Sikkim CM announces measures for preservation of tribal Lepcha culture

Besides, the state government has set up a committee headed by Sanu Lama, a litterateur of Nepali literature, to restore the lost original names of places in Sikkim.

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang Tuesday announced a slew of measures for the preservation of the tribal Lepcha culture in the state.

Addressing a state-level function on the occasion of Tendong Kho Rum Faat, a Lepcha festival, he said here that the state government will construct a Lepcha Bhawan in the state capital and develop it as the Lepcha cultural center. He urged the Sikkim Lepcha Association to identify land for the building.

Lechas are considered to be the original inhabitants of Sikkim.

The chief minister also announced to send Lepcha priests and religious persons called Bongthings in the tribal language on an annual exposure trip outside Sikkim.

With regard to the demand for the inclusion of Lepcha language in the 8th schedule of the Constitution, Tamang said that the state government has sought constitutional protection for Lepcha, Bhutia and Limboo languages. Besides, the state government has set up a committee headed by Sanu Lama, a litterateur of Nepali literature, to restore the lost original names of places in Sikkim. On the demand for doubling reservation for primitive tribes from the existing five per cent, he assured the Lepcha people to look into the matter in consultation with the concerned authorities.

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