Gangtok, Sikkim: Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Saturday said his government has taken several steps to promote the Lepcha language and heritage, including extending its teaching to government colleges and universities.
Speaking at the Tendong Lho Rum Faat celebrations here, Tamang announced that Hee-Gyathang Senior Secondary School in Dzongu would be developed as a Chief Minister’s Model School, calling it a “gift” to the Lepcha community.
Tamang said the Tendong Lho Rum Faat festival was a reminder of the Lepcha community’s deep-rooted relationship with nature and its traditional homeland, Mayel Lyang.
Recalling the traditional story of Mount Tendong, he said the festival represented gratitude towards nature and carried a responsibility to protect the environment.
Tamang highlighted the Lepcha community’s contribution to Sikkim’s history, literature, music, arts and traditional knowledge, and said development must go hand in hand with preserving language, culture, identity and the environment.
Sikkim CM highlights steps to promote Lepcha language, culture and heritage
He said the government had taken several steps to promote Lepcha language and heritage, including extending its teaching to government colleges and universities and creating an Assistant Professor post for the language.
The government has also sought inclusion of Lepcha, Bhutia and Limboo languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, he said.
On cultural preservation, Tamang highlighted the collaboration with UNESCO for documenting and reviving Ru-Soam, the traditional Lepcha cane and bamboo bridge-making tradition. The Stairway to Heaven project at Daramdin, he said, had reached 70 per cent completion.
He also announced that 166 Lepcha students had received assistance for higher education under the Chief Minister’s Education Assistance Scheme.
Tamang underlined the government’s environmental initiatives, including ‘Mero Rukh Mero Santati’, ‘Mero Bato Mero Bot’, Sikkim Paryavaran Parv, A Day for Mother Earth and the Payment for Ecosystem Services programme.
Under Mero Rukh Mero Santati, 2,077 families have benefited through the Shishu Samriddhi Yojana at an investment of Rs 2.24 crore, he said.
The chief minister also stressed the need to preserve traditional knowledge while embracing modernisation, saying the two must move together.
The celebrations also saw the presentation of a record certificate to Tamang for the largest gathering of Tungbuk players after 32 musicians performed on the traditional Lepcha instrument at Ridge Park on Friday.
The chief minister presented the land parcha to the Sikkim Lepcha Association for construction of a Lepcha Bhawan in Gangtok. The Ru-Soam documentation was also formally released.
Three community awards were presented during the programme – the Tendong Award to Pasong Namgyal Lepcha, the G B Mainwaring Award to Pushpa Choden Thomas Lepcha and the Lha Tshering Kunchudyangmu Award to Leezong Lepcha.
Among those felicitated were Gnersongmit Lepcha, the first Lepcha woman to summit Mount Everest, who reached the peak on May 21 as part of the ITBP Women’s Everest Expedition.
Minister G T Dhungel, who is also chairman of the Tendong Lho Rum Faat celebrations committee, said the festival was central to preserving Lepcha language, customs and traditional knowledge.
Committee president and MLA-cum-Advisor Delay Namgyal Barfungpa also stressed the need to pass the community’s cultural traditions and knowledge to younger generations.
Speaker M N Sherpa, Cabinet Ministers, MLAs, advisors, chairpersons, senior officials, representatives of Lepcha organisations and other dignitaries attended the celebrations. PTI COR RG