I’ve recently been battling out the topic of stopping immigration in Sikkim in the forum of sikkimonline.info. The topic ranted about a Sikkimese being an alien in their own domain, being dominated or called chinkys, bahadur, etc. outside the state. This is how I responded:
I dont think you’re going to like what I’m going to say so apologies in advance.
Yes, I have been called a chinky and whistled at by these so-called perverts of our society when I’ve been outside the state. I agree that most of these people who indulge in such habits are cretins of the lowest kind and bring shame to our culture and country.
But I wonder why there is this tide of strong anti non-Sikkimese sentiments so rampant which says WE are superior to them. After all, even we as citizens of India have taken ample opportunity in terms of educations, jobs and a better life outside the state. Then why stop anyone from doing the same in Sikkim?
The government of Sikkim has already secured us by providing a certificate of Identification and we all know that govt jobs are accessible only to those holding a COI. Even most govt undertakings prefer to hire local people wherever possible.
What about people like Bhaichung Bhutia, Danny Denzongpa, Karma Paljor of CNN-IBN and thousands of other professionals opting to live and work in the various metros of the country? What made them leave our blissful state and struggle for life outside Sikkim that we know for sure isnt as laidback and cosy as home in the first place? Shouldnt the local people there too protest against their working there by hailing them “immigrants” and shooing them away?
So why should we do that here?
Yes, I feel more secure after crossing Rangpo. (Rangpo is the border which leads to Sikkim) Yes, I feel our people are far more civilized and tolerant and accommodating than others. Yes, the people from outside may disturb our peace and harmony.
But the point of self complacency has long gone past. Why should we feel worried about non locals snatching our jobs when we ourselves are unemployed by the dozen?
Forgive me for not being able to sign the petition. I evidently believe differently and I’m sure I’m one of the very few people to do so. I dont want to create an un-necessary argument in any case. I’m just voicing my opinion that we should live and let live.
To which the answer was:
hello rinchen,
thank you for your reply. it was really presented well and i really appreciate your outlook. but i still beg to differ.
yes i agree we have our people going outside of sikkim for better work opportunity since sikkim is not so exposed. but let me present you with this fact that only the educated lot go outside of sikkim for a better job. where as in the case of non sikkemese here, it is every tom,dick and harry pouring in. forget all this and just try to calculate the ratio of both the parties working in and outside of sikkim and you will come to know.be a judge yourself.
and when you mentioned the name of bhaichung,please there’s no comparison between a national hero and a general public. bhaichung has given so much to this country rather a other way round.
it is a ticking time bomb and if not stopped in time..may lead to disaster. if you still don’t believe me,wait until next decade.
have a good day and lets be practical.
reply is awaited.
To which, I in turn, replied:
Sure, lets be practical. Do you know who were the original inhabitants of Sikkim years back? Out of the Lepchas, Bhutias and Nepalis, more than one tribe was considered ‘immigrant’ at different periods of time.
Cut to the present, the ‘plains-men’ you’re talking about are now the Immigrants! Even when we have a judicial system that verifies the origin of the people of Sikkim, we’re still so insecure of the outsiders. Why?
I believe a word better than ‘communal’ is – Racist. And if every race, community and religion started fighting for supremacy, we all would be mini versions of Hitler and have our own genocide camps to counter this issue.
Lets be practical. Take a long, hard look at the culture around us. Inter caste marriages have ensured that the surname gets carried on only for name’s sake. National integration is taking place whether one likes it or not.
As for who’s the next CM, I believe the colour of one’s skin is not the standard by which a state’s leader is chosen. As long as he or she is educated enough to have a vision to take our state to the next level of prosperity, that is okay by me.
Your move.
This one hurt. Ouch.
well said rinchen but i am still here standing for my people.
your thoughts are good and i really appreciate it but it can’t be applied everywhere. sometimes it is as good as your ear.
you must have read todays telegraph. there’s article relating about the recent turmoil in kashmire.
the chaos was triggered by a mere transfer of 40 hectres of land to the amarnath shrine board.this was how it was presented but in reality the kashmere people were afraid of the demographic changes it could bring into their society and their culture. even in tibet,china changed tibet’s demography by settling han chinese there in large number.
as of now i am just insisting on stopping the influx, i have never said we should flush out all those who have already settled in sikkim. but if we carry on like this the day will surely come when you will see our younger generation acting the same way like they did in guwahati and maharashtra. this is bound to happen if our attitude remain this way. i am not saying this is the right way and i don’t justify such act at all.
regarding the cm….i think you are day dreaming anil kapoor of movie nayak.
this is reality.
you please
This goes on for three pages. After which I was near about labelled an outsider myself as well as being unsupportive of “our people”. I wasnt calling the opposition a racist. All I wanted to do was make this point – Stop labelling people according to their community, caste, colour, creed and gender. We live in a democracy. Might as well act like it.
