from the
persecution and wrath of the authority. The mission of the people’s revolution
was to cause a stir among the masses, plant a seed of unrest in their hearts
that would lead them to break their silence and exercise freedom of speech.
Freedom of speech would be the first vital step towards the second even more
vital step towards real democracy—freedom from fear.
The political journey had made Chamling tread through the immediate pre-
merger years of confusion and pseudo-democracy, with the Chogyal and
courtiers still dictating and deciding who was to head the people and how.
Some of the politicians, declaring themselves democrats and champions of the
people made catchy and popular demands and declarations but the decisions
were really made by the Durbar. There was a sort of tacit understanding
between the Dharma Raja and the neo-democrat leaders. One would talk of
dharma or duty and others would talk about prajatantra or democracy.
The pre-merger years formed an intriguing period of confusion and one-
upmanship due to these political personalities and happenings. The leading
characters in this drama realized that political change was inevitable. The
people could not be ignored and deprived of at least the rudiments of a life of
dignity for all times to come. There would have to be some sops for them while
the shots had to be called by the king and his visible and invisible courtiers.
Everything was topsy turvy in those pre-merger years and the seeds of
confusion sown then would aggravate in the years to come.
While the liberation of Sikkim kindled the political ambitions of other leading
politicians on how to grab power in the shortest possible time and extend it to
their maximum personal benefit, for Pawan Chamling it was time to think
seriously and examine the plight of the people whom he had vowed to serve. He
would often sit quietly by himself and ponder over the options available to him
and his people to make democracy a true and functional reality. He had begun
to realize that he had to evolve a politics for the people and make it work.
In a sort of confessional article, making an analysis of his options and choices,
he wrote:

“Politics plays an important part in human life. Through this, we can

establish direct contact with people’s aspirations and can wage an
eternal war in the interest of the people. While working among the rural
masses, I happened to be elected unopposed as the President of the
Yangang Gram Panchayat. During my tenure, I also became first the
General Secretary and then the Vice-President of the Sikkim Prajatantra
Congress Party. But that all those who join politics do not, however, have
similar missions and conviction, was clear this time also.
Having realised that the leadership of the party was not in the interest of
the party, I could not convince myself to support such anti-people forces
any more. ... I was looking for such a party which was sincere towards
the people, which would liberate the poor from their poverty, illiteracy
and the injustice and exploitation to which they had been condemned for
years with no hope and relief. Till then, such a people’s party had not
been born. Due to lack of maturity in age and experience, I did not find
myself ready to set up a new party, which I would do later. At that point,
I decided to adopt one of the existing parties. And my entry later into the
Sikkim Sangram Parishad was, in fact, a collective effort of like-minded
friends to make that party people-oriented and strive to bring it closer to
the needs and aspirations of the common masses.’’

It was a crucial turning point in Chamling’s journey. Due to his social and
cultural experiences, he was compelled to take a much deeper plunge into
politics. At 23, his more active participation in political activities was propelled
by the realisation that his poetry and literary creations had not only gained
wider and wider popularity and greater impact on the masses but also had
certainly stirred the mind of the masses. He knew that it would not be enough
of a weapon to bring about the much-needed change in society to better the lot
of the poor and the deprived. He had done it in the past and he was doing it
even then. He was constantly sounding a clarion call for awakening the masses
through his poetry and literary activities. He was creating a new and deep
impression on the mind of the youth and the ideologically so far neutral and
unaligned intelligentsia. But the internal political atmosphere in the party he
had joined was dismal indeed. The former British protectorate, which had now
become a protectorate of a sovereign, democratic, and independent India, was
slowly witnessing symptoms of political upheaval.
Pawan Chamling often looks back to refresh his mind on how his political
journey is shaping up as he has witnessed history with all the growing
symptoms of upheaval. He remembers that he was born and had lived through
the upheaval when the Sikkimese people were coming together to free
themselves from inhuman and the anti-people practice of landlordism. No
doubt his young and sensitive mind was affected by what he saw and
experienced through the process of political change. It injected new challenges
for the active and committed young political workers like him. The merger of
Sikkim with the Indian nation was not the end of the struggle for democracy
but a real beginning. Democracy had to be translated from a dream and a
catchy vision to a reality that people could feel and experience. Chamling had
still miles to go before he could play a much greater role in building a new
Sikkim.
 7
The Journey Begins

Pawan Chamling’s political journey had already begun way back in 1977 as a
founder member and Vice- President of the Sikkim Prajatantra Congress in the
state. Of course, the period between 1973 and 1980 had special significance in
this journey.
The core spirit of his journey and the original political philosophy he was to
evolve was guided by his extreme love for and understanding of the rural
masses and the working people. He was not an aristocrat and elitist. His
political philosophy took shape from creative ideas and political experiences.
His dreams were born out of deprivation he had suffered as a small child, a
growing student and as a teenager. His poetic sensibilities endowed him with
the quality to perceive beyond the apparent and his down-to-earth practical
outlook gave him the rare quality of not being cowed down by setbacks and
disasters.
Pawan Chamling had not learnt the facts of life and realities of the poor man’s
existence from books and sermons. He had learnt his lessons from his own life.
The economic compulsions of his family forced him to take to work at an early
stage of his life. Like the millions of children in India, who often lacked the
means which resulted in lack of education and then lack of opportunities for
proper and full employment. Such children were to be the target and
beneficiaries of Chamling’s political ideology. He was determined to struggle for
providing the children of the poor, the equality of opportunity. That was one of
the key motivating factors in the evolution of his political ideology.
A farmer’s son from Yangang, who could not attend a centre of higher studies,
Chamling was destined to become a very distinguished political theoretician
and ideologue. His political philosophy and practical policies ensured that no
child in Sikkim went to school shoeless or without uniform. But in the
seventies it was a dream none would be willing to bet on becoming a reality.
In his political programmes, Chamling managed to inject highly practical
optimism, laced with all his other creative qualities. Poetry, for example, was
not a sterile and self-gratifying expression of sensuality for him. He used it as
an instrument to stir the youth and the masses. He used it to give vent to his
pent-up feelings with cathartic effect. His poetry brought out his inner voice
and his inner fire for change and democracy. In the early stage of his public
involvement as a social activist, it was difficult to say whether he was a poet-
politician or a politician-poet.
The two truths could be found so humbly in his personality and expression that
one would feel he was both a born poet and politician at the same time. It was
that remarkable spirit, where poetry and politics demolished their barriers, that
made Chamling a pro-active social activist. This urge for change and better life
prompted Pawan Chamling to set up Nirman Prakashan in his native village
Yangang, when he was just 20. Nirman is a positive Nepali word meaning
construction or the process of building. The very name of this publishing house
was symbolic of a young dreamer’s urge to build a new society for his people.
Chamling’s journey became more and more political. In the earlier social and
literary activism he added spirit, sentiment and awareness. He worked towards
setting up a chain of libraries in every village. Pawan Chamling’s rural libraries
had already become breeding grounds of thought and action for change. The
book for the peasant was something precious, for in it he could get a better view
of the world. Thus he could at least think of the need to change his moribund
and static life.
That his political journey had begun at the grassroots level is seen by the fact
that the first step in it was his unopposed election as the President of the
Yangang Gram Panchayat in the village in which he was born. Like charity,
politics had also begun at home for him.
He would recall years later the beginning of his political journey.

“When I decided to adopt one of the then existing political parties, I

decided to join the Sikkim Sangram Parishad in the perception that it
was relatively closer to the aspirations of the masses. I became an MLA
from Damthang constituency. During my tenure as an MLA, I reached
out to every home and each individual, and tried my best to attend to
their grievances and sorrows. Once a month, I used to go around my
entire constituency. The people came closer and closer to me. They
accepted me as one of them and not as a distant master who came
occasionally to patronize them. I earned their confidence and affection
and they rewarded me in my second successive term with a record 96.6
per cent of the votes.”

Pawan Chamling, as he grew closer and closer to his electorate also began to
look at his party with the critical eye of a common man. He would discover that
many things in its character and style were not for the welfare of the people of
Sikkim. Over the years, he found that his political journey took him further and
further away from the party but closer to the people. He was often frustrated
seeing Sangram Parishad steadily drifting away from the struggle for people.
Gradually he was well acquainted with the true character of the “Parishad and
its leadership.”
He began to realize that the party leader was not a champion of democracy
but one who believed in acquiring and concentrating more and more autocratic
powers in his own hands. He considered himself a super-boss whose own
whims and opinions were above people’s problems and aspirations. This time,
however, Chamling did not choose to leave the Parishad like he had left the
Congress earlier.
In his own words, “The emerging discord with the Sikkim Sangram Parishad,
which I had chosen as my party, was not based on petty and inconsequential
matters. Behind this regular drift were many grave and frustrating issues
directly related to the welfare of the people.” Chamling had seen and tried to
understand the rule of the first Chief Minister, Kazi Lhendup Dorjee, whom
many had revered and respected as a father figure in Sikkimese politics for his
voice against aristocratic rule.
In the subsequent election in 1979, the people opted for Sikkim Sangram
Parishad under Nar Bahadur Bhandari, who managed to capture the sentiment
and imagination of the masses on the de-merger issue. They placed their faith
in Bhandari, a teacher turned politician, who would rule Sikkim as the
Sangram Parishad Chief Minister for nearly 14 years. But the people were to be
disillusioned with the reign of confusion, conflict, internal contradictions,
corruption, and communal disharmony. Later they were to reject the anti-
people government and party led by Bhandari. Pawan Chamling was destined to
be a symbol of people’s anger and frustration.
Chamling’s journey had passed through phases marked by his service to the
rural people as the President of the Yangang Gram Panchayat and then
graduating into a more active politician on a wider scale as the General
Secretary and the Vice-President of the Sikkim Prajatantra Congress. After a
period of frustrated hibernation, he resurfaced as a promising and leading
activist of the Sangram Parishad. His rise within the Sikkim Sangram Parishad
and his coming close to its leader Nar Bahadur Bhandari and finally falling
apart actually determined the future of his political life. Chamling found
himself incapable of making compromises on principle and the intrinsic interest
of the people of Sikkim. He was disillusioned, hounded and sought to be
destroyed by the same political leaders that had gained much out of his
contribution and genial public image.
The Chamling-Bhandari feud was not something personal. It grew from a

basic discord on principles and practices of politics. Chamling was very

sensitive to the attempts of some of the political leaders in Sikkim to

substitute old feudalism with the new one in which kings and their

courtiers were sought to be replaced by political barons and their cronies.

Chamling was to initially rise very quickly as an MLA and became a Cabinet
Minister incharge of Information and Public Relations and Industries. This was
the period which was to provide him an insight into the intimate functioning of
the party and the government led by Bhandari. Chamling also began to
understand that the then leader’s democracy and democratic government
mainly constituted the inherent policy of a “government of Bhandari, for
Bhandari and by Bhandari”. Obviously young Chamling, impatient to bring
about a wind of change that would touch the lives of the people, just could not
accept such a state of affairs. Discontent, disgust, and anger began to simmer
within him. This was to lead him to openly voice his opposition to several things
within the party. At this stage it was inevitable that sooner than later there had
to be a confrontation between Bhandari and Chamling. In the ensuring battle
Bhandari would use every dirty trick in politics against Chamling.
The year 1975 saw the real introduction of planned development in Sikkim.
That excited none more than Pawan Chamling. He had been dreaming about
economic progress, with special emphasis on development of the rural areas of
Sikkim. This was to be the very anchor sheet of his own political theory and
political journey. Over the years, his obsession with planning and planned
development would become the identifying mark of his visionary leadership.
Years after, it would earn him compliments from a man of the stature of Madhu
Dandavate, himself a rebel, socialist, and later Deputy Chairman of the
Planning Commission of India. Dandavate would commend Chamling, during a
Plan discussion, for his nationalistic outlook with the words: “Others could
learn a lesson or two from his cautious and well planned approach to avoid a
debt trap.”
Mahatma Gandhi and Marx, socialism and Sikkim’s very own needs and
requirements, were all seen, analysed, and understood by Chamling. He,
however, evolved his own course that would later bloom into the political
philosophy of his party Sikkim Democratic Front. He often quoted Mahatma
Gandhi to his colleagues and followers. One of his favourites quotes was: “I
would say that if the village perishes, India will perish too. Therefore, we have to
concentrate on the village being self-contained.” With the vision and inspiration
of the Father of the Nation, Chamling, his party and later his government
committed themselves to achieve their cherished goal of uplifting the rural poor
and making villages of the state self-contained.
Unlike other chief ministers of Sikkim, the politics and programmes of Pawan
Chamling would be innovative, people-and-poor oriented, radical and dynamic.
They would be designed to bring an improvement in the lives of thousands of
people in the rural areas of Sikkim within the shortest possible span of time.
Fighting dictatorial tendencies, despotism and cynicism in the political system
and the administration of Sikkim would also be a top priority in Chamling’s
personal agenda. His historic understanding of politics of dictators was also
becoming sharpened. He now realized that history was replete with instances
where dictators like Hitler, Mussolini and Idi Amin had their heyday. They were
eventually brought down to their knees by the people’s unstoppable power. No
dictator, no matter how powerful, could ever stand and survive. Bhandari, with
whom Chamling had to part company later, was just a small dictator whose
downfall was inevitable.
In the political journey the real phase of challenge and opportunity, tackling
individuals and crucial problems head on was to begin soon for Chamling. He
realized that one couldn’t build one’s strength on the power of money. With a
party that is built on faulty promises, one cannot hope to fulfil the hopes and
aspirations of the people. One has to build up an organization that is wholly
committed to the good of the Sikkimese people. Corruption in any form will
have to be seriously viewed, because a truly people’s party does not owe its
existence to the interest of a handful of corrupt people.
For fourteen full years, Chamling would watch, try to understand and learn
from the pluses and minuses of the anti-people rule in Sikkim. As a keen
political observer and activist, he had also to take note of the political
distortions, disquiet, and disruption that were injected into the political system.
This phase also inculcate in him the distinguishing trait openly and often with
surprising candor giving credit where it was due and unstinted criticism and
disapproval when a situation or a person so warranted. He was no word mincer,
as a poet, as a politician or as a patriot.
The most pronounced expression of this trait of brutally fair assessment of
events and personalities was enshrined in his oft-repeated expression, “I would
like to accept history as the law of inevitable and accept the present as the
result of the past. And my programme is devoted to carrying the state forward
in its quest for a better future, better tomorrow”
If one looked into the newspapers for the past quarter of a century one would
find heaps and heaps of excerpts carrying the statements of political leaders
who always used India-baiting as a catchy and easy phrase for emotional
blackmailing of New Delhi.
An unhealthy and disturbing heritage of the Sikkimese society, right from the
days of the Chogyals, had been the undertone of suspicion and distrust against
people of Indian origin who had come from different parts of India over the
centuries to make Sikkim their home. This spirit of isolation and distrust was
carefully nurtured during Nar Bahadur Bhandari’s regime until Chamling’s
arrival on the scene. Chamling in the very beginning of his political journey had
clearly seen social and political mainstreaming of the Sikkimese masses with
the Indian society and polity as the right path and destination.
Even though the politicians and their elitist cohorts succeeded in occasionally
fanning the frustration of the masses and focusing it on anti-Indianism, it could
not be construed that the overwhelming majority of the people supported them
truly and actively. At best they were mute and helpless spectators to the anti-
Indian drama enacted by the vested elite groups of the society. Many politicians
were unhappy and insecure that the democratic upsurge and institutions which
could increase their sway in public life threatened their own hegemonistic
positions. They had some secret fancies and failed to accept that the wheel of
history had turned. Democracy, even though in its infancy and seemingly weak
and undernourished, was nevertheless there. It would grow, despite its faults
and setbacks, as that is the way of democracy. Feudalism and its successor
elitism and autocracy had to go. If democracy failed, the people would fail and
the old order would creep back with a new face.
From the very day of the merger, Chamling had seen that it became the vested
interest of a small but powerful elite to see that all the benefits of development
were siphoned off to line a few selected pockets. Therefore anti-India feelings
were stoked with the sole objective of maintaining the status quo of the social
order that existed in the pre-merger Sikkim. This order usurped all the benefits
of economic development which the Government of India was to extend to the
people of Sikkim.
Chamling was quite clear in his mind that the anti-India stance of those who
had nostalgic dreams of the bygone feudal days was also a deliberate attempt to
prevent social and economic changes. This served such interests well on two
counts. They wanted the status quo to be maintained in the prominent position
so far enjoyed by the social and economic elite in Sikkim. The status quo would
also isolate them from any reformist influence of Indian political and
constitutional institutions particularly in terms of governance and
administration.
Chamling, however, did not lose sight of the fact that a basic premise of the
1973 agitation against injustice, against the rule of the monarchs and their
courtiers, which had ultimately led to the merger of Sikkim with India, was a
product of the economic disparity among the vast majority combining all the
ethnic groups, including the Lepchas, the Bhutias, and the Nepalese.
The strategy of the new rump of old feudalists and neo power politicians was
dual. They sought to nurture the elite group through questionable and corrupt
means. They also aimed at depriving the majority, the poor, of the fruits of
economic development and stoked at regular intervals the latent anti-
nationalism. While it made the already anti-people elite group grow in resources
and strength, the poor and the downtrodden were systematically prevented
from enjoying the fruits of democracy.
Unless someone stood up and protested, democracy would have little meaning
in the context of Sikkim. The cynical had to be fought; democracy had to be
saved at all costs. The struggle ahead would be hard and demand much more
sacrifice but it had to be carried on. The anti-people forces in different garbs
had to be defeated. Chamling saw it clearly and began charting the future
course of his journey to save his people and save the ideals and the vision of a
happy democratic future of Sikkim.
Curiously enough, in the days ahead, the one-time Chief Minister Nar Bahadur
Bhandari would be pitted against Pawan Chamling. Chamling would clearly
identify people like Bhandari as the main enemies of change, democracy and
the people of Sikkim and would fight them tooth and nail on many fronts. It
was not an easy journey and a very thorny path was ahead. But Chamling had
never been overawed by the size and danger of threats and challenges. He knew
that his battle against the anti-people rhetoric and anti-people elements would
be tough and long indeed. He was ready to meet such challenges fairly and
squarely as they came. He was ready to face the challenges at all levels, social,
literary, ideological and mass political action. The journey had begun and there
was no turning back.
 8
The Nirman Story

Even before Pawan Chamling entered the most active phase of his political
journey to battle against the pro-feudal and anti-people elements in Sikkim, he
had already made a very special place for himself in the mind of the Sikkimese
youth through Nirman, a literary journal in Sikkim first published in 1977. He
established this journal and edited it himself. His nom de plume as a poet of
wide popularity and impact was ‘Kiran’. The establishment of the Nirman
publishing house was a landmark in his journey. Through Nirman, Pawan
Chamling ‘Kiran’ used his pen and poetry to bring about awareness to kindle
the desire for change among the intelligentsia and the youth. Through this
literary journal, he wanted to bring the best of the Sikkimese writers and poets
and their thinking to the masses of Sikkim. Because the Sikkimese people
belonged to different ethnic and cultural sub-streams, the Nepali language has
always served as the lingua franca.
Politician Chamling and the poet ‘Kiran’ in him made a serious and successful
effort to reach the people’s mind and implant ideas, spirit, and desire for
democracy, and emancipation of society. As the editor-in-chief of Nirman, he
strived to use literature, especially poetry, to inspire the younger generation of
Sikkim to write and fight for their people. He wanted to plant ideas that would
make the young and old aware of the injustice and exploitation to which they
had been subjected to for years. He also wanted to exhort them to rise and
organize themselves for action to rid the society of the burden of poverty,
injustice, and exploitation. More than anything else, he wanted the people of
Sikkim to realize the importance of freedom from fear. It was necessary to help
them stand on their own feet and articulate their own ideas and fight for their
rights to change their plight. Chamling tried to focus on the rights and
privileges of the poor and the weaker section of the society.
Pawan Chamling sought to bring about a stable, continuing, and peaceful
cultural revolution through Nirman which would eventually have a wider
impact inside and outside Sikkim. When he started editing and publishing
Nirman, his journey acquired a strong cultural dimension. He had realised that
change in society could be brought about by the use of culture. People’s lives
are governed by tradition, which gives them good and stable values as well as
rituals and superstitions.
The cultural and historical background and perspective of a society had to be
clearly understood if one were to prepare a correct and effective intellectual
road map for peaceful change and progress. Through Nirman, the poet ‘Kiran’
would appear to be building a clear cultural perspective of the society he lived
in, its roots, and the causes of its strengths and weaknesses. That would
influence his evolution as a “cultural politician” distinct from gross politicians
who only confine themselves to the power-mechanisms and fulfilment of their
personal political agendas, detached from the cultural context.
Even if Chamling had not entered active politics and pursued only a literary
path, he would have risen to become a Titan. His literary work would always
provoke the Sikkimese people into thinking, and striving for inculcating the
virtues of patriotism and cultural pride in their roots.
Nirman, like Chamling himself, was born in the same backward village of
Yangang in South Sikkim. It was a non-commercial venture. Its purpose was
change and progress, not profit and creation of a commercial empire. It was
envisaged as a pace-setter. It was meant to promote literature and culture as an
important and effective lever of dynamics of change and development. The
desire for change and progress, like peace, is born in the minds of men. That
was what Chamling seemed to believe in at the age of 25. At the same time he
had sufficient charisma to infect some other sensitive and socially conscious
young people to team up with him in the Nirman experiment. It was not just a
magazine but a literary movement.
With his dedicated team of young idealistic litterateurs, Nirman soon carved out
its own niche in the literary, cultural and social circles. By 2001, the publishing
house not only placed Yangang on the map of literature but achieved a
prestigious publishing record. On a rough estimate, it published more than 200
books authored by a distinguished array of young and well-known writers. This
included a score of useful reference books.
Apart from this regular literary service, Nirman Prakashan contributed a lot to
the movement for inclusion of Nepali language in the Eighth Schedule of the
Indian Constitution. The Nirman family had opened a branch office at Yangang
to support the movement of the Akhil Bharatiya Nepali Bhasa Samiti which
spearheaded the cause of language recognition since 1971. This Samiti had its
headquarters in Darjeeling. Later on, when Bharatiya Nepali Rastriya Parishad
was formed in Gangtok, Pawan Chamling actively participated in the movement
as an executive member of the oganisation.
Nirman flowered into a full-fledged literary and cultural movement. This alone
would have earned a place for Chamling in history. But he did not remain a
static idol or icon sculpted, frozen and consigned for worship. He did not go
away from life and the masses where the real action lay.
Rising fast and far as an author of repute and a poet of ever growing impact, his
poems whether published in literary journals or in the form of collections, were
most sought after. If one asked any major political supporter or leader of the
political set up in Sikkim, legislators, MPs included, how he had got to know
Chamling in life, the answer invariably would be, “through his poems.”
As one went deeper and deeper into the unique journey of Chamling, one
realized how strong was his passion for poetry, culture, and Sikkim, which he
loved fervently and unflinchingly. His pen was dedicated to his beloved Sikkim
and its toiling masses. His thought and inner feelings were strongly and
sincerely reflected in the poems, books, and articles he wrote. His works earned
for him the reputation of an outstanding scholar, poet and political theoretician.
While others elsewhere were involved in fanning trans-border terrorism,
Chamling’s pen was engaged in promoting trans-border humanism and trans-
border democratic aspiration. Nirman carried his cultural mission, his ideas
and his visions to every nook and corner in and outside Sikkim. A glittering
galaxy of scholars, thinkers, and litterateurs began to flock under the Nirman
umbrella. It eventually became a strong pro-humanism and pro-democracy
cultural group.
A quick look at the list of Nirman publications gives one the feeling of the span
and consistency of Chamling’s contribution to Nepalese literature and Sikkim’s
culture and heritage in the second half of the 20th century. The most attractive
selection of his works between 1970 and 1993 would be his collection of poems
like Antahin Sapana, Mero Bipana, Prarambhik Kavita Haroo, Perennial
Dreams, Mah Ko Hun, Crucified Prashna aur Annya Kabitayen and Kranti
Pravesh. Other notable writings and collections edited by Chamling include,
Nirman Sahitya Sankalan and Democracy Redeemed, collection of speeches by
Pawan Chamling Kiran. In later days, Chamling could look back at the Nirman
story with a certain degree of satisfaction.
In his own frank and unsparing idiom, he would say,

“There is an unalterable truth that characterizes earth, that whatever we

sow germinates and blooms. We cannot sow tomato and expect potato to
grow. We cannot plant nettle and harvest eatables like brinjal or lemon.
We can well find such earthly truism being applied to our own social
lives. With leaders with corrupt minds and corrupt characters, we cannot
dream of building a clean and healthy society. The establishment of
healthy society needs persons or groups of people with clean thoughts
and unsullied mentality. To get paddy, we need to sow paddy seeds.”

He applied his simple background of a farmer’s son to this literary creativity

and political activism. His political, economic, and cultural thoughts and
perceptions forever got merged to help him evolve a comprehensive political
ideology and literary idealism on a simultaneous basis.
On every occasion, Chamling found it pertinent to say something of his past
and the source of his inspiration to fashion out a new and sukhi (happy)
Sikkim. He said that before the 1973 revolution, his poems and literary
creations were “crutches of my revolution”. Through his poems he wanted to
voice his revolt. He wanted the thinkers and concerned Sikkimese intellectuals
to join hands. The revolution opened the door for him but its outcome did not
satisfy him. Nirman was, therefore, established to provide positive support to
the collective literary world.
The distinguished and committed literary luminaries who later joined the
Nirman movement were all profound advocates of change and a better future for
masses. Among them were scholars, poets, fiction writers, and historians of
repute. There was a powerful array of poets with a purpose. Their poetry
raised both contemporary and universal issues. They talked of their dreams and
their determination to bring about change, the power of the people and
democracy, and they talked of the dawn of revolution. In fact, they became the
pioneers and front-runners of the new poetry movement in the Nepali language
and literature.
The Nirman movement was not just a movement of poets. There were short
story writers, satirists and novelists. Essayists, commentators, literary and
social critics, playwrights and scholars of repute also got attracted and worked
towards strengthening the Nirman movement.
Chamling has spelt his dreams out in the following words:

“I have my dreams for Sikkim where every citizen is safe and secure and
conscious of his fundamental rights and obligations, where the poor and
the deprived sections of our society get equal opportunity with other
privileged classes to grow and prosper, where everyone has a roof over
his head and two square meals and above all where everyone can live
and stand without any fear and discrimination.”

These were only some of his favourite dreams. In fact, he dreamt for almost
everyone in Sikkim who dreamt of better times to come. Since his dreams were
made of the sorrows and joys of the people and their collective mercy and
resolve, they became the dreams of most of the Sikkimese. On the strength of
these dreams, Chamling and his colleagues were destined to storm the political
bastions. They were committed to set up a governance that was designed and
dedicated to make those dreams come true. Not an easy task, nor a smooth
journey. But the Nirman journey prepared the activists, the intellectuals and
the common folk to wake up, become aware and get set to face challenges. They
awaited the opportunities of change and democracy.
Chamling also turned out to be a fearless journalist. He had realized the power
of the media and the literature intimately. He aspired to make use of both the
media and the literature in the emotional integration of people.
It pained and infuriated Chamling when he saw the dominant political class
and particularly the Sikkim Sangram Parishad leaders make fun of the dialects
spoken by people of various ethnic sub-streams, castes, and creeds. They
earned vicarious pleasure at the expense of the majority of the people. It hurt
Chamling more when such arrogance was enacted on the public platform by
those who were in power. He was totally opposed to such crude and
unbecoming political and social behaviour.
According to Chamling, Sikkim was endowed with a rich and varied cultural
background which every Sikkimese should be proud of. He felt that the finer
aspects of this rich heritage had to be preserved and nurtured. All negative
aspects like superstition, communal hatred, and autocratic attitudes—the
remnants of the feudal past—had to be totally uprooted.
With dismay, he saw a new degenerate culture being widely injected and
cultivated in the towns and bazaars of Sikkim. For example, there were
elements who sought to patronize and popularize gambling to replace most
other modes of healthy recreation and pastime. They were mostly the people
from the creamy layer of society who had taken to gambling as a pastime for
profit and pleasure. When the educated and enlightened group of the society got
engrossed in vices such as gambling and drinking, naturally those running the
affairs of the state were ought to get involved in corrupt activities. For
Chamling, the menace of gambling and addiction to alcohol were as much
political as social evils.
The situation was bizarre. The leaders in the government remained unmoved
when they lost a “petty” sum of half a million rupees in a game of cards.
Unfortunately, he saw the poor man in his constituency follow in the footsteps
of the big man. Millions changed hands in a single night in gambling while the
majority of poor people were eking out a hard existence, many of them living
below the poverty line. The elected representatives seemed to be frittering away
both time and precious state resources.
Consumption of alcohol is customary in Sikkimese society on both climatic and
social grounds. With certain limitations it is an accepted social gesture. But
when the poor man starts hitting the bottle hard, it is something to get worried
about. He has to be made aware of the thin line between pleasure and ruin. The
sensitive observer of men and manners that he is, Chamling saw these
problems as social challenges of grave importance. In his eyes, throwing away
money in gambling and drinking became an unpardonable crime particularly
when one could barely feed and clothe one’s family. He saw this as a kind of
oppression that a man was perpetrating on his family members with impunity.
All these vices and cultures of evil were the gift of the callous men ruling in the
name of democracy. These socially harmful practices would have to be
eradicated. Society needed to be purged of such vices.
Chamling, though an indefatigable idealist, had learnt a great deal of
pragmatism from his own political and social experiences. He knew that
changes in social practices could neither be brought about overnight nor be
forced. The self-discipline required for reform in this area could not be acquired
right away. Social change had seldom been brought about by governmental
orders and ordinances. So, he decided to initiate changes in this area gradually
and at the political and social level. He felt that what could not be done at the
governmental level must be initiated at the party level, where many of the
compulsions and constraints of the civil service did not operate. Political
success could always be translated into government policy at an appropriate
time and opportunity. He began broaching the idea that all party leaders and
workers should refrain from indulging in the vice of gambling, as part of
political discipline. And this rule of discipline should apply to all rank and file of
the party machinery. They must observe discipline without question. The
coming generation of Sikkim had to be introduced to a completely new set of
social norms.
The Nirman Prakashan although a social and literary organization had the
same objective as Chamling’s political crusade. In other words, the objective of
Nirman is multi-dimensional and include sensitising the people on social,
cultural and educational matters. Another equally crucial purpose of the
organization is promotion and strengthening of democracy among people at the
grassroots level. It wishes to inform and educate the masses about their
democratic rights and responsibilities. The idea has been to implant the core
spirit of democratic institution in the minds of people from the village itself.
After a span of more than three decades, many dreams and aspirations as
envisaged in the initiation of Nirman Prakashan are being slowly but steadily
realised today. The present political changes and improvement in the lives of
Sikkimese society were, partly, propelled by the Nirman movement. To quote
Chamling himself, “Nirman as a literary organization was a medium with the
sole objective being to develop Sikkim and bring about improvement in the lives
of the Sikkimese and Sikkim as a whole.” Thus his literary thoughts and
political goals merged to form a healthy agent of change, backed by constructive
vision and conscious planning.
It was also out of his Nirman experience that the concept of an appropriate and
effective media policy began emerging in his mind. In his writings, he showed
that he was a firm believer in the right to information. He felt that the people’s
right to receive and use information about the policies and programmes
formulated by political parties and the government in harness had to be fully
guaranteed. It, however, had to be noted that in a state like Sikkim often the
relation between the media and the government was that of a beggar and the
charitable alms giver. The government, however, was often quite miserly in its
patronage of the media. The reason why people in the media had to bow down
before political powers was to ensure that they were not starved of the essential
newsprint and advertisements, to ensure that their publications appeared and
reached people regularly.
Those who dared oppose some of the policies and performances of the
government attracted serious reprisal, punishment and disfavour of the
government. Two most practised acts of punishment were denial of newsprint
and advertisement. Media people who were found criticising and opposing
government policies were sought to be brought to their knees through threat,
intimidation, and deliberate denial of information. In extreme cases, the media
person and his family could attract personal violence, assaults and exposure to
gangs of goons.
The Nirman experience made Chamling acutely aware of the rights and
challenges before the media all over the world and Sikkim, in particular. He
always fought to protect the freedom and the rights of the media as the editor-
in-chief of Nirman and later wove these experiences when formulating his own
policy for the media. He moved from one experience to another and one
observation to another to build a firm conviction that all symptoms of fascist
rule must be outlawed. No advertising monopoly should be allowed to the
favoured few. There must be fairplay and justice. After all, dissension and
difference of opinion were also the basic and important touchstone of a true
democracy. At the same time he believed that the class, culture, and standard
of the media should conform to properly laid down norms.
The sincere efforts of the newspapers and journals to bring the right
information to light and join in the overall movement for social change and
justice for better life had to be recognised and appreciated. Flaws and failures,
even of the media itself had to be frankly pointed out and accepted in a
constructive spirit. Chamling’s media policy and positive attitude towards the
press also stemed from the fact that he has always been a democrat to the core.
He respects and appreciates the role of the media as part of democratic
institutions. He feels that the State must respect the role, the rights and the
importance of the Fourth Estate as the voice of the people in a democratic set-
up. Without freedom of the Press, democracy cannot thrive. The Media has to
be understood, respected and treated as a sort of healthy and constructive
opposition when it brings to light facts and opinions that may not conform to
the official line.
The Nirman experience also helped Chamling understand and evolve his views
on the crucial relations between the people and their mother tongue. This
symbiosis has a vital role in the process of change and reform. People could
better understand things in their own language rather than in the language of
the ruler and the courtiers. In their expressions, not only the language but the
semantic sequence and nuances of phrases and words were outlandish and
alien to the common folk.
Chamling brought out Nirman in the Nepali language to make it a front running
champion of intellectual, literary, as well as social change. He was conscious of
the fact that the Nepali language has come to the forefront as a widely spoken
language in all the states of north-eastern India. As a lingua franca, its
contribution to cultural consolidation, emotional integration, and communal
harmony in Sikkim was unique and immense. As a language popularly spoken
by millions of people in India, it had after decades of struggle gained recognition
as one of the 18 languages in the Indian Constitution along with, among others,
Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Telegu, Kannada, Assamese and
Oriya.
The ultimate recognition of the Nepali as an Indian language and its inclusion
in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution as a result of a long political,
social, and literary struggle of the Indian Nepalese, marked an important
milestone for the Sikkimese Nepalese to gain a place of equality and dignity in
the national mainstream. Chamling, representing perhaps the most significant
and numerically substantial slice of the Indian Nepalese of Sikkimese origin,
was always in the forefront of the language movement. Nirman became the
symbol of the literary and linguistic hopes and aspirations of the Nepalese in
India and all those across the frontiers.
The literary organization, Sikkim Sahitya Parishad, had already recognized
Chamling’s contribution in the field of literary world by giving him the Chintan
Puraskaar for his poem ‘Maile Nasamjheko Samjhanama’ in the year 1987.
Quite recently, the Calcutta-based organization ‘Poets Foundation’ also
honoured Chamling with the prestigious Poets Foundation Award 2001, for his
literary contribution to the society, state and the nation as a whole.
Chamling once said,

“Prior to my active involvement in politics, I was deeply involved in poetic

creation. The prevalent social distortions, disparity between man and
man, the struggle of life, putting an end to old order and a yearning for a
new beginning—these were in a sense the ingredients of my poetic
adventure. Overall, people were at the centre of my poetic creation. I
never wrote poetry on the ‘art for art’s sake’ dictum. But, yes, I was
always conscious that poetic creation should be artistic in nature. I wrote
poetry for the sake of life—with a purpose. That is why my poetry has a
direct bearing on common life. I have never tried to compose poems
which cannot console or enrich lives.”

Chamling has displayed his originality, versatility, and penetrating thought in

all his writing, especially in his poems. In all his writings, there is a strong
focus on social evils and the right and privileges of the poor and the weaker
sections of the society. He wielded his pen in his own inimitable style to tell the
truth about life and human beings. Poetry was a special mark of the literary
face of Chamling. The sincerity, forthrightness, and lyrical beauty of his poems
left an indelible impression on the hearts and minds of those who read and
listened. In his *Gangtok 1989—A Portrait, Chamling is blatantly frank about
the life that prevailed in the 1980s in the capital of Sikkim. Other selected
poems like *The Sound, *Discovery of Man, *The Crucified Prashna, *Faith
Undaunted, *I am a battler of battles many and *A Trip Across the Future are
all reflective of his poetic urge to bring about some qualitative change in society.
In his evocative poem *My Basic Faith, Chamling talks of transforming this
earth into a Paradise Regained.
One poem which left a lasting impression on the contemporary generation was
Bir Ko Parichaya (Identity of a Warrior). His first published poem written when
Chamling was only in his teens, this piece explicitly reflects his craving for a
new world order. Chamling is a dreamer who seeks ‘a new path for the new
generation’. There is hardly a young leader in Sikkim’s political and social
movement, who has not read or imbibed influence and strength from the poem.

Identity of a Warrior
For nation’s cause, people combat and die
And become martyrs and are hailed as brave
Their decorations far outlast their deaths
For those who die for their country
Live immortal lives
In the battlefield,
They are hailed as brave who hold their flags
In their moment of victory

But
Soldiers who fight in the battlefield
Are not the only ones
To be honoured as brave.
Those who survive, live and fight
The struggle of life
Are warriors par excellence

Thus, I unveil my dream to you

Today and now
That one day I will live to be
As brave
And surely, I will tread and uncover
A new path for the new generation

(published in Kanchenjunga monthly literary magazine, 1967, Gangtok)

 9
Representative Chamling

Yangang, the village where Pawan Chamling was born and where he went to
school, also became the first launching pad for his entry into electoral politics
at the grassroots level. It was here that he accepted public responsibility for the
first time as a representative of the people. He was elected unopposed as the
President of the Yangang Gram Panchayat in 1982. That first step was to mark
the part of his political journey which would later take him into the Sikkim
Legislative Assembly from the Damthang constituency.
His dedicated and selfless public service in the Gram Panchayat led him to an
entry in 1985 to the third Sikkim Legislative Assembly from Damthang. He was
re-elected from the Damthang constituency securing a record 96.6 percent vote
in 1989.
His association with the Yangang Panchayat led him to active political activity.
This brought him closer to the people of Sikkim as his constituents. This was
the phase when he moved from the idealism of literature to the stark realities of
politics and the pain and suffering of the people as their representative who was
mandated to change their lives.
When he was elected an MLA in 1985, his commitment and style of work
became a yardstick for other young MLAs to follow. The youthful
representatives of the people emulated his style because they felt he was a
model for “political success” too. However, it was not an easy and off-hand
style. Chamling sought to reach out to every voter in his constituency. He
shared their sorrows and sufferings and extended them all political and
personal help to alleviate them. Their major problems are both poverty and
backwardness. The more Chamling came closer to them, the more he saw and
understood the burdens of injustice, inequality, and exploitation. Silent
suffering marked their lives. As their representative, he made many facilities
and incentives available to such people, particularly from the rural society,
which were unheard of before.
Chamling never missed an opportunity to reach out to his people. He was
always by their side in times of challenge and crisis, to stand by them and to
fight for them, to guide them, and to participate in their trials and tribulations.
People first saw in him a good samaritan. Then they began to accept him as a
friendly politician. Eventually they adopted him as one of their very own, to
whom they could always turn with confidence in times of crisis and calamity.
This relationship far outstretched the frontier of government. They began to
seek his help and guidance in their intimate social and personal matters also.
When they came to him, they came with hope and confidence, which was never
belied. Chamling would always lend them a patient ear and apply a soothing
balm to their wounds. The poorest of the poor too considered him “one of our
own”.
Chamling’s unfathomable love for the poor, the helpless and downtrodden
people brought him immense popularity and political success. Since he was
himself a son of rural Sikkim, they mutually understood one another better
with ease and confidence. More than that, they began to realize that Chamling’s
philosophy sought to define the state and the country with the village as the
central unit.
In fact, the 1980s marked the formative years of Pawan Chamling as the
foremost democrat of Sikkim in the 20th century. This decade recorded many
historic and challenging events and processes that were to influence the future
political course of both Sikkim and Chamling.
He was in his thirties when democratic Sikkim was in its teens. The 15 years of
democratic Sikkim as the 22nd state of India had posed many challenges and
problems, some of which were successfully tackled by the successive chief
ministers and governors of Sikkim. However, many critical problems were left to
the vagaries of social and political drift.
What was the socio-economic scenario in Sikkim like in the beginning of the
1980s when Chamling started the most significant lap of his political journey?
A Gangtok-based journal, Broader News and Views, presented in its October-
November. 1978 issue “a glance at development” for the period between 1954-
1978. These included three years of Sikkim as the 22nd state of India. The
survey began with the words, “Sikkim, the smallest and the youngest state in
the Union of India, consists mostly of undulating hilly terrain with altitudes
varying from 300 to 5,500 meters with an area of 7,299 square kilometers
bounded on three sides by international borders, namely Tibet in the North,
Nepal in the West and Bhutan in the East. The state of West Bengal is in the
South.”
It further wrote,
“The population of the state, according to the 1971 census, was 2.10
lakhs, the density of population being 28 per square kilometer as against
the all-India average of 177. Decadal variation of the population since the
first census in the state had been increasing at different rates, with the
maximum increase of 49 percent between 1901 and 1911. Taking 3
percent as the rate of population growth since 1971 (in view of the
increase and expansion of governmental activities consequent to the
achievement of statehood by the erstwhile kingdom), the present
population of the state is estimated to be 2.75 lakhs. An additional 2,000
has been included as a floating population.”
There were other highlights in that survey that indicated the kind of social and
economic problems forming part of the Sikkimese legacy.
An interesting factor was the “participation rate”. In 1971 as many as 1.12 lakh
people were recorded as being workers, which reflected a participation rate of
53.2 percent, which was comparatively higher than the all-India average of 39.2
percent. A very striking feature was that the women participated more or less
on an equal basis with men in economic activity.
Within the state, the participation rate varied considerably from district to
district, the highest being 59.82 percent in the north and 50 percent in the
South, East and West.
The literacy rate in the state was 17.7 per cent, which was much below the all-
India average of 29 percent. Only Dadra and Nagar Haveli with a literacy rate of
15 percent was ranked lower than Sikkim.
There was a contradiction in the literacy figures. It was surprising that the rural
areas of the North recorded a higher literacy rate of 15.9 percent than that of
the South and West districts which stood at 12.29 percent. This finding was
against the general expectation as the South and West districts had far more
schooling facilities than the North.
The literacy rate in Sikkim stood at just 3.54 percent in 1931. It reached about
17.1 percent in the next 40 years, making it clear that the then policy makers
and development managers did not really work towards improving this social
indicator. However, this also showed how rugged the terrains of Sikkim are and
where people lived scattered to eke out a living. Illiteracy remained the main
factor in keeping more and more common people below the poverty line and, in
many cases, subject to sub-human conditions.
The workforce in Sikkim in 1971 was mostly engaged in agriculture (85
percent). Only 6 percent were engaged in services, as many as 3 percent in
“construction” and 2 percent in trade and commerce.
Normally, in a state like Sikkim, a sizable section of the population should have
been engaged in household and cottage industries. But it was not so.
The livelihood pattern studies undertaken in the state revealed that agricultural
economy was still based on semi-feudalistic structure. It was clear that 30
percent of the families enjoyed 70 percent of the gross income of the state. That
was where economic disparity and poverty of the masses began under the
feudal order. If poverty had to be eradicated there had to be effective and
meaningful land reforms.
The land-use pattern at that juncture also had its own lessons. The total
cropped area of the state at that point was 81,230 hectares. It was mainly
divided in three categories. The area under paddy (wet) cultivation accounted
for 14.21 percent of the land under cultivation. The largest area was under dry
fields, 64,175 hectare, accounting for 79 percent of the total area of land under
cultivation. The smallest area, 6,521 hectare or just 8 percent, was under
cardamom plantation, one of the most famous agro-commodities of Sikkim.
During the period under the 1971 Census, it was found that there was no
system of crop enumeration. The figures were stated to have been obtained from
the survey and settlement operation carried out in early fifties. On that basis,
cereals accounted for 66,776 hectare of the area under crop. That would be
82.2 percent of the cropped area. Of the cereals, the most important was maize,
accounting for 44,517 hectare, followed by paddy with 12,141 hectare. Pulses
accounted for 2.024 hectare. The main cash crops were cardamom grow in 8
percent, potato 2.5 percent, ginger 1 percent and apple 0.1 percent of the
cropped area.
Since no crop estimation survey based on crop cutting experiment had been
conducted till then, it was naturally not possible to assess the impact of the
agricultural development schemes on the production pattern of various crops. A
number of agencies had, however, worked out foodgrain production figures. The
technical team of the Planning Commission for the Fourth Five Year Plan
assumed a production figure of 28,000 tonne. The production figure of 1971
was presumed at 35,000 tonne. Apart from foodgrains, production of cardamom
and orange was estimated in the 1978 survey at 2,000 and 2,500 tonne
respectively.
The agricultural and literacy statistics and inference presented in the 1978
survey did have relevance for representative Chamling. His continuous struggle
for the economic and social emancipation of 85 percent population of the state,
who were rural folk, was in fact based on these harsh economic realities. His
awareness of the problem of rural people emanated from skewed land
distribution, moulded by his personal experience. He had understood the
farmer’s problems of hunger and deprivation, inadequate resources for farm
inputs, lack of credit for seed and fertilizer and lack of sensitivity among the
rulers.
As the president of the Yangang panchayat, he was mandated to confront these
issues more directly. He began to understand that the panchayat was the
grassroots democratic institution that could be used to bring about social and
economic change in the lives of the people. Therefore, all along his political
journey, the village panchayat in Sikkim was to be utilized by him as an
effective instrument of both political and economic change.
The foundations of his future policies evolved on the basis of his intimate
experiences of both society and politics during the 1980s. All these exposed him
to the misery of the people, mysteries of operation of the power hungry and
elitist political parties and a slow, sluggish, and unconcerned bureaucracy. As
the Chamling outside saw the miseries, deprivations and injustices meted out
to the people, the Chamling inside him fumed and boiled to bring about change
in their plight.
The biggest problem he felt as the representative of the people was that they
had for centuries accepted their role as dumb-driven animals, rural citizens
condemned to bear all deprivation, inequality, and injustice in silence. To suffer
but not to speak was their lot. And it was a painful fact that they had accepted
such a fate for years without opening their mouths. As their chosen elected
representative, Chamling started inspiring them to speak out and organize
themselves. They had to speak for themselves, they had to learn to act for
themselves. Chamling would always be there by their side. He was one of them.
In due course, Yangang and Damthang, his panchayat and legislative assembly
constituencies, became the training ground for political workers who chose to
follow the Chamling path. These two areas became the breeding grounds for a
new kind of politics in democratic Sikkim. It was firmly rural and agriculture-
based politics and people-oriented democratic experiment. There were other
socio-economic factors, which Chamling had to grasp and get ready to grapple
with during his career as the people’s representative. His legislative
constituency returned him repeatedly to the assembly, thus giving him the
opportunity to prove himself a good MLA, a bold and outspoken minister, a one-
man opposition and finally, the most admired and the most talked-about Chief
Minister of Sikkim. The last decade of the 20th century, particularly after 1994
was to see the massive sweep of the Chamling politics, economic, and social
change.
As a firebrand member of the Sikkim State Assembly from 1985 onwards, he
took note of a wide variety of ground realities on the socio-economic fronts. The
era before he took to active politics as a gram panchayat President had other
disturbing statistics to spur him to thought and action.
From the 1971 census figures it appeared that only about 2 percent of the
working force of the population of Sikkim was engaged in manufacturing and
mining. There were no industries and manufacturing units except for the only
three manufacturing concerns—Sikkim Distilleries, the Mining Corporation and
the Fruit Preservation Factory. Sikkim Time Corporation, Sikkim Jewels and
the Temi Tea Garden were in the process of getting established.
As far as the cottage industries were concerned, the Government Institute of
Cottage Industries, set up in 1957, was the only establishment. This institute to
some extent tried to harness the traditional skills of the locals in producing
quality cottage crafts, merging the traditional skills and craftsmanship of the
Nepali, the Bhutia and the Lepcha ethnic streams. This unit was gradually
converting itself into a production-cum-training centre so that some of the
trainees, on completing their courses, could independently branch out into
production.
Education, for which Chamling and his colleagues in the Nirman project had
always been actively seeking reform, progress, and rapid expansion, had made
some progress between 1954 and 1978. The total number of school-going
children had increased from 2,500 in 1954 to 46,000 in 1978 and the first
degree college had also been initiated. That was simply not enough, for
Chamling. He sought both qualitative and quantitative changes in the
educational system of Sikkim. He sought to provide the children of Sikkim a
new identity and dignity and the joy and pride of pursuing education to the
highest extent. He wanted them to have all available educational opportunities.
As a representative of the people, one of his primary concerns would be to open
new schools, more schools, better schools, and professional schools which
imparted skills and education that worked.
The progress curve of health services and healthcare delivery system in the
period upto 1978 was also modest and marginal. The number of hospitals in
the state had increased from three in 1954 to five in 1961 and remained static
after that for many years. However, there was an attempt to staff the hospitals
with more specialized services and increase their bed strength. The number of
doctors stood at 46 in 1978 and the bed strength had gone up from 86 in 1954
to 449 in 1978. Of course, there seemed to be some attempt in this period to
extend the healthcare system to rural areas. The number of dispensaries and
health centres increased from 8 to 32.
It was recorded that in spite of a phenomenal increase in population and in the
total number of patients treated each year, communicable diseases showed a
downward trend. In 1953-54, as many as 63,000 patients were treated. The
number of patients treated increased to 1,76,100 in 1960-61, 1,22,429 in 1974-
75 and 1,80,160 in 1977-78. This indicated that the people and leaders of
Sikkim, whatever their ideological divide, met at least on a consensus point to
ensure better health and medical facilities for the people. Later during his own
term as the Chief Minister, Chamling launched a massive campaign to bring
about a radical improvement in the health and medicare infrastructure in the
state.
One area in which significant progress was achieved even before Chamling
came to power—the progress had been sustained in the Chamling’s times—was
in the eradication of malaria and black fever. The campaign against these killer
diseases was launched as early as 1956. The incidence of malaria came down to
18 from 18,000 and of Kala Azar from 250 to nil. There was no recurrence of
these diseases reported till 1978, when the survey under reference was made.
Similarly, small pox and venereal diseases were fully tackled.
Kazi Lhendup Dorjee, first Chief Minister of Sikkim after its merger with India,
himself belonged to the traditional landlord class who later became the
founding father of the democratic ideology in Sikkim. He was one of Chamling’s
guiding forces.
On the basis of extensive interviews with his colleagues, and followers, one can
make an attempt to define the Chamling era. It was not a diktat or declaration
of politician Chamling. Rather it was an evolution of a way of political life
through experiences, action, and responses of Chamling, which developed into
an unusual political mix of idealism and pragmatism in practice.
On the social level, this philosophy involved special consideration and concern
for women, children, the aged and the socially and economically backward
population. It also involved equal respect and sensitivity towards the social and
ethnic tradition and culture of the main communities of Sikkim like the
Nepalese, Bhutias, Lepchas, and other smaller tribes and communities. It was
reflected in the strong campaign against social evils like alcoholism and
gambling.
On the economic front, it was displayed in a determined effort to develop the
infrastructure so essentially needed to trigger development, employment, and
steady increase in and equitable distribution of per capita income.
Chamling also sought to create a balanced mix between heavy and medium
industries like power and small industries, with the overall aim of reviving and
maintaining old and traditional skills and crafts and bringing in new skills and
technologies. His consistent demand and campaign for an airport for Sikkim
and the upgrading of the existing Bagdogra airport to full international
standards was also part of this determination to put Sikkim distinctly on the
development map of India.
On the environmental front, an uncompromising ideology of sustaining the
environmental and ecological purity and sanctity of the highest peaks of India,
like Khangchendzonga, was expressed. Chamling, brought up under the
shadow of the twin peaks in Yangang itself, never minced words to assert that
“our peaks and lakes in Sikkim are holy and sacred. We will not let any inland
or foreign tourists pollute and desecrate them by setting foot on them. We
humans must bow to these purest manifestations of Mother Nature which are
like gods and goddesses to us. They give us joy, life and inspiration”. That was
one reason why Sikkim, one of the most unique tourist paradises in the world,
has kept its peaks pure and unstained. Green mountains have been stripped
down to their brown and gray rocky bones in many parts of the world, but not
in Sikkim. The state has increased its forest cover rather than depleted it. To
preserve the richest flora and fauna in the world, benevolent gifts of nature to
Sikkim, is a prime motto of the Chamling era.
An erudite reader, Pawan Chamling was certainly influenced by many ideologies
propounded by political philosophers from Marx to Gandhi. However, himself
born of poor parents, the toiling farmers, Chamling’s political vision was always
tempered with the down-to-earth approach and the rustic life that Sikkim
continues to relive in its poor population. This is where the cross-fertilisation
took place. The political philosophies of distinguished world leaders and the
experience-based crusading spirit blended together to produce a sound political
orientation in Chamling. Many of Chamling’s supporters and colleagues would,
therefore, like to describe the Chamling era as characteristic of a pro-people
philosophy. In exercise of this wide-ranging programme and his intimate bond
with the poor, there came into being an altogether new theory to guide the
destiny of Sikkim and its people.
And how is a pro-people ideology different from other ideologies? This is an oft
repeated question. It believes in a political cadre structure, like the Marxist
approach, where the party workers had far and wide reach. They could always
remain in touch with the people at the grassroots level. The ideology also
distinctly visualized a political party whose policies and programmes were
rooted in the needs and aspirations of the people and not the dictates and
postulates of the affluent class, superior authorities and minds.
Decentralisation, with fullest possible devolution of power and decision-making
to the grassroots democratic institutions like the panchayats, has been a
byword in the Chamling era.
It would be interesting to know that every gram panchayat in Sikkim today is
connected by a telephone. There will hardly be another state in India that can
boast of this modest and yet significant achievement of equipping the
grassroots democratic institutions with communication facilities.
Accountability and transparency in practice have also been among the salient
features of the Chamling era. He himself was at one time a one-man Opposition
in the Sikkim Vidhan Sabha. A firm believer in the role of a constructive
opposition as an essential requirement of a healthy and open democracy, he
remained within the democratic norms and matrices. During his long political
career, he forever upheld the need for a constructive opposition and regretted
its absence even when he himself came to power in the nineties. Many in
Sikkim and elsewhere in India had brought the role of an opposition to a
disgusting low. It was often concerned only with wastage of time of the
parliamentary and legislative chambers in infructuous and pointless
expressions of temper. That was not the kind of opposition, the Chamling era
entailed.
The opposition of Pawan Chamling’s vision had to be watchful, alert, critical of
faults and failures with suggestions for improvement and upliftment and with
greater efficiency. It most certainly did not have to be a gang indulging in
defection and spreading dissatisfaction, or those believing that shooting off
baseless and unsubstantiated allegations and personal vilification of opponents
were its sole objective. It did not have to be an opposition for opposition’s sake.
In his Budget Speech delivered in March 2001, Chamling summed up the role
of opposition as follows:

“I would also express our deep sense of gratitude to the Hon’ble Members
in the Opposition bench for their support, affection and of course
sometimes very harsh criticism. Let me in a lighter vein mention that if I
do not hear any criticism from our Hon’ble opposition members even for
a day, I immediately get this feeling that they have also joined my
Government, which is not good for a healthy democracy.
Let me again quote Pandit Nehru on what he said on criticism. While
addressing the Indian Chambers of Commerce on 4th March 1949 he
said, ‘I welcome criticism and I welcome your pointing out all our failings,
particularly my failings; in fact, sometimes I recount them myself. I think
it is good for an individual and for a nation always to try to find where it
is going wrong and to correct itself. Never be afraid of criticism. I
welcome criticism. I don’t welcome quite so much if behind that criticism
there is an imputation of mala fides on our part. Naturally no body likes
that.’
I only say to the Hon’ble members of this august House that democracy
demands discipline, tolerance and mutual regard. It specifically asks for
sacrifice. Freedom demands respect for the freedom of others. In a
democracy, changes are made by mutual discussion and persuasion and
not by violent means. This is our biggest strength in Sikkim, the land of
peace and tranquillity.”

In Chamling’s view, it had to be opposition for the safeguard of democracy and

democratic institutions. Its target had to be programmes, performances, and
shortcomings and failures of implementation of policies, and not just the
personality and personal life of their opponents. As one of Chamling’s faithful
supporters asked, Cannot opposition be civilized and constructive?
The mainstreaming of the people of Sikkim, sustenance of peace and tranquility
in Sikkim and the north eastern region, introducing the youth of Sikkim to
information technology and other modern technologies, are some of the other
features of what the Chamling era means.
 10
Minister Chamling

The bait of power seldom made Pawan Chamling deviate from his principles
and his pro-people philosophy. He was ever ready to give up his crown to
follow his conscience. That trait of Chamling was to form the main plot of
his love and hate relationships with the Sikkim Sangram Parishad leader
and then Chief Minister, Nar Bahadur Bhandari, who set his own record for
autocratic rule. If and when one chooses to write the history of men who
ruled the states of India with an iron hand and every known trick in the
game of power politics the name of Nar Bahadur Bhandari would certainly
have to figure alongside the most ruthless and most power-peddling
politicians. Bhandari knew how to use other people’s worth to suit his own
designs and purpose and also to see where his bread was more buttered
before grabbing it. Association with Bhandari had to be a multi-dimensional
experience for Pawan Chamling.
He got to understand the hollowness of the Sikkim Sangram Parishad and
the inner working of a tyrannical system wearing a thin garb of democracy.
The undercurrent of the classical colonial strategy of divide-and-rule to
exploit the sensitive federal relationship between Sikkim and the rest of the
country was always visible. Chamling as minister began to have his
reservations rather early. Chamling knew very well that the then ruling
party and its sharp-eyed leader sought to cash in on his unprecedented
electoral victory. Chamling had been returned from the Damthang
constituency for the second time with a resounding public mandate. His
work as the people’s representative had gone to the hearts and minds of the
electorate, the poor peasants and workers who saw in him one who
understood their pains and problems.
In Pawan Chamling’s own words, his joining the Sikkim Sangram Parishad was,
in fact, a collective effort of ‘likeminded friends’ to make the party people-
oriented and bring it closer to the aspirations of the masses. During his tenure
as the MLA from Damthang, he reached out to every home and each individual
and tried his best to attend to their grievances and share their sorrows. His
frequent rounds of his constituency had given him intimate knowledge of the
miseries of the people’s suffering, neglect and backwardness. The people
rewarded him by showing him their confidence and affection. The question
about “what he can give” to his constituency and Sikkimese at large hung heavy
on Chamling’s conscience. That ultimately steeled his determination to do
something for the people who had given him their mandate, as part of the ruling
party.
During Pawan Chamling’s tenure as the minister of three important
departments, a number of pro-people programmes were successfully initiated
and implemented. These programmes were to form the basis of future
development and progress on the one hand and his differences with the then
masters of the ruling system on the other.
In the industries sector, various new schemes were introduced for the benefits
of the educated unemployed youth of the state and other local entrepreneurs.
They were imparted employment-oriented training in various trades and given
assistance both in cash and kind to enable them to start their own industries.
Chamling infused new life and gave a fillip to the activities of the Information,
Public Relations and Printing departments by bringing into administration his
knowledge and experience.
The offset printing unit that initiated the modernization of printing techniques
in Sikkim and also considerably raised the revenue-generating capacity of the
department was installed during his ministership.
In the two and half years that Chamling remained a minister, he tried to initiate
many little things which were to have big consequences for the development
and modernization of Sikkim. For example, it was under him as the Information
Minister that Sikkim went on air with a modest All India Radio, Sikkim station.
This was the forerunner of the presently expanded multilingual radio and TV
services from Gangtok.
The first successful photographic training for the educated unemployed youth
of the state was also conducted. Taking a lesson from the success of the
programmes, the Information and Public Relations Department of Sikkim
launched a regular photographic training programme for the youth which
continued year after year. Most of these newly trained and enthusiastic young
photographers of Sikkim either made their name as freelance photographers or
got attached to various studios. In a way, he put Sikkim, truly a photographer’s
paradise, on the Indian and world map through the view finder of the modern
young Sikkimese.
Chamling was deeply involved in the growth and welfare of the Fourth Estate in
Sikkim. He always worked for high quality journalism to take roots in the state.
At the same time he took every step to ensure freedom of the press, a principle
always uppermost in his mind.
Notwithstanding the heavy responsibilities he had been shouldering as a
minister, he continued to keep himself in touch with his social and
philanthropic concerns in all directions. The humanitarian Chamling also
remained alive in Minister Chamling. His official responsibilities never drew him
away from his social and literary concerns and commitments, and his
responsibilities to his people.
The constraints of ministership had no adverse effect on him. He remained a
simple and down-to-earth person and as outspoken as before assuming the
ministerial post.
The upper echelons of politics and bureaucracy were naturally disturbed by his
ministerial style. He could see the widening gap between the haves and the
have-nots clearer than ever before. This made him all the more firm and
resolute in his mission to bridge the gap and provide support, justice and
equality to the poor and the weaker sections of the people of Sikkim. Obviously
the protagonists of the status quo in politics and administration were disturbed
and felt threatened at the continuous and consistent struggle of Chamling to
bring change and make it widespread enough to reach the grassroots.
There were many areas in which Chamling initiated pro-poor programmes.
These included the programmes for constructing homes for the homeless. For
this he donated his own land at the Boomtar Block in Namchi, South Sikkim,
and also land for the construction of schools. He arranged old-age pensions for
the poor from his own resources.
He strongly believes that healthy minds live in healthy bodies. Although as a
young student he himself had limited time to play games, he was very keen
that other children of Sikkim should get ample and adequate opportunities to
play and excel in various fields of sports. He also made a genuine endeavour to
revive the traditional sports of Sikkim by helping the young sports lovers to
organize such events in different parts of Sikkim.
Looking back on his days as the Sikkim Sangram Parishad minister for two and
half years, Chamling would recall that the tremendous applause he received
from the people on the announcement of his induction into the cabinet had
certainly touched him. Such applause had not been accorded by the people
even to the Chief Minister and the father figures of Sikkimese politics. But he
was not too excited and not bowled over by his being made a minister, for that
was not his real aim in life. He soon realized that he would have to face crucial
responsibilities and challenges and would have to ever stand up to elements
who advocated no-change and status quo. It was not an easy life, both publicly
and privately.
During the period he was in the Sikkim Sangram Parishad ministry, it was
evident from his actions that Chamling was not comfortable in those shoes. He
was not willing to make compromises with his principles and ideals. He was ill
at ease in the company of some colleagues, whose ostentatious living and
strong apathy towards the backward classes and the weaker sections of the
society left him “sick and disgusted”.
As time dragged on and the business of the government turned from bad to
worse, Chamling could take it no more. He was to recall later that differences
between him and the leadership of the Sikkim Sangram Parishad were neither
petty nor personal. There were substantial differences on issues of principle and
ideology.
He first murmured his dissatisfaction and then openly expressed his
disagreement and discontent over the policies and action of the government of
which he was himself a minister. He went public with the criticism of the faults
and failures of the government. He even sought the forum of public meetings to
take the people into confidence about the flaws of the government. He
maintained this style of transparency and accountability even when he became
the Chief Minister of Sikkim later. In his opinion, it was the right of the people
to continuously monitor and evaluate the work of their elected representatives,
the ministers and the government, in particular.
His open defiance of the misdirected and wrong policies of the Government and
sharp political and ideological differences with the then most powerful politician
of Sikkim, Chief Minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari, put them at loggerheads. The
man who had made Chamling a minister with great promise, having failed to
enforce silent and unquestioning loyalty to him, now perceived him as a menace
and somebody growing too big for his boots. Bhandari was now seeking every
opportunity to bully, and cut Chamling to size in public and in private.
By this time, Chamling had also acquired a certain amount of confidence,
credibility, and acceptance among his ministerial colleagues and MLAs in the
party, who, though paying strategic obedience and silence to their “king and
master”, Chief Minister Bhandari, could clearly see where the truth and reality
lay. They supported Chamling’s views but did not have the courage to come into
the open in conflict with the man who controlled the finances and power–levers
of the ruling party.
Minister Chamling, however, was not to be cowed down and muzzled. He said
“enough is enough”. He then declared a one-man crusade against his own
wayward government and its autocratic master. Of course, he knew that he
would have to pay dearly for his defiance of the Sikkim Sangram Parishad
supremo. For those who had been closely following these disturbing
developments it was like an outburst of a volcano long simmering, smouldering
and suppressed below the surface.
Despite secret and closed-door manoeuvres, Bhandari found it impossible to
make his irrepressible minister, Pawan Chamling, toe the line. By now
everyone in Sikkim’s public life had become aware that as a matter of habit
Chamling kept his mouth shut and listened very carefully when someone
else spoke. He did not waste his breath on irrelevant and petty talk so
common to politics of power and intrigue. But when he spoke, he spoke from
his heart and mind, very seriously, with full commitment and a rare trait of
alertness.
Looking back at those critical days, Pawan Chamling records.

“By this time, I was completely acquainted with the inner character of
the Sangram Parishad. The party leader was not a champion of
democracy but one who believed in autocratic habits and who considered
his opinions above people’s aspirations.... My experience and wisdom
had taught me that it is necessary to fight against such anti-people
despots at every front with democratic thought and policy and move
ahead undaunted. Through my work I started expressing my
dissatisfaction and opposition over the character of the party... I was
given an entry into the Cabinet. After becoming a minister, I could see
even more clearly that the Sangram Parishad Government and its
leadership was totally anti-people and undemocratic. The ruling party
was a party with double standards and policies. Knowing well these
facts, it became necessary for me to stand against the party policies and
leadership. I considered it a noble obligation for the long-term interest of
the people to stand up and oppose the wrong policies and methods, both
from within and without. Thus, thereafter my disagreement with the
Sangram Parishad leadership deepened further and further.”

The government’s scant concern and insincere attitude towards issues directly
related to the welfare of the masses was the major cause of Chamling’s inner
frustration and fury.
The differences that had blemished the relationship between the two leaders
had two important aspects. Firstly, some of Chamling’s friends felt that there
was a group of colleagues who were envious of the popular support accorded to
him. They would regularly concoct stories against Chamling and whisper these
into Bhandari’s ears. Influenced by this whispering coterie, Bhandari started
becoming more directionless. He slowly developed a strong aversion and dislike
towards Chamling. There is some truth in the allegation, because Bhandari was
inclined to pay heed to falsities and propaganda. Because of such Canute-like
character in him, Bhandari’s political life was adversely affected in the long run.
Instead of creating some creative space, Bhandari’s ‘yes men’ only strengthened
his arrogance.
The power-hungry Bhandari was paranoid and perennially suspicious. Winning
just 16 out of the 32 seats in the 1979 election, his political sustenance had its
origin in horse-trading and dramatic floor crossing of the purchased MLAs. Any
small intra-party difference was viewed with acute suspicion and fright.
Chamling’s popularity among the Sikkimese people was always a subject of
worry for Bhandari. The party leader’s anti democratic attitude, widening gap
between himself and the people, and his eternal concern to hold on to power by
every possible way were greater reasons for their differences.
The disaffection also had something to do with Bhandari’s anti people policy
and programmes. To belittle every other community than his own, instigate one
against the other, and rule the state on a ‘divide and rule’ policy was the exact
objective of Bhandari’s politics. He would choose the so-called influential
members from each group and together indulge in widespread corruption and
exploitation of the state’s resources.
There is a hint of regret whenever Chamling looks back his days as the Sikkim
Sangram Parishad Minister. He confesses,

“Although my thinking and character were not the same as those of Nar
Bahadur Bhandari’s Government, in which I was a Cabinet Minister, I
tried my best to transform the Government policies into pro-people
planning and programmes. People were sandwiched in the one-man
autocratic rule. Instead of fighting from outside I thought it correct at
that point to bring about reform and change in the Government from
within. With the passing of time when Nar Bahadur Bhandari’s
autocratic tendency assumed even greater intensity, I sought an
appointment with him. In our hour-long sitting, I placed my views before
him, pinpointed the wrong steps of the Government and placed my
humble suggestions to work for the interests of the weak, the poor, the
helpless and the downtrodden masses. Indeed, what force and
persuasion will ever help a dog straighten its tail? The same thing
happened with the autocrat. Instead of listening to my suggestions, he
responded with a negative mind and took them as a challenge to his
undisputed authority. And then I was hounded like anything.”

The rights of two tribal communities of Sikkim had already become a bone of
contention between Chamling and Bhandari in 1987. In Chamling’s words,

“In the year 1987, the Sikkimese Limboo and Tamang were about to
get the scheduled tribes status. That time Bhandari with cruel
machination snatched away the constitutional right of the two
communities. Bhandari, indeed, had made a hue and cry on the issue
during election campaigning. But after assuming power, he wrote to the
then Union Home Minister, pleading with him not to grant tribal status
to these tribes. He knew I was not happy with that action of his. My
stand was very clear that any onslaught on the constitutional rights of
the two communities would be anti-Sikkimese and anti-people. There
were already ill feelings in his heart against me. Now, his feelings became
worse.
In 1988, immediately after that I called unconstitutional, Bhandari’s
action of writing to the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, calling upon
him to initiate action against the followers of Christianity in our state. My
argument was that as citizens of a secular country, such an act on our
part would amount to insulting the secular principles and encourage
communalism. Bhandari had remained silent then but had obviously
taken my remarks and difference of opinion as an insult and an act of
defiance of his superior will. I knew it too well that but for all the
 overwhelming public support I enjoyed from the Sikkimese people, my
second term nomination as a candidate of the Sangram Parishad to the
Sikkim Vidhan Sabha would have been impossible.”

From then onwards Chamling’s relations with the Sangram Parishad and its
self-proclaimed ruler and master moved from one difference to another and one
conflict to another until it turned out to be one of the longest and the bitterest
political feuds in the history of modern Sikkim. Bhandari was bent upon
punishing Chamling for daring to defy him. Chamling, on the other hand, was
adamant like a rock on compromising on his principles. One of the causes of
this conflict stemmed from the issue of corruption at the higher level.
In Chamling’s words,

“I found myself entangled in another discord with Bhandari. In 1987,

Bhandari in connivance with some of his Cabinet colleagues allegedly
committed an economic offence. The scandal known as the Gift Racket
put the Sikkimese society in deep trouble. The act of turning black
money into white provoked the imposition of Central Income Tax Act,
Wealth Tax and Gift Tax. I proposed strongly in favour of punishing the
guilty and leaving the innocent Sikkimese out of the purview of Central
tax regime. Once again Bhandari turned a deaf ear to my argument.
Taking undue advantage of some concession to Sikkim extended at the
time of the merger, Bhandari along with his colleagues indulged in the
multi-crore rupee ‘gift racket’. The Centre was compelled to extend the
Central income tax laws in Sikkim. Bhandari filed a case in the Supreme
Court. On the other hand, on 21st July 1993, he wrote to the then
Finance Minister Manmohan Singh requesting him to implement Central
tax. That way he sought to force down the consequences of his
misadventure upon all Sikkimese people. Because of Bhandari’s
irresponsible action, Central taxes like income tax, property tax, gift tax
are being extended to the state.”

The Mandal Commission Report favouring reservations and protection for the
OBCs also found Chamling and Bhandari in open confrontation. This at a time
when the level of argument between them was becoming louder day by day and
the differences on political issues and principles deeper and deeper. It was also
the time when Chamling had drawn the conclusion that the Sangram Parishad
coming to the aid of the poor was only an illusion.
Recalling his confrontation with Bhandari on the Mandal Commission
recommendations, Chamling points out,

“At that time a very serious issue came to the forefront—the OBC
issue. When the Central Government passed the legislation to implement
the recommendations of the Mandal Commission across India, Bhandari
brought a proposal in the Assembly on 7th September 1990 not to
implement the same in Sikkim. He took sadistic pleasure in insulting
individual castes and tribes falling under the OBC category. He kept
most of the MLAs in the dark about the issue of the OBCs for about 10
years and suddenly the proposal was passed not to implement the
recommendations. One after another Bhandari had trampled upon the
rights of the Sikkimese people and this time also, I was left with no
 option but to oppose him openly. I initiated an open objection to his
proposal.
When the Mandal Commission members visited Sikkim to seek the
recommendation of the State Government, Bhandari was the head of the
Government that gave them a different impression about the left-out
communities and tried to stall the constitutional process by not
implementing OBC provision in Sikkim. In this way, Bhandari tried to
divide the greater Nepali community. And when the Commission
prepared recommendations on the basis of its own reports, and when the
same was extended to Sikkim, Bhandari opposed it himself and also
approved the negative proposal. It became crystal clear that he was not
going to help the people. Thereafter, my differences with Bhandari
became open and unguarded.”

Chamling was getting increasingly wary of some serious “anti-national”

statements of Bhandari. During all these years, Kazi Lhendup Dorji, the first
democratically-elected Chief Minister, and the 32 members of the first Sikkim
Assembly were systematically vilified and derogatively referred to as Battishey
chor, desh bechua (32 robbers who sold the country) and consummate brokers.
Bhandari declared the leaders of the great Indian nation as “Sikkim-eaters” and
dhoti- gathey (dhoti clad). In all major public meetings, Bhandari spewed venom
against Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India. He would say, ‘Sikkim
was swallowed up by Indira Gandhi’ and such inanities. He would say anti-
national things at public meetings.
In the December 1-15, 1997 issue of India Today magazine, he declared, ‘I
shall make Sikkim independent’ and asked ‘Why should Indians come and
settle in Sikkim?’ Yet again in The Hindustan Times of June 6, 1986, Bhandari
thundered, ‘If we cannot get rice from India, China and Nepal are there to
provide rice to us.’ About the same time, national papers had widely covered the
news of a Taiwanese leader who had slipped into Sikkim quietly and held talks
with Bhandari. Bhandari was then branded as a “Chinese agent” by his critics.
“His modus operandi vis- à- vis his relation with the Centre was based
on duplicity and falsehood. No sooner had Bhandari crossed the Rangpo
border (Sikkim-West Bengal border), Bhandari would change his tune
and sing a different song of Central leaders to sell his case. That way,
Bhandari never reflected the right image of the Sikkimese people outside
and within the state. Even after the formal merger of Sikkim with the
Indian Union, Bhandari issued unconstitutional statements against the
Centre and kept the people in deep suspicion. On the other hand, he
acted like a broker in New Delhi and thus punctured the pride and self-
esteem of the Sikkimese people.
Because of the double-standard policy of Bhandari, the Sikkimese
people were never integrated into the national mainstream emotionally
and the Centre and people elsewhere also viewed the Sikkimese with
some misgiving. The anti-merger hero had tried to project Indira Gandhi
as a villain in connection with the merger of Sikkim with the Indian
Union. But when she came back to power in 1980, Bhandari joined the
very Congress under the same Indira Gandhi on July 7, 1981 along with
his Sikkim Janata Parishad. This unholy alliance, however, did not last
long. On 11th May 1984, Bhandari’s government was dismissed on
corruption charges and he was charged with amassing wealth
 disproportionate to his known sources of income by the Congress
government at the Centre. The CBI immediately filed a corruption case
against him.”
All these years, Bhandari had suppressed law and order, rules and
regulations to ensure his monopoly in the government. Any dissenting voice
was strangled mercilessly and any step to oppose his misrule was liquidated.
Dharmadatta Sharma, a front-ranking leader of the Congress (I) in Sikkim unit
who opposed his despotic disposition, was eliminated in 1988.
While Bhandari projected the Centre and the Central leadership as demonic,
he also encouraged enmity between the Sikkimese people and the people from
other states. His anti-social, anti-national stand, and his unsavoury character
compelled Chamling to raise his voice in favour of the people.
As his own minister, Chamling opposed every wrong step of Bhandari in a most
democratic manner which did not please Bhandari, however. Says Chamling, “It
was a sense of guilt to remain in Bhandari’s cabinet. When our differences
deepened on matters of principle and other important issues, Bhandari
removed me from the cabinet and the party. For me it proved to be a blessing in
disguise. For the establishment of real democracy in Sikkim, we formed the
Sikkim Democratic Front on 4th March 1993.”
That Bhandari was not someone who could be gentle enough to respect the
secular texture of Indian life was evident from his autocratic and
unconstitutional actions. He tried to ignore the fact of the Nepali language being
made up of several dialects belonging to different sub-tribes within the greater
Nepali community. He declared Nepali as arya bhasha. During President R.
Venkataraman’s official visit to Sikkim on October 21, 1991, he submitted a
memorandum calling Nepali bhasa as arya bhasha and requesting him to
recognize the language. Chamling’s comment is noteworthy, “I suggested to him
to stop calling Nepali as arya as there are many other dialects spoken by
different sub-tribes within the Nepali community. He looked at me enraged, as
if he was bent on drilling a hole into my body”.
The Chamling-Bhandari war was soon to erupt into political clashes and
media headlines. Recalls Chamling, “The differences on matters of principle
became open. Stories of blame and condemnation against me were woven.
On my part, I too began compiling and airing facts and opinions on
Bhandari’s anti-people character and his quesionable doings. I had come to
politics with certain aims and objectives, I am not in love with the chair, and
I am not today as well. Even if I lost my chair, I was not ready to mortgage
my mission. When I was not willing to compromise on my principles, my
aims and objectives at any price, at any cost, Bhandari finally removed me
from his Cabinet on June 16, 1992.”
The then Governor addressed the event succinctly to define the greater
implication of the Indian Constitution. The then Secretary to the Governor,
G.K. Subba, reminisces “Sometime after the budget session, a proposal was
received at Raj Bhawan and a draft ‘dismissal’ order from the Government to
be signed on the dotted lines was sent too. The Governor summoned me to
his chamber and said, Mr. Subba, I will not ‘dismiss’ Shri P.K. Chamling but
he will ‘cease’ to be a minister in the Government.”
Did Chamling realize at that time that his removal from the Bhandari
government’s Cabinet would open new doors for him—doors to persecution and
battle as well as doors to a great and challenging political journey. Perhaps not.
But the poet and the political crusader in him did respond to that crisis with a
sense of personal relief and emancipation.
Chamling’s reaction to his being thrown out of the Bhandari Cabinet in 1992
was marked by equanimity. He stated,

“As a man committed to do people’s politics among the people, I accepted

Bhandari’s dictates without a word. I took the development in the form of
a message of emancipation. I did not lose heart. Immediately after the
two messengers handed over the letter to me I wrote down a poem in a
similar train of thought. In the poem I compared myself to a bird with a
newfound freedom and the mind soaring towards heaven, like the
legendary skylark, to catch the sun.”

There is something curious in the fate of men. It is a design of destiny in which

some believe and some do not. In Chamling’s case the curious design was that
every fall led him to a rise, every deprivation led him to some achievement.
Remembering his removal from the Bhandari cabinet, he observes, “As a man
who had joined electoral politics with a sense of revolt, suffocation and anguish,
my sacking from the Sangram Parishad Party lent me a clear direction,
programme and dream...a dream to make Sikkim new and prosperous.
Henceforth I was not to join this or that party which was anti-people. Now I had
to work for the formation of a democratic party at the grassroots level with all
like-minded people.”
Minister Chamling had suddenly become a fugitive. Goons dogged the steps of
his wife too. They frequently stalked her to instil fear in her. But she was the
brave wife of a brave son of Sikkim and the strength of the people of Sikkim was
with Chamling.
The persecutors and terrorizors, however, dared not carry their terror
campaign against Chamling to Yangang. The people of Yangang, where his
parents and other family members live, firmly supported the son of the village.
Hundreds of eyes were always watching intruders and trouble shooters. When
asked about those terrifying days, Chamling’s father and his octogenarian
friends would say, “No, they did not come to Yangang. They dared not. Yangang
was not like other places in Sikkim. It was the place where Chamling was born.
Here threats and lies would not have worked.”
The Chamling charisma was beginning to be visible in the no-holds barred feud
between the authoritarian master and his rebellious protégé. His record as a
minister who worked with his own mind paid him handsomely. The people had
got the taste of his style of governance and had begun to whisper, “Mantri ho to
aisa ho (That is how a minister should be)”.
The die had been cast. Chief Minister Bhandari finally dropped Chamling from
the Sikkim Sangram Parishad cabinet on June 16,1992. Later he expelled him
from the party. That was that. The battle lines were drawn. Did Bhandari know
that the Chamling era was about to begin and that he had already played
his role in making history?
 11
Is Fire Allowed Inside the House?

