MYTH WITH REGARD TO THE ORIGIN OF BHUJELS

Before the development of Bhujel society, a group of people used to live in and around a place called Hugam (presently located in Western Nepal. A deity (deuta) also used to live in a rock near this place. He used to see a girl from this village every evening. As the time passed the lady got pregnant. She informed her parents about the development and asked them if anyone could help her spot the place of abode of her lover. Her parents advised her to tie a thread on the thumb of his leg when he comes to see her next. When her lover came to see her she did as advised by her parents. In the morning when she followed the thread she found that the thread had entered into the nearby rock. When she pulled the thread the deity shouted inside the rock in pain.

After identifying the residence of the deity the parents of the girl requested him to marry their daughter. As a super-natural being the deity expressed his inability to get married to human being and settle down with them. He, however, advised them that he would bestow upon them the art of easy and permanent methods of living for the descendants of the lady. The deity then gave them the knowledge of field preparation, crop cultivation, and harvesting. He further gave them a pair of bullock, plough, agricultural tools, utensils etc. and he vanished from there.

After sometime the girl gave birth to a boy. As the boy grew up he not only practiced agriculture but also performed hunting. He married his maternal uncle’s daughter after he grew up to be a young man. As he was a very hardworking and intelligent hunter the people started calling him Bhujji (The King of Hunters). The descendents of Bhujji multiplied and spread across Hugam, Taka, Bachri, Kwa, Jgar. Bhujji also constructed a fort at Masa Valley which was known as Bhujikot. Later the whole of the region including Masa Valley came to be known as Bhujikot. Further, all the people living in the region were identified as Bhujels. As time passed, Bhujels were fragmented into various clans. The bhujels residing in Hugam were known as Bura, those living in Taka were called Gharti, bhujels living living in Bachri were called Pun, those living in Kwa were known as Kawas or Khawas and those living in Jgar came to be known as Jarra.

Global Warming and Climate Change: Myth or Reality?

Global warming and consequent changes in the climatic pattern across the geographies of the planet has been a hot topic in recent times across disciplines- natural and social sciences- supported by undue hype of popular media. Many scientists firmly believe global warming is hurting our environment. Even politicians and diplomats have become an integral part of the debate. Hence, global worming has acquired global significance and has found its place in the regional and global geo-politics. Former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan emphasised at the ‘Climate Change Conference in Nairobi’ in November 2006 that climate change is not just an environmental problem, but also a health problem, a security problem and an economic problem for all nations. Today we have largely accepted that planet-wide environmental degradation is occurring and it is a serious concern for all of us.

Situation in the Himalaya

Since the mid-1970s the average air temperature measured at 49 stations of the Himalayan region rose by 1oC with high elevation sites warming the most (Hasnain 2000, WWF 2005). Studies in Nepal (Shrestha et al. 1999) and Tibetan Plateau (Liu et al. 2002) indicate the rising temperature in recent times, with the warming being consistent and continuous after the mid-1970s in Nepal. The average warming in Nepal in its annual temperature between 1977 and 1994 was found to be 0.06oC/year. Incidentally, in both the countries the rate of warming is found to be more pronounced in the high altitude regions than the lower ones. Similarly, the lowland areas of India do not show significant warming trend (WWF 2005) indicating that the Himalaya is more sensitive and affected by climate change. Similar analysis (Shrestha et al. 2000) on precipitation data, however, does not reveal any significant trends in Nepal.

Glacial retreat
One of the worst damages of global warming as revealed by various scientific studies has been the glacier retreat in the mountains and Glacial Lake outburst floods. While such phenomena have occurred due to geologic and geomorphic reasons in the past, scholars argue the rate and frequency of their occurrence have amplified severely in the last couple of decades, and sadly is increasing with time. Geoscientists have revealed a general shrinkage of mountain glaciers on a global scale and the trend was found to be more pronounced during the first half of the 20th century. After about 1950 mountain glaciers again started to grow. However, they again started to retreat with accelerating pace since the 1980s. Based on the scientific investigations, there have been forecasts that up to a quarter of the global mountain glacier mass could disappear by 2050 and up to half could be lost by 2100 (see WWF 2005). In the Himalayan region also glaciers have been found to be in a state of general retreat since 1850 (Mayewski and Jeschke 1979, WWF 2005).

In Nepal, the Khumbu glacier, a popular climbing route to the summit of Mt. Everest, has retreated over 5 km from where Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay set out to conquer Mt. Everest in 1953 according to research findings. Similarly, several other Nepali glaciers are fast retreating in recent decades (see among others Fujita et al. 1998, 2001, Kadota et al. 1997, Seko et al. 1998, WWF 2005). In India situation is no better. Recent scientific studies show that almost all the major Indian Himalayan glaciers are retreating at an increasing pace (see WWF 2005). Of particular importance is Gangotri glacier as it has attracted a massive media attention in recent years. Latest data in this connection shows that Gangotri is retreating at the rate of 23 m/yr. According to the recent research findings, since the last inventory of glaciers and glacial lakes in Bhutan by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in 2001, 120 additional glacial lakes have formed in the mountains (Kuensel 2006: December 03), indicating a rapid pace of glacier retreat in Bhutan Himalaya. It also reveals us the fact that glacier retreat or advance is either caused by natural factors or global environmental changes and that local ecology has little control over it. This is so because Bhutan’s environment is relatively intact and the region still has over 64 per cent of its geographical area under forest.

