Gangtok: After an attack on the main office of the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) in Gangtok last week, the party’s founding president, Pawan Kumar Chamling, along with his colleagues, was camped out in an old government building near the party office. Dressed in sober colours — black and navy blue — he spoke in hushed tones with his party men. As he waited for others to arrive for an all-party meeting, one could cut the tension in the room with a knife.
Speaking to ThePrint in an exclusive interview, he compared the stone-pelting from earlier that day — which had damaged the SDF’s office, leaving its windows and glass shattered — to incidents of stone pelting reported from Jammu and Kashmir.
Sikkim has been in a state of turmoil for the past few weeks following a Supreme Court judgment delivered on 13 January that struck down the exclusion of old Indian settlers from the Sikkimese population and allowed them tax exemptions. However, its use of the phrase ‘people of foreign origin’ in reference to Sikkimese-Nepalese people sparked protests.
Even though the ‘objectionable’ reference to the Sikkimese-Nepalese people was dropped after the central government filed a review petition, Chamling said the special provisions provided to the people of Sikkim under Article 371F — similar to those Jammu and Kashmir had under Article 370 before August 2019 — have been “diluted”.
Seventy-three-year-old Chamling, who helmed Sikkim’s government for 25 years, said he would fight the assembly election next year to bring “peace and stability”.
“I am heartbroken to see that the people who had voted for the merger with India in the referendum of February 1975 are now being branded foreigners. Their rights are at stake,” he said.
Chamling, who was born to Nepali parents, speaks about his identity with pride, adding that it was the Nepali-origin people who had voted for the merger, aspiring for a bright future as part of India.
“Nepalis’ votes made up 80 per cent of the total votes polled for the merger and now these people are being called ‘migrants’. I also voted in the referendum, and today we all are foreigners. It is an insult to the people, and the inefficiency of the state government is the reason behind such turmoil.”
Post-merger, he had joined Nar Bahadur Bhandari’s party Sikkim Sangram Parishad. Bhandari was the CM between 1979 and 1994. Later, in 1993, Chamling founded the SDF.
Sikkim is among the country’s sensitive border states, but one that has progressed and managed to remain peaceful, he said. The former chief minister added, however, that law
and order and administration in the state have lately collapsed and people have been left feeling insecure and worried. “If the Centre does not bring an immediate solution to this, the situation could blow up,” warned Chamling, adding, “This is just the beginning”.
Also read: DR Thapa, who led protests against SC’s ‘foreign’ tag for Sikkimese Nepali, is new BJP state chief
Opening Pandora’s box
“It is like opening Pandora’s box,” Chamling said. “The order has set a precedent. The expansion or any alteration of the clauses the article has may trigger unrest in the border state. This is a central subject now and the central government should resolve this with the assurance that Sikkimese identity is protected.”
Chamling feels the conditions of Sikkim’s merger should now be “reviewed”. “There are several things which are similar between Jammu & Kashmir and Sikkim in terms of the special privileges or conditions. Our state is now witnessing similar stone pelting incidents as J&K did. The Centre should consider the sensitivity, the location and (proximity to), international borders and take immediate action to bring a solution.”
He added that he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi four times over the past two years and SDF leaders had met central government officials over a dozen times in the same time period seeking redressal.
‘BJP running state govt’
Chamling, calling the SKM-led state government ‘inefficient and dysfunctional’, said it was formed with the support of its ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“The BJP is running the government. The current CM was not even eligible to fight elections as he was convicted. However, the EC (Election Commission) allowed it, making some arbitrary changes in the rule. So, without the BJP’s support, this government would not have lasted.”
The BJP is an alliance partner of the ruling SKM but is not a part of the government.
In the last assembly election held in the state in 2019, the BJP had contested the election as the SKM’s alliance partner but registered zero wins. However, 10 SDF MLAs joined the BJP the same year in August and the party won in bypolls held in two seats in October. The party now has 12 MLAs in the state.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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