Skip to content Skip to navigation

Jesuit-Salesian study notes development induced displacement in Sikkim

A major study on displacement of peoples in Sikkim was released at a 3-day International Seminar on “North East: Peoples, Power and Perspectives” held at Sikkim Central University, Tadong.
At the inaugural session of the seminar on 24 November 2016, Vice Chancellor, Prof. T.B. Subba released the Jesuit-Salesian authored book Teesta on the Run: Development-Induced Displacement in Sikkim, 1975-2010.

The study lists some 65,000 people in Sikkim are victims of development induced displacement, i.e. more than 10 per cent of the entire population of the state. The statistics for development induced displaced population for the entire country numbers more than 65 million people.

The Department of Economics, Salesian College Sonada assisted the Director of North East Social Research Centre, Guwahati, Dr Walter Fernandes in the research project funded by ICSSR, New Delhi.
The field work included gathering the land alienation for various projects from the district level land records and gathering the status of the displaced persons from over 300 interview questionnaires undertaken by a team of four researchers.

Jesuit Father (Dr) Fernandes at his intervention prior to the release of the book highlighted the findings of the study saying, “Sikkim, has had 10% of its relatively small population in the mountainous state displaced and the vast majority have not been adequately compensated nor rehabilitated.”

The 352-page study was part of an All India effort to create a reliable data base with the hope of making a contribution to awareness building among the Displaced Persons - Project Affected Peoples and decision makers about the need to develop policies in favour of the marginalized.

Among three authors of the study are Dr Walter Fernandes, Prof. George Thadathil and Ms Bitopi Dutta.

Dr Fernandes is former director of Indian Social Institute (New Delhi) and 22 years editor of Social Action (1977-99) as well as founder director of North Eastern Social Research Centre (NESRC) Guwahati (2000-11) and director of research at Animation and Research Centre, Yangoon (2013-15). He is at present Senior Fellow at NESRC.

Principal of Salesian College Sonada-Siliguri and author of Vision from the Margin (2007) Prof Thadathil has five edited volumes and over 30 published articles. He is also the series editor of SALESIAN - Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, and director of Salesian Research Centre.

Formerly Research Associate at NESRC after her Masters from TISS Mumbai (2012) Ms Dutta has studied development induced displacement, traditional tribal conflict resolution methods and gender and sexuality. She also co-founded the first queer collective called Xukia.

Even though the Supreme Court interpreted Article 21 of the Constitution on right to life as every citizen’s right to a life with dignity, studies indicate that those who pay the price and get the benefits of development belong to two different classes.

Dr Fernandes says, “That possibility turns displacement into a human rights issue and provides socially conscious scholars with a platform to intervene in the debate on the impact of development on the livelihood losers.”

The first phase of the study for 1975-2007 in Sikkim and 1947-2007 in Nagaland was done in these two states together and was completed in June 2011.

In 2014-15, the above study’s Sikkim section was separated and updated to 2010, and is published in the present volume.

While chapter 1 gives the core concepts, chapter 2 discusses the methodology of study and chapter 3 presents the background of Sikkim. The remaining chapters give quantitative data on land loss and displaced people. The concluding chapter has suggestions for conclusive development.

Most decision makers view development only as economic or GDP growth and building infra structure and consider displacement linked to it sad but inevitable.

On the other side those who want inclusive development hold that economic and social growth should go hand in hand and that one cannot be sacrificed for the other. They are of the view that in the present situation those who are deprived of their sustenance in the name of national development and those who get its benefits belong to two different classes and that the former are impoverished for the comforts of the latter.

The study on which this publication is based tested this hypothesis through a quantitative data base on the extent of land used for projects from 1975 to 2010 and the number of displaced persons. It then looked at the impact on those who pay the price of development.

In the end, one is left with the impression that the GDP growth based view prevails in development planning in India. Hence, the authors recommend new approaches to be found not merely to rehabilitation but also to the laws and to technical aspects of the project that deprive people of their livelihood.

Add new comment

Random Stories

Illegal saw mill seized

3 Sep 2016 - 7:51pm | Shajid Khan
Acting on a tip-off a team of forest officials of Dhansiri Forest Division and 37 Bn SSB seized a saw machine and cache of valuable timber logs at Jhargaon near Khoirabari of Udalguri district on...

Tusker found dead

1 Apr 2015 - 6:36pm | Jayanta Kumar Das
A ten years old wild tusker has been found dead near Nonai tea garden inside Khalingduar Reserve Forest in Udalguri district on April 1. According to eye witnesses the tusker could have died...

Katakey panel to probe Golaghat firing

30 Aug 2014 - 11:16am | AT News
Justice (retd) BP Katakey will probe the circumstances leading to the police firing in Golaghat town and its adjoining areas on August 20, 2014. The Assam government has issued the formal...

Serial blasts rock Tinsukia

15 Aug 2016 - 4:18pm | AT News
Despite tight security arrangement suspected ULFA(I) rebels exploded a series of blasts in Tinsukia district on Monday to make its strength felt. The first explosion took place at the Indira Gandhi...