Glacial Lake outburst flood
Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) is primarily an outcome of glacial melting. They are catastrophic discharges of water resulting primarily from melting glaciers. According to WWF (2005), many of the big glaciers have melted and retreated rapidly and have given birth to the origin of a large number of glacier lakes. Due to the faster rate of ice and snow melting, caused by the global warming, the accumulation of water in these lakes has been increasing rapidly and resulting sudden discharge of large volumes of water and debris and causing flooding in the downstream. An accelerated retreat of the glaciers in recent times has led to an enlargement of several glacial lakes. As the glaciers retreat they leave a large void behind. The ponds occupy the depression earlier occupied by glacier ice. These dams are structurally weak and unstable and undergo constant changes due to slope failures, slumping, etc. and run the risk of causing GLOFs. Characterised by sudden releases of huge amounts of lake water, which in turn would rush down along the stream channel downstream in the form of dangerous flood waves, GLOF waves comprise water mixed with morainic materials and cause devastation for downstream riparian communities, hydropower stations and other infrastructure. Further, Glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) causes disasters to life and property along the downstream, results serious death tolls and destroy valuable forests, and farms. In the long run, glacial retreat/melting and GLOFs tend to threaten regional environmental and human security.

Some of the worlds largest documented historical GLOFs occurred in Karakoram-Himalaya. The damming of upper Shyok River by chongkumdan glacier formed a lake. A sudden outburst from this lake occurred in 1929 and the flood wave traveled down the Shyok River into Indus creating a rise of 8 m, 740 km downstream from ice dam. In Nepal, thirteen GLOFs are observed since 1960 for 30 years duration giving a very high frequency of natural hazards (Yamada 1993, Bahadur 2004). GLOFs are poorly documented but observed to create floods raising water levels up to 100 m (Bahadur 2004). It is considered necessary to have scientific GLOF analysis for design flood of projects in glacier dominated watersheds.


While majority of the scholars link the retreat of glaciers and consequent GLOFs with the process of global warming, there are some scientists who do not agree with this theory. In this connection it would be informative to look into the observations made by Professor Jack D. Ives, a noted geomorphologist, communicated to this writer, in the context of Khumbu glaciers in Nepal Himalaya-

….it has been well documented that the Khumbu glaciers are thinning and retreating and that potentially hazardous glacial lakes are forming. At issue, however, is the degree of hazard, and this appears to have been grossly over-estimated. We must also ask how the occurrence of a natural event (ie jökulhlaup or glacial outburst floods) can be seen as “destroying the environment?” Jökulhlaup are known to have occurred in many glacierized mountain areas and have been documented in the Alps, Alaska, the Canadian Rockies, Karakoram, and Pamir, amongst others. In Iceland, where the actual term jökulhlaup originated, there is a reliable record of destruction of farms and villages extending over several hundred years. Thus, they are not specific to current global warming. So how can a natural process “destroy the environment?”

More significantly, what can anyone, or any institution, do to protect Mount Everest from global warming? The BBC News/South Asia (18 November 2004, online) cautioned that Mount Everest “could one day become nothing but rock,” implying that all its ice and snow would melt. That would require such a large increase in temperature that the entire population of the subcontinent (at least) would likely have died from heat prostration long before Mount Everest were stripped of its ice and snow. In other words, by the time the mountain had been reduced to a bare rock far more serious extra-Himalayan problems would have diverted attention.

Of more immediate concern, however, is that this form of over-dramatic activism runs the risk of substantial misrepresentation. It may also deflect from some of the actual problems facing the Sagarmatha National Park and World Heritage site. These include:

•Severe damage to the upper timberline belt vegetation and the alpine meadows by large numbers of trekkers and their porters;
•An excessive number of mountaineering expeditions permitted by the government;
•Inefficient park management too closely controlled from Kathmandu;
•Environmental damage perpetuated by the Nepalese military;
•The Maoist Insurgency;
•Over-dramatized reporting that may undermine the credibility of environmentalists.

Regardless of the above discussion, before any action is undertaken, the local people, the Sherpas, who have managed to survive quite successfully for several hundred years, need to be consulted. What are their views? How do they rank the problems, both environmental and socioeconomic, that they face? And can they advise all the many friends of the Khumbu worldwide if and how assistance can be provided?