I gave up on the debate after a while but I thought I might was well publish the great debate on my blog; for what its worth, perhaps I may get more supporters here. And as for that last CM remark – this is what I had to say:
You were the one to bring up the CM issue, not me. Plus, I’m afraid I’m not a Bollywood fan like you so I dont see Anil Kapoor as my daytime hero.
You are SUPPOSED TO BE a good poet or are you actually one?
Aju stike ma ta – all the roads are so khali and sun-saan. No noise whatsoever and no movement. So you’re a piscean? Dual nature, timi pani?
sorry i am not good in writing…
singtam busty khali hola hoi ahilay…hami gangtok ko manchey uta eta jaanda matra alikati bir huncha tiha hoi? transfer mangnu ni…hehehhe
piscean are dual nature…i thought that of gemini
I checked the horoscope and it says pisces is dual natured. Malai ta darr lagyo abo ta…
Kuni, malai yaad chaina Singtam khali cha ki chaina. I stay 2 kms ahead, remember? You Gangtok people think you’re so smart. Singtam is the heart of the state, bujhyo? It connects to ALL the districts of Sikkim. Timi haru ta jaaro ley marcha kun din – mark my words.
i got disconnected …
so loyal to singtam also…if we the people of gangtok dies of cold…what will happen to the people of singtam..they will die of hunger..hehehehe.. tarah singtam ko keta haroo lai na bhanu hoi.
Hunger? Ha! Foodgrains and vegetables from Siliguri reach Singtam one hour earlier than Gangtok. Abo afnu state ko geography pani birsyo, kya?
Speaking of which, I think you’re about to die of hunger yourself. Please dont do that ok
array we are self reliant ….. we have everything…singtam needs it because they has to cater passer by.
and in case we stop coming to singtam…..all the grains will be wasted.
Aayyy… you are talking about all those hotels-cum-gaddis? Maybe for them, yes. But not for the rest of us ok.
Abo Gangtok-Singtam ko debate thaleko? Yo debate pani timi harchau ani saathi ko jeet ma chai khushi bhai basnu la.
array timi tah developement ko hoina? you switch sides so soon.
and yes yoh debate pani you will loose….
timi tah i know when you are about to loose you call up all your friends…hoi…malai yoh blog ma pani saab oppose garne matra thiyo…
Yeah, my family stays there but I’m more at home here in Singtam. Afnu ghar jasto lagcha. I have my personal space here so thats the reason, I guess.
I’m not being anti-Gangtok. I am merely defending Singtam. Anta transfer ko try gardai chu ta. I hope it works out.
once you get transfer you will again defending gangtok hoi.? thik cha.
Maile bolako hoina, uni haru ley afai support gareko. I wont lose the debate. I like winning. Timi saathi bhanera matrai mailey chori deko poh ta.
Arey, there’s a difference between defending something and saying negative things about the opposite side. Understood? I’m only defending. I’m not saying negative things. Like you.
timi lay hamro debate timro blog layo bani tah naturally timi lai nai support garcha ni..
okey i will let go off this topic since it consist our own people..timi lay jeeto ko chaina ni pheri..
Mailey ta jeetako jasto lagyo. I dont know why you have to contradict me all the time.
i alwasy don’t contradict you…i do agree on some point too.
you forgot yesterday….how you won two awards simultaneously due to me.
i think i should not reveal the awards here..heheh
Indeed. I’ve finished my share of imaginary award money already. Timro baki cha.
Mann nai mann ma award payo, mann nai mann ma paisa kharcha garyo. Abo mann nai mann ma naam reveal garnu la. Not here.
hahahahha……you got scared so much
.. i wont reveal la
I’m not scared. I dont get easily scared of imaginary awards. Testai ho kya. Its 5:37 pm. Strike about to get over. Finally!
good morning….yesterday i got disconnected..
bichara timro strike ko chutti sakyo hoi…whenever you need a holiday tell me okay… timro naam ma strike gardinchue.
Morning. Sakyo yah. I felt very restless yesterday, not being able to move around at will. No way. I hope no more strike. Plus timro strike ko halat pani timro petition (remember?) jasto huncha
good after noon..mam
kasto hunu huncha….sapai thik cha..
mero petition ko halaat ko zimaydar timi nai ho..kasto sensitive issure lai kasto banayi diyo..
Hallo. Everything’s fab. Met old friends and we had a nice day. Just got back.
I’m not responsible for the halaat of your petition, you are. Hawrey ko kura garyo bhaney testai huncha
morning guruama…
kasto hunuhuncha…
Morning and good afternoon in about 2 minutes.
