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Item Open Access Politics and development of ethno-consciousness and identity : A study of the Lepchas of Darjeeling and Sikkim(University of North Bengal, 2023) Lepcha, Pemu Tshering; Chakrabarti, DyutisLepchas consider themselves to be the original inhabitants of Sikkim and Darjeeling Hills. They are known as Mutanchi Rongkup or Rongs which means ‘sons of snowy peaks’ They claim their origin from their homeland Mayel lyang i.e. ‘land of hidden paradise’. They reside mostly in the state of Sikkim and in the Hills of Darjeeling and Kalimpong. Due to the rearrangement and shuffling of the older Himalayan kingdoms, shifting and overlapping of political boundaries, they are also found in the east part of Nepal, Illam and the western part of Bhutan. Thus, today Lepchas are scattered into three territorial nation states. This work is a study on the development of ethno- consciousness and the movement for cultural identity among the Lepchas in Darjeeling and Sikkim. It seeks to establish the point that ethnicity and ethnic consciousness are connected with the notion of identity. Today, all modern societies are undergoing a distinct type of structural change due to the emergence of ethnicity. By challenging the forces of modernisation, homogenisation, globalisation, nationalism and cosmopolitan values all ethnic groups are trying to create a distinct cultural space of their own. Even modern nation states based on the principles of equality, democracy, pluralism and republicanism has sought to homogenise all ethnic pluralities. State and its administrative apparatus also shape ethnicity and group identity, as state tends to be controlled or its policies are framed in favour of the interests of the dominant group. When a particular group take control over the institutions of government policy making, it seeks to further its own interest. This leads to disproportionate distribution of state resources and causes resentment among those who have been denied benefits. Thus, the state fails to act as an instrument pursuing distributive justice. This denial of state resources and differential treatment resulting in the marginalization of the community strengthens community consciousness. It is with this background that the study of ethno- consciousness and identity of the Lepchas of Sikkim and Darjeeling becomes pertinent. Tribal identities have their roots in colonial policies that classified communities and ethnic groups, privileged some and discriminated against others. But the very identity that was previously enforced by the colonisers have increasingly internalised by the people themselves and has become a rallying point for identity assertion. Lepchas became colonised with the coming of Tibetans during the early 17th century, under the Gorkhas in the 18th century and the British during 19th century. The real problem of the Lepchas began with the arrival of British colonialism. Their religion, culture and tradition got eclipsed owing to their conversion into Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism, with a very insignificant of them practicing animism. This has led many scholars to make the point that Lepchas are a dying race and a vanishing tribe. The work attempts to understand the political and social processes of the rise or revival of ethno- consciousness and identity among the Lepchas in Sikkim and the District of Darjeeling. The Rongs or the Lepchas as they are better known have been increasingly declaring themselves as the original inhabitants and indigenous community of Sikkim and Darjeeling Hills. The claim along with other similar claims has turned the whole geographical space and its history into a contested terrain. The study makes a historical construction of Lepcha identity through colonial narratives. It also tries to look into the historical making of a geographical space and also tries to see the relation between history and identity by making an account on the experiences of the Lepchas with different phases of colonialism. With the coming of British the condition of the Lepchas became worse. The modern governing practices initiated by the British through the establishment of a universal standardised legal system, enumeration and fixing of innumerable communities converted tribes and communities into a measurable category through census reports. In the case of Lepchas, colonial policies of encouraging immigration of Nepalese and other outsiders forced Lepchas to move to the remote and peripheral areas leading to their marginalization and vulnerable position. The post- independent state’s policy towards the Lepchas is also a continuation of the colonial state’s policies and administrative practices. State formation after independence from the British rule is characterised by some form of assimilationism and benevolent paternalism. Constitutional and legal provisions enacted for the protection and welfare of the marginalised communities led to their categorization as Scheduled Tribes by the Scheduled Tribes Order of 1950 in accordance to Article 342 of the Constitution. Provisions like reservations of seats in legislature, employment and education, right to use one’s own language for educational and other purposes including the right to conserve one’s language and culture were enumerated as part of the state’s integrationist and developmental agenda. But what is stated in the constitutional and legal provisions on the one hand and what actually has followed on the other hand has become quite different. The rupture between the constitutional provisions and the existing ground reality is on account of the divergence in the constitutional, institutional and administrative structure of the state. State and its institutions also trigger ethnic consciousness. State may be controlled by a particular