According to Dr. Milap Chand Sharma of Jawaharlal Nehru University, who has done extensive research of glacial geomorphology in the Western Himalaya, “glaciers are the most sensitive parameters of temperature change, both positive and negative. However, global warming is not the reason of glacial retreat. It is a simple cyclic episode” (Down to Earth 2006, 15 December: 30). Further, against the conclusions of conventional geo-science, the recent finding of the scientists at England’s Newcastle University is bit different. According to their analysis of temperature trends in the western Himalaya over the past century, global warming could be causing some glaciers to grow (BBC News 2006: 24 August; The Australian 2006: 04 September). They found warmer winters and cooler summers, combined with heavier snow and rainfall could be causing some mountain glaciers to increase in size. The findings are significant, because temperature and rain and snow trends in the area impact on water availability for several million mountain population. Their research focussed on the Upper Indus Basin. The findings are published in the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Climate (ibid). It is also that, recent scientific study has found out that 106 new glaciers have formed in the mountains of Bhutan since the last inventory of glaciers and glacial lakes in Bhutan by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in 2001 (Kuensel 2006:Decmber 3)

Discussion and Conclusion

Controversy kept aside, we cannot deny the fact that Himalayan glaciers are retreating at an increasing rate in recent times as shown by the majority of the scientific studies. Whether they are natural cyclic episode or result of global warming is not clear to us at this point of time. Further, we are also not confident if global warming, itself, is caused by human activities. The point here, however, is that both warming of Himalayan environment and the consequent melting of glacier pose serious threat to the security of the Himalaya and people living therein and its vicinity. Many of the smaller Mountain streams and natural springs are drying or have dried up. Crops in India have, in the last one-decade, failed so consistently that farmers are committing suicide.The solution to the problem is not so easy. Local steps like checking deforestation and overgrazing in the high altitude areas may not be sufficient enough to check glacial melting. In fact, this is a global problem and needs a global action. We, however, need to act in our own way to check global warming and at the same time keep in touch with other counterparts and see how they react to the problem. It is also that, all scientists associated with the geo-science should come together and work in close cooperation in the interdisciplinary problem of glacier variation with the aim of saving humanity from approaching disaster. Besides, accurate and timely information on the spatial locations and regular monitoring of the glacial lakes' behavior is needed, to supervise and check the GLOF hazards and also assess the damages to be occurred in the near future. Modern information tools such as Remote Sensing and GIS could play a lead role in identifying potential risk lakes and monitoring the GLOF events in near real time.

Select References

BBC News (2006), “Global warming boost to glaciers” August 24, [Online Web] Accessed 26 August 2006, URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/5283278.stm

Liu, Shiyin, Lu Anxin, Ding Yongjian et al. (2002), “Glacier fluctuation and the inferred climatic changes in the A’nyemaqen mountains in the source area of the Yellow river, China”, Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology, 24 (6): 701-707

Penjore, U. (2006), “Glaciers are retreating”, kuensel, December 3, [Online: Web] Accessed 6 Decembr, URL: http://www.kuenselonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7795

Shrestha, A.B., C.P.Wake, P.A. Mayeski and J.E. Dibb (1999), “Maximum temperature trends in the Himalaya and its vicinity: An analysis based on temperature records from Nepal for the period of 1971-97”, Journal of Climate, 12: 2775-2787

Shrestha, A.B., C.P.Wake, P.A. Mayeski and J.E. Dibb (2000), “Precipitation fluctuations in the Himalaya and its vicinity: An analysis based on temperature records from Nepal”, International Journal of Climate, 20: 317-327

WWF (2005), “An overview of glaciers, glacier retreat and subsequent impacts in Nepal, India and China”, Nepal Program: World Wide Fund for nature

Forest Fires in the Himalaya: A Serious Concern

The Himalaya is one of the most vulnerable geographical units of the world susceptible to forest fires. Every year wildfires destroy considerable forest resources in the region. Forest fires occur due to a variety of reasons and may be both natural and human made. Many forest fires start from natural causes such as lightning which set trees on fire. However, rain extinguishes such fires without causing much damage. However, the forest or pasture may be deliberately set on fire by mountain people to induce succulent grass growth for domestic animals. In addition to this, natural vegetative systems sometimes get extensively damaged when fires spread uncontrollably from burning operations carried out in the adjoining agricultural fields. Another common practise is the burning of wild grass or undergrowth to search for wild animals. Unextinguished campfires of trekkers, shepherd camps or roadside charcoal panners may also spread and cause forest fires. Unextinguished cigarette butts and matchsticks are other important causes of accidental forest fires, especially in areas of dry forests. Besides, lightning or sparks from electric poles in dry areas also causes fires. Up to 90 per cent of the Himalayan forest fire is caused by reckless anthropogenic activities (Bajracharya [undated], Chetri 1994, HPDR 2005).

Forest fires occur annually in all the major physiographic/climatic regions of the Himalaya. With the recent large-scale expansion of chirr pine forests in many areas of the Himalaya the frequency and intensity of forest fires has increased. However, the forests of Western Himalaya are more vulnerable to fires as compared to its Eastern counterpart. This is because forests of Eastern Himalayas grow in high rain density.

Forest fires generally occur from November to June. High atmospheric temperatures, dryness and at times prolonged winter offer favourable circumstance for a fire to start. The severity of the fire varies greatly depending upon fire weather, fuel conditions, and physiography. Once the monsoon is established, usually by the middle of June, the fire problem gradually disappears.

