Keepu Tsering Lepcha | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1942 |
| Occupation(s) | Social worker Civil servant Educationist |
| Known for | Service to Lepcha community |
| Awards | Padma Shri Real Heroes Award CNN-IBN Senior Citizen Award Jewel of Sikkim GoS Best Social Service Award |
Keepu Tsering Lepcha is an Indian social worker, educationist, former civil servant and the founder of the Human Development Foundation of Sikkim (HDFS), a non governmental organization serving the socio-economically challenged people of Sikkim. [1] A former secretary of the Government of Sikkim, she has served as the project director in the Rural Development Agency of the government. [2] She is a member of the PeaceWomen Across the Globe organization which was shortlisted for the Nobel Peace Prize of 2005, [3] and a recipient of the 2012 Real Heroes Award of the Reliance Foundation [4] and the 2013 Senior Citizen Award of the CNN-IBN. [5] The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2009, for her contributions to society. [6]
Keepu Tsering was born in 1942 in a Lepcha family to a government official in a rural area of the Northeast Indian state of Sikkim and did her primary and secondary education in Gangtok before completing her college studies at Kolkata from where she secured a master's degree. [7] She started her career in 1967 as the principal of the Enchey Senior Secondary School, Gangtok but stayed there only for a short period to move to the Government High School, Gangtok where the majority of students were the children of Tibetan refugees. [2] Moving later to government service, she became the assistant director of education with additional responsibility of managing the primary teachers' training institute, a post she held till 1994, during which time, she is reported to have contributed in bringing out text books for primary classes and training of teachers in the local languages by organizing short term training programmes. [7]
Tsering joined Sikkim Civil Service in 1994 and rose in ranks to the position of a joint secretary. [2] She was in charge of the Rural Development Agency, as a project director, and was involved with the development activities in the rural areas for 28 years. [7] She was the secretary of the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, at the time of her superannuation in 2000. During her years at the civil service, she also continued her social activities for which she founded the Human Development Foundation of Sikkim (HDFS) in 1997 and was involved in the activities to revive the Lepcha culture and Lepcha language. [2] She also hosted a few Lepcha children in her house, The Lepcha Cottage, and has been taking care of them since 1989. [8] She has been holding the chair of the organization since its inception and the organization which won the National Award for Children's Welfare in 2003, runs a school for the under-privileged children, numbering 400. [7]
Keepu Tsering, who speaks six languages, English, Hindi, Nepali, Bengali, Lepcha and Bhutia and is a spinster by choice, was one among the 1000 PeaceWomen, the global organization which was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005, which eventually went to Mohamed ElBaradei. [1] The same year, Sikkim Intellectuals Conference on Humanism, Nationalism and Peace awarded her the title, Jewel of Sikkim. [9] Two years later, she received the Best Social Service Award of the Government of Sikkim, the investiture ceremony taking place on 16 May 2007. [9] The Government of India awarded her the civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2009 and she received the Real Heroes Award of the Reliance Foundation in 2012. [10] In 2013, CNN-IBN awarded her the Senior Citizen Award for her services to the Lepcha community. [5]
Sikkim is a state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siliguri Corridor, which borders Bangladesh. Sikkim is the least populous and second-smallest among the Indian states. Situated in the Eastern Himalaya, Sikkim is notable for its biodiversity, including alpine and subtropical climates, as well as being a host to Kangchenjunga, the highest peak in India and third-highest on Earth. Sikkim's capital and largest city is Gangtok. Almost 35% of the state is covered by Khangchendzonga National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Gangtok is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Sikkim. The seat of eponymous district, Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayan range, at an elevation of 1,650 m (5,410 ft). The city's population of 100,000 consists of the three Sikkimese ethnicities the Bhutias, Lepchas, Gorkhalis and also plainsmen from other states of India have settled here. Within the higher peaks of the Himalayas and with a year-round mild temperate climate, Gangtok is at the centre of Sikkim's tourism industry.
Gangtok District is an administrative district of the Indian state of Sikkim. It was renamed in 2021 as a result of administrative reorganisation of the state, which also saw three subdivisions of the East Sikkim district spawned off as a separate Pakyong district.
The history of Sikkim begins with the indigenous Lepcha's contact with early Tibetan settlers. Historically, Sikkim was a sovereign Monarchical State in the eastern Himalayas. Later a protectorate of India followed by a merger with India and official recognition as a state of India. Lepchas were the main inhabitants as well as the Ruler of the land up to 1641. Lepchas are generally considered to be the first people, indigenous to Sikkim also includes Darjeeling.
Sikkim University is a central university established under an Act of Parliament of India. It is in Gangtok. The campus is expected to be built at Yangang in Namchi district, about 56 kilometres (35 mi) from Gangtok. Its first chancellor was M. S. Swaminathan; Mahendra P. Lama was the first vice chancellor.
PeaceWomen Across the Globe (PWAG), previously known as 1000 PeaceWomen, is an organization based in Bern, Switzerland that aims to increase the visibility of women promoting peace all over the world.
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Sukmit Gurung is a modern classical Nepali female singer who sang popular Nepali songs such as Priyatam and Relimai in the 1990s and worked as a playback singer in various Nepali cinemas. She has sung more than 400 songs including those with contemporary musicians such as Gopal Yonzon, Ambar Gurung, and Sambhujeet Baskota. She also sang in Newari and Japanese language. She is originally from Sikkim, India, but has settled in Nepal.
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Sikkim Himalayan Sporting Club is an Indian professional football club based in Gangtok, Sikkim. The club usually participated in the I-League 2nd Division, then second tier of Indian football league system, and the Sikkim Premier Division League.
Gadul Singh Lama, popularly known as Sanu Lama, is an Indian fiction writer, poet and translator of Nepali literature. An engineer by profession, he has published three short story anthologies and his stories have been translated into English, Hindi, Urdu, Assamese and Oriya languages. He is a recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award (1993), apart from other awards such as Sikkim Bhanu Puraskar, Dr. Shova Kanti Thegim Smrithi Puraskar and Madan Byakhanmala Puraskar. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2005, for his contributions to literature.
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Sonam Tshering Lepcha was an Indian folk musician, composer and lyricist. He was the first among Lepcha people to air his voice on All India Radio and was credited with the revival of Lepcha culture, one of the indigenous cultures of the Indian state of Sikkim. He was reported to be credited with over 400 folk songs, 102 folk dances and 10 dance dramas. He died on 30 July, 2020 due to cardiac arrest.
Mary Harriet Hepburn-Scott was a Scottish missionary and educator who pioneered women's education in Sikkim. Despite her lack of formal medical training, she became the leading medical, educational and religious missionary in Gangtok, educating an entire generation of Sikkimese physicians and significantly improving health outcomes, despite Christian missionaries historically not being allowed in Gangtok for political and religious reasons. Scott also founded Gangtok's first girls school, the Paljor Namgyal Girls' School, which still exists today and has been credited with greatly improving the overall state of women's education in Sikkim both historically and currently. Additionally, Scott has been recognized for almost-single-handedly creating the largest period of growth in Christianity in Sikkim, which still significantly impacts Sikkim's religious demographics.
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