Himalayan Times (1953)

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' June £8, H53

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UiTTERS TO THE EDITOR

Tht Editor i* not reipomible for vieiri exp ' >n Util column
Ed. H. Timei

NEPAU OR INDIAN ?

Sir, I happened to meet a French
tourist the other day. A pretty long
conversation followed, and he put me
several questions but finally he put me
two questions, which were apparently
very simple ones. But I realised later
on that the questions were not so simple
as to elicit prompt answers. I felt
that my spontaneous answers were fraught
with ridicule. . . '

mo first question being Who are
you ?”, my reply was * I am a Nepali”.
“What is Nepali he said. My impression
was that he was not aware of the word
‘‘Nepali”, and I was very much puzzled.
It, however; struck me after some time
to tell him that Nepali and Gorkha are
one and the same.

He paused for a moment and said.
“Why didn't you'tell me' that you are
a Gurkha ?. You people are known to
the World as Gurkhas, a race of brave
and born soldiers ’. I had no other
alternative than to acknowledge this.
I feel'.that it would not be otherwise
with anybody, similarly placed.

His second question- was ‘‘Why
don’t; you, the people of India, claim
or regard yourselves as Indians ?
Havo all of you forgotten so soon the
words.-of the g'eatest. man of. the age,
Mahatma Gandhi the Father of your
Nation, who strove so hard to achieve
the Independence of India for you and.
your future generations ?”.’ He went on
to say that it' was .his very unpleasant
experience to be told everywhere that
. one was of a particular community first.
Thus his ’ remarks were that we had not
been able to discard the dirty clothes
that someone had made us put on in
the past. His painful experience was
that to whatever part*) of the country
he went, he never'got the opportunity

to hear from the people concerned that
they claimed themselves to be Indians.
What puzzled him was ‘what India is
and where Indians are”. The people of
Madras would say they were Madrasis,
those of Bengal would say they were
Bengalis, those of Bibar would say they
were Biharis, those of Assam would say
they were Assames and so on. It was,
indeed, a very painful picture of the
disclosure of diversity of the different
types of people living in the country.

To oum up, hia observation was
that we made a sad mistake in claiming
ourselves not as Indians, but otherwise.
His feeling was that the different types
of people living in this country had
better claim themselves to be Indians.

I need not say that his remarks
made me feel ashamed. This was more
so in view of the clashing interests
nursed by the' people of India living in
the different parts of the country. The
question for consideration is whether this
will be an eye opener to all indulging in
sectarian interests. Yours etc. M.N. Chhetri.

IN MEMORIAM

t Sir, My uncle, the late Sirdar Sahib
Dr. Yen Singh, died in April, 1950,
after more than thirty years’ unselfish
service as a medical practitioner in Dar-
jeeling town. Hardly a single homo
there, but has not benefited, at some
time or the other, from his prescriptions
and ministrations. The present Victoria
Hospital buildings were constructed while
he was Medical Officer in Charge. It is
my humble prayer to the authorities,
that the road running up from the
Motor Stand, Darjeeling, past the Victoria
Hospital upto Mt. Pleasant Road, bo
renamed ‘Yen Singh Road' in his memory.

I am sure that if the issue were put to a
poll, it would receive unanimous support.
Through your worthy paper, I beseech all
his friends and wellwishers to endorse this

plea of mine. Yours etc. A. 0. Silling,

FOR PHILIPS LAMPS : DARJEELING RADIO CO., DARJEELING