Forest Fire in the Himalaya
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Region, Forest susceptible to fire (approx), Tentative period of forest fire
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Jammu and Kashmir 40% -
Himachal Pradesh 50% February to June
Uttaranchal 69% February to June
Nepal 90% (of Terai forest) February to June
Sikkim 40% November to May
Bhutan 50% November to May
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Source: based on literature review

Forest fires cause immense damage to the Himalayan forest and associated biota every year. They pose a threat not only to the forest wealth but also to the entire regime to fauna and flora seriously disturbing the bio-diversity and the ecology and environment of a region. As fires damage the vegetation, the soil is often exposed to and eroded by wind and water. Occasionally, embers from forest fires also cause fires in nearby mountain villages. Many villages are burned every year with loss of lives, cattle and other property. Forest fires also pose serious health hazards by producing smoke and noxious gases. The burning of vegetation gives off not only carbon dioxide but also a host of other noxious gases such as carbon monoxide, methane, hydrocarbons, nitric oxide and nitrous oxide, that lead to global warming and ozone layer depletion. As a result, often, mountain people suffer from serious respiratory problems due to these toxic gases. Burning forests and grasslands further accelerate the already serious threat of global warming. Recent scientific studies suggest that biomass burning may be a significant global source of methyl bromide, which is an ozone depleting chemical.

Forest fires are usually seasonal phenomena, usually occurring during the dry season. They can be prevented by adequate precautions. As over half of the Himalayan forests are affected by annual forest fire, an effective policy on forest fire prevention and control becomes extremely important. While we do not have a comprehensive national policy in this regard successive Five Year Plans of India have provided funds for forests fighting. Surprisingly, in Nepal forest fire management is not in practice even at present times. The community forest user groups control forest fires in their own forests, although they do not have a plan for systematic prevention and control of fires (Bajracharya [undated]). With respect to Bhutan we do not have any reliable information towards this end.

It would be informative to note the recommendations of modern Forest Control Project that was taken up in five districts of Uttaranchal in early 1990s in view of the frequent and severe forest fires in the region.

They include:

• Development and demonstration of modern fire control techniques
• Preparation of division wise fire management plans
• Estimation of forest fires
• Development and application of a forest danger rating system
• Training of personnel
• Full fire protection of timber depots.
• Manufacture of fire finders and hand tools within the country and standardisation of fire control equipment

The Other Aspect of River Teesta


River Teesta, along with its many tributary streams, is a life line of Darjeeling-Sikkim Hills and downstream plain areas. However, Teesta river system also displays its other aspect with horrific characteristics during monsoon season every year causing severe human-monetary-environmental miseries in the region and lowlands lying downstream. During this period the river becomes a major source of human insecurity.


River Teesta originates from the glaciers of north Sikkim at about 21000 ft. above mean sea level. It flows for about 107 miles in the mountainous region of Sikkim and Darjeeling Himalaya before it emerges at Sevok Railway Bridge into the alluvial plains of Bengal. The river traverses another 60 miles on North-Bengal plains and enters into Bangladesh. Thereafter it flows for a length of about 83 miles in Bangladesh before joining the mighty Brahmaputra at Chilmari in North West Bangladesh. While Teesta itself is a tributary river of mighty Brahmaputra the principal tributaries of Teesta include rivers like the great Rangit, Lish, Gish, Cheel, Neora, Relli etc. Almost all of them flow through Darjeeling and Sikkim Hills. The flows of Teesta River vary widely between different seasons. While the peak flood flow during the monsoon months (June-September) rise up to 0.5 million cusecs, the dry season flow dwindles to a mere 5,000 cusec during the dry season (in the month of February).

An Explosive River

River Teesta has with it valleys extremely prone to cloudbursts, landslides and flash foods. Further, deep and dense gullies and associated streams; rapid toe erosion; loose, jointed and fractured rocks and high intensity of rainfall in Teesta Basin have compelled experts to believe that probably Teesta is the wildest river in the whole of Himalayan Region. The landscape of the valley is being continuously reworked by natural forces and majority of the present slopes have been formed by earlier landslides. Scientists say that the explosive character of the Teesta Valley can be attributed to intense rainstorms in the region. River Teesta floods its basin and the associated downstream area badly every year during the monsoon causing unprecedented human-environment-monetary misery.

Of all the Himalayan Rivers, Teesta has the highest sediment yield. It, approximately, brings down 98 cum of silt per hectare of its catchment per year giving an annual denudation rate of 9.8 mm per year. And surprisingly, this is among the highest denudation rates estimated for any river valley in the world. Scientists have estimated the average denudation rate for the Darjeeling Himalaya alone in the order of 0.5 mm to 5 mm during a normal year. But during a year of catastrophic floods such as 1968, the denudation rate for that year can possibly go up to 20 mm. It is important to learn that monsoon rainfall is greater in Eastern Indian Himalaya than in its western counter part. Within eastern Himalaya again the rainfall is intense in Sikkim and Darjeeling Himalaya. The reason being: with the Rajmahal hills situated to the west and the Shillong plateau to the east there is no mountain range to protect the Teesta Valley from the sweeping monsoon winds rising from the Bay of Bengal. As a result the summer monsoon directly hits the foothills and the lesser Himalayan ranges of Darjeeling and Sikkim and gives the Teesta Valley exceedingly high burst of rainfall ranging between 3000 mm to 6000 mm every year.

According to Hunter’s Statistical Account of Bengal, Teesta was originally a river of Ganga basin. The Teesta River which at present times flows down from the Darjeeling and Sikkim hills into Bangladesh to meet up with the Brahmaputra used to flow into the Mahananda and the Ganga in Bihar about 220 years ago. In 1787, due to heavy flood and devastating earthquake Teesta shifted its course to Brahmaputra basin. If such sudden river capture occurs today, it will sweep away thousands of villages in a gigantic flash flood.

