Sreelatha Menon: A cow's leg for tribals

EAR TO THE GROUND

An environment impact assessment report on a hydel project in Dzongu, the holy land of the Lepchas, overlooks the fact that it is banned to the outside world and falls in a biosphere reserve.

What has chastity of women, belief in spirits and gifting of a cow's leg in marriages got to do with hydel power? One needs a consultant to give an answer.

Check this out. This is from an environment impact assessment report commissioned by a company called Teesta Urja Limited and prepared by consultants Wapcos Centre for Environment.

The consultants were asked to assess the impact that a 1,200-Mw hydel power project on Teesta river, called Teesta 3, would have on Dzongu, the ancient settlement of the Lepcha tribals in North Sikkim. The Ministry of Environment Ministry's approval to the project depends on this report.

"Lepchas are animists (having clans named after animals, wherein they worship animals) and believe in many gods and spirits of land, water and trees.''

The consultants definitely were confused about animism and just stopped of calling Lepchas a species of animals who could not write a consultancy report in English like them.

Teesta 3 is one of the 26-odd hydel projects for which the Sikkim government has signed agreements with sundry private companies.

About 60 per cent of Teesta 3 involves work in the holy land of Lepchas, the mountains of Dzongu.

The Lepcha youth, those who had the benefit of an English education and had transcended the "animal" existence attributed to them by the consultants, found this report hard to take. Already aggrieved by handing over of their mountains to the hydel power companies, they protested with a letter, which of course yielded no reply.

The report gives cultural details unsubstantiated by the authors and smacks of voyeurism. It says: "Among Lepchas, marriages are solemnised with the boy's parents offering two cows, a pig, 12 chicken and a mun jad (liquor)...In the bride price, jewellery, land, cloth and a right leg of a cow is offered."

Of course, the report's obsession with cows matches only that of the RSS and it adds: "Gifting a leg of a cow may not be liked by their Hindu counterparts and this (?) may create discontent among the people."

The report skips the essential fact that Dzongu is a place banned to the outside world by the government of Sikkim in order to protect the shy Lepchas and their cultural identity. It also skips the fact that it is a world heritage site and falls in the Kanchendzonga biosphere reserve and national park.

Lepchas may agree to lump the cow's leg but this one really takes their goat. Wapcos says: "Chastity of women at the time of marriage does not hold a lot of importance. Pre-marital and extra- marital relationships are not uncommon.''

The report concludes that the project doesn't hurt anyone, least of all Lepchas and hence can be proceeded with, except that the workers should not mess around with the cows and the girls. The blasting of Dzongu for Teesta 3 is in full swing now.

There are 2,200 workers, which is 10 per cent of the population, and the project will last five years. Remember why Goans threw out the SEZs. But then Lepchas are not Goans.

The unlettered tribals, 1,000 in all, are moving out of nine villages of Dzongu, leaving the educated Lepcha youths to sit on a hunger strike in Gangtok which is now 200 days old, of course, with no one listening.