GANGTOK: While Gorkha land Movement leader Subhas Ghising has taken up the issue of inclusion of the Gorkha language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution Sikkim Chief Minister Narbhadur Bhandari has threatened to start an agitation if “the Center keeps dillydallying over the issue of constitutional recognition of the Nepali language.”
The popular Sikkimese leader who is also Chairman of Bharatiya Nepali Rastriya Parishad however refused to divulge the kind of agitation he is planning to wage but indicated that this would be a peaceful program based on mass mobilization. Talking to newsmen about Subhash Ghising’s demand for a “Gorkha” language Bhandari dismissed the report as baseless.
The Chief Minister told two Nepalese journalists who had come from Kathmandu to interview him about the issue of a Nepalese language in India that “Gorkha” was a term introduced ‘during the colonial regime.
Bhandari said successive Central Governments including the present Narasimha Rao Government have promised to fulfill the aspirations of Indian Nepalese. But these promises were never kept.
The Sikkim Sangram Parishad has urged the “inclusion of the Nepali language in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution and cautioned the Union Government “that the Indian Nepalese having been restive over the long delay any further postponement in this regard will not be conducive to the maintenance of peace and harmony in the country. The two-day convention of the ruling party put forth the demand for restoration of reservation of seats in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly. Party sources say out of 3 seats in the Assembly 13 seal are reserved for Bhutia Lepchas “who are economically more prosperous.” Reservation of seats for other communities namely the Nepalese was abolished in 1979 and the issue has been agitating the minds of the people ever since. Sources close to the Chief Minister said that the Sikkim Government offered a) formula suggesting an even distribution of seats of 13 each for the Nepalese who constitute 70% of the population and the Bhutias Lepchas who form 23%. But the demand has fallen on deaf ears at the Center. Significantly before its merger with India in 1975 and even afterwards seats were reserved in the Sikkim Assembly: for all ethnic communities.
The ruling party in Sikkim led by Nar Bahadur Bhandan has also made known its commitment to ensure employment. Talking to newspersons the Chief Minister said that this policy would be applicable only in matters concerning Government jobs.
Recently reacting to an allegation made by the Sikkim Un employed Association to retrench locals from Government service.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 12, 1992