Kalimpong: An Inheritance of Loss!


As a fellow local of Kalimpong, I was compelled to get hold of Kiran Desai’s ‘Inheritance of Loss’ that came into limelight after it clinched through the Booker Prize, 2006. Several reviews in national dailies, reputed magazines and internet, floating of late, many praising the literary merit of the novel while others criticising her mocking attitude towards Nepali speakers and Kalimpong, supplied added impetus to me to lay my hands on the award winning work. The novel, although not directly based, has a foundation in Kalimpong Town located in the western part of Darjeeling Hills in Eastern Himalayas.

Reading through the pages, I immediately had an impression that there was an ample scope for any educated locals to be annoyed given the manner in which author has handled Kalimpong, its diverse ethnic groups, and the on-going Gorkhaland Agitation of the 1980s. The narratives clearly highlight her lack of correct understanding of the socio-cultural and economic dynamics operating in the area. Among many of the qualms that have perturbed the educated locals in Kalimpong forcing them to launch protests across spaces of the town, few of them may briefly be summarised.

First, Kalimpong is not as bad during monsoons as highlighted by Kiran Desai. Although it rains heavily and at times spontaneously during the period, the dreadfulness of reptiles, lizards, moths, rats and such other insects are the only imaginations far from reality. The town is located at an altitude of over 1,250 metres and has a moderate climate ranging from between 15°C to 25°C in summer and 7°C to 15°C in winter, offering year round comfort. Hence, there are no questions of sub-tropical organisms bothering human except during exceptional circumstances.

Second, the author has been unable to differentiate between the Nepali speakers who have been bonafide Indian citizens and those with Nepal citizen but working in Kalimpong on a seasonal basis. Moreover, her parallel treatment of the immigration issue in United States conveys a bad impression to the global readers about Indian Nepalis living in Kalimpong and elsewhere in Darjeeling Hills. American immigrants and Indian Nepali speakers in Darjeeling hills cannot be compared. Kalimpong along with other parts of Darjeeling was once a unit of Sikkim. While Kalimpong was snatched away by Bhutan for a brief period, other parts of Darjeeling Hills were taken over by Nepal and subsequently Darjeeling Hills including Kalimpong was taken over by British India. Hence, it is historically obvious, the region was bound to evolve as a melting pot of ethnic diversity- Lepchas, Bhutias, Nepalis, and Bengalis. Further, the development of market, introduction of tea and trade with Tibet from Kalimpong gradually encouraged other social groups- Biharis, Marwaris, Tibetans and others- to find spaces for themselves in the region. Therefore, signaling time and again that Indian Nepalis are immigrants from Nepal will not hold good.

Third, the novel clarifies us that Indian Nepali speakers of Kalimpong were brought generations ago to work on British tea plantations from Nepal. This is simply not true. Out of the total functioning tea gardens in Darjeeling Hills Kalimpong sub-division accommodates only four of them. They were introduced in Kalimpong much after the British left India. Kalimpong is largely an agrarian economy. Paddy, maize, millet, buckwheat, ginger, cardamom, orange, and more recently horticulture and floriculture are the backbones of regional economy of Kalimpong. Hence, Nepali speakers in Kalimpong did not immigrated as plantation labours but as subsistent agriculturists. Further, migration had been taking place in and across the area much before the British set their foot in the region.

Fourth, Inheritance of Loss talks of Gorkhaland Agitation but fails to understand many facets of the movement’s dynamics. It traces its root to the annexation of Sikkim into the Indian Territory and also the rising insurgencies in the north-east India. Such error on the part of author only reflects the fact she did not do her history homework properly. Ethnic discontentment in Darjeeling started long before the country saw its independence – around 1907 if not earlier. Moreover, mention of communal divide during the agitation is totally uncalled for. There were no instances of any kind of political harassment-s on communal line. It was largely a united struggle against the age old state regression. At rare cases, however, resident Bengalis were suspected as agents of state and the ruling comrades, whom Gorkhas hated the most. She, however, declares in one of her recent interviews “The political information is accurate to my knowledge and based on my memories and the stories of everyone I know there”.

Further, it is clear from her writing that Desai could not familarise herself with Nepali language as she never uses Nepali proverbs and jargons to substantiate the local characters of Kalimpong, although she uses Hindi slang here and there. She, however, boasts of living and studying in Kalimpong before they left the place. One of the recent reviews further tells us that the author lived in Kalimpong for six weeks in 2002 for the purpose of research while she was in the process of writing her novel.

Needless to say, however, as one of the editorials in a leading news daily rightly pointed out, “Art is a point of view; it is reality recast and dramatised through imagination and, if it hurts, one must simply pretend it is fiction, which it is in any case”. Fellow locals in Kalimpong should have to be logical and be in charge of their emotions. It’s a fiction and nothing more than that!

