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A C C U R A T E
B A L A N C E D
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C R E D I B L E
VOL 9 No 33 RNI No: SIKENG/2006/18384
NEWS BRIEFS
9 Bangla nationals
detained
BSF jawans of 96
Battalion, Saturday
morning detained 9
Bangladeshi nationals
including a female from
Hili on the Indo-Bangla
border. They were about
to sneak into the Indian
side through the
border's unfenced
stretch. 6 mobile phones
and certain amount of
Bangladeshi Taka have
been recovered from
them. The arrested
persons upon interrogation informed the BSF
that they had attempted
to enter India in search
of better livelihood. The
police and BSF have
intensified vigil along
the border after the
recent Burdwan blast
and number of such
arrests are being made
on a daily basis,
informed a BSF source.
The detained 9 will be
handed over to Border
Guards of Bangladesh,
informed the Battalion
commander, Sangram
Vishal. (HS)
Two suicides
Sikkim Police reported
two suicide cases in the
state on Friday. A 52 yrs
old woman committed
suicide by hanging
herself from an overhead
plank in a cowshed near
her house at Gitang
Busty, Dentam, West
Sikkim on Thursday
night. The body was
discovered by the
husband of the deceased on Friday
morning. In another
incident, a 24-year old
man committed suicide
by hanging himself from
a tree in an isolated
forest land of Khongsee,
Namchaybong, East
Sikkim. The deceased
was a teacher by
profession and had
gone missing since
Wednesday. One of the
villagers discovered the
body early this morning.
The dead body has been
sent to STNM Hospital
for post mortem. (HS)
GANGTOK, SUNDAY 12 OCTOBER 2014
Prevention more important than rescue:
Charimaya on Human Trafficking
MARG observes
International Day of
Girl Child
HM Correspondent
Darjeeling, Oct 11: Charimaya Tamang recipient of the
“Hero Acting to End Modern-Day Slavery Award
2011” (USA), speaking today
on the occasion of International Day of Girl Child said
that 'prevention' is more important than 'rescue' in case
of trafficked victims. She was
in Darjeeling to attend the
International Day of Girl
Child programme organized
by MARG- an NGO working
in the anti trafficking sector.
Since 2012 Marg has rescued
around 100 trafficked girls
hailing from the Darjeeling
Hills and other places like
Delhii, Goa, Mumbai, Pune,
Bangalore, Chennai and even
Himachal Pradesh. Tamang
gave a clarion call to Government departments, NGOs and
Society to work in close coordination to prevent traf-
ficking. She feels that the 100
km open border between
Nepal and India is a blessing
for citizens of both countries,
but is also a route frequented by traffickers, to carry out
their illegal activities taking
advantage of the open border. The border guards
should remain more vigilant
said Tamang and stressed
that stringent punishment be
meted out to those engaged
in illegal activities including
human trafficking. She also
laid stress on the need for
protection of rights and privacy of the rescued victims
of human traficking and appealed to society and family
members of victims to be
more receptive. Tamang had
founded an NGO "Shakti
Samuha" in Nepal in 1996
which was awarded the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay
Award for 2013. The Ramon
Magsaysay Award Founda-
tion based in Manila, Philippines, selected the NGO for
its contribution in rooting
out human trafficking and
improving the lives of trafficking survivors. She herself is a victim of human trafficking. “As far as rescuing
a trafficked girl from a brothel is concerned, time is an
important factor. With the
passage of time the victim is
weighed down by negativity. She starts feeling that everyone including the entire
society is against her. The
fear of ostracism looms large.
All this put together, hampers the rescue” stated 37
year old Tamang. Charimaya
was a victim of trafficking at
the age of 16. In 1994 she had
been abducted from the
Shivapur jungles near her
village in Sindupal Chowk of
Nepal, where she had gone
Veterans Rally felicitates ex-servicemen
HM Report
Gangtok, Oct 11: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling announced enhancement in
Cash Rewards to Gallantry
Award Winners of the State
from Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 20 lakh.
He was addressing the Veterans Rally organized by the
Black Cat Division here today at Chintan Bhavan in the
Capital.
Chamling addressing the
conglomeration of ex-servicemen also announced to
increase the pension of
World War II Veterans from
Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 3,000 per
month. Sanction of Rs 4.5
Crore for construction of rest
houses and reward of Rs 15
lakh to Battle Casualties including assistance in jobs
was also announced.
Chamling further added
that special priority to families of ex-servicemen in providing special government
grants including Housing
Schemes, land bank scheme
etc. will be given.
Encouraging the veterans
to venture into entrepreneur-
ship, Chief Minister also asserted special consideration
and support to entrepreneur
who will take up service sector as their profession by
providing soft loans, taxi permits, licences for business
etc. Chief Minister also requested all the ex-armymen
to encourage the younger
generation people to go for
various training courses
sponsored by the State Government.
The Veterans Rally was
organised by Black Cat Division under the aegis of Tr-
ishakti Corps at Chintan Bhawan Complex, Gangtok.
