A mountain state, Sikkim is endowed with a wealth of scenic grandeur that is uniquely its own and which is inhabited by people of varied castes, creeds and communities. The Sikkimese as a rule are a peace loving people who live in perfect communal harmony, respecting each other's custom, creed and religion and where communal intolerance as a concept is totally alien to Sikkimese way of life. However, attempts are made from time to time by some unworthy elements to drive a communal wedge between different communities with a view to creating communal dissensions in the State, but without success. The culture of communal amity is rooted in the dawn of Sikkim history and hence it has stood the test of time and it will continue to flourish in the years to come. The kind of peace and harmony that pervades Sikkim has always been there since centuries of its history; it is a culture of Sikkim that is timeless. It was not created by Bhandari or the Party he leads. The policy pursued by the Sang ram regime to discriminate one community from the other has done much to create unhappiness and bad blood amongst the Sikkimese. But thanks to the Sikkimese people and the power of patience and forbearance they are endowed with! Despite every attempt made by the Sangram outfit to create communal dissensions in the State, celestial peace and tranquility remain forever intact and undisturbed.

The Sikkimese Lepcha, Bhutia and Nepalese are hardy people used to the hard life they have to live in the hills. They are by nature peace loving and firmly believe in the mantra of peaceful co-existance. In the dawn of Sikkim history, these people belonging to three ethnicities got together to begin the arduous task of converting the hills and the valleys into arable land for cultivation. Together they set out to convert the hills and dales, covered as they were with thic~ dense forests,  into rolling hills of cultivable lands that we see today. Every aeable foot of land was made cultivable when new fields were created that creeped up on the slopes. It was a very hard life but they proved themselves equal to the task. Despite the vissitude of life, the Sikkimese face is always lighted with a brimful of smile that is almost captivating because the smile comes from deep inside him. Docile and peace loving though they may be, they are not ones to tolerate tyranny and repression for long. It is their in-born characteristics to rise and fight against those who try to ride rought-shod over them. It is a tradition with the Sikkimese people to rise against tyranny, oppression and injustice. This is why the entire Sikkimese people, irrespective of castes, creeds and ethnic background have' become solidly united behind a common front to fright against Bhandari's one-man rule in Sikkim. This time around, Bhandari will meet his Waterloo as and whe the moment of reckoning comes.

Sikkim is endowed with array of varied dialects an languages, creeds, customs and traditions, that go to enric a culture that is uniquely unifying in its diversity. However, there· are differences that do exist beneath the flat calm the surface projects; but they have to be ironed out throug democratic means and approach that become available to us. It would be an act of deception to cheat the public by declaring that there are no problems, like Bhandari and his broods are doing. These problems cannot be ironed out through sweet talks from Bhandari's glib tongue, but they need action plans chalked out through positive steps that are democratically oriented.