CK Shrestha rejects felicitation on being called from Nepal

The Identity crisis felt by the Indian Gorkhas has bogged down generations of people, and not just the ordinary people but even celebrated artists, scholars, politicians and every prominent personality has to face this often repeated question – are you from Nepal?

It is one thing to question, quiet another to say so on an invitation card for a program to be held at Siliguri by a West Bengal-based organization, in which the Bengal Tourism Minister Gautam Deb was to inaugurate the program.

A Calcutta based organization Sarbabharatiya Sangeet-o-Sanskriti Parishad was set to felicitate renowned Gorkhali theater personality CK Shrestha at Dinabandhu Mancha in Siliguri. The Chief Guest of the program was J. C. Roy, Director of Cultural and Information Directorate, Bengal government.

Yet,the Invitation card stated that CK Shrestha is from Nepal.
Protesting against the humiliation, not just against himself, but also against the Gorkhali community, CK Shrestha  refused their invitation, and has declined to attend the program.

In a stern letter written to the organizers, CK Shrestha has said, ‘my eagerness to attend your function was cut short when I received the invitation card today, which labels me as a citizen of Nepal. To be branded a foreigner in your own country is the gravest insult that can be given to a person, and the last thing I expected from an organization of your stature. This is simply unacceptable and I take serious offence in this act of humiliation that I have been subjected to. I am an Indian Gorkha, and being a citizen of this country is something that I am very proud of.’

Shrestha further writes, ‘If a well known person like me is humiliated in this manner, I shudder to think about the fate of the countless other lesser known Gorkhas who are a part of this country.’(TNT)