5 HRS NH 31A HIGHWAY  BLOCKADE BY GJ VIDYARTHI  MORCHA AT TEESTA

Pix: Samiran Paul

Blockade increased to 6 hours

TT, Darjeeling, Dec. 29: The Gorkha Janmukti Vidyarthi Morcha has decided to intensify its agitation on the three national highways by increasing the blockade time to six hours from tomorrow, a day after 400 protesters were arrested and anti-Gorkhaland forces served an ultimatum to the government to intervene. The Bangla Bangla Bhasa Bachao Committee yesterday asked the government to remove the blockades within 48 hours, failing which they would themselves march to the protest sites on NH55, NH31 and NH31A and force the picketers to move out. Today, the committee informed the district administration about its plan. “We have sent intimations to the district magistrate, subdivisional officer of Siliguri and police officials,” said Thakurdas Mukherjee, the committee’s secretary. Keshav Raj Pokhrel, general secretary of the Vidyarthi Morcha, which is spearheading the blockade, today said: “We have every right to protest peacefully and democratically. If these forces (anti-Gorkhaland) are trying to disrupt our peaceful protest, it will be the duty of the state and the Centre to provide us with protection.” “From tomorrow NH31, NH31A and NH55 will be blocked from 10am to 4pm,” he added. The highways connect the northeastern states, Sikkim and Darjeeling, with the rest of the country. Home secretary Ardhendu Sen said at Writers' Buildings today that he had instructed his officials to use “dialogue” to persuade the protesters to lift their blockade. “Undoubtedly the demonstrations are causing problems for the people. Due to the road blockade, people, especially those from Sikkim, are facing problems. I have asked the district magistrate and district police superintendent to use dialogue to persuade the demonstrators to lift…,” said Sen. The students had started with a three-hour blockade on Sunday and have subsequently increased it by an hour every day. Doing a U-turn today, the Jalpaiguri administration remained aloof to the blockade on the road to Bhutan. About a thousand Morcha supporters including students blocked the road that connects NH31 to Bhutan at Dalsinghpara. Yesterday, the Jalpaiguri police arrested about 400 students and Morcha youths, including the Kalchini MLA Wilson Champromari. Additional police superintendent of Alipurduar Anoop Jaiswal said: “We have not taken any action today.” He, however, did not react when asked why the sudden change in tactics. Champromari said today’s blockade was peaceful. “The police were there but they did not disturb us in any way,” he said. GJMM extends roadblock SNS, SILIGURI, 29 DEC: To intensify its agitation, the Gorkha Jan Mukti Vidyarthi Morcha today extended the duration of its roadblocks up to five hours at several places on National Highways 55, 31 and 31A, leaving traffic out of order. The Vidyarthi Morcha leadership also threatened to extend it further in the coming days. Police, however, denied confronting the agitators in the Darjeeling Hills while legal actions were taken at places in Dooars and the plains. Speaking on the matter, the inspector general of police, north Bengal, Mr KL Tamta said, “We do not have any intention to confront the agitators in the Darjeeling Hills. However, actions have been taken to clear roads connecting Assam and Bhutan. We are taking legal actions against the agitators.” The GJMVM activists today started roadblock at Panchnoi on National Highway 55, that connects Darjeeling with Siliguri, at 11 a.m. and continued till 4 p.m. The Gorkhaland supporters also blocked roads at Sevoke, Teesta Bridge, Rongpo and several other places on National Highways 31 and 31A, connecting roads of Sikkim and the northeast. The agitators also obstructed movement of trains. “We would intensify our agitation in the coming days. The duration will be extended up to six hours tomorrow and we will put up roadblocks in more places. We want to send strong message to the Centre and state government regarding our demand,” said the GJMVM general secretary, Mr Keshav Raj Pokhrel. The GJMVM leadership also hinted at other means of agitation in future. “We may take other ways to press our demands. Our agitation will continue until the process to create a separate state is started. We may also start fast-unto-death,” Mr Pokhrel added. Meanwhile, the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha-sponsored relay hunger strike in the Darjeeling Hills today completed fourth day. GJMM activists are on hunger strike in front of DM's office in Darjeeling and SDO offices in Kalimpong and Kurseong. The hunger strike also continued at Pintail Village near Siliguri. GJM wants Gorkhaland bill in Next Session of Parliament ANI, Silguri (West Bengal), Dec 29 : The Gorkha community members from Darjeeling region of West Bengal demanded the Union Government to table the bill to create the separate Gorkhaland state in the next parliament session. To press for its demand the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) has blocked all the roads in the region since Sunday. National Highway 55, which connects Darjeeling region with whole of West Bengal and National Highway 31 linking Sikkim with the rest of the country, continued to remain blocked even on Tuesday. The GJM students wing central committee member Kamalesh Rai said :  "Actually our demand is very simple. We want Gorkhaland and before the next Parliament session comes on, we want the bill be placed in the Parliament. Apart from the blockades, the activists of GJM have been observing relay hunger strike that began on Saturday in different sub-divisions of the Darjeeling Hills. Meanwhile, the women cell of the GJM started their hunger strike on Monday. KPP to govt: ‘State’ talks or agitation - Nikhil faction hits Jalpaiguri streets KPP and GCDP supporters shout slogans on their way to the divisional commissioner’s office in Jalpaiguri on Tuesday. Picture by Biplab Basak TT, Siliguri, Dec. 29: The Kamtapur Progressive Party today gave the state government a 15-day window to sit for talks on its demands, including that of the separate state of Kamtapur, failing which a widespread agitation like rail and road blockades would be launched across north Bengal. A seven-member delegation of the Atul Roy faction of the Kamtapur Progressive Party— it had broken away from Kamtapur People’s Party four years ago — intimated the deadline to state home secretary Ardhendu Sen at Writers’ Buildings today. After a 30-minute meeting with Sen, the party’s central committee secretary, Darshan Chandra Singha, said: “We will see whether the state government is treating us with seriousness. If we are not called for talks within 15 days, we will launch a massive agitation. We will