Other Contents by Author

Former Chancellor of Assam Don Bosco University is set on a national youth mission experimenting with a new ‘wake up call’ training college students. The first of the seres was held at the School of Social Sciences and Engineering at Rajagiri College, Kochi during first and third week of August. Founder director of Child Friendly Guwahati Salesian Father V.M. Thomas (Vattathara) conducted four 2-day workshops at the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate institution as part of a skilling effort to build up young people in Leadership and in Professional Life. Christened CROSSOVER, the innovative youth program for college and university students “is an intensive 2-day Inner Engineering Workshop...
Salesian College Sonada and its Siliguri campus has launched for the first time Skill Oriented diploma and degree courses starting with this academic session in mid-July. Admissions are going on for Bachelor of Vocation Courses in Retail Management, at Sonada, and Travel and Tourism Management at Siliguri campus. “This skill based program which provides both Diploma and Degree possibilities is the need of the hour to fight growing unemployment in the country,” says Principal Dr George Thadathil who claims Salesian to be the first college to implement the program in the Hills. “Both students and parents are enthusiastic when informed about the new program with three possible exit...
Kalimpong: A Job Oriented Training Institute which has pioneered a Teacher Training Diploma Course in Elementary Education (private) has attracted brighter students to flock to its innovative program. Salesian Br. Lawrence Mondol, Principal of Don Bosco Technical School in Kalimpong situated outside the tourist hill town at its sprawling campus at 14th Mile says, “Our Institute offers 12 job oriented training programs to rural youth including 1 two year course, 5 one year courses and 6 three months courses.” The two year course, Diploma in Elementary Education (D. El. Ed), is mandatory for any one to get a Government job as primary school teacher. Eligibility for this diploma program...
Darjeeling: An inter-faith group in Darjeeling has shown the way to harmonious and peaceful living among members of all religious beliefs amid news of rising incidents of intolerance and religious bigotry in the society. The Darjeeling Inter faith group on May 25 held a two hour session on the theme, “Dialogue and Fellowship: Shared Beliefs and Practices Across Communities.” The group was formed in 2005 under the leadership of Father George Thadathil, principal of Salesian College Sonada who is also secretary of Darjeeling Diocesan Commission for Inter-faith dialogue. Some 50 members of various religious affiliations were present for an opening session by visiting professor Dr Georgios T...
Darjeeling:  A US Educationist who taught 21st century learning skills to Salesian College Sonada and Siliguri faculty last October is back in seven months to teach young faculty of both campuses on Continuous Professional Development. This time, Prof Loren Weybright is engaging young faculty who joined teaching positions in the last five years on a 3-day workshop in what he calls: Building Relationships, Developing Wise Practices, and Integrating Technology. Some 18 faculty members participated in the practical workshop on college level teaching from 20th to 22nd May. Divided into two groups, the participants applied ORID Conversation model in teaching. It consists of:...
Darjeeling — The first college in the Darjeeling hills to under take National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has retained its ‘A’ Grade in the 3rd Cycle concluded on 3rd and 4th May 2019. Announcing the result of the NAAC Peer Team Visit on 20 May 2019, the Director of Bangalore-based NAAC Dr. S.C. Sharma wrote, “I am glad to inform you that the outcome of the Assessment and Accreditation (A&A) exercise of your institution has been processed and approved by the [40th] Standing Committee constituted by the Executive Committee to examine the peer team reports and declare the accreditation results.” Dr Sharma continued, “Your institution has been Accredited with a CGPA...
Guwahati: A Salesian who headed national media offices in New Delhi will now be in charge of the media office of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference (FABC) in Manila from 22nd March 2019. Media trainer Fr. (Dr.) George Plathottam has been appointed Executive Secretary of the FABC Office of Social Communications (OSC) in Manila, the Philippines. The FABC-OSC is responsible for the  Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), the only continental Catholic Radio service  broadcasting in 22 languages of Asia for the last 50 years. The RVA Golden Jubilee celebrations are scheduled for 11-12 April 2019. The FABC Central Committee meeting in Rome on 25 February 2019 appointed 62 year old...
Darjeeling: The Salesian College Publication participating in the 23rd Annual Darjeeling District Book Fair held from 14 to 17 March 2019 won laurels for being the only college publication at the fair. The anuual book fair was organized by Darjeeling Book Fair Committee in Darjeeling's iconic Capitol Cinema Hall - a stone building with a clock standing 100ft high and used to house a 600-seat theatre from 1921 to 1984. The annual feature was hosted under the aegis of West Bengal State Department of Mass Education Extension and Library Services which promotes the Literacy and Library Movements in the State for the benefit of the common people. It is for the third consecutive time...
A priest social worker who has worked in northeast India for some 40 years has come up with a photo journal of his photographic collection chronicling the life and culture of Mising tribe among whom he has worked for some 15 years. Fr Thomas Kalapurackal is the founder-director of Institution for Culture And Rural Development (iCARD) at Jorhat in Assam that focus on training young Mising tribal people in leadership to serve their community. Salesian Provincial of Dimapur province Dr Jose Kuruvachira released Fr. Kalapurackal’s latest book called Tani Cool, on 4 March 2019 at Don Bosco, Baghchung, in the presence of a large number of educationists and social workers from Golaghat,...
Darjeeling: A Darjeeling based Energy Engineering scholar has become the first one in the region to get a PhD degree in Building Thermal Comfort and Environment for his thesis entitled 'Study and Analysis of Adaptive Thermal Comfort Model in Darjeeling Hills’. The above study was undertaken in the School of Engineering and Technology at Poornima University, Jaipur. Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Salesian College Sonada for over 15 years, Mr Samar Thapa from Kurseong in Darjeeling district successfully defended his doctoral thesis early September. “Thermal comfort standards are required not only to ensure good indoor climatic condition, but also to optimize the energy...