ethnic group whose interest the state chooses to favour, state policies are also shaped by the advice of the leaders of such groups. Thus, the state far from remaining neutral and egalitarian ends up promoting majority ethnicism and consistently makes distinctions by classifying people and groups and sharing resources disproportionately; benefiting some groups and causing harm and denial to some others. This denial of resources and privileges heightens community and group consciousness. In the development of ethnic consciousness, a closer look into the administrative structure and position of the Lepchas within that structure should also be taken into account. Darjeeling being a district within the state of West Bengal and Sikkim being a federal state. In Sikkim, Lepchas were accorded a special BL status with the right to political representations. Being closer to the state structure and the decision-making process, Lepchas in Sikkim have been able to accrue many benefits in their favour. Various Lepcha Associations have been successfully fighting against all kinds of injustices perpetrated against the Lepcha community and have been actively involved in protecting their socio- economic and cultural rights. Beginning with the grant of official status to Lepcha language in 1977, to its introduction into the school curriculum till the post- graduate level, they have achieved significant benefits. In Darjeeling, their situation is somewhat different. Being already marginalised due the operations of colonial capitalism under British rule, the state even after independence have somehow remained indifferent to the issues pertaining the Lepcha community. They have not yet claimed the agency of reading and writing in their mother tongue even at the primary level of education. Nepali language, which is the dominant regional language have always gained the upper hand in the region. Promotion of Nepali by sidelining Lepcha language became evident when Government of West Bengal recognised Nepali as an additional official language of the district of Darjeeling in 1961. Further in 1975 Nepali language was accepted as a modern Indian language by the Sahitya Akademi and ultimately included in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution. The differential treatment meted to the Lepchas of Darjeeling have further disillusioned them, which is evident from the kinds of identity assertion movements that the region has witnessed in the recent years. Development initiatives of the state with the construction of hydel power projects on rivers that are considered to be holy for the Lepchas; and upon their holy land ‘Dzongu’, their Mayel Lyang have led Lepchas from both the regions to collectively wage sustained crusades against such projects on the grounds of protecting their culture, tradition and identity. Following Barth and Smith, the work argues that through the actions of ethnic groups and their interests, boundaries are erected, dividing some people and unifying others. Thus, the emerging consciousness of an ethnic group gets accelerated when ethnic boundaries are created and maintained, when an ethnic group starts constructing their culture by reviving their forgotten pasts, myths, symbols, language, religion, memory and their ethnic history. Through a series of literary and scholastic activities, celebrations of the birth anniversaries of their heroes, celebration of traditional Lepcha festivals, customs and traditions, production of ethno- documentary films projecting the Lepcha belief in natural deities, traditions of munism and bongtheism, attempts are being made by Lepchas in reviving and restoring their historical cultural practices and thus actively involved in the politics of cultural production and cultural revivalism. Past thus becomes a resource for all ethnic groups giving them a collective identity which paves the way for ethnic political mobilization of the community. It becomes ‘political’ since ethnic boundaries are shaped not only by the members themselves but by external forces like the state and its institutions. Members from the community have been vocal in waging movements and conducting associational politics for the protection and promotion of cultural identity of the Lepchas. Thus, members of an ethnic group not only identify themselves as belonging to a particular group but are also identified by others. Ethnic identity as a constructed category also implies conscious mobilization of the people in defence of their community’s interest. The work is divided into six chapters. In the first chapter, along with the statement of the problem, an introduction to the area of study is given. With a brief theoretical insight, this chapter makes a review of all existing literature. It also gives a theoretical framework to understand the emergence of ethno- consciousness among the Lepchas of Sikkim and the hills of Darjeeling and Kalimpong. In the second chapter titled ‘Lepchas: Their Social and Cultural Profile’ attempt is made to give an account of the origin of the Lepcha tribe, their social and cultural profile; and an insider’s account about the history of the Lepchas. Language and literature, which is considered as a repository of a community’s history and culture is the next theme of this chapter. It also focusses on the literary activism and the movement for linguistic assertion among the Lepchas in response to the dominant and homogenising impulse of Nepali linguistic nationalism with the standardisation of Nepali language and literature. The third chapter is titled ‘Lepchas in Sikkim: Experience Under Namgyal Rule till The British and After’. Any work on the Lepcha tribe becomes incomplete without taking reference of the history of Sikkim, since the establishment of Namgyal kingdom in the early seventeenth century because with this began the first phase of colonisation of the Lepchas. Coming of Bhutias laid the foundation of a kingdom with a state system based on feudal order. State formation took place in entirely Tibetan- Buddhist ethos. The Sikkimese political system based on Lamaist theocracy, had many features of Tibetan feudalism; the ruler was not only the head of the state but also an incarnate lama with the responsibility to rule the subjects in accordance with the tenets of the ‘Chhos’ or the Dharma. This helped to accomplish the task of converting Lepchas into the Buddhist faith conveniently. Establishment of the Bhutia kingdom and the spread of Buddhism colonized not only the Lepchas but the entire geographical and political landscape. The chapter also gives an account of the Lepchas in the period immediately after independence in 1947. Freedom from British rule did not give them access to democratic participation and decision making. They were sandwiched between the more assertive Nepalis and the dominant Bhutia community. Since one’s ability to influence the political process also became dependent upon numbers games. The fourth chapter is titled ‘Colonial Encounter and Experiences of the Lepchas of Darjeeling since 1835’ gives an account of the Lepchas of Darjeeling from 1835. Prior to this date, Darjeeling was an intrinsic part of the kingdom of Sikkim. Thus, the colonial history of Darjeeling begins with the Deed of 1835. With the arrival of British in Darjeeling, Lepchas were subjected to the worst forms of colonialism. Taking advantage of the backwardness of the Lepchas, European missionaries converted a large number of them into the Christian faith. The chapter also discusses how Lepchas were affected due to the emergence of Nepali linguistic nationalism. Lepchas were forced to study and communicate in a new language. Their language was considered to be backward for not being able to cope with the advancements made by Nepali literature in the 1920s and 1930s. In response to such developments, attempts were made by the Lepchas in the 1920s to work for the introduction of Lepcha language at the primary stage of education since 1925s with the formation of the first Lepcha Association. The fifth chapter titled ‘Ethnic Political Mobilization of the Lepchas: Towards a Movement for Cultural Identity’ seeks to explain how ethno- consciousness and consciousness about one’s ethnic identity is followed by a set of activities aimed at political mobilisation of the community. The chapter gives an account of the organisational activities conducted by different Lepcha ethnic associations in both Sikkim and Darjeeling including Kalimpong. The chapter discusses the different ways by which Lepchas have been able to carve their differences by the creation of boundaries and boundary maintenance process. The role of external factors i.e., the political process and the political institutions that shape and determine ethnic identity is also highlighted by locating the Lepchas within the particular political structure. The last and the concluding chapter makes an attempt to provide answers to the research questions posed at the beginning of the research work. In providing answers to the questions, a comparison is made between the state administrative structures in both Darjeeling and Sikkim, by locating the experiences of the Lepchas within this administrative structure. In doing so the chapter tries to study whether state patronage or the absence of it have a bearing on the socio- economic and political. DarjeelingItem Open Access Molecular and biochemical characterization of mercury tolerant bacteria from various regions in and around Darjeeling(University of North Bengal, 2024) Acharyya, Sukanya; Bhattacharya, MalayItem Open Access Media and regional movements: an examination of the role of print media in the hill politics since the emergence of Gorkha Jana Mukti Morcha Movement in Darjeeling(University of North Bengal, 2024) Kepchaki, Jaya; Dural, RameshMedia and politics are at the edge of relationship in a functioning democracy. Despite their divergent missions, it is a symbiotic correlation. Political forces turn to the public to motivate their actions, to campaign for their ideas and to win people's trust. Media, in turn, have to inform people about politics and to exercise control over politicians when the latter perform their duties. The present study is an attempt to explore the role of the media in the movement for a separate state under the Gorkha Jana MuktiMorcha (GJMM) in the hills of Darjeeling and for the purpose of making the study more penetrating; the focus has been restricted only to print media. The study was conducted to focus the issue of the role of the print media in a regional movement. One may notice divergent views expressed and positions taken by different publications. While some of these favoured the movement, others opposed it. There is a section which has taken a kind of 'neutral' position, neither opposing nor supporting the course of action of the movement. The overall impact of this movement on the national, state and sub-state level politics has been highlighted in the media. The study elaborately historicizes the movement since its inception and points out that there have been significant contributions from scholars with regard to its historical, psychological, political, economic, ethnic and other dimensions, however, no systematic study have been made to address the role of print media in the context of the political movements in the hills of Darjeeling.The study proposes to highlight the role of the media, specifically the print media, in shaping and constructing people's perspectives on the movement. The study further elaborates the roots of political movements in the hills of Darjeeling. It highlights the significance and the emergence of major political parties in the hills, and tries to establish their role in exploring and exploiting the media in the context of the movement. The study proposes to establish that in case of the Gorkhaland movement, print media, along with other media forms was mobilized by the leadership since the inception of the movement, that is, from the colonial period in the 1920s to the 1980s and the post 2007. In the recent times, however, controversies surrounding the politics over the media itself have taken ground, with strong voices of the necessity of democratizing the media itself. These owe to multiplicity of factors like market forces, unethical turn in journalism, ideological differences, role of the state, interest of the dominant group, depleting resources, among others. Yet, media in general and print media in particular has significantly shaped the Gorkhaland movement since its inception, validating it, accelerating it and empowering it at times; and weakening it, relegating it and uprooting it at the other, thereby determining its life, course, content and contours.Item Open Access Taxonomic and phytogeographical studies on the flora of Mirik and its environs in Darjeeling district(University of North Bengal, 1987) Mukhopadhyay, Chittaranjan; Basu, P. K.; Ghosh, R. B.In recent years much attention has been given to Mirik to establish it a beautiful hill resort in connection with the development of tourism in the region. It is situated at an altitude of 170Dm with its own special charm, located at 49 km from Darjeeling and 52 km .from Siliguri. This hill resort has a special attraction for having a magnificent lake fed by perennial streams. It is under the Mirik P.S.of Darjeeling district in West Bengal and is located between 26°47'N. lat. and 26°55'N. lat., 88°8'E. long. and 88°15'E. long. It claims its special identity in respect of its strategic position in the Sub-Himalayan hilly tract in the northern region of West Bengal. Its flora is significant from the scientific, cultural and utilitarian view points. It has a wide range of habitats which provide ecological diversity. Phytogeographicall y also it occupies a key position. The economy of Mirik and its environs is primarily based on agriculture, forestry and plantation. Like all other parts of the world, the ecosystem of the region has also been observed to be the most gravely threatened now-a-days. Due to large sc.ale destruction without adequate replacement of forest trees, forest wealth has been diminished and due to Jack of plant cover, soil is subjected to the combined influence of erosion, leaching, insolation and radiation. Thereby, much of the normal biogeochemical cyde is. lost causing Jack of regeneration of forest plants. Recently, due to policy at the National level, large scale plantation is being encouraged in connection with Eco-Development Programme. But the proper management of the forest in a region is possible only with the utilization of the local plants in the area. It is, therefore, of primary importance to understand the. present day plant resources of the region. As lhe development and distribution of floristic elements are very much dependent on the ecological condition of a particular region, emphasis has been given to study the floristic composition, ecological conditi'on of the . re_gion with special ~tress on the behaviour of different plant species from phytogeographical point of view. During investigation some ecological observations on Mirik and its environs have been made after accumulation of information from various sources. In this connection collaboration has been made with the National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organisation, Government of India. Information so far represented in connection with Mirik P. S. may be considered for the first time to report in this .field of work. During the preparation of / topographic section, it has been noted that less than 700m elevation shows the- lower erosional surface, 700-1000m the middle erosional surface and above 1 DOOm represents upper erosional surface of the mountains. Mirik itself lies in the. highest part of the region in Mirik P.S. The height gradually slopes down towards south-east havi~g average height of 300-600m above sea level. The surface configuration of this area undoubtedly presents a complex physical environment due to. different Geomorphic processes. The study on drainage and the river system of the region has. specially been emphasized due to the fact that now-a-days catchment area has been noted to be a very important from ecological point of view. In co-nnection with the study on this aspect, it has beeri noted that the Mechi and the Balason are the two main rivers with a large number of tributaries and branches, the courses of which have been taken into consideration during the preparation of map. The central part of the region acts as main water divide line. The water divide area is having a slope of less than 20% as calculated from the relief and the slope is maximum where lhe land is merging with the boundary rivers. Thus along both the rivers, the Mechi and the Balason, the slope increases to more than 50%. Five different zones of soil have been prepared for Mirik P.S. These are Red Podosol, distributed in the northern part of the region, Brown Earth, represent)ng the major part of the area, Ash Grey Soil with association of Red Soil, representing a narrow-strip towards the southern part, Whitish Grey Soil adjacent to the previous one in southern direction and Grey Soil with association of yellowish brown Soil representing the extreme southern part of the police station. Out of the study on the earlier records on climatic factors, it has been noted that since 1 Q50 the rainfall has been gradually declining from 3477.51 mm (1850-1855) to 2560.00 mm (1982-1987). Total rainfall in the year of 1988 has been observed to be 