not let the Bengal government put our demands on the backburner again.” He said there had been one positive outcome from today’s interaction. “The home secretary has agreed in principle to contact the state education department so that the history of the Rajbangshis is included in the school syllabus,” Singha said. Sen said the meeting had been convened during the December 21 talks with the Centre, state and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in Darjeeling. “I was travelling to Darjeeling a day before and heard that they had set up road blockades demanding that we talk, so today’s meeting was convened,” Sen said. Asked about the statehood demand, Sen said it was “among the demands placed before him”. In Jalpaiguri, Kamtapur People’s Party led by its chief Nikhil Roy hit the streets, demanding a new state. Around 10,000 supporters of the party and its two allies, the Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party (GCDP) and the Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association (GCPA) today blocked one of the roads that connects Jalpaiguri town with NH31D for three-and-a-half hours. They had been stopped by police from going to the office of the divisional commissioner. National Highway 31D starts from Siliguri from the junction with NH31 and runs for 147km and meets NH31 again at Salsalabari. “Eight of our supporters are on hunger strike for the past 18 days over the demand of separate statehood. But so far, the state government has done nothing and instead, we had to face police atrocities,” said Nikhil Roy. “We were on our way to the divisional commissioner to submit a memorandum and seek his intervention but were stopped by police.” Supporters of these three organisations have resorted to an indefinite hunger strike at Prantik Bazar at Dinhata since December 12, demanding the separate state of Greater Cooch Behar or Kamtapur. These organisations are jointly demanding a state comprising six districts of north Bengal and 15 districts of Assam. “We are surprised at the government apathy and have thus come to express our grievance that the state is not doing justice to those on a fast-unto-death,” said Asutosh Burma, the general secretary of GCDP. After police stopped them near the Sports Complex, the supporters sat on the road around 1pm, shouting slogans and demanding that they be let through. After over an hour, a seven-member team was escorted by police to the divisional commissioner’s office located 1.5km away. “The divisional commissioner, A. K. Singh, was not in. But we spoke to him over the phone,” Burma said. “Later, we were informed that he will visit Cooch Behar tomorrow and meet us at the district magistrate’s chamber. Satisfied, we decided to withdraw the road blockade around 4.35pm.” Separatists to boycott govt taxes SNS, JALPAIGURI, 29 DEC: The Separate State Demand Committee, an apolitical platform comprising nine pressure groups, vociferous in the demand of separate Kamtapur and Greater Cooch Behar states, have threatened to boycott government taxes in north Bengal and some parts of lower Assam evidently on the lines of the style in which Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha-sponsored agitations are carried out. A large number of SSDC activists congregated in Jalpaiguri today to serve a memorandum to the divsional commissioner demanding a separate state. They first assembled at Jalpaiguri Rajbaripara area and then started marching towards the divisional commissioner's office. However, a huge contingent of police deployed there stopped the rally at the Jalpaiguri sports complex area. According to the SSDC general secretary, Mr Babua Barman, the committee would soon decide the date on which the proposed tax boycott agitation would begin. “The Centre and the state government are looking into the Gorkhaland demand, while our demand, much older, is being deliberately kept aside,” Mr Barman stated. “Initially we had selected 15 districts in Assam and six north Bengal districts where we would embark on the tax boycott agitation and this would continue till the Centre and the state government understand the seriousness of our demand,” he added. Among those who attended today's meeting were the Kamtapur Peoples’ Party president, Mr Nikhil Roy, the Greater Cooch Behar Peoples’ Association leader, Mr Pabitra Barman and the Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party leader, Mr Ashutosh Barma. Good news for Dooars Tea Three Better days ahead? TT, Siliguri, Dec. 29: Some of the Dooars gardens like Kanthalguri, Ramjhora and Sikarpur & Bhandapur are expected to open in the beginning of the new year, the Tea Board of India has said. But for others it may be sometime before the legal tangles are worked out. “The state government and the district administration of Jalpaiguri are already in the process of convening dialogues among trade union leaders and other entrepreneurs interested in acquiring some of the gardens,” G. Boriah, the director (development) of the tea board, said over the phone from Calcutta. “According to our information, some minor issues are to be sorted out before the gardens reopen.” “However, the problem lies with three other closed gardens — Kalchini, Raimatang and Dheklapara,” the tea board official said. “Court cases are pending against each of the three estates which is why the situation is far more complicated. Unless the litigation is sorted out, it is difficult to start negotiations for reopening the gardens. Nevertheless, the tea board and the state government have been consistently monitoring the developments.” Stakeholders of the tea industry said a meeting to reopen the closed Kanthalguri estate was held at the Jalpaiguri district magistrate’s office on December 21. “Two prominent planters, who have expressed their willingness to acquire the garden, were present at the meeting,” said U.B. Das, the principal adviser to the Indian Tea Planters’ Association. “However, the meeting did not yield much result as some trade union representatives did not participate in it. Another meeting at the administrative level on the Sikarpur and Bhandapur is likely to be held soon involving the same planters. We expect some breakthrough in the meeting.” Kanthalguri, which has been closed on July 14, 2002, is one of the worst-hit estates. More than 500 people in the garden have lost their lives so far because of malnutrition. Lockout In upper Assam, labour unrest in a tea estate triggered by alleged negligence of a management staff that hastened the death of a daily wage earner’s son led to an indefinite lockout in the garden from Monday. The labourers of Kharikatia tea estate in Jorhat were protesting against Anjan Pal’s refusal to provide a vehicle to Bhaiti Karmakar to shift his ailing son Anu, 6, to the civil hospital on Friday where the boy died that night. Blaming the boy’s death on Pal’s refusal to give Karmakar a vehicle, the labourers assembled at the manager’s office on Saturday morning and went on the rampage, demanding that Pal be arrested immediately. GORKHALAND IS NO SOLUTION RSS IE,  Dec 29 : Taking a different stand from the BJP, the RSS on Monday said that it was opposed to the creation of Gorkhaland as "it would not solve the problems of the hills". RSS West Bengal spokesman Asim Kumar Mitra told The Indian Express, "Our views are not always identical with that of the BJP. Problems at places like Lalgarh, Darjeeling cropped up because of gross lack of development.  