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Sir— Ever since Prashant Tamang has made it to Sony’s Indian Idol, people from different parts of the hills have come together, irrespective of political affiliation, to support him. The editorial, “For a song” (June 11), has suggested, misleadingly, that certain parties have politicized this issue. The protests were spontaneous and unorganized, not just in Darjeeling, but also around Kalimpong and Kurseong, where the people protested against poor network coverage by Reliance and BSNL. The plea that all text messages were eventually delivered came after Tamang had qualified for the next round. The hill people still believe that Tamang received lesser votes than expected. And Reliance had admitted that there were some technical errors in the beginning. As far as the contest is concerned, there are “no pre-existing hostilities and perception”, but such a comment largely blames the hill people for being sensitive to signs of isolation and neglect. There have been enough instances in the past — like the BPL classification and posting of administrative officers who cannot even speak Nepali, the official language of the hills — to suggest that Bengal does not care much for the sentiments of the hill people. Before commenting on national sentiments and regional stakes, I suggest one should reflect on the kind of attention given by The Telegraph, as also by the rest of Calcutta, to Sourav Ganguly being ‘rested’ during the one-day matches in Bangladesh.
Yours faithfully,
Aditya Tamang, Darjeeling
Sir — The recent episode of Indian Idol has given rise to a huge fracas in Darjeeling. It seems that Prashant Tamang has become a local hero as well as some sort of a regional icon. Tamang’s talent has shattered some national stereotypes about the people of this region. However, people have been sensitive about Tamang’s success not just because he comes from this region, but also because of his vocal talents.
Yours faithfully,Bidhan Golay, Darjeeling
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