Prashant Tamang | |
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 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 4 January 1983 Darjeeling, West Bengal, India |
| Origin | India |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, actor |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, drums |
| Years active | 2007—present |
Prashant Tamang (born 4 January 1983) is an Indian singer and film actor based in Kathmandu. [1] He was the winner of Indian Idol Season 3 in 2007. [2]
Prashant Tamang was born in Darjeeling, West Bengal, India to Rupa Tamang and Madan Tamang and studied at St Robert School. After the demise of his father in an accident, Tamang left school and joined Kolkata Police as a constable in his father's place. [3] [4] [5] In Kolkata Police, he sang for the police orchestra. His family includes his grandmother, mother and his sister, Archana. He married Geeta Thapa (Martha Alley), who is a flight attendant, on 16 February 2011 in Nagaland, India. [6]
According to the Indian Idol programme commentary, Tamang auditioned for Indian Idol 3 (2007) because his friends and his seniors, especially Mr. Zulfiqar Hasan, Special Additional Commissioner of Police [7] (who incidentally also got Tamang's leave sanctioned for the competition) told him that his voice was very good. He auditioned for Indian Idol in Kolkata and was subsequently chosen for the next rounds. [8] He received mixed comments from judges for his performances. He is the only contestant to have never been in the bottom three or four of the gala round. Tamang made it to the top two of Indian Idol 3 along with Amit Paul. Tamang got about 10 times more votes (70 million votes) [9] than Amit in the final and went on to win the Indian Idol contest. He won 10 million Indian rupees cash prize & a Maruti Suzuki SX4 as the winner of Indian Idol.
After entering the Indian Idol contest, Tamang became a celebrity in West Bengal, Sikkim and particularly in the Darjeeling hills. People from Kolkata, Sikkim and Nepalese population living all around the world voted overwhelmingly for Tamang in the contest. [10] The mayor of Mirik vowed to spend Rs. 10,000 and his staff vowed to spend a month's salary in SMS voting for Prashant Tamang. People of Nepalese origin working in Brunei, UK, Hong Kong, UAE and other countries sent money to vote for him in India. [11]
Travel was organised in Howrah, Kolkata in his support, some of which were attended by his sister, mother, and grandmother. In Pokhara, Nepal, Radio Annapurna (93.4 MHz) campaigned for collecting donation and the collected sum of NRs. Seventy-thousand donations were sent to Darjeeling through its representative to vote for Tamang. A signature campaign for his support was organised by Himalaya Darpan (a Nepali newspaper) in Kolkata. Schools, clubs and other organisations asked people to support and vote for Tamang, who was named "पहाडको गौरव" (Pahad Ko Gaurav) meaning "Pride of the Hills".[ citation needed ] Two cabinet ministers from Sikkim, G.M. Gurung and S.B. Subedi, planted tree saplings at Singtam to pledge the Sikkimese support for Tamang and to show the unity of the Nepalese community in Sikkim and Kolkata. [10] The Minister of Sports & Youth Affairs of Sikkim, P.S. Golay, also supported the statewide voting for Tamang.
Tamang, a constable in Kolkata Police, was supported by the officials of his department. Zulfiqar Hasan (Special ACP), visibly ecstatic with Tamang's triumph, in his interview after the announcement of the result, told that he was confident that Tamang would win and he and his team supported Tamang at every stage of the competition. According to reports, a couple of policemen even stayed awake through the nights to vote for Tamang. [12] Hasan said, "Given the hard worker he is, Tamang deserved this title. He has no formal training in music, but he has been chosen the new Indian Idol. This proves how dedicated he is towards whatever he does."
Bimal Gurung, a former councillor of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, led a successful campaign for voting for Tamang in Indian Idol 3. His campaign gained huge support and popularity from the people of Darjeeling. Riding on the wave of this mass support, Bimal was able to move the campaign to a political angle and overthrow Subhash Ghisingh, the GNLF leader and caretaker of DGHC, from power. Bimal Gurung went on to found a new party called Gorkha Janmukti Morcha that renewed the demand for a state of Gorkhaland in India. [13]
A radio jockey Jonathan Brady (also known as Nitin) of Red FM, an FM radio channel in Delhi, commented in a live broadcast in his show that "shopkeepers will now have to make their own security arrangements as Gorkhas have taken to singing" when referring to Tamang, who is a Gorkhali, singing in the Indian Idol 3 contest. [14] This led to massive protests from Gorkhas all over and especially in Darjeeling district, where violent clashes erupted between supporters of Tamang and local residents of Siliguri. [15] The Gorkhas demanded that the RJ be taken off the FM channel. The Government of India issued a show-cause notice to Red FM for the racial slur. [16] Red FM issued a clarification stating that "We have not intentionally caused hurt to the sentiments of any person or any particular community, caste or creed. However in the event an inadvertent slight or offence has been caused to the sentiments of any person or community we tender our apology for the same". [17]
After winning Indian Idol 3, Tamang launched his maiden album Dhanyavad (meaning "Thank You"), consisting of Nepali and Hindi songs, with Sony BMG. [18] Prashant toured all over the world, including the USA, [19] performing in concerts. He also sang for a few Nepali films such as Himmat 2 (along with fellow Indian Idol contestant Charu Semwal). [20]
In 2009, Tamang started his acting career in Nepali films. His first film Gorkha Paltan was released in 2010. [21] Gorkha Paltan did very well at the box office. [22] His second film Angalo Yo Maya Ko, produced in Sikkim, was released on 31 March 2011. [23] Kina Maya Ma, Prashant's third film, was released in 2011. [24] His fourth Nepali film Nishani, based on the bravery of the Gorkhas in the Kargil War, was released in 2014.