Revisiting Himalayan Dilemma

The monsoon has already spread its tentacles across the vast expanses of South Asia. It’s now time, once again, to hit the headlines of national as well as international news dailies and reputed magazines with stories of floods across the Gangetic - India and Bangladesh and resultant human-monetary-environment tragedy therein. By the end of the year a number of research papers too will be published, often based on stories of media reports, popular magazines and comments of some organizational heads working on environment. That is that; it is not a new story. Every year during the monsoon the Himalayan region appears in the headlines because of large scale flooding in the plains of Ganges and Brahmaputra. As usual, this is also the time to go through the yearly practice of accusing farmers of the Himalayas, particularly the Nepal Himalaya, for sending down the floods in ever-higher volumes.

Floods occur on the Gangetic plain and Bangladesh every year largely due to their geo-environmental locations. We have, however, never been clear as to what extent of floods occur due to natural phenomenon and to what extent human activities like deforestation in the upstream or building of embankments downstream are responsible for increasing the inundation and deteriorating the flood situation in modern times. It is also not clear whether the floods are increasing in frequency and intensity over the decades, as is strongly claimed. In fact, recent work (Hofer, T. and Messerli, B., The United Nations University Press, 2006 in press) indicates that there has been little or no increases in frequency or intensity of flooding over the past 200 years.

Theory of Himalayan Degradation and Down-stream Floods

Environmental gossipmongers over the last 3 decades have been, nonetheless, accusing the Himalayan environmental degradation as a pertinent factor resulting in the monsoon tragedy on the Gangetic plain and Bangladesh. They say wanton deforestation in the Himalaya by poor farmers is responsible for flooding, which has been allegedly increasing with time. Such a thesis, based not on scientific fact but on assumption and emotion, that ignorant mountain minority farmers are devastating the forests and consequently causing serious down stream environmental and socio-economic damage is popularly known as the Theory of Himalayan Environmental Degradation.

Professor Jack D. Ives writes in his recent book: Himalayan Perception- Environmental Change and the well being of mountain people (2004) ‘The Himalayan degradation theory proposes that increased devastating flooding on the Ganges and Brahmaputra lowlands is a direct response to extensive deforestation in the Himalaya. The deforestation is presumed as a result of a rapid growth in the mountain subsistence farming populations dependent on the forests for fodder and fuel and for conversion to terraced agriculture. As steep mountain slopes are denuded of forest cover, it is assumed that the heavy monsoon rains cause accelerated soil erosion, numerous landslides, and increased runoff and sediment transfer onto the plains inducing a progressive increase in flooding of Gangetic India and Bangladesh and hence putting at risk the lives of several hundred million people’. Ives strongly criticizes this theory based on the 25 years of research that he and his team have carried out in the region. According to Dr. T. Hofer, physical geographer at the University of Berne and FAO scientist, ‘such a supposedly scientific chain of events has served as an expedient tool for both the plains politician and his counterpart in the hills. For the former, it has been useful in times of flood-related crises to pin the blame on the peasantry of a remote region. His hill counterpart, meanwhile, was amenable to accepting the blame because bad science was presented to him as fait accompli and also because the aid agencies funded reforestation programmes in the bargain’.

The genesis of the theory can be traced to the GTZ-UNESCO conference of December 1974 in Munich, if not earlier. The summery report of the proceedings noted ‘these mountain regions are seriously and increasingly affected by processes of deforestation, soil erosion, improper land use, and poor water management. Overuse of mountain environments has a widening impact on the plains with downstream floods, the siltation of dams and harbours and on the damage of crops and of homesteads’. Eckholm’s paper published in Science (1975) and his book Losing Ground (1976) supporting the Himalayan Degradation Theory added fuel to the fire. His arguments dominated mountain environment and development thought for over 15 years and are influential even at present times in many areas of government and institutional decision making. Subsequently, the World Bank in its report (1979) predicted a total loss of accessible forest cover in Nepal by 2000. Today intellectuals laugh at the predictions of the World Bank given the fact that Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal has forest cover as intact as it was in 1970s. Several other reputed institutes, including the World Resources Institute (1985), Asian Development Bank (1982), and Centre for Science and Environment (1982, 1991) spoke with great authority in similar terms.

The Bangladesh Observer (June 2, 1990) under the headline ‘Deforestation in the Himalaya Aggravating Floods’ reported the comments of Dr. Tolba, then Executive Director, UNEP, stating ‘…the chronic deforestation in the Himalayan watersheds was already complicating and compounding seasonal floods in Bangladesh…700,000 people died in Bangladesh in 1970 because of flooding’. Many well-known academicians, foresters, environmentalists, journalists and technocrats were not behind in highlighting their points supporting the cause. As a result, the theory of Himalayan Environmental Degradation became all time strong in the 80s.

In the mean time, (donor) agencies, supported by the vested interests in government departments, NGOs, academics, media, and politics were busy repeating the same story over and over across the countries of the region. The lack of scientific confirmation did not deter them from engaging in passionate condemnation of upstream inhabitants for the inundation of South-Asian lowlands, particularly in years when the floods were high. Scholars argue today that it was nothing more than environmental geo-politics in order to enlarge the development budgets and expand and prolong the development projects by vested interests, both from within and outside the region.