Those who thought that legislative and public opposition could be suppressed
in Sikkim with the sacking of Chamling and the letting loose of terror against
him were mistaken. Pawan Chamling was to play a historic role in the political
history of Sikkim as a champion of the democratic principle, ethic and practice
of opposition. Great leaders before him had taught the nation that in a
democracy difference of opinion was no aberration and dissent no crime. The
Indian nation had proved over more than half a century after independence that
there was room for parties and leaders with different ideologies and approaches
to play their role in the policymaking and governance of a democratic society.
That was the reason why democracy worked in India when it failed in many
other neighbouring and African, Asian, or even European countries. Failure of
democracy and democratic institutions was paved by impatience and
intolerance of the ways and views of those who differed. Pawan Chamling
proved that while others paid just lip service to the doctrine of opposition, he
was the one who was deeply committed to it. He knew how to practice it with
courage and conviction.
As one of his ardent admirers said, “the story of the political journey of Pawan
Chamling would most likely remain incomplete without remembering the
famous zero hour episode in the Sikkim Vidhan Sabha on September 9, 1992.”
With his sacking from the Government and expulsion from the ruling Sikkim
Sangram Parishad, he was now the lone opposition member in the 32-member
Vidhan Sabha.
The eye witness account of G.K. Subba, who was then the Secretary to the
Governor and the Legislative Assembly, is noteworthy. Recalling the dramatic
scene, he says,

“Shri Pawan Chamling arrived at the porch of the Assembly House at

Nam Nam. Impeccably dressed, closely followed by a smartly attired PSO,
smilingly waving to those standing along the approach road, he entered
the hall. He became vocal from the very start of question hour and
demanded time to express his views. Disassociating himself from the
government’s earlier decisions he said that the government now was
facing ‘new Pawan Chamling, the old Pawan Chamling is dead and gone
and in future another Pawan Chamling will enter the Assembly Hall.’
Later he contended with the Speaker who was constrained to give him
time to speak. He rose to his feet, brought out a candle from the inner
coat pocket and lighted it. He charged that ‘there is utter darkness and
confusion in Sikkim, there is no democracy and that I am constrained to
search out any leftovers in the Assembly Hall.’ Head held high, gritty,
and determined and speaking with a forceful voice, he moved to and fro
between the Speaker and the Legislators non-stop.
After a while I turned around to watch. All eyes were glued on him, none
dared to interfere. I turned my head a bit towards the Speaker and found
him sitting spellbound, constantly gazing at the man with the candle.
The lone fighter ceaselessly moving to and fro talked, appealed, made
demands and then vowed to win justice for the people even by facing
 ordeals and sacrifices. He sounded like a voice in the wilderness, a voice
of many slogans and of thousands of footsteps when he angrily
thundered, ‘Where is the democracy of the people?’
It was like a nightmare for those inside the Hall—all were silent and
seemed to hold their breath. The authority of the government, the power
and the wisdom, all melted away. Then he said, ‘I will go to every nook
and corner of Sikkim in search of democracy and will search till I find it.’
It was a great relief to all as he walked out of the House with the candle
still aflame.”

The then Chief Minister, at that dramatic moment in the Vidhan Sabha, could
not find any answer to the questions posed by Chamling. Nobody in the House
answered the questions. Either they had no answers or they dared not
enunciate them. The questions echoed in the august House but there was no
reply.
From the stunned atmosphere, a line finally emerged. “Is fire allowed inside the
House?” The answer was not found in the books of legislative procedures
anywhere. The question lingered. It is still carved in the minds of those who
were present inside that House on that historic day.
G.K. Subba further recalls that “Chamling had gone out with a flickering light.
Little did one imagine that the same flickering light would soon make him a
luminous beacon to guide the destiny of the Sikkimese people.”
Pawan Chamling’s longing for and commitment to true democracy was reflected
in this act of courage, one man against all others. The episode echoed all over
Sikkim and then all over the country, and gradually all over the world. People
all over the world, in the media and the annals of parliamentary democracy,
write and rewrite the “Fire inside the House” story.
But even upholding the sanctity and the essential role of the opposition in a
living and effective democracy, one is sometimes faced with crucial choices.
That was also a test for a real man of opposition. Later the question often arose
whether Chamling had played the opposition for the sake of opposing or stood
for it as a matter of principle and belief.
Later 18 MLAs defected from Bhandari’s Sangram Parishad. On 18th May,
1994, they formed the government under the chief ministership of Sanchaman
Limboo. Before that an offer was made to Chamling to form the government.
When the dissidents went to Delhi to stake their claim to form a new
government, they once again made their offer to Chamling to join the
government as its leader. To their surprise, he refused. Chamling’s reason, in
his own words,

“I declined for I did not like to snatch power by resorting to opportunistic

alliances and horse trading. Nor did I harbour any cheap illusion to
become the Chief Minister. Like the proverbial straw a drowning man
would clutch at, Bhandari also offered me the chief ministership. As I
have often said, my chief aim was to ensure justice to the people more
than to become a chief minister. Moreover, I was not in favour of
inheriting the crises created by the autocratic, cunning and irresponsible
brats and thereby forfeit the faith, confidence and support bestowed on
me by the poor Sikkimese by betraying them.”

Earlier, Bhandari was compelled to prove his majority in the Sikkim Vidhan
Sabha. Chamling abstained from voting. Bhandari’s fall was a foregone
conclusion but Chamling did not want to endorse the apparently power hungry
group led by Sanchaman Limboo by voting in their favour.
Explaining the crucial and principled political decision he took even at the time
of the fall of Bhandari, Chamling explained, “In all these days I had cent per
cent chance of becoming the Chief Minister. But let alone Bhandari, even Kuber
himself could not have enticed me away from my principles, conviction and
commitment with all his money and wealth.”
The confidence vote against Bhandari was scheduled for May 17, 1994. The
motion of no-confidence was moved by a group of Sangram Parishad leaders
who had defected from the party and were now led by Sanchaman Limboo, who
was also a minister in the Bhandari cabinet till a month earlier. Chamling took
a neutral stand making it clear that his opposition to Bhandari was on
principles and not on personal prejudice. He chose to stay away from voting
during the no-confidence vote. He explained his position thus, “I am between
the devil and the deep sea. I do not wish to fall into the claws of the devil nor do
I wish to plunge into the deep blue sea. I keep my vote secure and shall not cast
this priceless vote for anybody.”
On that fateful day Bhandari’s political autocracy received a death blow. It was
his Waterloo. Chamling did not stoop so low as to give him a blow when he
seemed clearly on his way out. Chamling obviously had no quarrel with the
man but he fought against his political philosophy and culture which seemed
anti-people to him. Once Bhandari fell, his one-time protégé Sanchaman
Limboo occupied his chair as the Chief Minister. While there were continuous
political dog fights between the defected and the dethroned wings of the
Sangram Parishad, Chamling’s Sikkim Democratic Front, ironically, was the
target of political attacks by both.
In the annals of democracy, the politics of Sikkim and the practice of opposition
in a democratic system, both these incidents would remain indelible. They
became also the most memorable happenings in the story of the opposition in
the Sikkim Vidhan Sabha proceedings.
Looking back at those events and their significance, Chamling regretted the
lack of emergence of an effective and constructive opposition in the Sikkimese
democracy.
In various interviews and personal discussions, Chamling underlined that he
did not consider personal vendettas and conspiracies, manoeuvring and
defection an instrument with which to conduct the activities of the opposition.
The duty of the opposition is to stabilize and strengthen parliamentary
democracy as a watchdog and a monitor, not to disrupt and damage it. That
was the reason why in a healthy democracy and parliamentary system, the
leader of the recognized opposition in any House of Parliament or the Legislative
Assemblies in states enjoy the recognition and status of a Minister of the
Government. He/she also therefore, enjoys the same salaries and perks as a
minister of the ruling party.
When asked specifically his own views on the role of the opposition, Chamling
regrets the absence of a constructive opposition in Sikkim and the country. He
says that he certainly felt dismayed and had made pointed references to this
fact during his major ‘State Day’ addresses at the Community Centre, Gangtok,
in the presence of various political leaders, senior civil servants, and eminent
citizens.
He never forgets that in the historic “Fire Inside the House” incident in the
Sikkim Vidhan Sabha he had sought to underline forever the fact that the
opposition was an essential organ of democracy even if there was just one,
courageous, constructive, and healthy opposition member in the entire House.
In his own words:

“Let me explain my viewpoint which is part of my broader thinking. My

concept and vision of the opposition is part of the whole vision, not an
isolated outburst of oppositeness if you may so call it. In the first place, I
strongly believe that all the political parties and all those who have
entered political life must strive for a better life for the people as their
main goal in public life. They must have commitment, dedication,
transparency and self-discipline in the pursuit of their goal. Beyond that
they should pursue politics for the upliftment and welfare of the masses,
not just persons and groups. Initially all people with patriotism and
idealism entered politics. These were their ideals and goals. It was
through such leaders that the country and a good life for the people
could be built up. In Sikkim, however, there were few people in the ranks
of the opposition who believed in these ideals. That is why I consider real
and constructive opposition almost non-existent. There are many who, in
the garb of all kinds, of politics, including the opposition, act as power
brokers.”
In the absence of what he considered an effective and constructive opposition,
was Chamling compelled to play the dual role of the ruling party and the
opposition at the same time? The answer was to be provided by him later when
he came to power. In his ‘State Day’ address in May 2001, he not only gave the
people an open account of the achievements and the future plans of his
government but also reviewed its shortcomings.
If there was failure on the part of the civil servants, he minced no words and
declared that his government would ensure that ministers and departments of
his government were given deadlines to complete projects for development and
reform assigned to them. Those who did not implement their assigned targets
on time would be held responsible and would have to explain the reasons for
failure. One could say with some confidence that few other political parties and
governments in other states could claim this kind of approach to political and
administrative functionings. He stated:
“In my speech at the Community Centre at Gangtok, I had spoken in that
strain. I had talked about a road which had been constructed and
carpeted two years earlier. But by now the carpeting is already chipping
off. Now such a question had to be raised before the people. That was
why I had raised the issue publicly. I wanted to make the point that if the
quality of such works, which are so important for the people, is sub-
standard, then not only the government but the people themselves must
keep an eye to raise questions. The government is, of course, accountable
but the masses too have a sort of accountability for keeping vigilance on
such public works and monitoring their quality. Because this kind of
faulty work and misuse of materials and resources in public works and
projects of public welfare is done by people who are corrupt. Such people
should be exposed, they must be punished. For that I need the support
and cooperation of the people. In fact that is the duty of a healthy and
alert opposition too, but they keep quiet. It is for them to answer.”

Chamling is also very sensitive about not giving priority to his personal, family
and social interests to the detriment of the general and fair interests of the
masses in the rest of Sikkim. This was evidenced by the fact that while rural
roads and district roads in most parts of the state were laid and carpeted with
speed and under constant monitoring for quality and deadline, a village road
which was laid to connect his own village Yangang awaits carpeting. Other chief
ministers would have first improved their own hometowns and the properties
and premises of their own families and friends, but not Chamling. The
characteristics of the opposition man would nag him and prevail upon him that
he does not deviate from his own rules of justice and priority.
It isn’t that he wants to give lesser importance to the road linking the back of
his home village to the district roads. It was because he wanted the policy made
for the construction of roads to be followed fairly and strictly. He says,

“We have made a policy and set priorities to build state highways, district
roads, rural roads, and other roads. According to the laid down priorities,
other roads are being carpeted first. The rural road which leads to my
home village comes in the category of other roads. If I get it carpeted
before other priority roads then it would amount to injustice. First, we
have to pay attention to national highways, then state highways, then
district roads, and finally rural roads. You are right, I give justice with
the same stern and fair hand to myself and my kith and kin as to others.
There is no doubt about that.”

Slowly and painfully, Chamling first began placing together the fractured pieces
of dissent and opposition in the Sikkim politics and legislative system. It was
not an easy task. In 1973, Kazi Lhendup Dorji, the pioneer of democracy in
Sikkim, had taught and inspired the common folk, who were used to bearing all
injustice while obeying the commands of the rulers in silence. Once they found
their voice, the people, particularly the youth of Sikkim, came out openly in the
streets to speak out their minds and raise their voice for democracy. It was one
of the most powerful and constructive exercises in applying the power of the
popular mass opposition for a noble and constructive cause. Chamling was also
one of them, a young 23-year-old man who had come out to raise his voice in
opposition to autocracy, and for democracy and freedom. He did not forget the
lesson he had learnt then.
But Chamling’s task in resurrecting the dead opposition was even more difficult
than that of L.D. Kazi’s. He was not facing a king or his courtiers. He was facing
a man who was riding the democracy engine and did everything in the name of
the people. Bhandari was skilled in using the democracy machine and
manipulating it to obey his command and fulfil his design since 1979. For
nearly a decade and half he had been the uncrowned ruler of Sikkim. He might
have launched some good ideas and projects in the initial stages that had even
impressed Chamling for a very brief period before he split from Bhandari. He
had amassed enormous visible and invisible power and resources. Chamling
would at first sight appear a commoner with no material resources to face up to
him. Would it be the battle between the proverbial David and Goliath?
Chamling’s strength lay in his special trait of drawing energy from his inner
resources at times of adversity and challenge. He also drew special strength
from a true analysis of history. He drew strength from the people when the elite
was out to destroy the democratic system and institutions. The acquisition of
absolute power had made them arrogant and tyrannical. Tyrants have weak
hearts and feet of clay, this he had learnt from history. As an insider in the
Sangram Parishad, he began to understand the Bhandari plan of keeping
himself in power by fanning the anti-Indian sentiment. Bhandari injected and
played on the so-called subterranean fears of the people of Sikkim that they
would be run over and submerged by the huge Indian federation.
It was a known fact that Bhandari had got into power in 1979 on the de-merger
plank. His election promise was that of returning the lost glory, the
“independence” of Sikkim. In pursuit of de-merger politics, the Sangram
Parishad leader had vilified and derided the 32 members of the first Sikkim
Assembly elected under the Kazi banner as battishey chor, desh bechua. They
had borne the stigma and humiliation all these years but since they could not
stand up to the parochial sentiments whipped up by the Sangram Parishad,
they simmered with anger silently and suffered the growing onslaught of the
Parishad supremo.
Chamling, having himself gone through the humiliation and ignominy of the
politics of the Sangram Parishad, began to bring together some of the pioneers
of democracy. In his own inimitable ways he tried to restore the glory and the
credit of the activists of the 1973 Jana Kranti and the first ever democratically
elected legislators of Sikkim. He was very pragmatic in accepting agreement
with the realities of the past. Chamling often said that he did not believe one
could gain anything by taking a dig at the past. “Instead we must move ahead
together in unison for a brighter future.”
As the powerful leader of the opposition during the period between 1992 and
1994, Chamling began to slowly but steadily emerge as a powerful factor in
shaping a new era in the political life of Sikkim. All that he had believed in and
stood for so far, the rapport and credibility that he had established with the
masses and colleagues were now to surface as strength factors in the testing of
political courage against Bhandari-ism. The no-holds barred battle between the
anti-people government and pro—people Chamling was to become the biggest
engine of change.
Chamling’s enmity towards the corrupt, the degenerate and the communal-
castiest elements was by now well known to the people of his state. He was also
known to be a strong advocate of clean and moral politics. He was deeply
committed to ridding society of corruption which had become synonymous with
the politics of certain elements. He had a strong faith in democracy, the rule of
law, and justice to the people. He firmly believed that no politician was more
powerful than the people from whom he derived his mandate and political
power. He made ample note of the fact that democracy in Sikkim was both
peculiar and precious.
He reminded the world constantly, “In other countries, democracy is
established after the country gains freedom. In Sikkim, however, we had to
exchange the country for democracy. Probably ours is the dearest democracy in
the world. Although surprising at times, a thorough study of Sikkim’s history
will ease the element of surprise to a great extent. Sikkim becoming part of the
Indian Union is a great truth.” He found himself becoming the defender of the
voluntary merger of Sikkim with India. He was against the politics of those who
sought to maintain their political hold over the life and economy of Sikkim
under the de-merger threat.
Chamling realized that even after the end of the monarchy, the demerger actors
sought to keep the mental make-up of the common Sikkimese fettered by old
habits and thoughts. At that point it became clear to him that democracy in
Sikkim was not sufficiently institutionalized. Sikkim became a part of India
much later than other states and princely territories.
Realising that the old feudal culture still remained in many a heart and mind,
Chamling had to carry on his crusade at two levels. His battle was against
political obscurantism of the then ruling party, and educating the people that
democracy existed and it was their most precious asset and power. He wanted
to extend to the people his own firm and favorite dictum that “Without political
consciousness, democracy cannot be achieved. It is not something to be
achieved by one man.”
As the formidable opposition leader of Sikkim between 1992 and 1994,
Chamling performed with tremendous success the task of exposing the failures
and weaknesses of the ruling party and its leaders. He relentlessly worked
towards educating and training the people to stand, speak up and safeguard
their freedom and democracy. The Assembly became a forum of very intensive
debate—face to face, word for word and almost tooth for tooth. It was
impossible for him to lose heart as every day gave him a new opportunity to
renew his unflinching resolve to break the shackles of tyranny, hatred,
contempt and communalism. He would roar in the Assembly, “Till today,
Bhandari spoke and the Sikkimese people listened. Now it is time that the
Sikkimese people spoke and Bhandari listened.”
This included training the people for participating in the democratic system and
instilling in them a sense of their democratic rights and duties. In a bad and
crucial political scenario in Sikkim, Chamling became the first politician to coin
the catchy slogan Janata raj ma, janatai raja (In a popular regime, people reign
supreme). That coinage gained quick and wide currency. Chamling found
peoples’ power rising as a massive supporting force behind the opposition
movement launched by him. He wanted to test the might of the truth against
his opponents’ strength to muzzle the truth. His unfathomable love for the
people was his powerful bond between his politics and his people. That bond
was also to be the basis of his political success against a powerful and
repressive political regime.
His opposition was not confrontationist and destructive. While he did not lose
any opportunity to expose the faults and failures of the regime he had broken
away from, he also spent all available time in spreading his philosophy of
defining the state and the country in the context of the village.
Another powerful element of his opposition politics was that he became the first
and the most powerful politician to work for Sikkim’s emotional integration with
the rest of the country. He realized that a merger of land and territory was not
enough. What was needed was a merger of heart and mind between the
Sikkimese people and the people of the rest of the country. They had been kept
apart for years by the colonial British regime and later by politicians. So much
so that an average Indian, when told about Sikkim, would ask in surprise,
“Where is Sikkim?” No more. Chamling worked on this to make the bond
everlasting
Since he had thrown down the gauntlet, the powers that felt threatened used
the communal and caste card against him. Since he belonged to the Mongoloid
stock within the Sikkimese Nepalese community, he was called the leader of the
Mongol movement, a casteist and even a communist. The simple fact was that
he was an irrepressible fighter for democracy, freedom, and the people of
Sikkim. At the same time, there were other political analysts who began to see
populist radicalism in him in the image of Sun Yat Sen, Mustafa Kamal Pasha,
Cheddy Jaggan, and Salvador Allende. These leaders in places as far apart as
China, the Caribbean, Latin America and Turkey, had stood up against
powerful and oppressive rulers in their countries. They changed the society and
politics radically to usher in a new era of democracy and people’s politics. Of
course, their ideologies were highly conditioned by the historical and social
events of their own national environments. One thing common among all of
them was that they understood and shared the misery and the exploitation of
their people by power hungry cliques.
Chamling’s battle against Bhandari was twofold. He wanted to change the
master-servant relationship between the politician and the people. He aspired to
see the end of a situation in which there was one-man domination in the
political durbar where ministers and junior leaders themselves were no better
than political yes-men and serfs. Secondly, the battle was against people’s
ignorance and their political masters’ arrogance. The arrogance and intolerance
cultivated by the leaders of the Sangram Parishad turned out to be the main
cause of their downfall. Time was ready for their fall and Chamling saw it
clearer than anyone else.
Contrary to the style of the then ruling politicians who had declared themselves
the masters, Chamling declared himself the ‘first servant of the people’ at
mammoth public meetings.
The growing number and size of his public meetings was perhaps the most
encouraging achievement in the opposition movement in Sikkim led by
Chamling and his friends. The movement did not last long because the
government it was exposing and opposing did not itself last long . As often
happens in democratic systems, the opposition was destined to become the
ruling party. The ruling party was to become a measly and whimpering
opposition, and not exactly constructive as Chamling would repeatedly point
out.
Chamling did not shirk from speaking about what he firmly believed in during
that crucial battle. And his word carried conviction with his listeners. His
supporters became his firm allies and many who were fence sitters, neutral
between the political forces pitted against one another, were won over.
Chamling did not just act as the leader of a one-track opposition army. An
essential plank of his campaign was to help the people realize and assert their
identity. He worked tirelessly to create respect for and maintain the traditional
bonds and amity. It has existed among different communities and formed the
fabric of the Sikkimese society. In his inimitable style, he compared communal
harmony to a damloh, a local term for the intertwinning of a number of threads
like the plaits of a woman’s hair.
A damloh looks beautiful and colourful threads support each other to make it
firm and strong. Chamling would remind the people in public meetings that
different communities must remain united so that the damloh remained intact
and strong. He firmly believed in unity and harmony of the people which
ultimately reinforced national unity and integrity. His opposition was neither
aimed at destruction nor destabilization of the society. It was clearly aimed at
exposing the oppressive system of authoritarian governance which was
destructive to democracy and democratic institutions.
Chamling, over the years, had to perform the role of being a constant and
constructive upholder of the opposition duties in a democracy. He would give no
quarter to those who were bent on creating suspicions, doubts and fears in the
hearts of the simple people of Sikkim. These elements did try to divide them
into conflicting factions on the ground of caste and creed and disturb the
normal peace and stability of life by raising petty and irrelevant issues. He
insisted that all such elements should be punished in accordance with the law
and democratic norms.
Chamling insisted that in order to express their constructive criticism of
government policies and programmes, the people by and large, and the political
workers in particular, had to educate themselves. One could not fight repressive
politicians and bureaucrats with only ignorance and anger. For the opposition
to be effective, it must be well informed, logical and bereft of personal greed
and arrogance.
Chamling started his campaign with an inner drive to keep the people well
informed about the doings and designs of the ruling powers. He believed that to
assert their power against the elected and appointed rulers in the government,
the people had to first inform themselves about their own rights and duties.
Democracy was born out of peoples’ aspiration.
 12
A Party is Born

The expulsion of Pawan Chamling from the Sikkim Sangram Parishad had
already triggered a state-wide wave of activities. Disregarding the wrath of the
powers that be, almost the entire poor and the underprivileged section of
society in Sikkim ranged itself behind Chamling. Though distanced from the
corridors of ruling power, he came closer to the people every day. It seemed
destiny and determination were both guiding him.
Bhandari, who came to power on the de-merger issue, instead of retrieving the
lost identity, ruled the state as a tyrant. People were deceived every time leaders
hoodwinked them with emotional outburst and irrational slogans. When people
realized the truth, it was too late. Then, yet another social awakening became
essential. History repeats itself if people allow themselves to be deceived by
propaganda. Something similar occurred in Sikkim. As more and more people
began to listen to Bhandari, he went from bad to worse as a ruler.
On March 4, 1993, the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) was born. The new party
was founded by Pawan Chamling with a clear and open commitment to uphold
democracy, justice, and development aspirations of the people. Chamling was
unanimously elected the President of the new party which was slated to change
the very social and political life of Sikkim.
The SDF was not born without reason. It had become essential to fight against
the anti-people policies being pursued by the then government. SDF’s objective
was thus to shoulder the grave responsibility of replacing such policies by a
pro-poor policy and programme. Behind its formation, there were principled
thoughts and values to shape the destiny of the Sikkimese people.
Restoration of democracy was one of the foremost priorities of the SDF party.
Sikkim, which had merged into the Indian Union now had a democratic set-up.
Yet power mongers had for long monopolized the new freedom. The new party
was committed to restoring and strengthening the principles of democracy in
the state. Secondly, the SDF was committed to eradicating poverty in all forms.
Other aims included decentralization of power to make people stronger so that
democracy could be practised at the grassroots level. The SDF was also
dedicated to promoting and safeguarding the economic interest and well-being
of the deprived sections of the populace. Freedom of Press was also important.
The media, the fourth estate of democracy, was at its death bed, with curtailed
freedom of expression and speech. The party also sought to restore the
constitutional rights of press.
Sikkim, although the 22nd state of the country, still lay isolated. The then
government had consistently adopted a hostile attitude towards the Centre and
other regions of the country. The SDF, however, vowed to promote national and
emotional integration of the Sikkimese people into the mainstream. The party
also, for the first time, raised the issue of women’s empowerment, giving due
honour and dignity to the women. Maintaining the spirit of the 8th May
agreement and the subsequent insertion of Article 371 F in the Constitution,
the SDF was committed to keeping Sikkim free from the taxes imposed by the
Central government.
As the supporters of pro-democracy and pro-people started flocking around, the
Chamling effect began to snowball with every passing day. Echoes of the
hitherto suppressed voice of the common man started reverberating across the
rugged hills and serene valleys of Sikkim. The anger in these voices was visible
as painful truths began to come home to the masses one after another. The
ruling Bhandari government began to sense the advancing threat and political
danger. A long period of clashes and confrontations was inevitable. The new
party attracted the young, the educated and the pro-people elements. The old
order represented the rich, the powerful and the entrenched political elite. The
leaders of the SDF were ready to undergo a long ordeal. The party was destined
to undergo challenges and emerge stronger every time. It would stand up with
full vigour against all kinds of tyrannies and terror tactics.
Chamling himself recorded the thrilling episode of the birth of the Sikkim
Democratic Front. He wrote,

“4th March 1993—the day is memorable and unforgettable because on

this day, the revolution against the anti-people and the autocratic lot was
formalised in the formation of the Sikkim Democratic Front party. To
conduct the auspicious ceremony of the formation of the party, we could
not find any priest and lama in Sikkim. Bhandari was said to have
threatened them with dire consequences. Finally, we consulted a priest
from Kalimpong and the day was fixed. After the formation of the party,
the leader of the government went round and round, throughout the
state and belittled us with the choicest of abuse. It is in his nature to
humiliate every person other than his own self.”

Chamling himself vividly recalls,

“In fact, after the formation of SDF, my colleagues and I were not the
only victims of his harsh and undemocratic utterings. He also took
certain decisions that could have negative effects on the entire
population of Sikkim. Among them was the letter he sent to the then
Finance Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, on September 29, 1993
asking him to impose the Central income tax rule in Sikkim. After the
establishment of democracy in Sikkim, the state was kept outside the
purview of the Central income tax. To oppose the anti-people act in
inviting income tax, we called a 3-day Sikkim bandh.
When the bandh received extraordinary support of the people, Bhandari
sahib, along with some of his ministers came out wielding stick in hand.
One of his ministers, in order to intimidate the SDF workers, fired seven
rounds at an innocent animal—a cow—and killed it. From the Sangram
Bhawan, orders were issued to shoot down those who dared close their
shops. At Namchi, the birthplace of the SDF party, a goonda training
camp was set up. The Parishad bosses wanted to crush the people who
had already started rising from their slumber of centuries.
A group of people, burning with hatred for their oppressors, swooped
down on the campsite on June 18, 1993. The hired goondas went helter
skelter and fled the place. Thousands of people descended on the market
and pulled down Sangram flags from rooftops and hoisted the SDF flags
all over, shouted slogans and headed towards my residence at
Ghurbisey. The next day, on 19th June 1993, the DIG and the DC
(South) together with about a 100-strong police force raided my home
and arrested the youth leaders—Binod Pradhan, Hissey Lachungpa,
 Bhojraj Rai and Anil Lachungpa. Besides, 31 of our party supporters
were arrested and kept under detention for many weeks. As I was
encircled, surrounded by about five thousand people as a human shield,
the police could not arrest me. The same day I went underground and
reached Gangtok.”

Chamling’s days in the underground formed an exciting part of his political

journey. But right now the focus was on the birth of the Sikkim Democratic
Front.
Born on March 4, 1993; Registered under No. 56/42/93/JS/II/29II dated the
13th May, 1993 with a recognition No. 56/95(4) dated the 14th January 1995
by the Election Commission of India, the SDF is perhaps one of the very few
parties these days which regularly presents its audited accounts to the Election
Commission of India.
From day one, the party founded by Pawan Chamling, had to be noted for its
political thought and style. The political literature it issued for the guidance of
its own workers, and also for scholars and analysts of political ideology and
party system of India remains a treasure of political acculturation.
One of its brochures carried the impressive photograph of Pawan Chamling and
the cover-line, “Sikkim Democratic Front. Because Sikkim deserves better.” The
lapel of Chamling was embossed with the medal- like insignia of the party, an
open umbrella with red, yellow and blue sections. The party President seemed
to be carrying the insignia like a badge of honour.
Other notable pieces of the party literature were the party president’s directives
to party workers, the party constitution, and a series of tracts and the political
programme.
Recording the birth and the perspective of the SDF, the party President told the
party workers that it had set up a research and study wing and advised them to
take the maximum advantage from their literature.
Under the title “Directives of Party President”, Chamling wrote,

“We woke up in the darkest hour of midnight when anti-people forces

were having a field day. We formed a front and gave a call to the people
to fight for justice. Our unflinching faith in the power of the people, who
were our all important weapon, converted our front into a popular
fortress within no time. It also took no time for the anti-people regime to
fall into pieces and today the same Front has become the centre of hope
and aspiration for the people.’’

The party President advised his worker and colleagues at the very outset, “With
due respect to the hope and trust of the people, the party members ought to
learn more about novel ideas, thoughts, attitudes, and processes. The fact is
that unless one gives up or frees oneself from old ways of thinking, concepts,
and behaviour one cannot build a new society.”
In the Preface and introduction to this important book of guidelines for the SDF
workers was a clear insight into the ideological basis and political underpinning
of the SDF. All these largely reflected Chamling’s own standings on various
issues. The ‘Preface’ underlined:

“Old ideas do not fade away abruptly nor do the new ones crop up all of a
sudden. In order to plant new ideas by giving up old concepts, one has to
 pass through a long and arduous process. Like it takes time to plant and
cultivate a new idea in place of an old one, it requires a lengthy and
arduous process to build up a new society by dismantling the unjust and
worthless system prevalent in the old society. The ideology or policy
determination has given direction to this process. The policy is, therefore,
considered the most essential requirement as and when constructive and
reformative programmes are taken up.
However, policy alone cannot bring about reform, like planning cannot be
sufficient to construct a house. Dozens of policies have been framed to
outlaw injustice and tyranny and give direction to development work.
However, to analyze whether the policy is right or wrong it has to be
applied and put into practice. For example, it could be a standard line to
state that mango is delicious. But unless we actually taste the mango we
cannot know for sure whether the mango is really sweet and luscious or
sour and bitter. It is in this context that the organized strength of the
people is absolutely essential while implementing any kind of policy. This
organized strength of the people is known as the political party.
So, when ideology or policy is decided it is very essential to form a
political party based on the line of these ideologies and policies. Just as a
party is necessary to implement these policies, the leadership is equally
necessary to run the party in a disciplined manner and to take the party
towards its declared goals. Policy, party and leadership are, therefore, the
three most important requirements for any political functioning.
There was intense injustice, tyranny, suppression and exploitation of our
public in the Sikkim of yesteryears when an autocrat ran the party like
his own fiefdom, and trampling of democratic rights of the people was the
order of the day. This was a time when a majority of our people were
compelled to suffer hunger, disease, grief and injustice while a handful of
people in the corridors of power with hangers-on lived the life of
extravagance and luxury. The need of that period was to break that
unjust regime and give justice to the people.
Restoring the rights and privileges of the people held captive in the
blood-soaked clutches of a handful of oppressors was the need of the
hour. However, the public that time neither had ideological support and
party nor a leadership to direct them to fight against the unjust and
indifferent regime and vanquish it. Under the circumstances, though
thoroughly agitated, the masses were at a loss and running aimlessly
from pillar to post without any proper direction. To bring change to that
situation, we framed a pro-people policy and formed a people’s party to
implement that policy.
To realize the dual provisions of our objectives the leadership also
emerged in our party. Pawan Chamling, who played the most pivotal role
in framing and explaining the pro-people policy of the Party, and
organizing a party on that line, eventually emerged as a dependable,
reliable and able leader before the people of Sikkim. This is how Sikkim
Democratic Front, a party with pro-people policies, came into being
under the leadership of Pawan Chamling.”

The “Preface” also underlined the strong need of a special kind of work culture
for the new pro-people party. It pointed out that the emergence of “our pro-
people party does not, however, mean the end of worthless thoughts and
actions spread by the anti-people regime. These were so deeply planted within
our minds for the last so many years. It obviously takes time to uproot these
evil thoughts and actions. However, until and unless this is done the question
of laying the foundation of a new society also does not arise. Since this task is
possible only under an organized and disciplined party, it is very essential to
enlarge, develop, and spread the revolutionary thoughts and action within the
party itself. The party workers are the most invaluable and dependable source
of energy to fulfil the above requirements of the party. Hence, our primary need
today is the bunch of dedicated, sincere and active workers who will lay the
foundation of the new society by remaining loyal to the policy, objective and
programme of the party together with its leadership”.
The party literature (Part I) in its “Introduction” also answered several questions
like why the SDF was needed, why party education was necessary, what the
party wanted and what the primary need of the party was. It also exhorted the
workers to understand that it was a new kind of party and required workers to
discipline themselves. Perhaps it was the first political party in several years
which enjoined upon its workers to be active and develop a sound moral
character.
At the same time, it called upon its women activists to do away with their
submissiveness and be strong. At the organizational level, it called upon the
party workers to concentrate on the expansion of the party and embrace the
organizational ideology and move towards the goal. And it appealed to its
workers never to forget that they were friends of the people.
Stressing that the party workers should always keep in mind the existence of a
party, which claimed to be a party of the people and depended directly upon the
people. It was pointed out that no revolutionary party was ever formed or would
ever be formed without the participation of the people. The party workers were
told,
“As long as our party remains intimately associated with the people, the
party remains strong and united. The moment it shows signs of
disassociation with the people, it marks the beginning of the end. Thus,
to win the trust and the confidence of the people, we should be ready to
make any kind of sacrifice. We should understand that there is nothing
above the trust and confidence of people in politics. The party workers
and members should leave no stone unturned to expand and strengthen
the party besides making it popular with the people.”
The secular and non-casteist character of the party was carefully written in its
literature. It was recorded, “Since the primary aim of the party is to safeguard
the interests of the people and working towards that end, we should act rather
than just talk. In this context, we should bear in mind that we are the soldiers
working for justice on behalf of the people. We should always remember that we
are always for the poor and the deprived and not for a particular caste, creed or
community.”
Again SDF was perhaps the only political party in the country which called
upon its cadres to be “simple, creative and courageous”. The cadres were told:

“People have expected many things from our party and the leadership.
We must therefore, behave properly. We should be determined to develop
political awareness and guide the people. Even in nature, there is a
definite order in everything. We should follow a definite direction in a
 disciplined manner. In any part of the world or society there is always a
constant struggle between the haves and have-nots and between the rich
and the poor. Amidst this tussle there is effort to attain balance of power.
In this process of balancing power, we witness ups and down and
changes in society. Thus by accepting the progressive education we
should develop the skill of its implementation in a creative manner. Our
members should not be afraid of organization and discipline. On the
other hand, they should always be prepared to rectify their faults and
weaknesses for the success of the party. For this they should not hesitate
to self-analyze themselves. Unless we analyze our faults openly and
accept them honestly and rectify them, the party cannot reach its goal.
This should be clear to all of us.”

There was a very special emphasis on the role of women in the party. This
section emphasised, “The women activists of our party should not consider
themselves weak and helpless. Women activists should liberate themselves from
such feeling and help others to break that shackle. Our womenfolk should also
stop considering themselves as an object of luxury and as playthings. They
should instead inculcate within themselves a sound moral character and fight
against all forms of injustice or oppression and prove themselves equal to their
men folk.”
Of course, the party ideology, its constitution and its political literature were a
collective work of like-minded idealists who wanted to spell out a humanitarian
and people-oriented ideology and character for their party. They wanted to
strengthen the people from whom their party was to derive its strength.
However, the Chamling effect was writ large all over this new idealism making it
a party of hope and promise.
Directives to Party Workers were perhaps a unique set of instructions for the
SDF cadres. It began with a quotation from Pawan Chamling, President, Sikkim
Democratic Front: “A leader and worker are distinguished by the responsibility
each carries out in his individual capacity and domain. But the party directives
constitute something that stands head and shoulder above both, whose
commands become the bounden duty of both to obey and before which even the
leader is a worker.”
The 16-clause directives with a four-page preamble and appeal further unfolded
every special character of the party that Chamling and his like-minded
colleagues had built. The document also reflected their intense desire to be
different from the political set-up and style which they and the people of Sikkim
had suffered in the pre-SDF years. The document carried in it an important
ideological evolution, political rationale and code of conduct for the young, new
democratic activists who had chosen to pursue the Chamling path.
Thus began the preamble to the Guidelines:

“Save for those handful responsible for vandalizing Sikkim and who
succeeded in enslaving the Sikkimese at will in the process, this party of
the right-thinking people of Sikkim offers a common platform to all the
Sikkimese people.
This party is committed to ensure that the rule of law plays a vital role in
providing a clean administration at all levels of the government
machinery. This alone can guarantee real freedom and equality, both in
thought and deed. This will pave the way for a vibrant democracy to fulfil
the basic expectations and aspirations of the people. This is a Herculean
 task which this party has taken upon itself to carry out and go through.
Such commitment, therefore, leaves no room for high profile
sloganeering. I may add here that the very enormity of the responsibility
entailed upon us by our ambitious plans and programme is enough to
baffle our critics. More so for those of their ilk for sheer lack of ability to
comprehend, let alone appreciate our people-oriented efforts. A complete
overhaul in their outlook and mode of functioning has, therefore, become
necessary before they hope to lock horns with this party in public.
A sound and balanced ideology is a pre-requisite which acts as the base
of the party and from which the party draws its life blood. It is the
beacon light that helps dispel darkness of thought, deed and action. In
its absence, progress is hampered for want of suitable guidance and a
sense of meaningful direction. The stunning fall from grace of the Sikkim
Sangram Parishad, after wilfully ruling for fourteen years, furnishes a
good example of their misdeeds and lack of sound and people-oriented
ideology. The entire functioning of the SSP government was based on the
quicksands of lies, deception and double-dealing providing a strong
paradox that baffled the Sikkimese for fourteen long years. Little wonder,
it eventually came tumbling down like a house of cards.
The failure and dismal performance of other political parties in the state
might be traced to the same malady, a complete lack of comprehensive
mass-oriented ideological framework. Thus they had nothing to draw
their inspiration from.
The SDF is founded on a sound, democracy-oriented ideological base,
assuring the Sikkimese their right to freedom in all spheres of their
everyday life. The Sikkimese can now safely declare that they would be
entrusted with the kind of government that functions purely on
democratic norms and principles.”
Looking back later when the Chamling era had begun and SDF had become the
ruling party, the Party Guidelines would say with confidence and pride,
“Corruption in any form in this government is strictly checked. String-
pulling to encourage nepotism, selfish motivation for self-interest has no
place in the scheme of things in this party nor in its government. The
party’s rationale for change is symbolic of the struggle it consistently
waged since its inception. The struggle is on to bring about radical
change in the very outlook of the up-coming generation of the Sikkimese.
The policy and the struggle for change will be pursued relentlessly
without respite.”
The document also stressed that “Our election campaigns were essentially
mounted against injustice, repression and stifling of democratic rights of the
people. We had made a solemn promise to the people that democracy would be
restored back to them. We fulfilled our promise which proves that the party’s
functioning is based on sound ideological principles”.
Quoting Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the document said,
“Jawaharlal Nehru often used to say that we are all small men but
something of the greatness of our cause makes us great to some extent.
So, let us remember and believe that the cause we serve collectively
under our tricolour is essentially great and that some of the greatness
rubbing off on us will also make us great to some extent. Let us,
 therefore, reaffirm our commitment to the cause of democracy by serving
the people with all sincerity”.
There was some useful advice to those who wanted to join Chamling and his
party like, “Don’t ever make the mistake of making politics as a career if you
suffer from the ambition of getting richer. And never take a plunge in politics
because you wish to acquire a ministerial berth in the cabinet. All these would
be a misguided and ill-conceived ambition that would prove ruinous in the end.
The Sikkim Democratic Front does not welcome persons with such notions
about the game that is often referred to as the art of the possible. This party
eagerly welcomes those who are fully prepared to become a part of the
movement that is engaged in the supreme task of building an economically
strong and self-reliant Sikkim. It welcomes those who are willing to stand on
their own feet so that the Sikkimese as a whole are assured of enduring peace
and prosperity as they step into the 21st century.”
The following clauses of the Guidelines were carefully framed to guide the
workers in the right path:
● Every member should devote a few hours in a day to studying subjects

related to national and international affairs. Make reading habit compulsory;

● Gambling is a vice. In order to kill time, first under the monarchy and then

under an autocratic regime, we used to gamble and gradually it became a

habit. Let us all make an effort to shrug off the vice and instead spend leisure
hours in libraries and in reading the newspapers and periodicals;
● Let us all try to run public libraries in our respective villages, towns, and

neighborhoods;
● Let us make a habit of meeting the common masses instead of running after

the comforts and luxuries of life. It is the duty of party workers to examine
the problems of the masses closely and bring them before the party
committees. We should then apprise the masses about the decisions and
ensure their implementation;
● One should never forget that the masses are the fountainhead of wisdom and

power;
● The practice of treating womenfolk as play things should be stopped

forthwith. Female workers should also consider themselves at par with their
male counterparts and move ahead accordingly. Everyone should pay due
respect to womenfolk. The ruling parties till now had always created a
situation to degrade all those women who joined politics. The Sikkim
Democratic Front will, however, maintain self-respect, dignity and honour of
womenfolk and also co-exist with them as equal partners;
● The accounts pertaining to the party fund should be maintained properly.

Unnecessary expenditure should be avoided. The committee concerned must

be in complete control in handling the party’s financial affairs;
● It is a wrong notion to move around declaring, ‘I am the would-be candidate

of a constituency.’ It is the party that allots tickets on the recommendations

of the public;
● Let us learn to be wise and humble instead of being idiotic and arrogant;

● Party colleagues should keep their dissatisfaction and differences within the

four walls of the party and never air them in public. Otherwise, the action
will badly affect the party and the concerned individual. Problems within the
party should be sorted out through party channels. Those having ideological
differences with the party can only express their views openly by detaching
themselves from the party;
● The youth should particularly note that we have come from different places to
rally around one party flag. There are dissimilarities in our ways of living,
language, and culture. But we are the soldiers with a single objective. Our
differences pale into insignificance before the principles and ideology of the
Party. Notwithstanding the varieties of languages our voice is one and the
slogan is the same. Our attire may be different but the flag is one;
● Let us eschew sycophancy for what it is worth and instead devote ourselves
to arousing the conscience of the public;
● Today’s leaders were yesterday’s workers and today’s workers are tomorrow’s
leaders. Instead of striving for leadership, let us serve the people and fight for
their rights and they will make us leaders;
● The manifesto, code and programme of the party, including the decisions of
the party high command, should be obeyed. Unless we obey them how can
we expect others to put faith in the party? We must, therefore, always follow
the ideology of the party;
● The SDF workers should set an example in discipline. Instead of acting on
their own they should follow the party directives; right from the President to
the workers of the SDF, everyone should attach great importance to the
interests of Sikkim.”
 13
He Goes Underground

The party that Chamling built was to prove the last straw which broke the then
ruling camel’s back. The man in power and his governmental machine let loose
its oppression to steamroll Chamling and his newly born party. The police had
failed to arrest Pawan Chamling on June 19, 1993 because he was encircled
and protected by surging sea of human beings. It was certain that they would
strike again in a bid to nab him, like they had caught and jailed many of his
staunch political followers. The then government was bent upon erasing the
popularity graph of the party to the very extent of eliminating Chamling
physically. Chamling had to run for cover. Not that he was afraid but the
revolution against the oppressive regime had to be continued.
The movement for restoring the lost voice and the power of the people had to be
continued. He recounted some of his memories of the underground days after
the June 19,1993 strike by Bhandari’s police and bureaucrats. He says, “On
June 19 itself, I went underground and reached Gangtok. I stayed in the
residence of a well-wisher at Tadong and gave direction and guidance to the
party people from the same house.” The police force arrested 31 leading party
supporters and thousands of workers and hurled them into jail at Sikkim
Armed Police Camp at Pangthang because the state’s regular jail had no room
to accommodate all of them!
The people were very concerned about the whereabouts of their beloved leader.
In the murky atmosphere, the whole government machinery was baying for
Chamling’s blood. The people were in a hurry to get released the jailed workers.
Apprehensive about the security of Chamling, people were already agitated.
Chamling, from his underground existence, mailed an appeal to his party
workers that reached every nook and corner of the State. That was the voice of
their leader—a reassuring voice that justified hardship, adversity and suffering
in a cause undertaken to uphold democracy and humanism. Chamling wrote:

An Appeal Letter

in the name of the Sikkimese people

Dear friends

Revolutionary greetings and a deep remembrance.

By now you all stand to realise that the path of revolution and struggle is difficult and arduous and not
smooth and comfortable. Man has to toil and sweat hard to live an individual life—compared to this, we
have descended on Sikkim’s politics to fulfil the dreams of four lakh Sikkimese people, to secure their
political rights and privileges. Therefore, temporary failure and success should not be considered the end
result of our movement, for our mission is far more noble and broader.
We have shared people’s sorrows and misery together and come into politics to bring success in the lives of
the people. It has nothing to do with our individual failure and success. In fact, in individual capacity we
had won while the people had always been losers. Considering people’s loss as our personal grief, we have
come on the street to win people’s victory. The victory of the people is a real victory and also it secures the
overall interest of the majority of people.
My friends! We will win only when the people of Sikkim win—when the people will live as masters and
not as slaves.
Today since we have plunged into this movement, we realised how hard and difficult could be our journey.
Yet our people have been struggling with injustice and unfairness for years and living in a death-like
trance. We should be able to feel the kind of life that they might have suffered.
Today our eyes have gone wet like the people’s eyes. Today our minds are troubled like the people’s mind
agitated for years. And hence, the present and the future of our people will be at stake if we feel
disheartened by the prospective trouble, obstacles, and ordeals that such movement brings in.
Our weaning children would curse the father in us, falsehood and vice would forever triumph in Sikkim’s
politics. Humanism would lose and barbarism would rule tomorrow as it does today. We have been
betrayed and abandoned in our own place, we have felt these all these years.
Now you know that during revolution people go to jail or invite death to safeguard principle and ideals,
existence and self-respect and not for any petty individual interest. Nelson Mandela was jailed for 27 long
years, Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln received hot bullets into their chests. We too are confident
that we will never sacrifice our principles and ideals under any circumstances.
No matter whether I go to jail or am obliterated, I deeply appeal and request all my friends to carry forward
our political and ideological campaign still. It rests with all of you to emancipate my friends and me, and
fulfil the hopes and aspirations of the people. Hence, any of you who are among the public, the government
servants, the students, farmers, labour forces, intellectuals, those who love Sikkim—we have prepared to
fight for you. Thus may you also equally extend your helping hand to our struggle, come forward, shoulder
to shoulder in unity. I would like to request you thus and wishing you all the best.

Yours truly
Sd/-
Pawan Chamling
Dated: 05.07.1993

But before Chamling did move tangibly forward to make his dream of a new and
prosperous Sikkim a reality, he had to go through a test of fire, a long period of
persecution and defiant survival after his removal from the cabinet and the
Sangram party.
He was to face threats, intimidations and a witch-hunt from the same man
whose Cabinet Minister he had been and by the same government of which he
had been an important part until he was served the sack notice. In his own
words,

“My position after my removal was not easy. Bhandari, after removing me
from his party, was not satiated yet. Threats and intimidation like
amputation of my limbs, burning of my house were hurled at me. Not
just my political life, Bhandari seemed in a hurry to stop my very
lifeblood. The invasion on my career and life was carried to Namchi itself,
where my wife was serving as a teacher. This was considered a fortress of
my political and social strength. On September 19, 1992, at Allay
Ground at Namchi, Bhandari attacked me in a public speech.”

Bhandari was at his witch-hunting best during that September 19 Namchi

onslaught. He attacked everything and everyone even remotely or even falsely
connected with Chamling to promote his paranoic and neurotic “Mongols are
coming” thesis.
Bhandari also lashed out at the OBCs. They became his target because his own
cabinet minister once, Chamling, had chosen to take up their just and
constitutional cause and exposed the anti-OBC bias of his chief, namely,
Bhandari. The Sangram Parishad supremo said, “Chamling talks of OBCs. OBC
is an inauspicious word. When people go mad they become OBCs.”
On the contrary, immediately after coming to power, Pawan Chamling
implemented the Mandal Commission recommendations and granted
reservations and other privileges to communities falling under the OBC
category. Till then, the previous government had refused to implement the
recommendations in the state meting injustice to thousands of people in
Sikkim. The opposition headed by Bhandari, instead of welcoming the move,
blamed the Chamling government of breaking Sikkimese society. But Chamling,
in his characteristic way, rebuffed the opposition. He said, “I beg to ask, if the
individual thread is made stronger will the looms become weaker? Will the
garden deteriorate when all flowers are given equal treatment and equal
opportunity to bloom? If not, then Chamling has not broken up Nepali society
but is trying to unify and strengthen the community.” This assertion has stood
firm all along and Chamling has been successful in uplifting the poor and
downtrodden, and giving them honour and privilege as provided under the law
of the land.
The then head of the government enacted such a fistful of dramas to put even
the Senecan tragedies into shade. The time was thick with deceit, treason,
atrocities and killings. In 1992, Dik Bahadur Rai was beaten black and blue in
broad daylight. On 8th December 1993, Dhan Raj Tamang succumbed to the
excessive torture by the police in the jail. An innocent mother and her sons in
Kaluk Thana were subjected to inhuman acts. The mother died the next
morning. Shiv Shanker Dhakal was paraded naked in Gangtok town. Biraj
Adhikari was nailed down literally.
Press houses were pulled down, mediamen like Suresh Parmar, Shiva Pradhan
and P.B. Yata were tortured and manhandled by paid goondas. Rajendra Baid,
editor of a national daily, was abducted from Siliguri and tortured in Sikkim
thana. Bhandari would punish anyone found reading newspapers. Major
Phumpo, Nedup Bhutia, K.C. Pradhan (former minister), Dawa Gyalpo,
Chhaganlal, Aitasingh Tamang—all were put behind bars for reading news
papers. Likewise, many employees services were terminated, and their
promotions stalled. Many suffered punitive transfers. Bhandari would transfer
members from the same family to three different destinations making living
difficult for the family.
Amnesty International in its report entitled “India” and subtitled “Sikkim:
torture of an opposition politician” dated October 1994 (AI Index: ASA
20/26/94 Distr: SC/CO) published from London made a very detailed inquiry
into how the opposition leaders and politicians were tortured and humiliated by
the ruling party led by Nar Bahadur Bhandari. It read,

“Amnesty International is concerned at persistent reports of arbitrary

detention, torture and ill-treatment of opposition politicians in Sikkim, of
which the illegal detention and torture of Biraj Adhikari in June 1993 is
only a detailed example. Amnesty International has received reports of
two government opponents alleged to have died as a result of torture in
police cutody in the state in recent years, but the perpetrators have yet
to be brought to justice.
Biraj Adhikari, a computer engineer, businessman and opposition
politician, may have been permanently disabled because of torture he
suffered while in police custody in Sikkim. A medical examination carried
out outside India by an independent doctor with expertise in examining
torture victims, confirmed that the after-effects of trauma found during
the examination exactly fitted Biraj Adhikari’s account of his torture
during interrogation. His case illustrates the treatment opposition
politicians risk suffering in a state which, until May 1994, was ruled for
many years by a state government which has shown itself to be
intolerant of political dissent...
There have been persistent allegations that acts of peaceful political
opposition to previous governments in Sikkim often resulted in
imprisonment and sometimes torture.
In February 1988, Dharma Dutta Sharma, a local Congress (I) activist,
was allegedly beaten to death by Sikkim police. Police are said to have
attempted to dump his body in West Bengal but were reportedly
discovered by Communist Party of India (CPI-M) activists. Traces of
Dharma Dutta Sharma’s possessions were recovered but his body has
never been found. According to one report, a farmer was hired to cut the
body into pieces and throw it in the river which divides Sikkim and West
Bengal. Two police officials were suspended, a chargesheet was filed and
they were arrested but subsequently granted bail... Although the state
government has said that it “has not spared any efforts to bring the
perpetrator of this crime to book”, Amnesty International is not aware
that there have been further hearings in the case for more than six years.
On 8 December 1993, Dhan Raj Tamang, a 28-year-old SDF party
worker from West Sikkim died, also allegedly due to torture, in police
custody. He was arrested by police on 7 December 1993 and allegedly
beaten throughout the night of 7 December and was released from
custody the next day on the point of death. He collapsed on reaching the
home of a SDF party activist and was certified dead by doctors when they
reached the house. A post mortem report allegedly listed “grievous
injuries”...
On 24 October 1992, Duk Nath Nepal, a member of the CPI (M)’s Sikkim
State Organising Committee was taken to a police station and beaten for
four hours. (The CPI (M), which rules neighbouring West Bengal, has
reportedly sought to build up a power base in the state but has failed so
far to obtain a seat in the state’s assembly). Duk Nath Nepal was not
shown a warrant for his arrest. On the same night, Hem Lall Bhandari, a
lawyer and opposition activist, was taken into custody and beaten,
impairing his hearing, causing pains in his stomach and legs and his
face to swell. Both men were paraded through Gangtok market-place
with their hands tied behind their backs and taken to the Additional
District Collector who remanded them to police custody. They were
granted bail in November 1992.
In November 1991, Rajinder Baid, editor of a Hindi daily, Janpath
Samachar, was arrested in West Bengal by Sikkim Police in plainclothes
and illegally detained and beaten. The West Bengal Government was not
informed about his arrest. Rajinder Baid was reportedly detained on
charges of sedition but was not produced before a magistrate or allowed
to contact his family or his lawyer. Nor was he allowed medical treatment
for his injuries. He was produced on the orders of the Supreme Court
 after a habeas corpus petition was filed by his son and was brought to
Delhi. The Supreme Court ordered that he be handed over to Delhi police
and admitted to All India Institute of Medical Science for treatment at the
state’s expense. The Advocate General of Sikkim told the Supreme Court
that plainclothes policemen had taken away the editor specifically ‘for
printing and circulating a seditions pamphlet in a foul language.’
However, the Court ruled that there had been nothing seditious in the
article mentioned in the First Information Report of the police...
Hem Lall Bhandari, then a practising Sikkimese lawyer resident in
Bombay, had first been arrested in Bombay on 29 September 1987. The
state government had accused him of participating in a campaign
criticising the merger of Sikkim with India. He was kept in a Bombay
police station and moved to Delhi and released after about a week, on
bail. The Bombay High Court held his detention, prima facie, illegal
because no grounds for his detention under the National Security Act
were given when he was ordered to be detained. The Supreme Court also
quashed his detention because the government had failed to provide
grounds for his detention under the Act within the five day period
specified by law, the court ruling that the legal provision “is a safety valve
for a citizen who is robbed of his liberty and to disable the authorities
from manipulating the grounds of detention.”

Chamling was to record later, “Crores of rupees were wasted to hound and
persecute me. Bhandari ordered the police to raid my house three times”.
In his speech in Sangram Bhawan on 27 February 1994, Bhandari ordered
his supporters and ministers to shoot people. The Sikkim Democratic Front
called a bandh on 28th February, 1994 which was a total success. In order to
disrupt the bandh call, Bhandari sent down his ministers to open shops and in
a wild frenzy, one of his ministers even pulled the trigger to frighten people.
Bhandari tried to arrest Chamling under TADA. The SDF founder was
compelled to go underground. He, however, continued his movement. Bhandari
lost his case only when Chamling secured anticipatory bail from the Supreme
Court.
Political rights of people were mostly nonexistent. The opposition parties were
prohibited from assembling for any meeting. If anybody dared come out for a
meeting, he ran a great risk. People were harassed, tortured, and beaten. Goons
were hired to destroy opposition vehicles. People could never present their
grievances to the government. People could not imagine any peaceful
demonstration to draw the attention of the government. If there was any
demonstration, the ruling party supporters, including the ministers would
swoop down upon the demonstrators.
On January 21, tens of thousands of people blocked the road from Metro Point
to the lower Secretariat and shouted slogans against the government. The whole
of Gangtok remained paralyzed by this demonstration.
Pawan Chamling vividly recalls:

“On January 22, people took out a peaceful procession. On instruction

from the then government, the police beat our people and fired tear-gas
shells. However, goondas who had come under protection of the police
got the taste of people’s fury that day. The police force was employed at
every point. But people tore apart all the obstacles and reached Gangtok.
On the 23rd, I moved out from the house where I was lodged and went to
Buddhimaya Subba’s house at Tadong. Considering the gravity of
situation, the party decided that I should go outside Sikkim for some
time. The same night, that is June 23, at about 9 p.m. my host
Buddhimaya handed me her shawl, her husband’s long coat and a cap.
Having camouflaged myself with these clothes to the extent possible, I
left Gangtok with my friend Neelu Chettri, riding his scooter. To
outmanoeuvre police at the Ranipool check post (about 12 km from
Gangtok), Neelu continued alone on his scooter and reached Seti khola
(stream) while I scrambled through a short cut to meet him there. At 11
(eleven) at night we reached Pakyong. It must have been half an hour
past midnight when we reached Rhenock Reshi via Rorathang. Here too,
I got down and went across the bridge through a short cut. The road to
Kalimpong was bad and the light system of the scooter was poor. We
slipped and fell many times before we reached Kalimpong.
It was past the first cockcrow when we reached L.D. Kazi’s residence.
L.D. Kazi and B.B. Gooroong were together. I could not receive as much
encouragement from them as I solicited. We stayed together there.
On June 26, L.D. Kazi and B.B Gooroong went to Gangtok to meet the
Governor. The Governor passed on to them the same story that was
handed down to him by Chief Minister Bhandari. Hence, when they
returned they said that all was finished. He told us, You are all booked
there under TADA.
But we had already taken a vow to stand up and face a situation even
more difficult than this. We were not disheartened. Whatever their stand
and assessment of the situation, they remained with us in principle
because together with the CPM we had constituted a Joint Action
Committee.
Having received indication about some impending danger, I left L.D.
Kazi’s home at 3 a.m on June 28. Just a few minutes after I left, a
combined force of Kalimpong and Sikkim police arrived at his house.
According to my friend, they thrust their revolvers towards my empty bed
there and searched all over the house for me.
With Lhendup Lepcha as my companion, I climbed up a nearby hill and
reached a secluded house, located about a kilometer away. The house
was owned by a Bengali gentleman. Only a chowkidar lived there. He
took me to a room and locked it from outside. This was my new hideout.
The chowkidar served me food twice daily. I was not troubled much by
hunger and sleeplessness. But there was no provision of a toilet attached
to the room. That was a worrisome matter. The chowkidar, however, had
provided a rusted old tin for the purpose. When one is underground and
hunted, one cannot ask for the basic amenities more than that. One
must survive and outlast the enemy.
We could not stay for long. We again moved out from the place and took
shelter for the night at Chhibo Busty at M.B. Bhattarai’s house. In the
morning of June 30, we—Lhendup Lepcha, Neelu Chhetri, Sushil
Pradhan, C.B. Karki, Nakhul Rai and I—left the house again and
resumed our journey to nowhere. We wandered all day among the thick
foliage of the Amphitaar jungle in search of an exit route. In the process
we reached the banks of the Teesta. We climbed uphill again, unable to
find an exit route. Towards dusk we again climbed down to the river
bank. Tired and hungry we decided to pass the night under a temporary
leaf tent. To scare away wild animals, we built a bonfire.
Without food, our bodies were rebelling. As if that was not enough, as the
night deepened there came a heavy downpour. The heavy rain doused
the fire. We were totally drenched in the torrential rain. Nahkul Rai was
worried. Neelu Chhetri suggested we climb up the hill for safer ground
before the furious waves of Teesta claimed us. The night was somehow
spent. It was an endless night and the most unforgettable one in my life.
Like every night it was followed with the break of dawn. At 6 a.m, we
resumed our uphill journey. After daylong climbing and wandering, we
settled for the night on the top of a hill which was covered by dense
forest. We spent the night among some wild berries and rows of banana
trees.
The next morning we resumed our journey, scrambled up and up and
covered a long distance. We met two persons descending the hill.
Although initially apprehensive, they finally came to our aid. They had
come down to collect bamboo shoots. Having been promised greater
reward by us than their bamboo shoots would have fetched them, they
even parted with their tiffin. They belonged to Kamsi village. The village,
with just sixty households and people like J.B. Rai, Kalpana Thapa,
Indra Bahadur Rai, including the rest of the villagers, accorded us warm
welcome and hospitality.
We spent two days at Kamsi village. Then we left for Darjeeling in a hired
vehicle at the dead of the night. It was 2 a.m. in fact.
In a hotel near Chowrasta, I met 33 of my party colleagues and discussed
with them the party activities and strategy. When my identity became
exposed in the hotel, I had to quietly move to Delhi three days later, on
July 10, along with some of my colleagues.
On reaching Delhi, I reserved a room for myself in a hotel under the
assumed name of B.S. Thapa from Dehradun. I met a number of Central
ministers and MPs from different political parties and apprised them
about the situation in Sikkim.
After a week in Delhi, we returned to Darjeeling. Due to my declining
health and from the security point of view, I spent some days in eastern
Nepal at Elaam on the advice of my friends and colleagues.
On August 24, 1993, after I returned from Elaam, I called a party
meeting at the Darjeeling Tourist Lodge. In the emergent meeting, the
party took the following decisions:
● To issue a three- month ultimatum to the Bhandari Government.
● Leaders and party must coordinate their activities.
● We must check on the indiscriminate collection of party funds.
● We must accept that party’s interest is our self- interest.
● To open a party office at Geyzing.
● To strengthen the party organization in all the four districts of
Sikkim.
● To acquire anticipatory bails.
● To form party committees at every village level.
● To increase the party membership.
● To circulate party literature in all villages to secure a strong base and
the fighting edge with the Sangram party.
In the emergency meeting, which lasted for almost eleven hours, a
decision was also taken to open the youth and women’s wing of party.
 Word spread about my presence in Darjeeling. From the security point of
view, it was again felt necessary for me to leave the place and move on.
I crossed over to Nepal and reached the interior village of Heelaytaar in
Dhankuta district, I stayed underground with a well-wisher for about 15
days. From the political point of view this stay proved very fruitful.
I utilized the time in serious study and in framing the political
programme and shaping our political principles. I again returned to
Darjeeling and then left for Delhi on September 12. During this visit I
was granted anticipatory bail by the court.
After three months of underground life, I returned to Gangtok on
September 22,1993. With the anticipatory bail in my hand, Bhandari’s
legal manoeuvring against me was rendered impotent. It was a
reassuring and public homecoming. Thousands of vehicles and surging
crowds lined up the route and demonstrated public presence and
support for me all the way from Rangpo, the border town in the Sikkim-
West Bengal border, to Gangtok. The message was literally loud and
clear. I was full of hope and determination. The head of the government
then had certainly lost his hope and mind.
Having reached Gangtok, my party organized a historic public meeting at
the Paljor Stadium.
From now onwards the march of political events was rapid and
sometimes rather dramatic.”

After a bid to disturb the traditional communal harmony among the three main
ethnic communities of Sikkim, the Nepalese, the Bhutias and the Lepchas,
Bhandari’s own rule crumbled like a house of cards.
Due to misadventures of a handful of oppressors and the subsequent gift racket
episode, the Centre decided to extend the Central Income Tax Act in Sikkim. All
the Sikkimese people rose against it. Bhandari again tried to advocate an
inconsistent stand to divide the unified Sikkimese and the seed of mutual
suspicion was sown. The century-old peace in Sikkim was disturbed. A kind of
disturbing tendency developed in Sikkim and the possibility of communal
conflagration became imminent.
Although Pawan Chamling was now above ground and in the open, the heavy
weather in Sikkim was not yet over. The scenario towards the end of 1993 was
getting murkier by the day.
Chamling’s SDF and the communal harmony of Sikkim were both under heavy
fire from the regime which was now on its way out and desperate to clutch at
power by use of any means. In a 14-year unchallenged rule in Sikkim, the
Sangram Parishad had even managed to convince itself that it was invincible
and irreplaceable. Was not the immortality complex a well-known disease of
monarchs and autocrats? In Sikkim, Bhandari is the architect of communal
discord and discrimination in Chamling’s eyes. In the public meeting of May 9,
1994, Bhandari declared war on the local Bhutia community and said, “I will
kill them like leeches—by applying salt.” After three days, he announced that he
would finish Bhutia-Lepchas with the help of hired goons from Darjeeling.
When his own ministers defected to form a government under Sanchaman
Limboo, Bhandari issued another provocative statement. He said, “After coming
back to power, I will destroy all old laws, Article 371 F and rule like Hitler. If I
cannot come to power, I will turn Sikkim into a battlefield. I will finish Sikkim.”
Apart from the confrontation in the open between the Sikkim Sangram Parishad
and the Sikkim Democratic Front, there was internal revolt simmering within
the ruling party. The insiders of the Parishad were working out different
permutations and combinations to bring down their own supremo. Bhandari
was still under the illusion that he was eternal, the most powerful and that
none dared take away his sceptre and crown. He was also under the delusion
that his political craftsmanship was superior to the ideology of those who dared
defy them. He missed the point that those whose obedience and loyalty were
born of fear and greed would rise and choose to defy when they were freed from
fear. On greed, they perhaps could compromise. That is what happened in
Sikkim.
Chamling’s revolt, survival, and open defiance of the superman of Sikkimese
politics also infected the Sangram Parishad faithfuls with the spirit of
fearlessness and revolt. They began to believe that they could revolt to get their
rights. While Chamling’s political weapon to assert his ideological differences
was open defiance, the Sangram Parishad’s inner rebel’s instruments was
typical to that party’s way of thought—secret defection.
In this strange political atmosphere many public figures changed their faces
and stances. As long as Bhandari’s rule, or as some of his critics called it
‘misrule’, was unchallenged and he felt secure in his throne of power, he was
never tired of calling Sikkim ‘the abode of peace’. Of course, God has created
this beautiful land of Khanchendzonga as ‘abode of peace’. But when he was
challenged and his autocratic rule was in a crisis, Bhandari publicly threatened
that he would transform Sikkim into a communal battlefield, a kurukshetra
among the Nepalese, the Bhutias and the Lepchas. That was the thrust and the
message of his controversial speech in Sangram Bhawan on May 6, 1994.
Curiously enough this angry political tirade came just a day after 18 of his
Sangram Parishad MLAs had defected and chosen a new leader and master.
Obviously he was threatened in his own house. His reaction was perhaps
natural and typical.
The provocative kurukshetra statement from Bhandari the very next day had
the same impact that Bhandari perhaps had expected and desired. Communal
tension enveloped entire Sikkim. There did not seem to be any force visible,
which had the capability of ending this tension. Only the collective wisdom and
determination of the hard-working Sikkimese people had the power to defuse
the situation and defeat the designs of the communal flag holders. The danger
could be faced and vanquished through a democratic front to prove its validity
as a force for peace and harmony. As Chamling recalled, “In the context, the
extraordinary rally called by the SDF Party at Singtam was finally able to
replenish the lifeblood of communal harmony and unity in Sikkim. The
communal tension was defused.”
The six-month period of the government of Sanchaman Limboo was a period of
concentrated propaganda against the SDF. Both the groups led by Limboo and
Bhandari, although quarreling with one another over power and pelf, were
totally involved in creating confusion between the SDF and the Sikkimese
people. Both the parties played the communal card. They went all out to smear
SDF with the communal tar.
Was it not strange that the same government which had issued warrants under
TADA against Chamling chose within a few months to offer him the Chief
Ministership when the question of its own survival was involved? They could
not silence Chamling, whether he was underground or overground. Their effort
to unleash their propaganda machine to faint and destroy his public image
failed to silence his voice.
The period between June 19,1993 and September 22, 1993 in fact turned out to
be the period when a new Chamling emerged out of the old one. Chamling was
the first politician in Sikkim ever to have gone underground for the cause of the
Sikkimese people, for carrying his fight against despotism and for the cause of
democracy. During this period, the Sangram Parishad government had left no
stone unturned to apprehend him. It had used every trick and device in the
world to cripple him. Politically and isolate him from his people. His village
house at Gumpa Ghurbisay, near Namchi, was declared a forbidden area and
those visiting the house, persona non grata.
Even the shopkeepers was threatened with dire consequences if they dared sell
essential commodities, including rice, to Chamling’s family. A lesser man, in
similar circumstances, would have been shattered and would have lost his self-
command. But Chamling was made of different mettle. A man of true grit and
firm determination, he was sure of his goal and unconcerned about the danger
always lurking around him. He came out of his forced hibernation stronger
than ever. Even for a short while, he set an indelible image of an anti-
establishment and pro-people fighter for democracy. As an opposition leader, he
would remain a model for many generations to come.
During the period of his underground days, the Chamling in hiding was also
the Chamling in writing. He utilized his time in writing some of his significant
works too. Some of his memorable poems and writings reflecting his philosophy
of life, his view on wide-ranging issues and his attitudes to life were created
during this period. He emerged as the inspiration and guiding force of the
democracy movement. He engaged himself as a political teacher of his followers.
They treasured every word he uttered and observed reverently every act of his
precepts of virtue, and the practice of good governance.
The concepts and political principles developed by Chamling in these stormy
days were later enshrined in interesting political document entitled ‘Party
Literature Part II’ which was in the form of a platonic dialogue between Pawan
Chamling and a party worker. Interestingly, giving the background of the first
part, the coordinator of the study and research wing of the SDF clearly
indicated that the most important concepts of the SDF were born of progressive
vision and a pro-poor philosophy that Chamling advocated. He gave to Sikkim’s
politics a new dynamism and direction. It showed that Chamlimg had a very
special trait of creating constructive and positive thought out of the very testing
and trying conflict situation. Trouble did not succeed in clouding his sanity,
sensibility, and thought process.
The “background” to Party Literature Part II began with the line,

“When we look back to the modern history of Sikkim, 16th June, 1992
has distinctly become a significant day. It was on this day that an open
war was declared between the then two leading political personalities,
Nar Bahadur Bhandari and Pawan Chamling, on their policy and
ideological differences. The event did not come as a surprise for those
who took deep interest in Sikkimese politics. Chamling had been strongly
opposing anti-people policy and behavior even when he was within the
Sikkim Sangram Parishad for quite some time. Bhandari did not have
the political courage to appreciate Chamling who had been sincerely
 pointing out his weakness. Instead of correcting his faults, Bhandari
expelled Chamling from his Government.”

Perhaps Chamling’s desire to put down and record his responses to political
lifestyles was conceived at this stage. The explanation in the background went
on:
“With the expulsion of Chamling who was a founding member of the Sikkim
Sangram Parishad and member of its Central Committee, two trends emerged
in Sikkimese politics. While on the one hand Chief Minister Nar Bahadur
Bhandari represented reactionary forces, on the other hand, Pawan Chamling,
a popular poet and a leader of the poor and downtrodden masses, represented
the progressive politics in the state.”
Even during the period he was in the Sangram Ministry, Chamling never
became ‘Bhandari’s man’. In fact, during public meetings he used to express his
dissatisfaction and disagreement with Bhandari’s politics and action. For his
like-minded colleagues and supporters, he used to hold discussions on the
righteous path to follow as a politician, dedicated to serve the people.
Further, Chamling used to hold serious discussion with his colleagues about
their future party, its programmes, policy and strategy. It is a fact that his
tactics during his tenure as a minister in the Sangram Cabinet was to weaken
what he considered the anti-people attitude of Bhandari from within the party.
That is why his expulsion from the Sikkim Sangram Parishad triggered a flurry
of political activities. It was, indeed, the demand of the time, the time had called
upon him to form a party to lead people out of ignorance and darkness, a party
that would preserve the basic rights of people and devoted to the welfare of
people, and justice, a party so expressly pro-people and people centric.
Be that as it may, the moment Pawan Chamling was out of the Sangram
cabinet, the ideological differences between the Sangram Chief and Chamling
came to the fore. They were poles apart in their political views. While the
corrupt sided with Bhandari, the masses aligned themselves behind Chamling.
Drawing an oblique reference, Bhandari would often encourage corruption by
saying that ‘he who extracts honey would inevitably lick his fingers!’ Thus,
Sikkimese politics, hitherto crushed under the autocratic rule of the Sangram
government, started making its first move.
In Sikkim’s politics, there were barely any instances where dethroned
politicians had regained their lost positions. Bhandari had removed a number
of his colleagues from the party on different occasions. While some of them left
the state, many surrendered before him. Once thrown out of the party, the
Chief Minister used to scorn at his former colleagues in public and make them
a laughing stock before the people. Pawan Chamling, however, was an
exception. Though distant from power, Chamling came closer to the people than
ever before. Without paying any heed to Bhandari’s threats and warning, people
from all walks of life began flocking around Chamling.
The “Background” pointed out, “The thoughts and views published in this
section of the Party Literature were those expressed by Pawan Chamling during
this period when people were either openly or clandestinely meeting him to
pledge their support. A number of meetings were also held during this period
where curious and enthusiastic workers used to put questions. Chamling
answered them all in simple language of the masses. The views expressed by
Chamling during such question-answer sessions on a variety of subjects like
philosophy, ideology, politics and national and international issues, which were
recorded on different occasions by different friends, resulted in the publication
of this booklet.”
A very interesting piece of political literature was kindly provided for this book
by C.B. Karki, currently the treasurer of the Sikkim Democratic Front, during
the author’s study visit to Gangtok. The booklet became of special value
because of the last para of the “Background” note. It said, “The views expressed
by Chamling in the form of questions and answers are presented here verbatim.
Since it was not possible to give the names of all the questioners, we have used
the term ‘Party Workers’ in place of the questioner. However, the name of
Pawan Chamling, who has answered all the questions, has been retained as it
is.”
These views have been freely used in different pages of this book at different
relevant points but here are a few excerpts to ascertain on the thoughts of
Chamling:
Party Worker: Respected President, what is politics? Kindly explain so that
common people like us can understand this.
Pawan Chamling: Society is made up of people with different languages,
customs, traditions, and economic standards. Different social relations have
been established between them. The activity directed towards the welfare of
these various groups can loosely be called politics.
Party Worker: I could not grasp the meaning of social relations. Is that
something akin to family relations?
Pawan Chamling: No, that is blood relation. Social relation is a little
different. I shall try to clarify it with an example. When India was under the
British, the British were the masters and the Indians the slaves. Such was the
social relationship established during that period. In order to remain an
everlasting ruler and to continue to plunder India, the Britisher was engaged in
various activities, which was their politics. On the other hand, Indians too
engaged themselves in various activities to get rid of the Britishers from this
country and to become the masters of their own land. That was the politics of
Indians. Well, there are the politics of different countries. Even within a country
there are instances where self-interest or interest of a particular section is
served or promoted. While pro-people forces toil for the upliftment of the
deprived masses, the corrupt and exploiters promote the likes of themselves.
Thus, within the same society, two opposite forces are seen battling against
each other.
 14
Date with Destiny

December 12, 1994 was Pawan Chamling’s day of destiny. It was also the day of
destiny for the Sikkim Democratic Front and the people of Sikkim. Earlier, in
November, elections to Sikkim Vidhan Sabha had been held. The people gave a
massive mandate to Pawan Chamling and his party. The Sikkim Democratic
Front of Chamling swept the poll by winning 19 out of 32 seats. Chamling again
won convincingly from Damthang and retained his traditional seat. In
December, they formed the government. The firebrand opposition leader
Chamling was made Chief Minister by destiny and the people of Sikkim.
In Chamling’s own words, “We fulfilled the first phase of our campaign to pull
down the tyrant bent upon playing with the fate of the common masses. To pull
down the tyrant from his saddle became our first task.” After the formation of
the SDF government, the leader of the opposition, former Chief Minister
Bhandari, regularly predicted the life of the government. The government will
run for three months; within six months we will form the government; I will
receive the Independence Day salute; the government will fall before Dussera; I
will be the new year Chief Minister, .....
“Surprisingly, the man who called me the follower of Gopal Gurung and the
Mongol leader until yesterday changed his tune and called me the follower of
the Communist Block in Nepal and of Anand Pathak at Darjeeling, R.B. Rai’s
CPM and the Communist China in the North. He said the formation of the
Communist (SDF) government in the border state of Sikkim was dangerous for
the country”.
Chamling considered the allegations as illogical and contradictory. How could
he be both Gopal Gurung’s follower—a Mongol—and communist at the same
time? The two accusations were patently false and baseless. But then a man
rising towards the seat of power has to traverse through a series of vilifications
and character assassinations directed by his political rivals and enemies.
There were a whole series of contradictions and confusions in the anti-
Chamling camp at this point of history. Allegations, internal bickering and
snarls, opportunistic overstatements, were not merely the result of the moment.
In fact, they were inherent in the Sangram Parishad’s political style which was
based not so much on principle but the cult of personality. Whenever any effort
to develop a collective and transparent leadership within this party was made, it
was killed by the ambitions of an individual. It was a strange case where the
founder and the leader of the party made sure that it did not prosper and did
not come closer to the people on the basis of positive issues and programme. Its
relationship with the masses was that of a psychotic fear of rivals and enemies
who were not there at all. In fact, to some of those within, the party was its own
enemy as much as the enemy of the people. Chamling also seemed to view it
like that.
Chamling recalls, “When I argued that ration cards should be issued only to
Sikkim subject certificate holders and the permanent employees of the Sikkim
Government, the unimpressed leader was quick to change that Chamling
discriminated against the outsiders.”
Chamling and his Sikkim Democratic Front now had the chance to prove their
credentials and show to the people of Sikkim what they wanted to do for them
and how they would do it.
Chamling remembers the time he took over,

“When we came to run the government, Sikkim was bleeding from

excessive exploitation. The Sikkimese people were burdened by loans
amounting to a whopping Rs. 100 crore. Our first task was to provide
immediate relief to the people from this painful situation. We decided to
stop further borrowing and decided to ease the burden of loan gradually.
We did not want to deceive the people by indiscriminate borrowing and
the compounding interest thereon. The previous government used to give
a meager Rs. 20 as wage to the labourers to sustain their life. We
decided to increase the wage by more than 100 per cent and made it Rs.
50 to give them reasonable access to basic modern amenities.

He further remarked,

“We removed the system of penalizing the workers for taking a day’s
leave. We decided to improve upon the pattern of irregular wage rate for
women and brought it on a par with the wages of the men. The women
labourers would now be able to avail of three months of maternity leave
with Rs. 300 as maternity allowance. Our intention was clear. We did not
want the wage-cut in the women workers earning to add to her labour
pain. We also decided to regularise senior muster-roll workers. We
decided to set up a number of industries and initiate productive works in
different parts of the state. To make our people self-reliant, we decided to
finalize self-employment schemes. These would encourage unemployed
youth to earn their own bread by setting up small scale industries.”

These were the early inkling of the shape of things to come. Chamling’s dream
was that the poor man’s flag must flutter high. Now the first step had been
taken. SDF flag fluttered all over Sikkim. That was the poor man’s flag.
Interestingly, the SDF’s symbol was the umbrella a shelter under which the
policies and programmes for the betterment of poor and a consistent campaign
to eradicate poverty was to be launched.
Chamling is on record as saying,

“With the formation of our government, it was necessary to remove the

fear psychosis rooted deep inside the minds of the people and planting
their minds with enthusiasm and democratic consciousness. We freed
the people and the journalists from the condition of forced silence and
gave them the freedom to express their minds freely for the formation of a
better society in the state. We were successful in re-establishing an era of
peace and tranquility among the ethnic communities. We normalised the
law and order situation in the state. We prohibited the practice of
gambling, alcoholism and exploitation of our womenfolk.”

From day one, Chamling made it routine to take the people into confidence on
all major social, economic and political problems facing Sikkim and the manner
in which his SDF government proposed to tackle them. He was quick to share
his thoughts with the people freely and openly whenever he mooted a new
policy or programme in their interest. That made him perhaps the foremost
practitioner in the country of accountability to the people.
Within a few days of his government coming to power, the people became
accustomed to seeing the Chief Minister amid them, in private functions, public
rallies and in joint efforts to face natural and man-made calamities. His support
among the people was natural and complete.
Chief Minister Chamling had expressed some of his dreams for Sikkim in his
press conference at his official residence on February 22, 1996. This was just a
little over a year after his SDF government had been elected to power with full
public support. He had said,

“I have my dreams for Sikkim, where every citizen is safe and secure and
conscious of his fundamental rights and obligations. In my image of
Sikkim, the poor and the deprived sections of our society gets equal
opportunity with the other privileged classes to grow and prosper. In my
dream of Sikkim everyone has a roof over his head and two square
meals. Above all everyone lives and stands with dignity without fear or
discrimination.”