Black Cat Division organizes Veteran Rally every year
to communicate the schemes
and facilities available to the
Veterans and Veer Naris for
their selfless service to the
nation. Besides it also targets to provide a dedicated
platform for addressing the
grievances through civil and
military liaison by providing
pension, Medical, miscellaneous services at State and
Central Government level.
Lt Gen GS Chandel, , GOC,
Trishakti Corps said “the
veterans dedicated their golden years guarding the nation
now it’s the duty of the State
and the Nation to fulfil their
requirement”.
Maj Gen YVK Mohan, ,
GOC Black Cat Division apprised the veterans regarding various schemes available to them. Additional Chief
Secretary SC Gupta along
with senior Government officials were also present to
interact with the Veterans of
the State of Sikkim. Approx
500 Veterans and their families attended the function and
32 Veterans were felicitated
on the occasion.
Malala, Saty
ar
thi, Nobel Prize and Sikkim
Satyar
arthi,
- Shashibhushan
Dwivedi
O
nly 19 year old young
est Nobel Prize winner
Malala Yousufzai can
be an example for the youth
throughout
the globe;
but Sikkim’s
people feel
that she can
be best example for the young
men in Sikkim, who are often
negatively criticized for being
indulged in drugs and other
“showy” activities; leaving
aside vital problems in life.
Malala, a Pakistani has
been awarded this year’s Nobel Prize for Peace with social
activites Kailash Satyarthi for
our country and both of them
are known for doing remarkable works for children.
It is well-known fact that
in the rehabilitation centre,
she witnessed the death of
many of the rescued girls.
Finally, after 6 months, NGOs
and Human Rights organizations working in Nepal facilitated the return of 128 trafficked victims to Nepal. In
Nepal most of the victims returned to their families but
Tamang decided to use the
bitter experience she had acquired to the advantage of
others. She undertook various training programmes
(gender, reproductive health
and trafficking) and along
with 14 other rescued girls
started the NGO "Shakti Samuha" in 1996. Shakti Samuha
is known as the first organization of trafficking survivors
in the world. Their main aim is
to organize and empower trafficking survivors. “Our vision
is to ensure that the women
and children who are survivors of trafficking get to lead
a dignified life in society”
Tamang says. At present
there are 169 registered members in Shakti Samuha along
with 500 survivors associated with it. Speaking further
Tamang narrates her ordeal
back home after returning
from India. “When I first returned home after returning
from India, I was ostracized
by the society. The whole village had gathered to drive me
out. I pleaded with them that
they should first hear me out.
I told them how I was abducted and sold in a brothel and
about traffickers, customers
and how the whole chain operates. After the two hour long
talk I could see tears rolling
down their eyes” added
Tamang. Arun Pandey of
Anyay Rahit Zindagi (ARZa Goa based NGO) who was
also in Darjeeling to attend the
MARG programme said “the
traditional way of sex-slavery
is changing in the present
world. The traffickers are making use of technology including social sites to lure the girls.
Dingy brothels are now being replaced by high-end hotels, massage parlours and
discos. Our recent study has
revealed that though the
Indo-Nepal cross border human trafficking is on the decline, the demand for girls with
'mongoloid features' has increased. Hence, trafficking
from the Darjeeling Hills and
North East region is more rampant". They are being passed
off as girls from Thailand, informed Pandey.
UK couple gifts Sikkim’s historic
pictures to Governor
Sikkim to award 20 Lakh
for gallantry winners
Husband arrested
One Thutop Namgyal
Bhutia (30), resident of
Old Mangan Bazaar,
North Sikkim has been
arrested by Mangan
Police for physically and
mentally torturing his
wife. Bhutia had also
been cheating his wife
by withdrawing money
from the bank account
of his wife by forging
signature. A case under
section 498'A'/420 of IPC
has been registered
against him and the case
is under investigation.
(HS)
to collect grass for the cows.
From there she was taken to
Gorakhpur and then landed
up in a brothel in Mumbai.
“At first I tried to commit
suicide,but failed. Next was
an attempt to escape but fate
denied me that too. Then I
prayed to God to give me the
courage to face the situation
along with prayers of being
rescued" stated Tamang. Finally her prayers were answered on February 5 1996,
when the Government
launched the first ever major
raid in the red light district of
Kamathipura, Mumbai. 500
girls below the age of 18 were
rescued. They were from India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Out of the 500, more than 200
girls were from Nepal. “I was
among the 200. I had spent
22 months in the brothel”
added Tamang, reminiscing
her much awaited freedom
from the brothel. But the rescue however did not end her
woes. The Nepal Government did not want to take the
victims back. In India the rehabilitation homes failed to
provide even the basic requirements like food, clothes
and even medical aid. During the 6 months of her stay
Sikkim youngster are very
sensitive and curious for the
outside world but the “east
money” and uncaring attitude
of parents make them a bit
“uncared”; as says a professor who teaches Psychology
in the local university. He adds
that parents give them money whenever they ask but
never ask them where and
how they spend it. This leads
boys and girls to unnecessary
expenditure including drugs
and allied ills. “Money is the
best thing if spent properly
and it is the worst if spent
uselessly”; he adds. Malala
fought for a cause and won
international acclaim with the
Noble Prize. It may be recalled
that there have been many
Noble Proie winners, since its
inception in 1901, who have
also generated and caused
controversies. The most im-
portant and often-mentioned
name in this regard is that of
French writer and journalist
Albert Kammus who had
been awarded the prize only
at the young age of 42 for Literature. Another Turkish writer Novelist Orhan Pamuk got
it at the age of 41 and he was
the first 21st century youngest writer in 2004 when he was
awarded thus.