But we are opposed to any division of our land (West Bengal). This will not solve any problem." While Darjeeling MP and former BJP leader Jaswant Singh openly supported the demand, other BJP leaders extended their support in different ways. Even the state BJP kept mum when it was asked for its opinion on the creation of Gorkhaland. The RSS in West Bengal is now gearing up for the visit of Sarsanghachalak Mohan Bhagawat, who will reach Kolkata on January 22 and address a rally at Shahid Minar the next day. This is Bhagawat's first visit to West Bengal after he took over as the RSS chief. "The country is going through a very critical time and our Sarsanghachalak is visiting various parts of the country to spread the ideals of the Sangh and what Swayamsevaks should do during this time. Here he will have interactive sessions with top leaders and will give us guidance," Ajit Kumar Biswas, a senior pracharak and one of the organisers of Bhagawat's rally said. The Sangh will try to mobilise about one lakh people for the rally and it has asked its shakhas (branches) to gear up for that. "All our swayamsevaks are prepared for the rally. We are also using this opportunity to go in for a fresh drive to enroll more swayamsevaks," a pracharak told. The RSS in West Bengal has 2,000 shakhas and about 12,000 members. Cops crack whip, but not in hills A poster at the Morcha blockade on the railway tracks at Sevoke, 15km from Siliguri. (Kundan Yolmo) TT, Dec. 28: Nearly 400 members of the Gorkha Janmukti Vidyarthi Morcha were arrested today with police swinging into action, not in Darjeeling or on the national highways under siege but in Jalpaiguri, where the hill outfit is not known to have much of a hold. Among those arrested from the road linking Bhutan with India were schoolchildren who had been brought in by the Morcha. At Dagapur and Sevoke, in the foothills, and at Rangpo, on the way to Gangtok, traffic continued to be blocked between noon and 4pm. At the level crossing at Sevoke Bazar, Morcha supporters squatted on the tracks. At least three trains — the Delhi-Alipurduar Mahananda Express, the Danapur-Kamakshya Capital Express and the Ranchi-Alipurduar Express — were stuck for three to four hours. The protest will be longer tomorrow, beginning at 10am, the Morcha announced. “We will block the highways and train lines for five hours from 10am tomorrow to protest the arrests,” said the general secretary of the Morcha’s student wing, Keshav Raj Pokhrel. Anti-Morcha outfits in Siliguri gave the state government 48 hours to intervene. If it doesn’t, they threatened to take on the squatters. “We have waited and watched for two days. If the government remains inert for two more days, we will clear the roads and rail routes ourselves,” said Mukunda Majumdar of the Bangla O Bangla Bhasha Banchao Committee. The arrests at Dalsinghpara, 50km from Alipurduar, sparked protests in Darjeeling town, where Morcha members surrounded the police station. General secretary Roshan Giri accused the government of trying to derail “a peaceful movement”. “We will not budge an inch from our statehood demand,” he thundered. Among those arrested was the Morcha-backed Independent MLA from Kalchini, Wilson Champromary. At 1pm, a police team requested the picketers to remove the blockade as traffic between Bhutan and India had come to a standstill. “When they refused, we arrested all the picketers and took them to the Alipurduar police station. The road is important,” said Alipurduar additional superintendent of police Anoop Jaiswal. He said the police had “not counted” the number of people taken into custody and that he did not know if the MLA was among them. From the lock-up, Wilson said he had gone to see how the blockade was going. “Things were peaceful and the students were shouting slogans when suddenly the police arrived and asked them to move. I asked them why a peaceful movement was being targeted, but they did not listen…. I will write protest letters to the Prime Minister, chief minister and the Union home minister.” MLA arrested for blocking road SNS, JALPAIGURI, 28 DEC: The Jaigaon police today arrested the GJMM-backed independent Kalchini MLA, Mr Wilson Champamari along with around 400 other activists associated with two GJMM frontal organisations like Gorkha Nari Mukti Morcha and Gorkha Jan Mukti Vidyarthi Morcha following a road blockade at Dalsing Para area under Kalchini block. Police also resorted to baton-charge to scatter the agitators. Later, the GJMM supporters laid siege at Alipurduar and other police stations in the Dooars. The MLA and the GJMM supporters were released on bail in the evening from the Alipurduar police station where they had been taken. According to the district police officials, the GJMM activists blocked the National Highway 31(C) along the Hasimara-Jaigaon route in demand of Gorkhaland. According to the GJMM east Dooars committee convener, Mr Ashok Lama, the agitators, comprising mostly of the school children, staged a roadblock this morning as per the pre-determined three-hour agitation programme. “The Kalchini MLA, Mr Wilson joined the agitation,” he said. The roadblock agitation brought the traffic to a grinding halt. The route being the trade link with neighbouring Bhutan, a large contingent of police from the Hasimara outpost arrived at the agitation spot and resorted to lathi charge to disperse the agitators. Around 400 people, including Mr Champamari, were arrested. Later the police took them to the Alipurduar police station. Condemning the arrest, the Kalchini MLA said that the police had pounced on the students and the women agitators with baton when they were on a peaceful agitation. “This action smacks of State repression on the democratic movement,” he said. Reacting to the arrests, several GJMM supporters gheraod different police stations like Jaigaon, Hasimara, Meteli, Birpara, demanding immediate release of those arrested. According to the Jalpaiguri SP, Mr Anand Kumar, Mr Champamari along with those GJMM agitators had violated the law while blocking a National Highway. “There