Although just a year had passed, most of Chamling’s dreams were turning into
realities and everyone seemed to be watching. For example, 70 percent of the
total budget of the government was earmarked for the development of the rural
areas of the State with the objective of alleviating poverty.
There was a time when a major chunk of the development plan fund used to be
spent for the development and beautification of the capital city of Gangtok and
other urban areas of the state. With Chamling assuming power, the government
was quick to declare its commitment to the upliftment of the poor and the
downtrodden of the state. They not only declared their policy and intention but
started implementing what they promised. The rural areas of Sikkim where a
majority lived, started getting equal treatment and preferential treatment along
with the privileged sections of urban population. The sun finally shone on the
poor and the downtrodden people of Sikkim.
Chief Minister Chamling’s first budget speech to the Sikkim Vidhan Sabha in
1995 and his Independence Day address in 1995 clearly listed what his
government had already done and wished to do in days to come.
A whole week had passed without the usual uproar and cacophony since the
March 1995 budget session of the Sikkim Vidhan Sabha had started. It was the
same House where Chamling, a burning candle in hand, had searched for
democracy. Things were different now. The business of the House, which began
on March 22, had been conducted peacefully and efficiently to the satisfaction
of all concerned. Democracy was functioning. The debate and discussion had
been productive. The tenor of deliberations clearly projected the pro-poor and
pro-people commitment of the new government.
The House had already seen the passage of some important pieces of legislation,
including the Municipal Corporation Bill, the Motor Vehicles Bill and the
Language Bill. The Vidhan Sabha had also passed the State budget for the year
1995-96. All these were a source of great pleasure and happiness to Pawan
Chamling when he rose to share his pleasure with the House in his vote of
thanks.
He set the tone for his own political destiny and the destiny of the common
folk of Sikkim. He called upon his colleagues and through them the people of
Sikkim to “forge ahead on the path of progress and self-reliance” and also set
the pace for the very special Chamling style of transparency and accountability
in parliamentary and public life.
Stressing his principle of how public funds should be spent, he said,
“The passage of the annual budget 1995-96 has been significantly
noteworthy. The allocation of funds, as one may note, granted by the
benign Centre has surpassed our wildest expectation. An increment
marked by a whopping 42 percent over the previous allocation granted to
the state clearly shows that this government of the people does inspire
faith and confidence in quarters that really matter. This increased outlay
on development will, no doubt, put the state back on track for a steady
and integrated development with particular emphasis on the rural sector.
It becomes our sacred duty to see that every single rupee is spent for the
welfare of the majority poor. I do beseech my colleagues to always bear in
mind that every single investment made by the government for the
welfare of the people must be positively productive and fruit bearing. The
watchword I have always emphasized, is how you spend—making best
use of the available fund is more important than what you spend.”
It was also the time when Chamling shared some more good news with the
House. He said,
“I can no longer refrain from breaking the good news to the House. A
good tiding such as this indicates that this government in harness is
here to bring luck and good fortune to the Sikkimese people. It gives me
great pleasure to announce that this state has been granted an allocation
of Rs. 700 crore by the 10th Finance Commission as against Rs. 250
crore granted by the 9th Finance Commission. This sharp hike of 200
per cent should provide the necessary impetus to help us visualize our
goal with better concept and vision and to make Sikkim an abode of
peace and economic abundance.”
The principle of transparency and accountability became the identification
mark of the Chamling era from the very beginning. He told the Vidhan Sabha,
“A White Paper has been tabled before the House for its perusal. It is our
sincere effort to apprise the House of the various irregularities that have
characterized the functioning of the previous government. The first of its kind
ever to be published, this White Paper should serve as an eye-opener for the
subsequent governments in Sikkim, including this one in harness.” Chamling
clearly not only held his predecessor as accountable to the elected
representatives of the people and through them to the entire Sikkimese public,
but also held himself and his own government similarly accountable. He minced
no words to explain his policy and principle.
While proposing a vote of thanks during his government’s first budget Chamling
further clarified why he had to publish the White Paper. “The publication of this
incriminating document is not motivated by any ulterior motive to harm any
one in particular.” He said, “Despite its bizarre style of functioning, the
accountability of the previous government to the electoral masses cannot be
questioned for the simple reason that it too was an elected government.”
The White Paper stirred surprise and shock among the legislators and the
masses of Sikkim. It also evoked angry and hysteric response from those at
whom it pointed an accusing finger. But his historic vote-of-thanks speech was
also the declaration of the agenda of the new government.
He declared with considerable satisfaction,
“This government has set aside 70 per cent of its annual budget for the
upliftment of the majority poor who live in our villages. This is taking
democracy to the majority have-nots to ensure that the poor majority
regains its inherent vigour to restore the village economy back to health
and wherein lies the salvation of the whole state.”
Chamling also made it very clear that economic discipline and curb on wastage
and unproductive administrative expenditure would be another important
hallmark of the SDF government. He declared,
“Let this be known that economic discipline is the watchword of our
government and none in the government shall violate this principle.
Economic discipline is not merely confined to the finance sector to
achieve greater flexibility of financial resource. It consists in utilising the
available funds to the best possible use they are assigned to, so that
wastage may be reduced to the minimum. There is no place for misuse of
funds which would be treated as a crime. The austerity measures
adopted by this government from the very day it assumed office by
cutting down unnecessary expenses is proof that this government means
business where economic discipline is concerned. The result has been
gratifying because 20 per cent reduction in expenditure could be attained
by drastically reducing tools and plants the government can do without.”
Chamling was bent upon making his regime an economically disciplined
regime. He set an example for not only the North-Eastern states but the rest of
the country. His economic discipline was to pay in terms of the success of some
of the economic programmes and projects he was to launch later. Hence,
economic discipline was to become an important element of the Chamling era in
Sikkim.
On corruption, he made a resolute and frontal attack. He showed ample
courage in doing so. He said:

“Rampant corruption is at the root of all ills and has done much to stifle
the basic needs and aspirations of the common people. One has to
actually witness the plight of most villagers eking out a hand-to-mouth
existence in the huts of Sikkim to believe that poverty can be terribly
grinding to make human life so miserable. The process of economic
redemption will take on wings the day this curse is lifted from Sikkim.
And we are working hard to exorcise this evil in every way possible to
redeem Sikkim from its accursed clutches. Suitable steps are afoot to
deal with this long-standing menace which is devouring the vitals of the
state economy. A relentless crusade against this social evil will always
remain an article of faith with this government.”

The years after 1995 would show how Chamling pursued his crusade against
corruption. Interestingly, if and where he failed, he was quick to accept it and
start his crusade afresh. Corruption is not an evil which could disappear
overnight. Chamling knew this even then.
One could also refer to “date with destiny” historic speech in the Sikkim Vidhan
Sabha. He made a bunch of promises to the people of Sikkim in it. He assured
them that he would sincerely and unflinchingly work hard to fulfil all these
promises. He said with sincerity and honesty, “Every promise and pledge we
made to people is now being faithfully accounted, to be implemented in a series
of pro-poor and pro-people programmes, so that we can say with pride that
never before in the brief history of Sikkim’s hard-won democracy did any
government achieve so much in so short a time as we have done in the last
three months.” And then he gave a brief outline of what his government had
been able to achieve between December 12, 1994 and March 29, 1995.
Ex- gratia grant payable to the next of kin of the police personnel who died on
duty was increased from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 1 lakh and for those disabled
from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 50,000. Likewise, the ex- gratia payment to civilians
killed during a natural calamity or accident was increased to Rs. 50,000. And
financial assistance to those injured was increased according to the gravity of
each individual case.
An additional monthly allowance of Rs. 200 was granted to police personnel as
subsidy for the ration they drew for their families. Chamling had enough
understanding of the problems and pains of the police personnel due to the
hazardous nature of their duties. He was committed to making life more
dignified and tension-free for them and their families.
One thing which the SDF government of Chamling did in those very first three
months was unprecedented. It pushed Sikkim ahead in the field of educational
reform and child welfare. The government took a decision under which all
students up to the primary level would be supplied free uniforms, textbooks
and exercise books to help ease the pressure on parents who were poor. This
included government employees at the lowest rung of the ladder. There were no
strings attached to this very significant gesture, political or otherwise.
This was in fact motivated by three considerations. First, to help ease the
burden of poor parents in buying uniforms, which entailed quite a problem for
the have-nots on the eve of the school opening session. Secondly, the prospect
of free uniform acted as an incentive for the poor children to join school which
they would have otherwise opted out of. And finally, to promote the literacy
drive at the primary level with a view to inculcating in the young and fertile
mind the desire and thirst for education.
Chamling did not want any child in Sikkim to undergo the feelings of
discrimination and deprivation which he himself had to go through. The very
early decision on uniforms, books, and exercise books was perhaps his spiritual
assertion to ensure that every child in Sikkim enjoyed equality of opportunity
and equality of dignity.
He had explained in his 1995 vote-of-thanks speech that primary education
was essential for preparing young and fertile minds for whatever higher
education the parents may wish to provide. Besides, Sikkim being a backward
state, illiteracy still remained quite high, particularly in the rural areas.
Chamling says that “The idea of free distribution of uniforms was concieved
during our campaign as a means to spearhead the literacy drive on a mass
scale. Today, we are giving practical shape to what we had in mind during our
campaigning days.”
Free distribution of texts and exercise books was also on the agenda which was
to be implemented immediately to meet the deadline as the academic year for
1995 had already begun. This exercise for free distribution of books and
exercise books was to be confined to the primary education section initially.
This was also part of the SDF campaign commitment. In other words, education
for children and equality of opportunity and dignity for them was given a place
of pride in the Chamling programmes from the very first day.
 People who might visit Gangtok, or for that matter any other part of Sikkim
where there is a school, would come back with an unforgettable experience. The
children of Sikkim, in their smart uniforms and self-confident, clean and
dignified bearing, would be an example, a role model. This was a sort of unique
children’s social revolution in Sikkim. It brought out a transformation in the
very personality and outward look of the Sikkimese children. And when these
children grow up, they would be typically Sikkimese, well-equipped to carry
forward the social revolution, seeds of which were sown in 1995.
Chamling had a way of striking at the very roots of tough and challenging
social and political problems. That is why some of his unthinking and
uncharitable political rivals would brand him a communist, a Marxist, and so
on. But he is at best pro-poor as one of his ardent followers put it. These
elements of his vision and agenda were ingrained in both his expression and
thought. He says,
“It has also become necessary to devise ways and means with which to
encourage better asset distribution and acquisition of assets by those
who do not now have them. In the rural sector, one such measure was
the allocation of suitable sites to prospective applicants who are in a
position to build pucca RCC structures. These could be used for running
hotels. These are also in great demand for the purpose of starting lodges
to cater to the needs of the growing influx of tourists to Sikkim.”
Like the rest of India, Chamling realized that conditions in the rural areas of
Sikkim necessitated land reforms. This was not merely recorded on paper, but
implemented effectively all over. He had said right at the beginning that,

“In the rural sector, this necessarily involves land reforms whereby
surplus land owned by private parties is purchased by the government.
This is to be distributed amongst the needy and the poor who hold
Sikkim subject certificate or any similar document where suitable homes
could be built under the Indira Awas Yojana. The distribution of surplus
land under the Land Bank Scheme in which land under khasmal, jhora
lease and wasteland under the forest department and land used for cattle
grazing will have to be acquired by the government to be freely
distributed amongst the needy, homeless and landless Sikkimese. The
distribution work under the above programme is already going on in full
swing at Namchi and Geyzing. This will be taken up on a statewide basis
as more and more land becomes available to the government to provide
optimum benefit to the poor.”

In order to carry forward this drive, the state government would also
negotiate with the private landholders in the state and acquire more land for
further distribution. In other words, Chamling’s commitment to provide land to
the landless proved to be genuine and complete. Whenever government-owned
land is exhausted, Chamling is willing to invest and buy more private lands
for free distribution.
 15
The Troubled Times

The second election to the Legislative Assembly was held in Sikkim in 1979.
L.D. Kazi and his party did not win a single seat in this election. The opposition
party which had promised to revert Sikkim to its erstwhile independent status
fought and won the election. When Nar Bahadur Bhandari, the opposition
leader, was sworn in as Chief Minister on 10 October, 1979, he did a complete
u-turn and said that what had been promised was over with the election. He
called it a ‘fait accompli.’
After discarding centuries of monarchical governance, people had pinned high
hopes for their well being while opting for democracy. This did not, however,
happen under Bhandari’s 14-year regime.
The Sikkim Democratic Front party won the 1994 general election and formed
the government with huge public support. The anti-people forces, however, were
down but not finished. The man who had exercised unbridled power for 14 long
years was certainly feeling very uncomfortable when out in the cold. For the
Sikkim Democratic Front government, the task was that of rebuilding and
reviving the faith and confidence of the people in the democratic system. The
barricade that Bhandari had raised to divide the Sikkimese from the rest of the
country was pulled down by SDF—a party of the poor, downtrodden and the
labourers.
The SDF government adopted the path of reconciliation through emotional
integration and pushed the state on an accelerated path of development.
Chamling said,

“We do not wish to misguide people by opposing the Union government

unnecessarily, nor do we intend to buttress the Central leadership to
prick the self-esteem of our people. As a new and backward state, we
chose to place the rightful demands of the Sikkimese people before the
Central government without any prejudice. We are very conscious that
we seek to place our demands on behalf of the Sikkimese people, which
is not an act of begging. In return, we are always ready, as Indian
citizens, to sacrifice our lot in the interest of the country.”

During the previous regime, the state’s economy went into a tailspin because of
indiscriminate borrowing. Bhandari mostly granted loans to his supporters,
including to Sikkim Jewel and ancillary units where the State government had
by now incurred a loss of Rs. 20 crores. Borrowing with the government itself as
guarantor had put the state in dire fiscal difficulty. Bhandari borrowed from the
Centre and various other financial institutions to the tune of Rs. 500 crores.
The burden of repayment fell on the shoulder of the Chamling government.
Bhandari never observed financial discipline in his entire 14-year rule. The SDF
despite inheriting an empty coffer in 1994 brought about an improvement in
the state’s economy. While the state revenues were only Rs. 40 crores when the
SDF took over in 1994, after a span of six years, the revenue condition
markedly improved with a total of Rs. 125 crores of annual returns. Although
small in size, the state’s revenue is much more than those of many other states.
One after another the public-sector units faltered. Sikkim Bank became sick.
Another clear example is the Sikkim Vanaspati Ltd., where the government is
due to pay a whopping Rs. 30 crores as its guarantor. The much trumpeted
Ropeway Project from Deorali to 10th Mile never saw the light of the day till the
SDF government initiated it.
Bhandari could never believe that the SDF party would earn so much public
trust, support and back up. He would say that the party would not last long.
When it did, he began to say that the Election Commission would not register
the party. It did. He continued and said that SDF would not get an election
symbol…Yet the party got it. He finally said that it would not win elections, but
the people proved Bhandari wrong and SDF formed the government.
The Sangram Parishad leader initiated yet another propaganda that SDF leader
would not be able to run the government—the government has now entered into
the ninth year! Bhandari threatened to topple the democratically elected
government within three months … Alas, it did not happen. Instead, he had to
lick the dust continuously for five times in different elections. People still
continue to suffer psychological blackmailing at the hands of those who has
forever fallen from the murky heights.
However, Bhandari’s wishful thinking had nothing to do with the wishes of the
people. Their overwhelming mandate in the last election put the SDF
government on a firm footing for the second time. But the former chief minister
still thought that his job as opposition is to bring down the government. He now
speaks of fake voting and cheating! Even after continuous drubbings in various
elections, including that for Panchayats, in the last eight years, Bhandari is
unable to come to terms with his fate. The SDF government tried to secure jobs
for local educated unemployed in all Central offices in the state by proposing to
implement the Central Employment Act, 1959. Bhandari took a quick break. He
misinterpreted this proposal to misguide people by saying that the Chamling
government had scrapped ‘the Sikkim Subject’ provision and abrogated Article
371 F.
As a consequence, a seemingly non-political body of the educated unemployed
youth called a 3-day Sikkim bandh in September 1997. But no sooner people
got to know about it, the bandh took political overtones. It was Bhandari and
not any unemployed youth who took the lead and tried to disrupt the law and
order situation in the state. One of the most loathsome characteristics that the
opposition parties assumed was that they did not even spare innocent
schoolchildren. Children were instigated to leave their classrooms and revolt in
the streets. They were encouraged to take part in destructive activities. It was a
mission not their own but that of a handful of oppressors. In their cruel
machinations to grasp power from the backdoor, they used these innocent
children to act as the sacrificial goat. This was far beyond the norms of decency
and sincerity practised by the Chamling government.
On Sunday, September 25, 1997, Bhandari addressed a gathering in Gangtok.
He alleged that Pawan Chamling was trying to abrogate the Special Provision
contained under 371F and to meddle with ‘Sikkim Subject’ documents.
Chamling knew that the opposition parties led by Bhandari had made a
mountain out of a molehill. The simple proposal had snowballed into an open
political contest. In an eye for eye, tooth for tooth confrontation, Pawan
Chamling held a mammoth public rally in Gangtok two days later. He analysed
the issue threadbare before the public.
The Sikkimese people, numbering more than 50,000 came from all nooks and
corners to listen to Chamling and to know the facts. Chamling told them that in
India, it is a common knowledge that changing a single comma or word from
the Constitution required two-third majority vote in the Parliament and the
assent of the President of India. He asked, “How can the SDF government
amend the Constitution in Parliament?” It was impossible and unthinkable. The
opposition parties were thoroughly exposed in the eyes of the people. People
returned to their homes, having become aware of the truth and well-informed
citizens. Moreover they had identified the ‘Judas’ in the political realm of
Sikkim.
More recently, Chamling led a political delegation of all political parties in
Sikkim, including Bhandari, and submitted a joint memorandum to the Hon’ble
Prime Minister on November 6, 2001. As people’s representatives, they claimed
that the enforcement of Central income tax laws would be contrary to the
safeguards given to the State under the provision of Article 371 F of the
Constitution of India and the sentiments of the people of Sikkim. They
unanimously decided to pray to the Prime Minister, seeking review of the
enforcement of the direct tax laws in Sikkim.
In the meeting with the Prime Minister, Bhandari had endorsed the views of
Chief Minister Chamling as expressed in the memorandum. However, after
coming back to Sikkim, Bhandari did a volte face and identified himself as a
politician with double-standards. In a press conference in Gangtok, he said that
what had been done had not been in the interest of the people of Sikkim. The
Sikkimese people no longer took his word for granted. It is a pity that Bhandari
has nothing left to say.
Bhandari adopted all conceivable options to disrupt the normal functioning of
the SDF government over the years. Bhandari approached the courts with
allegations to charge the SDF government with corruption cases. On June 15,
1996, he submitted a petition to the then Governor Chaudhary Randhir Singh
seeking sanction to prosecute Chamling. The Governor, in a clear statement
rejected Bhandari’s plea. On December 3, he gave the Governor 24 hours
ultimatum to accord sanction or else he would move the high court.
On December 10, 1996 he moved the High Court and submitted a writ petition
seeking the court’s intervention and to direct the Governor to accord sanction to
prosecute Chamling. The High Court, however, rejected Bhandari’s desperate
plea. Bhandari went to the Supreme Court to challenge the High Court’s order
and submitted his petition on April 21, 1997. On May 3, the Supreme Court
also summarily rejected the contention. Thus, Bhandari’s allegations were
dismissed by the Governor, the High Court, and the Supreme Court. It is indeed
paradoxical that Bhandari himself knee-deep in corruption charges being
presently investigated by the CBI was trying to file cases against Pawan
Chamling.
 16
Messiah of the Poor

A Mercedes car suddenly appeared at Ghurbisey village, Pawan Chamling’s

home, on December 11, 1994. The car had reached Chamling’s home to ferry
him to the capital the next day for his swearing-in as the chief minister for the
first time. The Mercedes used to be the official car of the chief ministers of
Sikkim in the past. Pawan Chamling was the Chief Minister-designate after the
landslide poll victory in the just concluded Assembly elections. However, the
Chief Minister this time was a different man, not used to luxury and not willing
to ride in such comfort when there were thousands of poor people struggling for
their livelihood. The next day, Pawan Chamling reached Gangtok in his old jeep
for the swearing-in ceremony.
The Mercedes remained unoccupied. Chamling had a very clear mind. He had
declared and said,

“Cars like the Mercedes costing Rs. 50 or 60 lakhs are not befitting for
the Chief Minister of a poor and backward state. It may be suitable for
the President of USA or the British Prime Minister, but not the Sikkim
C.M., where the majority are poor, struggling for their bare sustenance.
Yes, I will board such costly cars only when every Sikkimese has at least
a Jeep of his own. Till such time, I will use only a Gypsy or a Jeep.”

This is the quintessential Chamling who identifies himself with the plight of the
poor people. He consciously sacrifices comfort and luxury. Coming from a
humble background himself, Chamling is forever looking for an occasion and
opportunity to serve the poor and the downtrodden. He strives to lubricate the
wheels of economic and social instruments to provide the Sikkimese people a
life of honour and dignity. Not for nothing have the poor people of Sikkim hailed
him as the messiah of the poor.
Only about 19 months earlier, Chamling had been expelled from the SSP,
sidetracked and crushed by its leader Bhandari. But the spirit in Chamling was
indomitable, guts insurmountable and sagacity immense. In ordinary
circumstances, when some leader sacked his man, he is consigned to the pages
of history. But not Pawan Chamling. He had in fact, a convoy of many vehicles
belonging to his followers accompanying him to Namchi (his home town) from
Gangtok after he was removed from the cabinet and the Sangram party. Waiting
in the small town of Namchi were thousands of people to welcome their beloved
leader, their friend and their mentor. The day, in fact, was a day of emotional
home-coming, and a greater resolve to start a new beginning in the lives of the
Sikkimese people. The day in a sense was the dawn of a new day for the poor—
their liberation from mental chains and enslavement.
And what followed after that were stirring speeches from Pawan Chamling. All
poor Sikkimese finding solace in the words of Chamling flocked around him as
their savior: “I salute the people who are demanding their rights through
democratic means. People from all sections—the workers and labourers who toil
in the field and sweat all day long, teachers, government employees should also
wake up, arise and demand their rightful place in the society, in the State.” As
the lone opposition MLA, this was his constant appeal at all major public
meetings.
When Chamling was sworn in as the Chief Minister on December 12, 1994, the
poor people had their last laugh. That indeed was the logical culmination of
Chamling’s movement against repression, coercion and autocratic rule. So
much so that the new government in 1994 earned the label of khalee- khutte
sarkar (barefoot government) implying that the government was by the poor and
of the poor, formed with the overwhelming support of the have-nots. Pawan
Chamling had no qualms about accepting the label as a compliment. As he
often said,

“I would like to believe that without uplifting the majority of the

Sikkimese poor, we cannot achieve our goal of overall prosperity.
Progress and affluence cannot be measured in terms of a few rich against
the majority poor. Therefore, in the present context, welfare of the poor
and the downtrodden remains our avowed commitment.”

The floodgates that opened up after the Sikkim Democratic Front was formed in
1993 is quite a rare happening in the history of the state. Prominent Sikkimese
leaders belonging to the then ruling party and the Congress (I) were inspired by
Chamling’s pro-poor spirit. His vocal stand that the majority poor were equally
the children of god with equal right to live a respectable life penetrated the
remotest villages. Bhim Bahadur Gooroong, former Chief Minister of Sikkim,
who joined Chamling’s party like many other leaders, was impressed by
Chamling’s religious zeal to raise the poor people out of deprivation and
ignorance. In his joining letter, he wrote, “In less than a year of its emergence,
the Sikkim Democratic Front under your dynamic leadership, the poor and
downtrodden people of Sikkim have accepted you as their messiah.”
From day one, Pawan Chamling also declared his government to be pro-poor
and one that would carry a continuous campaign against corruption at all
levels. His achievements in these directions would also be pace-setters for other
states. In his historic vote-of-thanks speech in the Legislative Assembly in
1995, he had said in unequivocal words,

“This is a pro-poor government and its basic policy lies in improving the
lot of the downtrodden while it is equally benign to the rich, who, we
consider as the backbone of society. Our basic policy reaffirms the
principle that the poorest of the poor should have the right to find a place
in the sun, while the rich and the affluent should be given the liberty to
enjoy their good fortune and place in the society they have rightly
earned.”

It was clear that he wanted to get rid of poverty and wanted to make the poor
strive to become rich. He would not work to make the rich become poorer. The
rich could use their riches to help eradicate poverty.
The very first positive gesture that Chamling offered after coming to power was
to earmark 70 percent of the total plan outlay for the development of rural
Sikkim and for other poverty alleviation programmes.
The mission is one of achieving self-reliance in which every poor villager can
sustain on his own resources through increased productivity. Pawan Chamling
message every occasion is that from consumers people have to make
themselves the producers. Accordingly, farmers’ training camps are organized
at different centres across the state to equip farmers with modern means and
techniques in agricultural farming. All other incentives like quality seeds and
pesticides are distributed among the poor farmers to increase their yield per
hectare.
Landless Sukumbasis are given two acres of land free of cost. Similarly, the
government had also distributed grants of many thousands of rupees to them
for construction of their house. In its unique achievement, the Chamling
Government has also given 2-point electricity connection free of cost to the
rural poor.
For construction of houses and for repair of their dilapidated structures, the
government provides poor people 30 GCI sheet and Rs. 20,000 under the Rural
Housing Scheme. The government distributed ginger seeds, cardamom saplings
and other cash crops for uplifting the poor people. People are also provided with
piglets, cows, and machine tools like sewing machines. Low interest loans have
been provided to people for undertaking private ventures.
With a view to make their earnings commensurate with the growing prices of
essential commodities, the wages of labourers have been increased by 100 per
cent. During motherhood, working women were given full leave with full wages.
The discrimination in their wage pattern vis- à- vis that of men has come to an
end.
The government has also effected an extraordinary increase in the pay structure
of the government servants. The government provided subsidized rice to people
below poverty line. There has been a cent percent increase in the old age
pension scheme with all the eligible citizens drawing it at a monthly rate of Rs.
200. After a recent economic survey, the government decided to provide rice at
Rs. 4 a kilogram to elderly people and people below poverty line. People above
60 years of age could travel free of cost in state-owned buses. Similarly there
has been a phenomenal increase in the scholarship of the students going
outside the state to pursue higher studies. Apart from free medical service in
the state, the government also provided special medical aid to all patients being
referred to higher medical institutes in the country. For the handicapped
population, the government has started a special allowance for economic
support.
In a move, more symbolic of Chamling’s commitment to the poor, the
government also exempted genuine people of Sikkimese origin from obtaining a
licence for business activities in rural areas in the state. This was decided
because the poor and simple villagers were not always conversant with the
winding official process. At times it took months together to acquire a simple
licence. For the poor people with no means and reach, it is almost next to
impossible and they give up every hope of earning through such means. As a
result of Chamling’s ploy, a large number of women and youth in the rural
areas have taken up small-time business to shoulder the economic burden of
their families.
Chamling has an intimate bond with the poor people, made stronger by the
unconditional support given by them. After all Chamling’s politics had its
humble beginning at the grassroots level with all the poor rallying behind him
for comfort, succour, and help.
In 1993, at a time when he was constantly hunted down by the powers-that-
be, money was hard to come by. The head of the then government had directed
one and all to freeze even the source of regular kitchen provisions like rice and
daal to Chamling’s household. Poor inhabitants of a small village of Kopchey in
South Sikkim showed the way. In a rare gesture of support for the principles of
Chamling, they collected a small bit of money from every household out of their
meagre earnings (mostly from agricultural produce) and finally put together a
total of Rs. 1,600 comprising mostly near-mutilated currency notes and coins.
The village elders then met Chamling and handed over the money and
blessed him profusely. The gesture was so overwhelming that Chamling still
makes regular reference to the occasion as giving the final shape to his pro-poor
policies and programmes when he came to head the state government later. He
often said, “From the very day, I took a vow to never ever deceive the poor, even
if that meant losing my own life.” He further says, “I would rather die than
betray the poor people.” These words, however, were not the commonplace
hoodwinking strategy employed many a times by many to capture votes. These
words came from Chamling’s heart and they are a part of his spiritual assertion
to serve the poor from within or outside the government.
Chamling recently announced various policy decisions including free
distribution of LPG cylinders to rural households. Similarly, 50 per cent
concession has been granted to every rural household for power tarrif. A Janata
Bhawan is being constructed in Gangtok so that poor people coming for official
purposes or for medical treatment can avail of free lodging. As a far-reaching
decision. Pawan Chamling also announced the launching of the Chief Minister’s
Self-Employment schemes in the state. Under the scheme, interest free loan
(up to Rs. 1 lakh for graduates and up to Rs. 50,000 for the other) will be
provided to educated unemployed women and educated unemployed men
respectively. The Government has also offered preferential treatment for women
entrepreneurs by providing 3-years interest free loan as against 2-years in case
of men.
Chamling’s political philosophy could be broadly termed as radical
humanism. His fight for social justice particularly for those oppressed
sections of the society is primarily aimed at distributing the gains of
development in a more equitable and humane manner. He wanted the poor
to create their own wealth so that it sustained in the long run. He said, “I
want to create wealth from our own natural resources so that the poor
people will utilize them to enhance their purchasing power, their living
conditions.” His efforts towards realising these goals have now started
paying dividends. Middle class people are now slowly emerging in the
Sikkimese society.
Chamling said, “Before we came to government, there used to be two classes
of people, namely the poor class and the rich class. Today we are
increasingly feeling the presence of a middle class among the people of
Sikkim. The SDF Government has been able to uplift the poor making their
lives better and more accessible to modern services.” This, Chamling felt, is
one of the most valued achievements of his government, justifiably proud at
having helped the poor and downtrodden transform themselves into middle
class people. The government, however, did not intend to help the poor at
the cost of the rich. The affluent section of people should be given freedom to
enjoy liberty and their position in the society. The idea is, indeed, to help the
poor become self-sustaining by utilizing their knowledge and skills in
various fields.
 Never before were there so exclusive talks and programmes on issues like the
welfare of the poor. The Chamling government has been able to bring the issues
to the fore.
 17
Honouring the Past

Unlike other chief ministers of Sikkim, Chamling has an intimate sense of

history. He knew that those who forgot their history and heritage paid dearly for
that. That was the reason the poet, the creative writer and the son of soil in him
always recognized and respected even the most modest public spirited men and
women who had done something to give a new meaning and purpose to the
history of Sikkim, then and now. He was the first to address a special ceremony
to honour all those eminent Sikkimese who made their contribution to the
revolution in and evolution of modern Sikkim.
In a newspaper interview, Pawan Chamling referred to those ‘senior citizens’ of
Sikkim, many of them outside the world of politics. He said Sikkim had
produced a number of personalities of national and international repute. They
had not only earned name and respect for themselves but had also brought
laurels to Sikkim with their deeds and achievements. Notwithstanding their
outstanding contributions in the fields of arts and culture, literature, sports,
politics, and social service, these distinguished sons and daughters of Sikkim
used to fade out silently into oblivion with the younger generation completely
unaware of their existence and achievements.
Chief Minister Chamling was, however, determined to bring their lives and
achievements into public focus to pay them the tribute they deserved. They had
done things that would inspire the coming generation. When he came to power,
one of the first things he did was to remember them and call upon the people of
Sikkim to pay their gratitude to them. They were the ones who had laid the
foundations of modern Sikkim.
Among them were soldiers like Captain Ganju Lama. He won the coveted
‘Victoria Cross’ for his indomitable courage and supreme sacrifice during the
World War II. It was a pity that during the course of years, he was forgotten. He
was seldom seen at the official receptions and felicitations by the Union and
state administration. He was nowhere even at social functions where other VIPs
were invited to add glamour and prestige to public life. It was the Chamling
government that brought him back to public gaze by giving him a VIP status.
The Sikkim government gifted him a car with red light with the words “VC”
inscribed on it. These letters were a reminder that he was a ‘Victoria Cross’
winner. The state government also named a stretch of road from Ravangla to
Tarku in south Sikkim the Ganju Lama Path after him. It provided rent-free
accommodation in the government Guest Houses for him, both within and
outside the state.
But these were just the signals to draw the world’s attention to its ingratitude
in forgetting a great son of Sikkim. With the limelight refocused on him by the
Chamling government, the soldier who had been conferred the second highest
award of Sikkim by the Chogyal with a 25-acre land gift, again attracted the
attention of various institutions and organizations. A series of books and
documentary films were produced on his life and achievements. When he died
on July 1, 2000, a record gathering of his tearful admirers, led by Chief
Minister Chamling and Governor Chaudhary Randhir Singh followed his funeral
procession and consigned his mortal remains to sacred flames. Many foreign
dignitaries also came to pay their homage to this legendary hero of Sikkim. His
greatness was recognized and is still nurtured by the SDF government.
This is just to mention one of the many great sons of Sikkim who were publicly
honoured and whose memories were cherished. Others include Sonam Gyatso,
one of the oldest mountaineers to climb Mount Everest, Kashiraj Pradhan and
Sonam Tshering, a pioneer in Sikkim’s politics. They were paid rich tributes
and their memories were sought to be carved into the minds of the people by
naming important roads in Gangtok after them.
Dharmadatta Sharma who had mysteriously disappeared on February 12, 1988
lived one more time when the state government took a decision to declare the
departed leader as a martyr on September 6, 1996. Sharma was a victim of
political vendetta. The Soreng-Sombaria Road in west district was named the
Shahid Dharmadatta Path. His bust was installed at Soreng in his memory.
Furthermore, Pooja Sharma, Dharmadatta‘s daughter was provided free
education up to college level. That way, the Chamling Government was not only
honouring the late Dharmadatta but also paying a rich tribute to Indian
democracy where difference of opinion and criticism is part of the democratic
institution.
Numerous artistes, musicians, litterateurs, historians, politicians and other
senior and eminent citizens of Sikkim were remembered and felicitated in well
attended public functions.
By introducing the practice of honouring the respectable citizens of Sikkim, by
naming the main roads and certain schools in their names, the government has
earned much respect from all sections of the Sikkimese society. To name a few,
the similar status has been accorded to the brave sons of Sikkim who have
done Sikkim proud in the national and international arena.

Late Ganju Lama, V.C.—Ravongla- Tarku Road

Late Dharmadatta Sharma—Soreng- Sombaria Road

Nam Nang bifurcation to Dukhit Pan Dokan—Tashi Tshering Road.

Old Tibet Road—Sonam Gyatso Marg.

Nam Nang to Deorali junction—Kashiraj Pradhan Marg.

31 A NH—Dr. Ambedkar Marg.

Rongli- Chhujachen—Late Tulshi Kashyap Marg.

Namchi- Ghurbisey—Late N.T. Tamang Road.

Gangtok- Arithang Road—Rashmi Prasad Alley Road

Ravangla SSS—Ganju Lama VC Sr. Sec. School

Vok Secondary School—Nayan Tshering Lepcha Secondary School

Kabi Tingda JHS—Kalzang Gyatso Junior High School

With the personal initiative of the Chief Minister, significant publications were
brought out highlighting their invaluable contributions in the fields of arts,
culture, literature, and social works, and rich tributes were publicly paid to
recognize their individual services.
Likewise, preservation and promotion of Sikkimese culture and tradition is at
the heart of Chamling’s policies. Under the same policy, the state government
has declared different festivals of different communities as government gazetted
holidays. To name a few:

Tamu Lochhar

Tendong- Lho- Rum- Phat

Birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava

Birth anniversary of Srijunga

May Day

Sakewa

Sonam Lochhar

Birth Anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

When Sikkim celebrated the Silver Jubilee of its democratic existence on May
16, 2000, the 25th State Day, the Chamling government paid a special tribute
to a galaxy of the great sons and daughters of Sikkim who devoted and
sacrificed their lives for their beloved Sikkim. The surviving members of the first
Sikkim Legislative Assembly, who were elected in 1975 launching democratic
Sikkim, were awarded The Roll of Honour. They were also presented gifts of
gratitude, including shawls and a cash award of Rs. 15,000 each. Of course,
Kazi Lhendup Dorji was among the most prominent father figures of democracy
in Sikkim to be remembered and honoured on that occasion. Recognizing the
fatherly role he played during the merger of Sikkim with India L.D. Kazi was
conferred the Padma Vibhushan by the Central government on the occasion of
Republic Day 2003, the first ever Sikkimese to receive this award.
By honouring the surviving members of the first Legislative Assembly, Chamling
had expressed his belief in national unity and integration as the citizen of a
great nation. A galaxy of 148 great Sikkimese was honoured. Perhaps some day
someone will write a separate chronicle of these men and women who were
responsible for building modern Sikkim, brick by brick.
In his Independence Day address on August 15, 1995, his first Independence
Day address Chamling conveyed his heartiest felicitations and greetings to the
people of Sikkim and exhibited his overwhelming sense of history and destiny.
He said,

“On this occasion we not only pay homage to the sacrifices made by our
freedom fighters but rededicate ourselves to the ideals and aspirations
that our leaders were inspired with in the long struggle to attain
Independence. These very ideals continue to guide our nation and it is
appropriate for me to refer to the stirring speech of Nehru at the Red Fort
in 1947 calling upon the leaders and people to live upto the expectation
of the common man, to start a new rebuilding process of our great nation
by redeeming our pledges.”

Chamling continued his Independence Day address to the people of Sikkim with
the same sensibility that opportunity for challenge, change, and better days
were knocking on the door for the people of Sikkim. He also exhibited a keen
sense of solidarity and integrity with the spirit of India. His words were historic:
“In the past 48 years, the nation has made great progress on all fronts.
From a nation which was deficient in food grains production, and
afflicted with famine conditions regularly, today India is surplus in food
grains production. In the field of industrial development, the nation has
successfully achieved building the basic infrastructure and today India is
on the threshold of an economic boom. In the field of education and
health, we have improved upon the literacy rate and also the health
status. In the field of scientific development, the country has made much
progress that we are able to use science in improving the quality of life of
the people.
 However, all the progress that we have made has not been achieved
without external threats to our nation. We had to withstand the
aggressive designs of our neighbours and it is to heroic deeds of our
defence personnel that our frontiers have been safeguarded for the
benefit of people whom they protect. Internally, the nation also faced
moments of crisis but it is the inherent democratic values of the people of
this nation that after 48 years the nation is intact and the democracy
that was established by our great leaders of yore, continues to grow
stronger.”
He further remarked,
“Today the universal trend is towards globalization of the economy with
the focus on development of market mechanism. In short, the
globalisation trend entails free trade and competition in the market to
cater to the individual consumer. Over the past three years, our country
has also opened its economic frontiers and has embarked on a course of
globalisation. Thanks to the industrial base that has been built up over
the past 48 years. It is because of this that with the opening up of our
markets to the outside world we have recorded handsome growth of 8 per
cent in the industrial sector.
In our own state, Sikkim, democracy has taken deep roots. This is
evident by the unprecedented voter turn-out in the last general elections,
which voted the Sikkim Democratic Front Party to power. The election
was free, fair, peaceful and the mandate given by the people to the ruling
party unequivocal. The people of Sikkim have given a clear verdict on the
programme and policies of the Sikkim Democratic Front Party, which
lays priority on the maintenance of peace and communal harmony,
upholding the democratic ideals and principles and a clear pro-poor
economic policy.”
When Chamling delivered his first Independence Day speech, he was barely
nine months in the saddle. But that speech became a declaration of faith and
Sikkim’s new course of democratic development. In the years to come, people
were to take his independence day speech as a declaration of intent against
which the future performance of his SDF government would be evaluated and
judged.
A very special trait of Chamling is that he never forgets history, ancient or
modern, because he always believes that today was to a great extent influenced
by what happened yesterday. And tomorrow would similarly be a product of
what we do and what happens today. This was indicated by his notes penned
down in a campaign letter to the electorate for the 1996 Lok Sabha elections.
This was just 16 months after his government had taken charge. The title of his
appeal interestingly was The Poor Man’s Flag Must Flutter Atop Parliament. It
was an appeal steeped in history and also one that would help make history.
The election placed the first ever SDF candidate in the Lok Sabha.
Chamling’s letter to the electorate read:
“Democracy held in ransom at the hands of an incorrigible oppressor for
14 years, has been rescued and handed over to the people. Their
persistent struggle against tyranny and oppression stands amply
rewarded, as they, in their hard-won freedom, can now fend for
 themselves and their democratic rights. And this, by and large, is the
first gift the SDF party has been able to make to its people.
Within the short span of 16 months, the SDF Government in harness
has been able to bring about a historic change by implementing a
massive pro-poor programme on a statewide basis to improve the
economic lot of the poor and the downtrodden. Our policy is the defence
of secularism and communal harmony. Our effort on the protection to
the minorities has been relentless and will remain an article of faith with
this government.
We have already placed a number of legitimate demands before the
Central government that have to do with the political, social, and
economic well-being of the Sikkimese people. And I am happy to say that
we have so far been able to achieve most of these demands through the
utmost understanding of the central leaders.
Since the Lok Sabha elections are just round the corner, we are
determined to elect our own MP from the state of Sikkim to represent the
party’s cause. This, by and large, will be the cause of the Sikkimese
people as a whole. Hence, this particular tussle for the lone MP seat in
the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections is slated to be significantly a fight
between pro-poor forces and the anti-people alignments.
In my crusade against the anti-democracy and anti-people forces since
1992, I have been consistently bestowed with unstinted support by word,
deed, and generous hearts from my beloved fellow Sikkimese. All this has
made my mission a worthy cause. Hence, I am deeply indebted to all. As
I take my stand once again to pit my might against the same
destabilizing anti-people forces, I shall bank upon you for the same
support with the same faith and confidence that you will once again
stamp your precious consent on the symbol of ‘Umbrella’. This is the
symbol of the poor and the downtrodden:

All my waking hours of reality

I do hereby dedicate to my fellow Sikkimese
The dreams I cherish in my heart of hearts
Let them be preserved
For the yet unborn Sikkim of tomorrow.”
Five years later, during the fifth year of the Chamling era and the last year of
the 20th century, he would have the opportunity of telling the people of Sikkim
and India with some pride and satisfaction that the period from 1995 onwards
was a period of writing a new history of modern Sikkim. On May 16, 2000, the
25th State Day of Sikkim, Chamling told the people:

“History is not made in a single day. It is shaped by a long cycle of some

significant phase of time. There cannot be second opinion to the fact that
people are the makers of history, its creators. Having travelled the long
and winding roads of history, we, too, have reached this juncture. The
25th State Day, or the day on which Sikkim completes twenty-five years
of its inclusion in the Indian Union, carries huge significance historically.
Having recognised the significance of the day, we have come together to
commemorate the historic moment.
It calls for a separate debate to see if all people accept the significance of
the day with similar perspective and equal weightage. Since we can
understand the present political situation only in the correct historical
context, I beg to mention the past political situations that shaped the
present-day Sikkim. I would like to take you, though briefly, down
memory lane into Sikkim’s past, for I think that correct analysis of our
past can give us right direction in the future.
We are all aware that like many countries, Sikkim was also under
dynastic rule for a long time. The Namgyal dynasty ruled Sikkim from the
year 1642 to 1973. In connection with Sikkim’s history, we do not
possess enough written documents and proven materials to look back
too far into the past. Nevertheless, all historians agree that prior to the
rise of the Namgyal dynasty, the ancestors of our Rong brothers lived in
Sikkim. Sikkim had a long and tortuous journey. Having passed through
many ordeals, Sikkim has reached today’s stage. Now, we gain nothing
by nudging up the dead souls, but if we march ahead by taking correct
lesson from the past, we can certainly develop Sikkim into a prosperous
state.
If we analyze the available materials in Sikkim’s history, it becomes clear
that Sikkim’s sovereignty took a beating long back in 1817 under Titaliya
Treaty and not in 1973, as is generally held. The various clauses of the
Treaty signed between Chogyal Chugphud Namgyal and the East India
Company considerably weakened Sikkim as a country. The damage is
particularly done by Clause 3 of the Treaty, which forbade Sikkim from
entering into any direct negotiation with other countries on territorial
matters. It would be too simplistic and emotional a question if we ask
today as to why the King did not protect Sikkim’s sovereignty. We will
reach a wrong conclusion, if we fail to appreciate situations and
compulsions obtaining in those days. It is not for want of patriotic
fervour, but the political, diplomatic, national, and international
situations which compelled the King to act the way he acted. The rising
tide of British imperialism could not be contained by any State-country
in the Indian sub-continent and thus, it was not possible for Sikkim
alone to put up a resistance.
We cannot change history and we must accept things that history alone
filters for posterity, and we have accepted that. Had the British
imperialists not advanced towards Sikkim, we can well imagine the
shape and condition of the state today. Sikkim those days was not as
small as it is today. Our territory had an expansion touching the Indian
plains. Many areas now under Nepal and neighbouring Bengal used to be
in Sikkim. Sikkim’s independent status was much weakened when the
East India Company advanced towards Sikkim in search of a trade route
with Tibet and the middle Asia.
It will be relevant to mention here that there used to be periodic wars
between the independent countries of Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan. In the
process, Nepal invaded parts of Sikkim in 1788. The Britishers who were
on the look out for a trade route to Tibet entered Sikkim about the same
time. Before the British entered Sikkim, war between Nepal and the
British broke out which culminated in the signing of the Segowlee Treaty.
The incident took place in 1816. Under the Treaty, Nepal had to
relinquish a large part of area to the Britishers. Then the British headed
towards Sikkim. Under the Titaliya Treaty, the British returned parts of
 the areas earlier captured by Nepal spanning from Mechi to its northern
side. But for the small geographical gain, Sikkim had to pay a heavy
price in that the Britishers took control of the external security of
Sikkim.
Another incident with historical significance took place after a span of 18
years. The British company took Darjeeling as a gift from the King, with a
view to develop it into a health-nourishing hilly resort for its middle-class
employees and officials so that they recoup themselves from the drudgery
of life. Whether it was a gift or otherwise, could engage a whole range of
investigative minds because here the historians do not hold similar
views. Whatever the case, after the signing of Deeds of Grant in 1835
between the British Company Bahadur and Sikkim, areas south-west of
Teesta and north of Mechi disappeared forever from Sikkim’s map.
Sikkim, which had been a protectorate state of the company under
Titaliya treaty, became even narrower in terms of geographical
boundary.”

In his quick overview of Sikkim’s political past and history in the 19th century,
Chamling moved into the story of Sikkim in the 20th century. This is how he
told this part of the story in his State Day speech:

“Facing many ups and downs, Sikkim entered into the 20th century. The
nationalist revolution in the first part of the 20th century in
neighbouring China and India influenced Sikkim. The winds of change
that swept through the world after the Second World War also had a fair
share of its impact on Sikkim. There was enough manifestation within
Sikkim of people’s aspiration to lead a modern life and be part of the
global process of development. When people recognized the democratic
system as the best form of governance, Sikkim rose from the slumber
and finally from 26th May 1975, it became an integral part of India.”

Speaking with a tremendous sense of command over Sikkimese history,

Chamling told his fellow Sikkimese,

“Today, we have organized ourselves here to observe the same historic

day. Standing in this important meeting, I would like to pray (and be
grateful for the fact) that we have reached here after suffering many trials
and tribulations, wounds, and betrayals. As I said before, we need not
rake up history. But learning lessons from the past, we have to take
Sikkim into the 21st century. This heavy responsibility has fallen on our
shoulders. History witnessed the emergence of many powerful countries
and hundreds of influential kings, but none lasted too long. Today we
should be able to protect the rights and honour bestowed upon us by
history. In all its history, we have been deceived a number of times and it
would be sheer foolishness to invite the same destiny again. For today’s
need is that of accepting the challenge of building new Sikkim and not
vice versa. We have come on the field not to disintegrate Sikkim but to
unite and organise the state. In short, we have come to build stronger
homes for the Sikkimese. In this noble task, we need your support and
help.”
And then Chamling touched upon the main subject, the Silver Jubilee of the
democratic system of governance in Sikkim with all its joys and challenges. He
said,

“It is just 25 years since Sikkim became the 22nd member-state of India.
In these 25 years, Sikkim achieved many things and still needs to do
more. We need to make democracy stable, strong, and influential for the
people. There is a need to understand that any obstacle in the
functioning of democracy is our collective challenge. Those wanting to
play with the sentiments and aspirations of the Sikkimese have tried to
stifle democracy many times in the past 25 years. I would like to extend
warm greetings to the people for courageously facing hurdles and
preserving the institution of democracy with love. I am confident that
Sikkimese will always remain vigilant to see that democracy keeps
blooming in our motherland.”

It was in the same historic Silver Jubilee address that Chamling called upon the
people of Sikkim to turn the pages of history and see the emergence of epoch-
making civilizations and how they were born great and died great. He asked:

“What is the secret behind the existence of strong, successful, and

civilized nations of today? Japan which was thoroughly shattered by not
only atom bombs during World War II but also economically, is today one
of the worlds industrialised nations. The people in Japan, which is the
conglomeration of diverse tiny islands and falls in a seismic zone, have
by dint of perseverance, hard work, self-discipline distinguished
themselves among the best races in the world. China, which is two years
India’s junior in gaining independence, is today the third big power in the
world. Germany, which had to sustain hundreds of raining bombs and
economic destabilization, has graduated itself into a powerful nation.
Why are western countries so developed? The answer to all these
questions boils down to one significant conclusion—that they recognised
the value of time and attuned themselves as per the pressing need of the
age, transformed all existing physical world as subordinate to one’s own
existence. Steam was made to pull rail engines, rivers, and streams were
tapped in to produce electricity, and land was made to return maximum
yields and so on. The human minds had far matured into scientific and
conscious lot during the industrial revolution of Europe towards the end
of the 18th century. The people made sure that everything in the world is
complementary to their march towards their goals.”

Pawan Chamling seemed acutely conscious of the fact that there was no force
more powerful than an idea whose time had come. He could see that the time
had come for him and his ideas. Consciously or subconsciously he was perhaps
one of the hardest working chief Ministers of our time. He seemed to realize that
behind history, beneath change, beyond democracy and before development the
great motivating force was the human vision and the human desire and
potential for change. He was now ready to confront with all the wherewithal at
his command. After citing how some nations in the world became great in the
face of grave and shattering challenges, he declared his own determination to
make his beloved Sikkim great as well. And he knew how. He said,
“Before us are similar circumstances staring at our faces. After 332 years
of dynastic rule and 14 years of autocratic regime, we have been able to
institutionalize democracy after a hard struggle. Having preserved
democracy thus, and on this occasion of the 25th State Day, we have to
outline our aims for the long-term interest of the state of Sikkim. Our
aim is to make Sikkim a fully self-reliant and prosperous state within the
next 15 years i.e. by 2015 AD.”
 18
Building the Future

Drawing inspiration from the past and learning from the example of other
societies and nations, Pawan Chamling has always eyed the future. What he
had declared in his 1995 budget speeches to the Vidhan Sabha, his
Independence Day address to the people of Sikkim and his election campaign
addresses, and State Day speeches year after year, were all expressions of his
constant concern and devotion to building a new future for Sikkim.
He had not allowed any area of possible growth and potential resources and
approaches to escape his attention. He had tried to make use of all in
harnessing his untiring drive for building a new Sikkim.
At the foundation-stone laying ceremony of the Sikkim High Court building on
November 5, 1995 Chamling, in the presence of the then Chief Justice of India
A.H. Ahmadi, said,

“For proper functioning of the Constitution, the three agencies have their
own roles to play. For want of a proper High Court building, the judges,
lawyers and the public have been facing much difficulty in the state.
With the construction of this building I am confident that many of these
difficulties will be removed. The people of this state are simple, sincere,
and honest. They are somewhat unfamiliar with the long-drawn legal
battles. As they are simple people, they expect speedy judgment. This is
difficult under the present legal system of the country.”

In his own characteristic way, Chamling took the opportunity to inform the
distinguished audience of what was happening in setting up a people-friendly,
just and fair judicial infrastructure in Sikkim. The High Court building was just
a symbol of what had already been done. He said:
“In the old times the infrastructure of the judiciary in Sikkim was
inadequate. We did not even have an adequate number of lawyers. Now
the judicial process is being recognized by the people and there is
perceptible growth in this area also. It is fortunate for us that the tenure
of Justice Bhargava, Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court, had more or
less coincided with the period when the demands on the judiciary and
the legal system had been growing in Sikkim. His role in shaping courts
has been very significant and commendable. This is the period in which
the Indian Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Indian
Evidence Act have been extended to Sikkim and the separation between
the executive and the judiciary had also to be revised and improved
upon. Under the guidance of Justice Bhargava, the state government has
set up one more session division and set up two new courts of chief
judicial magistrates.”
In his typical style of taking the people into confidence about what was going to
be done immediately and in the long term, Chamling said, “Recruitment of two
judicial magistrates has also been made. Corresponding improvement in
building the infrastructure has been planned to accommodate courts and
residences for magistrates.” He hoped “that more and more young men and
women of Sikkim will take to the legal profession so that not only will Sikkim
have a good legal base but there will also be less demand on limited government
jobs.”
The Chief Minister took the people into confidence and disclosed that “special
courts have also been designated to try offences under the atrocities on
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act.” He also took this opportunity to
spell out some of his principles and visions of transparency and justice. He
said:
“The country has made radical changes in the field of economy by
simplifying rules and doing away with obsolete and unwanted control,
thus paving the way for more transparency in the working of the
government. Such changes have brought about positive achievements on
the industrial front also. As a result, today the country is more or less in
a comfortable position so far as foreign exchange reserve is concerned
and full market condition has come to stay. These are definitely bold
decisions and changes are perceptible—we must acknowledge the fact.”
It was evident that the Chief Minister had the liberalization of the economic
regime also in his mind and would initiate legislation and legal reforms to
ensure that economy and economic life of the people flourished without any law
standing in the way of people’s progress.
He underlined, “It is said that justice delayed is justice denied. Our country
being vested with people of different faiths and religions and with their own
traditional laws and customs finding place in the statutes of the country, the
system of delivery is slow. The need of the hour, therefore, is to bring about
changes by way of simplification of laws.” Here too Sikkim was ready to provide
a lead.
Pawan Chamling’s dream of justice and a just society symbolized the dreams of
every common Sikkimese and Indian. His appeal to the legal and judicial
fraternity was simple, sincere, and justified. It carried the strong tenor of vox
populi. Appealing to the Chief Justice of India, he had said:
“With your multifaceted personality and sound background of legal
knowledge and with all the legal luminaries under your dispensation, I
would urge upon you to think of this problem very seriously and come up
with the type of changes that everybody in the country is expecting. I
know it is not a very easy job but with your understanding, experience,
and capability this is something definitely possible. I am a layman and
whatever submissions I have made before you today may please be taken
from that angle.
One can even say that this is my wishful thinking. But these wishes, if
fulfilled, will see the simple and honest people in the state stand to gain
tremendously. This, of course, will not denigrate the role of the lawyers
and the judiciary but the fact remains that something very positive has
to be done in this respect and I urge you to look into this matter and
come out with something which will be welcomed by the people of the
country.”

Justice Ahmadi, who laid the foundation stone of the High Court building,
congratulated the Chief Minister. Referring to one of Chamling’s poems, Justice
Ahmadi said, "Sikkim, under the leadership of Pawan Chamling was destined to
move ahead. Chamling himself being the champion of the oppressed in their
fight against inequity, oppression, tyranny and exploitation, the state of Sikkim
was here to remain free from all these social vices", Justice Ahmadi added.
Rule of law as a very significant attribute of the democratic system is
uppermost in Chamling’s scheme of things. The story goes back to early 1999.
One fine morning, the additional superintendent of police in the capital sliped
into his best uniform and stood before his wall mirror, facing an imaginary
Chief Minister. The Chief Minister in the mirror is clearly fuming. The IPS officer
rehearsed many times before the mirror until he gained some amount of
confidence to atone for his wrong doing. Now that he is fully prepared for the
rebuke from the Chief Minister, he seeks an appointment with the Chief
Minister. The next moment he is at the Chief Minister’s official residence.
Present with the Chief Minister are many senior bureaucrats and MPs from the
state. He cautiously goes up to the Chief Minister and asked for his forgiveness.
Pawan Chamling rebukes him, “Why ask for forgiveness? Why did you not put
him behind bars? Do so next time if you find him violating the rule. Spare no
one who goes against the rule of law.”
The truth is, only the other day, the additional superintendent of police had
slapped one Vishal Chamling, without knowing that the man was the eldest son
of the Chief Minister, for parking his Gypsy in the no-parking zone in town. The
police officer and the people could clearly see a different Chief Minister in
Chamling. And his faith in the rule of law was applicable to one and all.
Chamling was happy at the prospect of a good judicial infrastructure in the
state when Justice Ahmadi laid the foundation stone of a High Court building.
Chamling symbolized compassion as much as an ardent urge for justice. This
was strongly emphasised when he made his remarks at the inauguration
ceremony of the Sikkim Temple at Bodh Gaya in Bihar on January 11, 2002.
The land for the building of the temple had been acquired by the Sikkim
government in the 1960s. It was Chamling who was destined to complete the
project work. Revealing what thought was uppermost in his mind at that
moment. He said:

“I am very happy that I have been able to inaugurate the guest house,
having laid the foundation stone of this much delayed project earlier in
January 1996. We have fulfilled one of the most cherished dreams of our
people who are amiable, peace loving, and above all pious minded and
godfearing. In fact, Sikkim is one of the states in the country where we
have a full-fledged Ecclesiastical Department which looks after all the
institutions irrespective of faiths and activities relating to religious
matters in the State. As in other parts of the country, there is complete
freedom of religion in Sikkim and very encouraging and healthy practice
of participating in one another’s religious festivals with due solemnity
and reverence.”

The state government has initiated a noble project to install statue of Guru
Padmasambhava at Samdruptse. The statue, despite promoting tourist
activities will be a centre of religious piligrimage. The proposal is on to link the
site with a rope way to the district town of Namchi.
It was not just law and religion but almost every field of life linked with the
betterment of the common man’s lot that engaged Chamling’s thought and
action. Chamling would often drive himself to exhaustion but never really feel
beaten and tired in his unique political journey. In his ceaseless crusade for
building the future, he never missed an opportunity to focus on the very special
needs of Sikkim. The United Nations declared the year 2002 as the ‘Year of the
Mountains’ to focus worldwide attention on the crucial need of preserving alpine
ecology and culture around the world. But for Pawan Chamling every year had
been the Year of the Mountain for he is truly a son of the mountains. He always
realized and stressed that water was the most precious gift and asset of the
mountain. This gave birth to a number of great civilizations with their many
splendoured spiritual and cultural facets.
Speaking at the third meeting of the National Water Resources Council at New
Delhi in February 1996, Chamling talked about the subject with great passion.
He said,

“Sikkim, as you all know, is a small but beautiful mountain state

crowned with great Himalayan peaks. Because of the mountainous
topography of the state, the higher reaches in the major parts of Sikkim
are studded with snow-clad mountain peaks, glaciers and natural lakes
from which a number of perennial rivers, rivulets, and streams have
originated to eventually flow into the great sea. Mount Khanchendzonga
is the guardian deity of Sikkim and we all draw inspiration from it in all
our activities.”

Chamling was equally conscious of the need for a National Water Policy as the
key to ensure equitable distribution and utilization of the resources that nature
has gifted to the country. He strongly felt that with the growth of population,
demand on land and water is increasing. If the right steps are not taken now,
the country will have to encounter insurmountable challenges by the turn of
the century. The water crisis is indeed deepening in both metropolitan and
rural India. This view of Chamling acquired more and more importance not just
for Sikkim but the entire country. It also underlined the fact that if the river-
generating mountains were neglected, the great plains of India would face an
uncertain future. And deeply connected with this tremendous problem was the
increasing erosion of the soil, especially in the hill slopes of mountain states
like Sikkim.
Chamling stresses,

“It is therefore, felt that slope treatment works in the hills to arrest the
erosion of the fertile top soil should be taken up on priority basis, along
with better provision of irrigation facilities. This will create better
employment opportunities with higher economic returns in the rural area
itself. To achieve this end, higher degree of investment in providing better
irrigation facilities has become of paramount importance. Accordingly the
Government of Sikkim has given high priority to this sector. Given this
fact, it is requested the Central government assist us in implementation
of this programme in Sikkim”.
The new leader of new Sikkim also keenly aware of the role of geosynthetics in
hill area development. He is fully conscious of the potential of science and
technology in the life and landscape of the modern world. He put forward his
insights when he said,
“Life today is not what it used to be a few decades ago. In the economic,
social, political, and even the cultural fields, many changes have
occurred. With the passage of time science and technology have also
brought about innumerable benefits and practical gains to mankind. It
 was due to technical developments and new scientific inventions that
man’s burden has eased, enlightened him and offered newer avenues for
development and progress.”
At the same time Chamling was sensitive enough to the peaceful and positive
use of science and technology.
“I find that technology is a double-edged weapon. If used sensibly and
properly, it can serve mankind in no small measure. On the other hand,
it has its negative sides too. We must, therefore, ensure that the bonanza
of technology must be properly used and carefully cherished and must
never be applied to harm or destroy human civilization. At the same
time, we cannot keep pace with the modern world unless we adopt the
latest techniques, including management education.”
Chamling was positive that science and technology should be used positively
and peacefully for the benefit of mankind.
In building the future, Chamling’s regime gave special emphasis to health and
environment. The fact that the state of Sikkim could claim to be polio free and
free from any other controllable diseases was just an indicator. The fact that the
state has also set its eyes on making it Hepatitis B free indicated that child
welfare and childcare programmes in the state would be worth their name. The
results that began to surface in 2001 were the outcome of the thought and
initiative of Chamling in 1995 and the succeeding years.
Inaugurating a Health System Management workshop at Gangtok in February
1996, he said, “We are committed to giving the people of the state a decent
standard of living and better health. Unless the health of the people is taken
care of, all development plans will be futile. My government has given top
priority to the health sector.”
On May 30, 1996, the first ever camp for the handicapped in Sikkim was held.
As many as 400 patients from all districts of Sikkim had come for the camp and
as many as 300 benefited. In his valedictory address, Chamling accepted,
“Statistical analysis showing a figure of 2 percent disability in the state is
indeed high.” He also expressed his government’s commitment to the welfare of
the poor and the handicapped and promised full support for upliftment of the
masses.
Apart from all these, Pawan Chamling has established the finest record of state-
Centre relations. During the Prime Ministership of P.V. Narasimha Rao, I.K.
Gujral, H.D. Deve Gowda and now Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Sikkim government
has had excellent relations with New Delhi all along. Sikkim was declared a full-
fledged member of the North-Eastern Council in May 1998 during a meeting of
the Chief Ministers of the North-Eastern States under the chairmanship of
Prime Minister Vajpayee. The Parliament of India accordingly amended the
constitution in December 2002 to this effect. This momentous decision,
Chamling says, has fulfilled the “long-cherished dream, the dream of the people
of Sikkim.” He further pointed out, “We shared a lot in common with related
security aspects, limited resource base, polity, remoteness, economic
backwardness and growing unemployment.”
In his characteristic way, he came to specifics in his thanking speech. He
highlighted the needs and challenges before Sikkim and the north-eastern
states. He said:
 “Notwithstanding the fact that we joined the mainstream only in 1975,
our state has made considerable progress in several areas of the
economy. However, as with most of the states of the North-East, the high
cost of investment on infrastructure development and delivery of services
has seen the growth of mounting debt liabilities as a result of which
developmental activities have been adversely affected. The growing
burden of debt servicing in respect of loan for our annual plan is a major
problem. As most of our plan funds are invested in infrastructure,
returns are minimum. Hence, debt management is a serious problem
which needs to be addressed. Waiver of outstanding loans must be taken
up for our state urgently.”
The Chief Minister also took the opportunity to project the main plank in his
plans for building Sikkim’s future. Asking for extension of the recommendations
of the Shukla Commission to his state, Chamling said, “Sikkim has an
abundant potential for developing tourism, power and horticulture, the
harnessing of which is constrained by the existing deficiencies in the
communication infrastructure. My government has made repeated requests in
the past for inclusion of Sikkim within the orbit of terms of reference of the
Shukla Commission which was constituted to look into the problem of the
north-east. It is my request that the recommendations of the Shukla
Commission in principle also be extended to our state.”
On the very first day of the declaration made to include Sikkim in the North-
Eastern States family, Chamling focused on development of tourism in Sikkim,
introduction of an environment-friendly ropeway service in Gangtok,
conservation of Himalayan eco-system and exploitation of Sikkim’s hydro-
electric potential. He sought the active participation of the Government of India
for harnessing the immense untapped natural resources including the one
undertaken by the National Hydro Power Corporation.
 19
Redefining the Security Dynamics

Chamling is known for his distaste for the cult of dynasty rule and nepotism. In
his family comprising his immediate relations, making almost a total of 30 male
and female members, he is the only one with an active interest in politics. His
personal effort has always been to ensure that the Sikkim Democratic Front
and its government in Sikkim are not blemished by the stain of dynastic rule.
To quote Chamling, “As long as I am the President of the party, I will not
nominate my wife or son or daughter to become an MLA, MP, or a minister.”
True to his words, there is no interference of his wife, children or other family
members in state affairs.
The Chamlings, at home in Gangtok, in Namchi and in Yangang, give a clear
impression of a simple and straightforward rural middle-class family devoted to
traditional values and striving for a better life. Perhaps the personal chemistry
between Pawan Chamling and his extremely vivacious and graceful wives, D.M.
Chamling and Tika Maya Chamling, has also strongly contributed to the family
ambience. The abode of the Chamlings shows that they value the richness of
nature far more than personal wealth. The ancestral home in Yangang is very
much a traditional farmer’s home with some semblance of modernity like
electricity and a telephone.
The yard at the Yangang home announces the peasant identity of the residents
by the farming implements scattered here and there. The senior Chamling still
looks after his cardamom plantation and a minimal stock of cattle (once he had
more than 30 in his herd). The house in Namchi where Chamling and his wife
lived before politics moved them to the capital Gangtok, is also a modest
farmer’s home. It does not pronounce any conspicuous display of wealth or
grandeur. Of course, its setting is serene and peaceful because of the choice of
location and the green girdle of hills and slopes around. Namchi is possessed of
exquisite natural beauty.
The old adage is that there is always a great woman behind every great man.
The first principle that Chamling practice is to keep family affairs away from the
affairs of state and affairs of public politics. There is no promoting the
Chamlings clan either in the political echelons of the Sikkim Democratic Front
or the ministerial corridors of power. That does not mean that Pawan Chamling
does not understand the intricacies, benefits, and risks of power management.
He does, and manages the power and political regime of the state with the
highest degree of discipline and principle. This can be judged from the fact that
many of those who have made it to high public offices and even ministerial
posts have risen from the ranks of the personal secretaries, assistants, and
advisers of Pawan Chamling.
In that respect, Mintokgang, the official residence of the Chief Minister in
Gangtok, is invisibly but effectively a very successful training centre for future
leaders of Sikkim. As one of his personal staff officers admitted, “He is the one
who has given the greatest gift of democracy to the people of Sikkim and he is
the one who constantly reminds us that we must work hard to keep our
democracy clean and effective.” Often his political affairs take precedence over
his personal family and comfort. In the scheme of things, sleep has the last
priority in his daily routine. On rare occasions he manages to hit the bed by
midnight. On other days, he has to snatch the proverbial forty winks after long
deliberations and strenuous engagements.
The Chief Minister’s first wife is a housewife who personifies simplicity and
grace and who frequently adds thrill and encouragement to social programmes
and activities. A devoted wife and a doting mother, her activities revolve round
the welfare of her husband and six children.
His second wife, a teacher by profession, a designer of note by natural instinct,
and an Internet savvy devoted wife and mother is the ideal for the young and
upcoming women of Sikkim. She is a woman of very strong personality, socially
active in work of her own choice. One of her special pursuits is running a centre
for training young Sikkimese girls in designing and computer designing. In one
of the rare interviews, she firmly stated her belief that raising healthy, strong-
minded, and well educated children who would become good and strong-
minded citizens was a much greater goal for achievement for a woman than
aspiring for public applause and political prominence.
She has been a great and faithful supporter of her husband’s political and
social ideology. At the same time she is a very private person so far as her
family life and her work is concerned. She would not talk much on these
subjects herself. Other men and women who are aware of some of her pursuits
were extremely impressed and admired her for her personal qualities of
kindness, compassion, and courage. She was the proverbial better-half for
those girls who have watched her closely and are striving to emulate her.
It was perhaps from the family spirit of the Chamlings that the very special
respect for women, children and family institution was deeply woven into
Chamling’s welfare policies in the political arena. Chief Minister Chamling
always demonstrated the importance he gave to the grassroots security and
peace, beginning with the family and the peasant society. Answering a question
about the security of the sensitive border state like Sikkim, he said, “The
guarantee of our security is our strong and peaceful civil society. Freedom
loving men and women can bring in more security and peace than guns”.
This did not however, mean that Chamling and his regime are not sensitive to
issues of security and internal peace.
Chamling touched upon some of the issues of external and internal security of
the State of Sikkim which in his own vision were intimately linked with the
overall issues of peace and national security. In an address in 2000, welcoming
members of Parliament visiting Sikkim as part of a Standing Committee from
the Home Affairs Ministry of the Government of India, he said:

“Sikkim being a border state is vital in the context of the security of the
country. It is said a contented population behind the immediate line of
defence is a second line of defence. Therefore, the state of Sikkim due to
its strategic location, touching the China border in the north, Bhutan in
the east and Nepal in the west, should always be termed as sensitive.
The visit of Hon’ble Members of the Standing Committee which is the
first ever of this kind to the state is in the right direction and is very
welcome to us. I am confident that the Standing Committee in the
context of national security due to the strategic location of this border
state and the condition of the people of the state will recommend
concrete steps which will be beneficial to the people and the state of
Sikkim in the long run.”
Chief Minister Chamling is well aware of the international discourse on non-
military security. He always tries to look at security issues from a much larger
perspective. He is possibly one of the few chief ministers who have examined
the issues related to security in the state from three different viewpoints. He
placed these perspectives before the meeting of the National Development
Council in September 2001. He stated,

“Sikkim has been the most significant geographical entity that provides
comprehensive security to the Indian nation state. It provides (i) military
security (ii) environmental security and (iii) development-related security.
Firstly, it has been one of the very geo-strategically significant border
posts of India and has a huge concentration of security and military
forces. We provide the best of services in protecting our national security
interests. However, besides the other issues related to carrying capacity,
the physical burden of these forces as a pressure on land and other
natural and manufactured resources are quite gigantic. All these involve
a huge development and environmental cost to the state which many
other states in India do not have to incur.
Secondly, the onus of protecting and conserving the significant portion of
the critical Eastern Himalayan region and its environment including the
mountain range has been with the people and government of Sikkim. The
protection of bio-diversity and the forward and backward linkages
emanating from it to the entire Himalayan community and the plains
land have never been quantified. However, many quarters are not able to
appreciate the work Sikkim and the Sikkimese are doing for the
sustainability of the region.
And finally, the very topography, landlockedness and agro-climatic
variations have forbidden Sikkim from going in for an array of
interventions making economic development process very limited. At
times, it has been a Hobson’s choice for the state to opt for a major
development intervention as the long-run cost, particularly in terms of
environmental security, may be much higher than the short-run benefit.
In other states, policymakers and politicians would have jumped to such
kind of interventions as they are not constrained by the factors that
characterise the Sikkim Himalayas. This means Sikkim has a very
constricted development choices.
This limited choice and the related constraints on development
interventions as compared to the wide range of choice and techniques
available with other states, need to be considered as the opportunity cost
Sikkim have been foregoing and will have to forego. The benefits which
would have otherwise accrued to the state need to be objectively assessed
and provisions made accordingly for compensating the opportunities
foregone.
One way to recognise these services of comprehensive security to the
nation building process is to partially supplement the state resources for
the upkeep of the hills and the Himalayan region. We consider this issue
as very critical for the sustainability of Sikkim, the Sikkimese and the
nation as a whole.
We strongly urge the Union Government therefore, to take into
consideration all these three factors as invisibles costs to the Sikkimese
economy while deciding Sikkim’s plan expenditure and revenue budgets.”
As the world communities are waking up to the threat of international
terrorism, Pawan Chamling had already addressed himself to the issue. He had
said in the year 2000,
“Today insurgency and terrorism have besieged the country and have
become a major challenge. The virus has spread to almost all the states
barring perhaps a few. Internal security is a primary concern to all of us
for the preservation of integrity of the country and for overall peace and
development. Sikkim also cannot remain untouched by this
development.
“The state of Sikkim became the 22nd state of the country about 26
years ago. In the last two decades the state has been taking positive
steps for emotional integration of the people with the mainstream and
especially after the formation of my government. Such efforts would
continue. This has resulted in positive change in the outlook of the
people. However, the problem before the state is not only in respect of
emotional integration but also on account of the State’s historical
evolution, and political development which is very much distinct from
other states of the country and such other factors.”

Chamling’s address to the Home Ministry Standing Committee revealed that

though an indefatigable idealist, he did not believe in shying away from
challenges and uncomfortable realities. His way is to tell the truth and then
face the challenges with courage. That could only be a lasting way to peace and
security. For him insecurity arose when human reason and a sense of fairplay
and justice failed. That is perhaps, the reason he focused on some of the special
challenges faced by Sikkim with reference to the national context. He said:

“As has been mentioned, due to the strategic location of the State and
some of the demands remaining unfulfilled before the Central
government any attempt to neglect them will pose problems for and may
become a cause of concern in the interest of national security.” When
this state was merged with the Indian Union in 1975, special provisions
under Article 371 F were evolved. Article 371 F(K) protects the old laws of
the state. This article further mentions that, ‘All laws in force
immediately before the appointed day in the territories comprised in the
State of Sikkim or any part thereof shall continue to be in force therein
until amended or repealed by a competent legislature or other competent
authority’.”

Chamling took care to explain that the Government of India, by the Citizenship
Order, deemed all persons registered in the state as Sikkim Subjects under
Sikkim Subject Regulations 1961 as Indian citizens. Only Sikkim Subject
Status holders and their descendents are allowed to purchase properties in the
state. However, the Government of India, by another order repealed the Sikkim
Subject Regulations of 1961. The repeal of these regulations which perhaps
could have been adopted in some form with suitable changes has caused fears
in the minds of the Sikkim subjects and their descendents who are now Indian
citizens. The demographic invasion by influx from other states and countries
like Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan is difficult to check. This had caused
apprehensions and fear in the minds of the locals. This is particularly so in the
context of problems that have erupted in West Bengal and Assam because of
migrants mainly from Bangladesh.
Chamling made no bones about explaining the very peculiar problems of Sikkim
that had important bearing on peace and security concerns of the people of the
state. As the foremost advocate of emotional mainstreaming of the politics and
society of Sikkim, anyone questioning his approach was perhaps a victim of his
own prejudice and confusion. This is how Pawan Chamling explained the true
parameter of the sensitive problems:
“Against this background of growing dissatisfaction and concern, the
jobs in the State Government have saturated. Some people have a
misconception about it. They think that these problems might have
emanated from certain provisions of the Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and
Friendship of 1950. But I must tell you it’s due to sheer ignorance that
some people may have such misconcepts. The people of Sikkim who fall
in three ethnic categories, namely Sikkimese Nepalese, Bhutia, and
Lepcha, are the genuine citizens of Sikkim. Their descendents are
naturally Indian citizens, and not Nepal nationals. Yes we have problems
with the Nepalese coming from Nepal because of the Treaty and the open
border system.
But the Indian Nepalese of whom Sikkimese Nepalese are an
indispensable organ today have their own history, culture, contribution
all to do with India. It is also pertinent to mention that Shahid Durga
Malla who was hanged to death by the British regime at the district jail
in Delhi in 1944 was a close associate of Gandhiji. Recognizing his
sacrifice for the freedom struggle to his motherland India, the
Government of India has recently approved a memorial statue to be
installed next to Gandhiji’s in the Parliament House. He was a Nepali-
speaking Indian citizen. Shahid Dal Bahadur Giri was also an associate
of Gandhiji and he was not Nepal’s citizen.
The late Shri Ari Bahadur Gurung, a resident of Kalimpong and an
Indian Nepali speaking citizen, was in the drafting committee of the
Constitution of the country. Captain Ram Singh Thakuri, a Nepali-
speaking Indian, composed the music for Jana Gana Mana, the national
anthem. Nepali language which is spoken by the Indian Nepalese is
recognized as one of the 18 Indian languages under the 8th Schedule of
the Constitution. The contribution of the Indian Nepalese cannot be
forgotten. As far as the Sikkim subject Nepalese and their descendents
are concerned, they have a separate history of their own as they merged
with their background of soil and country with the mainstream India.”

Chamling always asserted the cardinal principle that internal security and
ethnic amity would ensure internal peace and security. Perhaps that is the
reason that in his regime since 1995, Sikkim has remained an island of peace
in the country.
While making his submission to the Standing Committee of the Union Home
Ministry, he took the opportunity to represent to the Union Government the six
demands of Sikkim state, mentioned earlier too. These included (i) Restoration
of reservation of seats for the Sikkimese Nepalese in the Legislative Assembly as
was provided for during the regime of the Chogyal; (ii) Inclusion of Limboo,
Tamang, and Gurung tribes in the list of scheduled tribes; (iii) Inclusion of
Lepcha, Bhutia, and Limboo languages in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution;
and (iv) Increase of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha seats for the state from
one each in both houses of Parliament at present to three each from three
ethnic categories thereby giving them equitable representation.
Chamling’s perspective is not sectoral or just ethnic but national in its outlook.
On one occasion, he said,

“Our country is at the crossroads today. Our emphasis on materialism

and growing distortion of modern life has resulted in social imbalance.
We have to prepare a society that reflects a balanced growth. This calls
for simultaneous attention in sustaining the privileged people in the
society and also keen planning for upliftment of the poor and the
downtrodden. Only this can narrow down this gap to the minimum. It is
education that can act like a catalyst to bring about the desired
harmony. Our aim must be to strive towards an equitable social order.
Students of today are exposed to diverse points of thinking which is
bound to confuse their young minds. Therefore, the primary purpose of
education should be to develop the reasoning ability of students so that
they can use rational judgement to arrive at correct decisions.”

Perhaps, Chamling has at the back of his mind his experience that a well
directed youth force is capable of bringing about revolutionary changes. The
proper harnessing of youth power could lead to both peace and security and a
balance between tradition and modernity. Invariably it is the youth who if not
properly guided get into a negative mindframe in thought and action.
Chamling underlines,

“When we think of modernity today, we sometimes choose to scorn our

tradition, our root. But the truth is that modernism does not generate in
a vacuum. It develops and grows in the womb of tradition. We are
fortunate to inherit the great tradition of this country. Ours is a land of
Adi Shankaracharya, Buddha, Guru Padmasambhava, and many more.
The ideas and thoughts of these personalities constitute a great wealth of
wisdom relevant to humanity. And it is the fund of knowledge which
should lay the foundation of our educational system. Tradition and
modernity are not opposed to each other. The contradiction is resolved
when we modernize the tradition by rejecting the dead and obsolete while
assimilating the living, the vital, and the relevant into the modern. And it
is this form of a blending concept that needs to be transmitted to our
coming generation.”

No idle words. If one looked at the educational system in Sikkim after

Chamling’s eight years of governance. One could see this blending concept in
operation. While he is striving hard to introduce “smart education”, harnessing
all available processes and instruments of latest information technology and
computer science, he is also leading a movement to preserve and consolidate
the compassionate, friendly, and warm traditions of the people of Sikkim.
 20
Sikkimising the Globalisation Process

The tiger, they say, always swims upstream against the current. The snake and
the vermin proceed in a zigzag and uncertain manner. In politics too, there are
the mainstreamers and there are sub-streamers. The mainstreamers are always
in the thick of challenges and combat. The sub-streamers are always dubious,
fissiparous and engaged in factional intrigues and diplomatic permutations and
combinations. Pawan Chamling is an upstreamer and the mainstreamer;
upstreamer in the sense that his political and public life is open, frontal and
face-to-face. If he is with you, he is with you and it will be well known to you. If
he is against you, then he is against you and he makes it explicitly clear to you.
Chamling is again possibly among the few chief ministers who have been
reading and writing about the globlisation process. He says, “Globalisation is a
fact of life today. We have to accept it, absorb it and participate in it. We have
no choice. Therefore, we would like to maximise the gains from the globalisation
process and minimise its negative fallouts.”
While expressing his views about the globalisation process before an exclusive
meeting of the “Sikkim Government—NGO Partnership” at India International
Centre in New Delhi in December 2000, he remarked,
“Let me briefly tell you about my reading of the great event of
globalisation. We are all now talking about the globalisation process. The
world is now going to be a global village. Though no one is sure about the
real impact of the ongoing process of globalisation, it is expected that
Sikkim will also be both positively and adversely affected by this. Our
state being a small and developing one, we have always tried to protect it
from the external shocks. And we have been successful in many ways.”

Displaying a measure of preparedness he added,

“That is why our government has a two-pronged strategy to face the

challenges posed by the globalisation process. Firstly, we would like to
adopt as many corrective measures and reforms under the national drive
of second generation reforms. We are introducing fiscal discipline, and
correcting the ills of public sector through disinvestment. We have
extended attractive packages for the private sector to invest in various
sectors. We are sensitising people, politicians and bureaucracy about the
dire need to have efficient management of existing utilities and
infrastructure already created. We are soon going to hold major
meetings with both national and foreign investors. We have called it a
Sikkim Investors’ Forum meeting.”
Secondly, we are equally concerned about the adverse impact of
globalisation on the deprived and marginalized people. We are very
worried about our environment and natural resources. We all firmly
believe that globalisation led economic reforms will bring about a higher
growth in the State. This higher growth will expectedly generate more
income and employment.”
Chamling is naturally worried about the impact of globalisation on the poor and
the marginalized. He had read and seen how this process has started adversely
impacting upon these have-nots in countries in Africa, Latin America and even
in South East Asia. This is why he says,

“The most critical question is how to transmit this high growth to the
poorest of the poor that are still there in the villages of Sikkim. We have
to translate this growth into people’s welfare and more equitable
distribution of income. Then, what is the transmission mechanism?”

He asked some very pertinent questions.

“Do we follow the same route that we followed for the last 50 years where
the entire delivery mechanism remained dependent on the bureaucracy?
Or do we set up a new range of delivery mechanism? My government
feels that the challenges brought forward by globalisation are diverse and
need to be faced with much more vigour. We, therefore, require new
instruments to cut the ice.”

In the same vein, he tried to put forward some concrete proposals for a lasting
solution. In his own words “This is where I see a major role for the non-
governmental organisations. The NGOs can increasingly supplement and to a
large extent even replace the governmental machineries. This will make the
delivery of goods and services to the poverty-stricken and deprived communities
a lot more effective and sustainable.”
At the much higher level, he advocated a two-way proposition. He emphatically
stated,

“We have two clear options. One is to bring the Sikkimese people to the
national mainstream as quickly as possible. This will not only make
them capable of facing the challenges of the globalisation process but
would enable them to take maximum mileage out of it. Secondly, the
environmental conservation is most critical. If we ensure the
environmental conservation then most of the problems arising out of
exploitation of natural resources, commercialization of tourism and
agriculture and industrial ventures could largely be managed.”

For Chamling, therefore, mainstreaming of people and the environmental

conservations are the key themes in Sikkim’s quest to face the challenges
created by globalisation and grab the opportunities it has brought.
He is also one of the most remarkable mainstreamers in the country. He first
knit the socio-ethnic factions of his own Sikkim into one Sikkimese mainstream
where they took pride in and enjoyed their common identity as the Sikkimese.
Then he initiated the mainstreaming of Sikkim with the rest of the nation.
Facing entrenched factions and vested interests, he succeeded in unleashing
such positive forces of emotional integration that Sikkim entering late on the
scenario is now integrated and interactive with the Indian nation.
In his welcome address to the then Vice-President of India, K.R. Narayanan, on
March 18, 1996, Chamling underlined the strong emotional ties within a
magnificently diversified Indian unity. He said,
 “Sir, you are one of the greatest sons of the country. You belong to the
beautiful state of Kerala in the deep South. Your presence today in this
Himalayan state shows how rich and strong are the emotional ties of
different parts of this country. I am very anxious that the people of
Sikkim should get emotionally integrated with the rest of the country at
the earliest possible time. For this, imaginative and timely steps are very
important. If I may say so, usually our serious attention turns to a
particular part of the country only when a problem erupts. There is no
such problem in Sikkim now but this is the time for the Central
government to attend to the State so that such problems never arise in
the future.”