The Anti-thesis

The theory of Himalayan degradation and consequent flooding of Gangetic India and Bangladesh started receiving critical review from the academics undertaking research in the Himalayan region from around mid-1980s. Several research groups and individuals began detailed studies and also became aware of each other’s work through research journals like Mountain Research and Development. Further, the Mohonk conference on the ‘Himalaya-Ganges Problem’ in May 1986 served as an initial platform to debunk the theory of Himalayan environmental degradation. The very objective of the conference was to discuss, debate and investigate the prevailing Himalayan environmental paradigm of the 1970s and 1980s. The conference paved the way for the publication of The Himalayan Dilemma: Reconciling Development and Conservation (1989) under the authorship of two great scholars, Jack D. Ives and Bruno Messerli, where the authors challenged the prevailing Himalayan environmental notion with several scientific evidences and asked for a more focused and rigorous empirical research in order to substantiate the many environmental issues that had been raised. Since 1989 a vast amount of related environmental research has been undertaken. Although scattered widely across the literature, majority of them support the findings of Ives and Messerli.

Among other scientific findings, data collected and analysed between 1992 and 1996 by a Bangla-Swiss team led by Bruno Messerli and Thomas Hofer provides scientific evidence to further disprove the Himalayan Degradation Theory and presents new suggestions as to the cause of Bangladesh floods. The study clarifies: ‘floods in Bangladesh and India are largely independent of human activities in the upper catchment areas. Neither the frequency nor the volume of flooding has increased in Bangladesh over the last 120 years. Precipitation and runoff in the Himalaya do not seem to be important causes of floods in Bangladesh’.

It is now clear that there was hardly any rigorous environmental research carried out in the Himalayan region prior to 1980 and the account of the alarmist Himalayan degradation discourse in both the academic and popular literature was based upon supposition and emotion that entered policy formulation. Such discourse subsequently entered into the environmental and development politics of the region. According to Professor Ives, ‘examination of many of the reports prepared for aid agencies and local governments are particularly revealing- successive consultants simply reproduced the conclusions of their predecessors. There were exceptions although; the ‘white noise’ was almost overwhelming’.

The basic objective of this note is not to claim that the Himalayas are as green and pure as they were. Environmental situations have been changing across spaces of the globe and the Himalayas cannot be an exception. In this connection, mention should be made that environmental problems in several parts of the Himalaya are serious and in some places severe needing immediate scientific attention. However, it is important also to understand that the environmental degradation theory which openly blames poor subsistence mountain farmers for degrading the Himalayan environment and levels them as direct agents of Indo-Gangetic plain and Bangladesh floods is not true. Such a theory became prominent over the years due to vested interests, environmental politics, popular writings and massive media support without any scientific rigour. Today, it is accepted at least among researchers that the assumed environmental threat of the Himalayas on South Asian lowlands advocated by the Theory of Himalayan Environmental Degradation is far from truth. Rather, there are other pertinent forces including geomorphic, administrative/policy related, developmental, (geo)political, and ethnic/religious (including terrorism) that have played major role in directing the human security paradigm over the years and have acted as dominant factors of instability in the region. The tragedy of this situation is that poor mountain people, as in many other parts of the world, have become victims of convenience. This process has diverted attention away from the real problems – repression and/or neglect of minorities, social unrest and poverty, corruption, all of which contribute to the current violence that affects much of the region.

Dwindling Forest Resource in Darjeeling Hills

“During an aerial survey of the Pirpanjal terrain, in 1988, Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah saw the wanton denudation of a compartment at Sangarwani, in Pulwama-Pakharpora belt of south-west Kashmir. He saw wood-poachers felling the green coniferous trees in broad daylight. Without losing a moment, he took the extreme step by way of ordering the premature retirement of senior Forest officials. Several officers were fired on account of their negligence and failure to strike on timber-smugglers. His drastic measure evoked widespread appreciation”

The above statement was reported by the Pioneer, leading news daily, published from Chandigarh, sometimes in 2000.

Human beings along with their ambitious development matrixes are posing serious threats to their own livelihood, destroying the ecological bases that sustain them. The forests are being exploited both legally and illegally for their timber without realising that trees are only secondarily producers of timber. Their primary function is to promote rain, absorb moisture and recharge ground water. The economic benefits of forests, in terms of climate control, pollution abatement, and wildlife maintenance, have rarely been calculated. The economic importance of non-timber forest products is also increasing. The forest is also vital as a watershed. Because of the thick humus layer, loose soil, and soil-retaining powers of the trees' long roots, forests are vitally important for preserving adequate water supplies. Almost all water ultimately feeds from Forest Rivers and lakes and from forest-derived water tables. In addition, the forest provides recreation and aesthetic renewal for people, and irreplaceable supplies of oxygen and soil nutrients.

Dwindling Forest Cover in Darjeeling Hills

Forests of Darjeeling Hills are in a dire need of similar aerial survey as highlighted above. Our forest resource has been degrading and depleting with time. There is a huge gap between the area under forest and actual forest cover in the region. This gap is rapidly increasing with time. Further, even within a particular area covered with forest the density of trees has been falling on a massive scale since the last 15-20 years. It is believed Darjeeling Hills today has less than 30 per cent of its land under forest cover, strictly speaking. However, as per the records of Forest Department, over 36 per cent of its land is under forest cover. Mention should be made here that as per government of India’s recommendation 60 per cent of the geographical area of hills and mountains should be covered with forest.