Mo jaati mai chu. Tapai kasto hunu huncha?
mah pani tapai ko ashirwad lai jaati nai chu…
tika lagoanu bhayo ki bhayena…tamang lay chai sheto tika lagao cha haray…
Bhayena. Uu buddhist ho. Ke saro politely bolnu bhako. Laa… ke bhayo??? Matay ke hau.
Pura paisa kamaunu hos las. Zyada top huney kaam chaina las.
aray paisa kama ko chuina ….. tarah i will within some period.madam how’s your holiday..
tamang tah both ways haray tah…hoina ra.. malai tamang keta lai nai baneko.
Dunno, I’m not Tamang. I’m Bhutia and Lepcha too. But dont ask me about them either, that also I dont know.
Kunchai Tamang keti ley bhanyo? Timro gf ley?
hey…i said tamang keta not keti…
kura tah kaha gomai diyini timi lay…
ani moreover i am married and don’t have any gf…
toita i was stressing so much on preserving your own culture and stuff but nobody listened. now, you see the consequences. you should have a general idea about your culture,what will you teach your younger ones…ni…laa besi bayoe hola hoi…
What culture? Somehow I’m not inclined to these kinda thoughts. After all, timi haru cha ni – to take care of all that. What will I teach the younger ones? Electrical and Electronics engineering. Baki timi haru mathi.
hawas….afna purkha le boniye koh katah kaseri bhoolnu…hamra atith kaseri bhulne…modernization,culture,tradition should go hand in hand. culture really enhances the beauty of the people..
Maybe but nowadays, people got no time to indulge in obsolete things such as culture. I am not against it, let me make it clear. Yah, so culture ENHANCES so many things and what not.
But we’ve got other things that’ve taken up more importance, I think. I am speaking on behalf of all the modern day Sikkimese people you see of late. Except for a very few, people aint inclined too much on it.
“obsolete” ….. how can you use this word,it ‘s not appropriate.
so according to you,it’s perfectly all right to bring down taj mahal to erect 5 star hotels and so hoi..?
How can I use this word? Watch me – OBSOLETE.
Taj Mahal and Culture are two perfectly different things. One is tangible, the other aint. We got no case here!
Mann dukcha bhai. PM ko reply garney dastur pani hatheycha. Mann dukcha ani riss pani uthcha.
Ki timilai uthdaina??? Pahila nai bhani dinu hai. Nabha mo matrai lata jasto eklai mann dukhi basi raney raichu.
array dukhiyari keti….i was all day out scorching… i had some maths professor from hyderbad who wanted me to accompany them on a local tour. i could not say “no.” it would have been very rude hoina ra.
Aay… kati ramro ani accomodating manchey hau. Mailey timi lai misjudge garey raichu
Sacchi po tour guide raicha hai!
Am just kidding, please dont be mad las. Mo pani being busy these days. Traveled enough for this year, I think.
accomodating….but i am at times very unpredictable and i really need to control my temper. sometime i just let it go and bang…it lands me on some trouble…
hongkong market chai it wont be considered as traveling la..heeheheh
Ambo… kaha harayo.
You are describing me in the first sentence. I can relate to what you’re saying. Ghamandi manchey haru testai huncha
As for what you consider ‘traveling’ or not… damn! I forgot to fax you my travel plans, didnt I?
honi…you forgot to fax your itinerary…i would have helped also.
tarah kohlay lanay mero plan.
are you watching governors cup…all the teams are lousy this season……gham tapnoe gako jasto raicha.
Mo chai kaha bata hernu Governor’s Gold Cup? My office gets over only at 5 pm! And we dont get that special leave like govt offices to go watch the game in paljor stadium
Arey, did you hear about that accident near Baba Mandir? Seems 5 tourists died… how scary is that!
yes…it was in 8mile…..5 tourist died..it was a sad incident…
should i ask your professor to give you some off time to watch football….better still….watch the highlight in nayuma..
poor girl doesn’t have nayuma…timi tah tata sky koh poh fan ho hoi..
Read about it in today’s NOW. Very sad. Maya lagyo… bichara.
Naah, dont bother asking for time off. Diwali vacations about to start – 9 days off – got plenty of time.
Yep, no Nayuma here. I think we still live okay without it here in Singtam. Wait… let me check… yeah, all okay. I’m breathing fine.
god.. you are fine……..now don’t make me die with that deemag chatne questions…la….hhhehehehehehe
maya tah lagcha but who can divert the fate ni….
what’s your plan for diwali…yet another trip to hongkong market..
Ek chin las, phone ma boldai chu… 29 partner sita…
kesaro..29 partner ayo bani tah…sabai lai bhoolindai raicha
rinchen i have to go now……i have some work to do with my friends…
i hope you understand …good night…i will see you soon…