Chamling also took the opportunity to focus on the quality of human warmth
symbolized so eminently by Narayanan and said,

“Our Vice President is a man of great genius and wisdom. He has held
with great distinction many important offices as ambassador and
minister. He has authored many books. But inspite of all his
achievements, he is simple and unassuming. In my view this is the true
indication of his greatness. It is the good fortune of our country that
such an eminent person endowed with human warmth is now in a
position to guide the destiny of our nation.”

The point that Chamling seemed to be making was that India had the benefit of
rich diversities of culture and wisdom in its great treasure house of heritage.
The modern Indian society could certainly derive the full benefit by weaving the
great diversities into a great entity. That is his way of mainstreaming the
thought and culture of India.
He also firmly believed in the importance and strength of the grassroots India in
the creation of an emotionally integrated nation. Chamling urged the people to
tread the Gandhian path to bring about a steady rural evolution.
In his own words:
“Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, has said that India lives in
her villages. Nothing could be nearer to the truth. With 75 per cent of our
people living in the villages and a majority of them belonging to the
economically weaker section of society, the progress of the country is
definitely not possible without the development of the rural areas and
upliftment of the poor and downtrodden. Keeping this fact in mind, my
government has set aside 70 percent of the total Plan budget for the
development of rural areas and poverty alleviation programme.
Although our main attention is focused on developing rural areas and
uplifting the underprivileged class, yet we have not neglected important
areas like education, health, agriculture, power, and other key areas.
Fighting illiteracy and educating our younger generation is the foremost
concern of our government alongwith providing health services, drinking
water facilities, electricity, village roads, bridges, and housing. Our
government has taken a number of bold initiatives for emancipation of
the poor. We will surely and definitely not rest till every family of this
state has a roof over its head and two square meals.”
Chamling’s drive for mainstreaming the economic and developmental facets of
Sikkim with the Union of India were rooted in his perception that the progress
and prosperity of the states are, in the final analysis, the foundation stones of
the nation as a whole. And that is the reason that the Center must take very
seriously the suggestions for tackling the urgent developmental problems of the
state. He never hesitated to mention that if the problems of peace and progress
are tackled at the state level, India would be stronger and more prosperous as
an aggregate achievement.
In his 1996 welcome to the Vice President, Chamling had invited the attention
of the Government of India to some of these issues. He said,

“Sikkim is the smallest and the newest member of the great Indian
Republic. You may, therefore, appreciate that we need the keenest and
the fondest attention of the Government of India. The people of this state
are simple and peace loving and need nothing more than the opportunity
for a decent living. Being a remote state and lacking in infrastructural
facilities, there are several limitations to the growth of our economy.
Nature has endowed us with beautiful forests and rivers and we are
determined to preserve this ecological wealth. We have some unique
competitive advantages like rare orchids, medicinal herbs, spices,
pollution-free atmosphere to create abundant interest for the discerning
tourists from the country and abroad. Our strategy is to put these to the
advantage of the common man of Sikkim.”

Chamling is a realist enough to realize that the ambitions and desires for the
future of Sikkim required a lot of discipline, hard work, and better Center-state
cooperation. K.R. Narayanan, like many other great leaders of the Indian
nation, obviously appreciated the mainstreamer and the upstreamer traits in
Chamling. While Chamling has always been sought after by several social and
non-governmental organizations all over the country to join them in their
movement for the betterment of Indian life and add his inspiring thoughts to
their progress, he was also the recipient of many awards and honours.
The Bharat Shiromani Award, conferred on him in New Delhi on March 5, 1997,
was one of them. Interestingly, he received the award from no less a person
than K.R. Narayanan himself. Focusing on Chamling’s unusual personality as a
man, politician, and philosopher, Narayanan said:

“I have the greatest respect for Mr. Pawan Chamling, not only as the
Chief Minister but as a personality and a great human being. Mr.
Chamling is a remarkable personality who has been in politics from his
young age. I would not look upon him as a politician but rather as a
poet, writer, editor, and one who has espoused great causes like
democracy, national integration, economic development, and progressive
causes. I recollect an incident in the Sikkim Assembly, where Mr. Pawan
Chamling started searching for democracy with a lighted candle in a
manner of Socrates looking for an honest man.
The Chief Minister has shown immense courage in fighting all kinds of
repression and has fought for democratic rights and development of
people. After Nehru, we are hearing about the emotional integration in
Sikkim. I fully appreciate the campaign being carried out by the Chief
Minister of Sikkim and appeal to the rest of India to respond, accept, and
 make all the Indians feel emotionally entwined and integrated in a lively
and practical manner. I congratulate the Shiromani Institute on their
choice of Mr. Pawan Chamling, a remarkable original man, writer,
statesman and poet whose ideas are of value not only to Sikkim but to
the whole of India. His is one of the greatest contributions to this
country.”

K.R. Narayanan himself is universally regarded as one of the most respected

and finest intellectual-statesmen in the world. His name commands admiration,
honour, and reverence. The utterance of a man of his stature, therefore, could
not be mere niceties but a genuine recognition of Chamling’s contribution to
national integration and mainstreaming of Sikkim. No other political figure in
Sikkim had earned such recognition and appreciation at the national level so
far. This was a compliment which had not only honoured the Chief Minister but
also made the entire Sikkim proud of him.
In the state, Pawan Chamling is the first politician to advocate the principle of
collective living and work for the state and country collectively. While
addressing the first public meeting after his swearing-in as Chief Minister in
1994, Chamling had called upon the people to bury the differences arising out
of party affiliations. In his characteristic way, he had said,

“Friends and respected citizens, until yesterday I was the President of a

particular party. Some of you might have supported and voted for some
other parties. Now as I stand here as the state’s Chief Minister, I have
chosen to forget the yesterday—the differences, the hostility and the
acrimonious slogan shouting and such other things. Today, I behold all
of you irrespective of party differences and ideology, as my co-partners in
the building of healthy state and nation. Come together and let us move
forward with a collective sense of purpose and destination.”

This philanthropic view of Chamling had caught many of the party supporters
by surprise. People were highly impressed by Chamling’s way and wondered
how easily and quickly he was willing to forgive the very elements hounding him
for his life until yesterday!
He has quite correctly espoused progressive causes from day one of his
assuming the office of the Chief Minister of the state. Without nurturing any
grouse, he wants people to work for the progress and prosperity of the state and
the country. As a man putting hours of hard work for the betterment of people’s
condition, Chamling’s essential philosophy of life is working and leaving behind
a culture of rich accomplishments.
While addressing young students in June 2000 in Gangtok, Chamling had
expressed himself thus, “Standing amidst you in this historic structure, my
feeling is one that of nostalgia, of our glorious past, with a solemn realisation
that what outlives death is work, work and only work. As the past, present and
future merged here in this moment of togetherness, we have to march ahead
with steady and confident steps to live a meaningful life in the new
Millennium.”
In recognition of his unique contribution, Chamling has been selected for the
prestigious National Citizen’s Award by a jury comprising of distinguished legal
luminaries, social workers and politicians.
Chamling is very clear about his dream and advocates sustainable development
as the main guiding principle of his development initiatives and interventions.
He said:

“In an ecologically fragile State like Sikkim, terms like sustainability are
closely linked with human existence. This we have recognized well in
advance and all our developmental efforts will be sustainable without
any adverse effect on our ecological balance. In our two priority sectors
like hydro-power and tourism, we have taken extra care to introduce a
spirit of sustainability. While framing policies, we have taken care to not
to fall prey to short-term pressure but rely on long-term consideration
and their implications in the long run.”

In his efforts to build the future, Chamling is aware of the fact that neglect of
the ecology can spell disaster to not only hilly states like Sikkim but also the
plains. He explains,

“As the pressure of ever rising population and demands of development

increase, the need arises to preserve the bounty of natural resources.
The right kind of balance has to be struck between the unavoidable
developmental works and limited natural resources. One wrong step can
deprive us of our treasure of vegetation and forest. If the higher reaches
were deforested, floods would be devastating below. If the cultivable area
is lost at a fast rate to non-agricultural use, the little productivity of the
state will be lost. Sikkim is already facing a strange situation of drought
in the south and west with massive landslides in the north and east.
Prolonged high intensity rains have been causing devastation in recent
years.
More than that, over the last two and a half decades, the snowline of
Sikkim has been receding, resulting in the drying up of numerous
natural and perennial streams and rivulets. It is time that due attention
is given to these issues in each and every development project and
activity. Human manipulation has to be directed and limited taking into
consideration the area’s fragility and susceptibility to destruction. It is
the conscious efforts of not only the government but each and everyone
of us which can prevent the ecological damage and keep Sikkim as
beautiful as ever. While I, as the head of government and a
representative of the people of Sikkim, can ensure including this concern
for environment in each of my policies and programmes, the effectiveness
of such measures depends entirely on all of you. Only if you equally
share this concern and cooperate in successful implementation of these
policies and programme, there can be hope for survival.”

In continuation of his policy, Chamling launched the Smriti Van (memorial

woodland) programme in all the districts to bring people closer to the
environment. An imaginative programme has been mooted to encourage people
to plant more and more trees to perpetuate the memory of their dear and near
ones. Surely, the programme has caught the imagination of the people at large
and a huge number of people from all walks of life have actually got down to
planting more trees. It has become a mass-movement for plantation and
protection and till date about 40 Smriti Vans have been created and some
40,000 seedlings have been planted across the state. The government also
constituted a state award—“Rajya Van Samrakshan Evam Paryavaran
Puraskar”—to encourage more organizations and individuals to undertake the
initiative.
A state Biodiversity Park at Tendong near Namchi in South Sikkim is under
establishment and will be the first of its kind in the country. Similarly, a
butterfly park will be developed in the State very soon to give natural
conservation a concrete shape and programme. The growing population and the
ever increasing pressure on land were daunting challenges. But Chamling was
going to give the very best by taking up various measures to overcome the
challenges in sustainable development. The state government has also passed
and announced a comprehensive Policy on Forest, Environment and Land-use
2000 based on the basic principle of conservation and sustainability. The
government has also taken the decision for compulsory environmental
education for school children including forest, wildlife, and cultural heritage,
etc.
The government’s concern about conservation is well reflected by its decision
to announce eight peaks, five lakes and one rock as sacred and banning further
expedition to these sacred sites which also included Mt. Khanchendzonga.
When the leader of the House made this announcement after cabinet approval,
history was in the reckoning—all the sacred sites would remain virgin for all
time to come, untouched by the hungry generation. The government also
scrapped the Rathong-chu Hydel Project at a point of time when the
government had already spent over Rs. 20 crore on it.
The single act made Chamling a favourite of the environmentalists and saved
priceless natural resources for the future generation. In a similar gesture, the
government banned grazing and felling of trees in reserved forests. The Army
had a proposal to build a G-firing range on forest land in north Sikkim. The
proposal, however, was aborted at Chamling’s personal persuasion, thereby
saving rare animals like the snow leopard, the musk deer and medicinal plants.
The state government demonstrates its political commitment to environmental
issues through a clean-up campaign each year.
While addressing the concluding session of the South Asia Conference on
Eco-Tourism in the capital on January 25, 2002, Pawan Chamling hit the nail
on the head by expressing the cardinal truth of human existence as closely
connected with our bio-diversity. He said,

“I would like to add that mankind thinks they can live and exist by
destroying the very things that they are dependent on. Nature and indeed
the earth and air and water will and can exist without man. This
fundamental premise is what, is not yet understood. Man must change
his attitude and understand that we are deeply connected and utterly
dependent on our biodiversity. Biodiversity on the other hand is not
dependent on man. This is to be understood first even before we embark
on any development agenda.”

He further stated that the state government “is driving a green developmental
agenda”.
Under Chamling’s inspiration and encouragement, the Sikkim government has
brought out a comprehensive State Environment Policy for improving and
strengthening the institutions that works toward this end. Numerous initiatives
have been taken in educational institutions to promote a sense of purpose in
the younger generation so that they grow up with a clear awareness of the
importance of environment and ecology and a strong vision about
sustainability. With this objective, the Sikkim government has cleared a
proposal to introduce a compulsory school level curriculum on “Himalayan
Ecology”. Probably the first state in the country to do so.
Another significant environmental step has been the passing of legislation
banning the use of non-biodegradable materials like plastic polybags, which
have been very successfully implemented in the state. This caught many people
and foreign tourists with pleasant surprise.
The environment saga which earned Chamling national and international
recognition for Sikkim’s green achievement all began with his giving the famous
slogan, Sikkim koh ban, hariyo ban (Green forest, Sikkim’s wealth). Way back
in 1995, immediately after assuming power, Chamling had announced the year
1995 as the Harit Kranti year. He knows that today no nation could sit in
comfort and afford to neglect the gravity of the environmental problem which
threatens the very survival of life on earth.
One of these major environmental problems was the rapid degradation and
depletion of forests. Forest plays an important role in maintaining the
environment, including the atmospheric stability and in supplying the essential
requirements of people on a renewable basis. Continued deforestation,
therefore, has serious repercussion on soil fertility moisture, land degradation
temperature, rainfall patterns and underground water tables. There is the
danger of losing two of the most valuable aspects of the nation gifted by
nature—the plants and animals of the wildlife.
The Sikkim Chief Minister, who is very conscious of the environment
problems, initiated a number of steps designed to protect the environment. His
government took special care to regenerate areas where forests had been
destroyed either by natural calamities or by illegal felling. Grazing of cattle in
protected forest has been completely banned and well-planned steps are being
taken to protect the rich flora and fauna existing in Sikkim. The area under the
Khanchendzonga National Park is being extended to safeguard the wildlife in
the area and a Rhododendron Sanctuary is also created at Varsey in West
Sikkim to protect the large variety of the exotic flowering plant in the
surrounding areas.
The Indian nation has widely recognized Chamling’s contribution towards
conservation and maintaining of ecological balance. With this recognition,
Chamling has provided a shining lead to the rest of the country in the field of
conservation and environmental protection.
It was on February 20, 1999 that Chief Minister Pawan Chamling received
the coveted honour of being the leading environment protector of the nation at
an impressive function organized by the prestigious Centre for Science and
Environment at New Delhi. It was not without reason that the Sikkim Chief
Minister had been found the “Greenest Chief Minister of India” in a nation-wide
survey conducted by the CSE. According to the finding of this institution, the
Sikkim Chief Minister was found to be most committed and dedicated towards
environment and sustainable development among the Chief Ministers of India.
The Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, Digvijay Singh
and Chandrababu Naidu, respectively were voted second and third in the
nation-wide polling.
According to the nation-wide survey, Sikkim was moving towards sustainable
development, thanks to the farsightedness and initiative of Pawan Chamling. A
report on this national survey was published in the prestigious CSE fortnightly,
Down to Earth. The magazine under the title Lone Crusader profusely
applauded Chamling for his efforts on afforestation, ban on grazing, integrated
pest management and joint forest management. His slogan “no plastic bags, no
landslides” was elaborated as a box item in the February 15, 1999 issue of
Down to Earth. It also commended Chamling's deep concern on Rathong-Chu
Hydel project which was discontinued by him half way through. The magazine
also carried views from a cross section of the Sikkimese society.
Jigme N Kazi, Editor, Sikkim Observer mentioned that “Chamling has the
will. His efforts deserve great appreciation. His predecessor Nar Bahadur
Bhandari did nothing even though he had 32 out of the 32 MLAs, he could have
done a lot for the environment. He lacked the will”.
Chukie Topden of the Concerned Citizens of Sikkim, an NGO, remarked in
the same issue of Down to Earth that “he may not be sophisticated enough to
view environmental problems like a trained activist, but he understands them
in his own way. His solutions may sometimes look roughshod but his
willingness to learn is his greatest asset. What more can one expect from
someone who took over 14 years of environmental neglect by Bhandari ?
Chamling has been around for just four years”.
For Sikkim 77.78 percent of respondents felt that the rural environment was
improving. This put Sikkim on top of the list. The respondents gave 66.67 % to
Madhya Pradesh, 53.85 % to West Bengal, 40 % to Andhra Pradesh, 33.33 %
to Himachal Pradesh. These were the other States which were doing well. The
responses in case of Meghalaya, Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh
were zero making them very lowly ranked . In case of the urban environment
also the respondents put Sikkim on top of all the States in India by again giving
77.78% to it.
 21
Upholder of Women’s Rights

The women, the youth and the children of Sikkim have been the most effective
instruments of change and progress in society. The integration of any society
and nation is not possible if one ignores these bloodstreams of humanity.
Pawan Chamling realized it quite early and all his politics and administration
sought to use the dignity and participation in all the mainstreaming and
upstreaming projects and campaigns.
He knew the cardinal truth that if womenfolk accepted new ideas and the
validity of change, they had the potential to change whole families. If one family
is changed, it has the potential to change a whole society and the nation as a
whole. He constantly encourages women to come forward with courage and
responsibility to building the society and the nation. He believed that unless the
women come forward, the march of civilization will be incomplete.
One of the far reaching tasks that Chamling keenly carried out himself from the
day one was to change the lot of women by giving them responsible roles in the
affairs of Sikkim and the nation. The government committed itself to providing
due status and dignity to women and making them self-reliant and competitive.
Being fully aware that no state could progress without the participation of its
womenfolk, the Chamling government is leaving no efforts unspared to ensure
that women of Sikkim get an opportunity to work hand in hand with their male
counterparts in all spheres of life.
In its manifesto for the 1996 Lok Sabha election, the Sikkim Democratic Front
promised, “Sikkimese women from all sections of the populace will be given
their due place in society while their rights, privileges, and status will be
safeguarded and justice will be brought to them in all spheres of activities.” The
party has kept its promises to the women of Sikkim. Chamling’s SDF
government launched a range of schemes and programmes aimed at solving
the hitherto neglected problems of the womenfolk in Sikkim.
In keeping with the Chamling’s commitment and the importance which his
Sikkim Democratic Front attached to women’s issues, his government created a
separate Department of Women and Child Welfare as early as in May 1995. The
government launched various schemes aimed at uplifting the women socially,
economically, culturally, and politically. In addition, the state endeavoured to
maximize the number of beneficiaries under the Centrally sponsored schemes.
In many of such schemes, the state had achieved 100 percent of the target, a
remarkable feat by any standard.
In order to sensitize the people to women-related issues, Women’s Day is
celebrated every year on a grand scale as part of the National Integration Day.
Functions organized in different parts of the State attempt to educate women
about the various schemes that the government runs for them. The women in
different areas of Sikkim were also made aware of their legal rights and other
privileges.
The small family and widow remarriage schemes of the Chamling government
were unique and deserve some attention. These schemes were launched to
tackle the problems of child marriage and widow remarriage. Under the first
scheme, each school-going girl who remains unmarried till the age of 13 is given
a fixed deposit of Rs. 2,500. The scheme provides a further incentive of Rs.
2000, Rs. 500 and Rs. 100 in stages if the girl remains unmarried till the age of
21, 22 and 23 respectively. Already a large number of girls have been identified
under this scheme. Under the Widow Remarriage Scheme, every couple who
qualify are given an incentive of Rs. 10,000.
Another radical step to promote the equality of genders has been taken by the
government. It is compulsory to indicate the name of the mother in all school
and official records of a child. Seemingly a small step, but socially a very
important measure that would go a long way to promote gender justice and
trigger a bullet of social change designed to transform the very psyche of our
society.
In Chamling’s Sikkim, women have received more respect and attention than
ever before. In the campaign to regain the glory due to women, the government
in the state has harnessed all the Central schemes as well as very innovative
and effective state schemes.
Traditionally in our society, female health and nutrition was not given its due
importance. The Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and the nutrition
schemes were harnessed towards improving the health of pregnant women and
children. Facilities provided under these schemes were supplementary
nutrition, immunization, regular health checkups, and referral services. ICDS is
a Government of India scheme. The Chamling government’s performance in
achieving the target has been very impressive. To encourage economic
independence and start income generating schemes the women have been also
provided financial assistance under the Mahila Samridhi Yojana and the Indira
Mahila Yojana. In order to help the widows of the ex-servicemen, the state
Government runs a family pension scheme for them and ensures that every girl
child receives proper education. Every girl child covered under the Balika
Samridhi Yojana gets a scholarship for her education.
In the Chamling dispensation, it is not just the rural women on whom the
government focuses. Equal emphasis is being laid on educating and providing
better employment opportunity to the urban and educated women. The efforts
of the government have already started bearing fruits. The Chief Minister can
claim with certain pride and say, “Today we have efficient lady secretaries
heading key departments and rubbing shoulders with their male counterparts.
We have active, smart and efficient women manning police and other
administrative posts.”
The Chamling government has not stopped at just the social upliftment and
economic empowerment of women. The government has clearly recognized the
aspirations of the Sikkimese women and their role in the socio-economic life
and activities of the state. The SDF government created history of sorts when
the first ever woman Speaker of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly, Kalawati
Subba, and the first ever woman cabinet minister, Rinzing Ongmu, were
appointed by Chamling.
In this chain of history-making achievements for the women of Sikkim in
Chamling’s government, there are many other firsts. The first woman
Adhyakshas and Upa- Adhyakshas of the Zilla Panchayats were also appointed
in the last few years thereby bringing rural women into the political
mainstream. Chamling firmly believed that the political empowerment of women
will go a long way in achieving the ultimate goal of equal opportunity for women
in the Sikkimese society. He believes that it will give women an opportunity to
have their voices heard and their concern brought to the fore and attended to.
The Chamling government has also set up Women’s Council in the state
which will act as a powerful platform to address issues like women right,
 security and gender justice. There is 30 percent reservation for women in all
government jobs, 33 percent in the panchayati raj institutions. Today
Sikkim has 322 women members in the panchayati raj institutions out of a
total of 873 members. The objective of the government is to make women co-
partners in all developmental efforts and make them equally strong. Pawan
Chamling further says,

“Had it been left to the discretion of the state government, we would have
provided 50 percent reservation to women in the Assembly. On our own
initiative, we have reserved 33 percent seats for women in panchayats
and 30 percent in government jobs. The state government has been doing
everything possible for the welfare of poor people and women. If I were to
lead Indian Parliament, I would reserve 50 percent seats for women in
the State Assemblies and the Lok Sabha. They deserve this consideration
because of their contribution in the world. And looking at the politics
being played in the name of reservation, I would have been satisfied to
keep economic condition as the only criterion for reservation. That way, I
would have loved to ensure a secure future for the poor people.”

The Chamling era in Sikkim, barely eight years old as the 21st century began,
has borne some admirable fruits. Chamling could claim that today Sikkim is a
state without a single instance of exploitation of women. And what better
corroboration could be there than the expression of satisfaction about women
security in Sikkim by the former Chairperson of the National Commission for
Women, Mohini Giri. During her visit to Sikkim she said that she was not only
very happy with the status of women in Sikkim but commended the fact that
the Commission did not find a single dowry-related case in Sikkim. Pawan
Chamling, obviously happy at Mrs. Giri’s appreciation wants to do much more
for them, so that they become a model for the new generation. He persistently
calls upon the women to shed their inhibitions, and arm themselves with
determination and courage to secure their rightful place in society and work
shoulder to shoulder with the men for all-round development of Sikkim.
 22
Into the 21st Century

Elected to head the government in 1994, Chamling has established himself as a

trendsetter in all sectors, including the educational and socio-cultural. He has
created many a first, especially in areas like women empowerment and poverty
alleviation.
The first and foremost objective of the SDF party was uprooting all anti-
people moves and forces. The policies of government are based on the
principles of democracy, socio-economic equality and respect for dignity of
each individual in the state. Fulfillng the political aspirations of the
Sikkimese people, and fighting against all forms of exploitation and injustice
have been the major planks of this Government.
To promote Sikkimese literature, art and culture, the Sikkim Akademi has been
set up in the State. For speedy justice and avoidance of the usual delay in legal
process, the state government has established a number of courts like the Lok
Adalat, family court, consumer court to provide justice to people at their
homestead. These steps have been undertaken to secure social justice to the
poor so that there is no discrimination in grievance redressal, settlement of
disputes and the common people have a forum to submit their grievances.
The present government has taken up the cudgels to weed out corruption
from its very root. The head of the government himself has discouraged corrupt
practices and wielded the broom to clear the mess. To start with, the
government has exercised a ban on unnecessary expenditure and adopted
austerity measures. The government has further intensified the anti-corruption
drive by enforcing anti-corruption laws, encouraging people’s participation, and
injecting responsiveness in every official, including instant public grievances
redressal. The government has already introduced an element of transparency
and honesty in its functioning.
It is soon constituting an entirely new and largely autonomous body to deal
with the monitoring and evaluation of the development projects. This is aimed
at making the development process both transparent and accountable. Together
with various administrative step and legislations to frustrate illegal tendencies,
the government also sought to improve discriminating faculty among the
common people so that they stand united against corruption. Chamling believes
that the final solution lies in the power of the people who have to oppose
venality tooth and nail for all time to come.
The government under Chamling also created many new departments like the
Department of Youth and Sports to facilitate international standard sporting
opportunities for sportsperson of Sikkim. In a significant development, the
government renamed the Alley ground in the South district headquarter of
Namchi as Bhaichung Bhutia Stadium after the ace footballer of Sikkim. The
state government has already launched a “Search for more Bhaichungs” project
in which promising students were chosen on the basis of their performance and
provided scholarships to provide for their education and sports training. The
government also started sports meets like the “Chief Minister’s Gold Cup
Archery Tournament” and open marathon, thereby reviving traditional sports
like archery.
 The government has also instituted various state Awards carrying Rs. 1 lakh
each under various categories like literature, social service, performing arts,
and sports. More recently, the Chamling government announced a special
incentive package for sportspersons in the state in three disciplines viz. football,
boxing and archery. Any Sikkimese bagging a gold medal in any National Junior
championship will be given a cash award of Rs. 50,000, a silver medalist Rs.
30,000, and a bronze medalist Rs. 20,000. And for senior level championship,
the cash awards are fixed at Rs. 5 lakhs, Rs. 3 lakhs and Rs. 2 lakhs
respectively. For medals in the Asian Games, the cash award will be Rs. 20
lakhs, Rs. 10 lakhs and Rs. 5 lakhs respectively. Similarly, under the Olympic
Games category, the amount is 1 crore, Rs. 50 lakhs and Rs. 20 lakhs
respectively.
The government has so far awarded Bhaichung Bhutia for sports, Danny
Denzongpa for the performing arts, Benjamin Rai for music and Ganden
Lharipa and Gyaltsen Lepcha for wood carving, Sonam Tshering Lepcha and
Capt. Ramsingh Thakuri for music, Tulsi Ram Sharma ‘Kashyap’
(posthumously) for literature. Danny Denzongpa has also been honoured with
Padma Shree award by the centre for his outstanding contribution to cinema.
The youth in Sikkim found a very supportive Chief Minister in Pawan
Chamling who actively takes part in youth activities across the state. An
inspiring man of high dynamism, Chamling exudes confidence and faith in
youthpower in the building of new and prosperous Sikkim. With his support,
Sikkim hosted many national-level youth camps with persons like S.N. Subba
Rao, Director of National Youth Project, participating in two major camps in
Sikkim.
The meeting of the young people who attended the camp from all over the
country was a distinct experience for the Sikkimese people. While helping the
youth realize their inherent power and potential, the Chief Minister prescribed
changes in their outlook and a shift in their set minds. While addressing the
meet on April 11, 2000 in Gangtok he said:
“Without second opinion, today’s youth are the building blocks for the
unborn tomorrows. And with the advent of the new Millennium, the time
has come for redefining the attitude and role of the youth to meet the
new challenges of a fast-changing world. In the global scenario, the
essence of our existence lies in developing competitive edge so as to be
able to survive on the strength of pure merit. We have to discourage the
practice of seeking ready patronage and freebies, and we need to explore
the challenges of expanding horizon to prove our worth. Charity destroys
creative urge and blunts our innovative skills to make us perennially
dependent on the handouts of others. The outgoing century has done
much to bring the one world concept closer to reality simply due to
breakthroughs that have been made in the areas of science and
technology. In such a scenario, youth capable of hard work and a sense
of duty and dedication to their chosen career can certainly find a place in
the sun.”

In a clear message to the youth, Pawan Chamling always sought to discover

the untapped potential of the youthpower in shaping the destiny of the state.
Recognizing the innate evil tendency in every human being, he called upon the
youth to be constructive and positive in their approach to reach their
destination. He called upon them to change themselves into quality people—
people with character, integrity, good values and a positive attitude. Addressing
another youth camp in December 2000, Chamling said, “Let us not act like the
proverbial ostrich, but transform ourselves into the legendary Phoenix to die a
hundred deaths yet resurrect ourselves from the ashes to serve humanity and
offer a heritage of hope to the coming generation.”
Subba Rao was deeply impressed by Chamling’s simplicity and the gentleness
in his purpose to build a model state in the country. In a personal note to the
Chief Minister, Subba Rao said, “Meeting you and getting a feel of your love for
Sikkim and India and the people, especially the youth, was a beautiful
experience for me. Yes, I meant it when I said that I wish there were more chief
ministers like you.”
The government also initiated a very ambitious plan to construct cultural
buildings of different ethnic communities like the Lepcha Cultural Bhawans,
Rhodukhim and Manghim, etc. primarily to preserve indigenous culture,
tradition and custom of the Sikkimese people.
What the Chamling Government did in the last eight years is known to one
and all. Yet a glimpses of major achievements at the state level is essential.
● Sikkim is the most peaceful state in the country today by any subjective and
objective measure. A well-established tradition of social and communal
harmony exists.
● Sikkim is one of the most politically stable states in the country today.
● The State Domestic Product of Sikkim has recorded an average annual
growth rate of over 8 percent in the last decade or so.
● As against hardly 30 percent infants covered by immunization in 1975, it was
more than 70 percent in 1999.
● The number of primary health sub-centers was 2 in 1975 and had increased
to 147 in 1999.
● Sikkim is probably the first state to provide free Hepatitis vaccination
covering 10 percent of the children population (below 5 years)
● The literacy rate, which was hardly 17 percent in 1971, has now increased to
over 70 percent.
● Sikkim has possibly the best teacher-student ratio at all levels in schools.
● Sikkim has achieved 100 percent electrification in rural and urban
households
● It has provided access to safe drinking water to 100 percent of the
population.
● Sikkim has the 13th highest per capita income in the country. It recorded
one of the highest growth rates of 12.96 percent per annum in 1999-2000.
● The total food production in the state steadily increased from over 61,800
tonnes in 1980-81 to 1.06 lakh tonnes in 1999-2000 produced from hardly
64,000 hectares of net sown area.
● An impressive feature of Sikkim’s overall expenditure has been an
overwhelming share (consistently over 74 percent) taken by developmental
activities.
● Sikkim traditionally has a sound track record of maintaining gender equality.
● The position of human development in Sikkim is significantly higher than
many other states of India. The Human Development Index consistently
improved from 0.454 in 1991 to 0.532 in 1998.
● Sikkim has the rare distinction of producing two state-of-the-art reports
recently. These reports were the Human Development Report 2001 and
 Sikkim: The People’s Vision. In the process, Sikkim became the third state in
India to produce the Human Development Report.
● Sikkim has been able to both traditionally and scientifically conserve its rich
biological diversity, including that of more than 5,000 species of angiosperms
(one third of the total national angiosperms).
● As for environmental conservation Sikkim’s Chief Minister was voted as the
“Greenest Chief Minister of India” in a rigorous opinion poll conducted by the
internationally acclaimed institution Centre for Science and Environment,
New Delhi.
A highly symbolic gesture that Chamling took had a strong bearing on the
moral rectitude and decency in public life. Serving of liquor in all official
functions and at Mintokgang, the official residence of the Chief Minister, was
banned immediately after his swearing-in 1994. The GoC, Eastern Command,
General Kalkat once remarked, “Mr. Pawan Chamling is not an ordinary
politician, he is a creative politician.” Nothing was closer to the truth. With a
very high degree of creativity and imagination, Chamling has been trying to
create a form of Sikkimese life where people will be able to live a peaceful life,
cultured life, a prosperous life and a life with dignity and honour.
In his second term as Chief Minister since 1999, Pawan Chamling has braced
himself to give to the Sikkimese people a policy with a long-term perspective.
These policies do reflects his intellectual and innovative capacity and skills.
Under the policy, Chamling introduced a significant shift in the art of
governance. This is basically to realign with the global change and to take
concepts like globalisation and liberalisation in his stride. It includes setting
targets and defining priority areas to make Sikkim richer and yet uphold
Sikkimese tradition, culture and its history.
The 21st century initiatives of Chamling Government was very well
manifested in the presentation the Chief Minister made on the 10th Five year
Plan (2002-2007) before the National Development Council in February 2002.
He stated:

“The Government of Sikkim has put a formidable objective of achieving

a growth rate of 10 percent per annum in the state GDP during the 10th
Plan. We will achieve this higher growth regime by way of:
(i) putting adequate financial resources in a prudently sectoral
allocated framework
(ii) intensifying the reform process in terms of pruning the inefficient
sectors, right sizing the employment in the government
establishments and refocusing only on merit-based subsidies and
other forms of state doles
(iii) institutionalizing the monitoring and evaluation of the planned
projects in a scientific and professional manner
(iv) strengthening and diversifying the mechanisms for the delivery of
goods and services in the framework of a complete and rigorous
accountability
(v) mobilizing a matching quantum of resources through diversifying
the tax and resource base, improving the tax administrations and
attracting more foreign assistance programmes.
 While outlining the newly set agenda he mentioned that “our priorities
are a blending of both the traditional and modern sectors as we feel that
a very comprehensive but a focused approach only could help us in:

● Alleviating poverty
● Narrowing gap in income employment distribution
● Generating employment in the non-governmental areas
● Broadbasing the participation of both private and non-
governmental agencies
● Mobilising the resources from diverse sources and
● Making the development socio-culturally and ecologically
sustainable.”

Chamling was very clear in his mind to emphasise on the importance

of some of the critical traditional sectors. He stated that,
“We have therefore put our focus, attention and resources on the very
specific sub-sectors of the following five basic sectors which together
constitute over 76 percent of the total plan outlays.
(i) Agriculture, including horticulture and animal husbandry (13.6
percent of the proposed outlays)
(ii) Infrastructure consisting mainly of power, road and transport:
(30.85 percent of the proposed outlays)
(iii) Social services, particularly education and health (26.81 percent
of the proposed outlays)
(iv) Tourism and related activities (3.02 percent of the proposed
outlays)
(v) Industry (1.8 percent of the proposed outlays)

The 10th Plan is a big challenge to us. For the first time we are
changing the course of development direction in a very planned and
determined manner. We are reasonably sure that we will be able to
achieve all the set goals. In doing so, we would also be able to reposition
Sikkim as the most fast growing Himalayan State in the country.”

It was Pawan Chamling’s destiny to guide his beloved Sikkim into the 21st
century and the new millennium. Never mind what course the politics of Sikkim
and India might take, the Chamling stamp on the course of Sikkim’s history
has been clearly imprinted. His ideas have begun to work. The seeds of progress
that he planted since 1994 are beginning to sprout. Chamling often said:

“A prosperous, self-reliant Sikkim is possible only through discerning

thought and scientific planning. The job is difficult but not impossible.
The face of Sikkim will considerably improve if we could utilize the huge
natural resources to our advantage. With this thought in mind, we have
braced ourselves to free the state from the condition of dependency. By
proper utilization of the available natural resources, we can attain self-
sufficiency. Hence, we have identified some priority areas in terms of
exploiting our natural resources. Our first and foremost concern is how
we can make the state self-reliant through effective means as early as
possible.”
And accordingly, Chamling has undertaken many intellectual exercises to
ascertain the move forward through studied observation, analysis, and
meticulous planning. The doctrine of self-reliance is all too pronounced, two of
the most responsible instruments for the state government to go ahead to
achieve this goal as the millennium mantra are the two documents that seeking
to charter the future of development and growth. These were Sikkim Human
Development Report 2001 authored by Prof. Mahendra P. Lama of Jawaharlal
Nehru University, New Delhi, and Sikkim: The People’s Vision prepared by a
team led by Dr. Ashok Lahiri, Director of National Institute of Public Finance
and Policy, New Delhi. Some of the cherished dreams of Chamling are embodied
in the two historic documents. Both the documents laid down the vital
parameters of social and economic realities of Sikkim as it entered the 21st
century and the new paradigms for its future politico-economic journey in the
new century and the new millennium.
In consultation with the stakeholders, The People’s Vision articulated a vision
of a prosperous Sikkim with an effective private sector-led thriving trade. It
called for harnessing of crucial sectors like hydroelectric power, tourism,
horticulture, and floriculture. After spelling out the goals for the economy, it
elaborates the underlying fiscal policy framework and sectoral strategy that will
move the economy towards these goals. A vastly expanded role for the private
sector and community is envisaged.
The introduction of technology and modern scientific methods to help the
state overcome its natural handicaps of inaccessibility has been emphasized. It
underlines that the government cannot make the vision come true by
continuing with its ‘business-as-usual’ attitude. There has to be a strategic
withdrawal of the State from widespread untargeted subsidies and direct
employment creation. This has to be combined with a critical emphasis on
setting up a congenial business infrastructure, including legal framework to
foster private sector activities.
Further this report very critically looks into the fiscal management in the
state and suggests many measures to drastically improve the financial
situations. This includes revamping the tax administration, revising user
charges and containing spiralling subsidies. It highlighted expenditure
management and prioritisation as another major area for reform.
It recommends rationalization of government staff; skill-based secondary and
well-targeted vocational training, private sector participation in the tourism,
hydropower and agro-based industries and better technological intervention in
the animal husbandry sector.
The analysis and the policy recommendations are to a large extent applicable
for all North-Eastern and the Himalayan states.
The Sikkim Human Development Report, 2001 has thrown up vital statistics
regarding the State government’s performance in the last few decades. This has
acted as a benchmark to assess the government’s past experience and
corresponding benefits.
The traditional measures of development like gross domestic product and per
capita income has been increasingly questioned as the real indicators of
development by a large number of scholars and policy makers. They always
wanted much broader and more representative indicators of development. This
search for a new method of measuring development led to the concept of
human development and then indicators like Human Development Index (HDI).
Human beings also have non-material choices like human rights, political
independence, human dignity and self-respect, social freedom, peace and
tranquility etc. The Human Development approach, therefore, made an attempt
to meet and fulfil all these choices of people.
In other words, the Human Development approach to development brings out
the best from the hidden capabilities and talents of the most neglected and
marginalized people and communities also. In Sikkim, the Government has
been primarily driven by this philosophy of giving the most to the poor at the
grass roots.
Chief Minister Chamling, while presenting this Report in the State Assembly
in August 2001, said,

“This Human Development Report will go a long way in providing

instruments and strategies to translate our philosophy into action and
achievements. We want to build human capabilities and use these
capabilities for the sustenance of the state and the nation. This is where
our government makes a path breaking departure from many other
governments in the State.
Since this is for the first time such an attempt has been made to
prepare a HDR of Sikkim, it has covered broad areas and issues related
to human development in the state. My Government is looking forward to
the preparation of similar reports making more focused sectoral
depiction and analysis in future....
The Sikkim Human Development Report 2001 very critically looks into
the issues of population, poverty, planning, health, education,
environment, governance, industry and power. It suggests far- reaching
measures on food security, environmental management, governance,
traditional practices, women health and empowerment, quality of
education and monitoring and evaluation systems....
I am glad to announce that this report mentions that the position of
human development in Sikkim is significantly higher than in many other
states of India. The Human Development Index has consistently
improved from 0.454 in 1991 to 0.532 in 1998....
Two other very interesting findings of this Report are on the outflow of
resources from Sikkim in both visible and invisible manner. The other is,
for the first time the author has put together a new concept of
comprehensive security provided by Sikkim to the nation. This includes
military, environmental and people’s security. The author suggests that
the Union government should now adequately compensate Sikkim for the
development sacrifices it has been making in single-handedly providing
comprehensive security to the country.”

The two documents prepared under the guidance of reputed economists of

the country reflect on the background of the developmental strategies adopted
so far and present trends emerging in Sikkim. Secondly, they sought to propose
reforms in certain sectors and guide the government through rational and
judicious planning. The documents are part of the State government’s plan to
make every Sikkimese a lakhpati by 2015 and every Sikkimese a crorepati by
2050.
Both the unique documents, published by the Government of Sikkim, were
released by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in New Delhi on September 5,
2001, at his residence. Present on the occasion were Chief Minister Pawan
Chamling, his cabinet colleagues, MLAs, senior civil servants and a large
number of eminent people from New Delhi and Sikkim. The Union Cabinet
Minister for the North-East Area Development Arun Shourie was also present
on the occasion, which was a major attempt to bring the socio-economic
potentials and challenges of Sikkim to the notice of the highest authorities in
the country. And the Prime Minister did display a keen and sympathetic
awareness of the issues focused by Chamling.
It was significant that releasing these documents, Prime Minister Vajpayee
categorically stated that nothing would be done to hurt or upset the sentiments
of the people of Sikkim. He assured the gathering that his government would
look into all their demands carefully. He reiterated that nothing would be done
to destabilise the duly and popularly elected government in the state. This was
in direct reference to the income tax issue and the issue of including some
communities into the scheduled tribes list. The Prime Minister re-emphasized
that the people of Sikkim should have no apprehension in this aspect.
The Prime Minister was emphatic that the merger of Sikkim with India 27 years
ago was both historic and sweet. He agreed that the people of Sikkim have
made bold strides in all these years. In this manner the state was contributing
to the national agenda and overall progress. By bringing out these reports, the
state has further added to this cause. Vajpayee further pointed out that Sikkim
was endowed with wonderful gifts by nature and there was tremendous peace
there.
The Prime Minister reassured Chamling and his colleagues about the necessary
legislation on Sikkim’s entry into the North-Eastern Council. He said that the
decision had already been taken but needed Parliament’s approval and the
same would be done soon. He added that Sikkim had the potential to make
more progress.
Chamling’s continuous and sincere efforts at mainstreaming Sikkim has
certainly drawn warm and sympathetic response and recognition of the Prime
Minister of India. Vajpayee on this occasion congratulated the Chief Minister
and his colleagues on the wonderful reports that had been prepared. The people
of India have been supportive of all action taken by the Government of Sikkim
to bring about more reforms and progress in the State. The road-building
programme has been strengthened and fully supported. The airport would be
built. Only the rail-link to Sikkim needed to be assessed for its viability. The
Prime Minister added that all would be done to make sure that accessibility to
Sikkim was not a problem.
The Prime Minister, referring to his ruling National Democratic Alliance’s
commitment, said that a separate minister-in-charge of the North-Eastern
states had been appointed. Arun Shourie had been given the responsibility.
Prime Minister felt that he would be an able minister for this task.
Shourie also displayed well-informed and keen awareness about challenges and
problems faced by Sikkim. He spoke very lovingly about Sikkim. He said that
Sikkim had won the race for preparing the Human Development Report. Only
three states had achieved this distinction and eleven others have been in the
process of preparing it. Shourie said that the Planning Commission was just
getting its act together to prepare a National Human Development Report. While
congratulating the Chief Minister, he said that it was a testimony of the
leadership and its vision. Shourie coined a new word for the Sikkim effort under
Chamling. He said that this was a case of ‘imagineering’ that showed how one
could imagine the goals. Shourie also informed the Prime Minister that he was
looking into all the areas where there was delay. He assured everyone that he
would be putting many of the issues related to Sikkim on the fast track.
And what were the Sikkim-related issues which needed to be put on the fast
track? Chamling continuously and consistently made all possible efforts to
focus the attention of the highest authorities both political and administrative.
While congratulating Pawan Chamling for the excellent Sikkim Human
Development Report, 2001 and Sikkim: The People’s Vision, the UN Resident
Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in India, Brenda Gael
McSweeney wrote to the Chief Minister,

“Our hearty congratulations to you, Chief Secretary Tenzing and the

team for publication of an excellent Sikkim Human Development Report
(HDR), launched by the Prime Minister of India. The report has received
kudos from a wide spectrum of people in Government and civil society.
The emphasis in the Report on governance for sustainable human
development is an inspiration to all of us. We are indeed gratified that
the collaboration between the State Government, the Planning
Commission and the UNDP has yielded such promising results...I am
confident that the Sikkim HDR will inspire collective follow-up action.
The Sikkim HDR will also be a role model for other state HDRs in India,
notably in the Northeast and for hill states. We look forward to an
exciting partnership ahead in this endeavour.”

Sikkim is a rich reservoir of tradition, culture, and customs. Yet there was no
such official documents to mirror these aspects. Till date there was no such
authentic documentation on these subjects to fall back upon, which dwelt on
Sikkim’s unique geographical profile, environment, socio-economic and political
subjects. Realizing this grave necessity, the government has recently instituted
a “Study Series” project in which the state government has engaged
intellectuals proficient in their respective fields. A brainchild of Pawan
Chamling, the work has already commenced.
There has been tremendous effort on the part of government to showcase
Sikkimese indigenous culture and tradition to the outside world. The
government has been successful to a very large extent. The Surajkund Mela in
Haryana was opened up amidst Sikkimese flavour and taste in 2002. Sikkim
was chosen as the theme state for the fair that year. Chamling who was himself
present at the inaugural ceremony felt that the mela would give exposure to the
craftsmen of the state and help them integrate into the national mainstream.
The mela would equally expose their skills and dexterity to foreign tourists. This
also provided a platform for the local artisans to interact with artisans from
other parts of the country.
When it came to the larger issue of self-reliance, Chamling is quick to recognize
tourism and hydro-power resource as promising areas for achieving the goals.
Thus, promotion of eco-tourism and hydro-power are the two most prioritized
areas in the new millennium. The government has signed a long-term
agreement with the National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) for tapping the
huge hydro-power resources of Sikkim estimated at a whopping, 8,000 MW.
Works for different stages are being carried out on war footing and one project
at legship has been commissioned already.
Sikkim is one state where nature has showered its plenty in the form of natural
resources.
● 26 percent of flowering plants in India totalling 4,500 are found in Sikkim as
endemic species.
● Sikkim is a land of orchids with 448 different varieties,
● 36 species of rhododendrons,
● 20 species of bamboos,
● 362 species of ferns and ferns allies,
● 8 types of tree ferns,
● 30 different varieties of primulas,
● 11 types of oaks,
● 424 different varieties of medicinal plants,
● 144 species of mammals,
● 550 species of birds,
● 400 species of butterflies,
● 48 different species of fish,
● 28 mountain peaks,
● 21 glaciers,
● 227 lakes and wetlands and
● over 104 rivers and streams.
This impressive treasure trove of nature would further mystify the human mind
when one refers to the fact that Sikkim constitutes only 0.5 percent of the total
geographical area in India. Given this natural fact, Sikkim is well suited for eco-
tourism.
The Sikkim government has undertaken meticulous planning, including a
“Tourism Master Plan” to develop the tourism industry in the state. Pawan
Chamling, however, expresses himself in no uncertain terms that he could not
afford to get richer at the cost of Sikkim’s nature and its environment. The
environmental situation in Sikkim is always in focus in the Chamling
dispensation. Damage of the past is sought to be repaired.
The present ecological management is strong. The future is sought to be built
on sound principles of ecological balance and sustainability. Tourism, however,
will be the prime industry in the state. Nobody is more conscious than Chief
Minister Chamling himself that the environmental situation is fraught with
challenges that need special focus and relevant solutions. Expressing himself
on environmental issues, he said at one of the functions, “Sikkim has
traditionally been a place where people have lived in absolute harmony with
nature. This state has been identified the world over as an important repository
of germplasm of unknown dimensions.”
To make people partner in governance, the government has decided to enlist the
involvement of non-governmental organizations in different welfare schemes.
The government wants to introduce basic paradigm shift in terms of
developmental efforts with the government playing only the role of a facilitator,
lest the super-active role of the government traditionally may be a detriment
towards the overall development in the changing world order. Pawan Chamling
opines,

“The developmental activities so far are highly centralized with the state
government. The pro-active role of the government should scale down to
one that of promotional, that of a catalyst. That would inject a spirit of
greater community involvement in the development activities and also a
greater sense of responsibility and accountability. In this connection, we
have also invited private investment in areas like education, and small-
scale industries in the State. During the two significant meets of the
investors and NGOs with the state government, many far-reaching
 decisions and strategies have emerged which will certainly propel Sikkim
in the path of accelerated growth and progress.”

He was referring to the two significant meets with prospective investors and
NGOs in New Delhi. The stress has been greater on public-private participation
in developing the state. The SDF government has gone all out to invite all
promising investors, industrialists, and business houses to invest in Sikkim. In
the new millennium, isolation cannot work. And this Chamling knew more than
anyone else.
In fact for the first time Sikkim has the conspicuous presence of all the
renowned development agencies and aid donors, including the World Bank,
Asian Development Bank, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation
(UNIDO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Health
Organisation (WHO), Swiss International Development Agency (SIDA),
Australian Aid (AUSAid), International Centre for Intergrated Mountain
Development (ICIMOD) and a large number of agencies from India.
To ensure that both the formulation and implementation of the economic and
social policies of Sikkim in the 21st century does not suffer because of lack of
political and administrative will, Pawan Chamling has conceived and set up a
full-fledged State Planning Commission. It was in May 2001 that the Sikkim
Cabinet approved the constitution of the Sikkim State Planning Commission
headed by the Chief Minister himself as the Chairman. Muchkund Dubey,
former Foreign Secretary, was appointed as its Deputy Chairman.
Addressing a press conference at Tashiling Secretriat at Gangtok on May 5,
2001, the Chief Minister gave details about the State Planning Commission. He
said that it had been decided by the Cabinet that the Deputy Chairman of the
Sikkim Planning Commission would have the status of a Cabinet Minister and
all other members would have the status of Ministers of State.
For the constitution of the State Planning Commission, it was clear that efforts
had been made to collect the best of Sikkim-friendly and professionally top-
ranking and experienced members. The Chamling vision on planned
development of his state was well reflected in the aims and objectives of the
Sikkim Planning Commission. The main objective behind the creation of the
Commission has been to formulate long-term perspective plans for suggested
strategies and sustainable development of Sikkim.
The Commission is expected to assist the state in the preparation of its annual
plans. It is also expected to extend its assistance for efficient resource and
expenditure management and savings. It would advise on policy incentives to
achieve fiscal stability in the State economy. The Planning Commission would
review the progress of the various plan projects under implementation and play
an active role in resource mobilization from national and international agencies.
In the first Sikkim State Planning Commission’s meeting held in Gangtok on
Monday, August 13 2001, Pawan Chamling was not playing shy of the many
lapses as far as the lapses in different schemes go. He said:

“You are aware we have always had sound objectives and adequate
allocations in every sector of economy, year after year. Yet the growth has
been sluggish, poverty, illiteracy, and unemployment still continue to
characterize the Sikkimese society and economy. We spent and invested
huge quantum of resources. Yet it benefited only a few. An overwhelming
majority of the rural folks have been left where they were when the
 planned development process began. All these years, we seem to have
suffered from poor designing of schemes, weak delivery and a total lack
of monitoring and evaluation.”

Pawan Chamling has a clear perspective in regard to the objectives of the State
Planning Commission. As he said,

“The Sikkim State Planning Commission has been set up at a time when
the entire development direction of Sikkim is at the crossroads. We have
three fundamental challenges. First, is the challenge posed by
globalisation-led economic reforms where the role of state and
government will be increasingly diminished. Second, is the challenge of
mobilization of resources for the purpose of development. Most of the
traditional bases for resource mobilization are getting fast eroded. And
third, the new paradigm of development set forth by the new agents and
institutions of development.”

Thus, it is Chamling’s way of preparing Sikkim and the Sikkimese for a new
order of life that globalization-led forces might throw up in the new millennium.
Apart from emergency meetings when required, the Sikkim Planning
Commission is expected to meet four times a year.

Pawan Chamling has a vision to empower village people through the

cooperatives movement. Having set up a cooperative society himself at a tender
age in his own village at Yangang, the idea is intimately woven in his psyche.
Under Chamling, the cooperatives movement received a great boost in
spreading its message and enlarging its membership across the state. A
Sahakari Bhawan was constructed in 1996- 97. The department is today fully
functional and is headed by an independent secretary.

The government has taken a decision to set up a multi- purpose cooperative

society each in every Gram Panchayat unit. The government has opened a
cooperative apex bank in the capital with the aim of opening similar banks in
all other three districts. Chamling says, “Under cooperation, the government
has taken major decisions to reach out to every village and take care of the poor
people. The idea is to inculcate in them the benefit of economic principles,
management, and sustainable development with the simple folks as players and
partners. On cooperative as a full fledged activity he once remarked that,

“To promote greater coordination among people, the government is also

very keen to set up cooperative unions in the state. The Sikkim State
Cooperative Bank is already providing loans to cooperative societies. To
bring about greater awareness about the cooperatives movement, the
state government declared the year 2002 as the ‘Cooperation Year’. The
decision is far reaching because we are concerned about wiping every
single drop of tear from the face of Sikkim. The cooperatives movement,
promoted with due care and commitment, will surely make the
Sikkimese people healthy, wealthy, and wise. Now the Sikkimese people
have to increasingly become producers from mere consumer.”
Pawan Chamling has obviously the poor and the underprivileged as his target
group in advocating the cooperatives movement. While addressing the National
Conference and Board meeting of NAFSCOB in Gangtok on March 17, 2001, he
said, “India lives in villages. So, I feel and believe that unless we can improve
the socio-economic condition of rural people, all our plans and programmes will
have little meaning. Cooperatives have emerged as the most suitable
organisation for transforming the rural economy by helping humble farmers
and artisans to increase their productivity and become self-reliant.” Chamling
made his resolve amply clear when he said,

“As ships are not built for resting in the harbour—safe and
unchallenged—we are not prepared to rest. We are prepared to put in
hard work and spare our energy so that we can spread happiness among
the poorest of the poor. In other words, we are prepared to take a plunge,
no matter how risky the storm might be and live through the turbulent
night to emerge triumphant amidst the breaking dawn of a new day.”

That basically is the dream of Pawan Chamling. To give to the poor people a
new light and a new day full of prosperity and pride.
In a similar move, the state government has decided to equip each Gram
Panchayat with a full-fledged library to spread knowledge and promote wisdom.
The Department of Rural Development has started the mission in good earnest
in developing the physical and other infrastructural aspects. The idea is to
make rural Sikkim complete not only with material prosperity but also with a
discriminating mind and an artistic disposition. The library is one of the agents
of education. It is education which brings about mass consciousness and
inspire people to wage war against all forms of exploitation.
This is one of the ambitious projects of the state government and in its
fulfilment, Chamling himself feels very proud and satisfied. With the spread of
mass education, he is confident that social taboos and dogmas, which do no
good to people, would come to an end. Satisfaction also stems from the fact that
at an initial stage, some reactionary forces tried to confuse and confound the
common masses about the establishment of libraries in the state. With people’s
acceptance, the campaign has finally been successful.
The state has also set up a higher education institution in collaboration with
the Manipal Pai Foundation. A batch of 116 engineer graduates passed out of
the Sikkim Manipal University. The state is now able to provide education in
technology and medicine to many young men and women from within and
outside the state, thus bringing about cross-cultural exchange. This
undoubtedly will contribute to the progress of the nation and indeed of Sikkim.
Speaking at the convocation ceremony of Sikkim Manipal University in August
2001, Chamling observed,

“Good quality education needs to be made available to many of our own

Sikkimese children who are not able to pay the high price of such
education. It is in this light that we have to be able to justify institutions
 such as this. I hope that the Board will pay ample heed to see that even
as we encourage young minds from all over India to come here, that our
own people in Sikkim are taken care of. They must be given preference
not only for engineering but for the medical seats as well.”

To achieve a high level of transparency, accountability, and better

governance in the new millennium, the Sikkim government has also created
a separate Department of Information Technology. The aim is to create a
better administrative mechanism through the use of modern information
tools. As part of the ambitious North-Eastern Council-funded project,
Sikkim has been sanctioned 40 community information centres. These have
been set up across the rural areas thereby connecting rural population with
the outside world through the Internet. A very promising project is in the
offing to connect all government departments through a comprehensive
network of computers and Internet so that the government could speed up
the administrative process.
In yet another significant development, Pawan Chamling also inaugurated
Smart card based Driving Licence and Vehicle Registration book project in
the State on 12th December 2002. Sikkim has become the third state in the
country to introduce his system after Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. This
project will lead to the complete computerization of the entire transport
department, and thus is a giant step forward towards achieving the objective
of e-governance. It would also lend transparency, efficiency and hi-tech
initiative of the transport department in the State.
Sikkim has also become the first state in the country to implement the
indigenously developed operating system; the microprocessor based SCOSTA
smart cards as per the national guidelines of Ministry of Road Transport and
Highways, Government of India.
The setting up of a Software Technology Park (STP) is being actively pursued
and a team has already conducted a feasibility study. The IT department has
also started training all government officials in the use of computers. The
department is also acting as the facilitator for private initiatives in all
technology-driven ventures. There is no looking backward. Chamling has
called it the main weapon and said, “Technology is our main weapon to
overcome stagnancy.” The idea is to make use of all available tools to better
the future prospect of Sikkim and the Sikkimese people.
In a similar mission, the government introduced single-window service system
in district administration. The system, formally inaugurated by Pawan
Chamling, would simplify the process of getting official certificates and other
documents across the counter within a scheduled date. This would greatly help
a common man save time and energy. He no longer needs to move from table to
table seeking favours for pushing his file through.
Chamling is leading Sikkim into the 21st century with a new resolve and
renewed idealism. If he was seeking cooperation from the Investors’ Forum in
February 2001, he was also expressing his deep sorrow at the earthquake
tragedy which ravaged Gujarat. Knowing that Sikkim has been a victim of
natural disasters he urged the National Committee on Disaster Management to
come up with a system of learned response and development of clear cut
blueprint, spelling out sequence and mode of action for speedy relief. He also
stressed two salient features of the Sikkim budget of 2001-2002 in the same
month. The two major facets of his first budget of the 21st century were
employment generation through additional revenue mobilization, and reforms in
governance and economy for alleviating poverty.
In the concluding budget speech of 2001, Chamling also focused on his 21st
century dreams. He said,

“The 21st century Sikkim will be guided by competent talent. We have to

create such talent from amongst ourselves. We have, therefore, set about
the task of establishing Smart Schools in the state. To thrash out
developmental issues, we want to set up think tanks at the district and
the sub-divisional level. Local issues and problems can be solved through
collective deliberation at the local level. We wish to create a ‘Skill
Development Fund’ with a view to sponsoring capacity building projects
and to create competent manpower in the state. Such a fund will be
utilized especially to engage graduate youth in acquiring professional
degrees and skills in areas like tourism management, information
technology, rural management, small scale enterprises, and science and
technology.”

Chamling’s eyes were always firmly set on the future. When he looks ahead to
the 21st century and the new millennium, he never forgets the important role
which the rural people and the youth of Sikkim have to play in making the
collective dreams of Sikkim come true. He stresses, “There must be a change in
the mentality of our educated youths who seek government jobs all the time.
There are world-wide opportunities open for them but the thinking pattern has
become too narrow to be able to accommodate this truth. They must develop
the competitive spirit and readiness to face the world.” Chamling appealed to
the elected representatives of the people in the Sikkim Vidhan Sabha to work
towards this end.
His speech on the concluding day of the 2001 budget session of the Sikkim
Assembly provided other important insights into his dreams. The visionary
Chamling said,

“In our quest to make Sikkim a model state we need unconditional

support and help from every section of the people. Firstly, we need to
modernize our approach in the fields of education, collective outlook,
attitude and our lifestyle including the style of our economy. We propose
to modernize the very concept of governance. Modernizing our
government is to get a better, creative and people-oriented and people-
centric government. It is not modernization for the sake of
modernization, but modernization for a purpose. That is introducing a
better sense of purpose in the government machinery and in every
sphere of life.”

He gave some inkling into his vision of an effective and functional 21st century,
all-comprehensive drive for modernization in Sikkim. He said,

“We want to discover new and effective methods of developing our state.
We want to seek all spheres of life without an element of novelty. Too
often in the past, the tendency in public service has been to stick to the
traditional. This is the time for finding a new and better approach to
 developmental strategies. We want to frame our policies in the most
democratic atmosphere, for we believe that a democratically developed
policy will be able to address and find solutions to the problems of the
people. Policy-making is a process whereby a government translates its
political vision into action. A flawed and inadequate policy cannot deliver
the good that the people desire.”

Chamling is among the new brand of 21st century notables among the Chief
Ministers of India. He is a firm believer in the modernization and a promoter of
frontline scientific technological progress. Among these harbingers of 21st
century, he is a pioneer for turning vision into action. Whenever he comes
across new idea, he simply put it down on a piece of paper. Then he mulls over
it, refines and crystallizes the idea, assimilates it into his own thought process,
projects the plans until the vision becomes action. This is also reflected in his
expression on the nature and quality of a good and effective policy.
According to Chamling,

“I would venture to say that a policy should not be a response to a short

term pressure. Rather, it should be shaped by evidence to solve the real
problem. Needless to say that policymakers should be more forward and
outward looking in framing policy matters because that affects the
government’s ability to meet the needs of the people. I would like to
stress on the need for flexible and innovative policies. Hence, from the
people’s representatives, various political parties and intellectuals, we
expect more new ideas, more willingness to question inherited ways of
doing things, new research in policy-making and better focus on policies
that will deliver long-term goals.”

Chamling’s philosophy and approach to policy making for the 21st century is
conceived from the realities of human conditions. The limitations and
constraints of the delivery systems never affected his zeal. In fact, his views,
pragmatic and down-to-earth as they are, could be a classic lesson for
policymakers. He opines, “An increasing separation between policy and delivery
has acted as a barrier. We have to find ways and means to overcome this
obstacle. Hence, the challenge remains to get different parts of governance to
work together to deliver the government’s overall strategic objectives.”
Chamling’s process of modernization is not like those in many other states of
the country where the village is either totally neglected or devoured by senseless
urbanization. In many of these states, it has only accentuated crucial
infrastructural strains and pressures. He stresses,

“Today we need to return to our village. Our people should regenerate

interest in the productive works at their villages. You all are aware about
the government’s commitment towards developing the villages in every
sphere of human activity. However, the village people are more tempted
towards the urbanized notion of an easy life and comfort. This habit of
mind will push us towards slavery in our own village and society.”

Sikkim of the 21st century is all set to initiate new trends in the fields of
governance, policy making and delivery system, besides politics and
administration with accountability, transparency, and reforms with a human
face. The realization of good governance is ingrained in his vision of policy and
its making. And Pawan Chamling has sought to take all concerned, including
the state bureaucracy in his march into the new millennium. He exhorted,

“The process of policy making has to be a process of continuous learning

and improvement so that policies can meet the rising expectations of the
people. It is also a question of learning from our experience. It helps
understand better the problem that we are trying to address. If the
government’s policies are not implemented, all our policies will be
wasted. Therefore, service delivery mechanism is very crucial.
Government departments and agencies must be sensitive to people’s
problems.
Accordingly, public servants must be agents of change, introducing a
culture of improvement, innovation, and collaborative purpose in the
public delivery system. Without a paradigm shift in the present
bureaucracy, the pace of development will slow down over the years. I
have a long cherished dream to provide Sikkim with a bureaucracy which
is right, responsive, involved, and transparent. If the bureaucracy is
sensitive, committed and forward looking, our policies and programmes
will change the life of people for the better. In other words, a responsible
bureaucracy can play a significant role in solving many a problem of the
Sikkimese people.”

For Chamling ideas and enthusiasm travelled fast. Where there are roadblocks,
he was quick to address himself to remove them by help, persuasion, and
disciplined pressure, if necessary. He firmly believes and declares that promises
made must be fulfilled. Speaking on behalf of his party and government, he
confidently said:
“We are sincerely working towards fulfilling many of our promises and we
have also many success stories to our credit. Today I can say that the
SDF government is a better government for the rural people. The SDF
government is a better government for women, the youth and the
students. It is a better government for every good citizen. That means we
are forever in a mode of continuous transformation so that our action
plans metamorphose from good to better and to the best. We cannot rest
today. We need to do more good things for Sikkim and the Sikkimese
people.
Hence, together with you all, I propose to set in motion the economic
reforms in the State. Together with you, I intend to chisel out a modern
Sikkim with an apt mixture of tradition and modernity and where our
lives are enriched everyday by our interaction with the emerging world
order. Together with you, I want to keep alive our commitment to help
the downtrodden and poor out of neglect and trauma. Together with you,
I imagine a vista of partnership, cooperation and complimentary actions
to help the Sikkimese people live a meaningful life of fulfilment and
satisfaction. In this great and noble task of making Sikkimese people
prosperous, your cooperation is very crucial and indispensable.”
One of the most vexing issues which was linked with maintenance of peace and
tranquillity in Sikkim has been the imposition of income tax. Keeping intact the
confidence of the Sikkimese people in the sanctity of the Indian Constitution
and constitutional guarantees given under the merger treaty, have made this
issue very sensitive. Chamling submitted that the people of Sikkim would be
disturbed and distressed and there was likelihood of unrest if the Indian
Income Tax Act of 1961 was enforced in Sikkim. He stated that governments in
Sikkim had fallen on this account in the past. Article 371 F (k) was very
sensitive and protected Sikkim’s own Income Tax Manual. Hence, he argued
that this issue needed to be resolved by maintaining the status quo.
Chamling suggested that one of the ways to solve this problem would be to
exempt all those people who had the Sikkim State Subjects Certificate from the
purview of Central Income Tax laws. In this connection, he successfully led a
very important delegation comprising leaders of all major political parties of
Sikkim. They met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on November 16, 2001 to
request the Central government to respect Article 371 F incorporating special
provision for Sikkim at the time of the merger. Like many national papers, one
daily lauded Chamling and commented, “Chamling is not against Central laws
but desires a faithful observance of the safeguards guaranteed under Article
371 F at the time of the merger. It is as simple as that.”
Back home, many political commentators praised Chamling for his leadership
quality where he not only convinced other leaders but the leader of opposition
himself, the former Chief Minister Narbahadur Bhandari, to see eye to eye with
him on this issue. Many viewed this as the dawn of a new political paradigm—
from confrontation to consensus politics. And Pawan Chamling is fully credited
for making this significant attitudinal change in the political players of the
state.
Perhaps no other chief minister had been so consistent and persistent in
interacting with the Central government in order to put the needs and problems
of his state in the right perspective before them as Pawan Chamling has. He
sends personal submissions, joint memoranda and at times leads delegations to
pursue the solution of problems and challenges affecting the future of Sikkim.
It was necessary to enter the 21st century in peace and stability so important
for progress.
And Pawan Chamling knew fully well that in the new millennium, a spirit of
innovation has to be introduced in all traditional means and approaches to
human development. In fact, many of the officials in the bureaucracy admit
that the Chief Minister is moving at an extraordinary pace to develop Sikkim
into a modern state. The officials might be finding it hard to catch up with him.
Yet every discerning Sikkimese has to share with him the dreams and the
millennium mantra that Chamling has incorporated in his mission to make
Sikkim peaceful, prosperous and strong. The Sikkimese people are well aware
that they could not do less, indeed.
 23
Looking Beyond the Horizon

Political journeys are not easy to undertake. They make the political travellers’
private lives an open book. One’s strength and weaknesses, follies and foibles
are constantly exposed to the light and scrutiny of the public gaze. And,
furthermore there is no resting point or short distance end to these journeys.
Sometimes such journey undertaken by determined travelers continue even
after them. And yet there are miles and miles to cover. Chamling’s political
journey is also an everlasting quest. None knows it better than Chamling
himself. The journey has its rewards and price; it has its pitfalls too. But he is
not daunted by the price he would have to pay for attaining the goals he set up
for himself and the people of his beloved Sikkim.
The journey often sprouted new goals and vital new highways and the travellers
have to have the vitality and imagination enough to redraw his travelling
strategies. As the year 2001 was coming to a close, Chamling too was drawing a
new course for his journey. In a gathering of his ministers, colleagues, and
senior civil servants of his state, invited to dinner at the Old Sikkim House in
New Delhi, he bared his heart and mind on the problems of the present and
goals of the future. He asked every one of his colleagues to get ready to act as a
volunteer to tell everyone about Sikkim today and Sikkim tomorrow, its hopes
and aspirations. He was preparing them all for the 21st century journey.
In a lighter vein, Chamling asked one of the senior women civil servants how
long her term of service for Sikkim remained. When she answered ‘2004’, he
smiled and said in good humour, “Well my present term is also up to 2004.”
The dinner at the Old Sikkim House was an inspiring display of Chamling as a
head of the state. In a normal and informal conversation, he is capable of
charging and inspiring all his ministers, colleagues, and officials to look at
Sikkim’s achievements and problems and express their resolve to strive to do
more and more. He posed issues and sought their suggestions about how to
tackle them.
One by one, they opened up and gave valid suggestions, each according to his
own imagination and experience. Thus one could see several new resolves and
visions emerging. It was like an extended joint-family gathering, where Sikkim
was uppermost in everyone’s thoughts. They freely talked about its problems
and gave their suggestions to tackle them. It showed that informal gatherings
like this one, with the Chief Minister sitting in one corner asking occasional
question, giving occasional suggestions, always turned into a vibrant think
tank. Suggestions and resolves freely flowed from all directions.
In between, the poet in Chamling would come out and make remarks which
added a human face to even the starkest social and political issues. One would
hear him say, “Qudrat ne Sikkim ko fursat ke waqt ghada hai (Nature has
created Sikkim during her leisure hour).”
He would smile and remark, “Is Chamling ke andar ek chhota Chamling bhi
baitha hai, jo bara hone ki koshish karta rahta hai (There is a little Chamling
hiding inside this Chamling who is ever striving to grow).” It indicated that even
though he is constantly and deeply involved in his complex and ever
challenging political journey to change the lot of his beloved Sikkim, the child,
the flame of poetic human innocence in him, always remains alive.
When an officer complimented him on his master stroke in unifying arch rivals
and enemies in politics to take a united political representation to the Central
leaders, Chamling maintained a thoughtful silence and an enigmatic smile. It
was difficult to judge what was going on in his mind. Perhaps he was thinking
that when it came to the interest of Sikkim and the Sikkimese people, he will
forget political differences among different parties.
Chamling realized that he and his Sikkim still have miles to go. He has never
missed an opportunity to assemble his political colleagues and civil servants to
brief them about the latest developments and challenges that cropped up. He
would get into their hearts and minds to encourage response and resolve to
devise ways and means to solve them. Then he would try to turn the exercise
into a collective will to go ahead with dedication, determination, and a definite
sense of purpose and action. Those who came into contact with him, even for a
while were influenced by his mission. They become his fellow travelers. Pawan
Chamling is one of the few Chief Ministers who can evoke such sense of loyalty,
partnership, and pride in their civil servants colleagues.
Chamling has a very special way of inspiring his civil servant colleagues to do
their best for Sikkim. There were officials in Delhi, Calcutta, and Gangtok doing
their human best to follow the footsteps of Chamling, who has been more like
the head of the vast Sikkimese family. He is a dreamer who made those who
come into contact with him share his dreams. His dreams are not for himself,
they were for Sikkim and its people. Sikkim —The People’s Vision and Sikkim:
Human Development Report 2001 are also road signs for state’s march in the
years to come.
In his ‘Foreword’ to the People’s Vision, he put down his own vision about the
future road map. He wrote,

“Sikkim—The People’s Vision is about the people and for the people of
Sikkim. This document is also a substantive example of the transparent
functioning of the state. It has not hidden anything but has taken a hard
and dispassionate look at what we would be at the turn of the century. It
has captured facts and figures as much as other details. We now have a
benchmark from where we continue to measure our progress well into
the 21st century. This is perhaps the greatest aspect of this book and
exercise.”

Chamling was quick to pay handsome compliments to those who did significant
service to Sikkim and shared his vision for a new Sikkim. He recorded, “It is
indeed wonderful that we have been able to make this document happen. It is
due to the tireless work of the authors that this has come to see the light of the
day. The document provides us with an excellent futuristic perspective of
Sikkim.”
With a clear foresight he wrote, “We are working towards documenting our old
values with new contemporary thinking. We have a lot to imbibe in terms of
wisdom from our tradition and culture. Much of it is lost in the march toward
uncontrolled development.” In his journey forward, the goal would be clearly
development with a human face and not development for development’s sake.
The goal was for a better quality of life for all. And he said so. He made it clear,
 “We are not looking at economic development per se. We are for the
overall improvement of the quality of life of the people of Sikkim so that
in the process they become much more resilient and competitive. The
world is demanding this and we have but little choice in terms of these
parameters. However, in this process we must not lose sight of our
overall goal of seeing that our biodiversity, our environment and culture
are kept intact, perhaps enriched. This calls for a balanced approach to
development.”

In his march for better life for his people, Chamling is keen that the good they
have in terms of culture, heritage, and ecology must be preserved.
Although Sikkim has not yet suffered a population explosion, Chamling is quite
conscious that population control, in the present context, is necessary to
ensure good quality of life for the population. He says, “The key to this is to be
able to control our population growth. We hope to keep a constant population
figure of five lakhs even by 2050. We can do this by ‘we two, our one’ policy that
we need to foster and encourage. Our people must enjoy the best health that is
possible today, the best of education that could be within the reach of our
people and also the best in terms of development benefits. The purchasing
power must and will improve.” He has a clear vision and positive attitude and
confidence to turn it into reality.
There was something else that Pawan Chamling and his Sikkim could
justifiably be proud of, and strive to still better that achievement. In his own
words, “After Sikkim became the 22nd state of India in 1975, it made
remarkable strides on all fronts. The basic indicators in economic, social,
environmental, and political arena is quite revealing. The Human Development
Index which has improved from 0.454 in 1991 to 0.532 in 1998 in Sikkim is
also significantly higher than many others states of India.”
Chamling seemed determined to set new standards in the preservation and
maintenance of ecology without jeopardizing the development efforts. “Our state
has been one of the most peaceful states in the country with a very high degree
of political stability and unparallel socio-communal harmony. There is political
consensus on major issues including that of adopting second-generation
economic reforms to make the Sikkimese economy more dynamic and
competitive.”
He was quite conscious of the challenges ahead and the fact that Sikkim, like
India and the rest of the world, could not take the impact of globalisation for
granted. One had to be ready to take quick benefit of the positive and protest
against the negative impact of globalisation. He agreed,

“Challenges ahead are diverse and formidable. They are brought about by
a new paradigm of development we are now increasingly advocating.
Under this new development instrument, the role of the state will be
increasingly diminished. We strongly desire that the market-oriented
development interventions we are now designing and their
implementation should invariably cater to the needs and aspirations of
the people. We do not have other alternative than to keep aside the
popular apprehension and work towards maximizing the gains.
On the other hand, no one is sure about the real impact of the ongoing
process of globalisation. It is quite expected that Sikkim will also be both
positively and adversely affected by this worldwide phenomenon. Our
state being small, landlocked and developing one, we have always tried to
 protect it from external shocks. A critical question is that of meeting and
tackling these challenges without adversely affecting the present political
economy and traditional socio-cultural norms and practices.”
While giving some inkling about his thinking today about course in future,
Chamling said, “Therefore, we have to gear ourselves up on all fronts. We need
to devise very effective institutional responses. We are moving towards more
scientific management of our economy aimed at changing the entire face of
governance, productivity, and efficiency in the state.”
Sikkim under Chamling is consciously and keenly initiating a vital and much
needed process of repositioning to face globalisation. Chamling has already
pitched himself in favour of processes to protect and consolidate the economic
strength and social and political resilience of India. In Chamling’s words,

“Sikkim is now being repositioned by indigenising and internalizing the

entire process of globalisation primarily triggered by forces that are
actually alien to our system. This is a Herculean task for us in Sikkim.
We want each segment of Sikkim and every Sikkimese to be comfortable
with the globalisation process.”

He gave a clear expression to his intention of building the strength of Sikkim

today to carve out a new Sikkim tomorrow. He says,

“This is why we would like to build on our strengths of high socio-

economic indicators, friendly and congenial social atmosphere
democratic freedom based on sound principles of decentralization and
empowerment of have-nots and most crucially environmental security.
The political stability and existence of strong multi-culturalism based on
well established traditions of secularism are also our greatest
advantages”.

Chamling has no hesitation in recognizing the systemic problem of Sikkim

which deserved urgent and concerted attention. He frankly underlined that:

“Like many other states in India and many other communities, we do

have systemic weaknesses. We in the government are fully aware of
critical issues like fiscal prudence, employment strategy, environment
dislocation, privatization and disinvestment, demographic onslaughts,
service deliveries, persistent poverty, and inequality syndrome. In fact,
my government has been keenly promoting democratic values and
institutions that are aimed at doing away with those inherited maladies
of inequality and deprivation.”

He further asserted,

“We are committed to consistently and effectively implement, at least

some of the very critical and useful recommendations. We have planned
a time-bound implementation of these recommendations. The process
has already begun.”

In dedicating The People’s Vision to the people of Sikkim, Chamling also

affirmed his commitment to them. He declared,
 “As the head of the government and also an all-season friend of the
downtrodden and hapless, I would like to dedicate this document to the
people of Sikkim who discovered, nurtured, built, and provided this
distinct stature to this Himalayan State. The villagers are the greatest
asset and strength of the Sikkimese society. We will ensure that every
Sikkimese is going to be an equal partner in both the processes
participating and sharing the benefits of the development process.”

And in his firm reassurance, he promised, “I would also like to assure the
people of Sikkim in particular and the people of India in general that we will all
work towards making Sikkim a State in the country where every citizen will live
to his and her full potential, both as human being and a responsible citizen of
this great nation.”
Chamling has always been a man of dream and hope and at the same time, a
man of action. Sikkim: The People’s Vision too is a document of hope and
aspiration and he has promised that it would generate action. The next decade
would see the state building on its inherent strengths and with the government
as facilitator, benefiting from the liberalization and globalisation process that is
encompassing the rest of the economy. The nominal economy has been growing
at an impressive annual rate of over 10 per cent since 1989-90.
However, poverty incidence in Sikkim was also the fifth highest among the
states of India, with 41.1 per cent of its population below the poverty line (1993-
94). And Sikkim is a very young state in spirit and body. With 38 percent of the
population below the age of 15, the number of young people entering the work
force and looking to join industry are expected to increase in the near future. A
stagnant agricultural sector, combined with declining industrial activity, has
severely limited employment opportunities outside the government. Public
administration has, by default, become the propelling force behind income
growth, with the North district still remaining relatively backward in
comparison with the other three districts.
Nobody knew these ground realities better than Chamling. As a son of a farmer
he had gone through the problems and challenges of the rural sector. That was
the reason he was determined to take Sikkim to a new destination. The
cornerstone of the development strategy pursued so far had been a super-active
government under severe fiscal stress. Expenditure on wages and salaries,
including pensions and interest payment, accounted for almost half of the total
government expenditure.
Fuelled partly by the implementation of the State Pay Commission
recommendations, the fiscal deficit rose to 21 percent of the gross state
domestic product (GSDP) in 1998-99, outstanding debt as a percentage of the
GSDP touched 72 percent in the same year. At the same time, revenue
collection, both tax and non-tax had been falling. Grants both plan and non-
plan had been financing nearly 43 per cent of government expenditure which
has risen to more than 40 per cent of the GSDP.
In the face of the bleak fiscal scenario, there was need for designing a new
strategy to achieve the goal of an accelerated path of eco-friendly and
sustainable development. It required some fundamental preconditions.
Empowering people with the right education and skills to enable them to benefit
from recent developments in science and technology. The right infrastructure
had also to be developed, particularly roads and power. Finally, fiscal
consolidation and reforms would have to constitute the core of economic
restructuring. In this strategy, fostering a public-private sector partnership is
key areas with the application of science and technology was a key element. The
state’s strength in horticulture and animal husbandry has to be promoted with
the help of roads and power on one hand and education on the other. These two
critical inputs were the pre-requisites for application of science and technology
in Sikkim.
Industries, especially service-oriented industries such as tourism and
information technology, have tremendous potential that need to be harnessed
through a vibrant public-private sector partnership. Chamling knew this well.
In his political journey so far he has never missed any opportunity to create
Sikkim-conscious and Sikkim-friendly elements among the officials and non-
governmental sectors outside Sikkim. He led several delegations to the Prime
Minister and other Union ministers of India.
His continuous interaction with the chief ministers and ministers of other
Indian states is noted by everyone. He sought every opportunity to brief MPs
and legislators about the hopes and aspirations of the people of Sikkim. He
offered partnership to NGOs in the developmental movement. He participated in
the Partnership Summit organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry. He
always stressed that “in popular regime, people reign supreme”’ and he was
continuously engaged in making the regime in Sikkim a true people’s regime.
Chaudhari Randhir Singh, the popular Governor of Sikkim who served the
longest term in the gubernatorial position in the state, left behind two
important gifts of study and scholarship before he bid farewell to Sikkim in May
2001. These were his significant studies entitled Sikkim: An Eco- Socio- Cultural
Peep and Sikkim and Himalaya. Interestingly, Chaudhari Randhir Singh, a
distinguished son of Haryana, freedom fighter and a soldier, forged such
emotional bonds between Sikkim and Haryana that they could form a silken
string in the mainstreaming of Sikkim with the rest of India. In his dedicative
lines to his second work, Governor Randhir Singh wrote, “Dedicated to our
beloved people of Sikkim.”
Chaudhari Randhir Singh’s emotional bonds with Sikkim were also reflected in
the ‘Preface’. He said of Sikkim as it entered the 21st century:
“Sikkim these days is a big laboratory where different blends are mixed and
synthesis of culture, part Lepcha, part Bhutia, part Nepali and part Indian is
coming up.”
Paying a tribute to the “good people of Sikkim”, the Chaudhari said,

“Sikkimese are an honest, law-abiding, hard working, well behaved,

hospitable and charming people of this beautiful state. A large number of
Indians belonging to the Gangetic belt has developed a combined
livelihood with co-existence and cohesion. More influx of the tourists
from all over India and abroad has built up a new era in the culture of
the State. Education has given a composite shape to their cultural life.
Rapid change of the general life will evolve a new perspective. Ethnic
consolidation here will be an instance of unity in diversity.”

