GANGTOK, Aug 21 � The decision of the State Government to provide special treatment to autochthonous Lepchas of Sikkim in the matter of higher education deserves appreciation.
Ever since the change in the political set up that was induced in the year 1975, the Lepcha people have been relegated in every conceivable field. They could not be blamed for whatever was happening to them in their ancestral home, that is Sikkim, rather they were paying the price of ill-conceived, immature and poorly executed national and State policies where there was no special treatment for this most vulnerable autochthonous tribe, informed a press communique issued by the Sikkimese Bhutia Lepcha Apex Committee (SIBLAC).
The Chogyals of Sikkim had accorded special treatment to autochthonous Lepchas giving due recognition to their anthropological history which is evident in one of their proclamations dated August 30, 1956.
The autochthonous Lepchas who are the blood-brothers of Bhutias deserve special treatment in every policy decision of the Government. It is worth recalling that SIBLAC while issuing its BL Manifesto in the year 2003 has demanded exclusive reservation for Lepchas not only in the field of education, but in employment as well.
