Boing Boing: Blogging a satyagraha - hunger strike

View a recent day: August 20 | August 19 | August 18 | previous days | by month and year

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Blogging a satyagraha - hunger strike - to save homeland in Sikkim

BB reader Jim Ratcliffe writes,

This link points to "Weeping Sikkim," a blog that chronicles an ongoing hunger strike by the youth of Sikkim, India to demand goverment transparency and accountability regarding hydroelectric projects in Dzongu, the homeland of the Lepcha people.
The good news is that hunger strikes by the Buddhist community in Sikkim have sucessfully stopped hydroprojects in the past. However, the projects planned for Dzongu are much much larger. The government of Sikkim is not evil, and has made remarkably progressive environmental moves in the past (e.g Sikkim was one of the first states in India to ban plastic bags).
Sikkim works hard to position itself as an ecotourism/buddhist pilgrimage destination for western tourists, so getting the word out about this hunger strike may help tip the balance.

The people behind the Sikkim protest blog are also uploading YouTube videos like this one (Video Link), which shows ACT (Affected citizens of Teesta) members Dawa Lepcha (age 35) and Tenzing Gyatso Lepcha (20), on the 34th of their hunger strike. Here's another video about the protest, and the hydroelectric project: video link.

The latest post on this blog includes a statement from the government of Sikkim demanding that the hunger strikers stop within 24 hours, or face punitive actions for a protest that now deemed illegal.

More here.

The hunger strike is being described as a form of satyagraha. Here's more on the origin and meaning of that word.

posted by Xeni Jardin at 11:14:56 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments

View a recent day: August 20, 2007 | August 19, 2007 | August 18, 2007 | August 17, 2007 | August 16, 2007 | August 15, 2007 | August 14, 2007 | previous days | all BB archives by month and year

suggest a link \| defeat censorware \| rss \| archives \| t-shirts \| digital emporium \| podcast feed \| mark \| cory \| david \| xeni \| john
Support Bloggers' Rights! HOWTO: Get a link posted to Boing Boing Boing Boing Mobile powered by Winksite Fark rules! This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution. Boing Boing is a trademark of Happy Mutants LLC in the United States [and other countries]. Stats (About our stats) defeat censorware Policies Our first five years' worth of posts in one file	View a recent day: August 20 \| August 19 \| August 18 \| previous days \| by month and year Thursday, July 26, 2007 Blogging a satyagraha - hunger strike - to save homeland in Sikkim BB reader Jim Ratcliffe writes, This link points to "Weeping Sikkim," a blog that chronicles an ongoing hunger strike by the youth of Sikkim, India to demand goverment transparency and accountability regarding hydroelectric projects in Dzongu, the homeland of the Lepcha people. The good news is that hunger strikes by the Buddhist community in Sikkim have sucessfully stopped hydroprojects in the past. However, the projects planned for Dzongu are much much larger. The government of Sikkim is not evil, and has made remarkably progressive environmental moves in the past (e.g Sikkim was one of the first states in India to ban plastic bags). Sikkim works hard to position itself as an ecotourism/buddhist pilgrimage destination for western tourists, so getting the word out about this hunger strike may help tip the balance. The people behind the Sikkim protest blog are also uploading YouTube videos like this one (Video Link), which shows ACT (Affected citizens of Teesta) members Dawa Lepcha (age 35) and Tenzing Gyatso Lepcha (20), on the 34th of their hunger strike. Here's another video about the protest, and the hydroelectric project: video link. The latest post on this blog includes a statement from the government of Sikkim demanding that the hunger strikers stop within 24 hours, or face punitive actions for a protest that now deemed illegal. More here. The hunger strike is being described as a form of satyagraha. Here's more on the origin and meaning of that word. posted by Xeni Jardin at 11:14:56 AM permalink \| Other blogs' comments View a recent day: August 20, 2007 \| August 19, 2007 \| August 18, 2007 \| August 17, 2007 \| August 16, 2007 \| August 15, 2007 \| August 14, 2007 \| previous days \| all BB archives by month and year Email this entry to: Your email address: Message (optional):	Boing Boing Sponsored by: Your Text Ad Here Get BB by email: