Uniform anger
Uniform anger
Sir — It is outrageous for the Lepchas of the Darjeeling hills to be asked to wear ‘traditional’ attire during the festive season starting from October 7 (“Gurung bid to clear dress code air”, Sept 11). The president of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, Bimal Gurung, has said that “members of the Sherpa, Lepcha, Yolmo and Tamang communities should... sport the daura sural”. The daura sural is the traditional dress of the Gorkhas and not of the other communities mentioned by Gurung. As such, they cannot be made to wear a costume that is not a part of their culture.
Whatever the GJM leaders might say, the Lepchas are the original inhabitants of the Darjeeling hills. It is they who have accommodated and assimilated the Gorkhas into their culture rather than things being the other way round. It is sad for the Lepchas to know that their ‘guests’ have now become so powerful as to force the ‘hosts’ to wear the Gorkha dress. Making all the hill tribes wear similar costumes is an ethnocentric move by Gurung, who clearly wants to dominate the indigenous people. This is nothing but cultural annexation — an unwarranted attempt at control that should not be tolerated.
Yours faithfully, Charisma K. Lepcha, Shillong
Sir — There can be no argument on the fact that the original natives of the Darjeeling hills and Sikkim are the Lepchas. This can be proved, among other things, by the names of the places, rivers or valleys in the region. Unfortunately, the Lepchas have lived as underdogs in their own land for a long time. Things have come to such a pass now that they are being ordered by Bimal Gurung to dress like the Gorkhas while Bengalis or Marwaris are allowed to wear their own attires. Gurung owes the Lepchas an apology for issuing this outrageous diktat.
Yours faithfully, Romong Lepcha, San Francisco, US
Sir — GJM members have threatened those who do not want to accept Bimal Gurung’s dress code with unpleasant consequences. This has created an atmosphere of fear in the hills. Many are resentful but are scared to speak up. Perhaps not surprisingly, Gorkhas are almost as annoyed with the command as those from the other hill communities. This is because the majority of the hill people lead a hand-to-mouth existence. They can ill afford a set of traditional dresses. Gurung’s command is especially burdensome because of the time of the year when it has been imposed. The period of Durga Puja, Dussehra, Diwali — popularly known as dasai and tauhar in the hills and Dooars — is a time of extra expenses on gifts and new clothes for family and friends.
Gurung’s tyranny ironically reminds one of Subash Ghisingh, the leader of the Gorkha National Liberation Front whom Gurung ousted. Ghisingh had also suppressed the voice of the people by formulating autocratic rules. This finally brought about his downfall. If Gurung does not want to go the Ghisingh way, he and his party should be careful not to hurt the sentiments of the people.
Yours faithfully, Bisham Lamichanay, Darjeeling
Published in The Telegraph, September 21, 2008 http://www.telegraphindia.com/archives/archive.html
Sir — It is outrageous for the Lepchas of the Darjeeling hills to be asked to wear ‘traditional’ attire during the festive season starting from October 7 (“Gurung bid to clear dress code air”, Sept 11). The president of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, Bimal Gurung, has said that “members of the Sherpa, Lepcha, Yolmo and Tamang communities should... sport the daura sural”. The daura sural is the traditional dress of the Gorkhas and not of the other communities mentioned by Gurung. As such, they cannot be made to wear a costume that is not a part of their culture.
Whatever the GJM leaders might say, the Lepchas are the original inhabitants of the Darjeeling hills. It is they who have accommodated and assimilated the Gorkhas into their culture rather than things being the other way round. It is sad for the Lepchas to know that their ‘guests’ have now become so powerful as to force the ‘hosts’ to wear the Gorkha dress. Making all the hill tribes wear similar costumes is an ethnocentric move by Gurung, who clearly wants to dominate the indigenous people. This is nothing but cultural annexation — an unwarranted attempt at control that should not be tolerated.
Yours faithfully, Charisma K. Lepcha, Shillong
Sir — There can be no argument on the fact that the original natives of the Darjeeling hills and Sikkim are the Lepchas. This can be proved, among other things, by the names of the places, rivers or valleys in the region. Unfortunately, the Lepchas have lived as underdogs in their own land for a long time. Things have come to such a pass now that they are being ordered by Bimal Gurung to dress like the Gorkhas while Bengalis or Marwaris are allowed to wear their own attires. Gurung owes the Lepchas an apology for issuing this outrageous diktat.
Yours faithfully, Romong Lepcha, San Francisco, US
Sir — GJM members have threatened those who do not want to accept Bimal Gurung’s dress code with unpleasant consequences. This has created an atmosphere of fear in the hills. Many are resentful but are scared to speak up. Perhaps not surprisingly, Gorkhas are almost as annoyed with the command as those from the other hill communities. This is because the majority of the hill people lead a hand-to-mouth existence. They can ill afford a set of traditional dresses. Gurung’s command is especially burdensome because of the time of the year when it has been imposed. The period of Durga Puja, Dussehra, Diwali — popularly known as dasai and tauhar in the hills and Dooars — is a time of extra expenses on gifts and new clothes for family and friends.
Gurung’s tyranny ironically reminds one of Subash Ghisingh, the leader of the Gorkha National Liberation Front whom Gurung ousted. Ghisingh had also suppressed the voice of the people by formulating autocratic rules. This finally brought about his downfall. If Gurung does not want to go the Ghisingh way, he and his party should be careful not to hurt the sentiments of the people.
Yours faithfully, Bisham Lamichanay, Darjeeling
Published in The Telegraph, September 21, 2008 http://www.telegraphindia.com/archives/archive.html
posted by rongmit @ Monday, September 22, 2008
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