The Chaudhari who confessed that he had fallen in lifelong love with Sikkim. He
paid a tribute to the singing, dancing, smiling innocence of the people of this
Indian Shangri-la. He said, “Folk songs and dances occupy a prominent place
in the cultural domain of the state. Men and womenfolk fully participate in folk
songs and dances which to them are life-giving ambrosia, whose lucid songs
and rhythmic pattern wipe away their fatigue, hunger, and worries.”
And finally, the Governor has a thought of hope and confidence in the 21st
century Sikkim. He expressed, “Sikkim, known as the Switzerland of Asia for
her natural beauty, is a home of multi-ethnic groups. With assimilated lifestyle,
the people of the state will contribute new inputs for the innate characteristics
of the state and the country”.
The other important wheel in Chamling’s journey was the Sikkim Human
Development Report 2001. Chamling’s ‘Foreword’ to this vital document also
indicated the shape of the new road map and the future agenda of his
governance and the journey of Sikkim towards a new horizon.
In his ‘Foreword’, he asserted,

“The onset of democracy and building of economic structure has changed

the entire profile of Sikkim. From a traditional economy with feudal
slant, Sikkim has emerged as a modern and robust state of today. And
the presentation of the Sikkim Human Development Report 2001 is the
collective gesture of the state government to realign with the changing
nuances of time.”

This ‘Foreword’ to the report was by itself a significant policy statement and a
contemporary declaration of intent.
With pride, Chief Minister Chamling rightfully claimed, “Sikkim is the third
state in India to produce the Human Development Report.” He tried not to
mince matters. He recorded,

“Though the report has commended Sikkim’s achievement, it is quite

critical about some of the governmental policies particularly on non-
merit and indiscriminate subsidies. Our government has accepted the
report and has already started implementing some of the far-reaching
recommendations made therein. Analysis and recommendations in this
important report relate to population, poverty and planning, building
human capabilities, land and agriculture, forest and environment,
infrastructure, and most important of all governance for sustainable
human development.”

The report is expected to go a long way in educating people within the state and
the rest of the country about the importance of Sikkim as a functioning dynamo
of change where development was being turned into a continuous journey and
not just one-stop trip.
No wonder Chamling was justifiably happy and satisfied at this exercise as one
of the important milestones in his journey. He did not exaggerate when he
stated, “My government has been successful in restoring people’s faith in
democracy and a democratically elected government. Every Sikkimese can now
participate in the democratic and political development process in a fearless
and free manner. As a result we have perhaps an unparalleled distinction of
being a state with very high degree of political stability and a well-established
tradition of social harmony.”
He further pointed out,

“Like in other states of India, the government has always been viewed as
authority in Sikkim. This meant that the development role has to be
played by government alone. It has severely impacted upon the resources
that could otherwise be tapped from sources other than those of the
 government. This is why we are trying to revive the bond of voluntarism
that used to traditionally characterize the Sikkim society. It has been felt
widely that there is ample space for NGOs to work in the area of
development in Sikkim.”

One aspect of Sikkim entering the new millennium was a rare political climate
in the state never seen before. In Chamling’s words,

“Politically also, there is a consensus that the way forward is to

encourage private participation in many of our programmes. This is
another message that invariably figures in the Human Development
Report. We are sensitizing the people, politicians, and the bureaucracy
about the dire need to have efficient management of existing utilities and
the infrastructure already created. This can be effectively done through
NGO and private sector participation. My government strongly believes
that if the skills of our people are harnessed in a more planned and
scientific manner, they will change the entire face of governance,
productivity and efficiency in the state.”

With his characteristic generosity and warmth, Chamling paid handsome

tribute to Mahendra P. Lama for preparing Sikkim Human Development Report
2001 and Ashok K. Lahiri and his able team for preparing Sikkim: The People’s
Vision. Chamling said, “I highly value their advice and support for the people of
Sikkim. Let me assure everyone that my government will sincerely try to
implement the recommendations.”
Pawan Chamling is one who wants to reform every facet of human life, the
family, society and the state. He feels that immediately after the family, it is the
society that has to play a constructive part in shaping the life of an individual.
And he is strongly in favour of a civil society playing crucial role. Chamling
opines,

“Past experience dictates that sentiments of innocent people are being

exploited time and again by some unscrupulous elements in the society.
For long I have meditated on a possible solution. I have come to the
conclusion that to face such prospective challenges, we need to have a
strong society based on certain ideals and values. In the absence of a
strong and discerning society, lines dividing truth and falsehood,
seeming and being, are often blurred beyond recognition. In view of this,
I firmly recommend the establishment of strong civil society in Sikkim.
Such an institution will act as a watchdog. The collective community of
civil society will guide society to the right path. All people drawing
sustenance on falsehood and duplicity will die a premature death. And
every life based on truth and purity will enjoy eternal bliss. They call it
Satyameva jayate—and establishment of an institution like civil society
will help in the transformation of Sikkimese society into healthy and
strong society where truth will triumph forever.”

Chamling’s journey is poised on the fast track. Sikkim is bound to gain out of
his non-stop endeavour to look beyond the horizon and comprehend the coming
future well in advance. While addressing the legislators on the first day of the
Budget session on 23rd March 2002, Chamling said, “We are now more
politically mature state today, economically well positioned and socially more
integrated and mobilized amidst an atmosphere happily steeped in peace and
tranquillity. In other words, we are better positioned on the threshold for the
much needed ‘take off’. ”
Chamling also announced the commencing year of the Xth Plan as the ‘Year of
Implementation’ and sought the cooperation of one and all. He believes that
Sikkim is ready for a take off because of the congenial atmosphere in terms of
peace and harmony, political stability, environment, cultural fusion, and so on.
The prospects seemed even more promising because of a highly progressive
government in place in the state to promote national integration and
unmatched people’s programme.
Talking about national integration, it is worthwhile to quote Chamling himself.
He said,

“Sikkim, which joined the national mainstream in 1975, can be better

integrated into the national life by recognizing its strategic location, the
peace and tranquillity that prevailed forever in Sikkim. This state is
doing exemplary work in all areas, including national integration, peace
and tranquillity, political and social harmony, and in areas like women
empowerment, and poverty alleviation. When India and Pakistan chose to
identify themselves as two independent entities at the time of
independence, they also decided to lead the destinies of the new nations
independently.
However, still today, there is a specific mention of a Pakistani land in our
national anthem and not that of Sikkim. Hence, I have a feeling that the
particular reference to Punjab Sindh should be appropriately replaced
with Punjab Sikkim in our national anthem. This is not to dishonour our
national anthem which, has never failed to stoke national spirit and
patriotism among the Indians, but to recognize the changed
circumstances and accord recognition where it is genuine and due."

He further remarked that,

“Referring to the Indian diversity, it is often said that India runs from
Kanyakumari to Kashmir. With due reverence to our past, I would like to
propose that it be modified with yet another slogan—“Kanyakumari to
Kanchenjunga”. This, I feel should sound not less appropriate. After all
Sikkim hosts the 3rd highest mountain peak in the world and the
highest peak in India. Sikkim, I would like to feel, is the sartaaj, the very
crown of India. Sikkim, I venture to say is ready for a great leap forward.”
 24
Pawan Chamling—His Intimate Self

Human beings, by virtue of their very creation, exhibit wide range of differences
in diverse areas ranging from simple behaviour to complex human psychology.
Great personalities in the world had their idiosyncrasies one way or the other. It
is peculiar trait with every individual which makes human existence all the
more consuming.
Pawan Chamling is a man of extraordinary courage with unmatched simplicity.
A very studied and composed man, he exudes an aura of quiet confidence in
dealing with different situations and with different people. All these years, there
has not been a single anecdote of his having lost his temper. The story goes
back to the days where his party workers were provoked many times by the
then government to act decisively. Angry party workers and colleagues sought
his permission to go on an offensive against the commandos of the then
government.
In those critical days, Chamling was able to preserve his inner calm and is said
to have smoothed the ruffled feathers with a single sentence: “Friends, be
patient, time is all powerful.” The ever-growing popularity of Chamling’s Sikkim
Democratic Front was reason enough to send the then Chief Minister into a
wild fury. On one occasion, Chamling’s own mother was not spared either.
Bhandari had hurled angry invectives at Chamling’s mother saying, ‘Cursed be
the mother who gave birth to Chamling’. Chamling saw only madness
simmering in Bhandari and kept his poise.
The other distinguishing trait of Chamling is that he is a man of very few words.
He listens, listens and only listens to you. ‘A penny for your thought?’ one may
be inclined to ask. But his thoughts surely would prove to be worth a million
dollars. An accomplished man of popular literature, with considerable
command of world learning, including world history, philosophy, politics and
ethics, why then does he speak so little? In Chamling’s own words, “I need to
listen and understand other people’s viewpoint.” The justification is so simple
and disarming. After having listened, he would speak in turn if strictly
necessary to do so. Or else he responds with a simple nod of his head. Indeed,
he is a man of action and takes swift action if that is called for on his part.
A very softhearted man, even an emotional scene on the television is said to
bring Chamling to tears. While watching some good oldies at home, he is said to
have shed tears silently on many occasions, lest his wife discover such a strong
man with wet eyes! Sometimes when the rural poor nag him and test his
patience far too much, in exasperation he would react and the rural people
would depart. But no sooner had they crossed his compound gate than he
would summon his staff to persuade them back to him. Chamling would then
bare his heart and share the pangs of hunger, poverty and helplessness that he
has suffered like every one of them. His security men are now used to such
happenings especially during his tour of rural areas. That perhaps is the
background to why Chamling has given his entire life in the service of the poor
and the downtrodden. More so, this trait of him gives him more strength and a
firm resoluteness to fight against oppression and exploitation of the poor and
the helpless.
A vegetarian, Chamling’s kitchen resembles elements closest to nature. Not that
he has been so from his birth. His forefathers used to observe certain rituals by
sacrificing domestic fowls and animals. No more. Although, he continues to
observe certain annual rituals as part of his ancestral legacy, the offerings
comprise fruits, vegetables and other eatables. There is no tangible cause of this
transformation except his changed perception based on personal choice and
personal conviction.
A teetotaller to the core, Chamling keeps his distance from alcohol. In a
community of people where custom and lately popular fashion prescribe
occasional serving of alcohol, it is remarkable to note that Chamling has been
able to put a ban on alcohol in his official bungalow and at official functions. In
a society where being a teetotaller is considered one’s weakness, Chamling has
brought about a subtle attitude shift in people. Official functions often pull on
drably and conclude on a sober note. Once at a private party, an inspired
official engaged in animated talk, happened to leave his glass on a table close
by the Chief Minister. When he left the room, he suddenly realized his lapse and
asked his subordinate whether the Chief Minister was in. When the officer
replied in the affirmative, he decided not to pick up the glass as long as the
Chief Minister was around!
Chamling came to be respected by both sets of people and has been able to earn
a lot of respect and compliment from those people who hit the bottle and those
who do not. When he was the Chairman of Sikkim Distilleries in the 1980s, he
told one of his admirers, “Although I am fully drenched in liquor, yet I do not let
a drop fall into my mouth!” That is, indeed, the Chamling in his intimate self.
However, there is good news for the tea growers. After he wakes up in the early
dawn, he will have drunk dozens of cups of tea by the time he retires. Tea
soothes his mind and revitalizes his body for the rounds of strenuous official
engagements. His doctors quite often do not agree with him. His occasional
illnesses are seemingly attributed to his habit of emptying cups of tea far more
than actually required. One may call it Chamling’s weakness but many people
are inclined as a whole to hold this view. He is very fond of good tea. A regular
visitor to Mintokgang would know that when he orders tea he specifically says,
“Dudh ramrari lagaera chiya banao hai (please ensure you put the right amount
of milk when you are preparing tea).”
Chamling is a man of frugal habits, particularly in his own lifestyle. He never
likes to live an ostentatious life. His daily needs are minimum. He hates to be
extravagant. This at times becomes tough for his political colleagues and family
members. Once he invited all his political colleagues and some other friends for
dinner at his home. The guest trickled to his home one by one without knowing
the occasion. When finally all the guests had arrived, he announced that his
son was getting married and they were all invited to bless the couple.
Every one was taken by surprise as they had expected the marriage of the Chief
Minister’s son to be a grand state affair. There was no din and bustle, only a
visible hush-hush around. Some of the guests wanted to rush to the market
and buy some presents or flowers for the couple. Chamling politely told them
not to do so as that was precisely the reason he had not mentioned the actual
occasion to the invitees. Soon the news spread about Chamling’s penchant for
not misusing office and the public funds. The marriage of his younger brothers,
Rupen Chamling and Ashok Chamling was as well marked by the same
simplicity and lack of show. Organized in a quiet atmosphere of his ancestral
home at Yangang, the ceremony was solemnized in a low key affairs,
uncommon in the present political circles.
Pawan Chamling, as a social worker from his early teens, enjoys the service
that he renders to serve the interest of the poor. In Chamling’s own words,
“Whenever I find solution to problems of helpless poor and the weaker sections
of people with no means and measures, I derive maximum joy from the service
done to them.”
He enjoys reading and writing poetry. In fact, writing poetry is his natural
passion and obsession. In the style of a schoolboy preserving his notes,
Chamling compiles every single thought in his exercise book. Chamling has the
knack of pulling it out occasionally from under his table drawer and sharing the
contents, reading in his natural and charming incantation. To the listeners, it
flows as naturally as a soothing breeze.
Chamling’s photograph and life sketch adorned the hall of the Sahitya Akademi
in New Delhi in April 2001 alongwith those of eminent selected writers from the
Indian literary world. Chamling was chosen along with two other Indian Nepali
writers, R.P. Lama and Mrs. Bindya Subba, for their remarkable contributions
to Indian literature by the famous photographer B. Jayachandran from Kerala.
Jayachandran travelled to Sikkim to develop a life sketch of writer Chamling
and captured him in ten different moods. This rare photo exhibition bringing
together the portrait and genre of their individual writing was inaugurated by
the Vice-President of India, the late Krishan Kant. This was rather a rare
occasion for any Chief Minister to be in the photo gallery of the Sahitya
Akademi as a literary figure.
A voracious reader, Chamling regularly shares his personal collection of books
with like-minded people. Sharing new ideas gained from his personal readings
with other people is one of his greatest passions. After late night readings, he
would interact with his colleagues and shares his ideas the very next day. One
would find him exhorting his colleagues to read good books regularly. In fact,
the party literatures constantly carry out his appeal to party workers to read,
understand and share world ideas with the common people at the village level!
Chamling’s dedication to doing things, however big or small, is exemplary. From
deliberating with the Prime Minister down to a common man, or writing official
notes to writing a new year card, he performs his work with equal seriousness
and commitment. Quite unlike many leaders, Chamling loves doing one thing at
a time. “Eat only while you eat, work only while you work,” he has the habit of
telling people.
The one significant aspect of his personality that attracts a lot of followers is
generally considered to be his caring nature and his generous heart. Once an
individual embraces Chamling’s thought, principle and ideology, the man comes
instantly under his care. Chamling will be ready to help him out of dire needs
and in difficult times as a foster father. Chamling is ever ready to safeguard his
people and followers once they accept him as their leader.
In Chamling, one finds an ample mixture of simplicity and innocence in his
day-to-day interaction with the world. Once Chamling reposes faith in
somebody, he becomes unguarded. The absolute trust he gives to people is
something that has baffled his critic alike. Let us say, that Chamling is a man
who is not ready to accept that people like Brutus were ever born on earth!
Pawan Chamling's other interesting facet of his personality is his spiritual life.
In the early dawn, he rarely misses the religious preaching delivered in national
channels. A man, who respects the secular fabric of the country, Chamling is
ever ready to help people follow their faith. In fact, he has acknowledged that
there is some supernatural being to guide his own destiny. As a firm believer
that religion will help people to live a virtuous life, he himself holds puja at his
residence at a regular interval.
This essential aspect was aptly captured by the Rimpoche of Deorali Chorten
Gompa in a meeting to formally start the construction project of Guru
Padmasambhava at Samduptse in South Sikkim. Interestingly, the Chief
Minister persuaded the Rimpoche of the Chorten Trust to undertake the
construction project of Padmasambhasva statue, ignoring the claims of other
contractors to undertake the project.
To quote the Rimpoche himself,

"This year the Chief Minister asked me to take on the project of building
the Guru Statue. I told him that I do not have any experience of taking
on such a huge project. I do not have any worldly education. He insisted
that I should take on the project because worldly people will not know
how to go about doing such an important project in true spirit. That
made me think. When he as the leader of our society is making such an
effort to build a statue of Guru Rimpoche in this sacred hidden land and
I being a lama should help realize his prayer come true.
Then I decided to take on the project. According to Dharma nothing
happens by accidents. It is our karma and prayer that we all have gotten
together in one place to work on such a sacred project. The Chief
Minister even though he is not Buddhist by faith in this life time but
must belong to the lineage of Boddhisatvas from the previous lives. That
is how he is able to think of such a project and also be in position to
make it happen. I strongly believe that this statue will not only help this
nation but it will bring peace and harmony to the whole universe.”

Memory is said to be the sublime miracle of the human mind and for Chamling
it is one of the features of his towering personality. With an elephantine
memory at his command, he can catch anyone by surprise. A man of minute
details, he can invoke distant references when least expected. One fine day, an
official who prepared the minutes of the coordination meeting with state
secretaries held six months earlier was swept off his feet when the Chief
Minister detected a significant point missing from the minutes after a single
look at the paper! The official confessed, “Even after hours of concentrated
labour, I missed out one important point and the Chief Minister rightly pointed
it out. His memory power is something beyond ordinary.”
In yet another amusing episode, an employee was totally bowled over when the
Chief Minister recognized him after a gap of 20 years. The man, a third grade
government employee, very deftly eye-washed the security cordon to mix himself
with the general public for an audience with the Chief Minister. He knew that
Chamling, in his exercise to address the needs of thousands of people every
day, had quite certainly forgotten him. He was there to lay claim for a scheme
under the Indira Awas Yojana with the Chief Minister. But no sooner had he
came close to Chamling than he was welcomed with polite greetings and asked
about his well being, his profession, his neighbours and the village people. The
employee’s paper remained in his pocket and he came out of the hall. Angry at
himself and overpowered by Chamling’s faculty, the man convinced himself that
since such a scheme was not for regular employees he was able to at least pay a
courtesy call on the Chief Minister.
In his lighter moments, Chamling enjoys listening to music. In fact, one would
almost every time, hear him hum some popular tune while entering or leaving
his office. With an extraordinary gift for catching every single word, any
touching song finds an immediate place in his heart. Besides being a poet, he is
also a songwriter of considerable appeal. His stirring power of words had been
rendered in music in the early 1990s and had won many supporters during his
trying moments. Today, he has quite a few collections of CDs to his credit.
Chamling also enjoys the unaffected company of nature, admiring the priceless
gifts in varied forms like flowers, plants and trees. The singing of birds and the
humming of bees send him into ecstasy. This may be the reason that Chamling
has always advocated the need to live close to nature even while framing his
developmental strategy.
As a human being, this buoyant man gets sometimes depressed. The immediate
trigger would be a situation where the interest of poor is neglected. When there
are hurdles, official or otherwise, on his way to serve the poor people, Chamling
finds himself uncomfortable. The Chief Minister has on different occasions,
launched immediate relief measures to reach the poor and the afflicted.
Chamling is of the firm belief that hunger cannot wait and every possible help
should reach the hungry without losing any time.
As a selfless man himself, he would like to see the elements of selflessness with
every other individual. But this does not happen every time. Many times, he has
to come across people whose loyalty to the interest of the state and the country
is absent. He remarks thus, “Not many people come to me with constructive
suggestions. The high-ranking officials should come to me with some innovative
suggestions so that our effort to serve the people and the country could be
further strengthened. But, quite often people come to me with personal grudges
or on casual business purpose.”
The Chamling style of working is all transparent and genuine. All day and
night, he is the one to keep worrying about the interest of the people. All his
works are being tailored to address the need of the people and to ameliorate
their suffering. Yet there are people who talk of caste and community. This is
something that depresses Chamling. To whatever caste or creed a man belongs,
Chamling is committed to raise him socially and economically as long as he
remains below the poverty line.
One of the unique characteristics of Chamling is his quest for learning new
words, new concept and new approach. Apart from his regular intellectual
exercises, he is ever alert to jot down others’ views and opinions. One would
often find him scratching words and sentences during meetings, seminars or
workshops. Whenever his notebook is not readily available, in all innocence
he lays his hands on anything like the paper napkins to jot down the idea
for instant record. With a highly receptive mind, he absorbs and assimilates
all relevant and useful ideas into his mind.
A regular observer will discover that Chamling finds himself more comfortable
in the company of the people and especially that of the poor. Let us say that
Chamling finds a common chord to bind him with the people—in their common
sufferings, trials and tribulations, sorrows and joys. This sense of belonging
with the poor is closely knit in his subconscious as a result of his own
background, his upbringing, and the rural environment coupled with similar
sufferings and inadequacy. As this aspect in his personality is part of his
natural being, this is manifest in one way or the other.
The obvious question now is how Chamling manages time for his family
members, his parents and children in the face of such engagements. The
answer is instant and short. In his own words, “As and when I am called upon
to attend to family affairs, I do manage time out of my regular schedule.”
Chamling’s quiet demeanour inspires a sense of awe and admiration. The
central point in Chamling’s character is that he never nurtures negative
thinking even in trying situation. The Chief Minister has been trying to inspire a
positive outlook and imagination among the youth. On a number of occasions,
he has publicly confessed that whatever he has been today is the result of his
positive reflection and positive views. Even in the face of grave challenges and
failures, he only looks into the positive aspects and moves ahead with firm
determination. As one of his admirers put it, “His affirmative approach to the
negativity of life is wonderful. It seems that adversaries have become the source
of inspiration to him throughout his life.”
Commenting on Chamling’s gentle personality, the ex-governor, Chaudhari
Randhir Singh, wrote,
“Every inch a gentlemen, he seldom loses temper. Calm and composed,
dignified and confident, he is the epitome of all good attributes. No
drinks, no meat, no smoking, he presents a picture of complete simplicity
and piety, impresses all and sundry by his civility and humane nature.
He seems to have garnered proficiency on how to make friends and win
people. A down-to-earth person, his approach to men and matters is
sagacious and meaningful. I am neither a Pandit nor an astrologer. But I
can vouchsafe that Shri Pawan Chamling of humble linkage, from
downtrodden segment of hilly Himalayas, now Chief Minister of Sikkim,
has enormous inputs and potential to sprout up further into national
stature for shaping the destiny of this vast country of over one thousand
million people at some stage in future. This could be one of the miracles
of Indian democracy and a great day for Sikkim, a captivating state of
our country.”

Another ex-governor, P. Shiv Shanker, voicing similar sentiment about the Chief
Minister, said, “Pawan Chamling is a leader who works for the upliftment of the
socially and economically backward people. Under his leadership, the poor
people and also the institution of democracy has been secured in Sikkim.”
Chamling has never been short of courage and determination and never loses
his heart and nerve in the face of problems and challenges. That was the reason
that in just eight years of his regime in Sikkim he has succeeded in doing
things that had not been achieved in decades earlier.
 25
The Man and His Vision

“Start dreaming from a very young age about the kind of life you want to live,
the profession you are going to choose—a teacher, doctor, engineer, politician to
serve your society, state and the nation. But please start dreaming.” That was
the quintessential Chamling exhorting schoolchildren in a far corner in West
Sikkim. Be it as a schoolboy, social activist, panchayat president, MLA, minister
or the chief minister, Pawan Chamling is one who has never failed to dream—to
dream and act for the cause of society, state, nation and humanity. The dreams
and his vision as set out in his creative poetry and his political programme
have, in a sense, given the state and its population a new direction, a new sense
of fulfillment and contentment. Obviously, Chamling as the visionary politician
is prepared to see to the Sikkim of 2050 with consummate zeal and simplicity.
Restoration of democracy in Sikkim was one of the greatest changes that the
Sikkim Democratic Front party was credited with. After running the government
for eight years, the institution of democracy has been given a firm base in the
state. Now, Chamling is sincerely working with the people and for the people to
establish participatory democracy in its true form. In a historic speech at the
party’s first decadal convention in March 2002, he called upon the people to
propose and share their ideas, their vision with the government to build a new
Sikkim.
He said,

“Sikkim belongs to us—you and me. We have the full right to decide
where Sikkim should go. We have guided the destiny of Sikkim these
past ten years. Today, let us sit together, discuss and decide on the
future course of Sikkim, the direction it should take in the coming years.
What you will command, we obey. We will carry forward your suggestions
to integrate them in our policies, our programmes. When your
suggestions take the shape of government policy, the government belongs
to you. This is what constitutes democratic polity of running the
government by the people.”

In this way, Chamling is giving a new shape to the art of governance by

involving the common people and the working-class people in the decision-
making process. In a way, he is also bringing forth the concept of direct
democracy more vigorously in Sikkimese politics, thus empowering the common
man and enabling him to have an equal say in such things which affect him.
Pawan Chamling has visualized a 21st century Sikkim that is free from
discrimination, injustice, and social evils. For achieving this goal, he is sincerely
involved in transforming Mintokgang into an ideal place without vice and
undesirable elements. He admits that there are certain forces still active in
throttling his genuine aims and committed endeavour. But then he sees in his
people an infinite power to overcome all evil forces. He believes that changing
the mindset of the people is a pre-requisite for any real development.
At the convention he told the people to be watchful of any negligence on the
part of government officials and vigilant towards any form of injustice to people.
Pawan Chamling said, “I tell you, people should come together to oppose all
forms of injustice anywhere. Only then will injustice receive a death blow.”
Regarding development irregularities, Chamling hit hard at such elements that
disrupt the whole process. Chamling is well aware that many a time, economic
benefits do not percolate down to needy people at the grassroots level. Time and
again he has held the people supreme in bringing about change.
He exhorted them,

“I would like to believe that when the source is clean, what flows down
would be nothing but clean, but at present the canal is rusted. There still
are tortoises coming to the source to muddy the waters. But we need not
worry. When the source is clean, the dirt accumulated along the canal
will be slowly washed away. When the canal gets heavily rusted, then we
have to discard the canal in favour of a new one. Not only the source but
the canal should be dirt free. You have to be vigilant about the canal
developing damaging rust. In fact, I have dug secure canals from
Mintokgang straight down to the very poor household. If development
has not reached every hut in the village, there must be some crabs
boring a hole in the body of the canals. People should be vigilant as well.
The people should also protect the canals so that no crabs are allowed to
destroy them. Let me tell you it is you people who have to crush the
crabs and keep the canal intact, clean and strong. I will do my work, you
need to shoulder your responsibility.”

Chamling’s vision for Sikkim is also the establishment of a self-reliant

Sikkimese society, without poverty, illiteracy, injustice and intolerance. Sikkim,
during the previous governments under various leaders, was divided between
the rich and the poor. There were two classes of people—the working masses
and the affluent class. Economic and social disparity was ever widening
between the rich and the poor. However, with a continuity of purpose quite
unique to the Chamling era, the poor population is slowly but steadily gaining
ground in terms of economic and mental development. As a result, there is an
emergence of a middle class comprising those poor who have much improved.
Pawan Chamling quite correctly said that his government was not against the
rich but wanted to uplift the poor by all available means. When hunger becomes
unbearable, the poor has every right to claim their share in the universe.
Inequality, in the capitalist system, has been created and every human being
who talks equality has to defend the poor and the downtrodden. Therefore, the
state government was committed to safeguard the interest of the poor.
Chamling said, “We want to bring the poor at par with the rich. We want to
tackle economic disparity not by making the rich poorer but vice-versa”. Pawan
Chamling equally feels that it was due to the SDF government that the rich
people are protected in the state or else they would have, by now, faced the
consequences of discontentment of the poor.
One dream that Chamling has been vigorously pursuing is making Sikkim a
producer state in the near future. Chamling is genuinely concerned about the
growing practice of consumerism in the state. Chamling has often highlighted
this essential aspect of Sikkim’s economy. While inaugurating Precision
Industries Limited in South Sikkim, he said, “As long as we remain a mere
consumer, we cannot win economic freedom. To be self-sustaining and
independent, we have to produce goods and services that the society demands
and the nation requires.”
In his thought-provoking Independence Day address to the people in 2002,
Chief Minister Chamling brought home the issue of economic freedom more
succinctly:

“Though the country has gained colonial freedom it still has to overcome
economic deprivation of thousands of Indian poor. The spirit of
independence will carry little meaning to those who have been left behind
in the race even without the basic necessities of roti, kapda and makan.
That is why, we may have to take yet another pledge to free our
countrymen from economic slavery. And the freedom we won from the
colonial rule will remain hollow so long as Indians remain economically
insecure. Without gaining economic independence, our freedom is
meaningless.”

The state blessed with huge natural resources, flora and fauna has a
tremendous potential to attain self-sufficiency. Pawan Chamling has been
constantly aware of this truth and has worked sincerely to make Sikkim a
producer state by tapping the huge natural resources. All potential natural
resource-based areas like hydropower, floriculture and horticulture will be
promoted so that the state becomes a producer and exporter of electricity,
horticulture and allied products, while simultaneously promoting Sikkim as the
number one tourist destination in the country. The share of agriculture sector
in the state GDP has gone down, which implies that the people are less a
producer and more a consumer.
The Chamling government has worked out plans to encourage agricultural
activities by bringing in the latest scientific technologies and by providing other
incentives to the farming communities. Chamling wants that the Sikkimese
market should be flooded with locally grown products like food grains,
vegetable, meat, or everything that is possible out of the Sikkimese soil. While
the cultivable land has shrunk on account of the growing population, the
farming system in the state has largely remained traditional. As a result, the
Sikkimese market cannot be sustained without importing essential foodstuff
from outside. Hence, the effort has been to encourage scientific farming to
augment productivity.
The state’s economy is now on a sound footing. Borrowing other than the
compulsory 10 per cent that comes with the plan budget has been avoided. An
impressive outsourcing of state revenue has been recorded in the last few years
and revenue ratio that the state earns out of its own sources has been highly
encouraging. Chief Minister Chamling is now working towards presenting a zero
deficit budget by 2007. In marked contrast to the previous government,
Chamling moves along a well-charted path of development with a long-term
perspective. Chamling says, “We no longer believe in the shot in the dark cliché
but are prepared to win the bird’s eye with a studious and a well-planned
strategy.”
Pawan Chamling has set forth a concrete vision to engage all the Sikkimese
youth productively so that the unemployment problem can be tackled firmly. He
is well aware that there is tremendous pressure on the government
departments to cut down their sizes and all the educated unemployed youth
cannot be absorbed in government jobs. The state government has targeted 100
per cent literacy rate over the next fifteen years in the state and the problem of
unemployment would be rather critical by then. With this view in mind, the
Pawan Chamling government is preparing itself to tackle the problem. The
process has indeed begun right now. The emphasis has been on self-
employment ventures particularly in areas where the potential is not adequately
tapped.
Hydro-power generation and tourism trade have become a natural choice. Of
course, the state government has set about earning more than Rs. 1,000 crore
of revenue from nature’s bounty. Chamling is seriously deliberating on the need
to change peoples’ mind. The concept of government as the sole provider of
employment must change. It would involve preparing the youth mentally and
physically to explore alternative means of livelihood. The state government has
actually moved ahead to design and develop sources of employment in the near
future so that the state remains free of this problem. Chamling says, “What we
require is sound thinking and designing, scientific planning, efficient allocation
of resources, appropriate infrastructure and people and environment-friendly
policies.”
The government in the new century is all set to encourage people to change
their mindset. Chief Minister Chamling feels that people should realign
themselves with the changed situation. The government would make
agricultural activities more attractive by declaring it as an industry and bring in
more technological input, to motivate educated youth to take up agriculture.
Pawan Chamling expands on his vision,

“As part of our new strategy, the government is all set to promote each
household in the village to take up at least one productive scheme, which
could mean a dairy farm, poultry or fishery, handicraft, handlooms,
bamboo weaving or the likes. The destination would be one to transform
each household into a cottage industry, or a micro enterprise.”

Chamling also seeks to diversify economic activities to include secondary and

tertiary sectors. There are some small-scale industries operating in the state.
Tourism is a booming industry with tremendous potential to engage maximum
people. The idea behind developing a model village in each constituency and a
tourist spot in every gram panchayat is to introduce village tourism and
cultural tourism. Tourism as peoples’ trade should be all encompassing and
every common man in the village should partake in the reward of tourism as a
prioritized sector in the state. A politician with high hope and genuine
commitment, Pawan Chamling is one to always see every situation with positive
perspective. He says, “We have to emphasize our strength and not weaknesses.
And our strength lies in the service sector like tourism, educational institutions,
information technology, etc.”
Pawan Chamling, who considers his people supreme has constantly talked
about power decentralization, to give them power and privilege to conduct their
lives that best suit their interests. The government, therefore, has been
seriously considering devolution of financial power up to 30 per cent directly to
the village panchayat, compared to the 10 per cent at present. However, he is
anxious to make sure that all panchayat members develop a capacity and sense
of higher responsibility to serve society in a better way. He says, “things have
not gone as we have desired. Had all my wishes been fulfilled, Sikkim would
have been totally different today; all Sikkimese would have been prosperous. I
wish that all the 95,000 houses should become concrete buildings; every house
must have one vehicle. Every household should be equipped with all modern
facilities.”
Hence, the government seeks to enlist greater public participation in all
government efforts for the upliftment of the Sikkimese people. Chamling has
always been in favour of delegating greater power to people at the grassroots
level but feels that the capability and skill of people to utilize such resources
should be improved to avoid irregularities and mismanagement. As a sequel,
the state government has undertaken to organize various skill development
training programmes to panchayat members and the youth.
The vision to replace the outdated regime of centralized governance with the
completely decentralized administration by the end of the Tenth Plan had been
set into reality, and its success would present an example in grassroots
governance in the state. Another important development was the
implementation of the Constitution 73rd Amendment Act, 1992, which provided
for elections to the Gram and Zilla panchayats. Under this, the Panchayat
institutions were required to formulate developmental plans in respect of their
respective administrative jurisdictions. They were also required to prepare their
own budget for financing their plans. The state government has decided to
allocate adequate resources at the disposal of the panchayati raj institutions so
that the spirit of democratic decentralization could be turned into a functioning
reality.
Restriction in respect of import of agriculture products had been removed under
the charter of the World Trade Organization (WTO); this and other linked
measures were designed to sensitize the farmers and prepare them for more
cost effective and competitive system with a view to bringing about self-reliance
on a sustainable basis. Pawan Chamling cited an interesting Chinese proverb to
prove the point. It said, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach
him how to fish and you feed him for lifetime”.
The Infrastructure Development Finance Company Ltd. (IDFC) had been in the
state to undertake the preparation of feasible project report on the Sikkim
Agriculture Export Zone (AEZ). The concept was considered extremely beneficial
for the farmer and was also in tune with the Chamling policy of krishak lai
bazaar ra kinara mah pugisakekolai zamin, market to the farmers and land to
the marginalized people.
The Japan Ecology Foundation had been persuaded to examine the prospect of
promoting Sikkimese farm products like tea, cardamom, ginger, floricultural
and dairy products in the Japanese market.
Pawan Chamling has a very special trait of ever trying to look into the future,
see what it had in store for his people and his beloved Sikkim, and get himself
and his people ready to meet the challenge of change. He could clearly see
Sikkim 2002 as a turning point with great hope and expectations. It was poised
for an exciting new journey into an exciting new century, for which Chamling,
his party, and his government had been preparing for seven years, when the
people of Sikkim mandated them to serve them with overwhelming support.
The proposal for launching the Chief Minister’s self employment scheme from
2002-2003, the launching of the “cooperative awareness” campaign during the
same year, the proposal for establishing an academy for institutionalization and
promotion of literary values and traditions and cultures and produce the
research volumes entitled, “The Sikkim Study Series” by associating eminent
writers, scholars, and experts, were some of the things on which Chamling had
set his mind determinedly.
Yet there was something which the entire country and the world would be
fascinated with was the Chamling government’s proposal to set up and develop
a “Cultural Village” in Sikkim. As he pointed out, the village would symbolize
integration with the national mainstream. The concept had been spontaneously
welcomed and appreciated with his usual infectious smile when Pawan
Chamling had an interaction with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the
subject. The proposed project visualized reflecting the diverge grandeur and
magnificence of Indian culture.
Chief Minister Chamling himself, and his Cabinet colleagues were very keen on
maintaining and developing the Sir Thondup Namgyal Research Institute of
Tibetology in good health and activity. It was a historical centre with an
invaluable wealth of precious documents and archival materials on the entire
Buddhist philosophy. This Institute had all along been an important tourist
attraction also and hence the Chamling Government had declared its intention
to support its maintenance and to project it as an Institute deserving world
repute and recognition.
As if to indicate that things had started happening in 2002 and some of the
Chamling dreams were coming true, Chief Minister Pawan Chamling set off two
very interesting projects on March 29, 2002 and April 6, 2002. These were the
launching of the country’s first online lottery in Sikkim at Gangtok’s Tashi
Delek hotel and the laying of the foundation stone of the much dreamt about
airport for Sikkim at Pakyong. Both these events carried Sikkim into new
horizons of modernity. They also raised expectations of the Himalayan state
opening its doors to the rest of the nation and the world in its flight towards
modernity and progress.
What had a lottery project to do with the prosperity of Sikkim and particularly
for Pawan Chamling? His perception was different. What attracted him to online
lottery was that it was a “first” in the country; it symbolized one of the
information technology games and it would bring his state an estimated Rs. 700
to 800 crore revenue in seven years time, which could be used for development.
In his launching speech he displayed his excitement in the presence of
diplomats, his cabinet colleagues and representatives of the Zee TV channel
which was managing the IT game. “I am extremely happy to be present among
you today because we have just made history, not only for Sikkim but the entire
nation. The state of Sikkim has gone into the annals of history as the first ever
state in India to launch an online lottery.”
Another reason for his happiness was expressed in the words, “Development of
Sikkim is our core concern. I have articulated our dream everywhere and on
every occasion that we are working towards making Sikkim happy and
prosperous. For an all-round development of Sikkim, we are trying to move
ahead with concerted efforts, and with a lot of imagination and creativity. The
launching of this online lottery is but one of the many efforts at achieving the
maximum developmental strength to make Sikkim a model state in terms of
social, economic, and other fields. In a move similar to the online lottery, we
also passed an Act in the last budget session that envisaged the setting up of
computer electronic entertainment game in the state. This game, once
introduced, is expected to give further fillip to the state’s exchequer.”
Chief Minister Chamling was always conscious that his state was not
adequately and sufficiently connected to the rest of India. According to him, the
natural beauty of the state and its peaceful atmosphere is equally matched by
the amiable and hospitable people of the state. This makes Sikkim a prime
destination for the tourist and also offers a congenial atmosphere for
establishment of natural resource-based industry. Such potentialities of the
state, however, have not been fully exploited, as Sikkim is not adequately
connected with the rest of the country. Sikkim is linked by road only with the
nearest city of Siliguri in West Bengal. The National Highway takes the people of
Sikkim to the nearest railhead at New Jalpaiguri and the airport at Bagdogra.
But Sikkim would have the world within easy access if it had its own airport
and its own skyway.
On April 6, 2002, in the presence of the Vice-President of India, Krishan Kant,
Mrs. Suman Krishan Kant, the Governor of Sikkim, Kidar Nath Sahni, Mrs.
Sahani, ministers, and senior civil servants, Pawan Chamling expressed his joy
in these words, “The state government and the Sikkimese people had a long-
cherished dream of having their own airport. Given its landscape, our state is
prone to frequent landslides that disrupt our communication links, especially
during the monsoon season. Now with the setting up of the airport, Sikkim can
probably well adjust with nature’s fury that expresses itself in the form of
hailstorms, landslides and so on. Many a domestic and foreign tourist,
otherwise stranded in the state, can now fly across the state with minimum
strain and maximum joy. This day is a milestone in the area of infrastructural
development.”
And then he continued to touch upon his favourite personal, political and social
agenda—the future. Pawan Chamling said, “We are looking at the future
prospects from different angles. Tourism being one of our priority sectors, the
airport will certainly prove a boon to our booming industry of tourism.”
He came out with some original and people-oriented ideas spreading “tourism
culture” in his state. He shared the information, “Under government’s policy
decisions, we are considering developing one tourist centre in each gram
panchayat unit in the villages for greater participation of rural people and also
to promote village tourism in the state. We are also in the process of identifying
our heritage sites across the state and renovation and reconstruction processes
are being taken up. Similarly, we are also trying to preserve our historical
monuments located in different parts of the state. We would showcase all of
them to the outside world. In a similar step the state government was
considering constructing eight more helipads to connect the entire state by
skyways. This criss-crossing of communication links across the state will
greatly derive sustenance from the upcoming airport.”
These were the ways of Pawan Chamling. He was always dreaming new dreams
for Sikkim and forever facing challenges and hurdles to make his dreams come
true. The Tenth Plan, launched in 2002 was the beginning of the process of
turning many dreams into realities. Pawan Chamling and his Sikkim had
derived knowledge and strength from their past, they had built their present on
it, and were now firmly poised on the springboard to future. The year 2002 was
the springboard. It marked the advent of a promising era of happenings and
great expectations.
During his eight years in office Chamling has always tried to provide maximum
opportunity to his people in areas feasible for new trades and vocations. He
expresses contentment at having given all possible opportunities to people living
in towns down to the grassroots levels. He says,

“In this regard, I am satisfied that we have tried to give the maximum
opportunities to our people. Even if people are building their future on an
opportunity provided by us, we feel that we have taken up the right
cause for the people giving them the chance to determine their own
 future, their own destiny. The prosperity and progress of Sikkimese
people are now a foregone conclusion because many of them have learnt
the art of fishing. I have given all Sikkimese the equal opportunity to
build their own future.”

The one policy that the Chamling government has adopted is a clear departure
from the past. According to Chamling, people only lose if they remain in their
traditional shell. In an age of globalization and liberalization, the state has
decided to open up to outside world and work in close tandem with national
and foreign agencies in areas like infrastructure development, IT, tourism.
Today, there are many NGOs and donor agencies from Australia, Britain and
Japan working in close collaboration with the state. The road ahead, in a way,
is clear enough for Chamling. With humility, he is prepared to work with the
mighty to bring about a qualitative change in the lives of over five lakh
Sikkimese.
While the previous government in Sikkim isolated the state and fanned anti-
national rhetoric at home, the Chamling government has constantly made
efforts to integrate people with the mainstream. Although Chamling marvels at
the unity that prevails in the Indian diversity, emotional integration is achieved
through due recognition of all Indians and by honouring their worth. The Indian
people from all walks of life have immensely contributed in the freedom struggle
and thousands of Indian citizens have laid down their lives to attain its
independence. The unsung heroes or the families of the freedom struggle must
be adequately rewarded for their contribution. That is why Pawan Chamling is
now advocating the concept of reverse integration, where the powerful and the
mighty have to appreciate the needs and aspirations of people in states like
Sikkim.
Pawan Chamling hits hard at all the sycophants in the country who despite
whipping up nationalistic fervour lack genuineness of purpose and sincerity. In
the 2002 Independence Day speech, he brought home the point and said,
“We fervently love our great nation India—great in many meanings.
However, if we fail to honour and appreciate the interest of the millions of
Indians, the love we shower is a fake one—it is a sham, a fraud. We talk
about the security of the country, yet we are least interested about
caring for the weaker and the vulnerable sections of the people. That way
we are not sincere and what we mean is only hypocritical. There is
outright hypocrisy in worrying about the security of the country yet
ignoring the unguarded people living a pathetic life in the same country.
Today at almost every level, we talk about the prosperity of the country,
but we have thousands of Indians who do not mind treating fellow
Indians as the slaves.
This is unpardonable, this is anti-national and they are sinners who talk
about prosperity and enslave their own brethren. Hence, on the occasion
of this Independence Day, we have to consider all these realities very
seriously. While we talk about the security of India, we should be
concerned about the security of every Indian citizen; the interest of the
country has to be invariably linked with the interest of each and every
Indian.
It is widely held that ability without opportunity is nothing. There could
be any number of Indians who may have found no such opportunity to
prove their cases. Unless and until we end these disparities in all
 manifestations—social or otherwise, we will not be free, we will not be
independent. We will not gain economic prosperity. Likewise in Sikkim,
the interest and security of Sikkim has to be invariably linked with the
interest and safety of every Sikkimese. When we talk about the Bhutias,
the interest of the poor Bhutias is often ignored; when we talk about the
Nepalese, the interest of the poor Nepalese loses relevance in the scheme
of things; when we talk about the Lepchas, the interest of the poor
Lepchas are often swept under the carpet. Hence, the security and
interests of Sikkim have to encompass the entire Sikkimese people with
regard to their basic rights and interests.”

In a country where Gandhiji laid down his life for the unity of the country and
where he forever advocated non-violence as an instrument of winning swaraj,
something is still amiss. Although free from foreign shackles, the violence and
communal strife that fill the air now is something unfortunate. When India
celebrated the 55th Independence Day, the national capital and many other
state capitals had to be virtually converted into army camps. While leaders
unfurled the tricolor, people were feeling uncertain. This is not something that
people expect from democracy. Chamling attributes moral degradation and
indiscipline as the root cause of the failure of democracy.
Advancing a subtle argument, he says,

“A successful man should also be virtuous and trustworthy. If a wicked

and evil man becomes successful, he will use his power to destroy society
and the world. Hadn’t Hitler been successful ? Had not Mussolini been
successful ? But what legacies did they leave behind except that of
hatred and revulsion ? Therefore, democracy demands that every one
from the ruler down to the common people refine and polish his
character, should be trustworthy, disciplined, morally upright and a
committed worker to serve people. In Sikkim, we are fortunate that we
live in an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity where people from all
walks of life live in complete amity and brotherhood.”

Chamling, the down-to-earth politician, has obviously thrown up cardinal

issues before the people. Has India triumphed as a democratic nation? Or
where has it erred? Can the nation recover, if necessary?
After he took over as Chief Minister at the fag end of 1994 Chamling has
successfully changed the direction of the state of Sikkim—from a situation of
economic uncertainty to a more confident and stable state, from political
bankruptcy to an ideal government, and from growing social inequalities to
social justice. Especially for the poor and the downtrodden, and the cause of
women, the Chamling government has been a blessing.
There are showers of praise flowing into the state and many sing about the
extraordinary courage of Pawan Chamling. The country and the world are
listening to Chamling with greater interest and concern. For instance, we may
quote Ms. Susan Gallagher of the Maitreya Sangha, an internationally
renowned community development society, who says, “We have been singing his
praises both locally and internationally and we feel honoured to be so warmly
welcomed by such a selfless, visionary and heroic figure. It is a certainty that
this man will go down in history as one of the country’s great leaders. It is this
type of inspired leadership that gives birth to a nation of heroes, acting as he
does as a figurehead and example for all the young men of the state.”
Sikkim with Chamling at the helm of affairs is all set to acquire a new height.
Selfless and goal-oriented as a leader, Chamling is cut out for all the noble
things that happen and need to happen in the state and the country. The 21st
century Sikkim is all set to shine on the horizon, not only in India but also
among all nations and states in the world.
 Appendix

Gangtok 1989: A Portrait

Entrapped she is the whole day long,
Within greasy folds of corruption untold;
Imprisoned she remains the whole night long,
Deep inside the black marketeer’s vault;
Panting for a breath of free and fresh air,
Shaking, shuddering and trembling in utter despair;
Stripped of dignity,
Shorn of grace,
Poor, poor Gangtok!
She wallows in disgrace!!

The body and limbs,

Strained and worked
To limit extreme,
Having to carry like the beast of burden,
Carcass long dead and stinking foul
Of what was once
A surging, pulsating force
Of faith in self so supreme;
One more day lost, like the one
Of yesterday and the day before,
To limbo with appetite so enormous,
In search of something tangible;
In making round so unprofitable;
From one minister’s posh chamber,
To another of secretary’s
Just as dazzling, much more posh;
Heartened by assurance empty galore,
And balmed by sweet talk seemingly callous,
The unemployed entity,
Nameless and faceless as so many,
Trudged home with steps unsure
That weary made falter,
Inside the shoes that saw days much better
Crestfallen as yesterday
And everyday,
A pity he made not the proverbial hay!
A capital of broken hearts
And shattered shoes, this Gangtok,
Stripped of dignity,
Shorn of grace,
Poor, poor Gangtok!
She wallows in disgrace!!

In defeat today
The day, as usual,
Lost to limbo,
The dream of tomorrow
Beckons yet,
Like the promise of Nirvana,
To Nimthitt,
To Nima and Ninamma,
With hopes renewed,
Promises resurrected
To make a go of it,
Once again, yet again,
To make the best of,
Whatever lies up the sleeve,
Of the unborn tomorrow.
Such is Gangtok, a citadel of false hope,
A living mirage, its attraction,
Both alluring and fatal;
Thus stripped of dignity,
Shorn of grace,
Poor, poor Gangtok!
She wallows in disgrace!!

Scars of wound deepest

Amid social crisis and chaos unsurpassed,
Things in Gangtok taken for granted,
Overnight they become a distant mirage;
Disparity abounds of all descriptions
The downtrodden poor
Shut out of doors
Are kept at arm’s length
Worse still even out of bound;
Plagued by rat race, society burns,
Mantra of co-existence,
Remains non-existent;
Society wallows in order so disorderly hotchpotch,
Things top to bottom sink by day one notch.
Victims abound of failure and heartbreak.
Of broken heart struck down by stroke self-made,
Thus Gangtok burns in the smouldering heat
Of the rat race furnace,
Stripped of dignity,
Shorn of grace,
Poor, poor Gangtok!
She wallows in disgrace!!

Sisters they are, after all

All so young and prim,
Hardly in their early teens;
Just flowering in their youth so prime and prim
That feels their parents’ cup of joy to its brim
But alas! it was not to be
All these damsels all gone astray
They feel instead the sleazy rooms!
Of hotels turned brothel and sleazier still!!
Stripped bone-naked of a spree
Like the bland nakedness of the eucalyptus tree,
Shorn of beauty stripped of noble pride,
A naked damsel even heaven can’t hide;
Love it’s not, nor affection
Pure and innocent,
That drive these lust-lorn
Creatures of habit;
It’s their passion so insatiable,
Their lust for flesh unappeased for ever,
In variety and change
They seek in vain
That they crave they never gain
For change they try and loud they cry,
As the fading dawn arrives
With hope and promise yet unborn
To find these creatures of lust depraved
Locked in embrace of passion all frayed,
To flog the dead horse back to life,
Try they must so they try with sobs of cry
The truth as it wont dawn
The fading dawn had left them,
High and dry!!
Thus stripped of dignity
Shorn of grace
Poor, poor Gangtok !
She wallows in disgrace !!

A gesture so solemn and so gratifying

On the part of this man of high standing
A gripping episode in the life and drama
Of the same man of the same standing
Who rules as he does from Secretariat Tashiling
There inside his Chamber gleaming posh and gold
Of Lord Buddha’s idol in gold installed,
The Apostle of religion old and gold
Two vows solemn as he took
In accordance with Buddha’s book
To lead a life steeped in simple living
To enrich his life
With pearls of wisdom
Steeped as it should be
In high thinking
The Buddhist populace made overjoyed
So were the non-Buddhists;
And the atheists
The rag-tag non-conformists,
Overjoyed were all and sundry
No sooner did the dust
Of expectation great
Simmer down
Short of settle down
Than began making its round
In Gangtok town
News all doleful and sad
Began to hound;

Of corruption absolute
Bred and fuelled by power
More menacingly absolute
Vow of simple living
Went down his gullet
Washed and flushed
By French Cognac
And of high thinking
Went up in smoke
From the file of misrule
He never failed to stoke
Thus he did succeed
Beyond his wildest dream
Making all Sikkimese
His plate of minced meat
He thought in all his supreme foolishness
Hoodwink he could the Apostle of peace and kindness

And thus that he forgot the simple rule

Reprisal and retributive justice
Not one of Buddha’s teaching
According to Buddhist dharma
Whose fruits
When ripe and rotting
Brought his down
With resounding thud
To where he truly belonged
Gangtok full of race of rats
Gangtok burns with saintly cats
Thus
Stripped of dignity
Shorn of grace
Poor, poor Gangtok !
She wallows in disgrace!!

Decked in dresses transparent and light

Bright and dazzling more bride-like
Epitomizing modernism’s mores
Obsession more modern
With shallow glamour
Unmindful of a future
So black and bleak
Dead, decomposed and deceased,
It already is;
Denounced in terms of status
As ‘that woman!’
A home-breaker and what not
To remain somewhat satisfied
As someone’s ‘mistress’ notorious
‘Kept woman’ her sorry status
Of scarecrow of a husband
Not man enough
To recognize her true status
This, after all, is Gangtok,
Stripped of dignity
Shorn of grace,
Poor, poor Gangtok!
She wallows in disgrace!!
They had gone and done it!
Again and again
And yet again!
Milk they did the country dry,
Coffers they stripped
Bare of moollah
And bone dry
In lining their own pocket
Depth untold and bottomless,
In fattening their wallets
With elasticity unlimited;
Thus they raped the present
Left and right,
Inside the coffin
Dank and dark,
Of a future they deemed
Right and bright;
Violate they did time and again,
Their mother’s modesty without refrain,
Thus capital Gangtok helplessly bled,
Stripped of modesty,
Shorn of motherly grace,
Poor, poor Gangtok!
She wallows in disgrace!!
(From ‘Ma Ko Hun ?’, a collection of Nepali poems by Pawan Chamling ‘Kiran’,
published in 1990)

The Sound
The sound drifting across
0f bells that tolled inside
the temple
The sound drifting across
Of Moulvi’s voice
Rendering the verses from
Koran
They both sound
Identical to me,
Both the sound
As they drift across to me
Are heard in tones so clear
And pure
In perfect unison
With the gift of hearing
I do possess
As they vibrate in perfect accord
In the same breath
In the same instant
In the same spirit
Of brotherhood sublime
Without the slightest hint
Of discrimination discord.
The sound
Emanating from the church bells
As it drifts across
Never fails in its passage discreet,
To make its tryst first as it flees
With the feet of the Lord
The temple enshrines
Before it reaches
To touch me
And my innermost chord;

The sound of prayer

The sound so made
Of the bells so tolled
Merged as they have
In one sweet integrated melody
To co-exist in perfect harmony
And to burst forth finally
To waves of symphony orchestra;

It has touched, in so doing

My soul that resides in my
Innermost being,
With tenderness so rapt and sweet,
The warm warmth when floods my being,
My soul soars heavenward in joy unsurpassed,
To touch the hem of heaven retrieved.

(From ‘Ma Ko Hun ?’, a collection of poems published in 1990)

The Crucified Prashna

You are and have been
With me
Over lives myriad,
Your presence infinite
In omnipresence
You were there
Already
Even as Eve and Adam
Came into being;
Even when Sumnima, Paruma
Came into being.
But, then in those timeless
Days of then
You and your formless form
Your identity included
Included
Were happily
A familiar phenomena
Your form so formless
Then was a visibal one
To the then
Mortal eyes;

But even today

You, your form
Are the same, so is
Your identity
Consistently the same,
Like it had been always
Always, aeons ago;
But today, in the quivering
Reality of the present,
You, in our supreme ignorance,
Remain perennially
Unseen and invisible
To our
Unseeing eye
Unseeing because
We do not seek
After the truth
The truth you are,
Had been ever
And always;
In today’s reality
Man’s perception limited
To domain so narrow
Of things strictly physical
His seeing eye also physical
Drawing blank
Of things
Beyond man’s understanding;

To see and comprehend

Your infinite form,
Man needs vision
Not of this material world
To comprehend and capture
Your true form
In all its grandeur
Manifestly sublime,
He needs an eye
Purified by love sublime,
His heart, a loving heart
Purest love personified;

In such heart so purified

Sages say the soul force resides
That alone can visualise you
In your infinite form sublime.
Man cannot appreciate
Nor comprehend
Let alone understand
Your Mahima, your Leela,
The schemes of things
You divine and design
Infinitely grand,
In their grandeur supreme;
Because
Thoughts of man
And his mind
Are in themselves
not free
Never truly free
In the sense
True freedom goes;

Simply because
Man, in truth, possesses nothing
He may call his own,
His thoughts and mind included.
He is simply and merely a man!
Therefore
To comprehend your existence
Is simply beyond
His ken
Hence
In this tiny domain
Of man’s world
You are non-existent
Although
You do exist.
In form. In formless form unseen.
Omniscient. And omnipresent.
In ‘me’ you certainly are;

Hence I exist!
With identity
Unique!
Yet I am at a loss
To comprehend
You in me
To accept
You in all entirety!
As such
I exist
Merely and purely
For the sake of
Existence
And this existence has little
Or no relevance
Despite some semblance
Of identity vague,
I’m indeed!
A complete non-entity!
My goal
Nothing beyond
An irksome, wearysome
Journey
Interwoven into
The cycle of birth and death!
And no less!
And no more!

(From ‘Ma Ko Hun ?’, a collection of poems published in 1990)

Faith Undaunted
In striking definition minutely detailed
A life-like image of beauty ethereal
Carved in stone, lifeless and cold
Yet exotic it was, with celestial allure untold,
A masterpiece, a work of art
Of genius artistic unsurpassed;
Its exact location elusively indeterminate
At some point in suspended animation so vague
In the vast expanse of ethereal space;
Ever since aeons ago
Have I installed it deep inside
The sanctum sanctorum
Of my devout heart
As Godess Shakti, the primordial source supreme,
Of all things seen and unseen;
With faith firm and undaunted
Seek I after the truth
The truth that reveals
The truth that unravels
The riddle that veils
The Atma from Parmatma.
I have discovered in this exotic form
Its beauty ethereal my devotion conform
Obessed as I am this time around
With hope that springs in my breast eternal
Discover I must a flicker of smile ethereal
An assuring hint of affection divine.
Aeons passed in to limbo unappeased
Myriads lost and forgotten
Of the cycle of birth and death unrequited,
Between us forged was this lasting bond
Aeons and aeons ago, ages upon ages old
Ever since the moment of my maiden encounter,
Face to face with that ever elusive enchanter;
Even now
My deep longing yet undiminished
The thirst that burns within me unslaked,
Of catching a glimpse of the smile ethereal
So eager is my aural sense,
To pick up a note or two of divine choice,
In the celestial beauty of her melodious voice.
In silence deep and golden
Thirst unslaked, it makes so bold
I, ever so vigilant, as I watch
I, ever so patient, as I wait
Penance it is of great expectation!

(From volume ‘Ma Ko Hun ?’, a collection of poems published in 1990)

Discovery of Man
The mind in me
With eyes more piercing and perceiving,
Have I detached and installed
Right in front of me;
From a vantage point fresh anew,
From the void devoid of real me,
To observe, to scrutinize
This physical veil, the material form
Of the soul so elusive
And forever invisible
In every age as man-incarnate
Have I sought to unveil thee
In my deep longing of you to have a glimpse!

In the man-made material world,

In the teeming millions that throng the world
Deluded by illusion of the ‘self’
I made inquiry galore of this ‘self’
With many a searching question
That at the end of the day
Had no solution,
To the riddle that was you!
Or was it ‘I’!
Even after the passage
Of aeons and mellennia of rebirth
In never ending cycle of birth and death,
As man-incarnate I fortunate though,
Yet and yet I failed miserably again
Not once but many a time again,
To come, nay, confront you face to face
You choose to remain an enigma of sorts,
Closely and intricately so intimate
Yet so distant ever so remote,
Though of late I do concede,
The illusion of you,
It is in my view
Anything everything but conceit;
It is not
Or how else! can I perceive
The hidden you
The deep melody so hauntingly sweet,
Perched atop the Pippal tree,
As the love-lorn Koyal
In springtime sings
A song so melancholy
And so discord,
Yet it touches my innermost chord;

The formless you

Ever so formless
To mortals like I
And yet in measures infinitely minuscule
Perceive thy formless form
With eyes so obsessed
With worldly view,
I know full well
With wisdom gained
And garnered across
Aeons of rebirth
Its fruitless and endeavour
Next only to impossibility,
I know just as well this to be
An exercise in hopeless futility
To be wise with wisdom sublime,
The formless you with eyes such as mine
For aeons to come and aeons to go
The pair of which shall never entwine

Everything I possess today,

All things perceived,
Their grandeur observed,
Acquired and enjoyed
All of this I did
And do possess
As my very own,
Utterly and absolutely,
Legally and even illegally,
Are, in essence, all so much
Part of you
As you are in them all,
But destined they are
They must perish someday,
It is a certainty
One hundred percent,
They are not in you
Least of all they are you
Because you are
Omniscient!
Omnipresent!
And utterly imperishable!!!

(From volume ‘Ma Ko Hun ?’, a collection of poems published in 1990)

A Trip Across Future Lane

Since aeons and ages ago
In this material world
Absorbing as much as resisting
Shocks and jolts many
On the rocky roads of life
Obstacles too many
Each more difficult
Each more insurmountable
Than the next in tow
Flowing down the river
My life personified
Born as I am a man-incarnate
Paddling I am and have been
My own canoe of human struggle.
Paddling as I am plodding as it is
To eat up miles many as footsoldier weary,
Pressing and plodding on my weary feet,
Ages many more numerous
Aeons many more I have yet to traverse.
The present
So quivering in reality
My feet firmly planted
In the ethereal space
Gripping for support
As I catch hold of the empty void;
Engaged in light banter
With truth so ethereal
In its freedom so free
Surely I’m enjoying my trip
On the path yet untrodden
Of the future still unveiled
And the unveiled future
Is walking as though side by side
With me;
Dreams so pure so virgin accompany me
In the future yet unveiled
Full of joy and happiness supreme
I’m traversing the landscape
Of the future itself, real and tangible
By my side in company with me
Is walking and talking with me!!

(From ‘Ma Ko Hun ?’, a collection of poems published in 1990)

I am a Battler of Battles Many

On centre-stage or in the wings,
Visible to sight or invisible,
I’m at war in flesh and blood,
I’m at war in spirit untamed,
To battle to the last
Is precisely why I have taken birth;

Battlefield not seen,

Steeped in invisibility,
Formless and without form
This battlefield,
I am a battler of battles many.

A fistful of light to illumine

Against darkness at its heights
A handful of light that delights
The hearts of fellow-brethren
Fellow-travelers all downtrodden
With me in my crusade against tyranny;

In the wilderness of oppression and anarchy

In the jungle Raj of repression and oligarchy,
Weapon I wield of humanity in chain
With which to cut asunder
A tree so devilish yet more wicked,
With crimes unforgivable to its credit,
Against a bleeding humanity.
Humanity stands threatened,
Exploited, intimidated and burdened,
By forces dark and devilish;
Unseen and subtle most times
In droves they come to prey upon, to snare,
With plans and blueprints, ideas bizarre,
Like roads and byroads so numerous,
Like byways and highways they take their toll,
Of humanity befuddled by them all;

To blight the sun out of the azure heaven

To cover and cast,
To cast and blanket,
Everything noble, everything right,
To perpetuate and forever spread
A reign of darkness so dark and desolate!
With a fistful of the earth,
The size of my throbbing heart
For a battling army of light brigade to fight
One fistful flash of dazzling light of blinding bright,
And with resolve
Mightier than sword born of thought so high,
As vast in expanse as the limitless ethereal sky;

All these my assets they all are with me

Firm in resolve since they are all me
To wage a battle last utterly decisive,
Against darkness of evil so unseeing
Yet menacingly pervasive!

(From ‘Ma Ko Hun ?’, a collection of poems published in 1990)

My Basic Faith
Superman I am not
Of the great Atlas fame,
Who, the legend says,
Bore the earth on his back
A simple man I am
Down-to-earth and ordinary
But of thought personified
Extraordinary
Tread I can my path of duty
The universe on my back if need be
For reason so simple
Because of the fact so basic
I have the gumption
I have the tact
To link each man on earth
With the universe at large
My ambition it
Has always been
To usher in peace,
Prosperity,
Happiness unmingled
Pure and sublime
To restore all these
To man and his world
On this earth
To eliminate all elements
Of anarchy
Of oligarchy
Dark and demented
To transform this earth
Into Paradise Regained.

(From volume ‘Ma Ko Hun ?’, a collection of poems published in 1990.)

 26
Three Cheers for 2002

What a wonderful year it was. 2002 recorded a range of major achievements for
the Sikkimese people under the stewardship of Pawan Chamling. As usual he
worked hard throughout the year along with his cabinet colleagues and
officials. His daily routine remained very tight and stretching. The year again
began with a strong sense of conviction to do more and more for his people. He
had the blessings of the mass. He did not want to be distracted by petty
political chicaneries. He had much larger issues to tackle both at the State and
national levels.
His worry was time. It was fast running out. He wanted to give people
everything when they most needed it. When the year began he said to himself
that it was going to be the eighth year of his Government. He needed to fulfil
some of his outstanding promises. At times he tended to become impatient and
restless. This was because it was constantly in his mind that despite so much
unflinching public support and his personal commitment he was not able to
give a final solution to some of the key political and development issues in the
state.
He knows that they are all in the pipeline. But he is also fully aware of the
harsh realities that the pipeline at times tends to be elastic to time, particularly
at the national level. He is quite realistic too in accepting the fact that in a
federal structure the smaller states and geographically distant states always get
sidetracked. This is both because of the political numbers games in Parliament
and the gigantic and varied nature of the problems of bigger states.
He had promised a large number of tangible and intangible benefits to his
people. Most of them were there in his last election manifesto. His manifesto
was simple but comprehensive. It had incorporated in it the core issues of
preservation of the identity of Sikkim and Sikkimese. He knew it would be a
Herculean task for him to fulfil a majority of his party's election promises. But
he also knew that he had been able to fulfil and implement a large number of
election commitments in the eight years of his party's regime. He is an
incessant optimist and a diehard politician. He knows what needs to be done
and at what point of time. His timing has never failed him.
The year 2002 began on a very positive note. For the first time in the
Sikkimese development process the State Planning Commission thoroughly
discussed and prepared the 10th Five Year Plan. Even the Zilla Adhyaksas were
involved in the discussions. A newly oriented and a forward-looking Plan
document was presented to the Planning Commission and the National
Development Council in New Delhi. It was a highly applauded document.
For the second time Sikkim conducted the panchayat election in the state
under the provisions of the 73rd amendment of Constitution. It was a widely
participated election. The villagers fought the elections under the banner of
political parties in a true democratic spirit. There were no hiccups and there
were no inhibitions among the villagers to campaign, vote and elect their
representatives.
 Chamling took the panchayat election as a barometer of his political standing
in the state. When other political parties, including the Congress and the
Sikkim Sangram Parishad, struggled hard to find candidates for contesting the
Panchayat election, Chamling quietly sat down to seriously draw meticulous
manifestoes for the same election. His manifestoes included all that the rural
people aspired to in Sikkim. He knew them on his fingertips. Naturally, the
result came out to be more than what was expected. Sikkim Democratic Front
led by Pawan Chamling again romped home with over 95 percent of the seats in
the panchayats.
By the end of the year Chamling had fulfilled the most intricate and difficult
of election promises. He did it with ease and without any fanfare. His
exceedingly good relations with the mainstream political parties ultimately paid
him. He had closely worked with four Prime Ministers in the past viz., P.V.
Narasimha Rao, H.D. Deve Gowda, I.K. Gujral and now Atal Bihari Vajpayee,
and built a personal rapport with a large number of Union ministers and
leaders of other political parties. His personal charisma and the contributions
he had made so far in building both his state and the nation as a whole stood
as rocks in his effort to mobilize all those who matter in New Delhi's policy-
making corridors. At the national level Chamling was always commended for
leading “a regional party with a national outlook”. The principled stands his
party took in critical national issues always reflected the thinking and nature of
this party's leadership and its functional parameters.
The demands for the inclusion of Limbus and Tamangs in the list of
Scheduled Tribes and the inclusion of Sikkim as the eighth member state in the
North Eastern Council (NEC) were both fulfilled at one go in Parliament.
Everyone supported these long pending demands of the people of Sikkim.
The Tamangs and Limbus had been left out in the last round of identification
and recognition of scheduled tribes in the state in the second half of the 1970s.
The Tamangs are Buddhists and their cultural and religious practices are akin
to those of other scheduled tribes in the state like the Bhutias, Lepchas,
Sherpas and Yolmos. They have their own dialect. Similarly, the Limbus are one
of the oldest inhabitants of Sikkim. They practice animism and have a rich
tribal heritage. The Tamangs and Limbus have very strong features and traits of
tribalism. Both these communities more than fulfil the criteria for inclusion in
the scheduled tribes' list, including indications of primitive traits, distinctive
culture, geographical isolation, extreme backwardness and shyness of contact
with the community at large.
Though the case for the inclusion of Tamangs and Limbus in the list of
scheduled tribes had been pending for long no political parties in power raised
the issue sincerely and steadfastly. It was there in their manifestoes of course.
But they remained in manifestoes alone. It could never transcend the frontier of
political dishonesty and politicians' lip service. These political parties and their
leaders made this issue a vote-time begging bowl and went around raising it
vociferously only during election time. They possibly did not have the guts to
really persuade the Union Government because it involved political risk on the
domestic front.
The former Chief Minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari went to the extent of
writing to the Union Ministry against the inclusion of Tamangs and Limbus in
the scheduled tribe list. His contention was rather poor and based on a very
constricted thinking. He was of the opinion that such a move would divide the
Sikkimese Nepalese community. The following excerpts from the letter dated
December 18, 1991 written by Mata Prasad, the then Additional Secretary,
Ministry of Welfare, to P. K. Pradhan, Chief Secretary, Government of Sikkim,
makes amply clear the casualness and double standard with which Bhandari
handled the case. Mata Prasad wrote,

“This is regarding inclusion of persons belonging to Limboo and

Tamang communities as Scheduled Tribes in Sikkim.
The Chief Minister of Sikkim vide his letter dated 14th November 1981
addressed to the then Prime Minister recommended the inclusion of
Limboo community in the list of Scheduled Tribes. The State Government
again in their letter No. 155/SC/ST WD dated 2nd June 1987
recommended inclusion of Limboo as well as Tamang communities in the
list of Scheduled Tribes.
The Chief Minister in his letter addressed to the Defence Minister
recently has inter-alia, suggested that Limboos and Tamangs should not
be included in the list of Scheduled Tribes as this would divide the Nepali
community.
Since the earlier views of the Chief Minister and the present one are
contradictory, may I request you to ascertain the specific
recommendations of the State Government in this matter so that a
decision could be taken.”

What Bhandari did not mention was the political backlash which he dare not
to face. In the process, he only exposed himself. He did not fathom the fact that
the Nepalese community is a conglomeration of a large number of castes and
ethnic groups. Some of these ethnic groups have strong tribal lineages and
practices. Like the Manipuris who have both tribals and non-tribals in the
larger canvas of the Manipuri community, the Tamangs and Limbus could be
scheduled tribes yet remain within the umbrella of the traditional Nepali
community. Indeed, there was no firm base and ground to oppose the inclusion
of Tamangs and Limbus in the scheduled tribes list.
Since both the Tamangs and Limbus are part of the larger Nepali ethnicity,
the political leaders of the bygone days were always apprehensive about the
negative political reaction. There are 12 seats reserved for the scheduled tribes,
mainly the Bhutias and Lepchas, in the 32-member state Assembly in Sikkim.
Most of these leaders thought that since the tribals constituted a major chunk
of the legislators, they would be upset with the inclusion of more tribals and in
the process might topple the Government. The leaders were more concerned
about their chairs rather than the fulfillment of this demand. In other words,
there was no genuine feeling and sincere desire among these leaders in raising
this demand.
Chamling and his party, on the other hand, went ahead whole-heartedly to
raise this demand of the Tamangs and the Limbus as they believed that it was a
genuine demand. They considered it as a 'left out' case because of both
ignorance of the then decision-makers and the contemporary socio-political
situation prevailing then. His party has also been demanding the tribal status
for other left out communities, including the Magars, Gurungs, Rais and
Sunwars.
Chamling was not bothered about his Chief Ministership when he took up the
issue of Tamangs and Limbus and assiduously persuaded the Union
Government to accord the long deserved status to them. He is a true politician
and believes in solid action. He is ready to face risks if his demand and policies
benefit the people of Sikkim. Just before the bill was actually introduced in
Parliament, Chamling made a final round of the corridors of power in Delhi,
meeting a whole range of political leaders and other decision-makers in the
Home, Defence, North-East and Welfare Ministries. He had also lobbied with
Members of Parliament from the North-East region.
When the official bill was introduced in Parliament in December 2002,
Chamling became more active and asked his colleagues in Parliament to leave
no stone unturned to push through the bill. This was what happened in
Parliament. The moment the bill was introduced, which included a list of tribals
from other states in the country, the members of Parliament unanimously
adopted and passed it in the Lok Sabha. The very next day Rajya Sabha passed
it by a voice vote without any discussion.
Pawan Chamling, though fully aware of the possible political upheaval, strode
past romour-mongers and instigators to convince the Central leadership to
grant tribal status to the Tamangs and Limbus. What was even more
fascinating was Chamling's own sincerity and honesty to the cause, to hazard
the fall of his own government. No other leader in Sikkim ever dared to display
such a level of steadfastness to a purpose and sincerity of cause to pursue an
issue to a happy conclusion. As a matter of fact, they were always pulled apart
by two considerations. One, whether they could go ahead doggedly to pursue
the issue of tribal status to Tamangs and Limbus even at the cost of their own
kursi, and second, whether they would continue enjoying their position as the
ruler at the cost of deceiving the electorates. Obviously, they preferred the latter
and recoiled with acute fear every time the issue was linked with their political
survival.
Pawan Chamling is a different politician and his sole aim in politics is serving
the interest of the people not enjoying political privileges and perks. This is
what constitutes his leadership quality and his essential characteristic as a
politician. The tribal status to Tamangs and Limbus, quite clearly, is the result
of Chamling's leadership quality, his sincerity and devotion to the cause.
History was firmly written by Chamling to include these two communities in the
list of scheduled tribes.
Back home there was a celebration of a different nature. The dreams of the
Tamangs and Limbus were now a reality. A section of Bhutias and Lepchas who
were misled into believing that they would have to now share the 12 reserved
seats with the newly incorporated scheduled tribes were firmly assured by
Chamling that nothing like that would happen. In fact, in his own words he
said, “I will quit politics if the political rights and interests so clearly provided
by the Constitution to the Sikkimese people are diluted during the tenure of my
government. This is because I firmly believe that the responsibility of a leader is
to protect and safeguard the interests of the people. Protection and prosperity of
people should be the sole task of leader.” Which political leader would give such
a risky assurance? Only a politician with courage and genuine feeling for the
cause of the people could take this risk. This showed how forthright, farsighted
and sagacious Chamling has been in the arena of state craftsmanship.
People were once again convinced that this Chief Minister meant business.
He could take any risk in stride in order to fulfil the aspirations of the people as
expressed in the election manifestoes of the Government. He was far above the
chair of the Chief Minister and operated beyond the nasty and narrow matrices
of politics. At the same time there was jitter, discomfort and a sense of loss
among the political opponents. This was because their political betting on the
fall of Chamling Government went totally awry. The election begging bowl of the
opposition was now confiscated by the people of Sikkim. Nothing happened to
the Chamling Government. The Government became more popular. People from
all scores and all backgrounds in fact, gathered in different corners of Sikkim to
once again felicitate him for his sincerity and dedication.
Chamling himself was pleasantly astounded by the hordes of people who
lined up at the Bagdogra Airport to cheer the arrival of their leader from Delhi.
He had gone to make his epoch-making address to the 50th meeting of the
National Development Council in New Delhi where his speech was very
attentively heard by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Deputy Chairman of
the Planning Commission K.C. Pant, other Union ministers and Chief Ministers
of other states. His speech had new contents that even analyzed the possible
impact of globalisation on the hill and mountain states of India.
More surprisingly, there were people from Darjeeling, Dooars and other
surrounding districts of West Bengal to profusely garland him. Chamling's
charm and devotion had tremendously helped the Tamangs and Limbus from
West Bengal also to get their long standing demand of scheduled tribe status
fulfilled. Wherever a noble task is accomplished, the benefit is shared by many,
cutting across physical boundaries. Similarly, when Pawan Chamling
succeeded in securing tribal status for the two hill communities this time, those
living all over the country and not only in Sikkim got elevation instantly. By the
same token, if something undesirable is done, the bad odour fills the
atmosphere all over the world. Chamling was acutely conscious of what is good
for the people.
His insightful views, genuine concern, ability to understand and capability to
give a solution have always impressed the Indian Nepalese in different parts of
India. He is highly regarded as a man of action and the most prominent leader
among the 10 million-plus Indian Nepalese community. His immense popularity
is possibly one of the reasons why he has been literally dragged into the
controversy about supporting the Maoist movement in Nepal. He smilingly says,

“I am a humanist, rather a radical humanist. I am not a hypocrite who

would preach one thing and practice something else. I do not bother
about what my detractors call me. They call me Maoist, casteist,
Marxists, anti-elitist and what not. How can I be all in one? This means
they themselves do not know what these terms actually mean. I am sure
they will soon run out of vocabulary and along with it their political
esteem. I know and the people at large know what I am, and what I am
upto. In a democracy everyone has the freedom of expression. At the
same time, it is also true that whoever has misused this freedom have
never been pardoned by the people.”

Chamling is quite clear about his position vis-à-vis the events in the
neighbouring states and countries. Though personally he has nothing to do
with Nepal, he is concerned with the events in Nepal as much as the Prime
Minister and other leaders of India. As a state with a long common border with
Bhutan and Nepal, Sikkim has to be fully aware of and alert about what is
happening in these neighbouring countries. He has to keep his state totally
insulated from any aspects and influence of militancy and terror tactics. The
fact that Sikkim has remained a peaceful state despite violence and militancy
all around, is a genuine compliment to Chamling's government and the people
of Sikkim.
Though the participation, development, deprivation-discrimination issues
raised by the Maoists converge with what Chamling has been talking about in
India and in his own state, he is perturbed by the violence perpetrated by the
Maoists and the counter-violence by the state forces on the innocent people.
Chamling is totally averse to violence of any type. He has spoken at length
about the democratic means to resolve even the most intricate problems. He is
a firm believer in the usefulness and ability of democratic institutions to resolve
the complex issues. He once said,

“My political opponents will go to any extent to defame me. Wherever

there is filth and dirt, they will try to drag me there. They will relate me
to all those controversies which could even very remotely helped them
talk against my government. In the process, they do not realize how
much of damage they are doing to the psyche of the people and also to
their own whatever little vote banks. For them the vote bank is
everything. But for me I have always taken vote banks as an instrument
to serve the larger interest of a village society, district configuration, state
canvas and the country's panorama. Without vote banks too I have
served the people and will continue to do so till my physical capacity and
intellectual faculty permit me.”

The inclusion of Sikkim in the North Eastern Council has been one of the
major election planks of the political parties in Sikkim. This has been essential
for Sikkim mainly to fulfil its development needs in terms of financial,
institutional and infrastructural support. For long Sikkim individually pleaded
its case for a large number of demands at the Centre. Sikkim has inadequate
representation in Parliament with just one Member of Parliament in each of the
House. It could not develop what is commonly referred to as 'clout' in the
number matrices at the Centre.
Once this demand of the Sikkimese people for inclusion of Sikkim in the NEC
was rejected on the ground of absence of geographical contiguity there was very
little left for the governments of Bhandari and later of Sanchaman Limboo in
Sikkim to do anything towards this demand. Chamling was adamant in this
respect. He found that the explanation given by the Union Government was too
official and bureaucratic and did not take into account other realities and
common features. Chamling also believed that the Bhandari government had
not been sincere enough to put up the case with strong reasoning. It had just
made the demand without any convincing arguments.
When Chamling formed his Government in 1994, he again decided to put up
the case before the Union Government. This time his pleading had a distinct
sense of honesty and reasoning. He explained why Sikkim needed inclusion in
the NEC to all the concerned in the Union Government and to members of
Parliament from various other political parties. At the same time, Chamling
knew that it was a long battle as it required the amendment of the Constitution.
It literally meant that he needed the support of most of the political parties in
Parliament. He also had to ensure that there was no resistance from the other
seven members of the NEC. Chamling built the case brick by brick with a very
strong foundation.
All previous governments at the Centre had consistently argued against the
inclusion of Sikkim in the NEC on the lack of geographical contiguity of Sikkim
with other North-eastern states. Replying to a request of Bhandari for Sikkim's
inclusion in the NEC, the then Union Home Minister, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed,
in the V.P. Singh Government wrote on March 7, 1990,
 “Please refer to your letter No. 163/CMS/89 dated 26th December,
1989 proposing that Sikkim should be included in the North Eastern
Council. The matter has been re-examined. The cardinal basis of the
constitution of the North Eastern Council was the geographical
contiguity of constituent States. Sikkim is contiguous with West Bengal
and not with the other North Eastern States. Under these circumstances,
you will appreciate, it does not appear proper to include the State of
Sikkim in the North Eastern Council”.