is a Supreme Court stricture against blocking National Highway. We have done our duty in accordance with the law of the land,” he said, adding that they were later released on bail. Plains groups get ready to bust blockades  - 48 hrs for govt to act against protesters Vidyarthi Morcha members at the four-hour road blockade at Sevoke Bazar on NH31, around 15km from Siliguri, on Monday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo TT, Siliguri, Dec. 28: Anti-Gorkhaland forces today threatened to remove by force blockades set up by the Gorkha Janmukti Vidyarthi Morcha if the government did not intervene within 48 hours. The threat comes as the hill outfit picketed on three national highways for the third day today. “It is surprising to see that the state government is sitting idle, albeit witnessing the inconvenience faced by thousands of people in the past two days,” said Mukunda Majumdar, the president of Bangla O Bangla Bhasa Bachao Committee. “They have made some arrests in Alipurduar but not in Darjeeling district. Nothing has been done so far to deter the Morcha supporters from blocking the highways and the rail tracks. We want to make it clear that if the state government continues to remain silent for another two days and similar blockades continue, we will organise rallies and reach the spots to clear the roads and rail routes on our own.” Much like yesterday, the blockades continued on NH55 at Panchnoi, located on the outskirts of Siliguri, while NH31 and NH31A were blocked at Sevoke Bazar, Sevoke Coronation Bridge and Rangpo. The bridge is the junction of NH31 leading to the Northeast and NH31A that connects Gangtok. Some supporters sat on the level crossing in Sevoke Bazar. Trains running on this route from 12 noon to 4pm were halted at some stations. According to Northeast Frontier Railway sources, at least three long-distance Up trains — Mahananda Express, Capital Express and the Ranchi-Alipurduar Express — were affected because of the blockade, as were the local trains that ply between New Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar.“We have come to know of the blockade and thus, trains are being regulated and detained at different stations like Katihar, New Jalpaiguri and Siliguri Junction. This will make the trains run late by three to four hours,” said G.D. Mondal, the station manager of New Jalpaiguri. All three express trains that take the Dooars track from Siliguri Junction station between 12 noon and 3pm and enter Alipurduar within 4pm to 6pm were delayed by four hours. “There wasn’t any need to reach home early but I had to take a vehicle from Siliguri at 8 in the morning just to escape the blockade and reach Kalimpong before noon,” said Supriya Poudyal, a resident of the hill town. Sikkim Nationalised Transport buses plying from Siliguri to the Himalayan state left by 9.30am. “Normally the buses leave at hourly intervals from 7am and the last bus from here departs at 1.30pm. Since yesterday, we have been sending all the buses by 9.30 in the morning so that they cross Rangpo by 11am. There is no dearth of passengers though, as they arrived here early so as not to miss the buses. Some of the buses coming here from Sikkim were stranded in the blockade yesterday,” said Tulsi Prasad Sharma, the traffic inspector of SNT in Siliguri. Tour operators said visitors on packages were leaving ahead of schedule. “Four to five groups of tourists who had opted for three and four day tour packages left a day early as they apprehended problems in the region. A honeymoon couple from Mumbai missed their train to Calcutta yesterday because they were stranded at Rangpo. They took a bus to Calcutta instead. The Christmas and New Year week is a peak tourist season and strikes and these blockades hamper tourism,” said Bhaichung Bhutia, the sales-manager of Blue Sky Tours and Travels in Gangtok. Keshav Raj Pokhrel, the general secretary of the Vidyarthi Morcha, said the blockade would be for five hours from tomorrow from 10am to 3pm, as a mark of protest for arrests made in Dalsinghpara. Asked about Sikkim, he said: “We have nothing against Sikkim but incidentally, a portion of NH31A comes under our proposed territory of Gorkhaland. We have no alternative but to raise blockades.” Relay hunger strike gains momentum SNS, KURSEONG, 28 DEC: A relay hunger strike put up by the members of the Minority Community at different places in Darjeeling Hills, beginning on 26 December has entered its third day today.  The strike has been going on as per scheduled programme in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and also at Pintail village near Siliguri. In Darjeeling, eleven members, all belonging to the minority communities, are squatting in front of the district magistrate's office, while in Kalimpong and Kurseong, seven persons are staging the same in front of the respective SDO offices. The relay fasting is continuing at Pintail Village near Siliguri. The minority community members belonging to the Janmukti Bihari Yuva Morcha, Jan Mukti Marwari Yuva Morcha, Janmukti Harijan Morcha, Janmukti Christian Morcha, Janmukti Muslim Morcha, Janmukti Tibetan Morcha and Janmukti Bengali Morcha are participating in the relay hunger strike. Meanwhile the Nari Morcha team has returned to Darjeeling from New Delhi today. GJMM's women wing (Naari Morcha) has returned to Darjeeling from Delhi. Notably, they had staged dharna and relay hunger strike at Jantar Mantar to press the demand for the Gorkhaland state. Morcha smells Ghisingh plot TT, Siliguri, Dec. 28: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today branded GNLF chief Subash Ghisingh a “spokesperson of the state government” for his suggested solution to the hills’ problems. Ghisingh, while speaking to his supporters at Jalpaiguri, his present place of stay, yesterday, had said an amended Sixth Schedule and more power to the DGHC under it could resolve the problems of Darjeeling to a great extent. These steps would take the demand for Gorkhaland forward, he had said. Over 300 GNLF supporters had urged their leader to return to the hills and resume political activities. The GNLF chief had also said as the CPM, Congress and the Trinamul Congress were against any further division of Bengal, the next round of talks at the political level would not be effective. Reacting to the comments, Morcha media and publicity secretary Harka Bahadur Chhetri said: “Ghisingh seems to be uttering the same words the government officials and ministers do. He looks like the spokesperson of the state government. Such a comment is enough to suspect that he is in connivance with the government and attempting to revive the Sixth Schedule.” “Ghisingh has lost total credibility in the hills and is staying away now. It seems the state