2039.4 mm. Thus the vegetation, now-a-days, is beinc:J subjected to stressed condition as compared to earlier days. Due to rapid growth of urbanisation, the growth of human population has been observed to be at increased state and for this reason biotic influence on vegetation is inevitable. This "increase in population coupled with the increased demand on natural forest areas for cultivation of cereals for food and for fuel, forest areas are being destroyed at a greater pace, year after year. Similarly, increased communication even with remote villages facilitates more movement of people from outside along with their domestic animals and consequently more interference with the vegetation. The major part of this area has been noted to have population density of 1-3 persons/ha. The small area of the central part has more than 9 persons/ha, and a small area in the north has.been observed to cover less than 1 person/ha. A very significant feature observed here in the study of landuse is the extensive existence af tea gardens. Crop land occupies a very little area which is distributed mostly in the northern part of the region. A map has been prepared to represent rural settlements, forests, scrubs and wastelands. · The primary or vergin forest has been noted to become restricted in the region. Majority of forest patches are secondary in nature. Vegetation of this area has been classified on the basis of physiognomy and structural features of the plant in relation to "the altitude of the hill and climatic conditions, specially the rainfall. Four vegetational zones i.e. Tropical Deciduous Sal Forests (Plantations; 1 00-500m), Tropical Evergreen (500-1200m), Subtropical Evergreen (1200-1800m) and Temperate Mixed Zone (1800-2630m) have been marked out and different plant species in various zones of the primary forests have been worked out. A change of vegetational structure for secondary forest formation due to the influence of various factors have been noted. Different species available in different zones of primary and secondary forests have been enumerated. Water reservoirs in different zones of Tropical, Subtropical and Temperate regions have been observed though typical aquatic vegetation is poorly developed, the marshland vegetation has been studied in details. Cultivated and other useful plants with special reference to food, medicinal and ornamental value available in the region have also been recorded. Special emphasis has been given on the survey of various plant materials used by the local tribes/hill people. Besides, common trees yielding timber, fibre and fruits have been identified. In connection with the taxonomic study on the flora of Mirik and· its environs in Darjeeling district, much emphasis •has been laid upon the collection of plants, preparation of herbarium sheets and identification of them after ·consultation with different herbarium sections available. Nomenclatu' re and citation, short description, flowering and fruiting periods, local name, if any, notes on the frequency of distribution, plant association, economic use, if any, of 1059 taxa including 71 cultigens of Angiosperms and G~n;nosperms have been taken into consideration. Out of which again 987 and 67 species of Angiosperms are represented as wild ~nd cultigens respectively. Gymnospermous taxa have been found to be represented by Cryptomeria japonica (L. f.) D. Don in wild state and 4 other cultigens. The system of Bentham and Hooker (1862-1883) with. some modifications based on recent knowledge has been· followed during the representation of the sequence of families in the flora. Monocots include 300 species (excluding the cultivated 11 species) unde·r 136 genera and. 14 families. Similarly, Dicots cover 687 species (excluding the cultivated 56 species) under 350 genera and 95 families. "Based on total number of collection (excluding cultigens), percentage occ:urrence of family, genera and species of Dicots have been observed to be 86.36%, 71.87% and .69.53% respectively; Similarly, in Mof\OCots, family, genera and species have been represented by 12.73%, 27.93% and 30.36% respectively. The approximate ratios between the family, genus and species of the Angiosperms have been worked· out. The Monocot-Dicot ratios in terms of family, genus and species have been calculated to be 1:6.8, 1:2.6 and 1:2.3 respectively. The genus-species ratio for the Angiosperms is 1:2 approximately. Twenty ·different families in order of dominance have been worked out on the basis of the number of taxa incorporated in each family. Orchidaceae has been noted to include maximum of 131 taxa under 41 genera. On the other hand, each of Apiaceae and Acanthaceae includes minimum of 13 ta?Item Open Access Trafficking of women in Darjeeling hills : A sociological study(University of North Bengal, 2022) Mukhia, Persis; Bhui, UjjalItem Open Access Medicinal and molecular profiling of selected tea varieties of Darjeeling and Dooars(University of North Bengal, 2022) Labar, Reha; Sen, Arnab; Bhattacharya, MalayItem Open Access Socio-Economic condition of women in tea gardens: case study of terai of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri Districts of West Bengal(University of North Bengal, 2019) Kapasia, Nanigopal,; Rohatgi, Sushma,Item Open Access Bhujel of darjeeling himalaya : bio-social study(University of North Bengal, 2009) Mallick, Ganesh Chandra; Mondal, Sekh Rahim and Biswas, SubirItem Open Access Studies on soil microbial diversity of Darjeeling hills and their evaluation for utilization in the improvement of crop health(University of North Bengal, 2013) Sunar, Kiran; Chakraborty, B.N. and Chakraborty, U.Item Open Access Enumeration and characterisation of bacillus cereus strains in the dairy environment of the district of Darjeeling, India(University of North Bengal, 2016) Kumari, Sarita; Sarkar, P.K.,