Voicing a similar opinion, Rajesh Pilot, in his capacity as the Minister of

State, Internal Security, in the Narasimha Rao government wrote to the then
Chief Minister on January 20, 1994,

“...The Planning Commission is of the view that Sikkim lacks

geographical contiguity and hence the State is different from NEC
member-States..............it is felt that in accordance with the provisions of
NE Council Act, 1971, it may not be possible to consider inclusion of
Sikkim as a Member-State of NEC.............I hope you will appreciate."

The point here is that even after regular disapproval by successive Central
governments, Pawan Chamling through sheer perseverance and conviction was
able to convince the Central leaders to reconsider and grant Sikkim's inclusion
in the NEC. Thanks to his sincerity and his excellent rapport with these leaders,
the demand was finally met. No doubt, Chamling has created a surprise story
even among the Central leaders besides the intellectuals and opposition leaders
in the state.
When Sikkim was in principle included in the NEC back in 2000, it had taken
Chamling almost seven years to realize the dream of formally seeing Sikkim as
the eighth member of the NEC. Both the Houses of Parliament adopted the bill
to this effect in the winter session of Parliament in December 2002.
This was a proud moment for the Sikkimese people. One after another the
long standing demands were fulfilled by the Union Government. Chamling's
steadfastness and perseverance ultimately paid off. He remains unfazed with so
much of accolades from across the state. He only makes a humble statement
that “it is the people's blessings and good wishes that have made it possible for
my Government to achieve all these.” Chamling has thus harvested the fruits he
had so assiduously nurtured in the last eight years of his rule.
What a surprise ! The people of Sikkim expected all the Sikkimese would
heartily welcome such a major success. But there was a section that read much
more in the inclusion than what it is actually all about. They deliberately
misinterpreted the inclusion by stating that this would jeopardise and erode the
distinct identity of Sikkim in the Indian Union. But they would never say why or
how. They would willfully forget that Article 371F (K) of the Constitution
providing all safeguards to Sikkim remains kicking and alive as ever.
If they are cross questioned or if their contention is brought to the public
domain, they will not be able to stand up to a second. Their intellectual
hollowness was camouflaged in the garb of press statements by political parties.
What is astonishing is the fact that the same individuals had clamoured for this
inclusion when they were in power. It is public knowledge that they did not
pursue the case at all. What is flabbergasting is their own political parties in
Parliament, however, did not find the inclusion at all damaging to Sikkim and
supported the bill to this effect without any reservations.
 Chamling is a fast mover. He can feel the pulse of his political opponents by
just reading what they have to say in their incoherent and ambiguous press
releases. He knew that they were denouncing it because of mere political
jealousy and professional envy. Chamling instantly issued a press release
primarily to explain what the inclusion of Sikkim in the NEC would mean. The
opponents had no option but to accept the political sagacity and intellectual
superiority of their one time colleague. His press release mentioned that,

“The inclusion of Sikkim in the North Eastern Council as the eighth

member state is a significant achievement of the Sikkim Democratic
Front Government. The SDF Government has been consistently fighting
for the same. Both Houses of Parliament passed the bill effecting
Sikkim's inclusion in the NEC. This is another occasion for the people of
Sikkim to celebrate.
Sikkim and its people will tremendously gain from this inclusion. At
the same time the governments and the people of the North-East also see
this inclusion as a major leap forward for them as they want to share
Sikkim's development experience, environmental conservation
techniques, aspects of political stability, decentralization and devolution
techniques and a very well recorded track record of peace and
tranquillity. In other words, Sikkim is entering into the North Eastern
Council as a leading and prosperous entity and not as a laggard and a
follower.
For Sikkim, there are both short term and long-term gains.
In the short run, Sikkim can immediately access all the financial and
development benefits including the non-lapsable pool funds and all the
fiscal benefits that are especially extended to agriculture, industries and
services sector in the North-East region.
In the long run, Sikkim would be able to avail of all the institutional
support that exist exclusively for the North-East states. Sikkim can take
advantage of educational institutions, professional-technical institutions
like medical, IIT, engineering, management etc, socio-cultural
institutions, banking-financial institutions, agriculture- industry and
sports related institutions. Every individual and household in Sikkim will
gain by this.
Sikkim will get many special projects under the 10th Plan, including in
transport and communication, power, science and technology, health,
manpower development, agriculture and allied activities and industries
and tourism.
Sikkim would now be a very vital element in the larger strategy of the
Union Government to open India's economy towards the East. In the
newly but steadily emerging India's 'Look East Policy', Sikkim could play
a very critical role in India's trade, tourism and other economic
cooperation with countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand,
Malaysia, Singapore and even Japan. This means there will be ample
opportunities for Sikkim and Sikkimese people in terms of income,
employment and other development avenues.
Sikkim would also now be within the ambit of the international donors
and development agencies who have been particularly trying to focus
their activities in the North East regions of India.
 All these would come to Sikkim as additional benefits. This means, on
top of these gains, Sikkim will continue to get what it has been getting
for the last 28 years of its merger with India.
There are misplaced apprehensions about Sikkim losing its special
constitutional status. These apprehensions are all triggered either by
vested political interests with very narrow and sectarian goals or by sheer
ignorance. Sikkim's special constitutional status would never be
touched, the question of its erosion and alteration just does not arise.
Every one in the state should make a serious endeavour to take full
advantage of Sikkim's inclusion in the North Eastern Council.”

The year 2002, which began with a large chunk of unfulfilled promises and
an uncertain road ahead, ended with a sweet and healthy basket of fruits and a
bouquet of lovely flowers fragrant with glory. Chamling had three more gifts to
bestow on his people. Sikkim: Perspectives and Vision, a beautiful collection of
his 125-odd speeches delivered on various occasions in different parts of the
country was published by an internationally reputed publisher from New Delhi.
This is a gift dotted with history that everyone to treasure for their would like
future generations.
Another volume entitled 25 Years of Statehood was also published by the
Government of Sikkim as a commemorative issue. This volume provides, in
brief, the role played by the institutions, political leaders, governors and other
officials in giving shape to present day Sikkim.
Chamling ended the year with another interesting event. He crafted his own
term “Janata Mela” to reach the entire rural Sikkimese on the eve of 2003. The
Janata Mela was a new concept developed by Pawan Chamling to enforce
transparency in the government's functioning in various schemes and
programmes and to establish a direct interaction with the people at the
grassroots level. Under this unique programme, it was the government who was
actually going to the people. Lincoln's benchmark concept of democracy was
never too fully applied in the state before Chamling. The SDF leader went to
these people with his usual broad smile and a by now familiar “namaskar”. He
participated in the distribution of both intellectual and material benefits with a
very clear New Year message of self-sufficiency and exhorted people to change
with time. Hard work, positive outlook, health and prosperity were the definite
refrains all along.
The SDF government has now declared that it will start working to make
Sikkim as a “Total Organic State”. While justifying his core intent Chamling
stated that Sikkim has been able to maintain original natural environment,
habits and traditions. As compared to other States the level of chemical
fertiliser used in the State is very low. Sikkim with a per hectare consumption
of 5.8 kg is perhaps the least fertiliser using State in the country. He urged his
people to keep the level of pesticides and other chemicals at the least possible
level.
An inspired visionary, Pawan Chamling would still want to continue his
revolution. He is not prepared to rest until his dreams are fulfilled. In
Chamling’s own words:

“We, in the state government, have a firm belief that we are nothing
but servants of the people, I myself being the first servant. We have
publicly confessed and announced changes in the relationship between
the people and the politicians. Earlier, the relationship was that of
 master and slave—people being the slaves, treated as lesser human
beings. Now we have restored the dignity of the people. In socio-economic
fields, we have taken some decisions which will be rewarding to the
people in the long run. The state government would have to shed old
habits. We have banned grazing, felling of trees and prohibited people
from doing several other things. We have taken all these decisions not
because they are easy but because they are hard, not because we enjoy
this but the future beckons us to act that way.
At times, they may amount to committing political hara-kiri, but we
are more interested in securing for our children a future that is bright,
tolerant, progressive, prosperous, peaceful and all enduring. It is not in
my nature to be myopic, always anxious to save my kursi, but I am more
concerned about the future of my society, my state and the nation. Now I
believe that the people have realized the truth who have given their
mandate to run the government to me for all these years. Our revolution
will continue.
Until we develop Sikkim into a self-sufficient state, Sikkim with prosperity and
complete equality, Sikkim without discrimination and injustice between man to
man, our revolution will continue. It will continue until and unless Sikkim
becomes completely free from hunger, disease and misery. Until and unless
Sikkim becomes economically strong, corruption free, poverty free, and free
from all anti-people forces, our revolution will still continue.”
 15
The Troubled Times

The second election to the Legislative Assembly was held in Sikkim in 1979.
L.D. Kazi and his party did not win a single seat in this election. The opposition
party which had promised to revert Sikkim to its erstwhile independent status
fought and won the election. When Nar Bahadur Bhandari, the opposition
leader, was sworn in as Chief Minister on 10 October, 1979, he did a complete
u-turn and said that what had been promised was over with the election. He
called it a ‘fait accompli.’
After discarding centuries of monarchical governance, people had pinned high
hopes for their well being while opting for democracy. This did not, however,
happen under Bhandari’s 14-year regime.
The Sikkim Democratic Front party won the 1994 general election and formed
the government with huge public support. The anti-people forces, however, were
down but not finished. The man who had exercised unbridled power for 14 long
years was certainly feeling very uncomfortable when out in the cold. For the
Sikkim Democratic Front government, the task was that of rebuilding and
reviving the faith and confidence of the people in the democratic system. The
barricade that Bhandari had raised to divide the Sikkimese from the rest of the
country was pulled down by SDF—a party of the poor, downtrodden and the
labourers.
The SDF government adopted the path of reconciliation through emotional
integration and pushed the state on an accelerated path of development.
Chamling said,

“We do not wish to misguide people by opposing the Union government

unnecessarily, nor do we intend to buttress the Central leadership to
prick the self-esteem of our people. As a new and backward state, we
chose to place the rightful demands of the Sikkimese people before the
Central government without any prejudice. We are very conscious that
we seek to place our demands on behalf of the Sikkimese people, which
is not an act of begging. In return, we are always ready, as Indian
citizens, to sacrifice our lot in the interest of the country.”

During the previous regime, the state’s economy went into a tailspin because of
indiscriminate borrowing. Bhandari mostly granted loans to his supporters,
including to Sikkim Jewel and ancillary units where the State government had
by now incurred a loss of Rs. 20 crores. Borrowing with the government itself as
guarantor had put the state in dire fiscal difficulty. Bhandari borrowed from the
Centre and various other financial institutions to the tune of Rs. 500 crores.
The burden of repayment fell on the shoulder of the Chamling government.
Bhandari never observed financial discipline in his entire 14-year rule. The SDF
despite inheriting an empty coffer in 1994 brought about an improvement in
the state’s economy. While the state revenues were only Rs. 40 crores when the
SDF took over in 1994, after a span of six years, the revenue condition
markedly improved with a total of Rs. 125 crores of annual returns. Although
small in size, the state’s revenue is much more than those of many other states.
One after another the public-sector units faltered. Sikkim Bank became sick.
Another clear example is the Sikkim Vanaspati Ltd., where the government is
due to pay a whopping Rs. 30 crores as its guarantor. The much trumpeted
Ropeway Project from Deorali to 10th Mile never saw the light of the day till the
SDF government initiated it.
Bhandari could never believe that the SDF party would earn so much public
trust, support and back up. He would say that the party would not last long.
When it did, he began to say that the Election Commission would not register
the party. It did. He continued and said that SDF would not get an election
symbol…Yet the party got it. He finally said that it would not win elections, but
the people proved Bhandari wrong and SDF formed the government.
The Sangram Parishad leader initiated yet another propaganda that SDF leader
would not be able to run the government—the government has now entered into
the ninth year! Bhandari threatened to topple the democratically elected
government within three months … Alas, it did not happen. Instead, he had to
lick the dust continuously for five times in different elections. People still
continue to suffer psychological blackmailing at the hands of those who has
forever fallen from the murky heights.
However, Bhandari’s wishful thinking had nothing to do with the wishes of the
people. Their overwhelming mandate in the last election put the SDF
government on a firm footing for the second time. But the former chief minister
still thought that his job as opposition is to bring down the government. He now
speaks of fake voting and cheating! Even after continuous drubbings in various
elections, including that for Panchayats, in the last eight years, Bhandari is
unable to come to terms with his fate. The SDF government tried to secure jobs
for local educated unemployed in all Central offices in the state by proposing to
implement the Central Employment Act, 1959. Bhandari took a quick break. He
misinterpreted this proposal to misguide people by saying that the Chamling
government had scrapped ‘the Sikkim Subject’ provision and abrogated Article
371 F.
As a consequence, a seemingly non-political body of the educated unemployed
youth called a 3-day Sikkim bandh in September 1997. But no sooner people
got to know about it, the bandh took political overtones. It was Bhandari and
not any unemployed youth who took the lead and tried to disrupt the law and
order situation in the state. One of the most loathsome characteristics that the
opposition parties assumed was that they did not even spare innocent
schoolchildren. Children were instigated to leave their classrooms and revolt in
the streets. They were encouraged to take part in destructive activities. It was a
mission not their own but that of a handful of oppressors. In their cruel
machinations to grasp power from the backdoor, they used these innocent
children to act as the sacrificial goat. This was far beyond the norms of decency
and sincerity practised by the Chamling government.
On Sunday, September 25, 1997, Bhandari addressed a gathering in Gangtok.
He alleged that Pawan Chamling was trying to abrogate the Special Provision
contained under 371F and to meddle with ‘Sikkim Subject’ documents.
Chamling knew that the opposition parties led by Bhandari had made a
mountain out of a molehill. The simple proposal had snowballed into an open
political contest. In an eye for eye, tooth for tooth confrontation, Pawan
Chamling held a mammoth public rally in Gangtok two days later. He analysed
the issue threadbare before the public.
The Sikkimese people, numbering more than 50,000 came from all nooks and
corners to listen to Chamling and to know the facts. Chamling told them that in
India, it is a common knowledge that changing a single comma or word from
the Constitution required two-third majority vote in the Parliament and the
assent of the President of India. He asked, “How can the SDF government
amend the Constitution in Parliament?” It was impossible and unthinkable. The
opposition parties were thoroughly exposed in the eyes of the people. People
returned to their homes, having become aware of the truth and well-informed
citizens. Moreover they had identified the ‘Judas’ in the political realm of
Sikkim.
More recently, Chamling led a political delegation of all political parties in
Sikkim, including Bhandari, and submitted a joint memorandum to the Hon’ble
Prime Minister on November 6, 2001. As people’s representatives, they claimed
that the enforcement of Central income tax laws would be contrary to the
safeguards given to the State under the provision of Article 371 F of the
Constitution of India and the sentiments of the people of Sikkim. They
unanimously decided to pray to the Prime Minister, seeking review of the
enforcement of the direct tax laws in Sikkim.
In the meeting with the Prime Minister, Bhandari had endorsed the views of
Chief Minister Chamling as expressed in the memorandum. However, after
coming back to Sikkim, Bhandari did a volte face and identified himself as a
politician with double-standards. In a press conference in Gangtok, he said that
what had been done had not been in the interest of the people of Sikkim. The
Sikkimese people no longer took his word for granted. It is a pity that Bhandari
has nothing left to say.
Bhandari adopted all conceivable options to disrupt the normal functioning of
the SDF government over the years. Bhandari approached the courts with
allegations to charge the SDF government with corruption cases. On June 15,
1996, he submitted a petition to the then Governor Chaudhary Randhir Singh
seeking sanction to prosecute Chamling. The Governor, in a clear statement
rejected Bhandari’s plea. On December 3, he gave the Governor 24 hours
ultimatum to accord sanction or else he would move the high court.
On December 10, 1996 he moved the High Court and submitted a writ petition
seeking the court’s intervention and to direct the Governor to accord sanction to
prosecute Chamling. The High Court, however, rejected Bhandari’s desperate
plea. Bhandari went to the Supreme Court to challenge the High Court’s order
and submitted his petition on April 21, 1997. On May 3, the Supreme Court
also summarily rejected the contention. Thus, Bhandari’s allegations were
dismissed by the Governor, the High Court, and the Supreme Court. It is indeed
paradoxical that Bhandari himself knee-deep in corruption charges being
presently investigated by the CBI was trying to file cases against Pawan
Chamling.
 16
Messiah of the Poor

A Mercedes car suddenly appeared at Ghurbisey village, Pawan Chamling’s

home, on December 11, 1994. The car had reached Chamling’s home to ferry
him to the capital the next day for his swearing-in as the chief minister for the
first time. The Mercedes used to be the official car of the chief ministers of
Sikkim in the past. Pawan Chamling was the Chief Minister-designate after the
landslide poll victory in the just concluded Assembly elections. However, the
Chief Minister this time was a different man, not used to luxury and not willing
to ride in such comfort when there were thousands of poor people struggling for
their livelihood. The next day, Pawan Chamling reached Gangtok in his old jeep
for the swearing-in ceremony.
The Mercedes remained unoccupied. Chamling had a very clear mind. He had
declared and said,

“Cars like the Mercedes costing Rs. 50 or 60 lakhs are not befitting for
the Chief Minister of a poor and backward state. It may be suitable for
the President of USA or the British Prime Minister, but not the Sikkim
C.M., where the majority are poor, struggling for their bare sustenance.
Yes, I will board such costly cars only when every Sikkimese has at least
a Jeep of his own. Till such time, I will use only a Gypsy or a Jeep.”

This is the quintessential Chamling who identifies himself with the plight of the
poor people. He consciously sacrifices comfort and luxury. Coming from a
humble background himself, Chamling is forever looking for an occasion and
opportunity to serve the poor and the downtrodden. He strives to lubricate the
wheels of economic and social instruments to provide the Sikkimese people a
life of honour and dignity. Not for nothing have the poor people of Sikkim hailed
him as the messiah of the poor.
Only about 19 months earlier, Chamling had been expelled from the SSP,
sidetracked and crushed by its leader Bhandari. But the spirit in Chamling was
indomitable, guts insurmountable and sagacity immense. In ordinary
circumstances, when some leader sacked his man, he is consigned to the pages
of history. But not Pawan Chamling. He had in fact, a convoy of many vehicles
belonging to his followers accompanying him to Namchi (his home town) from
Gangtok after he was removed from the cabinet and the Sangram party. Waiting
in the small town of Namchi were thousands of people to welcome their beloved
leader, their friend and their mentor. The day, in fact, was a day of emotional
home-coming, and a greater resolve to start a new beginning in the lives of the
Sikkimese people. The day in a sense was the dawn of a new day for the poor—
their liberation from mental chains and enslavement.
And what followed after that were stirring speeches from Pawan Chamling. All
poor Sikkimese finding solace in the words of Chamling flocked around him as
their savior: “I salute the people who are demanding their rights through
democratic means. People from all sections—the workers and labourers who toil
in the field and sweat all day long, teachers, government employees should also
wake up, arise and demand their rightful place in the society, in the State.” As
the lone opposition MLA, this was his constant appeal at all major public
meetings.
When Chamling was sworn in as the Chief Minister on December 12, 1994, the
poor people had their last laugh. That indeed was the logical culmination of
Chamling’s movement against repression, coercion and autocratic rule. So
much so that the new government in 1994 earned the label of khalee- khutte
sarkar (barefoot government) implying that the government was by the poor and
of the poor, formed with the overwhelming support of the have-nots. Pawan
Chamling had no qualms about accepting the label as a compliment. As he
often said,

“I would like to believe that without uplifting the majority of the

Sikkimese poor, we cannot achieve our goal of overall prosperity.
Progress and affluence cannot be measured in terms of a few rich against
the majority poor. Therefore, in the present context, welfare of the poor
and the downtrodden remains our avowed commitment.”

The floodgates that opened up after the Sikkim Democratic Front was formed in
1993 is quite a rare happening in the history of the state. Prominent Sikkimese
leaders belonging to the then ruling party and the Congress (I) were inspired by
Chamling’s pro-poor spirit. His vocal stand that the majority poor were equally
the children of god with equal right to live a respectable life penetrated the
remotest villages. Bhim Bahadur Gooroong, former Chief Minister of Sikkim,
who joined Chamling’s party like many other leaders, was impressed by
Chamling’s religious zeal to raise the poor people out of deprivation and
ignorance. In his joining letter, he wrote, “In less than a year of its emergence,
the Sikkim Democratic Front under your dynamic leadership, the poor and
downtrodden people of Sikkim have accepted you as their messiah.”
From day one, Pawan Chamling also declared his government to be pro-poor
and one that would carry a continuous campaign against corruption at all
levels. His achievements in these directions would also be pace-setters for other
states. In his historic vote-of-thanks speech in the Legislative Assembly in
1995, he had said in unequivocal words,

“This is a pro-poor government and its basic policy lies in improving the
lot of the downtrodden while it is equally benign to the rich, who, we
consider as the backbone of society. Our basic policy reaffirms the
principle that the poorest of the poor should have the right to find a place
in the sun, while the rich and the affluent should be given the liberty to
enjoy their good fortune and place in the society they have rightly
earned.”

It was clear that he wanted to get rid of poverty and wanted to make the poor
strive to become rich. He would not work to make the rich become poorer. The
rich could use their riches to help eradicate poverty.
The very first positive gesture that Chamling offered after coming to power was
to earmark 70 percent of the total plan outlay for the development of rural
Sikkim and for other poverty alleviation programmes.
The mission is one of achieving self-reliance in which every poor villager can
sustain on his own resources through increased productivity. Pawan Chamling
message every occasion is that from consumers people have to make
themselves the producers. Accordingly, farmers’ training camps are organized
at different centres across the state to equip farmers with modern means and
techniques in agricultural farming. All other incentives like quality seeds and
pesticides are distributed among the poor farmers to increase their yield per
hectare.
Landless Sukumbasis are given two acres of land free of cost. Similarly, the
government had also distributed grants of many thousands of rupees to them
for construction of their house. In its unique achievement, the Chamling
Government has also given 2-point electricity connection free of cost to the
rural poor.
For construction of houses and for repair of their dilapidated structures, the
government provides poor people 30 GCI sheet and Rs. 20,000 under the Rural
Housing Scheme. The government distributed ginger seeds, cardamom saplings
and other cash crops for uplifting the poor people. People are also provided with
piglets, cows, and machine tools like sewing machines. Low interest loans have
been provided to people for undertaking private ventures.
With a view to make their earnings commensurate with the growing prices of
essential commodities, the wages of labourers have been increased by 100 per
cent. During motherhood, working women were given full leave with full wages.
The discrimination in their wage pattern vis- à- vis that of men has come to an
end.
The government has also effected an extraordinary increase in the pay structure
of the government servants. The government provided subsidized rice to people
below poverty line. There has been a cent percent increase in the old age
pension scheme with all the eligible citizens drawing it at a monthly rate of Rs.
200. After a recent economic survey, the government decided to provide rice at
Rs. 4 a kilogram to elderly people and people below poverty line. People above
60 years of age could travel free of cost in state-owned buses. Similarly there
has been a phenomenal increase in the scholarship of the students going
outside the state to pursue higher studies. Apart from free medical service in
the state, the government also provided special medical aid to all patients being
referred to higher medical institutes in the country. For the handicapped
population, the government has started a special allowance for economic
support.
In a move, more symbolic of Chamling’s commitment to the poor, the
government also exempted genuine people of Sikkimese origin from obtaining a
licence for business activities in rural areas in the state. This was decided
because the poor and simple villagers were not always conversant with the
winding official process. At times it took months together to acquire a simple
licence. For the poor people with no means and reach, it is almost next to
impossible and they give up every hope of earning through such means. As a
result of Chamling’s ploy, a large number of women and youth in the rural
areas have taken up small-time business to shoulder the economic burden of
their families.
Chamling has an intimate bond with the poor people, made stronger by the
unconditional support given by them. After all Chamling’s politics had its
humble beginning at the grassroots level with all the poor rallying behind him
for comfort, succour, and help.
In 1993, at a time when he was constantly hunted down by the powers-that-
be, money was hard to come by. The head of the then government had directed
one and all to freeze even the source of regular kitchen provisions like rice and
daal to Chamling’s household. Poor inhabitants of a small village of Kopchey in
South Sikkim showed the way. In a rare gesture of support for the principles of
Chamling, they collected a small bit of money from every household out of their
meagre earnings (mostly from agricultural produce) and finally put together a
total of Rs. 1,600 comprising mostly near-mutilated currency notes and coins.
The village elders then met Chamling and handed over the money and
blessed him profusely. The gesture was so overwhelming that Chamling still
makes regular reference to the occasion as giving the final shape to his pro-poor
policies and programmes when he came to head the state government later. He
often said, “From the very day, I took a vow to never ever deceive the poor, even
if that meant losing my own life.” He further says, “I would rather die than
betray the poor people.” These words, however, were not the commonplace
hoodwinking strategy employed many a times by many to capture votes. These
words came from Chamling’s heart and they are a part of his spiritual assertion
to serve the poor from within or outside the government.
Chamling recently announced various policy decisions including free
distribution of LPG cylinders to rural households. Similarly, 50 per cent
concession has been granted to every rural household for power tarrif. A Janata
Bhawan is being constructed in Gangtok so that poor people coming for official
purposes or for medical treatment can avail of free lodging. As a far-reaching
decision. Pawan Chamling also announced the launching of the Chief Minister’s
Self-Employment schemes in the state. Under the scheme, interest free loan
(up to Rs. 1 lakh for graduates and up to Rs. 50,000 for the other) will be
provided to educated unemployed women and educated unemployed men
respectively. The Government has also offered preferential treatment for women
entrepreneurs by providing 3-years interest free loan as against 2-years in case
of men.
Chamling’s political philosophy could be broadly termed as radical
humanism. His fight for social justice particularly for those oppressed
sections of the society is primarily aimed at distributing the gains of
development in a more equitable and humane manner. He wanted the poor
to create their own wealth so that it sustained in the long run. He said, “I
want to create wealth from our own natural resources so that the poor
people will utilize them to enhance their purchasing power, their living
conditions.” His efforts towards realising these goals have now started
paying dividends. Middle class people are now slowly emerging in the
Sikkimese society.
Chamling said, “Before we came to government, there used to be two classes
of people, namely the poor class and the rich class. Today we are
increasingly feeling the presence of a middle class among the people of
Sikkim. The SDF Government has been able to uplift the poor making their
lives better and more accessible to modern services.” This, Chamling felt, is
one of the most valued achievements of his government, justifiably proud at
having helped the poor and downtrodden transform themselves into middle
class people. The government, however, did not intend to help the poor at
the cost of the rich. The affluent section of people should be given freedom to
enjoy liberty and their position in the society. The idea is, indeed, to help the
poor become self-sustaining by utilizing their knowledge and skills in
various fields.
 Never before were there so exclusive talks and programmes on issues like the
welfare of the poor. The Chamling government has been able to bring the issues
to the fore.
 17
Honouring the Past

Unlike other chief ministers of Sikkim, Chamling has an intimate sense of

history. He knew that those who forgot their history and heritage paid dearly for
that. That was the reason the poet, the creative writer and the son of soil in him
always recognized and respected even the most modest public spirited men and
women who had done something to give a new meaning and purpose to the
history of Sikkim, then and now. He was the first to address a special ceremony
to honour all those eminent Sikkimese who made their contribution to the
revolution in and evolution of modern Sikkim.
In a newspaper interview, Pawan Chamling referred to those ‘senior citizens’ of
Sikkim, many of them outside the world of politics. He said Sikkim had
produced a number of personalities of national and international repute. They
had not only earned name and respect for themselves but had also brought
laurels to Sikkim with their deeds and achievements. Notwithstanding their
outstanding contributions in the fields of arts and culture, literature, sports,
politics, and social service, these distinguished sons and daughters of Sikkim
used to fade out silently into oblivion with the younger generation completely
unaware of their existence and achievements.
Chief Minister Chamling was, however, determined to bring their lives and
achievements into public focus to pay them the tribute they deserved. They had
done things that would inspire the coming generation. When he came to power,
one of the first things he did was to remember them and call upon the people of
Sikkim to pay their gratitude to them. They were the ones who had laid the
foundations of modern Sikkim.
Among them were soldiers like Captain Ganju Lama. He won the coveted
‘Victoria Cross’ for his indomitable courage and supreme sacrifice during the
World War II. It was a pity that during the course of years, he was forgotten. He
was seldom seen at the official receptions and felicitations by the Union and
state administration. He was nowhere even at social functions where other VIPs
were invited to add glamour and prestige to public life. It was the Chamling
government that brought him back to public gaze by giving him a VIP status.
The Sikkim government gifted him a car with red light with the words “VC”
inscribed on it. These letters were a reminder that he was a ‘Victoria Cross’
winner. The state government also named a stretch of road from Ravangla to
Tarku in south Sikkim the Ganju Lama Path after him. It provided rent-free
accommodation in the government Guest Houses for him, both within and
outside the state.
But these were just the signals to draw the world’s attention to its ingratitude
in forgetting a great son of Sikkim. With the limelight refocused on him by the
Chamling government, the soldier who had been conferred the second highest
award of Sikkim by the Chogyal with a 25-acre land gift, again attracted the
attention of various institutions and organizations. A series of books and
documentary films were produced on his life and achievements. When he died
on July 1, 2000, a record gathering of his tearful admirers, led by Chief
Minister Chamling and Governor Chaudhary Randhir Singh followed his funeral
procession and consigned his mortal remains to sacred flames. Many foreign
dignitaries also came to pay their homage to this legendary hero of Sikkim. His
greatness was recognized and is still nurtured by the SDF government.
This is just to mention one of the many great sons of Sikkim who were publicly
honoured and whose memories were cherished. Others include Sonam Gyatso,
one of the oldest mountaineers to climb Mount Everest, Kashiraj Pradhan and
Sonam Tshering, a pioneer in Sikkim’s politics. They were paid rich tributes
and their memories were sought to be carved into the minds of the people by
naming important roads in Gangtok after them.
Dharmadatta Sharma who had mysteriously disappeared on February 12, 1988
lived one more time when the state government took a decision to declare the
departed leader as a martyr on September 6, 1996. Sharma was a victim of
political vendetta. The Soreng-Sombaria Road in west district was named the
Shahid Dharmadatta Path. His bust was installed at Soreng in his memory.
Furthermore, Pooja Sharma, Dharmadatta‘s daughter was provided free
education up to college level. That way, the Chamling Government was not only
honouring the late Dharmadatta but also paying a rich tribute to Indian
democracy where difference of opinion and criticism is part of the democratic
institution.
Numerous artistes, musicians, litterateurs, historians, politicians and other
senior and eminent citizens of Sikkim were remembered and felicitated in well
attended public functions.
By introducing the practice of honouring the respectable citizens of Sikkim, by
naming the main roads and certain schools in their names, the government has
earned much respect from all sections of the Sikkimese society. To name a few,
the similar status has been accorded to the brave sons of Sikkim who have
done Sikkim proud in the national and international arena.

Late Ganju Lama, V.C.—Ravongla- Tarku Road

Late Dharmadatta Sharma—Soreng- Sombaria Road

Nam Nang bifurcation to Dukhit Pan Dokan—Tashi Tshering Road.

Old Tibet Road—Sonam Gyatso Marg.

Nam Nang to Deorali junction—Kashiraj Pradhan Marg.

31 A NH—Dr. Ambedkar Marg.

Rongli- Chhujachen—Late Tulshi Kashyap Marg.

Namchi- Ghurbisey—Late N.T. Tamang Road.

Gangtok- Arithang Road—Rashmi Prasad Alley Road

Ravangla SSS—Ganju Lama VC Sr. Sec. School

Vok Secondary School—Nayan Tshering Lepcha Secondary School

Kabi Tingda JHS—Kalzang Gyatso Junior High School

With the personal initiative of the Chief Minister, significant publications were
brought out highlighting their invaluable contributions in the fields of arts,
culture, literature, and social works, and rich tributes were publicly paid to
recognize their individual services.
Likewise, preservation and promotion of Sikkimese culture and tradition is at
the heart of Chamling’s policies. Under the same policy, the state government
has declared different festivals of different communities as government gazetted
holidays. To name a few:

Tamu Lochhar

Tendong- Lho- Rum- Phat

Birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava

Birth anniversary of Srijunga

May Day

Sakewa

Sonam Lochhar

Birth Anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

When Sikkim celebrated the Silver Jubilee of its democratic existence on May
16, 2000, the 25th State Day, the Chamling government paid a special tribute
to a galaxy of the great sons and daughters of Sikkim who devoted and
sacrificed their lives for their beloved Sikkim. The surviving members of the first
Sikkim Legislative Assembly, who were elected in 1975 launching democratic
Sikkim, were awarded The Roll of Honour. They were also presented gifts of
gratitude, including shawls and a cash award of Rs. 15,000 each. Of course,
Kazi Lhendup Dorji was among the most prominent father figures of democracy
in Sikkim to be remembered and honoured on that occasion. Recognizing the
fatherly role he played during the merger of Sikkim with India L.D. Kazi was
conferred the Padma Vibhushan by the Central government on the occasion of
Republic Day 2003, the first ever Sikkimese to receive this award.
By honouring the surviving members of the first Legislative Assembly, Chamling
had expressed his belief in national unity and integration as the citizen of a
great nation. A galaxy of 148 great Sikkimese was honoured. Perhaps some day
someone will write a separate chronicle of these men and women who were
responsible for building modern Sikkim, brick by brick.
In his Independence Day address on August 15, 1995, his first Independence
Day address Chamling conveyed his heartiest felicitations and greetings to the
people of Sikkim and exhibited his overwhelming sense of history and destiny.
He said,

“On this occasion we not only pay homage to the sacrifices made by our
freedom fighters but rededicate ourselves to the ideals and aspirations
that our leaders were inspired with in the long struggle to attain
Independence. These very ideals continue to guide our nation and it is
appropriate for me to refer to the stirring speech of Nehru at the Red Fort
in 1947 calling upon the leaders and people to live upto the expectation
of the common man, to start a new rebuilding process of our great nation
by redeeming our pledges.”

Chamling continued his Independence Day address to the people of Sikkim with
the same sensibility that opportunity for challenge, change, and better days
were knocking on the door for the people of Sikkim. He also exhibited a keen
sense of solidarity and integrity with the spirit of India. His words were historic:
“In the past 48 years, the nation has made great progress on all fronts.
From a nation which was deficient in food grains production, and
afflicted with famine conditions regularly, today India is surplus in food
grains production. In the field of industrial development, the nation has
successfully achieved building the basic infrastructure and today India is
on the threshold of an economic boom. In the field of education and
health, we have improved upon the literacy rate and also the health
status. In the field of scientific development, the country has made much
progress that we are able to use science in improving the quality of life of
the people.
 However, all the progress that we have made has not been achieved
without external threats to our nation. We had to withstand the
aggressive designs of our neighbours and it is to heroic deeds of our
defence personnel that our frontiers have been safeguarded for the
benefit of people whom they protect. Internally, the nation also faced
moments of crisis but it is the inherent democratic values of the people of
this nation that after 48 years the nation is intact and the democracy
that was established by our great leaders of yore, continues to grow
stronger.”
He further remarked,
“Today the universal trend is towards globalization of the economy with
the focus on development of market mechanism. In short, the
globalisation trend entails free trade and competition in the market to
cater to the individual consumer. Over the past three years, our country
has also opened its economic frontiers and has embarked on a course of
globalisation. Thanks to the industrial base that has been built up over
the past 48 years. It is because of this that with the opening up of our
markets to the outside world we have recorded handsome growth of 8 per
cent in the industrial sector.
In our own state, Sikkim, democracy has taken deep roots. This is
evident by the unprecedented voter turn-out in the last general elections,
which voted the Sikkim Democratic Front Party to power. The election
was free, fair, peaceful and the mandate given by the people to the ruling
party unequivocal. The people of Sikkim have given a clear verdict on the
programme and policies of the Sikkim Democratic Front Party, which
lays priority on the maintenance of peace and communal harmony,
upholding the democratic ideals and principles and a clear pro-poor
economic policy.”
When Chamling delivered his first Independence Day speech, he was barely
nine months in the saddle. But that speech became a declaration of faith and
Sikkim’s new course of democratic development. In the years to come, people
were to take his independence day speech as a declaration of intent against
which the future performance of his SDF government would be evaluated and
judged.
A very special trait of Chamling is that he never forgets history, ancient or
modern, because he always believes that today was to a great extent influenced
by what happened yesterday. And tomorrow would similarly be a product of
what we do and what happens today. This was indicated by his notes penned
down in a campaign letter to the electorate for the 1996 Lok Sabha elections.
This was just 16 months after his government had taken charge. The title of his
appeal interestingly was The Poor Man’s Flag Must Flutter Atop Parliament. It
was an appeal steeped in history and also one that would help make history.
The election placed the first ever SDF candidate in the Lok Sabha.
Chamling’s letter to the electorate read:
“Democracy held in ransom at the hands of an incorrigible oppressor for
14 years, has been rescued and handed over to the people. Their
persistent struggle against tyranny and oppression stands amply
rewarded, as they, in their hard-won freedom, can now fend for
 themselves and their democratic rights. And this, by and large, is the
first gift the SDF party has been able to make to its people.
Within the short span of 16 months, the SDF Government in harness
has been able to bring about a historic change by implementing a
massive pro-poor programme on a statewide basis to improve the
economic lot of the poor and the downtrodden. Our policy is the defence
of secularism and communal harmony. Our effort on the protection to
the minorities has been relentless and will remain an article of faith with
this government.
We have already placed a number of legitimate demands before the
Central government that have to do with the political, social, and
economic well-being of the Sikkimese people. And I am happy to say that
we have so far been able to achieve most of these demands through the
utmost understanding of the central leaders.
Since the Lok Sabha elections are just round the corner, we are
determined to elect our own MP from the state of Sikkim to represent the
party’s cause. This, by and large, will be the cause of the Sikkimese
people as a whole. Hence, this particular tussle for the lone MP seat in
the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections is slated to be significantly a fight
between pro-poor forces and the anti-people alignments.
In my crusade against the anti-democracy and anti-people forces since
1992, I have been consistently bestowed with unstinted support by word,
deed, and generous hearts from my beloved fellow Sikkimese. All this has
made my mission a worthy cause. Hence, I am deeply indebted to all. As
I take my stand once again to pit my might against the same
destabilizing anti-people forces, I shall bank upon you for the same
support with the same faith and confidence that you will once again
stamp your precious consent on the symbol of ‘Umbrella’. This is the
symbol of the poor and the downtrodden:

All my waking hours of reality

I do hereby dedicate to my fellow Sikkimese
The dreams I cherish in my heart of hearts
Let them be preserved
For the yet unborn Sikkim of tomorrow.”
Five years later, during the fifth year of the Chamling era and the last year of
the 20th century, he would have the opportunity of telling the people of Sikkim
and India with some pride and satisfaction that the period from 1995 onwards
was a period of writing a new history of modern Sikkim. On May 16, 2000, the
25th State Day of Sikkim, Chamling told the people:

“History is not made in a single day. It is shaped by a long cycle of some

significant phase of time. There cannot be second opinion to the fact that
people are the makers of history, its creators. Having travelled the long
and winding roads of history, we, too, have reached this juncture. The
25th State Day, or the day on which Sikkim completes twenty-five years
of its inclusion in the Indian Union, carries huge significance historically.
Having recognised the significance of the day, we have come together to
commemorate the historic moment.
It calls for a separate debate to see if all people accept the significance of
the day with similar perspective and equal weightage. Since we can
understand the present political situation only in the correct historical
context, I beg to mention the past political situations that shaped the
present-day Sikkim. I would like to take you, though briefly, down
memory lane into Sikkim’s past, for I think that correct analysis of our
past can give us right direction in the future.
We are all aware that like many countries, Sikkim was also under
dynastic rule for a long time. The Namgyal dynasty ruled Sikkim from the
year 1642 to 1973. In connection with Sikkim’s history, we do not
possess enough written documents and proven materials to look back
too far into the past. Nevertheless, all historians agree that prior to the
rise of the Namgyal dynasty, the ancestors of our Rong brothers lived in
Sikkim. Sikkim had a long and tortuous journey. Having passed through
many ordeals, Sikkim has reached today’s stage. Now, we gain nothing
by nudging up the dead souls, but if we march ahead by taking correct
lesson from the past, we can certainly develop Sikkim into a prosperous
state.
If we analyze the available materials in Sikkim’s history, it becomes clear
that Sikkim’s sovereignty took a beating long back in 1817 under Titaliya
Treaty and not in 1973, as is generally held. The various clauses of the
Treaty signed between Chogyal Chugphud Namgyal and the East India
Company considerably weakened Sikkim as a country. The damage is
particularly done by Clause 3 of the Treaty, which forbade Sikkim from
entering into any direct negotiation with other countries on territorial
matters. It would be too simplistic and emotional a question if we ask
today as to why the King did not protect Sikkim’s sovereignty. We will
reach a wrong conclusion, if we fail to appreciate situations and
compulsions obtaining in those days. It is not for want of patriotic
fervour, but the political, diplomatic, national, and international
situations which compelled the King to act the way he acted. The rising
tide of British imperialism could not be contained by any State-country
in the Indian sub-continent and thus, it was not possible for Sikkim
alone to put up a resistance.
We cannot change history and we must accept things that history alone
filters for posterity, and we have accepted that. Had the British
imperialists not advanced towards Sikkim, we can well imagine the
shape and condition of the state today. Sikkim those days was not as
small as it is today. Our territory had an expansion touching the Indian
plains. Many areas now under Nepal and neighbouring Bengal used to be
in Sikkim. Sikkim’s independent status was much weakened when the
East India Company advanced towards Sikkim in search of a trade route
with Tibet and the middle Asia.
It will be relevant to mention here that there used to be periodic wars
between the independent countries of Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan. In the
process, Nepal invaded parts of Sikkim in 1788. The Britishers who were
on the look out for a trade route to Tibet entered Sikkim about the same
time. Before the British entered Sikkim, war between Nepal and the
British broke out which culminated in the signing of the Segowlee Treaty.
The incident took place in 1816. Under the Treaty, Nepal had to
relinquish a large part of area to the Britishers. Then the British headed
towards Sikkim. Under the Titaliya Treaty, the British returned parts of
 the areas earlier captured by Nepal spanning from Mechi to its northern
side. But for the small geographical gain, Sikkim had to pay a heavy
price in that the Britishers took control of the external security of
Sikkim.
Another incident with historical significance took place after a span of 18
years. The British company took Darjeeling as a gift from the King, with a
view to develop it into a health-nourishing hilly resort for its middle-class
employees and officials so that they recoup themselves from the drudgery
of life. Whether it was a gift or otherwise, could engage a whole range of
investigative minds because here the historians do not hold similar
views. Whatever the case, after the signing of Deeds of Grant in 1835
between the British Company Bahadur and Sikkim, areas south-west of
Teesta and north of Mechi disappeared forever from Sikkim’s map.
Sikkim, which had been a protectorate state of the company under
Titaliya treaty, became even narrower in terms of geographical
boundary.”

In his quick overview of Sikkim’s political past and history in the 19th century,
Chamling moved into the story of Sikkim in the 20th century. This is how he
told this part of the story in his State Day speech:

“Facing many ups and downs, Sikkim entered into the 20th century. The
nationalist revolution in the first part of the 20th century in
neighbouring China and India influenced Sikkim. The winds of change
that swept through the world after the Second World War also had a fair
share of its impact on Sikkim. There was enough manifestation within
Sikkim of people’s aspiration to lead a modern life and be part of the
global process of development. When people recognized the democratic
system as the best form of governance, Sikkim rose from the slumber
and finally from 26th May 1975, it became an integral part of India.”

Speaking with a tremendous sense of command over Sikkimese history,

Chamling told his fellow Sikkimese,

“Today, we have organized ourselves here to observe the same historic

day. Standing in this important meeting, I would like to pray (and be
grateful for the fact) that we have reached here after suffering many trials
and tribulations, wounds, and betrayals. As I said before, we need not
rake up history. But learning lessons from the past, we have to take
Sikkim into the 21st century. This heavy responsibility has fallen on our
shoulders. History witnessed the emergence of many powerful countries
and hundreds of influential kings, but none lasted too long. Today we
should be able to protect the rights and honour bestowed upon us by
history. In all its history, we have been deceived a number of times and it
would be sheer foolishness to invite the same destiny again. For today’s
need is that of accepting the challenge of building new Sikkim and not
vice versa. We have come on the field not to disintegrate Sikkim but to
unite and organise the state. In short, we have come to build stronger
homes for the Sikkimese. In this noble task, we need your support and
help.”
And then Chamling touched upon the main subject, the Silver Jubilee of the
democratic system of governance in Sikkim with all its joys and challenges. He
said,

“It is just 25 years since Sikkim became the 22nd member-state of India.
In these 25 years, Sikkim achieved many things and still needs to do
more. We need to make democracy stable, strong, and influential for the
people. There is a need to understand that any obstacle in the
functioning of democracy is our collective challenge. Those wanting to
play with the sentiments and aspirations of the Sikkimese have tried to
stifle democracy many times in the past 25 years. I would like to extend
warm greetings to the people for courageously facing hurdles and
preserving the institution of democracy with love. I am confident that
Sikkimese will always remain vigilant to see that democracy keeps
blooming in our motherland.”

It was in the same historic Silver Jubilee address that Chamling called upon the
people of Sikkim to turn the pages of history and see the emergence of epoch-
making civilizations and how they were born great and died great. He asked:

“What is the secret behind the existence of strong, successful, and

civilized nations of today? Japan which was thoroughly shattered by not
only atom bombs during World War II but also economically, is today one
of the worlds industrialised nations. The people in Japan, which is the
conglomeration of diverse tiny islands and falls in a seismic zone, have
by dint of perseverance, hard work, self-discipline distinguished
themselves among the best races in the world. China, which is two years
India’s junior in gaining independence, is today the third big power in the
world. Germany, which had to sustain hundreds of raining bombs and
economic destabilization, has graduated itself into a powerful nation.
Why are western countries so developed? The answer to all these
questions boils down to one significant conclusion—that they recognised
the value of time and attuned themselves as per the pressing need of the
age, transformed all existing physical world as subordinate to one’s own
existence. Steam was made to pull rail engines, rivers, and streams were
tapped in to produce electricity, and land was made to return maximum
yields and so on. The human minds had far matured into scientific and
conscious lot during the industrial revolution of Europe towards the end
of the 18th century. The people made sure that everything in the world is
complementary to their march towards their goals.”

Pawan Chamling seemed acutely conscious of the fact that there was no force
more powerful than an idea whose time had come. He could see that the time
had come for him and his ideas. Consciously or subconsciously he was perhaps
one of the hardest working chief Ministers of our time. He seemed to realize that
behind history, beneath change, beyond democracy and before development the
great motivating force was the human vision and the human desire and
potential for change. He was now ready to confront with all the wherewithal at
his command. After citing how some nations in the world became great in the
face of grave and shattering challenges, he declared his own determination to
make his beloved Sikkim great as well. And he knew how. He said,
“Before us are similar circumstances staring at our faces. After 332 years
of dynastic rule and 14 years of autocratic regime, we have been able to
institutionalize democracy after a hard struggle. Having preserved
democracy thus, and on this occasion of the 25th State Day, we have to
outline our aims for the long-term interest of the state of Sikkim. Our
aim is to make Sikkim a fully self-reliant and prosperous state within the
next 15 years i.e. by 2015 AD.”
 18
Building the Future

Drawing inspiration from the past and learning from the example of other
societies and nations, Pawan Chamling has always eyed the future. What he
had declared in his 1995 budget speeches to the Vidhan Sabha, his
Independence Day address to the people of Sikkim and his election campaign
addresses, and State Day speeches year after year, were all expressions of his
constant concern and devotion to building a new future for Sikkim.
He had not allowed any area of possible growth and potential resources and
approaches to escape his attention. He had tried to make use of all in
harnessing his untiring drive for building a new Sikkim.
At the foundation-stone laying ceremony of the Sikkim High Court building on
November 5, 1995 Chamling, in the presence of the then Chief Justice of India
A.H. Ahmadi, said,

“For proper functioning of the Constitution, the three agencies have their
own roles to play. For want of a proper High Court building, the judges,
lawyers and the public have been facing much difficulty in the state.
With the construction of this building I am confident that many of these
difficulties will be removed. The people of this state are simple, sincere,
and honest. They are somewhat unfamiliar with the long-drawn legal
battles. As they are simple people, they expect speedy judgment. This is
difficult under the present legal system of the country.”

In his own characteristic way, Chamling took the opportunity to inform the
distinguished audience of what was happening in setting up a people-friendly,
just and fair judicial infrastructure in Sikkim. The High Court building was just
a symbol of what had already been done. He said:
“In the old times the infrastructure of the judiciary in Sikkim was
inadequate. We did not even have an adequate number of lawyers. Now
the judicial process is being recognized by the people and there is
perceptible growth in this area also. It is fortunate for us that the tenure
of Justice Bhargava, Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court, had more or
less coincided with the period when the demands on the judiciary and
the legal system had been growing in Sikkim. His role in shaping courts
has been very significant and commendable. This is the period in which
the Indian Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Indian
Evidence Act have been extended to Sikkim and the separation between
the executive and the judiciary had also to be revised and improved
upon. Under the guidance of Justice Bhargava, the state government has
set up one more session division and set up two new courts of chief
judicial magistrates.”
In his typical style of taking the people into confidence about what was going to
be done immediately and in the long term, Chamling said, “Recruitment of two
judicial magistrates has also been made. Corresponding improvement in
building the infrastructure has been planned to accommodate courts and
residences for magistrates.” He hoped “that more and more young men and
women of Sikkim will take to the legal profession so that not only will Sikkim
have a good legal base but there will also be less demand on limited government
jobs.”
The Chief Minister took the people into confidence and disclosed that “special
courts have also been designated to try offences under the atrocities on
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act.” He also took this opportunity to
spell out some of his principles and visions of transparency and justice. He
said:
“The country has made radical changes in the field of economy by
simplifying rules and doing away with obsolete and unwanted control,
thus paving the way for more transparency in the working of the
government. Such changes have brought about positive achievements on
the industrial front also. As a result, today the country is more or less in
a comfortable position so far as foreign exchange reserve is concerned
and full market condition has come to stay. These are definitely bold
decisions and changes are perceptible—we must acknowledge the fact.”
It was evident that the Chief Minister had the liberalization of the economic
regime also in his mind and would initiate legislation and legal reforms to
ensure that economy and economic life of the people flourished without any law
standing in the way of people’s progress.
He underlined, “It is said that justice delayed is justice denied. Our country
being vested with people of different faiths and religions and with their own
traditional laws and customs finding place in the statutes of the country, the
system of delivery is slow. The need of the hour, therefore, is to bring about
changes by way of simplification of laws.” Here too Sikkim was ready to provide
a lead.
Pawan Chamling’s dream of justice and a just society symbolized the dreams of
every common Sikkimese and Indian. His appeal to the legal and judicial
fraternity was simple, sincere, and justified. It carried the strong tenor of vox
populi. Appealing to the Chief Justice of India, he had said:
“With your multifaceted personality and sound background of legal
knowledge and with all the legal luminaries under your dispensation, I
would urge upon you to think of this problem very seriously and come up
with the type of changes that everybody in the country is expecting. I
know it is not a very easy job but with your understanding, experience,
and capability this is something definitely possible. I am a layman and
whatever submissions I have made before you today may please be taken
from that angle.
One can even say that this is my wishful thinking. But these wishes, if
fulfilled, will see the simple and honest people in the state stand to gain
tremendously. This, of course, will not denigrate the role of the lawyers
and the judiciary but the fact remains that something very positive has
to be done in this respect and I urge you to look into this matter and
come out with something which will be welcomed by the people of the
country.”

Justice Ahmadi, who laid the foundation stone of the High Court building,
congratulated the Chief Minister. Referring to one of Chamling’s poems, Justice
Ahmadi said, "Sikkim, under the leadership of Pawan Chamling was destined to
move ahead. Chamling himself being the champion of the oppressed in their
fight against inequity, oppression, tyranny and exploitation, the state of Sikkim
was here to remain free from all these social vices", Justice Ahmadi added.
Rule of law as a very significant attribute of the democratic system is
uppermost in Chamling’s scheme of things. The story goes back to early 1999.
One fine morning, the additional superintendent of police in the capital sliped
into his best uniform and stood before his wall mirror, facing an imaginary
Chief Minister. The Chief Minister in the mirror is clearly fuming. The IPS officer
rehearsed many times before the mirror until he gained some amount of
confidence to atone for his wrong doing. Now that he is fully prepared for the
rebuke from the Chief Minister, he seeks an appointment with the Chief
Minister. The next moment he is at the Chief Minister’s official residence.
Present with the Chief Minister are many senior bureaucrats and MPs from the
state. He cautiously goes up to the Chief Minister and asked for his forgiveness.
Pawan Chamling rebukes him, “Why ask for forgiveness? Why did you not put
him behind bars? Do so next time if you find him violating the rule. Spare no
one who goes against the rule of law.”
The truth is, only the other day, the additional superintendent of police had
slapped one Vishal Chamling, without knowing that the man was the eldest son
of the Chief Minister, for parking his Gypsy in the no-parking zone in town. The
police officer and the people could clearly see a different Chief Minister in
Chamling. And his faith in the rule of law was applicable to one and all.
Chamling was happy at the prospect of a good judicial infrastructure in the
state when Justice Ahmadi laid the foundation stone of a High Court building.
Chamling symbolized compassion as much as an ardent urge for justice. This
was strongly emphasised when he made his remarks at the inauguration
ceremony of the Sikkim Temple at Bodh Gaya in Bihar on January 11, 2002.
The land for the building of the temple had been acquired by the Sikkim
government in the 1960s. It was Chamling who was destined to complete the
project work. Revealing what thought was uppermost in his mind at that
moment. He said:

“I am very happy that I have been able to inaugurate the guest house,
having laid the foundation stone of this much delayed project earlier in
January 1996. We have fulfilled one of the most cherished dreams of our
people who are amiable, peace loving, and above all pious minded and
godfearing. In fact, Sikkim is one of the states in the country where we
have a full-fledged Ecclesiastical Department which looks after all the
institutions irrespective of faiths and activities relating to religious
matters in the State. As in other parts of the country, there is complete
freedom of religion in Sikkim and very encouraging and healthy practice
of participating in one another’s religious festivals with due solemnity
and reverence.”

The state government has initiated a noble project to install statue of Guru
Padmasambhava at Samdruptse. The statue, despite promoting tourist
activities will be a centre of religious piligrimage. The proposal is on to link the
site with a rope way to the district town of Namchi.
It was not just law and religion but almost every field of life linked with the
betterment of the common man’s lot that engaged Chamling’s thought and
action. Chamling would often drive himself to exhaustion but never really feel
beaten and tired in his unique political journey. In his ceaseless crusade for
building the future, he never missed an opportunity to focus on the very special
needs of Sikkim. The United Nations declared the year 2002 as the ‘Year of the
Mountains’ to focus worldwide attention on the crucial need of preserving alpine
ecology and culture around the world. But for Pawan Chamling every year had
been the Year of the Mountain for he is truly a son of the mountains. He always
realized and stressed that water was the most precious gift and asset of the
mountain. This gave birth to a number of great civilizations with their many
splendoured spiritual and cultural facets.
Speaking at the third meeting of the National Water Resources Council at New
Delhi in February 1996, Chamling talked about the subject with great passion.
He said,

“Sikkim, as you all know, is a small but beautiful mountain state

crowned with great Himalayan peaks. Because of the mountainous
topography of the state, the higher reaches in the major parts of Sikkim
are studded with snow-clad mountain peaks, glaciers and natural lakes
from which a number of perennial rivers, rivulets, and streams have
originated to eventually flow into the great sea. Mount Khanchendzonga
is the guardian deity of Sikkim and we all draw inspiration from it in all
our activities.”

Chamling was equally conscious of the need for a National Water Policy as the
key to ensure equitable distribution and utilization of the resources that nature
has gifted to the country. He strongly felt that with the growth of population,
demand on land and water is increasing. If the right steps are not taken now,
the country will have to encounter insurmountable challenges by the turn of
the century. The water crisis is indeed deepening in both metropolitan and
rural India. This view of Chamling acquired more and more importance not just
for Sikkim but the entire country. It also underlined the fact that if the river-
generating mountains were neglected, the great plains of India would face an
uncertain future. And deeply connected with this tremendous problem was the
increasing erosion of the soil, especially in the hill slopes of mountain states
like Sikkim.
Chamling stresses,

“It is therefore, felt that slope treatment works in the hills to arrest the
erosion of the fertile top soil should be taken up on priority basis, along
with better provision of irrigation facilities. This will create better
employment opportunities with higher economic returns in the rural area
itself. To achieve this end, higher degree of investment in providing better
irrigation facilities has become of paramount importance. Accordingly the
Government of Sikkim has given high priority to this sector. Given this
fact, it is requested the Central government assist us in implementation
of this programme in Sikkim”.
The new leader of new Sikkim also keenly aware of the role of geosynthetics in
hill area development. He is fully conscious of the potential of science and
technology in the life and landscape of the modern world. He put forward his
insights when he said,
“Life today is not what it used to be a few decades ago. In the economic,
social, political, and even the cultural fields, many changes have
occurred. With the passage of time science and technology have also
brought about innumerable benefits and practical gains to mankind. It
 was due to technical developments and new scientific inventions that
man’s burden has eased, enlightened him and offered newer avenues for
development and progress.”
At the same time Chamling was sensitive enough to the peaceful and positive
use of science and technology.
“I find that technology is a double-edged weapon. If used sensibly and
properly, it can serve mankind in no small measure. On the other hand,
it has its negative sides too. We must, therefore, ensure that the bonanza
of technology must be properly used and carefully cherished and must
never be applied to harm or destroy human civilization. At the same
time, we cannot keep pace with the modern world unless we adopt the
latest techniques, including management education.”
Chamling was positive that science and technology should be used positively
and peacefully for the benefit of mankind.
In building the future, Chamling’s regime gave special emphasis to health and
environment. The fact that the state of Sikkim could claim to be polio free and
free from any other controllable diseases was just an indicator. The fact that the
state has also set its eyes on making it Hepatitis B free indicated that child
welfare and childcare programmes in the state would be worth their name. The
results that began to surface in 2001 were the outcome of the thought and
initiative of Chamling in 1995 and the succeeding years.
Inaugurating a Health System Management workshop at Gangtok in February
1996, he said, “We are committed to giving the people of the state a decent
standard of living and better health. Unless the health of the people is taken
care of, all development plans will be futile. My government has given top
priority to the health sector.”
On May 30, 1996, the first ever camp for the handicapped in Sikkim was held.
As many as 400 patients from all districts of Sikkim had come for the camp and
as many as 300 benefited. In his valedictory address, Chamling accepted,
“Statistical analysis showing a figure of 2 percent disability in the state is
indeed high.” He also expressed his government’s commitment to the welfare of
the poor and the handicapped and promised full support for upliftment of the
masses.
Apart from all these, Pawan Chamling has established the finest record of state-
Centre relations. During the Prime Ministership of P.V. Narasimha Rao, I.K.
Gujral, H.D. Deve Gowda and now Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Sikkim government
has had excellent relations with New Delhi all along. Sikkim was declared a full-
fledged member of the North-Eastern Council in May 1998 during a meeting of
the Chief Ministers of the North-Eastern States under the chairmanship of
Prime Minister Vajpayee. The Parliament of India accordingly amended the
constitution in December 2002 to this effect. This momentous decision,
Chamling says, has fulfilled the “long-cherished dream, the dream of the people
of Sikkim.” He further pointed out, “We shared a lot in common with related
security aspects, limited resource base, polity, remoteness, economic
backwardness and growing unemployment.”
In his characteristic way, he came to specifics in his thanking speech. He
highlighted the needs and challenges before Sikkim and the north-eastern
states. He said:
 “Notwithstanding the fact that we joined the mainstream only in 1975,
our state has made considerable progress in several areas of the
economy. However, as with most of the states of the North-East, the high
cost of investment on infrastructure development and delivery of services
has seen the growth of mounting debt liabilities as a result of which
developmental activities have been adversely affected. The growing
burden of debt servicing in respect of loan for our annual plan is a major
problem. As most of our plan funds are invested in infrastructure,
returns are minimum. Hence, debt management is a serious problem
which needs to be addressed. Waiver of outstanding loans must be taken
up for our state urgently.”
The Chief Minister also took the opportunity to project the main plank in his
plans for building Sikkim’s future. Asking for extension of the recommendations
of the Shukla Commission to his state, Chamling said, “Sikkim has an
abundant potential for developing tourism, power and horticulture, the
harnessing of which is constrained by the existing deficiencies in the
communication infrastructure. My government has made repeated requests in
the past for inclusion of Sikkim within the orbit of terms of reference of the
Shukla Commission which was constituted to look into the problem of the
north-east. It is my request that the recommendations of the Shukla
Commission in principle also be extended to our state.”
On the very first day of the declaration made to include Sikkim in the North-
Eastern States family, Chamling focused on development of tourism in Sikkim,
introduction of an environment-friendly ropeway service in Gangtok,
conservation of Himalayan eco-system and exploitation of Sikkim’s hydro-
electric potential. He sought the active participation of the Government of India
for harnessing the immense untapped natural resources including the one
undertaken by the National Hydro Power Corporation.
 19
Redefining the Security Dynamics

Chamling is known for his distaste for the cult of dynasty rule and nepotism. In
his family comprising his immediate relations, making almost a total of 30 male
and female members, he is the only one with an active interest in politics. His
personal effort has always been to ensure that the Sikkim Democratic Front
and its government in Sikkim are not blemished by the stain of dynastic rule.
To quote Chamling, “As long as I am the President of the party, I will not
nominate my wife or son or daughter to become an MLA, MP, or a minister.”
True to his words, there is no interference of his wife, children or other family
members in state affairs.
The Chamlings, at home in Gangtok, in Namchi and in Yangang, give a clear
impression of a simple and straightforward rural middle-class family devoted to
traditional values and striving for a better life. Perhaps the personal chemistry
between Pawan Chamling and his extremely vivacious and graceful wives, D.M.
Chamling and Tika Maya Chamling, has also strongly contributed to the family
ambience. The abode of the Chamlings shows that they value the richness of
nature far more than personal wealth. The ancestral home in Yangang is very
much a traditional farmer’s home with some semblance of modernity like
electricity and a telephone.
The yard at the Yangang home announces the peasant identity of the residents
by the farming implements scattered here and there. The senior Chamling still
looks after his cardamom plantation and a minimal stock of cattle (once he had
more than 30 in his herd). The house in Namchi where Chamling and his wife
lived before politics moved them to the capital Gangtok, is also a modest
farmer’s home. It does not pronounce any conspicuous display of wealth or
grandeur. Of course, its setting is serene and peaceful because of the choice of
location and the green girdle of hills and slopes around. Namchi is possessed of
exquisite natural beauty.
The old adage is that there is always a great woman behind every great man.
The first principle that Chamling practice is to keep family affairs away from the
affairs of state and affairs of public politics. There is no promoting the
Chamlings clan either in the political echelons of the Sikkim Democratic Front
or the ministerial corridors of power. That does not mean that Pawan Chamling
does not understand the intricacies, benefits, and risks of power management.
He does, and manages the power and political regime of the state with the
highest degree of discipline and principle. This can be judged from the fact that
many of those who have made it to high public offices and even ministerial
posts have risen from the ranks of the personal secretaries, assistants, and
advisers of Pawan Chamling.
In that respect, Mintokgang, the official residence of the Chief Minister in
Gangtok, is invisibly but effectively a very successful training centre for future
leaders of Sikkim. As one of his personal staff officers admitted, “He is the one
who has given the greatest gift of democracy to the people of Sikkim and he is
the one who constantly reminds us that we must work hard to keep our
democracy clean and effective.” Often his political affairs take precedence over
his personal family and comfort. In the scheme of things, sleep has the last
priority in his daily routine. On rare occasions he manages to hit the bed by
midnight. On other days, he has to snatch the proverbial forty winks after long
deliberations and strenuous engagements.
The Chief Minister’s first wife is a housewife who personifies simplicity and
grace and who frequently adds thrill and encouragement to social programmes
and activities. A devoted wife and a doting mother, her activities revolve round
the welfare of her husband and six children.
His second wife, a teacher by profession, a designer of note by natural instinct,
and an Internet savvy devoted wife and mother is the ideal for the young and
upcoming women of Sikkim. She is a woman of very strong personality, socially
active in work of her own choice. One of her special pursuits is running a centre
for training young Sikkimese girls in designing and computer designing. In one
of the rare interviews, she firmly stated her belief that raising healthy, strong-
minded, and well educated children who would become good and strong-
minded citizens was a much greater goal for achievement for a woman than
aspiring for public applause and political prominence.
She has been a great and faithful supporter of her husband’s political and
social ideology. At the same time she is a very private person so far as her
family life and her work is concerned. She would not talk much on these
subjects herself. Other men and women who are aware of some of her pursuits
were extremely impressed and admired her for her personal qualities of
kindness, compassion, and courage. She was the proverbial better-half for
those girls who have watched her closely and are striving to emulate her.
It was perhaps from the family spirit of the Chamlings that the very special
respect for women, children and family institution was deeply woven into
Chamling’s welfare policies in the political arena. Chief Minister Chamling
always demonstrated the importance he gave to the grassroots security and
peace, beginning with the family and the peasant society. Answering a question
about the security of the sensitive border state like Sikkim, he said, “The
guarantee of our security is our strong and peaceful civil society. Freedom
loving men and women can bring in more security and peace than guns”.
This did not however, mean that Chamling and his regime are not sensitive to
issues of security and internal peace.
Chamling touched upon some of the issues of external and internal security of
the State of Sikkim which in his own vision were intimately linked with the
overall issues of peace and national security. In an address in 2000, welcoming
members of Parliament visiting Sikkim as part of a Standing Committee from
the Home Affairs Ministry of the Government of India, he said:

“Sikkim being a border state is vital in the context of the security of the
country. It is said a contented population behind the immediate line of
defence is a second line of defence. Therefore, the state of Sikkim due to
its strategic location, touching the China border in the north, Bhutan in
the east and Nepal in the west, should always be termed as sensitive.
The visit of Hon’ble Members of the Standing Committee which is the
first ever of this kind to the state is in the right direction and is very
welcome to us. I am confident that the Standing Committee in the
context of national security due to the strategic location of this border
state and the condition of the people of the state will recommend
concrete steps which will be beneficial to the people and the state of
Sikkim in the long run.”
Chief Minister Chamling is well aware of the international discourse on non-
military security. He always tries to look at security issues from a much larger
perspective. He is possibly one of the few chief ministers who have examined
the issues related to security in the state from three different viewpoints. He
placed these perspectives before the meeting of the National Development
Council in September 2001. He stated,

“Sikkim has been the most significant geographical entity that provides
comprehensive security to the Indian nation state. It provides (i) military
security (ii) environmental security and (iii) development-related security.
Firstly, it has been one of the very geo-strategically significant border
posts of India and has a huge concentration of security and military
forces. We provide the best of services in protecting our national security
interests. However, besides the other issues related to carrying capacity,
the physical burden of these forces as a pressure on land and other
natural and manufactured resources are quite gigantic. All these involve
a huge development and environmental cost to the state which many
other states in India do not have to incur.
Secondly, the onus of protecting and conserving the significant portion of
the critical Eastern Himalayan region and its environment including the
mountain range has been with the people and government of Sikkim. The
protection of bio-diversity and the forward and backward linkages
emanating from it to the entire Himalayan community and the plains
land have never been quantified. However, many quarters are not able to
appreciate the work Sikkim and the Sikkimese are doing for the
sustainability of the region.
And finally, the very topography, landlockedness and agro-climatic
variations have forbidden Sikkim from going in for an array of
interventions making economic development process very limited. At
times, it has been a Hobson’s choice for the state to opt for a major
development intervention as the long-run cost, particularly in terms of
environmental security, may be much higher than the short-run benefit.
In other states, policymakers and politicians would have jumped to such
kind of interventions as they are not constrained by the factors that
characterise the Sikkim Himalayas. This means Sikkim has a very
constricted development choices.
This limited choice and the related constraints on development
interventions as compared to the wide range of choice and techniques
available with other states, need to be considered as the opportunity cost
Sikkim have been foregoing and will have to forego. The benefits which
would have otherwise accrued to the state need to be objectively assessed
and provisions made accordingly for compensating the opportunities
foregone.
One way to recognise these services of comprehensive security to the
nation building process is to partially supplement the state resources for
the upkeep of the hills and the Himalayan region. We consider this issue
as very critical for the sustainability of Sikkim, the Sikkimese and the
nation as a whole.
We strongly urge the Union Government therefore, to take into
consideration all these three factors as invisibles costs to the Sikkimese
economy while deciding Sikkim’s plan expenditure and revenue budgets.”
As the world communities are waking up to the threat of international
terrorism, Pawan Chamling had already addressed himself to the issue. He had
said in the year 2000,
“Today insurgency and terrorism have besieged the country and have
become a major challenge. The virus has spread to almost all the states
barring perhaps a few. Internal security is a primary concern to all of us
for the preservation of integrity of the country and for overall peace and
development. Sikkim also cannot remain untouched by this
development.
“The state of Sikkim became the 22nd state of the country about 26
years ago. In the last two decades the state has been taking positive
steps for emotional integration of the people with the mainstream and
especially after the formation of my government. Such efforts would
continue. This has resulted in positive change in the outlook of the
people. However, the problem before the state is not only in respect of
emotional integration but also on account of the State’s historical
evolution, and political development which is very much distinct from
other states of the country and such other factors.”

Chamling’s address to the Home Ministry Standing Committee revealed that

though an indefatigable idealist, he did not believe in shying away from
challenges and uncomfortable realities. His way is to tell the truth and then
face the challenges with courage. That could only be a lasting way to peace and
security. For him insecurity arose when human reason and a sense of fairplay
and justice failed. That is perhaps, the reason he focused on some of the special
challenges faced by Sikkim with reference to the national context. He said:

“As has been mentioned, due to the strategic location of the State and
some of the demands remaining unfulfilled before the Central
government any attempt to neglect them will pose problems for and may
become a cause of concern in the interest of national security.” When
this state was merged with the Indian Union in 1975, special provisions
under Article 371 F were evolved. Article 371 F(K) protects the old laws of
the state. This article further mentions that, ‘All laws in force
immediately before the appointed day in the territories comprised in the
State of Sikkim or any part thereof shall continue to be in force therein
until amended or repealed by a competent legislature or other competent
authority’.”

Chamling took care to explain that the Government of India, by the Citizenship
Order, deemed all persons registered in the state as Sikkim Subjects under
Sikkim Subject Regulations 1961 as Indian citizens. Only Sikkim Subject
Status holders and their descendents are allowed to purchase properties in the
state. However, the Government of India, by another order repealed the Sikkim
Subject Regulations of 1961. The repeal of these regulations which perhaps
could have been adopted in some form with suitable changes has caused fears
in the minds of the Sikkim subjects and their descendents who are now Indian
citizens. The demographic invasion by influx from other states and countries
like Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan is difficult to check. This had caused
apprehensions and fear in the minds of the locals. This is particularly so in the
context of problems that have erupted in West Bengal and Assam because of
migrants mainly from Bangladesh.
Chamling made no bones about explaining the very peculiar problems of Sikkim
that had important bearing on peace and security concerns of the people of the
state. As the foremost advocate of emotional mainstreaming of the politics and
society of Sikkim, anyone questioning his approach was perhaps a victim of his
own prejudice and confusion. This is how Pawan Chamling explained the true
parameter of the sensitive problems:
“Against this background of growing dissatisfaction and concern, the
jobs in the State Government have saturated. Some people have a
misconception about it. They think that these problems might have
emanated from certain provisions of the Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and
Friendship of 1950. But I must tell you it’s due to sheer ignorance that
some people may have such misconcepts. The people of Sikkim who fall
in three ethnic categories, namely Sikkimese Nepalese, Bhutia, and
Lepcha, are the genuine citizens of Sikkim. Their descendents are
naturally Indian citizens, and not Nepal nationals. Yes we have problems
with the Nepalese coming from Nepal because of the Treaty and the open
border system.
But the Indian Nepalese of whom Sikkimese Nepalese are an
indispensable organ today have their own history, culture, contribution
all to do with India. It is also pertinent to mention that Shahid Durga
Malla who was hanged to death by the British regime at the district jail
in Delhi in 1944 was a close associate of Gandhiji. Recognizing his
sacrifice for the freedom struggle to his motherland India, the
Government of India has recently approved a memorial statue to be
installed next to Gandhiji’s in the Parliament House. He was a Nepali-
speaking Indian citizen. Shahid Dal Bahadur Giri was also an associate
of Gandhiji and he was not Nepal’s citizen.
The late Shri Ari Bahadur Gurung, a resident of Kalimpong and an
Indian Nepali speaking citizen, was in the drafting committee of the
Constitution of the country. Captain Ram Singh Thakuri, a Nepali-
speaking Indian, composed the music for Jana Gana Mana, the national
anthem. Nepali language which is spoken by the Indian Nepalese is
recognized as one of the 18 Indian languages under the 8th Schedule of
the Constitution. The contribution of the Indian Nepalese cannot be
forgotten. As far as the Sikkim subject Nepalese and their descendents
are concerned, they have a separate history of their own as they merged
with their background of soil and country with the mainstream India.”

Chamling always asserted the cardinal principle that internal security and
ethnic amity would ensure internal peace and security. Perhaps that is the
reason that in his regime since 1995, Sikkim has remained an island of peace
in the country.
While making his submission to the Standing Committee of the Union Home
Ministry, he took the opportunity to represent to the Union Government the six
demands of Sikkim state, mentioned earlier too. These included (i) Restoration
of reservation of seats for the Sikkimese Nepalese in the Legislative Assembly as
was provided for during the regime of the Chogyal; (ii) Inclusion of Limboo,
Tamang, and Gurung tribes in the list of scheduled tribes; (iii) Inclusion of
Lepcha, Bhutia, and Limboo languages in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution;
and (iv) Increase of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha seats for the state from
one each in both houses of Parliament at present to three each from three
ethnic categories thereby giving them equitable representation.
Chamling’s perspective is not sectoral or just ethnic but national in its outlook.
On one occasion, he said,

“Our country is at the crossroads today. Our emphasis on materialism

and growing distortion of modern life has resulted in social imbalance.
We have to prepare a society that reflects a balanced growth. This calls
for simultaneous attention in sustaining the privileged people in the
society and also keen planning for upliftment of the poor and the
downtrodden. Only this can narrow down this gap to the minimum. It is
education that can act like a catalyst to bring about the desired
harmony. Our aim must be to strive towards an equitable social order.
Students of today are exposed to diverse points of thinking which is
bound to confuse their young minds. Therefore, the primary purpose of
education should be to develop the reasoning ability of students so that
they can use rational judgement to arrive at correct decisions.”

Perhaps, Chamling has at the back of his mind his experience that a well
directed youth force is capable of bringing about revolutionary changes. The
proper harnessing of youth power could lead to both peace and security and a
balance between tradition and modernity. Invariably it is the youth who if not
properly guided get into a negative mindframe in thought and action.
Chamling underlines,

“When we think of modernity today, we sometimes choose to scorn our

tradition, our root. But the truth is that modernism does not generate in
a vacuum. It develops and grows in the womb of tradition. We are
fortunate to inherit the great tradition of this country. Ours is a land of
Adi Shankaracharya, Buddha, Guru Padmasambhava, and many more.
The ideas and thoughts of these personalities constitute a great wealth of
wisdom relevant to humanity. And it is the fund of knowledge which
should lay the foundation of our educational system. Tradition and
modernity are not opposed to each other. The contradiction is resolved
when we modernize the tradition by rejecting the dead and obsolete while
assimilating the living, the vital, and the relevant into the modern. And it
is this form of a blending concept that needs to be transmitted to our
coming generation.”

No idle words. If one looked at the educational system in Sikkim after

Chamling’s eight years of governance. One could see this blending concept in
operation. While he is striving hard to introduce “smart education”, harnessing
all available processes and instruments of latest information technology and
computer science, he is also leading a movement to preserve and consolidate
the compassionate, friendly, and warm traditions of the people of Sikkim.
 20
Sikkimising the Globalisation Process

The tiger, they say, always swims upstream against the current. The snake and
the vermin proceed in a zigzag and uncertain manner. In politics too, there are
the mainstreamers and there are sub-streamers. The mainstreamers are always
in the thick of challenges and combat. The sub-streamers are always dubious,
fissiparous and engaged in factional intrigues and diplomatic permutations and
combinations. Pawan Chamling is an upstreamer and the mainstreamer;
upstreamer in the sense that his political and public life is open, frontal and
face-to-face. If he is with you, he is with you and it will be well known to you. If
he is against you, then he is against you and he makes it explicitly clear to you.
Chamling is again possibly among the few chief ministers who have been
reading and writing about the globlisation process. He says, “Globalisation is a
fact of life today. We have to accept it, absorb it and participate in it. We have
no choice. Therefore, we would like to maximise the gains from the globalisation
process and minimise its negative fallouts.”
While expressing his views about the globalisation process before an exclusive
meeting of the “Sikkim Government—NGO Partnership” at India International
Centre in New Delhi in December 2000, he remarked,
“Let me briefly tell you about my reading of the great event of
globalisation. We are all now talking about the globalisation process. The
world is now going to be a global village. Though no one is sure about the
real impact of the ongoing process of globalisation, it is expected that
Sikkim will also be both positively and adversely affected by this. Our
state being a small and developing one, we have always tried to protect it
from the external shocks. And we have been successful in many ways.”

Displaying a measure of preparedness he added,

“That is why our government has a two-pronged strategy to face the

challenges posed by the globalisation process. Firstly, we would like to
adopt as many corrective measures and reforms under the national drive
of second generation reforms. We are introducing fiscal discipline, and
correcting the ills of public sector through disinvestment. We have
extended attractive packages for the private sector to invest in various
sectors. We are sensitising people, politicians and bureaucracy about the
dire need to have efficient management of existing utilities and
infrastructure already created. We are soon going to hold major
meetings with both national and foreign investors. We have called it a
Sikkim Investors’ Forum meeting.”
Secondly, we are equally concerned about the adverse impact of
globalisation on the deprived and marginalized people. We are very
worried about our environment and natural resources. We all firmly
believe that globalisation led economic reforms will bring about a higher
growth in the State. This higher growth will expectedly generate more
income and employment.”
Chamling is naturally worried about the impact of globalisation on the poor and
the marginalized. He had read and seen how this process has started adversely
impacting upon these have-nots in countries in Africa, Latin America and even
in South East Asia. This is why he says,

“The most critical question is how to transmit this high growth to the
poorest of the poor that are still there in the villages of Sikkim. We have
to translate this growth into people’s welfare and more equitable
distribution of income. Then, what is the transmission mechanism?”

He asked some very pertinent questions.

“Do we follow the same route that we followed for the last 50 years where
the entire delivery mechanism remained dependent on the bureaucracy?
Or do we set up a new range of delivery mechanism? My government
feels that the challenges brought forward by globalisation are diverse and
need to be faced with much more vigour. We, therefore, require new
instruments to cut the ice.”

In the same vein, he tried to put forward some concrete proposals for a lasting
solution. In his own words “This is where I see a major role for the non-
governmental organisations. The NGOs can increasingly supplement and to a
large extent even replace the governmental machineries. This will make the
delivery of goods and services to the poverty-stricken and deprived communities
a lot more effective and sustainable.”
At the much higher level, he advocated a two-way proposition. He emphatically
stated,

“We have two clear options. One is to bring the Sikkimese people to the
national mainstream as quickly as possible. This will not only make
them capable of facing the challenges of the globalisation process but
would enable them to take maximum mileage out of it. Secondly, the
environmental conservation is most critical. If we ensure the
environmental conservation then most of the problems arising out of
exploitation of natural resources, commercialization of tourism and
agriculture and industrial ventures could largely be managed.”

For Chamling, therefore, mainstreaming of people and the environmental

conservations are the key themes in Sikkim’s quest to face the challenges
created by globalisation and grab the opportunities it has brought.
He is also one of the most remarkable mainstreamers in the country. He first
knit the socio-ethnic factions of his own Sikkim into one Sikkimese mainstream
where they took pride in and enjoyed their common identity as the Sikkimese.
Then he initiated the mainstreaming of Sikkim with the rest of the nation.
Facing entrenched factions and vested interests, he succeeded in unleashing
such positive forces of emotional integration that Sikkim entering late on the
scenario is now integrated and interactive with the Indian nation.
In his welcome address to the then Vice-President of India, K.R. Narayanan, on
March 18, 1996, Chamling underlined the strong emotional ties within a
magnificently diversified Indian unity. He said,
 “Sir, you are one of the greatest sons of the country. You belong to the
beautiful state of Kerala in the deep South. Your presence today in this
Himalayan state shows how rich and strong are the emotional ties of
different parts of this country. I am very anxious that the people of
Sikkim should get emotionally integrated with the rest of the country at
the earliest possible time. For this, imaginative and timely steps are very
important. If I may say so, usually our serious attention turns to a
particular part of the country only when a problem erupts. There is no
such problem in Sikkim now but this is the time for the Central
government to attend to the State so that such problems never arise in
the future.”

Chamling also took the opportunity to focus on the quality of human warmth
symbolized so eminently by Narayanan and said,

“Our Vice President is a man of great genius and wisdom. He has held
with great distinction many important offices as ambassador and
minister. He has authored many books. But inspite of all his
achievements, he is simple and unassuming. In my view this is the true
indication of his greatness. It is the good fortune of our country that
such an eminent person endowed with human warmth is now in a
position to guide the destiny of our nation.”