government has taken the task to mobilise him, anticipating that he might influence some of the hill residents. But they (government) are simply day dreaming and banking on a man who, after making his comments yesterday, has lost whatever little sympathy some people had for him.” The Darjeeling district CPM leaders, however, echoed Ghisingh. They said they had been voicing the same demand. “We are against the division of the state and want the central and state governments to think and decide on the highest possible autonomy that can be conferred on Darjeeling hills to speed up the pace of development,” said Jibesh Sarkar, a district secretariat member of the party. The Morcha also flayed Ghisingh over his presumption on the outcome of the next round of talks. “It is a political issue for which mutual discussion among the parties, including the Morcha, is essential. His assumption holds no ground and it will be wrong to assess that some bureaucrats will sit in talks and solve the problem,” Chhetri said. West Bengal looking at alternatives to Darjeeling TH, 29 Dec, KOLKATA: In the wake of the political unrest in Darjeeling over the Gorkhaland issue, the West Bengal government is trying to promote alternative tourist places in the State. “Darjeeling is a creation of over two centuries, but definitely we are trying to build up other places,” Manabendra Mukherjee, Minister for Tourism, said here on Monday. “While there may be some political disturbances there, the number of tourists to West Bengal is on the rise.” He claimed that the growth rate of tourist arrivals was higher than the national average. Among the destinations gaining in popularity were the Dooars, the sea-beaches and places of historical importance such as Malda and Murshidabad, he said. Speaking at a curtain raiser for the seventh edition of the five-day West Bengal Tourism and Food Festival that is scheduled to begin on January 6, Mr. Mukherjee said a cultural festival on the grounds of the Hazaar Dwari Palace (palace with a thousand doors) at Murshidabad was on the cards. “It will be a festival to promote the exquisite handicrafts, authentic cuisine and the culture of the Nawabs of Murshidabad. Music will be an integral part of the festival.” The three-storey Hazaar Dwari palace was built in 1837 for Nawab Najim Humaun Jah. Of its thousand doors, only 900 are real. The Tourism Department is also organising a festival to promote the distinctive music of the ‘Bishnupur Gharana’ against the backdrop of the terracotta temples of Bishnupur. KPP talks today TT, Siliguri, Dec. 28: A seven-member team of the Kamtapur Progressive Party today left for Calcutta to meet state home secretary Ardhendu Sen in Writers’ Buildings tomorrow. The move follows a message from the state government through the Darjeeling district administration during an indefinite road blockade organised on December 20 by the KPP, demanding immediate talks and a separate state of Kamtapur comprising 19 districts of Assam, Bihar and Bengal. “Prahlad Burman, the party general secretary, will lead the seven-member delegation in tomorrow’s meeting. We had submitted a memorandum to the Union home minister through the divisional commissioner of Jalpaiguri on the demand of separate statehood, followed by the blockade,” KPP president Atul Roy, who is not part of the delegation, said here today. “Our delegates are going to talk solely on the statehood issue. If the home secretary or other officials shirk from discussing the topic, we will walk out of the meeting,” he said. The KPP has been trying to wake up from its political hibernation. “We have resumed consistent political activities again. At a recent meeting of our central committee, we have decided to form the Kamtapur Volunteers’ Cell comprising youths,” Roy said. Church to preachers: Be more sensitive CITHARA PAUL, TT,New Delhi, Dec. 28: The Indian Church has asked all Christian groups to guard against aggressive evangelism or denigration of other religions in an effort to become “more sensitive” towards local cultures. The decision came at this month’s meeting of the Christian United Forum, which includes Baptists, Catholics, Lutherans, Seventh-day Adventists and Pentecostal groups among its members. The resolution adopted at the meeting also asks the clergy and lay people to follow a simple lifestyle and try to be as environment-friendly as possible. Aggressive evangelism by certain Christian groups has been earning the Church bad publicity by creating a perception that Christians are out to degrade and defame other religions, the resolution says. The “impression” that Christian groups are receiving money for every act of conversion does not help either, it adds. The meeting, however, denied that Christians received money for conversions, or that they carried out “forcible conversions” — as alleged by the Sangh parivar, which wants a ban on conversions. The conference has appealed to all Christian denominations to refrain, especially during preaching, from badmouthing other religious communities, their deities or the traditions they hold sacred since this violates Christ’s teaching of love, harmony and peace. The resolution says the beauty of Christianity is tarnished when Christians denigrate others. “We have to work positively to build a harmonious relationship with people of all religions and cultures,’’ it says. The Church leaders took the view that aggressive evangelism and attempts to denigrate other religions were partly responsible for the September 2008 communal riots in Karnataka. The National Commission for Minorities had given a similar report after the violence. The Christian groups have also decided to set up a committee to formulate measures to end interdenominational conversions — known as “sheep stealing” — and strengthen Christian unity. They have stressed the need to have more co-ordination and dialogues among themselves. The Church has also decided on a code of conduct for priests and seminary students, encouraging them to lead simple and austere lives. “It is time for introspection,” the resolution says. Under the code, priests and seminarians are not expected to use expensive consumer goods but to eat and dress simply. The code asks the priests to turn down offers of luxuries. While travelling, they should not choose high-end facilities but travel with the common people. “The Church wants to curb lavishness of all kinds and set a model of austere and simple life,’’ said Fr Paul Thelakkat of the Catholic Bishops Council of India. Priests have been asked to create a platform in every parish for interaction with lay people. The laity should be educated on the importance of the environment and encouraged to turn parishes “as green as possible’’ and use solar power whenever possible.

Protest lock on traffic, threat of more

TT, Siliguri, Dec. 27: Members of the Gorkha Janmukti Vidyarthi Morcha today set up blockades at Panchnoi, Sevoke, Teesta Bridge and Rangpo, bringing traffic to a grinding halt on three national highways that connect Siliguri to the hills, Sikkim and the Northeast. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s youth front has threatened to set up more blockades in the Dooars, to increase the timing from three to four hours and obstruct trains moving to and from the Northeast from tomorrow. Trains passing through Sevoke between 12 noon and 4pm — Jha Jha-Guwahati Express and Capital Express (Danapur-Kamakshya) — are likely to be affected if the protesters take to the tracks. The blockade started at 12 noon at all four points. Except for Panchnoi, where the block development officer of Matigara Samarjit Chakrabarty tried to persuade the students to lift the blockade, there was no intervention from the administration. Even at Panchnoi on NH55, a kilometre from Darjeeling More in Siliguri, a large police force whiled away the time for three hours. “It is not desirable to raise blockades on national highways. We are holding talks with the Morcha leadership and we are trying to persuade them to withdraw their agitation programme. We will not resort to any pressure tactics as that could make the situation worse,” said Surendra Gupta, the district magistrate of Darjeeling. Diptendu Saha, who had wanted to visit Darjeeling with his friends for a few hours, had to return from Darjeeling More. “We are going back to Calcutta this evening so we cannot afford to wait for the withdrawal,” he said. Vidyarthi Morcha general secretary Keshav Raj Pokhrel said the blockades were meant to send messages to the Centre and the state. “We want the demand for Gorkhaland to reach the state and the central governments. From tomorrow, we will organise more blockades in the Dooars and increase the blockade time. It will be from 12 noon to 4pm. During these hours, we will also obstruct trains that move to and from the Northeast,” he said a day after chief secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti warning the Morcha that steps would be taken to enforce law. “No national highway can be blocked like this. It will mean violation of a Supreme Court ruling that calls for maintenance of normal services on a highway. We will have to take steps to enforce the law,” he had said in Calcutta yesterday. At Sevoke, 25km from here, around 800 students squatted on NH31. The number of protesters was more at Sevoke since it marks the entry to Siliguri from Dooars, Kalimpong and Sikkim. Here, the vehicles queued up to 3km on either side of the blockade. The other two blockades were put up at Teesta Bridge and Rangpo, 35km and 60km from Siliguri. Both the spots are on NH31A, Sikkim’s only road connection with the rest of the country. The blockades were lifted at 3pm at all the places. GJMM block roads to press for cause SNS, SILIGURI, 27 DEC: Pressing its demand for a separate state, the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha’s students’ wing activsts today put up roadblocks for three hours at several places on National Highway 55 and 31A. Gorkha Jan Mukti Vidyarthi Morcha supporters held up traffic from 12 noon to 3 p.m. at Panchanoi near Siliguri on National Highway 55, that connects the Darjeeling Hills with the plains. GJMVM supporters also put up roadblocks at Sevoke and Rongpo on National Highway 31A, that connects Sikkim with the state. “We would continue our agitation till we achieve our demand for Gorkhaland,” said an agitator. The GJMVM leadership, however, did not disclose its future course of agitation. “The government should accept our demand of a separate state. Otherwise we would relentlessly continue with agitation. We, however, are yet to decide the future course of the programme,” said another agitator at Panchanoi. Around 400 GJMVM supporters took out a rally from Sukna and staged the roadblock at Panchnoi near Siliguri today. The GJMM has also pressed its minority wings into the agitation contours since yesterday. The relay hunger strike programme staged by GJMM activists in front of administrative office at several places in the Darjeeling Hills today completed two days. Supporters of the GJMM's minority forums had started indefinite relay hunger strike at Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and the Pintail Village near Siliguri. Eleven GJMM activists from minority communities had participated in the relay hunger strike in front of the district magistrate's office in Darjeeling. The agitation has also been continuing in Kalimpong and Kurseong. “The agitation would continue till the government accepts our demand. It is now for the government to decide how it would prevent the situation from snowballing into intractability,” said a senior GJMM leader, Mr Binay Tamang today. Gorkhaland wish unrealistic, says Ghising SNS, JALPAIGURI, 27 DEC: The Gorkha National Liberation Front supreme, Mr Subhas Ghising said that the Gorkhaland aspiration was nothing but a pipe dream and the Sixth Schedule happened to be the best solution for the long lingering Darjeeling imbroglio. He said this while talking to a number of his supporters from the Terai and the Hills who have congregated at his rented residence in Jalpaiguri today. The Ghising loyalists demanded that the GNLF leader should embark on a new movement in view of the political volatility lingering in the hills. Later addressing the media, Mr Ghising claimed that the statehood aspiration could never be fulfilled by way of political dialogue. “Given my talks with several leaders across the political persuasions, I am unshakably convinced that no headway is possible in course of the dragging dialogue even it is held at the political levels,” he said. “The previous round of tripartite dialogue held in Darjeeling this month has proved a fiasco despite the rhetorical flourish being indulged in by the GJMM top brass. “The preponderant hill-based party must understand that bringing the hills under the sixth Schedule of the Constitution is the only feasible solution left to the Indian Gorkha populace concentrated in the Darjeeling Hills,” he affirmed. Ghisingh’s autonomy pill for hills TT, Siliguri, Dec. 27: GNLF chief Subash Ghisingh today prescribed a remedy for the Darjeeling imbroglio — an amended Sixth Schedule with more power to the DGHC. The former DGHC chairman, who ruled out his immediate return to the hills, also expressed his apprehensions over the fifth round of talks that his rival, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, wanted at the political level. Ghisingh’s comments came after more than 300 GNLF supporters from Belgachi, Chenga and Sukna areas of Kurseong subdivision assembled at his rented house in Jalpaiguri this morning, asking him to return to the hills and resume political activities. “We want amendment of the Sixth Schedule and more power to the DGHC before it is implemented in the hills,” Ghisingh said. “Conferring the status will, to a great extent, resolve the problems and will be another step towards separate statehood.” Earlier, the GNLF supporters led by Rajen Mukhia, a leader from Panighata, assembled in Jalpaiguri’s Collegepara, waving flags. “We are being regularly tortured by the Morcha and want an end to this suffering,” Mukhia said. “We have come here to urge the chairman (Ghisingh) to return to the hills, hold a public meeting and resume activities.” With more and more supporters flocking near his house since 10.30am, Ghisingh, who was upstairs talking to leaders like Dawa Pakhrin and K.N. Subba, was forced to come down around 1pm. “I don’t want to return to the hills right now as my going there will create tension and might lead to bloodshed among the Gorkhas,” he said. “The GNLF is working in a planned manner and will take up consistent political activities in due course of time.” Later, the GNLF chief told journalists that he had talked to leaders of different parties, including P. Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee (Union ministers of the Congress), Biman Bose (CPM leader) and Mamata Banerjee (Trinamul Congress chief), on the statehood issue. “Nothing much on Gorkhaland has yielded at the fourth round of tripartite talks held in Darjeeling last week,” he said. “As it has been decided to hold talks at the political level within the next 45 days, I feel that will also not be effective as top leaders of some major parties whom I have talked to are not endorsing the demand. It must be understood that Gorkhaland is a long-drawn process which can be achieved step-by-step.” CM queries new state panel plan TT, New Delhi, Dec. 27: Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today questioned the Centre’s plan to set up a second States Re-Organisation Commission. Toeing his party, the CPM’s line, Bhattacharjee said it would open a Pandora’s box for innumerable demands for new states with a “direct bearing on West Bengal”. “For what (should the second Reorganisation Commission be created)? There are already demands for creating 28 more states. More will come," the chief minister who is here to attend a politburo meeting said. Hinting that there was no consensus on Gorkhaland in the Bengal Assembly, the chief minister said it would be difficult for the Andhra Pradesh Assembly to pass a unanimous resolution on Telangana as political parties are “badly divided” on the issue. Bhattacharjee said he had wanted to know from the Prime Minister about the Centre’s strategy to check the unrest in Andhra Pradesh on Telangana as it has a direct bearing on Bengal, where the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has been demanding Gorkhaland. Certain Cooch Behar based outfits had been demanding a separate state of Greater Cooch Behar and Kamtapur. “I gathered from the Prime Minister that the government is seriously trying to hold consultations with all parties in Andhra Pradesh and at the national level,” said Bhattacharjee. He had called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday morning. Bhattacharjee admitted that a separate Telangana was bad news for Bengal. “Our party has always been against any further division of states. At present, it is neither possible, nor desirable.” Small States: Buddha Gets PM's " Assurance ConsensusENS, Kolkata Dec28:With the Gorkhaland agitation gaining more steam after the Centre’s go-ahead for Telangana formation, a worried West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has conveyed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh his — as well as the CPM’s — opposition to creation of smaller states. Bhattacharjee took up the Telangana issue when he met the Prime Minister. He wanted to know what the Centre was doing to end the impasse in Andhra Pradesh and pointed out that the issue had a “direct bearing” on his state since there were demands for creation of three new states — Gorkhaland, Kamtapur and Greater Cooch Behar — in Bengal. In what could be good news for Bhattacharjee, the Prime Minister told him that the Central government would not proceed with formation of Telangana until and unless there was a “consensus”. Singh said the Centre was “seriously trying” to start a dialogue with all political parties in Andhra and also at the national level to build the consensus. The CPM is opposed to creation of smaller states except on linguistic basis. “The Telangana issue has a direct bearing on our state, especially in the hill areas and other parts. It is a very difficult situation for us. Some forces are already demanding a separate state,” Bhattacharjee told reporters. The Prime Minister’s stress on consensus has strengthened Bhattacharjee’s case. With the CPM not sympathetic to creation of Gorkhaland, there is a little chance of consensus, and the Chief Minister could use this argument in the future to prevent bifurcation of Bengal. The Chief Minister also mentioned that the Assembly had to pass a unanimous resolution for creation of a new state. “We are opposed to bifurcation of states. Divisions of states are neither possible nor desirable,” he said. Bhattacharjee also shot down the idea of setting up a second States Reorganisation Commission. “That will open a pandora’s box. There are already demands for creating 28 more states. More will come,” he said. ‘Bengal to get new Guv before R-Day’ The Centre is likely to appoint a new full-time Governor of West Bengal within a month. “I had some discussion with the Prime Minister. The appointment of a full-time Governor will be done before the Republic Day,”Bhattacharjee said. Hill threat to highway traffic- Roads to Darjeeling, Sikkim & Northeast to be blocked every day Morcha supporters on a relay hunger strike in Darjeeling town. Picture by Suman Tamang Darjeeling, Dec. 26: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s student wing today threatened to paralyse traffic bound not only for Darjeeling but also Sikkim and the Northeast. All the three national highways in the region will be blo-ckaded from noon to 3pm on Sunday, the outfit announced, adding that it was an “indefi- nite” agitation, meaning the traffic trauma could be an everyday affair. “The students have now decided to hit the streets to press for Gorkhaland…. The blockade will go on indefinitely and if there is no positive response from the Centre on the statehood demand, we will not hesitate to organise indefinite hunger strikes along the national highway,” said Keshav Raj Pokhrel, the general secretary of the Vidyarthi Morcha. He did not say whether the blockades would be for three hours every day. “Tomorrow, we will block the roads from noon to 3pm. The timings for the other days will be announced later,” Pokhrel said. Three national highways pass through Darjeeling district — 55, which connects Darjeeling town with Siliguri; 31A, which connects Sikkim with the rest of the country; and 31, the lifeline for the Northeast. Fed up with frequent Morcha bandhs and blockades, the Sikkim government had ear-lier threatened to move court and seek damages. The land-locked hill state depends entirely on the highway for its essentials. Following a plea from a Sikkim resident, the apex court had in July issued notices to the Morcha and the Bengal government. In Calcutta, state chief secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti said: “No national highway can be blocked like this. It will mean violation of a Supreme Court ruling that calls for maintenance of normal services on a highway. We will have to take steps to enforce the law.” The Morcha students did not disclose the places where they would put up the blockades. They claimed to have written to the President, Prime Minister and the home minister, informing them about their agitation. After a brief lull for Christmas, the hill outfit today resumed a piped-down version of its earlier fast unto death. Eleven members of the All Gorkha Minority Front and the Janmukti Hotel Owners’ Association began the “relay hunger strike” outside the district magistrate’s office in Darjeeling. Similar protests are being held in Kalimpong, Kurseong and Pintail, on the outskirts of Siliguri. Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri said: “This hunger strike is to tell the Centre we want Gorkhaland. There is talk of a states reorganisation commission being formed but our protests will continue.” Observers said the Centre’s go-slow on statehood to Telangana had prompted the Morcha not to revert to the “indefinite hunger strike” which it had put on hold two days before the December 21 tripartite talks in Darjeeling. Center has no plans to set up 2nd SRC- Moily Sify News Mangalore, 26 Dec:  Amid a grouping of political parties from Telangana stepping up its campaign for a separate state, the Centre on Saturday said it had no plans to set up a second States Reorganisation Commission and ruled out imposition of President's rule in the state. "There is no proposal before the Centre to set up the second SRC to go into the demand for creation of new states," Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily told reporters here. He was reacting to questions on renewed violence in the region and political parties from Telangana setting an ultimatum to the Centre asking it to announce a time-frame by Monday for formation of the separate state, failing which an indefinite bandh would be enforced from December 29. "The Centre and Andhra Pradesh Government will make all efforts to resolve the crisis on Telangana issue. The union government respects the sentiments of people", Moily