Factors of Forest Degradation

There are a number of factors working in tandem towards the degradation of our forest resource. Two important factors may briefly be discussed here.

First, forests in Darjeeling Hills are under the overall control and maintenance of two administrative entities. They are the Department of Forest, West Bengal and Darjeeling Gorkha Hill council. Management of about 70 sq kms protected forests and unclassified forests are with the executive power of DGHC while reserved forests are under the control of forest department of the state. Such divisions of forest responsibility in Darjeeling Hills have not proved beneficial to our forest resource over the years. The forest protectors have failed to coordinate between themselves and as a consequence proved futile in protecting and sustainably managing our forests.

Secondly, if we visit forest areas across the countryside it will not be difficult for us to observe the difference in the density of forest cover at present times and about two decades ago. There was time when these forests were so dense that it was scary for a human to travel alone. Today these forests have been witnessing massive selective timber smuggling. A visit to a number of villages and discussion with the villagers involved in this illegal but thriving business provides us much light about the whole process that need to be briefly noted here: Majority of the rural timber smugglers are semi-literate but there are often educated unemployed youths too involved in the business. They understand that they are not doing justice to their forest resource and associated environs but they say they have no other economic options. Unemployment and threatened livelihood security are cited to be the principal causes of forcing the villagers to get involved in this easy but often risky business. It is ironical to point out here that the villagers confided to this writer that they have been successful in taking the forest guards into confidence over the years. They bestow the forest guards and sometimes forest officer-s at local levels certain percentage of their illegal earning and it is done. The only hurdle in their ‘operation forest’ after taking into confidence the forester-s is that they have to operate their entire business cycle in dark at night. The semi-processed as well as completely processed timbers are usually supplied to the already fixed client-s in urban locations comprising of urban middle class, in majority of cases. This means, to a large extent, wooden furniture and other associated family items in our urban lower and middle class households are made up of illegally supplied teaks and such other economically valuable species supplied at much lesser rate than what is prevalent in the market.

JFM in Darjeeling Himalaya

It is important to highlight here that Joint Forest Management (JFM) scheme was initiated in 1990-91 in Darjeeling Hills. On the paper today, there are over 73 Forest Protection Committees functioning in Darjeeling hills covering an area of over 19406 ha. This constitutes more than 30 per cent of the total forest area in the region. As the largest sub-division of hills, Kalimpong has the largest number of FPCs under its fold. This writer was surprised to learn, after his informal discussion with the villagers, that an ordinary rural soul does not even know what ‘Joint Forest Management (JFM)’ exactly is let alone the noble principles and rural/grass root empowerment that it carries along with it. This means there is an appreciable gap between the figures as highlighted in our official records and actual implementation of the Programme.

Ironically, one of the senior forest officials in the region posted a note to People’s Commission on Environment and Development India’s website in the 1990s highlighting the success of JFM in Darjeeling Hills. It may be relevant to quote a passage from his note:

‘Before formally registering FPCs, motivation camps are held to explain to the local people the basic concepts of the JFM scheme and the role of FPCs. The point that was sought to be driven home is that ecological restoration of denuded forests is linked to their economic well-being. Besides training, a host of support activities aimed at providing economic security to the people are also undertaken. They include eco-development works like construction of new village roads, culverts, ponds, ring wells , school buildings , etc. and the repair of old ones. Vocational support and training in bee-keeping, mushroom growing, pisciculture, and floriculture are also imparted. Inter-cultivation of fodder grasses, medicinal and other economically useful plants are allowed between main tree species in plantations. All such activities are community-oriented and eco-friendly in nature. Training in knitting and sewing are organised to improve the women’s economic status. Employment by the Forest Department is a part of the income generation programme. As support activities, the laboratories for production of mushroom spawn have been set up in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Sukna. They cater to the needs of mushroom growers. Fire-wood and small timber centres have been set up in different parts of Darjeeling district to meet the local people’s needs’.

Elsewhere in the note, he also writes, ‘The reduction in illicit felling and theft of forest produce can be attributed to the joint efforts of the staff of the division and the forest protection committees’. Nothing of the sort, as noted in the quoted passage above has ever happened or happening in Darjeeling Hills, at least not in the villages that this writer visited. If the average rural masses do not have even heard about JFM where is the question of its successful implementation in Darjeeling Hills?

It is high time that we internalise the fact that Darjeeling Hills with its rich and unique biological diversity is facing a deep crisis. It is being relentlessly denuded of its rich forest cover for which we all are responsible. Starting from mis-coordination between the protecting institutions followed by lethargy and highhandedness among the forest professionals, down to opportunistic attitude of a section of villager-s, not to talk of prevailing corruptions, have over the years inflicted large scale destruction to our forest resource, beyond the naturally rejuvenating capacity of forest ecology. The impacts of such onslaught are in front of us to experience: our natural springs and small streams (the only sources of drinking and domestic water) are rapidly drying up; the occurrence, frequency and intensity of landslides and flashfloods have increased; the ratio of barren and wasteland is increasing; monsoon has been showing us its fluctuating behaviour; and there is a variation in temperature in recent years; to name only the few. Forests of Darjeeling Hills must be protected from further damage from human depredation. They have to be rejuvenated so that their past wounds are healed. Considerable study and work need to be done towards this end.
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