The point that Chamling seemed to be making was that India had the benefit of
rich diversities of culture and wisdom in its great treasure house of heritage.
The modern Indian society could certainly derive the full benefit by weaving the
great diversities into a great entity. That is his way of mainstreaming the
thought and culture of India.
He also firmly believed in the importance and strength of the grassroots India in
the creation of an emotionally integrated nation. Chamling urged the people to
tread the Gandhian path to bring about a steady rural evolution.
In his own words:
“Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, has said that India lives in
her villages. Nothing could be nearer to the truth. With 75 per cent of our
people living in the villages and a majority of them belonging to the
economically weaker section of society, the progress of the country is
definitely not possible without the development of the rural areas and
upliftment of the poor and downtrodden. Keeping this fact in mind, my
government has set aside 70 percent of the total Plan budget for the
development of rural areas and poverty alleviation programme.
Although our main attention is focused on developing rural areas and
uplifting the underprivileged class, yet we have not neglected important
areas like education, health, agriculture, power, and other key areas.
Fighting illiteracy and educating our younger generation is the foremost
concern of our government alongwith providing health services, drinking
water facilities, electricity, village roads, bridges, and housing. Our
government has taken a number of bold initiatives for emancipation of
the poor. We will surely and definitely not rest till every family of this
state has a roof over its head and two square meals.”
Chamling’s drive for mainstreaming the economic and developmental facets of
Sikkim with the Union of India were rooted in his perception that the progress
and prosperity of the states are, in the final analysis, the foundation stones of
the nation as a whole. And that is the reason that the Center must take very
seriously the suggestions for tackling the urgent developmental problems of the
state. He never hesitated to mention that if the problems of peace and progress
are tackled at the state level, India would be stronger and more prosperous as
an aggregate achievement.
In his 1996 welcome to the Vice President, Chamling had invited the attention
of the Government of India to some of these issues. He said,

“Sikkim is the smallest and the newest member of the great Indian
Republic. You may, therefore, appreciate that we need the keenest and
the fondest attention of the Government of India. The people of this state
are simple and peace loving and need nothing more than the opportunity
for a decent living. Being a remote state and lacking in infrastructural
facilities, there are several limitations to the growth of our economy.
Nature has endowed us with beautiful forests and rivers and we are
determined to preserve this ecological wealth. We have some unique
competitive advantages like rare orchids, medicinal herbs, spices,
pollution-free atmosphere to create abundant interest for the discerning
tourists from the country and abroad. Our strategy is to put these to the
advantage of the common man of Sikkim.”

Chamling is a realist enough to realize that the ambitions and desires for the
future of Sikkim required a lot of discipline, hard work, and better Center-state
cooperation. K.R. Narayanan, like many other great leaders of the Indian
nation, obviously appreciated the mainstreamer and the upstreamer traits in
Chamling. While Chamling has always been sought after by several social and
non-governmental organizations all over the country to join them in their
movement for the betterment of Indian life and add his inspiring thoughts to
their progress, he was also the recipient of many awards and honours.
The Bharat Shiromani Award, conferred on him in New Delhi on March 5, 1997,
was one of them. Interestingly, he received the award from no less a person
than K.R. Narayanan himself. Focusing on Chamling’s unusual personality as a
man, politician, and philosopher, Narayanan said:

“I have the greatest respect for Mr. Pawan Chamling, not only as the
Chief Minister but as a personality and a great human being. Mr.
Chamling is a remarkable personality who has been in politics from his
young age. I would not look upon him as a politician but rather as a
poet, writer, editor, and one who has espoused great causes like
democracy, national integration, economic development, and progressive
causes. I recollect an incident in the Sikkim Assembly, where Mr. Pawan
Chamling started searching for democracy with a lighted candle in a
manner of Socrates looking for an honest man.
The Chief Minister has shown immense courage in fighting all kinds of
repression and has fought for democratic rights and development of
people. After Nehru, we are hearing about the emotional integration in
Sikkim. I fully appreciate the campaign being carried out by the Chief
Minister of Sikkim and appeal to the rest of India to respond, accept, and
 make all the Indians feel emotionally entwined and integrated in a lively
and practical manner. I congratulate the Shiromani Institute on their
choice of Mr. Pawan Chamling, a remarkable original man, writer,
statesman and poet whose ideas are of value not only to Sikkim but to
the whole of India. His is one of the greatest contributions to this
country.”

K.R. Narayanan himself is universally regarded as one of the most respected

and finest intellectual-statesmen in the world. His name commands admiration,
honour, and reverence. The utterance of a man of his stature, therefore, could
not be mere niceties but a genuine recognition of Chamling’s contribution to
national integration and mainstreaming of Sikkim. No other political figure in
Sikkim had earned such recognition and appreciation at the national level so
far. This was a compliment which had not only honoured the Chief Minister but
also made the entire Sikkim proud of him.
In the state, Pawan Chamling is the first politician to advocate the principle of
collective living and work for the state and country collectively. While
addressing the first public meeting after his swearing-in as Chief Minister in
1994, Chamling had called upon the people to bury the differences arising out
of party affiliations. In his characteristic way, he had said,

“Friends and respected citizens, until yesterday I was the President of a

particular party. Some of you might have supported and voted for some
other parties. Now as I stand here as the state’s Chief Minister, I have
chosen to forget the yesterday—the differences, the hostility and the
acrimonious slogan shouting and such other things. Today, I behold all
of you irrespective of party differences and ideology, as my co-partners in
the building of healthy state and nation. Come together and let us move
forward with a collective sense of purpose and destination.”

This philanthropic view of Chamling had caught many of the party supporters
by surprise. People were highly impressed by Chamling’s way and wondered
how easily and quickly he was willing to forgive the very elements hounding him
for his life until yesterday!
He has quite correctly espoused progressive causes from day one of his
assuming the office of the Chief Minister of the state. Without nurturing any
grouse, he wants people to work for the progress and prosperity of the state and
the country. As a man putting hours of hard work for the betterment of people’s
condition, Chamling’s essential philosophy of life is working and leaving behind
a culture of rich accomplishments.
While addressing young students in June 2000 in Gangtok, Chamling had
expressed himself thus, “Standing amidst you in this historic structure, my
feeling is one that of nostalgia, of our glorious past, with a solemn realisation
that what outlives death is work, work and only work. As the past, present and
future merged here in this moment of togetherness, we have to march ahead
with steady and confident steps to live a meaningful life in the new
Millennium.”
In recognition of his unique contribution, Chamling has been selected for the
prestigious National Citizen’s Award by a jury comprising of distinguished legal
luminaries, social workers and politicians.
Chamling is very clear about his dream and advocates sustainable development
as the main guiding principle of his development initiatives and interventions.
He said:

“In an ecologically fragile State like Sikkim, terms like sustainability are
closely linked with human existence. This we have recognized well in
advance and all our developmental efforts will be sustainable without
any adverse effect on our ecological balance. In our two priority sectors
like hydro-power and tourism, we have taken extra care to introduce a
spirit of sustainability. While framing policies, we have taken care to not
to fall prey to short-term pressure but rely on long-term consideration
and their implications in the long run.”

In his efforts to build the future, Chamling is aware of the fact that neglect of
the ecology can spell disaster to not only hilly states like Sikkim but also the
plains. He explains,

“As the pressure of ever rising population and demands of development

increase, the need arises to preserve the bounty of natural resources.
The right kind of balance has to be struck between the unavoidable
developmental works and limited natural resources. One wrong step can
deprive us of our treasure of vegetation and forest. If the higher reaches
were deforested, floods would be devastating below. If the cultivable area
is lost at a fast rate to non-agricultural use, the little productivity of the
state will be lost. Sikkim is already facing a strange situation of drought
in the south and west with massive landslides in the north and east.
Prolonged high intensity rains have been causing devastation in recent
years.
More than that, over the last two and a half decades, the snowline of
Sikkim has been receding, resulting in the drying up of numerous
natural and perennial streams and rivulets. It is time that due attention
is given to these issues in each and every development project and
activity. Human manipulation has to be directed and limited taking into
consideration the area’s fragility and susceptibility to destruction. It is
the conscious efforts of not only the government but each and everyone
of us which can prevent the ecological damage and keep Sikkim as
beautiful as ever. While I, as the head of government and a
representative of the people of Sikkim, can ensure including this concern
for environment in each of my policies and programmes, the effectiveness
of such measures depends entirely on all of you. Only if you equally
share this concern and cooperate in successful implementation of these
policies and programme, there can be hope for survival.”

In continuation of his policy, Chamling launched the Smriti Van (memorial

woodland) programme in all the districts to bring people closer to the
environment. An imaginative programme has been mooted to encourage people
to plant more and more trees to perpetuate the memory of their dear and near
ones. Surely, the programme has caught the imagination of the people at large
and a huge number of people from all walks of life have actually got down to
planting more trees. It has become a mass-movement for plantation and
protection and till date about 40 Smriti Vans have been created and some
40,000 seedlings have been planted across the state. The government also
constituted a state award—“Rajya Van Samrakshan Evam Paryavaran
Puraskar”—to encourage more organizations and individuals to undertake the
initiative.
A state Biodiversity Park at Tendong near Namchi in South Sikkim is under
establishment and will be the first of its kind in the country. Similarly, a
butterfly park will be developed in the State very soon to give natural
conservation a concrete shape and programme. The growing population and the
ever increasing pressure on land were daunting challenges. But Chamling was
going to give the very best by taking up various measures to overcome the
challenges in sustainable development. The state government has also passed
and announced a comprehensive Policy on Forest, Environment and Land-use
2000 based on the basic principle of conservation and sustainability. The
government has also taken the decision for compulsory environmental
education for school children including forest, wildlife, and cultural heritage,
etc.
The government’s concern about conservation is well reflected by its decision
to announce eight peaks, five lakes and one rock as sacred and banning further
expedition to these sacred sites which also included Mt. Khanchendzonga.
When the leader of the House made this announcement after cabinet approval,
history was in the reckoning—all the sacred sites would remain virgin for all
time to come, untouched by the hungry generation. The government also
scrapped the Rathong-chu Hydel Project at a point of time when the
government had already spent over Rs. 20 crore on it.
The single act made Chamling a favourite of the environmentalists and saved
priceless natural resources for the future generation. In a similar gesture, the
government banned grazing and felling of trees in reserved forests. The Army
had a proposal to build a G-firing range on forest land in north Sikkim. The
proposal, however, was aborted at Chamling’s personal persuasion, thereby
saving rare animals like the snow leopard, the musk deer and medicinal plants.
The state government demonstrates its political commitment to environmental
issues through a clean-up campaign each year.
While addressing the concluding session of the South Asia Conference on
Eco-Tourism in the capital on January 25, 2002, Pawan Chamling hit the nail
on the head by expressing the cardinal truth of human existence as closely
connected with our bio-diversity. He said,

“I would like to add that mankind thinks they can live and exist by
destroying the very things that they are dependent on. Nature and indeed
the earth and air and water will and can exist without man. This
fundamental premise is what, is not yet understood. Man must change
his attitude and understand that we are deeply connected and utterly
dependent on our biodiversity. Biodiversity on the other hand is not
dependent on man. This is to be understood first even before we embark
on any development agenda.”

He further stated that the state government “is driving a green developmental
agenda”.
Under Chamling’s inspiration and encouragement, the Sikkim government has
brought out a comprehensive State Environment Policy for improving and
strengthening the institutions that works toward this end. Numerous initiatives
have been taken in educational institutions to promote a sense of purpose in
the younger generation so that they grow up with a clear awareness of the
importance of environment and ecology and a strong vision about
sustainability. With this objective, the Sikkim government has cleared a
proposal to introduce a compulsory school level curriculum on “Himalayan
Ecology”. Probably the first state in the country to do so.
Another significant environmental step has been the passing of legislation
banning the use of non-biodegradable materials like plastic polybags, which
have been very successfully implemented in the state. This caught many people
and foreign tourists with pleasant surprise.
The environment saga which earned Chamling national and international
recognition for Sikkim’s green achievement all began with his giving the famous
slogan, Sikkim koh ban, hariyo ban (Green forest, Sikkim’s wealth). Way back
in 1995, immediately after assuming power, Chamling had announced the year
1995 as the Harit Kranti year. He knows that today no nation could sit in
comfort and afford to neglect the gravity of the environmental problem which
threatens the very survival of life on earth.
One of these major environmental problems was the rapid degradation and
depletion of forests. Forest plays an important role in maintaining the
environment, including the atmospheric stability and in supplying the essential
requirements of people on a renewable basis. Continued deforestation,
therefore, has serious repercussion on soil fertility moisture, land degradation
temperature, rainfall patterns and underground water tables. There is the
danger of losing two of the most valuable aspects of the nation gifted by
nature—the plants and animals of the wildlife.
The Sikkim Chief Minister, who is very conscious of the environment
problems, initiated a number of steps designed to protect the environment. His
government took special care to regenerate areas where forests had been
destroyed either by natural calamities or by illegal felling. Grazing of cattle in
protected forest has been completely banned and well-planned steps are being
taken to protect the rich flora and fauna existing in Sikkim. The area under the
Khanchendzonga National Park is being extended to safeguard the wildlife in
the area and a Rhododendron Sanctuary is also created at Varsey in West
Sikkim to protect the large variety of the exotic flowering plant in the
surrounding areas.
The Indian nation has widely recognized Chamling’s contribution towards
conservation and maintaining of ecological balance. With this recognition,
Chamling has provided a shining lead to the rest of the country in the field of
conservation and environmental protection.
It was on February 20, 1999 that Chief Minister Pawan Chamling received
the coveted honour of being the leading environment protector of the nation at
an impressive function organized by the prestigious Centre for Science and
Environment at New Delhi. It was not without reason that the Sikkim Chief
Minister had been found the “Greenest Chief Minister of India” in a nation-wide
survey conducted by the CSE. According to the finding of this institution, the
Sikkim Chief Minister was found to be most committed and dedicated towards
environment and sustainable development among the Chief Ministers of India.
The Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, Digvijay Singh
and Chandrababu Naidu, respectively were voted second and third in the
nation-wide polling.
According to the nation-wide survey, Sikkim was moving towards sustainable
development, thanks to the farsightedness and initiative of Pawan Chamling. A
report on this national survey was published in the prestigious CSE fortnightly,
Down to Earth. The magazine under the title Lone Crusader profusely
applauded Chamling for his efforts on afforestation, ban on grazing, integrated
pest management and joint forest management. His slogan “no plastic bags, no
landslides” was elaborated as a box item in the February 15, 1999 issue of
Down to Earth. It also commended Chamling's deep concern on Rathong-Chu
Hydel project which was discontinued by him half way through. The magazine
also carried views from a cross section of the Sikkimese society.
Jigme N Kazi, Editor, Sikkim Observer mentioned that “Chamling has the
will. His efforts deserve great appreciation. His predecessor Nar Bahadur
Bhandari did nothing even though he had 32 out of the 32 MLAs, he could have
done a lot for the environment. He lacked the will”.
Chukie Topden of the Concerned Citizens of Sikkim, an NGO, remarked in
the same issue of Down to Earth that “he may not be sophisticated enough to
view environmental problems like a trained activist, but he understands them
in his own way. His solutions may sometimes look roughshod but his
willingness to learn is his greatest asset. What more can one expect from
someone who took over 14 years of environmental neglect by Bhandari ?
Chamling has been around for just four years”.
For Sikkim 77.78 percent of respondents felt that the rural environment was
improving. This put Sikkim on top of the list. The respondents gave 66.67 % to
Madhya Pradesh, 53.85 % to West Bengal, 40 % to Andhra Pradesh, 33.33 %
to Himachal Pradesh. These were the other States which were doing well. The
responses in case of Meghalaya, Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh
were zero making them very lowly ranked . In case of the urban environment
also the respondents put Sikkim on top of all the States in India by again giving
77.78% to it.
 21
Upholder of Women’s Rights

The women, the youth and the children of Sikkim have been the most effective
instruments of change and progress in society. The integration of any society
and nation is not possible if one ignores these bloodstreams of humanity.
Pawan Chamling realized it quite early and all his politics and administration
sought to use the dignity and participation in all the mainstreaming and
upstreaming projects and campaigns.
He knew the cardinal truth that if womenfolk accepted new ideas and the
validity of change, they had the potential to change whole families. If one family
is changed, it has the potential to change a whole society and the nation as a
whole. He constantly encourages women to come forward with courage and
responsibility to building the society and the nation. He believed that unless the
women come forward, the march of civilization will be incomplete.
One of the far reaching tasks that Chamling keenly carried out himself from the
day one was to change the lot of women by giving them responsible roles in the
affairs of Sikkim and the nation. The government committed itself to providing
due status and dignity to women and making them self-reliant and competitive.
Being fully aware that no state could progress without the participation of its
womenfolk, the Chamling government is leaving no efforts unspared to ensure
that women of Sikkim get an opportunity to work hand in hand with their male
counterparts in all spheres of life.
In its manifesto for the 1996 Lok Sabha election, the Sikkim Democratic Front
promised, “Sikkimese women from all sections of the populace will be given
their due place in society while their rights, privileges, and status will be
safeguarded and justice will be brought to them in all spheres of activities.” The
party has kept its promises to the women of Sikkim. Chamling’s SDF
government launched a range of schemes and programmes aimed at solving
the hitherto neglected problems of the womenfolk in Sikkim.
In keeping with the Chamling’s commitment and the importance which his
Sikkim Democratic Front attached to women’s issues, his government created a
separate Department of Women and Child Welfare as early as in May 1995. The
government launched various schemes aimed at uplifting the women socially,
economically, culturally, and politically. In addition, the state endeavoured to
maximize the number of beneficiaries under the Centrally sponsored schemes.
In many of such schemes, the state had achieved 100 percent of the target, a
remarkable feat by any standard.
In order to sensitize the people to women-related issues, Women’s Day is
celebrated every year on a grand scale as part of the National Integration Day.
Functions organized in different parts of the State attempt to educate women
about the various schemes that the government runs for them. The women in
different areas of Sikkim were also made aware of their legal rights and other
privileges.
The small family and widow remarriage schemes of the Chamling government
were unique and deserve some attention. These schemes were launched to
tackle the problems of child marriage and widow remarriage. Under the first
scheme, each school-going girl who remains unmarried till the age of 13 is given
a fixed deposit of Rs. 2,500. The scheme provides a further incentive of Rs.
2000, Rs. 500 and Rs. 100 in stages if the girl remains unmarried till the age of
21, 22 and 23 respectively. Already a large number of girls have been identified
under this scheme. Under the Widow Remarriage Scheme, every couple who
qualify are given an incentive of Rs. 10,000.
Another radical step to promote the equality of genders has been taken by the
government. It is compulsory to indicate the name of the mother in all school
and official records of a child. Seemingly a small step, but socially a very
important measure that would go a long way to promote gender justice and
trigger a bullet of social change designed to transform the very psyche of our
society.
In Chamling’s Sikkim, women have received more respect and attention than
ever before. In the campaign to regain the glory due to women, the government
in the state has harnessed all the Central schemes as well as very innovative
and effective state schemes.
Traditionally in our society, female health and nutrition was not given its due
importance. The Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and the nutrition
schemes were harnessed towards improving the health of pregnant women and
children. Facilities provided under these schemes were supplementary
nutrition, immunization, regular health checkups, and referral services. ICDS is
a Government of India scheme. The Chamling government’s performance in
achieving the target has been very impressive. To encourage economic
independence and start income generating schemes the women have been also
provided financial assistance under the Mahila Samridhi Yojana and the Indira
Mahila Yojana. In order to help the widows of the ex-servicemen, the state
Government runs a family pension scheme for them and ensures that every girl
child receives proper education. Every girl child covered under the Balika
Samridhi Yojana gets a scholarship for her education.
In the Chamling dispensation, it is not just the rural women on whom the
government focuses. Equal emphasis is being laid on educating and providing
better employment opportunity to the urban and educated women. The efforts
of the government have already started bearing fruits. The Chief Minister can
claim with certain pride and say, “Today we have efficient lady secretaries
heading key departments and rubbing shoulders with their male counterparts.
We have active, smart and efficient women manning police and other
administrative posts.”
The Chamling government has not stopped at just the social upliftment and
economic empowerment of women. The government has clearly recognized the
aspirations of the Sikkimese women and their role in the socio-economic life
and activities of the state. The SDF government created history of sorts when
the first ever woman Speaker of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly, Kalawati
Subba, and the first ever woman cabinet minister, Rinzing Ongmu, were
appointed by Chamling.
In this chain of history-making achievements for the women of Sikkim in
Chamling’s government, there are many other firsts. The first woman
Adhyakshas and Upa- Adhyakshas of the Zilla Panchayats were also appointed
in the last few years thereby bringing rural women into the political
mainstream. Chamling firmly believed that the political empowerment of women
will go a long way in achieving the ultimate goal of equal opportunity for women
in the Sikkimese society. He believes that it will give women an opportunity to
have their voices heard and their concern brought to the fore and attended to.
The Chamling government has also set up Women’s Council in the state
which will act as a powerful platform to address issues like women right,
 security and gender justice. There is 30 percent reservation for women in all
government jobs, 33 percent in the panchayati raj institutions. Today
Sikkim has 322 women members in the panchayati raj institutions out of a
total of 873 members. The objective of the government is to make women co-
partners in all developmental efforts and make them equally strong. Pawan
Chamling further says,

“Had it been left to the discretion of the state government, we would have
provided 50 percent reservation to women in the Assembly. On our own
initiative, we have reserved 33 percent seats for women in panchayats
and 30 percent in government jobs. The state government has been doing
everything possible for the welfare of poor people and women. If I were to
lead Indian Parliament, I would reserve 50 percent seats for women in
the State Assemblies and the Lok Sabha. They deserve this consideration
because of their contribution in the world. And looking at the politics
being played in the name of reservation, I would have been satisfied to
keep economic condition as the only criterion for reservation. That way, I
would have loved to ensure a secure future for the poor people.”

The Chamling era in Sikkim, barely eight years old as the 21st century began,
has borne some admirable fruits. Chamling could claim that today Sikkim is a
state without a single instance of exploitation of women. And what better
corroboration could be there than the expression of satisfaction about women
security in Sikkim by the former Chairperson of the National Commission for
Women, Mohini Giri. During her visit to Sikkim she said that she was not only
very happy with the status of women in Sikkim but commended the fact that
the Commission did not find a single dowry-related case in Sikkim. Pawan
Chamling, obviously happy at Mrs. Giri’s appreciation wants to do much more
for them, so that they become a model for the new generation. He persistently
calls upon the women to shed their inhibitions, and arm themselves with
determination and courage to secure their rightful place in society and work
shoulder to shoulder with the men for all-round development of Sikkim.
 22
Into the 21st Century

Elected to head the government in 1994, Chamling has established himself as a

trendsetter in all sectors, including the educational and socio-cultural. He has
created many a first, especially in areas like women empowerment and poverty
alleviation.
The first and foremost objective of the SDF party was uprooting all anti-
people moves and forces. The policies of government are based on the
principles of democracy, socio-economic equality and respect for dignity of
each individual in the state. Fulfillng the political aspirations of the
Sikkimese people, and fighting against all forms of exploitation and injustice
have been the major planks of this Government.
To promote Sikkimese literature, art and culture, the Sikkim Akademi has been
set up in the State. For speedy justice and avoidance of the usual delay in legal
process, the state government has established a number of courts like the Lok
Adalat, family court, consumer court to provide justice to people at their
homestead. These steps have been undertaken to secure social justice to the
poor so that there is no discrimination in grievance redressal, settlement of
disputes and the common people have a forum to submit their grievances.
The present government has taken up the cudgels to weed out corruption
from its very root. The head of the government himself has discouraged corrupt
practices and wielded the broom to clear the mess. To start with, the
government has exercised a ban on unnecessary expenditure and adopted
austerity measures. The government has further intensified the anti-corruption
drive by enforcing anti-corruption laws, encouraging people’s participation, and
injecting responsiveness in every official, including instant public grievances
redressal. The government has already introduced an element of transparency
and honesty in its functioning.
It is soon constituting an entirely new and largely autonomous body to deal
with the monitoring and evaluation of the development projects. This is aimed
at making the development process both transparent and accountable. Together
with various administrative step and legislations to frustrate illegal tendencies,
the government also sought to improve discriminating faculty among the
common people so that they stand united against corruption. Chamling believes
that the final solution lies in the power of the people who have to oppose
venality tooth and nail for all time to come.
The government under Chamling also created many new departments like the
Department of Youth and Sports to facilitate international standard sporting
opportunities for sportsperson of Sikkim. In a significant development, the
government renamed the Alley ground in the South district headquarter of
Namchi as Bhaichung Bhutia Stadium after the ace footballer of Sikkim. The
state government has already launched a “Search for more Bhaichungs” project
in which promising students were chosen on the basis of their performance and
provided scholarships to provide for their education and sports training. The
government also started sports meets like the “Chief Minister’s Gold Cup
Archery Tournament” and open marathon, thereby reviving traditional sports
like archery.
 The government has also instituted various state Awards carrying Rs. 1 lakh
each under various categories like literature, social service, performing arts,
and sports. More recently, the Chamling government announced a special
incentive package for sportspersons in the state in three disciplines viz. football,
boxing and archery. Any Sikkimese bagging a gold medal in any National Junior
championship will be given a cash award of Rs. 50,000, a silver medalist Rs.
30,000, and a bronze medalist Rs. 20,000. And for senior level championship,
the cash awards are fixed at Rs. 5 lakhs, Rs. 3 lakhs and Rs. 2 lakhs
respectively. For medals in the Asian Games, the cash award will be Rs. 20
lakhs, Rs. 10 lakhs and Rs. 5 lakhs respectively. Similarly, under the Olympic
Games category, the amount is 1 crore, Rs. 50 lakhs and Rs. 20 lakhs
respectively.
The government has so far awarded Bhaichung Bhutia for sports, Danny
Denzongpa for the performing arts, Benjamin Rai for music and Ganden
Lharipa and Gyaltsen Lepcha for wood carving, Sonam Tshering Lepcha and
Capt. Ramsingh Thakuri for music, Tulsi Ram Sharma ‘Kashyap’
(posthumously) for literature. Danny Denzongpa has also been honoured with
Padma Shree award by the centre for his outstanding contribution to cinema.
The youth in Sikkim found a very supportive Chief Minister in Pawan
Chamling who actively takes part in youth activities across the state. An
inspiring man of high dynamism, Chamling exudes confidence and faith in
youthpower in the building of new and prosperous Sikkim. With his support,
Sikkim hosted many national-level youth camps with persons like S.N. Subba
Rao, Director of National Youth Project, participating in two major camps in
Sikkim.
The meeting of the young people who attended the camp from all over the
country was a distinct experience for the Sikkimese people. While helping the
youth realize their inherent power and potential, the Chief Minister prescribed
changes in their outlook and a shift in their set minds. While addressing the
meet on April 11, 2000 in Gangtok he said:
“Without second opinion, today’s youth are the building blocks for the
unborn tomorrows. And with the advent of the new Millennium, the time
has come for redefining the attitude and role of the youth to meet the
new challenges of a fast-changing world. In the global scenario, the
essence of our existence lies in developing competitive edge so as to be
able to survive on the strength of pure merit. We have to discourage the
practice of seeking ready patronage and freebies, and we need to explore
the challenges of expanding horizon to prove our worth. Charity destroys
creative urge and blunts our innovative skills to make us perennially
dependent on the handouts of others. The outgoing century has done
much to bring the one world concept closer to reality simply due to
breakthroughs that have been made in the areas of science and
technology. In such a scenario, youth capable of hard work and a sense
of duty and dedication to their chosen career can certainly find a place in
the sun.”

In a clear message to the youth, Pawan Chamling always sought to discover

the untapped potential of the youthpower in shaping the destiny of the state.
Recognizing the innate evil tendency in every human being, he called upon the
youth to be constructive and positive in their approach to reach their
destination. He called upon them to change themselves into quality people—
people with character, integrity, good values and a positive attitude. Addressing
another youth camp in December 2000, Chamling said, “Let us not act like the
proverbial ostrich, but transform ourselves into the legendary Phoenix to die a
hundred deaths yet resurrect ourselves from the ashes to serve humanity and
offer a heritage of hope to the coming generation.”
Subba Rao was deeply impressed by Chamling’s simplicity and the gentleness
in his purpose to build a model state in the country. In a personal note to the
Chief Minister, Subba Rao said, “Meeting you and getting a feel of your love for
Sikkim and India and the people, especially the youth, was a beautiful
experience for me. Yes, I meant it when I said that I wish there were more chief
ministers like you.”
The government also initiated a very ambitious plan to construct cultural
buildings of different ethnic communities like the Lepcha Cultural Bhawans,
Rhodukhim and Manghim, etc. primarily to preserve indigenous culture,
tradition and custom of the Sikkimese people.
What the Chamling Government did in the last eight years is known to one
and all. Yet a glimpses of major achievements at the state level is essential.
● Sikkim is the most peaceful state in the country today by any subjective and
objective measure. A well-established tradition of social and communal
harmony exists.
● Sikkim is one of the most politically stable states in the country today.
● The State Domestic Product of Sikkim has recorded an average annual
growth rate of over 8 percent in the last decade or so.
● As against hardly 30 percent infants covered by immunization in 1975, it was
more than 70 percent in 1999.
● The number of primary health sub-centers was 2 in 1975 and had increased
to 147 in 1999.
● Sikkim is probably the first state to provide free Hepatitis vaccination
covering 10 percent of the children population (below 5 years)
● The literacy rate, which was hardly 17 percent in 1971, has now increased to
over 70 percent.
● Sikkim has possibly the best teacher-student ratio at all levels in schools.
● Sikkim has achieved 100 percent electrification in rural and urban
households
● It has provided access to safe drinking water to 100 percent of the
population.
● Sikkim has the 13th highest per capita income in the country. It recorded
one of the highest growth rates of 12.96 percent per annum in 1999-2000.
● The total food production in the state steadily increased from over 61,800
tonnes in 1980-81 to 1.06 lakh tonnes in 1999-2000 produced from hardly
64,000 hectares of net sown area.
● An impressive feature of Sikkim’s overall expenditure has been an
overwhelming share (consistently over 74 percent) taken by developmental
activities.
● Sikkim traditionally has a sound track record of maintaining gender equality.
● The position of human development in Sikkim is significantly higher than
many other states of India. The Human Development Index consistently
improved from 0.454 in 1991 to 0.532 in 1998.
● Sikkim has the rare distinction of producing two state-of-the-art reports
recently. These reports were the Human Development Report 2001 and
 Sikkim: The People’s Vision. In the process, Sikkim became the third state in
India to produce the Human Development Report.
● Sikkim has been able to both traditionally and scientifically conserve its rich
biological diversity, including that of more than 5,000 species of angiosperms
(one third of the total national angiosperms).
● As for environmental conservation Sikkim’s Chief Minister was voted as the
“Greenest Chief Minister of India” in a rigorous opinion poll conducted by the
internationally acclaimed institution Centre for Science and Environment,
New Delhi.
A highly symbolic gesture that Chamling took had a strong bearing on the
moral rectitude and decency in public life. Serving of liquor in all official
functions and at Mintokgang, the official residence of the Chief Minister, was
banned immediately after his swearing-in 1994. The GoC, Eastern Command,
General Kalkat once remarked, “Mr. Pawan Chamling is not an ordinary
politician, he is a creative politician.” Nothing was closer to the truth. With a
very high degree of creativity and imagination, Chamling has been trying to
create a form of Sikkimese life where people will be able to live a peaceful life,
cultured life, a prosperous life and a life with dignity and honour.
In his second term as Chief Minister since 1999, Pawan Chamling has braced
himself to give to the Sikkimese people a policy with a long-term perspective.
These policies do reflects his intellectual and innovative capacity and skills.
Under the policy, Chamling introduced a significant shift in the art of
governance. This is basically to realign with the global change and to take
concepts like globalisation and liberalisation in his stride. It includes setting
targets and defining priority areas to make Sikkim richer and yet uphold
Sikkimese tradition, culture and its history.
The 21st century initiatives of Chamling Government was very well
manifested in the presentation the Chief Minister made on the 10th Five year
Plan (2002-2007) before the National Development Council in February 2002.
He stated:

“The Government of Sikkim has put a formidable objective of achieving

a growth rate of 10 percent per annum in the state GDP during the 10th
Plan. We will achieve this higher growth regime by way of:
(i) putting adequate financial resources in a prudently sectoral
allocated framework
(ii) intensifying the reform process in terms of pruning the inefficient
sectors, right sizing the employment in the government
establishments and refocusing only on merit-based subsidies and
other forms of state doles
(iii) institutionalizing the monitoring and evaluation of the planned
projects in a scientific and professional manner
(iv) strengthening and diversifying the mechanisms for the delivery of
goods and services in the framework of a complete and rigorous
accountability
(v) mobilizing a matching quantum of resources through diversifying
the tax and resource base, improving the tax administrations and
attracting more foreign assistance programmes.
 While outlining the newly set agenda he mentioned that “our priorities
are a blending of both the traditional and modern sectors as we feel that
a very comprehensive but a focused approach only could help us in:

● Alleviating poverty
● Narrowing gap in income employment distribution
● Generating employment in the non-governmental areas
● Broadbasing the participation of both private and non-
governmental agencies
● Mobilising the resources from diverse sources and
● Making the development socio-culturally and ecologically
sustainable.”

Chamling was very clear in his mind to emphasise on the importance

of some of the critical traditional sectors. He stated that,
“We have therefore put our focus, attention and resources on the very
specific sub-sectors of the following five basic sectors which together
constitute over 76 percent of the total plan outlays.
(i) Agriculture, including horticulture and animal husbandry (13.6
percent of the proposed outlays)
(ii) Infrastructure consisting mainly of power, road and transport:
(30.85 percent of the proposed outlays)
(iii) Social services, particularly education and health (26.81 percent
of the proposed outlays)
(iv) Tourism and related activities (3.02 percent of the proposed
outlays)
(v) Industry (1.8 percent of the proposed outlays)

The 10th Plan is a big challenge to us. For the first time we are
changing the course of development direction in a very planned and
determined manner. We are reasonably sure that we will be able to
achieve all the set goals. In doing so, we would also be able to reposition
Sikkim as the most fast growing Himalayan State in the country.”

It was Pawan Chamling’s destiny to guide his beloved Sikkim into the 21st
century and the new millennium. Never mind what course the politics of Sikkim
and India might take, the Chamling stamp on the course of Sikkim’s history
has been clearly imprinted. His ideas have begun to work. The seeds of progress
that he planted since 1994 are beginning to sprout. Chamling often said:

“A prosperous, self-reliant Sikkim is possible only through discerning

thought and scientific planning. The job is difficult but not impossible.
The face of Sikkim will considerably improve if we could utilize the huge
natural resources to our advantage. With this thought in mind, we have
braced ourselves to free the state from the condition of dependency. By
proper utilization of the available natural resources, we can attain self-
sufficiency. Hence, we have identified some priority areas in terms of
exploiting our natural resources. Our first and foremost concern is how
we can make the state self-reliant through effective means as early as
possible.”
And accordingly, Chamling has undertaken many intellectual exercises to
ascertain the move forward through studied observation, analysis, and
meticulous planning. The doctrine of self-reliance is all too pronounced, two of
the most responsible instruments for the state government to go ahead to
achieve this goal as the millennium mantra are the two documents that seeking
to charter the future of development and growth. These were Sikkim Human
Development Report 2001 authored by Prof. Mahendra P. Lama of Jawaharlal
Nehru University, New Delhi, and Sikkim: The People’s Vision prepared by a
team led by Dr. Ashok Lahiri, Director of National Institute of Public Finance
and Policy, New Delhi. Some of the cherished dreams of Chamling are embodied
in the two historic documents. Both the documents laid down the vital
parameters of social and economic realities of Sikkim as it entered the 21st
century and the new paradigms for its future politico-economic journey in the
new century and the new millennium.
In consultation with the stakeholders, The People’s Vision articulated a vision
of a prosperous Sikkim with an effective private sector-led thriving trade. It
called for harnessing of crucial sectors like hydroelectric power, tourism,
horticulture, and floriculture. After spelling out the goals for the economy, it
elaborates the underlying fiscal policy framework and sectoral strategy that will
move the economy towards these goals. A vastly expanded role for the private
sector and community is envisaged.
The introduction of technology and modern scientific methods to help the
state overcome its natural handicaps of inaccessibility has been emphasized. It
underlines that the government cannot make the vision come true by
continuing with its ‘business-as-usual’ attitude. There has to be a strategic
withdrawal of the State from widespread untargeted subsidies and direct
employment creation. This has to be combined with a critical emphasis on
setting up a congenial business infrastructure, including legal framework to
foster private sector activities.
Further this report very critically looks into the fiscal management in the
state and suggests many measures to drastically improve the financial
situations. This includes revamping the tax administration, revising user
charges and containing spiralling subsidies. It highlighted expenditure
management and prioritisation as another major area for reform.
It recommends rationalization of government staff; skill-based secondary and
well-targeted vocational training, private sector participation in the tourism,
hydropower and agro-based industries and better technological intervention in
the animal husbandry sector.
The analysis and the policy recommendations are to a large extent applicable
for all North-Eastern and the Himalayan states.
The Sikkim Human Development Report, 2001 has thrown up vital statistics
regarding the State government’s performance in the last few decades. This has
acted as a benchmark to assess the government’s past experience and
corresponding benefits.
The traditional measures of development like gross domestic product and per
capita income has been increasingly questioned as the real indicators of
development by a large number of scholars and policy makers. They always
wanted much broader and more representative indicators of development. This
search for a new method of measuring development led to the concept of
human development and then indicators like Human Development Index (HDI).
Human beings also have non-material choices like human rights, political
independence, human dignity and self-respect, social freedom, peace and
tranquility etc. The Human Development approach, therefore, made an attempt
to meet and fulfil all these choices of people.
In other words, the Human Development approach to development brings out
the best from the hidden capabilities and talents of the most neglected and
marginalized people and communities also. In Sikkim, the Government has
been primarily driven by this philosophy of giving the most to the poor at the
grass roots.
Chief Minister Chamling, while presenting this Report in the State Assembly
in August 2001, said,

“This Human Development Report will go a long way in providing

instruments and strategies to translate our philosophy into action and
achievements. We want to build human capabilities and use these
capabilities for the sustenance of the state and the nation. This is where
our government makes a path breaking departure from many other
governments in the State.
Since this is for the first time such an attempt has been made to
prepare a HDR of Sikkim, it has covered broad areas and issues related
to human development in the state. My Government is looking forward to
the preparation of similar reports making more focused sectoral
depiction and analysis in future....
The Sikkim Human Development Report 2001 very critically looks into
the issues of population, poverty, planning, health, education,
environment, governance, industry and power. It suggests far- reaching
measures on food security, environmental management, governance,
traditional practices, women health and empowerment, quality of
education and monitoring and evaluation systems....
I am glad to announce that this report mentions that the position of
human development in Sikkim is significantly higher than in many other
states of India. The Human Development Index has consistently
improved from 0.454 in 1991 to 0.532 in 1998....
Two other very interesting findings of this Report are on the outflow of
resources from Sikkim in both visible and invisible manner. The other is,
for the first time the author has put together a new concept of
comprehensive security provided by Sikkim to the nation. This includes
military, environmental and people’s security. The author suggests that
the Union government should now adequately compensate Sikkim for the
development sacrifices it has been making in single-handedly providing
comprehensive security to the country.”

The two documents prepared under the guidance of reputed economists of

the country reflect on the background of the developmental strategies adopted
so far and present trends emerging in Sikkim. Secondly, they sought to propose
reforms in certain sectors and guide the government through rational and
judicious planning. The documents are part of the State government’s plan to
make every Sikkimese a lakhpati by 2015 and every Sikkimese a crorepati by
2050.
Both the unique documents, published by the Government of Sikkim, were
released by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in New Delhi on September 5,
2001, at his residence. Present on the occasion were Chief Minister Pawan
Chamling, his cabinet colleagues, MLAs, senior civil servants and a large
number of eminent people from New Delhi and Sikkim. The Union Cabinet
Minister for the North-East Area Development Arun Shourie was also present
on the occasion, which was a major attempt to bring the socio-economic
potentials and challenges of Sikkim to the notice of the highest authorities in
the country. And the Prime Minister did display a keen and sympathetic
awareness of the issues focused by Chamling.
It was significant that releasing these documents, Prime Minister Vajpayee
categorically stated that nothing would be done to hurt or upset the sentiments
of the people of Sikkim. He assured the gathering that his government would
look into all their demands carefully. He reiterated that nothing would be done
to destabilise the duly and popularly elected government in the state. This was
in direct reference to the income tax issue and the issue of including some
communities into the scheduled tribes list. The Prime Minister re-emphasized
that the people of Sikkim should have no apprehension in this aspect.
The Prime Minister was emphatic that the merger of Sikkim with India 27 years
ago was both historic and sweet. He agreed that the people of Sikkim have
made bold strides in all these years. In this manner the state was contributing
to the national agenda and overall progress. By bringing out these reports, the
state has further added to this cause. Vajpayee further pointed out that Sikkim
was endowed with wonderful gifts by nature and there was tremendous peace
there.
The Prime Minister reassured Chamling and his colleagues about the necessary
legislation on Sikkim’s entry into the North-Eastern Council. He said that the
decision had already been taken but needed Parliament’s approval and the
same would be done soon. He added that Sikkim had the potential to make
more progress.
Chamling’s continuous and sincere efforts at mainstreaming Sikkim has
certainly drawn warm and sympathetic response and recognition of the Prime
Minister of India. Vajpayee on this occasion congratulated the Chief Minister
and his colleagues on the wonderful reports that had been prepared. The people
of India have been supportive of all action taken by the Government of Sikkim
to bring about more reforms and progress in the State. The road-building
programme has been strengthened and fully supported. The airport would be
built. Only the rail-link to Sikkim needed to be assessed for its viability. The
Prime Minister added that all would be done to make sure that accessibility to
Sikkim was not a problem.
The Prime Minister, referring to his ruling National Democratic Alliance’s
commitment, said that a separate minister-in-charge of the North-Eastern
states had been appointed. Arun Shourie had been given the responsibility.
Prime Minister felt that he would be an able minister for this task.
Shourie also displayed well-informed and keen awareness about challenges and
problems faced by Sikkim. He spoke very lovingly about Sikkim. He said that
Sikkim had won the race for preparing the Human Development Report. Only
three states had achieved this distinction and eleven others have been in the
process of preparing it. Shourie said that the Planning Commission was just
getting its act together to prepare a National Human Development Report. While
congratulating the Chief Minister, he said that it was a testimony of the
leadership and its vision. Shourie coined a new word for the Sikkim effort under
Chamling. He said that this was a case of ‘imagineering’ that showed how one
could imagine the goals. Shourie also informed the Prime Minister that he was
looking into all the areas where there was delay. He assured everyone that he
would be putting many of the issues related to Sikkim on the fast track.
And what were the Sikkim-related issues which needed to be put on the fast
track? Chamling continuously and consistently made all possible efforts to
focus the attention of the highest authorities both political and administrative.
While congratulating Pawan Chamling for the excellent Sikkim Human
Development Report, 2001 and Sikkim: The People’s Vision, the UN Resident
Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in India, Brenda Gael
McSweeney wrote to the Chief Minister,

“Our hearty congratulations to you, Chief Secretary Tenzing and the

team for publication of an excellent Sikkim Human Development Report
(HDR), launched by the Prime Minister of India. The report has received
kudos from a wide spectrum of people in Government and civil society.
The emphasis in the Report on governance for sustainable human
development is an inspiration to all of us. We are indeed gratified that
the collaboration between the State Government, the Planning
Commission and the UNDP has yielded such promising results...I am
confident that the Sikkim HDR will inspire collective follow-up action.
The Sikkim HDR will also be a role model for other state HDRs in India,
notably in the Northeast and for hill states. We look forward to an
exciting partnership ahead in this endeavour.”

Sikkim is a rich reservoir of tradition, culture, and customs. Yet there was no
such official documents to mirror these aspects. Till date there was no such
authentic documentation on these subjects to fall back upon, which dwelt on
Sikkim’s unique geographical profile, environment, socio-economic and political
subjects. Realizing this grave necessity, the government has recently instituted
a “Study Series” project in which the state government has engaged
intellectuals proficient in their respective fields. A brainchild of Pawan
Chamling, the work has already commenced.
There has been tremendous effort on the part of government to showcase
Sikkimese indigenous culture and tradition to the outside world. The
government has been successful to a very large extent. The Surajkund Mela in
Haryana was opened up amidst Sikkimese flavour and taste in 2002. Sikkim
was chosen as the theme state for the fair that year. Chamling who was himself
present at the inaugural ceremony felt that the mela would give exposure to the
craftsmen of the state and help them integrate into the national mainstream.
The mela would equally expose their skills and dexterity to foreign tourists. This
also provided a platform for the local artisans to interact with artisans from
other parts of the country.
When it came to the larger issue of self-reliance, Chamling is quick to recognize
tourism and hydro-power resource as promising areas for achieving the goals.
Thus, promotion of eco-tourism and hydro-power are the two most prioritized
areas in the new millennium. The government has signed a long-term
agreement with the National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) for tapping the
huge hydro-power resources of Sikkim estimated at a whopping, 8,000 MW.
Works for different stages are being carried out on war footing and one project
at legship has been commissioned already.
Sikkim is one state where nature has showered its plenty in the form of natural
resources.
● 26 percent of flowering plants in India totalling 4,500 are found in Sikkim as
endemic species.
● Sikkim is a land of orchids with 448 different varieties,
● 36 species of rhododendrons,
● 20 species of bamboos,
● 362 species of ferns and ferns allies,
● 8 types of tree ferns,
● 30 different varieties of primulas,
● 11 types of oaks,
● 424 different varieties of medicinal plants,
● 144 species of mammals,
● 550 species of birds,
● 400 species of butterflies,
● 48 different species of fish,
● 28 mountain peaks,
● 21 glaciers,
● 227 lakes and wetlands and
● over 104 rivers and streams.
This impressive treasure trove of nature would further mystify the human mind
when one refers to the fact that Sikkim constitutes only 0.5 percent of the total
geographical area in India. Given this natural fact, Sikkim is well suited for eco-
tourism.
The Sikkim government has undertaken meticulous planning, including a
“Tourism Master Plan” to develop the tourism industry in the state. Pawan
Chamling, however, expresses himself in no uncertain terms that he could not
afford to get richer at the cost of Sikkim’s nature and its environment. The
environmental situation in Sikkim is always in focus in the Chamling
dispensation. Damage of the past is sought to be repaired.
The present ecological management is strong. The future is sought to be built
on sound principles of ecological balance and sustainability. Tourism, however,
will be the prime industry in the state. Nobody is more conscious than Chief
Minister Chamling himself that the environmental situation is fraught with
challenges that need special focus and relevant solutions. Expressing himself
on environmental issues, he said at one of the functions, “Sikkim has
traditionally been a place where people have lived in absolute harmony with
nature. This state has been identified the world over as an important repository
of germplasm of unknown dimensions.”
To make people partner in governance, the government has decided to enlist the
involvement of non-governmental organizations in different welfare schemes.
The government wants to introduce basic paradigm shift in terms of
developmental efforts with the government playing only the role of a facilitator,
lest the super-active role of the government traditionally may be a detriment
towards the overall development in the changing world order. Pawan Chamling
opines,

“The developmental activities so far are highly centralized with the state
government. The pro-active role of the government should scale down to
one that of promotional, that of a catalyst. That would inject a spirit of
greater community involvement in the development activities and also a
greater sense of responsibility and accountability. In this connection, we
have also invited private investment in areas like education, and small-
scale industries in the State. During the two significant meets of the
investors and NGOs with the state government, many far-reaching
 decisions and strategies have emerged which will certainly propel Sikkim
in the path of accelerated growth and progress.”

He was referring to the two significant meets with prospective investors and
NGOs in New Delhi. The stress has been greater on public-private participation
in developing the state. The SDF government has gone all out to invite all
promising investors, industrialists, and business houses to invest in Sikkim. In
the new millennium, isolation cannot work. And this Chamling knew more than
anyone else.
In fact for the first time Sikkim has the conspicuous presence of all the
renowned development agencies and aid donors, including the World Bank,
Asian Development Bank, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation
(UNIDO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Health
Organisation (WHO), Swiss International Development Agency (SIDA),
Australian Aid (AUSAid), International Centre for Intergrated Mountain
Development (ICIMOD) and a large number of agencies from India.
To ensure that both the formulation and implementation of the economic and
social policies of Sikkim in the 21st century does not suffer because of lack of
political and administrative will, Pawan Chamling has conceived and set up a
full-fledged State Planning Commission. It was in May 2001 that the Sikkim
Cabinet approved the constitution of the Sikkim State Planning Commission
headed by the Chief Minister himself as the Chairman. Muchkund Dubey,
former Foreign Secretary, was appointed as its Deputy Chairman.
Addressing a press conference at Tashiling Secretriat at Gangtok on May 5,
2001, the Chief Minister gave details about the State Planning Commission. He
said that it had been decided by the Cabinet that the Deputy Chairman of the
Sikkim Planning Commission would have the status of a Cabinet Minister and
all other members would have the status of Ministers of State.
For the constitution of the State Planning Commission, it was clear that efforts
had been made to collect the best of Sikkim-friendly and professionally top-
ranking and experienced members. The Chamling vision on planned
development of his state was well reflected in the aims and objectives of the
Sikkim Planning Commission. The main objective behind the creation of the
Commission has been to formulate long-term perspective plans for suggested
strategies and sustainable development of Sikkim.
The Commission is expected to assist the state in the preparation of its annual
plans. It is also expected to extend its assistance for efficient resource and
expenditure management and savings. It would advise on policy incentives to
achieve fiscal stability in the State economy. The Planning Commission would
review the progress of the various plan projects under implementation and play
an active role in resource mobilization from national and international agencies.
In the first Sikkim State Planning Commission’s meeting held in Gangtok on
Monday, August 13 2001, Pawan Chamling was not playing shy of the many
lapses as far as the lapses in different schemes go. He said:

“You are aware we have always had sound objectives and adequate
allocations in every sector of economy, year after year. Yet the growth has
been sluggish, poverty, illiteracy, and unemployment still continue to
characterize the Sikkimese society and economy. We spent and invested
huge quantum of resources. Yet it benefited only a few. An overwhelming
majority of the rural folks have been left where they were when the
 planned development process began. All these years, we seem to have
suffered from poor designing of schemes, weak delivery and a total lack
of monitoring and evaluation.”

Pawan Chamling has a clear perspective in regard to the objectives of the State
Planning Commission. As he said,

“The Sikkim State Planning Commission has been set up at a time when
the entire development direction of Sikkim is at the crossroads. We have
three fundamental challenges. First, is the challenge posed by
globalisation-led economic reforms where the role of state and
government will be increasingly diminished. Second, is the challenge of
mobilization of resources for the purpose of development. Most of the
traditional bases for resource mobilization are getting fast eroded. And
third, the new paradigm of development set forth by the new agents and
institutions of development.”

Thus, it is Chamling’s way of preparing Sikkim and the Sikkimese for a new
order of life that globalization-led forces might throw up in the new millennium.
Apart from emergency meetings when required, the Sikkim Planning
Commission is expected to meet four times a year.

Pawan Chamling has a vision to empower village people through the

cooperatives movement. Having set up a cooperative society himself at a tender
age in his own village at Yangang, the idea is intimately woven in his psyche.
Under Chamling, the cooperatives movement received a great boost in
spreading its message and enlarging its membership across the state. A
Sahakari Bhawan was constructed in 1996- 97. The department is today fully
functional and is headed by an independent secretary.

The government has taken a decision to set up a multi- purpose cooperative

society each in every Gram Panchayat unit. The government has opened a
cooperative apex bank in the capital with the aim of opening similar banks in
all other three districts. Chamling says, “Under cooperation, the government
has taken major decisions to reach out to every village and take care of the poor
people. The idea is to inculcate in them the benefit of economic principles,
management, and sustainable development with the simple folks as players and
partners. On cooperative as a full fledged activity he once remarked that,

“To promote greater coordination among people, the government is also

very keen to set up cooperative unions in the state. The Sikkim State
Cooperative Bank is already providing loans to cooperative societies. To
bring about greater awareness about the cooperatives movement, the
state government declared the year 2002 as the ‘Cooperation Year’. The
decision is far reaching because we are concerned about wiping every
single drop of tear from the face of Sikkim. The cooperatives movement,
promoted with due care and commitment, will surely make the
Sikkimese people healthy, wealthy, and wise. Now the Sikkimese people
have to increasingly become producers from mere consumer.”
Pawan Chamling has obviously the poor and the underprivileged as his target
group in advocating the cooperatives movement. While addressing the National
Conference and Board meeting of NAFSCOB in Gangtok on March 17, 2001, he
said, “India lives in villages. So, I feel and believe that unless we can improve
the socio-economic condition of rural people, all our plans and programmes will
have little meaning. Cooperatives have emerged as the most suitable
organisation for transforming the rural economy by helping humble farmers
and artisans to increase their productivity and become self-reliant.” Chamling
made his resolve amply clear when he said,

“As ships are not built for resting in the harbour—safe and
unchallenged—we are not prepared to rest. We are prepared to put in
hard work and spare our energy so that we can spread happiness among
the poorest of the poor. In other words, we are prepared to take a plunge,
no matter how risky the storm might be and live through the turbulent
night to emerge triumphant amidst the breaking dawn of a new day.”

That basically is the dream of Pawan Chamling. To give to the poor people a
new light and a new day full of prosperity and pride.
In a similar move, the state government has decided to equip each Gram
Panchayat with a full-fledged library to spread knowledge and promote wisdom.
The Department of Rural Development has started the mission in good earnest
in developing the physical and other infrastructural aspects. The idea is to
make rural Sikkim complete not only with material prosperity but also with a
discriminating mind and an artistic disposition. The library is one of the agents
of education. It is education which brings about mass consciousness and
inspire people to wage war against all forms of exploitation.
This is one of the ambitious projects of the state government and in its
fulfilment, Chamling himself feels very proud and satisfied. With the spread of
mass education, he is confident that social taboos and dogmas, which do no
good to people, would come to an end. Satisfaction also stems from the fact that
at an initial stage, some reactionary forces tried to confuse and confound the
common masses about the establishment of libraries in the state. With people’s
acceptance, the campaign has finally been successful.
The state has also set up a higher education institution in collaboration with
the Manipal Pai Foundation. A batch of 116 engineer graduates passed out of
the Sikkim Manipal University. The state is now able to provide education in
technology and medicine to many young men and women from within and
outside the state, thus bringing about cross-cultural exchange. This
undoubtedly will contribute to the progress of the nation and indeed of Sikkim.
Speaking at the convocation ceremony of Sikkim Manipal University in August
2001, Chamling observed,

“Good quality education needs to be made available to many of our own

Sikkimese children who are not able to pay the high price of such
education. It is in this light that we have to be able to justify institutions
 such as this. I hope that the Board will pay ample heed to see that even
as we encourage young minds from all over India to come here, that our
own people in Sikkim are taken care of. They must be given preference
not only for engineering but for the medical seats as well.”

To achieve a high level of transparency, accountability, and better

governance in the new millennium, the Sikkim government has also created
a separate Department of Information Technology. The aim is to create a
better administrative mechanism through the use of modern information
tools. As part of the ambitious North-Eastern Council-funded project,
Sikkim has been sanctioned 40 community information centres. These have
been set up across the rural areas thereby connecting rural population with
the outside world through the Internet. A very promising project is in the
offing to connect all government departments through a comprehensive
network of computers and Internet so that the government could speed up
the administrative process.
In yet another significant development, Pawan Chamling also inaugurated
Smart card based Driving Licence and Vehicle Registration book project in
the State on 12th December 2002. Sikkim has become the third state in the
country to introduce his system after Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. This
project will lead to the complete computerization of the entire transport
department, and thus is a giant step forward towards achieving the objective
of e-governance. It would also lend transparency, efficiency and hi-tech
initiative of the transport department in the State.
Sikkim has also become the first state in the country to implement the
indigenously developed operating system; the microprocessor based SCOSTA
smart cards as per the national guidelines of Ministry of Road Transport and
Highways, Government of India.
The setting up of a Software Technology Park (STP) is being actively pursued
and a team has already conducted a feasibility study. The IT department has
also started training all government officials in the use of computers. The
department is also acting as the facilitator for private initiatives in all
technology-driven ventures. There is no looking backward. Chamling has
called it the main weapon and said, “Technology is our main weapon to
overcome stagnancy.” The idea is to make use of all available tools to better
the future prospect of Sikkim and the Sikkimese people.
In a similar mission, the government introduced single-window service system
in district administration. The system, formally inaugurated by Pawan
Chamling, would simplify the process of getting official certificates and other
documents across the counter within a scheduled date. This would greatly help
a common man save time and energy. He no longer needs to move from table to
table seeking favours for pushing his file through.
Chamling is leading Sikkim into the 21st century with a new resolve and
renewed idealism. If he was seeking cooperation from the Investors’ Forum in
February 2001, he was also expressing his deep sorrow at the earthquake
tragedy which ravaged Gujarat. Knowing that Sikkim has been a victim of
natural disasters he urged the National Committee on Disaster Management to
come up with a system of learned response and development of clear cut
blueprint, spelling out sequence and mode of action for speedy relief. He also
stressed two salient features of the Sikkim budget of 2001-2002 in the same
month. The two major facets of his first budget of the 21st century were
employment generation through additional revenue mobilization, and reforms in
governance and economy for alleviating poverty.
In the concluding budget speech of 2001, Chamling also focused on his 21st
century dreams. He said,

“The 21st century Sikkim will be guided by competent talent. We have to

create such talent from amongst ourselves. We have, therefore, set about
the task of establishing Smart Schools in the state. To thrash out
developmental issues, we want to set up think tanks at the district and
the sub-divisional level. Local issues and problems can be solved through
collective deliberation at the local level. We wish to create a ‘Skill
Development Fund’ with a view to sponsoring capacity building projects
and to create competent manpower in the state. Such a fund will be
utilized especially to engage graduate youth in acquiring professional
degrees and skills in areas like tourism management, information
technology, rural management, small scale enterprises, and science and
technology.”

Chamling’s eyes were always firmly set on the future. When he looks ahead to
the 21st century and the new millennium, he never forgets the important role
which the rural people and the youth of Sikkim have to play in making the
collective dreams of Sikkim come true. He stresses, “There must be a change in
the mentality of our educated youths who seek government jobs all the time.
There are world-wide opportunities open for them but the thinking pattern has
become too narrow to be able to accommodate this truth. They must develop
the competitive spirit and readiness to face the world.” Chamling appealed to
the elected representatives of the people in the Sikkim Vidhan Sabha to work
towards this end.
His speech on the concluding day of the 2001 budget session of the Sikkim
Assembly provided other important insights into his dreams. The visionary
Chamling said,

“In our quest to make Sikkim a model state we need unconditional

support and help from every section of the people. Firstly, we need to
modernize our approach in the fields of education, collective outlook,
attitude and our lifestyle including the style of our economy. We propose
to modernize the very concept of governance. Modernizing our
government is to get a better, creative and people-oriented and people-
centric government. It is not modernization for the sake of
modernization, but modernization for a purpose. That is introducing a
better sense of purpose in the government machinery and in every
sphere of life.”

He gave some inkling into his vision of an effective and functional 21st century,
all-comprehensive drive for modernization in Sikkim. He said,

“We want to discover new and effective methods of developing our state.
We want to seek all spheres of life without an element of novelty. Too
often in the past, the tendency in public service has been to stick to the
traditional. This is the time for finding a new and better approach to
 developmental strategies. We want to frame our policies in the most
democratic atmosphere, for we believe that a democratically developed
policy will be able to address and find solutions to the problems of the
people. Policy-making is a process whereby a government translates its
political vision into action. A flawed and inadequate policy cannot deliver
the good that the people desire.”

Chamling is among the new brand of 21st century notables among the Chief
Ministers of India. He is a firm believer in the modernization and a promoter of
frontline scientific technological progress. Among these harbingers of 21st
century, he is a pioneer for turning vision into action. Whenever he comes
across new idea, he simply put it down on a piece of paper. Then he mulls over
it, refines and crystallizes the idea, assimilates it into his own thought process,
projects the plans until the vision becomes action. This is also reflected in his
expression on the nature and quality of a good and effective policy.
According to Chamling,

“I would venture to say that a policy should not be a response to a short

term pressure. Rather, it should be shaped by evidence to solve the real
problem. Needless to say that policymakers should be more forward and
outward looking in framing policy matters because that affects the
government’s ability to meet the needs of the people. I would like to
stress on the need for flexible and innovative policies. Hence, from the
people’s representatives, various political parties and intellectuals, we
expect more new ideas, more willingness to question inherited ways of
doing things, new research in policy-making and better focus on policies
that will deliver long-term goals.”

Chamling’s philosophy and approach to policy making for the 21st century is
conceived from the realities of human conditions. The limitations and
constraints of the delivery systems never affected his zeal. In fact, his views,
pragmatic and down-to-earth as they are, could be a classic lesson for
policymakers. He opines, “An increasing separation between policy and delivery
has acted as a barrier. We have to find ways and means to overcome this
obstacle. Hence, the challenge remains to get different parts of governance to
work together to deliver the government’s overall strategic objectives.”
Chamling’s process of modernization is not like those in many other states of
the country where the village is either totally neglected or devoured by senseless
urbanization. In many of these states, it has only accentuated crucial
infrastructural strains and pressures. He stresses,

“Today we need to return to our village. Our people should regenerate

interest in the productive works at their villages. You all are aware about
the government’s commitment towards developing the villages in every
sphere of human activity. However, the village people are more tempted
towards the urbanized notion of an easy life and comfort. This habit of
mind will push us towards slavery in our own village and society.”

Sikkim of the 21st century is all set to initiate new trends in the fields of
governance, policy making and delivery system, besides politics and
administration with accountability, transparency, and reforms with a human
face. The realization of good governance is ingrained in his vision of policy and
its making. And Pawan Chamling has sought to take all concerned, including
the state bureaucracy in his march into the new millennium. He exhorted,

“The process of policy making has to be a process of continuous learning

and improvement so that policies can meet the rising expectations of the
people. It is also a question of learning from our experience. It helps
understand better the problem that we are trying to address. If the
government’s policies are not implemented, all our policies will be
wasted. Therefore, service delivery mechanism is very crucial.
Government departments and agencies must be sensitive to people’s
problems.
Accordingly, public servants must be agents of change, introducing a
culture of improvement, innovation, and collaborative purpose in the
public delivery system. Without a paradigm shift in the present
bureaucracy, the pace of development will slow down over the years. I
have a long cherished dream to provide Sikkim with a bureaucracy which
is right, responsive, involved, and transparent. If the bureaucracy is
sensitive, committed and forward looking, our policies and programmes
will change the life of people for the better. In other words, a responsible
bureaucracy can play a significant role in solving many a problem of the
Sikkimese people.”

For Chamling ideas and enthusiasm travelled fast. Where there are roadblocks,
he was quick to address himself to remove them by help, persuasion, and
disciplined pressure, if necessary. He firmly believes and declares that promises
made must be fulfilled. Speaking on behalf of his party and government, he
confidently said:
“We are sincerely working towards fulfilling many of our promises and we
have also many success stories to our credit. Today I can say that the
SDF government is a better government for the rural people. The SDF
government is a better government for women, the youth and the
students. It is a better government for every good citizen. That means we
are forever in a mode of continuous transformation so that our action
plans metamorphose from good to better and to the best. We cannot rest
today. We need to do more good things for Sikkim and the Sikkimese
people.
Hence, together with you all, I propose to set in motion the economic
reforms in the State. Together with you, I intend to chisel out a modern
Sikkim with an apt mixture of tradition and modernity and where our
lives are enriched everyday by our interaction with the emerging world
order. Together with you, I want to keep alive our commitment to help
the downtrodden and poor out of neglect and trauma. Together with you,
I imagine a vista of partnership, cooperation and complimentary actions
to help the Sikkimese people live a meaningful life of fulfilment and
satisfaction. In this great and noble task of making Sikkimese people
prosperous, your cooperation is very crucial and indispensable.”
One of the most vexing issues which was linked with maintenance of peace and
tranquillity in Sikkim has been the imposition of income tax. Keeping intact the
confidence of the Sikkimese people in the sanctity of the Indian Constitution
and constitutional guarantees given under the merger treaty, have made this
issue very sensitive. Chamling submitted that the people of Sikkim would be
disturbed and distressed and there was likelihood of unrest if the Indian
Income Tax Act of 1961 was enforced in Sikkim. He stated that governments in
Sikkim had fallen on this account in the past. Article 371 F (k) was very
sensitive and protected Sikkim’s own Income Tax Manual. Hence, he argued
that this issue needed to be resolved by maintaining the status quo.
Chamling suggested that one of the ways to solve this problem would be to
exempt all those people who had the Sikkim State Subjects Certificate from the
purview of Central Income Tax laws. In this connection, he successfully led a
very important delegation comprising leaders of all major political parties of
Sikkim. They met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on November 16, 2001 to
request the Central government to respect Article 371 F incorporating special
provision for Sikkim at the time of the merger. Like many national papers, one
daily lauded Chamling and commented, “Chamling is not against Central laws
but desires a faithful observance of the safeguards guaranteed under Article
371 F at the time of the merger. It is as simple as that.”
Back home, many political commentators praised Chamling for his leadership
quality where he not only convinced other leaders but the leader of opposition
himself, the former Chief Minister Narbahadur Bhandari, to see eye to eye with
him on this issue. Many viewed this as the dawn of a new political paradigm—
from confrontation to consensus politics. And Pawan Chamling is fully credited
for making this significant attitudinal change in the political players of the
state.
Perhaps no other chief minister had been so consistent and persistent in
interacting with the Central government in order to put the needs and problems
of his state in the right perspective before them as Pawan Chamling has. He
sends personal submissions, joint memoranda and at times leads delegations to
pursue the solution of problems and challenges affecting the future of Sikkim.
It was necessary to enter the 21st century in peace and stability so important
for progress.
And Pawan Chamling knew fully well that in the new millennium, a spirit of
innovation has to be introduced in all traditional means and approaches to
human development. In fact, many of the officials in the bureaucracy admit
that the Chief Minister is moving at an extraordinary pace to develop Sikkim
into a modern state. The officials might be finding it hard to catch up with him.
Yet every discerning Sikkimese has to share with him the dreams and the
millennium mantra that Chamling has incorporated in his mission to make
Sikkim peaceful, prosperous and strong. The Sikkimese people are well aware
that they could not do less, indeed.
 23
Looking Beyond the Horizon

Political journeys are not easy to undertake. They make the political travellers’
private lives an open book. One’s strength and weaknesses, follies and foibles
are constantly exposed to the light and scrutiny of the public gaze. And,
furthermore there is no resting point or short distance end to these journeys.
Sometimes such journey undertaken by determined travelers continue even
after them. And yet there are miles and miles to cover. Chamling’s political
journey is also an everlasting quest. None knows it better than Chamling
himself. The journey has its rewards and price; it has its pitfalls too. But he is
not daunted by the price he would have to pay for attaining the goals he set up
for himself and the people of his beloved Sikkim.
The journey often sprouted new goals and vital new highways and the travellers
have to have the vitality and imagination enough to redraw his travelling
strategies. As the year 2001 was coming to a close, Chamling too was drawing a
new course for his journey. In a gathering of his ministers, colleagues, and
senior civil servants of his state, invited to dinner at the Old Sikkim House in
New Delhi, he bared his heart and mind on the problems of the present and
goals of the future. He asked every one of his colleagues to get ready to act as a
volunteer to tell everyone about Sikkim today and Sikkim tomorrow, its hopes
and aspirations. He was preparing them all for the 21st century journey.
In a lighter vein, Chamling asked one of the senior women civil servants how
long her term of service for Sikkim remained. When she answered ‘2004’, he
smiled and said in good humour, “Well my present term is also up to 2004.”
The dinner at the Old Sikkim House was an inspiring display of Chamling as a
head of the state. In a normal and informal conversation, he is capable of
charging and inspiring all his ministers, colleagues, and officials to look at
Sikkim’s achievements and problems and express their resolve to strive to do
more and more. He posed issues and sought their suggestions about how to
tackle them.
One by one, they opened up and gave valid suggestions, each according to his
own imagination and experience. Thus one could see several new resolves and
visions emerging. It was like an extended joint-family gathering, where Sikkim
was uppermost in everyone’s thoughts. They freely talked about its problems
and gave their suggestions to tackle them. It showed that informal gatherings
like this one, with the Chief Minister sitting in one corner asking occasional
question, giving occasional suggestions, always turned into a vibrant think
tank. Suggestions and resolves freely flowed from all directions.
In between, the poet in Chamling would come out and make remarks which
added a human face to even the starkest social and political issues. One would
hear him say, “Qudrat ne Sikkim ko fursat ke waqt ghada hai (Nature has
created Sikkim during her leisure hour).”
He would smile and remark, “Is Chamling ke andar ek chhota Chamling bhi
baitha hai, jo bara hone ki koshish karta rahta hai (There is a little Chamling
hiding inside this Chamling who is ever striving to grow).” It indicated that even
though he is constantly and deeply involved in his complex and ever
challenging political journey to change the lot of his beloved Sikkim, the child,
the flame of poetic human innocence in him, always remains alive.
When an officer complimented him on his master stroke in unifying arch rivals
and enemies in politics to take a united political representation to the Central
leaders, Chamling maintained a thoughtful silence and an enigmatic smile. It
was difficult to judge what was going on in his mind. Perhaps he was thinking
that when it came to the interest of Sikkim and the Sikkimese people, he will
forget political differences among different parties.
Chamling realized that he and his Sikkim still have miles to go. He has never
missed an opportunity to assemble his political colleagues and civil servants to
brief them about the latest developments and challenges that cropped up. He
would get into their hearts and minds to encourage response and resolve to
devise ways and means to solve them. Then he would try to turn the exercise
into a collective will to go ahead with dedication, determination, and a definite
sense of purpose and action. Those who came into contact with him, even for a
while were influenced by his mission. They become his fellow travelers. Pawan
Chamling is one of the few Chief Ministers who can evoke such sense of loyalty,
partnership, and pride in their civil servants colleagues.
Chamling has a very special way of inspiring his civil servant colleagues to do
their best for Sikkim. There were officials in Delhi, Calcutta, and Gangtok doing
their human best to follow the footsteps of Chamling, who has been more like
the head of the vast Sikkimese family. He is a dreamer who made those who
come into contact with him share his dreams. His dreams are not for himself,
they were for Sikkim and its people. Sikkim —The People’s Vision and Sikkim:
Human Development Report 2001 are also road signs for state’s march in the
years to come.
In his ‘Foreword’ to the People’s Vision, he put down his own vision about the
future road map. He wrote,

“Sikkim—The People’s Vision is about the people and for the people of
Sikkim. This document is also a substantive example of the transparent
functioning of the state. It has not hidden anything but has taken a hard
and dispassionate look at what we would be at the turn of the century. It
has captured facts and figures as much as other details. We now have a
benchmark from where we continue to measure our progress well into
the 21st century. This is perhaps the greatest aspect of this book and
exercise.”

Chamling was quick to pay handsome compliments to those who did significant
service to Sikkim and shared his vision for a new Sikkim. He recorded, “It is
indeed wonderful that we have been able to make this document happen. It is
due to the tireless work of the authors that this has come to see the light of the
day. The document provides us with an excellent futuristic perspective of
Sikkim.”
With a clear foresight he wrote, “We are working towards documenting our old
values with new contemporary thinking. We have a lot to imbibe in terms of
wisdom from our tradition and culture. Much of it is lost in the march toward
uncontrolled development.” In his journey forward, the goal would be clearly
development with a human face and not development for development’s sake.
The goal was for a better quality of life for all. And he said so. He made it clear,
 “We are not looking at economic development per se. We are for the
overall improvement of the quality of life of the people of Sikkim so that
in the process they become much more resilient and competitive. The
world is demanding this and we have but little choice in terms of these
parameters. However, in this process we must not lose sight of our
overall goal of seeing that our biodiversity, our environment and culture
are kept intact, perhaps enriched. This calls for a balanced approach to
development.”

In his march for better life for his people, Chamling is keen that the good they
have in terms of culture, heritage, and ecology must be preserved.
Although Sikkim has not yet suffered a population explosion, Chamling is quite
conscious that population control, in the present context, is necessary to
ensure good quality of life for the population. He says, “The key to this is to be
able to control our population growth. We hope to keep a constant population
figure of five lakhs even by 2050. We can do this by ‘we two, our one’ policy that
we need to foster and encourage. Our people must enjoy the best health that is
possible today, the best of education that could be within the reach of our
people and also the best in terms of development benefits. The purchasing
power must and will improve.” He has a clear vision and positive attitude and
confidence to turn it into reality.
There was something else that Pawan Chamling and his Sikkim could
justifiably be proud of, and strive to still better that achievement. In his own
words, “After Sikkim became the 22nd state of India in 1975, it made
remarkable strides on all fronts. The basic indicators in economic, social,
environmental, and political arena is quite revealing. The Human Development
Index which has improved from 0.454 in 1991 to 0.532 in 1998 in Sikkim is
also significantly higher than many others states of India.”
Chamling seemed determined to set new standards in the preservation and
maintenance of ecology without jeopardizing the development efforts. “Our state
has been one of the most peaceful states in the country with a very high degree
of political stability and unparallel socio-communal harmony. There is political
consensus on major issues including that of adopting second-generation
economic reforms to make the Sikkimese economy more dynamic and
competitive.”
He was quite conscious of the challenges ahead and the fact that Sikkim, like
India and the rest of the world, could not take the impact of globalisation for
granted. One had to be ready to take quick benefit of the positive and protest
against the negative impact of globalisation. He agreed,

“Challenges ahead are diverse and formidable. They are brought about by
a new paradigm of development we are now increasingly advocating.
Under this new development instrument, the role of the state will be
increasingly diminished. We strongly desire that the market-oriented
development interventions we are now designing and their
implementation should invariably cater to the needs and aspirations of
the people. We do not have other alternative than to keep aside the
popular apprehension and work towards maximizing the gains.
On the other hand, no one is sure about the real impact of the ongoing
process of globalisation. It is quite expected that Sikkim will also be both
positively and adversely affected by this worldwide phenomenon. Our
state being small, landlocked and developing one, we have always tried to
 protect it from external shocks. A critical question is that of meeting and
tackling these challenges without adversely affecting the present political
economy and traditional socio-cultural norms and practices.”
While giving some inkling about his thinking today about course in future,
Chamling said, “Therefore, we have to gear ourselves up on all fronts. We need
to devise very effective institutional responses. We are moving towards more
scientific management of our economy aimed at changing the entire face of
governance, productivity, and efficiency in the state.”
Sikkim under Chamling is consciously and keenly initiating a vital and much
needed process of repositioning to face globalisation. Chamling has already
pitched himself in favour of processes to protect and consolidate the economic
strength and social and political resilience of India. In Chamling’s words,

“Sikkim is now being repositioned by indigenising and internalizing the

entire process of globalisation primarily triggered by forces that are
actually alien to our system. This is a Herculean task for us in Sikkim.
We want each segment of Sikkim and every Sikkimese to be comfortable
with the globalisation process.”

He gave a clear expression to his intention of building the strength of Sikkim

today to carve out a new Sikkim tomorrow. He says,

“This is why we would like to build on our strengths of high socio-

economic indicators, friendly and congenial social atmosphere
democratic freedom based on sound principles of decentralization and
empowerment of have-nots and most crucially environmental security.
The political stability and existence of strong multi-culturalism based on
well established traditions of secularism are also our greatest
advantages”.

Chamling has no hesitation in recognizing the systemic problem of Sikkim

which deserved urgent and concerted attention. He frankly underlined that:

“Like many other states in India and many other communities, we do

have systemic weaknesses. We in the government are fully aware of
critical issues like fiscal prudence, employment strategy, environment
dislocation, privatization and disinvestment, demographic onslaughts,
service deliveries, persistent poverty, and inequality syndrome. In fact,
my government has been keenly promoting democratic values and
institutions that are aimed at doing away with those inherited maladies
of inequality and deprivation.”

He further asserted,

“We are committed to consistently and effectively implement, at least

some of the very critical and useful recommendations. We have planned
a time-bound implementation of these recommendations. The process
has already begun.”

In dedicating The People’s Vision to the people of Sikkim, Chamling also

affirmed his commitment to them. He declared,
 “As the head of the government and also an all-season friend of the
downtrodden and hapless, I would like to dedicate this document to the
people of Sikkim who discovered, nurtured, built, and provided this
distinct stature to this Himalayan State. The villagers are the greatest
asset and strength of the Sikkimese society. We will ensure that every
Sikkimese is going to be an equal partner in both the processes
participating and sharing the benefits of the development process.”

And in his firm reassurance, he promised, “I would also like to assure the
people of Sikkim in particular and the people of India in general that we will all
work towards making Sikkim a State in the country where every citizen will live
to his and her full potential, both as human being and a responsible citizen of
this great nation.”
Chamling has always been a man of dream and hope and at the same time, a
man of action. Sikkim: The People’s Vision too is a document of hope and
aspiration and he has promised that it would generate action. The next decade
would see the state building on its inherent strengths and with the government
as facilitator, benefiting from the liberalization and globalisation process that is
encompassing the rest of the economy. The nominal economy has been growing
at an impressive annual rate of over 10 per cent since 1989-90.
However, poverty incidence in Sikkim was also the fifth highest among the
states of India, with 41.1 per cent of its population below the poverty line (1993-
94). And Sikkim is a very young state in spirit and body. With 38 percent of the
population below the age of 15, the number of young people entering the work
force and looking to join industry are expected to increase in the near future. A
stagnant agricultural sector, combined with declining industrial activity, has
severely limited employment opportunities outside the government. Public
administration has, by default, become the propelling force behind income
growth, with the North district still remaining relatively backward in
comparison with the other three districts.
Nobody knew these ground realities better than Chamling. As a son of a farmer
he had gone through the problems and challenges of the rural sector. That was
the reason he was determined to take Sikkim to a new destination. The
cornerstone of the development strategy pursued so far had been a super-active
government under severe fiscal stress. Expenditure on wages and salaries,
including pensions and interest payment, accounted for almost half of the total
government expenditure.
Fuelled partly by the implementation of the State Pay Commission
recommendations, the fiscal deficit rose to 21 percent of the gross state
domestic product (GSDP) in 1998-99, outstanding debt as a percentage of the
GSDP touched 72 percent in the same year. At the same time, revenue
collection, both tax and non-tax had been falling. Grants both plan and non-
plan had been financing nearly 43 per cent of government expenditure which
has risen to more than 40 per cent of the GSDP.
In the face of the bleak fiscal scenario, there was need for designing a new
strategy to achieve the goal of an accelerated path of eco-friendly and
sustainable development. It required some fundamental preconditions.
Empowering people with the right education and skills to enable them to benefit
from recent developments in science and technology. The right infrastructure
had also to be developed, particularly roads and power. Finally, fiscal
consolidation and reforms would have to constitute the core of economic
restructuring. In this strategy, fostering a public-private sector partnership is
key areas with the application of science and technology was a key element. The
state’s strength in horticulture and animal husbandry has to be promoted with
the help of roads and power on one hand and education on the other. These two
critical inputs were the pre-requisites for application of science and technology
in Sikkim.
Industries, especially service-oriented industries such as tourism and
information technology, have tremendous potential that need to be harnessed
through a vibrant public-private sector partnership. Chamling knew this well.
In his political journey so far he has never missed any opportunity to create
Sikkim-conscious and Sikkim-friendly elements among the officials and non-
governmental sectors outside Sikkim. He led several delegations to the Prime
Minister and other Union ministers of India.
His continuous interaction with the chief ministers and ministers of other
Indian states is noted by everyone. He sought every opportunity to brief MPs
and legislators about the hopes and aspirations of the people of Sikkim. He
offered partnership to NGOs in the developmental movement. He participated in
the Partnership Summit organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry. He
always stressed that “in popular regime, people reign supreme”’ and he was
continuously engaged in making the regime in Sikkim a true people’s regime.
Chaudhari Randhir Singh, the popular Governor of Sikkim who served the
longest term in the gubernatorial position in the state, left behind two
important gifts of study and scholarship before he bid farewell to Sikkim in May
2001. These were his significant studies entitled Sikkim: An Eco- Socio- Cultural
Peep and Sikkim and Himalaya. Interestingly, Chaudhari Randhir Singh, a
distinguished son of Haryana, freedom fighter and a soldier, forged such
emotional bonds between Sikkim and Haryana that they could form a silken
string in the mainstreaming of Sikkim with the rest of India. In his dedicative
lines to his second work, Governor Randhir Singh wrote, “Dedicated to our
beloved people of Sikkim.”
Chaudhari Randhir Singh’s emotional bonds with Sikkim were also reflected in
the ‘Preface’. He said of Sikkim as it entered the 21st century:
“Sikkim these days is a big laboratory where different blends are mixed and
synthesis of culture, part Lepcha, part Bhutia, part Nepali and part Indian is
coming up.”
Paying a tribute to the “good people of Sikkim”, the Chaudhari said,

“Sikkimese are an honest, law-abiding, hard working, well behaved,

hospitable and charming people of this beautiful state. A large number of
Indians belonging to the Gangetic belt has developed a combined
livelihood with co-existence and cohesion. More influx of the tourists
from all over India and abroad has built up a new era in the culture of
the State. Education has given a composite shape to their cultural life.
Rapid change of the general life will evolve a new perspective. Ethnic
consolidation here will be an instance of unity in diversity.”

