DAVID BABUNEE

Khamri to all

            I begin with a sincere apology that I could not update this series as frequently as many would have wanted. Anyways the truth is I was waiting for the material for this article which was so eagerly given to me by ANOM Magdalene of Pakyong Sikkim.

            This is about one of the most important Lepcha hero who not only achieved great feats during her life time but she went on to impact the life of every child born into a Lepcha household. You may not be aware but she has been able to affect your life too in her own subtle yet effective way. Her name is AZEM REBBECCA

            Born in the Lepcha town of Kalimpong she had to marry her dead aneu’s Bengali Husband ( David Mohan)who was old enough to be her Grandfather under the Angaop System which is a very important cultural practice among the Lepchas (note: for more information on this system please find the relevant blog in the site www.zorbongthing-lepchaculturelessons.blogspot.com) .

            She fitted into her new role very comfortably and before long she was hobnobbing with the high profile people visiting Kalimpong during the early 1940s. Even though she had not had any formal education she managed three languages namely Lepcha, Hindi and Nepali very comfortably. A simpleton at heart she saw the plight of the indigenous Lepchas amongst the ever increasing numbers of immigrants to the small town of Kalimpong. She realized that the passive Lepchas did not stand a chance against the more virile and hardworking people entering Kalimpong.

            She joined the Kalimpong Lepcha Association in 1947 and went on to become its president. With her constant efforts she managed to lead a Lepcha delegation to meet Nehru the then prime Minister of India. It is reported that it was because of her efforts that Lepchas were included in the Scheduled Tribes (Article 342 and 366 of the Indian Constitution) list-and the benefit of which all of us are reaping now and this precedent ensured that the lepchas of Sikkim were also included as Scheduled Tribes when the merger took place in 1975. She even managed to convince to pass law restricting the sale of Lepcha land to non-lepchas.

            She also was appointed as the municipal commissioner of Kalimpong. Her house, the Kanchenjunga Kothee, in Kalimpong was a hub for the visiting British gentry, her Bengali Babus, the eager Missionaries and her kith and kin the Lepchas of Kalimpong. It is said that she behind the first documentary film made about the lepchas. She also encouraged the lepcha folk to read and write languages.

            True to her heart she managed to initiate the process of amalgamating the nature loving Lepchas into the Indian mainstream for which she worked unceasingly till she died of prolonged sickness in 1958.