LEPCHA HEROES-I

KINTHUP- LEPCHA HERO

The British and their desire to increase their influence in ASIA organised the GREAT TRIGONOMETRIC SURVEY of INDIA to acquire first hand knowledge of the geography of Southern Asia. The growing Russian influence in Mongolia and northern China was perceived as a threat to the BRITISH dominance in India and South East Asia. This geographical race between BRITISH and RUSSIA gave birth to the concept of PUNDITS.

Actually the word PUNDIT (hindi language -holy man) was a codeword to describe the surveyors trained to penetrate into TIBET and CHINA and produce geographical information secretly. This was the idea of Thomas G. Montgomerie, a captain in the survey. So in 1860s many strong and determined men from lower Himalayan states trained secretly to use geographical instruments and be sent into many different parts of unexplored CHINA and TIBET.

KINTHUP, a strong LEPCHA young man from Sikkim was one of the PUNDITS who successfully went up to TIBET and traced the route of river TSANGPO (Brahamaputra in INDIA). He faced many hardships in his secret work and was also sold as a slave to a TIBETAN lama. He was so determined in his mission that he stayed as a slave for 7 months in TIBET but never divulged his secret mission. He sent a secret letter to his BRITISH masters in INDIA through a SIKKIMESE man who was returning to Sikkim from Tibet. But the Letter never reached the SURVEY authorities. KINTHUP was thought to be dead as it was 18 months he had gone to TIBET. But as dedicated individual he managed to throw secretly marked logs of wood into the river TSANGPO which flowed into INDIA as BRAHAMAPUTRA. He returned to India where no-one greeted him and acknowledged his effort. Years later was living an impoverished life as a tailor in Darjeeling’s Bhutia Busty when the SURVEYORS found out the truth behind his efforts and was given a reward. He also helped as a guide to many British surveys into Sikkim…