The Chaudhari who confessed that he had fallen in lifelong love with Sikkim. He
paid a tribute to the singing, dancing, smiling innocence of the people of this
Indian Shangri-la. He said, “Folk songs and dances occupy a prominent place
in the cultural domain of the state. Men and womenfolk fully participate in folk
songs and dances which to them are life-giving ambrosia, whose lucid songs
and rhythmic pattern wipe away their fatigue, hunger, and worries.”
And finally, the Governor has a thought of hope and confidence in the 21st
century Sikkim. He expressed, “Sikkim, known as the Switzerland of Asia for
her natural beauty, is a home of multi-ethnic groups. With assimilated lifestyle,
the people of the state will contribute new inputs for the innate characteristics
of the state and the country”.
The other important wheel in Chamling’s journey was the Sikkim Human
Development Report 2001. Chamling’s ‘Foreword’ to this vital document also
indicated the shape of the new road map and the future agenda of his
governance and the journey of Sikkim towards a new horizon.
In his ‘Foreword’, he asserted,

“The onset of democracy and building of economic structure has changed

the entire profile of Sikkim. From a traditional economy with feudal
slant, Sikkim has emerged as a modern and robust state of today. And
the presentation of the Sikkim Human Development Report 2001 is the
collective gesture of the state government to realign with the changing
nuances of time.”

This ‘Foreword’ to the report was by itself a significant policy statement and a
contemporary declaration of intent.
With pride, Chief Minister Chamling rightfully claimed, “Sikkim is the third
state in India to produce the Human Development Report.” He tried not to
mince matters. He recorded,

“Though the report has commended Sikkim’s achievement, it is quite

critical about some of the governmental policies particularly on non-
merit and indiscriminate subsidies. Our government has accepted the
report and has already started implementing some of the far-reaching
recommendations made therein. Analysis and recommendations in this
important report relate to population, poverty and planning, building
human capabilities, land and agriculture, forest and environment,
infrastructure, and most important of all governance for sustainable
human development.”

The report is expected to go a long way in educating people within the state and
the rest of the country about the importance of Sikkim as a functioning dynamo
of change where development was being turned into a continuous journey and
not just one-stop trip.
No wonder Chamling was justifiably happy and satisfied at this exercise as one
of the important milestones in his journey. He did not exaggerate when he
stated, “My government has been successful in restoring people’s faith in
democracy and a democratically elected government. Every Sikkimese can now
participate in the democratic and political development process in a fearless
and free manner. As a result we have perhaps an unparalleled distinction of
being a state with very high degree of political stability and a well-established
tradition of social harmony.”
He further pointed out,

“Like in other states of India, the government has always been viewed as
authority in Sikkim. This meant that the development role has to be
played by government alone. It has severely impacted upon the resources
that could otherwise be tapped from sources other than those of the
 government. This is why we are trying to revive the bond of voluntarism
that used to traditionally characterize the Sikkim society. It has been felt
widely that there is ample space for NGOs to work in the area of
development in Sikkim.”

One aspect of Sikkim entering the new millennium was a rare political climate
in the state never seen before. In Chamling’s words,

“Politically also, there is a consensus that the way forward is to

encourage private participation in many of our programmes. This is
another message that invariably figures in the Human Development
Report. We are sensitizing the people, politicians, and the bureaucracy
about the dire need to have efficient management of existing utilities and
the infrastructure already created. This can be effectively done through
NGO and private sector participation. My government strongly believes
that if the skills of our people are harnessed in a more planned and
scientific manner, they will change the entire face of governance,
productivity and efficiency in the state.”

With his characteristic generosity and warmth, Chamling paid handsome

tribute to Mahendra P. Lama for preparing Sikkim Human Development Report
2001 and Ashok K. Lahiri and his able team for preparing Sikkim: The People’s
Vision. Chamling said, “I highly value their advice and support for the people of
Sikkim. Let me assure everyone that my government will sincerely try to
implement the recommendations.”
Pawan Chamling is one who wants to reform every facet of human life, the
family, society and the state. He feels that immediately after the family, it is the
society that has to play a constructive part in shaping the life of an individual.
And he is strongly in favour of a civil society playing crucial role. Chamling
opines,

“Past experience dictates that sentiments of innocent people are being

exploited time and again by some unscrupulous elements in the society.
For long I have meditated on a possible solution. I have come to the
conclusion that to face such prospective challenges, we need to have a
strong society based on certain ideals and values. In the absence of a
strong and discerning society, lines dividing truth and falsehood,
seeming and being, are often blurred beyond recognition. In view of this,
I firmly recommend the establishment of strong civil society in Sikkim.
Such an institution will act as a watchdog. The collective community of
civil society will guide society to the right path. All people drawing
sustenance on falsehood and duplicity will die a premature death. And
every life based on truth and purity will enjoy eternal bliss. They call it
Satyameva jayate—and establishment of an institution like civil society
will help in the transformation of Sikkimese society into healthy and
strong society where truth will triumph forever.”

Chamling’s journey is poised on the fast track. Sikkim is bound to gain out of
his non-stop endeavour to look beyond the horizon and comprehend the coming
future well in advance. While addressing the legislators on the first day of the
Budget session on 23rd March 2002, Chamling said, “We are now more
politically mature state today, economically well positioned and socially more
integrated and mobilized amidst an atmosphere happily steeped in peace and
tranquillity. In other words, we are better positioned on the threshold for the
much needed ‘take off’. ”
Chamling also announced the commencing year of the Xth Plan as the ‘Year of
Implementation’ and sought the cooperation of one and all. He believes that
Sikkim is ready for a take off because of the congenial atmosphere in terms of
peace and harmony, political stability, environment, cultural fusion, and so on.
The prospects seemed even more promising because of a highly progressive
government in place in the state to promote national integration and
unmatched people’s programme.
Talking about national integration, it is worthwhile to quote Chamling himself.
He said,

“Sikkim, which joined the national mainstream in 1975, can be better

integrated into the national life by recognizing its strategic location, the
peace and tranquillity that prevailed forever in Sikkim. This state is
doing exemplary work in all areas, including national integration, peace
and tranquillity, political and social harmony, and in areas like women
empowerment, and poverty alleviation. When India and Pakistan chose to
identify themselves as two independent entities at the time of
independence, they also decided to lead the destinies of the new nations
independently.
However, still today, there is a specific mention of a Pakistani land in our
national anthem and not that of Sikkim. Hence, I have a feeling that the
particular reference to Punjab Sindh should be appropriately replaced
with Punjab Sikkim in our national anthem. This is not to dishonour our
national anthem which, has never failed to stoke national spirit and
patriotism among the Indians, but to recognize the changed
circumstances and accord recognition where it is genuine and due."

He further remarked that,

“Referring to the Indian diversity, it is often said that India runs from
Kanyakumari to Kashmir. With due reverence to our past, I would like to
propose that it be modified with yet another slogan—“Kanyakumari to
Kanchenjunga”. This, I feel should sound not less appropriate. After all
Sikkim hosts the 3rd highest mountain peak in the world and the
highest peak in India. Sikkim, I would like to feel, is the sartaaj, the very
crown of India. Sikkim, I venture to say is ready for a great leap forward.”
 24
Pawan Chamling—His Intimate Self

Human beings, by virtue of their very creation, exhibit wide range of differences
in diverse areas ranging from simple behaviour to complex human psychology.
Great personalities in the world had their idiosyncrasies one way or the other. It
is peculiar trait with every individual which makes human existence all the
more consuming.
Pawan Chamling is a man of extraordinary courage with unmatched simplicity.
A very studied and composed man, he exudes an aura of quiet confidence in
dealing with different situations and with different people. All these years, there
has not been a single anecdote of his having lost his temper. The story goes
back to the days where his party workers were provoked many times by the
then government to act decisively. Angry party workers and colleagues sought
his permission to go on an offensive against the commandos of the then
government.
In those critical days, Chamling was able to preserve his inner calm and is said
to have smoothed the ruffled feathers with a single sentence: “Friends, be
patient, time is all powerful.” The ever-growing popularity of Chamling’s Sikkim
Democratic Front was reason enough to send the then Chief Minister into a
wild fury. On one occasion, Chamling’s own mother was not spared either.
Bhandari had hurled angry invectives at Chamling’s mother saying, ‘Cursed be
the mother who gave birth to Chamling’. Chamling saw only madness
simmering in Bhandari and kept his poise.
The other distinguishing trait of Chamling is that he is a man of very few words.
He listens, listens and only listens to you. ‘A penny for your thought?’ one may
be inclined to ask. But his thoughts surely would prove to be worth a million
dollars. An accomplished man of popular literature, with considerable
command of world learning, including world history, philosophy, politics and
ethics, why then does he speak so little? In Chamling’s own words, “I need to
listen and understand other people’s viewpoint.” The justification is so simple
and disarming. After having listened, he would speak in turn if strictly
necessary to do so. Or else he responds with a simple nod of his head. Indeed,
he is a man of action and takes swift action if that is called for on his part.
A very softhearted man, even an emotional scene on the television is said to
bring Chamling to tears. While watching some good oldies at home, he is said to
have shed tears silently on many occasions, lest his wife discover such a strong
man with wet eyes! Sometimes when the rural poor nag him and test his
patience far too much, in exasperation he would react and the rural people
would depart. But no sooner had they crossed his compound gate than he
would summon his staff to persuade them back to him. Chamling would then
bare his heart and share the pangs of hunger, poverty and helplessness that he
has suffered like every one of them. His security men are now used to such
happenings especially during his tour of rural areas. That perhaps is the
background to why Chamling has given his entire life in the service of the poor
and the downtrodden. More so, this trait of him gives him more strength and a
firm resoluteness to fight against oppression and exploitation of the poor and
the helpless.
A vegetarian, Chamling’s kitchen resembles elements closest to nature. Not that
he has been so from his birth. His forefathers used to observe certain rituals by
sacrificing domestic fowls and animals. No more. Although, he continues to
observe certain annual rituals as part of his ancestral legacy, the offerings
comprise fruits, vegetables and other eatables. There is no tangible cause of this
transformation except his changed perception based on personal choice and
personal conviction.
A teetotaller to the core, Chamling keeps his distance from alcohol. In a
community of people where custom and lately popular fashion prescribe
occasional serving of alcohol, it is remarkable to note that Chamling has been
able to put a ban on alcohol in his official bungalow and at official functions. In
a society where being a teetotaller is considered one’s weakness, Chamling has
brought about a subtle attitude shift in people. Official functions often pull on
drably and conclude on a sober note. Once at a private party, an inspired
official engaged in animated talk, happened to leave his glass on a table close
by the Chief Minister. When he left the room, he suddenly realized his lapse and
asked his subordinate whether the Chief Minister was in. When the officer
replied in the affirmative, he decided not to pick up the glass as long as the
Chief Minister was around!
Chamling came to be respected by both sets of people and has been able to earn
a lot of respect and compliment from those people who hit the bottle and those
who do not. When he was the Chairman of Sikkim Distilleries in the 1980s, he
told one of his admirers, “Although I am fully drenched in liquor, yet I do not let
a drop fall into my mouth!” That is, indeed, the Chamling in his intimate self.
However, there is good news for the tea growers. After he wakes up in the early
dawn, he will have drunk dozens of cups of tea by the time he retires. Tea
soothes his mind and revitalizes his body for the rounds of strenuous official
engagements. His doctors quite often do not agree with him. His occasional
illnesses are seemingly attributed to his habit of emptying cups of tea far more
than actually required. One may call it Chamling’s weakness but many people
are inclined as a whole to hold this view. He is very fond of good tea. A regular
visitor to Mintokgang would know that when he orders tea he specifically says,
“Dudh ramrari lagaera chiya banao hai (please ensure you put the right amount
of milk when you are preparing tea).”
Chamling is a man of frugal habits, particularly in his own lifestyle. He never
likes to live an ostentatious life. His daily needs are minimum. He hates to be
extravagant. This at times becomes tough for his political colleagues and family
members. Once he invited all his political colleagues and some other friends for
dinner at his home. The guest trickled to his home one by one without knowing
the occasion. When finally all the guests had arrived, he announced that his
son was getting married and they were all invited to bless the couple.
Every one was taken by surprise as they had expected the marriage of the Chief
Minister’s son to be a grand state affair. There was no din and bustle, only a
visible hush-hush around. Some of the guests wanted to rush to the market
and buy some presents or flowers for the couple. Chamling politely told them
not to do so as that was precisely the reason he had not mentioned the actual
occasion to the invitees. Soon the news spread about Chamling’s penchant for
not misusing office and the public funds. The marriage of his younger brothers,
Rupen Chamling and Ashok Chamling was as well marked by the same
simplicity and lack of show. Organized in a quiet atmosphere of his ancestral
home at Yangang, the ceremony was solemnized in a low key affairs,
uncommon in the present political circles.
Pawan Chamling, as a social worker from his early teens, enjoys the service
that he renders to serve the interest of the poor. In Chamling’s own words,
“Whenever I find solution to problems of helpless poor and the weaker sections
of people with no means and measures, I derive maximum joy from the service
done to them.”
He enjoys reading and writing poetry. In fact, writing poetry is his natural
passion and obsession. In the style of a schoolboy preserving his notes,
Chamling compiles every single thought in his exercise book. Chamling has the
knack of pulling it out occasionally from under his table drawer and sharing the
contents, reading in his natural and charming incantation. To the listeners, it
flows as naturally as a soothing breeze.
Chamling’s photograph and life sketch adorned the hall of the Sahitya Akademi
in New Delhi in April 2001 alongwith those of eminent selected writers from the
Indian literary world. Chamling was chosen along with two other Indian Nepali
writers, R.P. Lama and Mrs. Bindya Subba, for their remarkable contributions
to Indian literature by the famous photographer B. Jayachandran from Kerala.
Jayachandran travelled to Sikkim to develop a life sketch of writer Chamling
and captured him in ten different moods. This rare photo exhibition bringing
together the portrait and genre of their individual writing was inaugurated by
the Vice-President of India, the late Krishan Kant. This was rather a rare
occasion for any Chief Minister to be in the photo gallery of the Sahitya
Akademi as a literary figure.
A voracious reader, Chamling regularly shares his personal collection of books
with like-minded people. Sharing new ideas gained from his personal readings
with other people is one of his greatest passions. After late night readings, he
would interact with his colleagues and shares his ideas the very next day. One
would find him exhorting his colleagues to read good books regularly. In fact,
the party literatures constantly carry out his appeal to party workers to read,
understand and share world ideas with the common people at the village level!
Chamling’s dedication to doing things, however big or small, is exemplary. From
deliberating with the Prime Minister down to a common man, or writing official
notes to writing a new year card, he performs his work with equal seriousness
and commitment. Quite unlike many leaders, Chamling loves doing one thing at
a time. “Eat only while you eat, work only while you work,” he has the habit of
telling people.
The one significant aspect of his personality that attracts a lot of followers is
generally considered to be his caring nature and his generous heart. Once an
individual embraces Chamling’s thought, principle and ideology, the man comes
instantly under his care. Chamling will be ready to help him out of dire needs
and in difficult times as a foster father. Chamling is ever ready to safeguard his
people and followers once they accept him as their leader.
In Chamling, one finds an ample mixture of simplicity and innocence in his
day-to-day interaction with the world. Once Chamling reposes faith in
somebody, he becomes unguarded. The absolute trust he gives to people is
something that has baffled his critic alike. Let us say, that Chamling is a man
who is not ready to accept that people like Brutus were ever born on earth!
Pawan Chamling's other interesting facet of his personality is his spiritual life.
In the early dawn, he rarely misses the religious preaching delivered in national
channels. A man, who respects the secular fabric of the country, Chamling is
ever ready to help people follow their faith. In fact, he has acknowledged that
there is some supernatural being to guide his own destiny. As a firm believer
that religion will help people to live a virtuous life, he himself holds puja at his
residence at a regular interval.
This essential aspect was aptly captured by the Rimpoche of Deorali Chorten
Gompa in a meeting to formally start the construction project of Guru
Padmasambhava at Samduptse in South Sikkim. Interestingly, the Chief
Minister persuaded the Rimpoche of the Chorten Trust to undertake the
construction project of Padmasambhasva statue, ignoring the claims of other
contractors to undertake the project.
To quote the Rimpoche himself,

"This year the Chief Minister asked me to take on the project of building
the Guru Statue. I told him that I do not have any experience of taking
on such a huge project. I do not have any worldly education. He insisted
that I should take on the project because worldly people will not know
how to go about doing such an important project in true spirit. That
made me think. When he as the leader of our society is making such an
effort to build a statue of Guru Rimpoche in this sacred hidden land and
I being a lama should help realize his prayer come true.
Then I decided to take on the project. According to Dharma nothing
happens by accidents. It is our karma and prayer that we all have gotten
together in one place to work on such a sacred project. The Chief
Minister even though he is not Buddhist by faith in this life time but
must belong to the lineage of Boddhisatvas from the previous lives. That
is how he is able to think of such a project and also be in position to
make it happen. I strongly believe that this statue will not only help this
nation but it will bring peace and harmony to the whole universe.”

Memory is said to be the sublime miracle of the human mind and for Chamling
it is one of the features of his towering personality. With an elephantine
memory at his command, he can catch anyone by surprise. A man of minute
details, he can invoke distant references when least expected. One fine day, an
official who prepared the minutes of the coordination meeting with state
secretaries held six months earlier was swept off his feet when the Chief
Minister detected a significant point missing from the minutes after a single
look at the paper! The official confessed, “Even after hours of concentrated
labour, I missed out one important point and the Chief Minister rightly pointed
it out. His memory power is something beyond ordinary.”
In yet another amusing episode, an employee was totally bowled over when the
Chief Minister recognized him after a gap of 20 years. The man, a third grade
government employee, very deftly eye-washed the security cordon to mix himself
with the general public for an audience with the Chief Minister. He knew that
Chamling, in his exercise to address the needs of thousands of people every
day, had quite certainly forgotten him. He was there to lay claim for a scheme
under the Indira Awas Yojana with the Chief Minister. But no sooner had he
came close to Chamling than he was welcomed with polite greetings and asked
about his well being, his profession, his neighbours and the village people. The
employee’s paper remained in his pocket and he came out of the hall. Angry at
himself and overpowered by Chamling’s faculty, the man convinced himself that
since such a scheme was not for regular employees he was able to at least pay a
courtesy call on the Chief Minister.
In his lighter moments, Chamling enjoys listening to music. In fact, one would
almost every time, hear him hum some popular tune while entering or leaving
his office. With an extraordinary gift for catching every single word, any
touching song finds an immediate place in his heart. Besides being a poet, he is
also a songwriter of considerable appeal. His stirring power of words had been
rendered in music in the early 1990s and had won many supporters during his
trying moments. Today, he has quite a few collections of CDs to his credit.
Chamling also enjoys the unaffected company of nature, admiring the priceless
gifts in varied forms like flowers, plants and trees. The singing of birds and the
humming of bees send him into ecstasy. This may be the reason that Chamling
has always advocated the need to live close to nature even while framing his
developmental strategy.
As a human being, this buoyant man gets sometimes depressed. The immediate
trigger would be a situation where the interest of poor is neglected. When there
are hurdles, official or otherwise, on his way to serve the poor people, Chamling
finds himself uncomfortable. The Chief Minister has on different occasions,
launched immediate relief measures to reach the poor and the afflicted.
Chamling is of the firm belief that hunger cannot wait and every possible help
should reach the hungry without losing any time.
As a selfless man himself, he would like to see the elements of selflessness with
every other individual. But this does not happen every time. Many times, he has
to come across people whose loyalty to the interest of the state and the country
is absent. He remarks thus, “Not many people come to me with constructive
suggestions. The high-ranking officials should come to me with some innovative
suggestions so that our effort to serve the people and the country could be
further strengthened. But, quite often people come to me with personal grudges
or on casual business purpose.”
The Chamling style of working is all transparent and genuine. All day and
night, he is the one to keep worrying about the interest of the people. All his
works are being tailored to address the need of the people and to ameliorate
their suffering. Yet there are people who talk of caste and community. This is
something that depresses Chamling. To whatever caste or creed a man belongs,
Chamling is committed to raise him socially and economically as long as he
remains below the poverty line.
One of the unique characteristics of Chamling is his quest for learning new
words, new concept and new approach. Apart from his regular intellectual
exercises, he is ever alert to jot down others’ views and opinions. One would
often find him scratching words and sentences during meetings, seminars or
workshops. Whenever his notebook is not readily available, in all innocence
he lays his hands on anything like the paper napkins to jot down the idea
for instant record. With a highly receptive mind, he absorbs and assimilates
all relevant and useful ideas into his mind.
A regular observer will discover that Chamling finds himself more comfortable
in the company of the people and especially that of the poor. Let us say that
Chamling finds a common chord to bind him with the people—in their common
sufferings, trials and tribulations, sorrows and joys. This sense of belonging
with the poor is closely knit in his subconscious as a result of his own
background, his upbringing, and the rural environment coupled with similar
sufferings and inadequacy. As this aspect in his personality is part of his
natural being, this is manifest in one way or the other.
The obvious question now is how Chamling manages time for his family
members, his parents and children in the face of such engagements. The
answer is instant and short. In his own words, “As and when I am called upon
to attend to family affairs, I do manage time out of my regular schedule.”
Chamling’s quiet demeanour inspires a sense of awe and admiration. The
central point in Chamling’s character is that he never nurtures negative
thinking even in trying situation. The Chief Minister has been trying to inspire a
positive outlook and imagination among the youth. On a number of occasions,
he has publicly confessed that whatever he has been today is the result of his
positive reflection and positive views. Even in the face of grave challenges and
failures, he only looks into the positive aspects and moves ahead with firm
determination. As one of his admirers put it, “His affirmative approach to the
negativity of life is wonderful. It seems that adversaries have become the source
of inspiration to him throughout his life.”
Commenting on Chamling’s gentle personality, the ex-governor, Chaudhari
Randhir Singh, wrote,
“Every inch a gentlemen, he seldom loses temper. Calm and composed,
dignified and confident, he is the epitome of all good attributes. No
drinks, no meat, no smoking, he presents a picture of complete simplicity
and piety, impresses all and sundry by his civility and humane nature.
He seems to have garnered proficiency on how to make friends and win
people. A down-to-earth person, his approach to men and matters is
sagacious and meaningful. I am neither a Pandit nor an astrologer. But I
can vouchsafe that Shri Pawan Chamling of humble linkage, from
downtrodden segment of hilly Himalayas, now Chief Minister of Sikkim,
has enormous inputs and potential to sprout up further into national
stature for shaping the destiny of this vast country of over one thousand
million people at some stage in future. This could be one of the miracles
of Indian democracy and a great day for Sikkim, a captivating state of
our country.”

Another ex-governor, P. Shiv Shanker, voicing similar sentiment about the Chief
Minister, said, “Pawan Chamling is a leader who works for the upliftment of the
socially and economically backward people. Under his leadership, the poor
people and also the institution of democracy has been secured in Sikkim.”
Chamling has never been short of courage and determination and never loses
his heart and nerve in the face of problems and challenges. That was the reason
that in just eight years of his regime in Sikkim he has succeeded in doing
things that had not been achieved in decades earlier.
 25
The Man and His Vision

“Start dreaming from a very young age about the kind of life you want to live,
the profession you are going to choose—a teacher, doctor, engineer, politician to
serve your society, state and the nation. But please start dreaming.” That was
the quintessential Chamling exhorting schoolchildren in a far corner in West
Sikkim. Be it as a schoolboy, social activist, panchayat president, MLA, minister
or the chief minister, Pawan Chamling is one who has never failed to dream—to
dream and act for the cause of society, state, nation and humanity. The dreams
and his vision as set out in his creative poetry and his political programme
have, in a sense, given the state and its population a new direction, a new sense
of fulfillment and contentment. Obviously, Chamling as the visionary politician
is prepared to see to the Sikkim of 2050 with consummate zeal and simplicity.
Restoration of democracy in Sikkim was one of the greatest changes that the
Sikkim Democratic Front party was credited with. After running the government
for eight years, the institution of democracy has been given a firm base in the
state. Now, Chamling is sincerely working with the people and for the people to
establish participatory democracy in its true form. In a historic speech at the
party’s first decadal convention in March 2002, he called upon the people to
propose and share their ideas, their vision with the government to build a new
Sikkim.
He said,

“Sikkim belongs to us—you and me. We have the full right to decide
where Sikkim should go. We have guided the destiny of Sikkim these
past ten years. Today, let us sit together, discuss and decide on the
future course of Sikkim, the direction it should take in the coming years.
What you will command, we obey. We will carry forward your suggestions
to integrate them in our policies, our programmes. When your
suggestions take the shape of government policy, the government belongs
to you. This is what constitutes democratic polity of running the
government by the people.”

In this way, Chamling is giving a new shape to the art of governance by

involving the common people and the working-class people in the decision-
making process. In a way, he is also bringing forth the concept of direct
democracy more vigorously in Sikkimese politics, thus empowering the common
man and enabling him to have an equal say in such things which affect him.
Pawan Chamling has visualized a 21st century Sikkim that is free from
discrimination, injustice, and social evils. For achieving this goal, he is sincerely
involved in transforming Mintokgang into an ideal place without vice and
undesirable elements. He admits that there are certain forces still active in
throttling his genuine aims and committed endeavour. But then he sees in his
people an infinite power to overcome all evil forces. He believes that changing
the mindset of the people is a pre-requisite for any real development.
At the convention he told the people to be watchful of any negligence on the
part of government officials and vigilant towards any form of injustice to people.
Pawan Chamling said, “I tell you, people should come together to oppose all
forms of injustice anywhere. Only then will injustice receive a death blow.”
Regarding development irregularities, Chamling hit hard at such elements that
disrupt the whole process. Chamling is well aware that many a time, economic
benefits do not percolate down to needy people at the grassroots level. Time and
again he has held the people supreme in bringing about change.
He exhorted them,

“I would like to believe that when the source is clean, what flows down
would be nothing but clean, but at present the canal is rusted. There still
are tortoises coming to the source to muddy the waters. But we need not
worry. When the source is clean, the dirt accumulated along the canal
will be slowly washed away. When the canal gets heavily rusted, then we
have to discard the canal in favour of a new one. Not only the source but
the canal should be dirt free. You have to be vigilant about the canal
developing damaging rust. In fact, I have dug secure canals from
Mintokgang straight down to the very poor household. If development
has not reached every hut in the village, there must be some crabs
boring a hole in the body of the canals. People should be vigilant as well.
The people should also protect the canals so that no crabs are allowed to
destroy them. Let me tell you it is you people who have to crush the
crabs and keep the canal intact, clean and strong. I will do my work, you
need to shoulder your responsibility.”

Chamling’s vision for Sikkim is also the establishment of a self-reliant

Sikkimese society, without poverty, illiteracy, injustice and intolerance. Sikkim,
during the previous governments under various leaders, was divided between
the rich and the poor. There were two classes of people—the working masses
and the affluent class. Economic and social disparity was ever widening
between the rich and the poor. However, with a continuity of purpose quite
unique to the Chamling era, the poor population is slowly but steadily gaining
ground in terms of economic and mental development. As a result, there is an
emergence of a middle class comprising those poor who have much improved.
Pawan Chamling quite correctly said that his government was not against the
rich but wanted to uplift the poor by all available means. When hunger becomes
unbearable, the poor has every right to claim their share in the universe.
Inequality, in the capitalist system, has been created and every human being
who talks equality has to defend the poor and the downtrodden. Therefore, the
state government was committed to safeguard the interest of the poor.
Chamling said, “We want to bring the poor at par with the rich. We want to
tackle economic disparity not by making the rich poorer but vice-versa”. Pawan
Chamling equally feels that it was due to the SDF government that the rich
people are protected in the state or else they would have, by now, faced the
consequences of discontentment of the poor.
One dream that Chamling has been vigorously pursuing is making Sikkim a
producer state in the near future. Chamling is genuinely concerned about the
growing practice of consumerism in the state. Chamling has often highlighted
this essential aspect of Sikkim’s economy. While inaugurating Precision
Industries Limited in South Sikkim, he said, “As long as we remain a mere
consumer, we cannot win economic freedom. To be self-sustaining and
independent, we have to produce goods and services that the society demands
and the nation requires.”
In his thought-provoking Independence Day address to the people in 2002,
Chief Minister Chamling brought home the issue of economic freedom more
succinctly:

“Though the country has gained colonial freedom it still has to overcome
economic deprivation of thousands of Indian poor. The spirit of
independence will carry little meaning to those who have been left behind
in the race even without the basic necessities of roti, kapda and makan.
That is why, we may have to take yet another pledge to free our
countrymen from economic slavery. And the freedom we won from the
colonial rule will remain hollow so long as Indians remain economically
insecure. Without gaining economic independence, our freedom is
meaningless.”

The state blessed with huge natural resources, flora and fauna has a
tremendous potential to attain self-sufficiency. Pawan Chamling has been
constantly aware of this truth and has worked sincerely to make Sikkim a
producer state by tapping the huge natural resources. All potential natural
resource-based areas like hydropower, floriculture and horticulture will be
promoted so that the state becomes a producer and exporter of electricity,
horticulture and allied products, while simultaneously promoting Sikkim as the
number one tourist destination in the country. The share of agriculture sector
in the state GDP has gone down, which implies that the people are less a
producer and more a consumer.
The Chamling government has worked out plans to encourage agricultural
activities by bringing in the latest scientific technologies and by providing other
incentives to the farming communities. Chamling wants that the Sikkimese
market should be flooded with locally grown products like food grains,
vegetable, meat, or everything that is possible out of the Sikkimese soil. While
the cultivable land has shrunk on account of the growing population, the
farming system in the state has largely remained traditional. As a result, the
Sikkimese market cannot be sustained without importing essential foodstuff
from outside. Hence, the effort has been to encourage scientific farming to
augment productivity.
The state’s economy is now on a sound footing. Borrowing other than the
compulsory 10 per cent that comes with the plan budget has been avoided. An
impressive outsourcing of state revenue has been recorded in the last few years
and revenue ratio that the state earns out of its own sources has been highly
encouraging. Chief Minister Chamling is now working towards presenting a zero
deficit budget by 2007. In marked contrast to the previous government,
Chamling moves along a well-charted path of development with a long-term
perspective. Chamling says, “We no longer believe in the shot in the dark cliché
but are prepared to win the bird’s eye with a studious and a well-planned
strategy.”
Pawan Chamling has set forth a concrete vision to engage all the Sikkimese
youth productively so that the unemployment problem can be tackled firmly. He
is well aware that there is tremendous pressure on the government
departments to cut down their sizes and all the educated unemployed youth
cannot be absorbed in government jobs. The state government has targeted 100
per cent literacy rate over the next fifteen years in the state and the problem of
unemployment would be rather critical by then. With this view in mind, the
Pawan Chamling government is preparing itself to tackle the problem. The
process has indeed begun right now. The emphasis has been on self-
employment ventures particularly in areas where the potential is not adequately
tapped.
Hydro-power generation and tourism trade have become a natural choice. Of
course, the state government has set about earning more than Rs. 1,000 crore
of revenue from nature’s bounty. Chamling is seriously deliberating on the need
to change peoples’ mind. The concept of government as the sole provider of
employment must change. It would involve preparing the youth mentally and
physically to explore alternative means of livelihood. The state government has
actually moved ahead to design and develop sources of employment in the near
future so that the state remains free of this problem. Chamling says, “What we
require is sound thinking and designing, scientific planning, efficient allocation
of resources, appropriate infrastructure and people and environment-friendly
policies.”
The government in the new century is all set to encourage people to change
their mindset. Chief Minister Chamling feels that people should realign
themselves with the changed situation. The government would make
agricultural activities more attractive by declaring it as an industry and bring in
more technological input, to motivate educated youth to take up agriculture.
Pawan Chamling expands on his vision,

“As part of our new strategy, the government is all set to promote each
household in the village to take up at least one productive scheme, which
could mean a dairy farm, poultry or fishery, handicraft, handlooms,
bamboo weaving or the likes. The destination would be one to transform
each household into a cottage industry, or a micro enterprise.”

Chamling also seeks to diversify economic activities to include secondary and

tertiary sectors. There are some small-scale industries operating in the state.
Tourism is a booming industry with tremendous potential to engage maximum
people. The idea behind developing a model village in each constituency and a
tourist spot in every gram panchayat is to introduce village tourism and
cultural tourism. Tourism as peoples’ trade should be all encompassing and
every common man in the village should partake in the reward of tourism as a
prioritized sector in the state. A politician with high hope and genuine
commitment, Pawan Chamling is one to always see every situation with positive
perspective. He says, “We have to emphasize our strength and not weaknesses.
And our strength lies in the service sector like tourism, educational institutions,
information technology, etc.”
Pawan Chamling, who considers his people supreme has constantly talked
about power decentralization, to give them power and privilege to conduct their
lives that best suit their interests. The government, therefore, has been
seriously considering devolution of financial power up to 30 per cent directly to
the village panchayat, compared to the 10 per cent at present. However, he is
anxious to make sure that all panchayat members develop a capacity and sense
of higher responsibility to serve society in a better way. He says, “things have
not gone as we have desired. Had all my wishes been fulfilled, Sikkim would
have been totally different today; all Sikkimese would have been prosperous. I
wish that all the 95,000 houses should become concrete buildings; every house
must have one vehicle. Every household should be equipped with all modern
facilities.”
Hence, the government seeks to enlist greater public participation in all
government efforts for the upliftment of the Sikkimese people. Chamling has
always been in favour of delegating greater power to people at the grassroots
level but feels that the capability and skill of people to utilize such resources
should be improved to avoid irregularities and mismanagement. As a sequel,
the state government has undertaken to organize various skill development
training programmes to panchayat members and the youth.
The vision to replace the outdated regime of centralized governance with the
completely decentralized administration by the end of the Tenth Plan had been
set into reality, and its success would present an example in grassroots
governance in the state. Another important development was the
implementation of the Constitution 73rd Amendment Act, 1992, which provided
for elections to the Gram and Zilla panchayats. Under this, the Panchayat
institutions were required to formulate developmental plans in respect of their
respective administrative jurisdictions. They were also required to prepare their
own budget for financing their plans. The state government has decided to
allocate adequate resources at the disposal of the panchayati raj institutions so
that the spirit of democratic decentralization could be turned into a functioning
reality.
Restriction in respect of import of agriculture products had been removed under
the charter of the World Trade Organization (WTO); this and other linked
measures were designed to sensitize the farmers and prepare them for more
cost effective and competitive system with a view to bringing about self-reliance
on a sustainable basis. Pawan Chamling cited an interesting Chinese proverb to
prove the point. It said, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach
him how to fish and you feed him for lifetime”.
The Infrastructure Development Finance Company Ltd. (IDFC) had been in the
state to undertake the preparation of feasible project report on the Sikkim
Agriculture Export Zone (AEZ). The concept was considered extremely beneficial
for the farmer and was also in tune with the Chamling policy of krishak lai
bazaar ra kinara mah pugisakekolai zamin, market to the farmers and land to
the marginalized people.
The Japan Ecology Foundation had been persuaded to examine the prospect of
promoting Sikkimese farm products like tea, cardamom, ginger, floricultural
and dairy products in the Japanese market.
Pawan Chamling has a very special trait of ever trying to look into the future,
see what it had in store for his people and his beloved Sikkim, and get himself
and his people ready to meet the challenge of change. He could clearly see
Sikkim 2002 as a turning point with great hope and expectations. It was poised
for an exciting new journey into an exciting new century, for which Chamling,
his party, and his government had been preparing for seven years, when the
people of Sikkim mandated them to serve them with overwhelming support.
The proposal for launching the Chief Minister’s self employment scheme from
2002-2003, the launching of the “cooperative awareness” campaign during the
same year, the proposal for establishing an academy for institutionalization and
promotion of literary values and traditions and cultures and produce the
research volumes entitled, “The Sikkim Study Series” by associating eminent
writers, scholars, and experts, were some of the things on which Chamling had
set his mind determinedly.
Yet there was something which the entire country and the world would be
fascinated with was the Chamling government’s proposal to set up and develop
a “Cultural Village” in Sikkim. As he pointed out, the village would symbolize
integration with the national mainstream. The concept had been spontaneously
welcomed and appreciated with his usual infectious smile when Pawan
Chamling had an interaction with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the
subject. The proposed project visualized reflecting the diverge grandeur and
magnificence of Indian culture.
Chief Minister Chamling himself, and his Cabinet colleagues were very keen on
maintaining and developing the Sir Thondup Namgyal Research Institute of
Tibetology in good health and activity. It was a historical centre with an
invaluable wealth of precious documents and archival materials on the entire
Buddhist philosophy. This Institute had all along been an important tourist
attraction also and hence the Chamling Government had declared its intention
to support its maintenance and to project it as an Institute deserving world
repute and recognition.
As if to indicate that things had started happening in 2002 and some of the
Chamling dreams were coming true, Chief Minister Pawan Chamling set off two
very interesting projects on March 29, 2002 and April 6, 2002. These were the
launching of the country’s first online lottery in Sikkim at Gangtok’s Tashi
Delek hotel and the laying of the foundation stone of the much dreamt about
airport for Sikkim at Pakyong. Both these events carried Sikkim into new
horizons of modernity. They also raised expectations of the Himalayan state
opening its doors to the rest of the nation and the world in its flight towards
modernity and progress.
What had a lottery project to do with the prosperity of Sikkim and particularly
for Pawan Chamling? His perception was different. What attracted him to online
lottery was that it was a “first” in the country; it symbolized one of the
information technology games and it would bring his state an estimated Rs. 700
to 800 crore revenue in seven years time, which could be used for development.
In his launching speech he displayed his excitement in the presence of
diplomats, his cabinet colleagues and representatives of the Zee TV channel
which was managing the IT game. “I am extremely happy to be present among
you today because we have just made history, not only for Sikkim but the entire
nation. The state of Sikkim has gone into the annals of history as the first ever
state in India to launch an online lottery.”
Another reason for his happiness was expressed in the words, “Development of
Sikkim is our core concern. I have articulated our dream everywhere and on
every occasion that we are working towards making Sikkim happy and
prosperous. For an all-round development of Sikkim, we are trying to move
ahead with concerted efforts, and with a lot of imagination and creativity. The
launching of this online lottery is but one of the many efforts at achieving the
maximum developmental strength to make Sikkim a model state in terms of
social, economic, and other fields. In a move similar to the online lottery, we
also passed an Act in the last budget session that envisaged the setting up of
computer electronic entertainment game in the state. This game, once
introduced, is expected to give further fillip to the state’s exchequer.”
Chief Minister Chamling was always conscious that his state was not
adequately and sufficiently connected to the rest of India. According to him, the
natural beauty of the state and its peaceful atmosphere is equally matched by
the amiable and hospitable people of the state. This makes Sikkim a prime
destination for the tourist and also offers a congenial atmosphere for
establishment of natural resource-based industry. Such potentialities of the
state, however, have not been fully exploited, as Sikkim is not adequately
connected with the rest of the country. Sikkim is linked by road only with the
nearest city of Siliguri in West Bengal. The National Highway takes the people of
Sikkim to the nearest railhead at New Jalpaiguri and the airport at Bagdogra.
But Sikkim would have the world within easy access if it had its own airport
and its own skyway.
On April 6, 2002, in the presence of the Vice-President of India, Krishan Kant,
Mrs. Suman Krishan Kant, the Governor of Sikkim, Kidar Nath Sahni, Mrs.
Sahani, ministers, and senior civil servants, Pawan Chamling expressed his joy
in these words, “The state government and the Sikkimese people had a long-
cherished dream of having their own airport. Given its landscape, our state is
prone to frequent landslides that disrupt our communication links, especially
during the monsoon season. Now with the setting up of the airport, Sikkim can
probably well adjust with nature’s fury that expresses itself in the form of
hailstorms, landslides and so on. Many a domestic and foreign tourist,
otherwise stranded in the state, can now fly across the state with minimum
strain and maximum joy. This day is a milestone in the area of infrastructural
development.”
And then he continued to touch upon his favourite personal, political and social
agenda—the future. Pawan Chamling said, “We are looking at the future
prospects from different angles. Tourism being one of our priority sectors, the
airport will certainly prove a boon to our booming industry of tourism.”
He came out with some original and people-oriented ideas spreading “tourism
culture” in his state. He shared the information, “Under government’s policy
decisions, we are considering developing one tourist centre in each gram
panchayat unit in the villages for greater participation of rural people and also
to promote village tourism in the state. We are also in the process of identifying
our heritage sites across the state and renovation and reconstruction processes
are being taken up. Similarly, we are also trying to preserve our historical
monuments located in different parts of the state. We would showcase all of
them to the outside world. In a similar step the state government was
considering constructing eight more helipads to connect the entire state by
skyways. This criss-crossing of communication links across the state will
greatly derive sustenance from the upcoming airport.”
These were the ways of Pawan Chamling. He was always dreaming new dreams
for Sikkim and forever facing challenges and hurdles to make his dreams come
true. The Tenth Plan, launched in 2002 was the beginning of the process of
turning many dreams into realities. Pawan Chamling and his Sikkim had
derived knowledge and strength from their past, they had built their present on
it, and were now firmly poised on the springboard to future. The year 2002 was
the springboard. It marked the advent of a promising era of happenings and
great expectations.
During his eight years in office Chamling has always tried to provide maximum
opportunity to his people in areas feasible for new trades and vocations. He
expresses contentment at having given all possible opportunities to people living
in towns down to the grassroots levels. He says,

“In this regard, I am satisfied that we have tried to give the maximum
opportunities to our people. Even if people are building their future on an
opportunity provided by us, we feel that we have taken up the right
cause for the people giving them the chance to determine their own
 future, their own destiny. The prosperity and progress of Sikkimese
people are now a foregone conclusion because many of them have learnt
the art of fishing. I have given all Sikkimese the equal opportunity to
build their own future.”

The one policy that the Chamling government has adopted is a clear departure
from the past. According to Chamling, people only lose if they remain in their
traditional shell. In an age of globalization and liberalization, the state has
decided to open up to outside world and work in close tandem with national
and foreign agencies in areas like infrastructure development, IT, tourism.
Today, there are many NGOs and donor agencies from Australia, Britain and
Japan working in close collaboration with the state. The road ahead, in a way,
is clear enough for Chamling. With humility, he is prepared to work with the
mighty to bring about a qualitative change in the lives of over five lakh
Sikkimese.
While the previous government in Sikkim isolated the state and fanned anti-
national rhetoric at home, the Chamling government has constantly made
efforts to integrate people with the mainstream. Although Chamling marvels at
the unity that prevails in the Indian diversity, emotional integration is achieved
through due recognition of all Indians and by honouring their worth. The Indian
people from all walks of life have immensely contributed in the freedom struggle
and thousands of Indian citizens have laid down their lives to attain its
independence. The unsung heroes or the families of the freedom struggle must
be adequately rewarded for their contribution. That is why Pawan Chamling is
now advocating the concept of reverse integration, where the powerful and the
mighty have to appreciate the needs and aspirations of people in states like
Sikkim.
Pawan Chamling hits hard at all the sycophants in the country who despite
whipping up nationalistic fervour lack genuineness of purpose and sincerity. In
the 2002 Independence Day speech, he brought home the point and said,
“We fervently love our great nation India—great in many meanings.
However, if we fail to honour and appreciate the interest of the millions of
Indians, the love we shower is a fake one—it is a sham, a fraud. We talk
about the security of the country, yet we are least interested about
caring for the weaker and the vulnerable sections of the people. That way
we are not sincere and what we mean is only hypocritical. There is
outright hypocrisy in worrying about the security of the country yet
ignoring the unguarded people living a pathetic life in the same country.
Today at almost every level, we talk about the prosperity of the country,
but we have thousands of Indians who do not mind treating fellow
Indians as the slaves.
This is unpardonable, this is anti-national and they are sinners who talk
about prosperity and enslave their own brethren. Hence, on the occasion
of this Independence Day, we have to consider all these realities very
seriously. While we talk about the security of India, we should be
concerned about the security of every Indian citizen; the interest of the
country has to be invariably linked with the interest of each and every
Indian.
It is widely held that ability without opportunity is nothing. There could
be any number of Indians who may have found no such opportunity to
prove their cases. Unless and until we end these disparities in all
 manifestations—social or otherwise, we will not be free, we will not be
independent. We will not gain economic prosperity. Likewise in Sikkim,
the interest and security of Sikkim has to be invariably linked with the
interest and safety of every Sikkimese. When we talk about the Bhutias,
the interest of the poor Bhutias is often ignored; when we talk about the
Nepalese, the interest of the poor Nepalese loses relevance in the scheme
of things; when we talk about the Lepchas, the interest of the poor
Lepchas are often swept under the carpet. Hence, the security and
interests of Sikkim have to encompass the entire Sikkimese people with
regard to their basic rights and interests.”

In a country where Gandhiji laid down his life for the unity of the country and
where he forever advocated non-violence as an instrument of winning swaraj,
something is still amiss. Although free from foreign shackles, the violence and
communal strife that fill the air now is something unfortunate. When India
celebrated the 55th Independence Day, the national capital and many other
state capitals had to be virtually converted into army camps. While leaders
unfurled the tricolor, people were feeling uncertain. This is not something that
people expect from democracy. Chamling attributes moral degradation and
indiscipline as the root cause of the failure of democracy.
Advancing a subtle argument, he says,

“A successful man should also be virtuous and trustworthy. If a wicked

and evil man becomes successful, he will use his power to destroy society
and the world. Hadn’t Hitler been successful ? Had not Mussolini been
successful ? But what legacies did they leave behind except that of
hatred and revulsion ? Therefore, democracy demands that every one
from the ruler down to the common people refine and polish his
character, should be trustworthy, disciplined, morally upright and a
committed worker to serve people. In Sikkim, we are fortunate that we
live in an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity where people from all
walks of life live in complete amity and brotherhood.”

Chamling, the down-to-earth politician, has obviously thrown up cardinal

issues before the people. Has India triumphed as a democratic nation? Or
where has it erred? Can the nation recover, if necessary?
After he took over as Chief Minister at the fag end of 1994 Chamling has
successfully changed the direction of the state of Sikkim—from a situation of
economic uncertainty to a more confident and stable state, from political
bankruptcy to an ideal government, and from growing social inequalities to
social justice. Especially for the poor and the downtrodden, and the cause of
women, the Chamling government has been a blessing.
There are showers of praise flowing into the state and many sing about the
extraordinary courage of Pawan Chamling. The country and the world are
listening to Chamling with greater interest and concern. For instance, we may
quote Ms. Susan Gallagher of the Maitreya Sangha, an internationally
renowned community development society, who says, “We have been singing his
praises both locally and internationally and we feel honoured to be so warmly
welcomed by such a selfless, visionary and heroic figure. It is a certainty that
this man will go down in history as one of the country’s great leaders. It is this
type of inspired leadership that gives birth to a nation of heroes, acting as he
does as a figurehead and example for all the young men of the state.”
Sikkim with Chamling at the helm of affairs is all set to acquire a new height.
Selfless and goal-oriented as a leader, Chamling is cut out for all the noble
things that happen and need to happen in the state and the country. The 21st
century Sikkim is all set to shine on the horizon, not only in India but also
among all nations and states in the world.
 Appendix

Gangtok 1989: A Portrait

Entrapped she is the whole day long,
Within greasy folds of corruption untold;
Imprisoned she remains the whole night long,
Deep inside the black marketeer’s vault;
Panting for a breath of free and fresh air,
Shaking, shuddering and trembling in utter despair;
Stripped of dignity,
Shorn of grace,
Poor, poor Gangtok!
She wallows in disgrace!!

The body and limbs,

Strained and worked
To limit extreme,
Having to carry like the beast of burden,
Carcass long dead and stinking foul
Of what was once
A surging, pulsating force
Of faith in self so supreme;
One more day lost, like the one
Of yesterday and the day before,
To limbo with appetite so enormous,
In search of something tangible;
In making round so unprofitable;
From one minister’s posh chamber,
To another of secretary’s
Just as dazzling, much more posh;
Heartened by assurance empty galore,
And balmed by sweet talk seemingly callous,
The unemployed entity,
Nameless and faceless as so many,
Trudged home with steps unsure
That weary made falter,
Inside the shoes that saw days much better
Crestfallen as yesterday
And everyday,
A pity he made not the proverbial hay!
A capital of broken hearts
And shattered shoes, this Gangtok,
Stripped of dignity,
Shorn of grace,
Poor, poor Gangtok!
She wallows in disgrace!!

In defeat today
The day, as usual,
Lost to limbo,
The dream of tomorrow
Beckons yet,
Like the promise of Nirvana,
To Nimthitt,
To Nima and Ninamma,
With hopes renewed,
Promises resurrected
To make a go of it,
Once again, yet again,
To make the best of,
Whatever lies up the sleeve,
Of the unborn tomorrow.
Such is Gangtok, a citadel of false hope,
A living mirage, its attraction,
Both alluring and fatal;
Thus stripped of dignity,
Shorn of grace,
Poor, poor Gangtok!
She wallows in disgrace!!

Scars of wound deepest

Amid social crisis and chaos unsurpassed,
Things in Gangtok taken for granted,
Overnight they become a distant mirage;
Disparity abounds of all descriptions
The downtrodden poor
Shut out of doors
Are kept at arm’s length
Worse still even out of bound;
Plagued by rat race, society burns,
Mantra of co-existence,
Remains non-existent;
Society wallows in order so disorderly hotchpotch,
Things top to bottom sink by day one notch.
Victims abound of failure and heartbreak.
Of broken heart struck down by stroke self-made,
Thus Gangtok burns in the smouldering heat
Of the rat race furnace,
Stripped of dignity,
Shorn of grace,
Poor, poor Gangtok!
She wallows in disgrace!!

Sisters they are, after all

All so young and prim,
Hardly in their early teens;
Just flowering in their youth so prime and prim
That feels their parents’ cup of joy to its brim
But alas! it was not to be
All these damsels all gone astray
They feel instead the sleazy rooms!
Of hotels turned brothel and sleazier still!!
Stripped bone-naked of a spree
Like the bland nakedness of the eucalyptus tree,
Shorn of beauty stripped of noble pride,
A naked damsel even heaven can’t hide;
Love it’s not, nor affection
Pure and innocent,
That drive these lust-lorn
Creatures of habit;
It’s their passion so insatiable,
Their lust for flesh unappeased for ever,
In variety and change
They seek in vain
That they crave they never gain
For change they try and loud they cry,
As the fading dawn arrives
With hope and promise yet unborn
To find these creatures of lust depraved
Locked in embrace of passion all frayed,
To flog the dead horse back to life,
Try they must so they try with sobs of cry
The truth as it wont dawn
The fading dawn had left them,
High and dry!!
Thus stripped of dignity
Shorn of grace
Poor, poor Gangtok !
She wallows in disgrace !!

A gesture so solemn and so gratifying

On the part of this man of high standing
A gripping episode in the life and drama
Of the same man of the same standing
Who rules as he does from Secretariat Tashiling
There inside his Chamber gleaming posh and gold
Of Lord Buddha’s idol in gold installed,
The Apostle of religion old and gold
Two vows solemn as he took
In accordance with Buddha’s book
To lead a life steeped in simple living
To enrich his life
With pearls of wisdom
Steeped as it should be
In high thinking
The Buddhist populace made overjoyed
So were the non-Buddhists;
And the atheists
The rag-tag non-conformists,
Overjoyed were all and sundry
No sooner did the dust
Of expectation great
Simmer down
Short of settle down
Than began making its round
In Gangtok town
News all doleful and sad
Began to hound;

Of corruption absolute
Bred and fuelled by power
More menacingly absolute
Vow of simple living
Went down his gullet
Washed and flushed
By French Cognac
And of high thinking
Went up in smoke
From the file of misrule
He never failed to stoke
Thus he did succeed
Beyond his wildest dream
Making all Sikkimese
His plate of minced meat
He thought in all his supreme foolishness
Hoodwink he could the Apostle of peace and kindness

And thus that he forgot the simple rule

Reprisal and retributive justice
Not one of Buddha’s teaching
According to Buddhist dharma
Whose fruits
When ripe and rotting
Brought his down
With resounding thud
To where he truly belonged
Gangtok full of race of rats
Gangtok burns with saintly cats
Thus
Stripped of dignity
Shorn of grace
Poor, poor Gangtok !
She wallows in disgrace!!

Decked in dresses transparent and light

Bright and dazzling more bride-like
Epitomizing modernism’s mores
Obsession more modern
With shallow glamour
Unmindful of a future
So black and bleak
Dead, decomposed and deceased,
It already is;
Denounced in terms of status
As ‘that woman!’
A home-breaker and what not
To remain somewhat satisfied
As someone’s ‘mistress’ notorious
‘Kept woman’ her sorry status
Of scarecrow of a husband
Not man enough
To recognize her true status
This, after all, is Gangtok,
Stripped of dignity
Shorn of grace,
Poor, poor Gangtok!
She wallows in disgrace!!
They had gone and done it!
Again and again
And yet again!
Milk they did the country dry,
Coffers they stripped
Bare of moollah
And bone dry
In lining their own pocket
Depth untold and bottomless,
In fattening their wallets
With elasticity unlimited;
Thus they raped the present
Left and right,
Inside the coffin
Dank and dark,
Of a future they deemed
Right and bright;
Violate they did time and again,
Their mother’s modesty without refrain,
Thus capital Gangtok helplessly bled,
Stripped of modesty,
Shorn of motherly grace,
Poor, poor Gangtok!
She wallows in disgrace!!
(From ‘Ma Ko Hun ?’, a collection of Nepali poems by Pawan Chamling ‘Kiran’,
published in 1990)

The Sound
The sound drifting across
0f bells that tolled inside
the temple
The sound drifting across
Of Moulvi’s voice
Rendering the verses from
Koran
They both sound
Identical to me,
Both the sound
As they drift across to me
Are heard in tones so clear
And pure
In perfect unison
With the gift of hearing
I do possess
As they vibrate in perfect accord
In the same breath
In the same instant
In the same spirit
Of brotherhood sublime
Without the slightest hint
Of discrimination discord.
The sound
Emanating from the church bells
As it drifts across
Never fails in its passage discreet,
To make its tryst first as it flees
With the feet of the Lord
The temple enshrines
Before it reaches
To touch me
And my innermost chord;

The sound of prayer

The sound so made
Of the bells so tolled
Merged as they have
In one sweet integrated melody
To co-exist in perfect harmony
And to burst forth finally
To waves of symphony orchestra;

It has touched, in so doing

My soul that resides in my
Innermost being,
With tenderness so rapt and sweet,
The warm warmth when floods my being,
My soul soars heavenward in joy unsurpassed,
To touch the hem of heaven retrieved.

(From ‘Ma Ko Hun ?’, a collection of poems published in 1990)

The Crucified Prashna

You are and have been
With me
Over lives myriad,
Your presence infinite
In omnipresence
You were there
Already
Even as Eve and Adam
Came into being;
Even when Sumnima, Paruma
Came into being.
But, then in those timeless
Days of then
You and your formless form
Your identity included
Included
Were happily
A familiar phenomena
Your form so formless
Then was a visibal one
To the then
Mortal eyes;

But even today

You, your form
Are the same, so is
Your identity
Consistently the same,
Like it had been always
Always, aeons ago;
But today, in the quivering
Reality of the present,
You, in our supreme ignorance,
Remain perennially
Unseen and invisible
To our
Unseeing eye
Unseeing because
We do not seek
After the truth
The truth you are,
Had been ever
And always;
In today’s reality
Man’s perception limited
To domain so narrow
Of things strictly physical
His seeing eye also physical
Drawing blank
Of things
Beyond man’s understanding;

To see and comprehend

Your infinite form,
Man needs vision
Not of this material world
To comprehend and capture
Your true form
In all its grandeur
Manifestly sublime,
He needs an eye
Purified by love sublime,
His heart, a loving heart
Purest love personified;

In such heart so purified

Sages say the soul force resides
That alone can visualise you
In your infinite form sublime.
Man cannot appreciate
Nor comprehend
Let alone understand
Your Mahima, your Leela,
The schemes of things
You divine and design
Infinitely grand,
In their grandeur supreme;
Because
Thoughts of man
And his mind
Are in themselves
not free
Never truly free
In the sense
True freedom goes;

Simply because
Man, in truth, possesses nothing
He may call his own,
His thoughts and mind included.
He is simply and merely a man!
Therefore
To comprehend your existence
Is simply beyond
His ken
Hence
In this tiny domain
Of man’s world
You are non-existent
Although
You do exist.
In form. In formless form unseen.
Omniscient. And omnipresent.
In ‘me’ you certainly are;

Hence I exist!
With identity
Unique!
Yet I am at a loss
To comprehend
You in me
To accept
You in all entirety!
As such
I exist
Merely and purely
For the sake of
Existence
And this existence has little
Or no relevance
Despite some semblance
Of identity vague,
I’m indeed!
A complete non-entity!
My goal
Nothing beyond
An irksome, wearysome
Journey
Interwoven into
The cycle of birth and death!
And no less!
And no more!

(From ‘Ma Ko Hun ?’, a collection of poems published in 1990)

Faith Undaunted
In striking definition minutely detailed
A life-like image of beauty ethereal
Carved in stone, lifeless and cold
Yet exotic it was, with celestial allure untold,
A masterpiece, a work of art
Of genius artistic unsurpassed;
Its exact location elusively indeterminate
At some point in suspended animation so vague
In the vast expanse of ethereal space;
Ever since aeons ago
Have I installed it deep inside
The sanctum sanctorum
Of my devout heart
As Godess Shakti, the primordial source supreme,
Of all things seen and unseen;
With faith firm and undaunted
Seek I after the truth
The truth that reveals
The truth that unravels
The riddle that veils
The Atma from Parmatma.
I have discovered in this exotic form
Its beauty ethereal my devotion conform
Obessed as I am this time around
With hope that springs in my breast eternal
Discover I must a flicker of smile ethereal
An assuring hint of affection divine.
Aeons passed in to limbo unappeased
Myriads lost and forgotten
Of the cycle of birth and death unrequited,
Between us forged was this lasting bond
Aeons and aeons ago, ages upon ages old
Ever since the moment of my maiden encounter,
Face to face with that ever elusive enchanter;
Even now
My deep longing yet undiminished
The thirst that burns within me unslaked,
Of catching a glimpse of the smile ethereal
So eager is my aural sense,
To pick up a note or two of divine choice,
In the celestial beauty of her melodious voice.
In silence deep and golden
Thirst unslaked, it makes so bold
I, ever so vigilant, as I watch
I, ever so patient, as I wait
Penance it is of great expectation!

(From volume ‘Ma Ko Hun ?’, a collection of poems published in 1990)

Discovery of Man
The mind in me
With eyes more piercing and perceiving,
Have I detached and installed
Right in front of me;
From a vantage point fresh anew,
From the void devoid of real me,
To observe, to scrutinize
This physical veil, the material form
Of the soul so elusive
And forever invisible
In every age as man-incarnate
Have I sought to unveil thee
In my deep longing of you to have a glimpse!

In the man-made material world,

In the teeming millions that throng the world
Deluded by illusion of the ‘self’
I made inquiry galore of this ‘self’
With many a searching question
That at the end of the day
Had no solution,
To the riddle that was you!
Or was it ‘I’!
Even after the passage
Of aeons and mellennia of rebirth
In never ending cycle of birth and death,
As man-incarnate I fortunate though,
Yet and yet I failed miserably again
Not once but many a time again,
To come, nay, confront you face to face
You choose to remain an enigma of sorts,
Closely and intricately so intimate
Yet so distant ever so remote,
Though of late I do concede,
The illusion of you,
It is in my view
Anything everything but conceit;
It is not
Or how else! can I perceive
The hidden you
The deep melody so hauntingly sweet,
Perched atop the Pippal tree,
As the love-lorn Koyal
In springtime sings
A song so melancholy
And so discord,
Yet it touches my innermost chord;

The formless you

Ever so formless
To mortals like I
And yet in measures infinitely minuscule
Perceive thy formless form
With eyes so obsessed
With worldly view,
I know full well
With wisdom gained
And garnered across
Aeons of rebirth
Its fruitless and endeavour
Next only to impossibility,
I know just as well this to be
An exercise in hopeless futility
To be wise with wisdom sublime,
The formless you with eyes such as mine
For aeons to come and aeons to go
The pair of which shall never entwine

Everything I possess today,

All things perceived,
Their grandeur observed,
Acquired and enjoyed
All of this I did
And do possess
As my very own,
Utterly and absolutely,
Legally and even illegally,
Are, in essence, all so much
Part of you
As you are in them all,
But destined they are
They must perish someday,
It is a certainty
One hundred percent,
They are not in you
Least of all they are you
Because you are
Omniscient!
Omnipresent!
And utterly imperishable!!!

(From volume ‘Ma Ko Hun ?’, a collection of poems published in 1990)

A Trip Across Future Lane

Since aeons and ages ago
In this material world
Absorbing as much as resisting
Shocks and jolts many
On the rocky roads of life
Obstacles too many
Each more difficult
Each more insurmountable
Than the next in tow
Flowing down the river
My life personified
Born as I am a man-incarnate
Paddling I am and have been
My own canoe of human struggle.
Paddling as I am plodding as it is
To eat up miles many as footsoldier weary,
Pressing and plodding on my weary feet,
Ages many more numerous
Aeons many more I have yet to traverse.
The present
So quivering in reality
My feet firmly planted
In the ethereal space
Gripping for support
As I catch hold of the empty void;
Engaged in light banter
With truth so ethereal
In its freedom so free
Surely I’m enjoying my trip
On the path yet untrodden
Of the future still unveiled
And the unveiled future
Is walking as though side by side
With me;
Dreams so pure so virgin accompany me
In the future yet unveiled
Full of joy and happiness supreme
I’m traversing the landscape
Of the future itself, real and tangible
By my side in company with me
Is walking and talking with me!!

(From ‘Ma Ko Hun ?’, a collection of poems published in 1990)

I am a Battler of Battles Many

On centre-stage or in the wings,
Visible to sight or invisible,
I’m at war in flesh and blood,
I’m at war in spirit untamed,
To battle to the last
Is precisely why I have taken birth;

Battlefield not seen,

Steeped in invisibility,
Formless and without form
This battlefield,
I am a battler of battles many.

A fistful of light to illumine

Against darkness at its heights
A handful of light that delights
The hearts of fellow-brethren
Fellow-travelers all downtrodden
With me in my crusade against tyranny;

In the wilderness of oppression and anarchy

In the jungle Raj of repression and oligarchy,
Weapon I wield of humanity in chain
With which to cut asunder
A tree so devilish yet more wicked,
With crimes unforgivable to its credit,
Against a bleeding humanity.
Humanity stands threatened,
Exploited, intimidated and burdened,
By forces dark and devilish;
Unseen and subtle most times
In droves they come to prey upon, to snare,
With plans and blueprints, ideas bizarre,
Like roads and byroads so numerous,
Like byways and highways they take their toll,
Of humanity befuddled by them all;

To blight the sun out of the azure heaven

To cover and cast,
To cast and blanket,
Everything noble, everything right,
To perpetuate and forever spread
A reign of darkness so dark and desolate!
With a fistful of the earth,
The size of my throbbing heart
For a battling army of light brigade to fight
One fistful flash of dazzling light of blinding bright,
And with resolve
Mightier than sword born of thought so high,
As vast in expanse as the limitless ethereal sky;

All these my assets they all are with me

Firm in resolve since they are all me
To wage a battle last utterly decisive,
Against darkness of evil so unseeing
Yet menacingly pervasive!

(From ‘Ma Ko Hun ?’, a collection of poems published in 1990)

My Basic Faith
Superman I am not
Of the great Atlas fame,
Who, the legend says,
Bore the earth on his back
A simple man I am
Down-to-earth and ordinary
But of thought personified
Extraordinary
Tread I can my path of duty
The universe on my back if need be
For reason so simple
Because of the fact so basic
I have the gumption
I have the tact
To link each man on earth
With the universe at large
My ambition it
Has always been
To usher in peace,
Prosperity,
Happiness unmingled
Pure and sublime
To restore all these
To man and his world
On this earth
To eliminate all elements
Of anarchy
Of oligarchy
Dark and demented
To transform this earth
Into Paradise Regained.

(From volume ‘Ma Ko Hun ?’, a collection of poems published in 1990.)

 Index

Achievements, 241
Adi Shankaracharya, 218
Agriculture, 19
Aguwa Raja, 14
Agya Martam Tobden family, 32
Ahmadi, A.H., 200, 203
Aitasingh Tamang, 147
Akhil Bharatiya Nepali Bhasa Samity, 78
Alley, R.P., 35
Amnesty International, 147, 148
Anglo-Gurkha War, 21
Anil Lachungpa, 132
Anti-people policies, 129
Ari Bahadur Gurung, 216
Article 371 F (K), 57, 130, 155, 176, 177, 214, 265, 318
Assembly Hall, 116

Bagdogra Airport, 313

Baid, Rajendra, 146, 149
Balayogi, G.M.C., 9
Balika Samridhi Yojana, 235
Benjamin Rai, 240
Bermiok family, 30
Bhaichung Bhutia Stadium, 239, 240
Bhandari Cabinet, 112
Bhandari government, 130
Bhandari, 118, 122, 131, 143, 145, 150
Bhandari, Hem Lall, 148, 149
Bhandari, Nar Bahadur, 54, 70, 73, 75, 100, 104, 106, 107, 147, 159, 174, 265, 310
Bhandari’s Sangram, 117
Bhandarism, 124
Bharat Shiromani Awards, 224
Bharatiya Nepali Rastriya Parishad, 78
Bhargava, Chief Justice, 201
Bhattarai, M.B., 152
Bhojraj Rai, 132
Bhutia community, 155
Bhutia-Lepchas, 155
community, 36
Bhutias, 74
Binod Pradhan, 132
Biodiversity Park, 228
Biraj Adhikari, 146, 147
Boy from Yangang, 13
Buddhimaya Subba, 151
Buddhist monks, 20
Buddhist philosophy, 300

Carki, C.B., 9
CBI, 111, 178
Central Employment Act, 1959, 176
Central Income Tax Act, 108, 131, 155, 177, 108
Chakung Jerung Dewan’s family, 33
Chamling, Aasharani, 14
Chamling, Aashbahadur, 14, 15
Chamling, Birgum, 14
Chamling era, 23, 97, 98, 99, 139, 167
Chamling, Dilungjeet, 14
Chamling, Ashok, 15, 285
Chamling, D.M., 209
Chamling, Harkajeet, 14
Chamling, P.K., 112
Chamling, Partiman, 15
Chamling, Rupen, 285
Chamling, Tika Maya, 209
Chamling-Bhandari feud, 70
Chamling-Bhandari war, 112
Chandra Das Rai, 35
Chaudhary Randhir Singh, 177, 187, 275, 290
Cheddy Jaggan, 126
Cheers for 2002, 307-322
Chhaganlal, 147
Chhibo Busty, 152
Chinese Communist state, 19
Chintan Puraskaar, 85
Chogyal Tashi Namgyal (Maharaja), 22, 33
Chogyal, 42, 48
Chogyal’s Darbar, 60
Christianity, 107
Chukie Topden, 232
Chumbi Valley, 27
Citizenship Order, 215

Communist China, 162

Communist Party of India (CPI-M), 148
Communities, 26, 96
Company Raj, 49
Congress (I), 111
Constitutional Amendment Act (73rd), 1992, 298
Constitutional Amendment Act (36th) 1975, 43
Conventional communist, 51
Cooperation Year, 256
Criminal Procedure Code, 201
Crorepati, 249

Dahal, Bhim, 53
Damthang constituency, 69, 88, 100, 101
Dandvate, Madhu, 71
Das, B. S., 43
Dawa Gyalpo, 147
Democracy, 115
Democratic decentralization, 299
Democratic Sikkim, 89
Danny Denzongpa, 240
Department of Rural Development, 257
Department of Women and Child Welfare, 234
Department of Youth and Sports, 239
Deve Gowda, H.D., 207, 308
Development agencies and aid donors, 254
Development funds, 62
Dewan Namgyal, 49
Dhan Raj Tamang, 146
Dharam Raja, 22, 64
Dharma Dutta Sharma, 148
Digvijay Singh, 231
Dik Bahadur Rai, 146
Dimick Singh Lepcha (Captain), 35
Directives of Party President, 133
Directives to Party Workers, 138
Down to Earth, 231, 232
Driving Licence and Vehicle Registration book, 259
Dubey, Muchkund, 254
Duk Nath Nepal, 148

East India Company, 20, 21, 49, 194

Education, seeds of change, 37-39
Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, 85, 216
Election Commission, 132, 175
Enchey Athing family, 32
Ethnic categories, 215
Ethnic communities, 241
Ethnic groups, 45

Feudalism, 56
Finance Commission, 167
Fire inside the house incident, 115-128
Five Year Plan (2002-2007), 243, 308
Future, building the, 200

Gallagher, Susan, 306

Ganden Lharipa, 240
Gandhi, Indira, 61, 110, 111
Gandhi, Mahatma, 20, 34, 97, 216, 223
Gandhi, Rajiv, 107
Ganju Lama Path, 187
Ganju Lama, 186
GDP, 243, 295
Gift Tax, 108
Giri, Mohini, 237
Globalisation process, 219-232
Gooroong, B.B., 151, 181
Gopal Gurung, 162
Gram Panchayat, 256, 257
Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), 274
Guidelines, to guide the workers in the right path, 140-142
Gujral, I.K., 207, 308
Gurkhas, 48
Guru Padmasambhava, 28, 204, 218, 287
Guru Rimpoche, 28
Guru Tashi, 26, 27

Gyalwa Latsun Chenpo, 27

Haat days (market day), 29

Harishwar Dayal, 35
Harit Kranti, 230
High Court, 200
Himalayan community, 213
Himalayan State, 273
Hissey Lachungpa, 132
Hitler, 72, 305
Honouring the past, 186-199
House of Parliament, 119
Human Development Index, 248, 271
Human Development Report 2001, 242, 246, 247, 248, 251

Ideological guru, 25
Idi Amin, 72

Independence Day, 166, 189, 295, 304, 305

India Today, 110
Indian Chambers of Commerce, 98
Indian Constitution, 112
Indian Evidence Act, 201
Indian Income Tax Act of 1961, 265
Indian National Congress, 50, 58
Indian Nepalese, 216
Indian Penal Code, 201
Indian Union, 124, 130, 214
Indira Awas Yojana, 172, 288
Indira Mahila Yojana, 235
Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1950, 215
Indo-Sikkim Treaty, 22, 35
Infrastructure Development Finance Company Ltd., 299
Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), 235
Inter-religious marriages, 18
Intimate self, 282-291
Iron Lady, 61

Jana Gana Mana, 216

Jana Kranti, 44, 49, 60, 123
Janata Bhawan, 184
Janata Mela, 320
Janpath Samachar, 149
Japan Ecology Foundation, 299
Jayachandran, B., 285
Joint Action Committee, 151
Jongpon Karmi Pulger family, 33

Kabi Tingda, 43
Kalawati Subba, 235
Kalkat (General), 243
Kalzang Gyatso, 43
"Kanyakumari to Kanchenjunga" (slogan), 281
Karki, C.B., 152, 160
Kashiraj Pradhan, 187

Katuk Rinzin Chenpo, 28

Kaul, T.N., 43
Kazi Lhendup Dorjee, 42, 43, 44, 69, 95, 110, 122, 151, 174, 189
Kazi, Jigme N., 231
Kazis, 63
Kenzong Athing family, 31
Khanchendzonga National Park, 231
Kheye Bumsa, 27
Khukuris, 43
Kiran (poet), 76
Kissinger, Henery, 61
Krishan Kant, 285, 301
Kuber, 118
Kurukshetra, 156

Lahiri, Ashok K., 246, 279

Lakhpati, 249
Lall, J.S., 35
Lama, Mahendra P. 246, 278
Lama, R.P., 285
Land Bank Scheme, 172
Land of Chamling’s birth, 26
Landlords, 29, 64
Language Bill, 166
Languages, 85, 216
Legislative Assembly, 119, 174
Lepchas, 74
Lhendup Lepcha, 152
Libing family, 31
Lincoln, 44, 321
Literary magazines, 35
Literary organization, 85
Lok Adalat, 238
Lok Sabha, 217, 312
election, 233
Look East Policy, 319

Mahila Samridhi Yojana, 235

Major Phumpo, 147
Man and his vision, 292-306
Manbahadur Chamling, 15

Mandal Commission, 146

Report, 109
Mandela, Nelson, 144
Manipal Pai Foundation, 258
Manipuri community, 311
Manmohan Singh, 108, 131
Manufacturing concerns, 94
Maoist movement, 314
Martin Luther King, 144
Marx, 51, 71, 97,
Marxist approach, 97
Mata Prasad, 310
McSweeney, Brenda Gael, 251
Messiah of the poor, 179-185
Minister Chamling, 100
Mintokgang, 25, 284, 293, 294
Minyang dynasty, 26
MLAs, 117, 156, 232, 249, 292
Monarchical system, 28
Motor Vehicles Bill, 166
Mt. Khangchendzonga, 28, 229
Mukhtiyar, 28
Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society, 40
Muna Madan (epic), 38
Municipal Corporation Bill, 166
Mussolini, 72, 305
Mustafa Kamal Pasha, 126

Naidu, Chandrababu, 231

Namchi Athing family, 32
Namgyal dynasty, 33, 48, 194
Narayanan, K.R., 222, 224
National Citizen’s Award, 226
National Commission for Women, 237
National Committee on Disaster Management, 260
National Council , 35
National Democratic Alliance commitment, 250
National Development Council (2002), 212, 243, 308, 313,
National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC), 208, 252
National Integration Day, 234
National Security Act, 149
National Water Policy, 205
National Water Resources Council, 205
Nationalistic fervour, 58
Natural resources, 252
Nedup Bhutia, 147
Neelu Chettri, 151, 153
Nehru, Jawaharlal, 98, 140
Nepalese, 74
Nepali community, 36, 109, 111, 112
Nepali-speaking Indian citizen, 216

Ngdak Senpa Chenpo, 27

NGOs, 219, 221, 253, 275, 278, 303
Nirman, 68, 94
movement, 80
Prakashan, 40, 51, 68
story, 76-87
Nixon, Richard, 61
Non-confidence motion, 118
Non-cooperation Movement, 34
Non-violent struggle, 34
North Eastern Council, 54, 207, 309, 315, 320,
North-East Area Development, 249
North-Eastern States, 208
Nyaya (Justice), 14

OBCs, 109, 146

Old Sikkim House, 267
“Open mouth style” (Pawan Chamling’s), 53
Opposition, 115

Pachey Athing family, 33

Padma Vibhushan, 189
Palden Thondup Namgyal, 27, 34, 43
Panchayati raj institutions, 298, 299
Panchayat, 40
Pandey, Damodar, 14, 48
Pant, K.C., 313
Panu, 46
Parliament House, 216
Parmar, Suresh, 146
Partnership Summit, 275
Party is born, 129-142
Party Literature, 158, 160
Party Workers, 161
Patriarchal system, 18
People’s Revolution, 22, 44-56, 57, 59
Petre-Puja, 16
Phuntsok Namgyal, 20, 27, 29, 34, 47
Pilot, Rajesh, 317
Planning Commission, 71, 92, 250, 251, 313, 317
Poets Foundation Award 2001, 85
Policy on Forest, Enviornment and Land-use 2000, 228
Political journey, 67-75
Political philosophy, 52
Politician, 40-43
Polzor Stadium, 42

Ponu, 27
Pradhan, K.C., 147
Pradhan, P.K., 310
Pradhan, Sushil, 152
Prajatantra Congress Party, 65
Prajatantra, 64
Prithvi Narayan Shah, 26
Pro-Chogyal, 44
Pro-people party, 135

Pujas, 16, 17
Punjab Sikkim, 280
Punjab Sindh, 280
Quit India Movement of 1942, 34
Rai Bahadur, 30
Rai, Indra Bahadur, 153
Rai, J.B., 153
Rai, Nakhul, 152
Rai ethnic group, 15
Rais, 15, 16, 18
Raj Bhawan, 112
Rajya Sabha, 217
Ranas of Nepal, 34
Rao, P.V. Narasimha, 207, 308, 317
Rao, S.N. Subba, 240, 241
Representative Chamling, 88-99
Rhenock Athing family, 33
Rhododendron Sanctuary, 231
Rimpoche of Deorali Chorten Gompa, 286
Rimpoche of the Chorten Trust, 287
Rinzing Ongmu, 235
Robert Frost Chamling (Poet), 24
Rupen Chamling, 15
Rural Housing Scheme, 182

Sahakari Bhawan, 256

Sahitya Akademi, 285
Sahni, Kidar Nath, 302
Sakya kingdom, 27
Salvador Allende, 126
Sanchaman Limboo, 117, 118, 155, 157, 316
Sangha, Maitreya, 306
Sangram Bhawan, 150
Sangram Cabinet, 159
Sangram Parishad Party, 113
Santa Bahadur Chamling, 15
Satyameva jayate, 279
Sayeed, Mufti Mohammed, 316
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act, 201
Scheduled Tribes, 309, 310
SDF government, 264
Security dynamics, redefining the, 209-218
Selee dance, 17
Self-Employment schemes, 184
Shahid Dal Bahadur Giri, 216
Shahid Dharmadatta Path, 188
Shahid Durga Malla, 216
Shanker, P. Shiv, 291
Sharma, Dharmadatta, 111, 187
Sharma, Pooja, 188
Sharma, Tulsi Ram, 240
Shiromani Institute, 225
Shiv Shanker Dhakal, 146
Shiva Pradhan, 146
Shourie, Arun, 249, 250
Shukla Commission, 208
Sidkyong Namgyal, 34
Sikkim: A Kingdom of Flowers, 7
Sikkim Manipal University, 258
Sikkim Agriculture Export Zone (AEZ), 299
Sikkim Akademi, 238
Sikkim Armed Police Camp, 143
Sikkim Assembly, 225
Sikkim Cabinet, 254
Sikkim Darbar, 43, 58
Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), 24, 44, 71, 111, 119, 129-142, 150, 156, 162, 163, 174, 181, 191, 209,
210, 233, 234, 238, 282, 292, 318,
Sikkim High Court, 201
Sikkim Himalayas, 213
Sikkim in the mainstream, 57-66
Sikkim Janata Parishad, 111
Sikkim Legislative Assembly, 13, 38, 88, 189, 235
Sikkim Observer, 231
Sikkim Prajatantra Congress, 67, 70
Sikkim Sahitya Parishad , 85
Sikkim Sangram Parishad, 69, 70, 81, 100, 103, 105, 106, 108, 114, 115, 129, 156, 308
Sikkim State Assembly, 93
Sikkim State Congress, 44, 58
Sikkim State Cooperative Bank, 256
Sikkim State Council, 33
Sikkim State Organising Committee, 148
Sikkim State Planning Commission, 244, 255, 256
Sikkim State Subjects Certificate, 265
Sikkim Subject Regulations of 1961, 215
Sikkim Subject, 176
Sikkim Temple, 204
Sikkim Vidhan Sabha, 108
Sikkim Vidhan Sabha, 97, 115, 118, 119, 162, 166, 170, 261
Sikkim: Human Development Report 2001, 269, 276, 277, 279
Sikkim: Perspectives and Vision, 320
Sikkim: The People’s Vision, 242, 246, 247, 251, 269, 273
Sikkim’s political history, 45
Sikkimese Limboo, 107
Sikkimese mainstream, 221
Sikkimese Nepalese community, 126, 310
Sikkimese Nepalese, 85, 216
Sikkimese people, 129, 130, 157, 180, 238, 257, 264, 266, 268, 298, 307, 312
Sikkimese people, appeal letter, 144
Sikkimising the globalisation process, 219-232
Singh, V.P., 316
Skill Development Fund, 260
Smriti Van (memorial woodland), 228
Software Technology Park, 259
Sogowlee Treaty, 195
Sonam Gyatso, 187
Sonam Tshering, 187
South Asia Conference on Eco-Tourism, 229
Speaker, 116
Standing Committee, 211, 212, 214
State Assembly, 236
State Awards, 239
State Day, 119, 120, 193, 196, 199, 200,
State Domestic Product of Sikkim, 242
State Pay Commission recommendations, 274
State Planning Commission, 254, 308
Subba, Bindya, 285
Subba, G.K., 112, 115, 116
Sub-tribes (thar), 14, 15, 16
Sugauli Treaty of 1815, 49
Suman Krishan Kant, 301
Sun Yat Sen, 126
Supreme Court, 149
Surajkund Mela, 251
Swaraj, 305

TADA, 150, 151, 157

Taksaris families, 29, 30
Tashi Namgyal (Maharaja), 34, 35
Tashi Tshering, 35
Teesta river, 14, 21
Tenzing Namgyal, 34, 48
Thakuri, Ram Singh, 216, 240
Thapa, Kalpana, 153
The Hindustan Times, 110
Thikadars, 28, 34
Thondup Namgyal Research Institute of Tibetology, 300
Tika Mayaji, 9
Thutob Namgyal, 28, 34
Tokang Donyer Namgyal’s family, 31
“Total Organic State”, 321
Tourism Master Plan, 253
Treaty of Sigauli, 21
Treaty of Titaliya, 21, 49, 194, 196
Tribal communities, 107

Tribal-feudal Sikkim, 60
Tribes, 45
Tripartite Agreement, 43
Troubled times, 174-178
Tshungshing Athing’s family, 32
Tulsi Ram Kashyap, 38

UNDP, 251
United Nations, 204

Vajpayee, A.B., 207, 249, 250 265, 300, 308, 313

Varam, 14
Venkataraman, R., 111
Victoria Cross, 186, 187
Vidhan Sabha, 200
Vishal Chamling, 203

Waterloo, 118
Wealth Tax, 108
White Paper, 168
White, J.C., 21
Widow Remarriage Schemes, 234
Woman Adhyakshas and Upa-Adhyakshas 236
Women’s Council, 236
Women’s Day, 234
Women’s rights, 233-237
World Trade Organization (WTO), 299
World War II, 186 , 196, 197

Yangang Athing family, 31

Yangang Gram Panchayat, 65, 68, 70, 88, 92
Yangthang family, 31
Yapa D. Dahdul , 35
Yapa J.T. Densapa, 30
Yashey Doma (queen), 28
Yata, P.B., 146

Zee TV, 301

Zilla Adhyaksas, 308
Zilla panchayats, 298