Sikkim Democratic Front Party – SDF @ 30 – The FLAME Cannot Die

  • P. D. Rai

The Sikkim Democratic Front Party (SDF) has completed thirty years as an active and socially relevant political entity. There are many out there who would like that this Party descend into chaos and oblivion and are doing so out of malice and political enmity.That, unfortunately for them, will never happen. This party will continue to gain in strength having shed a lot of dead wood after the loss in 2019. Since then the SDF Party is in opposition having learnt key lessons.

There are fundamental reasons for why this party will not only survive but also thrive and I would like to place them before our readers. This is so very important to understand. And what better time than the celebration of three decades of service to the people of Sikkim on the 4th March, 2022.

I do not want to dwellon the twenty five years of great governance the SDF Party gave to Sikkim from 1994 till 2019 under the leadership of Party President and Founder Pawan Chamling. These are articulated well in so many other forums and ways. I would like to talk of something much deeper that will change the conversation and discourse at the intellectual level.

But first let us turn the spotlight to some foundational issues. Sikkim became the 22nd State of the Indian Union in 1975 on the strength of the 36th Amendment of the Constitution of India and the insertion of Article 371 F. This has been used as a shield to help us navigate the existential issues of being Sikkimese. The major agreements in principle were that India would respect the identity of Sikkim and Sikkimese and also the aspirations of the people under a democratic setup. This was mainly in spirit as the letter cannot capture everything. So the reality is that there is a chipping away of much of the spirit as time passes – the elderly who laid this foundation have mostly left us and with them that societal memory. This ‘dilution’ if I may call it that, is manifested in so many issues that are problematic that we are confronting daily. For instance in the loss of forest cover and felling of trees on one pretext or the other. Or perhaps, more deeply, the feeling of overall loss by most Sikkimese youth and others. I too feel it and think that we are not protecting our land enough for the welfare and well being of our future generations.

Are we not surrendering our Constitutional autonomy in lieu of local political arrangement?

The SDF continues to espouse that spirit – that spirit has been captured as institutional memory and which is finds a place in our ideology and in our work; amply demonstrated from our record of manifestoes and implementationover the last thirty years. For instance it is a local party and has never had any electoral alliances or relationships with any National Party. This is in itself a huge accomplishment now that we see the kind of inroads that have happened in the political arena in Sikkim currently.

A look at the electoral record says it all. Always the people of Sikkim have placed their trust fully in local parties. That is easy enough to see. After 1975 we have had elections in 1979 which was won my the Sikkim Janata Parishad and with that Nar Bahadur Bhandari came to the fore. Subsequently, elections happened in 1985 and 1989 when Bhandari and the Sikkim Sangram Parishad, again was given the mandate by the people of Sikkim pitted against the Indian National Congress. In 1994 the Sikkim Democratic Front Party under Pawan Chamling was preferred to by the people. Then the SDF won the next four elections;the people’s choice. A local party with solid credentials. Even in 2019 the SDF had polled more votes but lost out on the seats in terms of distribution to the current incumbent.

SDF is founded on solid principles and that is what is attracting fresh talent and younger leaders. That is what is keeping the Party together. The Party is open to every Sikkimese who wants to be active in politics. It is through politics that we create the societal wherewithal for realising our future. We espouse a deep democratic culture with secular and inclusive tradition. More than all of this is that this is a Party that was born from the grassroots to bring in social justice and economic upliftment not just for a few but for every Sikkimese. This has no doubt been achieved in good measure.

It is above all a Party that is truly Sikkimese People Centric – it was so in 1994 and it is always going to be. Always putting the people of Sikkim and their interests first above everything else. These values are unchanging and will continue to be nurtured.

It is a party that has future proofed itself – with the kind of uncertainty that has overtaken the world – climate change or pandemic related. These various externalities have brought in huge governance challenges. These challenges would have been addressed very differently by us. Take for instance the Climate Change crisis. We have taken this issue head on by being a Party from the start that espoused green principles. We are in that sense have been a green party which worked on protecting the forests and trees. We were strict on these issues.

It is so very important that the Mountains have to be protected and that is what we have done. Our work extended to getting people to govern themselves as well.

It is a party with imagination – the young and the old combine to make it formidable – to make governance work for all through devolution and decentralisation. The young and senior leaders will work together. The women leaders who have joined our efforts are torch bearers. The elder statesmen will mentor the younger leaders to become the leaders for the future. For in this is the real passing of the baton. And above all the SDF has in its fold some of the best talent, thought leaders and sound leadership.

And therefore It is the party that will lift the Sikkimese people out of the abyss that we are in at the moment. Today it is altogether evident that we have lost our way. We cannot sleep without wondering if we will be burgled by some miscreants from ‘Munsong’or if anyone will be manhandled. This is the reality of today. These are deeply troubling times.

So if the people of Sikkim want peace and prosperity then there areno options available in terms of which political party can achieve it. We have done it in the past and we will do it again in the future. We continue to harbour that spirit on which the 36th Amendment of the Constitution of India was based. The touchstone is – does the Party put Sikkim and Sikkimese first not just in rhetoric but in practice too?To not only talk but get the economic engine up and running and put money in people’s hands. The blueprint for the next 25 years is already on the anvil. In that it is a Party with both sense and direction.

The people of Sikkim will certainly return the SDF in 2024 under the leadership of Pawan Chamling and his mantra of collective leadership. And for all the reasons cited above and more.

The author is a Senior Leader of the Sikkim Democratic Front Party and also a former Member of Parliament.