Not only that; this prize
which makes one an international hero overnight has
been less controversial since
1901; when everybody was
expecting this to go to Leo
Tolstoy who was the latest literary figure of the days with
his internationally acclaimed
books like War and peace and
Anna Karenina. But the prize
was given to a little known
French Writer Sully Prudhomme who was not even well
known in his native France.
Besides, there have been
writers and social workers
who never got it; though they
deserved it fully. Graham
Greene, Ayn Rand never got
it; though they been the pioneer in literary field. And yes,
the prize in peace has also not
been without controversy
with Henry Kissinger getting
it and Gandhiji being deprived
of it.
It is even a madman’s
thinking that there was no
greater person in the world
politics than Mahatma Gandhi in the 20th Century. His
name was proposed on a
number of occasions in
1940s, for the Peace Noble but
the Englishmen in the Noble
Committee always opposed
because he was leading the
movement against Britishers.
Finally, it was decided that he
be awarded the prize in 1948
but Alas! He was shot dead
in January that year and the
prize is awarded in October
and it is not given posthumously. Thus Gandhi did not
get it but the Noble Committee washed its sin by giving
it to none in 1948 with the
comment, “no living person
deserves the prize this years”.
It was a clear indication that
Bapu deserved it but “politics” deprived him of it. Since
Tagore, who got it in 1913,
many great Indians like CB
Raman, Hargovind Khurana,
C.P Chandrashekhar, Dr. Pachouri and Kailash Satyarthi”
have got it but there have
been many like Ajyeya, Nirmal Varma, Shivaji Sawanta
and others who deserved it
but did not get. Malala is a
source to acquaint Sikkim
with all that.
HM Report
Gangtok, Oct 11: In a goodwill gesture, a Somerset, UK
based couple, Jenifer Mary
Hill and Andrew John Hill,
called on Sikkim Governor
Srinivas Patil and presented
him pictures and documents
of the state holding significant historical importance.
The Hill couple are in their
maiden visit to India and will
be in Sikkim for a week.
Among the pictures include
a rare autographed wedding
picture of late Chogyal of Sikkim, Sir Tashi Namgyal and
Gyalmo Maharani Kunzang.
Jenifer’s grandfather, late
Fedrik Bucknor was the
Chogyal’s personal assistant from 1920 to 1924. The
pictures presented to the
Governor was of that era.
Mary’s father had also spent
time with late Fedrik Bucknor
in Sikkim’s Royal Palace as a
young kid. Mary also presented the personal diary of
her grandfather containing
various important events of
that era to the Governor. The
Governor on his part thanked
the couple for the items presented to the state and presented them with an official
citation appreciating their
generosity. (HS)
GTA Poll: DDTWA lauds GTA
move for SC, ST reservation
HM Correspondent
Kalimpong, Oct 11: Darjeeling District Tribal Welfare
Association has welcomed
GTA's demand for the inclusion of a legal amendment to
allow reservation for SC and
ST communities in all the 45
wards of GTA in the recently
held 6th Bipartite meet with
the state. A press release issued by the association mentions that despite provision
of political safeguard articulated in the Indian constitution for reservation in all elections, the same was overlooked during the GTA election process. Hence, the Association has demanded res-
ervation for Tribals at the
earliest in the GTA election
too, reads the release. It has
also said that the proportion
of reservation must be based
on the total population as per
2011 Census to that of total
population of GTA.Since the
grant of Tribal Status to
Tamang and Limbus in 2003,
the association have claimed
that the tribal population
within the jurisdiction of GTA
is around 31.4% of total populations. In the other hand,
besides implementing reservation for ST for all electoral
process DDTWA has also
requested reservation of vacancies for employment in
GTA group B,C and D posts
in accordance with the proportion of the population ratio existing within the GTA
where ST population comprises of 33.72% and SC at
9.32%. Any attempt to Subvert the ratio of reservation
to any other figure or by WB
100 piont Roster, would impinge the constitutional
rights and will also be a contravention to basic ethics of
GTA Act since the 100 point
roster system is a format devised for the entire state of
WB wherein ST populations
comprises 6% and SC at 22%
of the total population of the
state, informed N.W Sherpa,
secretary of Kalimpong
Wing of DDTWA.
CMYK
CMYK
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