said. The statement made by Home Minister P Chidambaram, who favoured wider consultations among political parties after opinions remain divided on Telangana, has been "misunderstood", Moily said and attributed it to the present "confusion" that has triggered a fresh spell of protests in Telangana region. Moily ruled out the prospect of Andhra Pradesh coming under central rule in the wake of law and order problem it faced on Telangana issue. "We have an elected government. It is capable of handling the situation," he said. Brevity sermon to priests - Keep it to 20 minutes, says Catholic bishops’ body Pope Benedict XVI delivers the Christmas Day message at the Vatican. (Reuters) CITHARA PAUL TT, New Delhi, Dec. 26: St Paul is said to have delivered a sermon from evening till dawn but in India, the Catholic Church is about to set priests a 20-minute limit. Keep it short, to-the-point, relevant and interesting, goes the message from the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), which is writing to the various dioceses. The non-binding time limit applies only to the sermon delivered during the Sunday mass. “Ideally, it should be 10 minutes. It can go up to 20 minutes but not more than that,’’ a CBCI source said. “Some priests have a tendency to deliver long, boring sermons and most listeners get distracted.” Perhaps the most famous and influential sermon of all time, the Sermon on the Mount, can be read in less than 10 minutes. The longest, apparently, is a 93-hour marathon by a certain Dr Donald Thomas. The Sunday sermon, or homily, mostly covers a theme from the scriptures and adds instructions on how to lead a pious life. But the CBCI wants priests to also draw on public issues of the day. “People are so busy that the sermon really needs to be relevant to everyday life. The preaching should pertain to things that concern them,” the letter being prepared by the CBCI says. The CBCI has suggested using the “new media’’ to liven up the homilies. Its directive says: “To attract more youth, the priest needs to update himself using the modern technologies.” Sources said priests would be encouraged to use computers and slides during sermons. This is in keeping with a directive the Pope issued early this year encouraging the use of technology to reach out to the faithful. Some among the laity are perked by the Church’s move. “I have often dozed off during sermons; some priests will show no sign of stopping even after half an hour. If the new directive is implemented in true spirit, it will be a great relief,’’ said Sharon Fernandez from Mumbai. Some, however, feel that “capsule sermons’’ are no good. “Sermons have their own purpose. If a parishioner has no time to listen to the priest, he or she better sit at home,’’ said Kochi resident Mariam Kurien. Others said it was not a sermon’s length that mattered but its content. “A sermon can be boring even if it lasts only five minutes. The effectiveness of a sermon depends on how it relates to an ordinary person’s life,” said G. Joseph from Bangalore. The Bombay Archdiocese has been the first to introduce the new time limit, having issued its own circular last week, the CBCI source said. The Rajya Sabha had introduced a similar plan last year to force members to keep their Zero Hour speeches short. It used German technology that automatically switched off an MP’s microphone after he or she had spoken for three minutes. Media matters ishan joshi, Stateman NS, 27 Dec We’ve come a long way, baby… was the line from the film. But it applies in large measure to the media in these parts too. Traditionally, issues of conflict and collaboration (a) came into play between the Indian ~ largely print ~ media and the policy establishment and; (b) were played out in notions of developmental journalism, viz to be “nation builders” or “watchdogs”. And the latter was the main ethical dilemma reporters and editors wrestled with from 1947 till, to put a date on it, the process of economic liberalisation was kicked off in 1991. In simpler terms, this dilemma was articulated as: How does the publication present and disseminate the information accessed by it? Television has, however, since ~ for better or worse ~ established itself as the first point if not primary source of information for at least the English-speaking/reading consumer, leaving print to decide whether it wants to compete with it in the information market or occupy the infinitely more complicated and subjective “knowledge” space. In this contemporary mix, of media print and audio-visual going hell for leather in the competitive, commercial arena of its choice, there is an intertwined, subterranean issue that’s on the mind of every media player and/or watcher of even middling intelligence but one which remains in the main unarticulated. So, let’s be mildly subversive and say it out loud: What price ownership, or more to the point cross-ownership, in media? For, and I apologise on behalf of my tribe (though I have no right to do so) if you haven’t heard of this before, that’s the critical issue in terms of the consequences it has for democracy, the exercise of citizenship and, what concerns this hack, a free Press. The ownership models are, or at least ought to be, pretty well-known: Family-owned, public or private limited companies with dominant shareholders, Trust-run, et.al. Each has its own challenges and opportunities. But as media theorist Jurgen Habermas amongst others has pointed out, the public sphere works most effectively for democracy when it is institutionally independent not only of the state but also of society’s dominant economic forces. Champions of the free market, and I include myself among them, would see the post-1991 growth of the media market in India as testimony to the entrepreneurial dynamism that has been unleashed thanks to liberalisation. But, as the Union information and broadcasting minister prepares to flesh out and table in Parliament the Broadcast Bill which will apparently also deal with the issue of media cross-ownership, it’s perhaps time to point out exactly what is at stake here. The largest Indian enterprise in the print media offers a classic case study of a business group of considerable vintage diversifying out of print into TV, radio, Internet, advertising, event management and a variety of other media ventures, with little resistance from any regulatory policy or body. A 24-hour news channel, a film, entertainment and celebrity-tracking channel and control of 30-odd FM radio broadcast circles are all part of its enviable portfolio. On the hand, a south India based media entity that began in the realm of cable and satellite (C&S) broadcasting rapidly expanded its influence into satellite television, print (it now owns one of the largest circulated vernacular dailies) and FM (it controls around 40 circles in north and south India). Lest you get the wrong end of the stick, this is not a case of sour grapes; indeed, both these examples, along with other such, only highlight an optimum utilisation of the routes to media consolidation open to these business groups and are a compliment to their well thought-out strategic and business plans given the rules of the game. These conglomerates can certainly not be blamed ~ that’s definitely not the burden of this song ~ and can even validly be championed for being successful. But these examples also do serve to bring out in sharp relief the need to examine the issue of putting in place cross-media ownership restrictions from a public interest viewpoint, rather than the governmental-bureaucratic perspective that has so far been customary in India. The adoption of a new paradigm that transcends the dichotomy between government control and free enterprise is essential if one believes that something as precious to a liberal democracy as the flow of information, perhaps even knowledge, depending on ones business, cannot be the monopoly of a few. We have something to learn from the Western European model rather than the American on cross-media ownership regulations to ensure free market principles are not compromised by monopolistic patterns in that most vital of areas ~ the right to varied and even conflicting information and/or points of view. Only once these are in place, does it become, as it should, a matter of choice.