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Gorkha Paltan | Also did playback singing in the film | |
| 2011 | Angalo Yo Maya Ko | Also did playback singing in the film | |
| 2011 | Kina Maya Ma | ||
| 2014 | Nishani | Hit | |
| 2015 | Pardesi | Blockbuster | |
| 2016 | Ye Maya Hanaima | ||
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Amber Dhara | Guest appearance as celebrity himself | |
| 2025 | Paatal Lok | Daniel Acho |
Darjeeling is a city in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of 2,045 metres (6,709 ft). To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, to the east the Kingdom of Bhutan, to the north the Indian state of Sikkim, and farther north the Tibet Autonomous Region region of China. Bangladesh lies to the south and southeast, and most of the state of West Bengal lies to the south and southwest, connected to the Darjeeling region by a narrow tract. Kangchenjunga, the world's third-highest mountain, rises to the north and is prominently visible on clear days.
Kalimpong is a town and the headquarters of an eponymous district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located at an average elevation of 1,250 metres (4,101 ft). The town is the headquarters of the Kalimpong district. The region comes under Gorkhaland Territorial Administration which is an autonomous governing body within the state of West Bengal. The Indian Army's 27 Mountain Division is located on the outskirts of the city.
Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League is a political party working amongst the Nepali-speaking Gorkha population in Darjeeling District and Kalimpong District of West Bengal, India. The party was founded in 1943 by Damber Singh Gurung.
Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) is a political party in the Darjeeling District of West Bengal, India. It was formed in 1980 by Subhash Ghisingh with the objective of demanding a Gorkhaland state within India.
Tamang, are a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group of Nepal, Southern Bhutan and North-east India. The Nepalese Tamang people constituted 5.6% of the population at over 1.3 million in 2001, increasing to 1,539,830 in the 2011 census; the 2021 census reported 1,639,866 Tamang. The Nepali Tamangs are concentrated in the central hilly and Himalayan Pahadi regions of Nepal. Indian Tamangs are found in significant numbers in the state of Sikkim and the districts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong in West Bengal state. Bhutanese Tamangs are native to various districts in the southern foothills of the Kingdom of Bhutan. Such districts include the Tsirang District, the Dagana District, the Samtse District, the Chukha District, the Sarpang District and the Samdrup Jongkhar District. Tamang language is the fifth most-spoken language in Nepal.
Darjeeling District is the northernmost district of the state of West Bengal in eastern India in the foothills of the Himalayas. The district is famous for its hill station and Darjeeling tea. Darjeeling is the district headquarters. Kurseong, Siliguri and Mirik, three major towns in the district, are the subdivisional headquarters of the district. Kalimpong was one of the subdivisions but on 14 February 2017, it officially became a separate Kalimpong district.
Kurseong is a town and a municipality in Darjeeling district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Kurseong subdivision.
The Gorkhaland movement is a campaign to create a separate state within India in the Gorkhaland region of West Bengal for the Nepali-speaking Indians. The proposed state includes the hill regions of the Darjeeling district, Kalimpong district and Dooars regions that include Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and parts of Cooch behar districts. A demand for a separate administrative unit in Darjeeling has existed since 1909, when the Hillmen's Association of Darjeeling submitted a memorandum to Minto-Morley Reforms demanding a separate administrative setup.
The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) is a registered unrecognized political party, that campaigns for the creation of a separate state Gorkhaland within India, out of districts in the north of West Bengal. The party was launched on 7 October 2007. The faction led by Binay Tamang, which was created out of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in 2017, merged into Gurung's GJM in 2021 after Tamang's resignation, following which he joined Trinamool Congress.
Madan Tamang was an Indian politician and the president of Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League (ABGL), a moderate faction of the Gorkhaland movement. Opposed to violent methods for the process, he stood for a negotiated settlement to the Gorkhaland dispute. He was hacked to death allegedly by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters on 21 May 2010 which led to spontaneous shutdown in the three divisions of the hills Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong.
Hira Devi Waiba was an Indian folk singer in the Nepali-language and is hailed as the pioneer of Nepali folk songs.
Bimal Gurung is an Indian politician and one of the founders and the president of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), a political party demanding the formation of a separate state of Gorkhaland within India. He is the 1st chief executive member of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, which is a semi-autonomous body that governs the hilly areas or Darjeeling District Kalimpong District and the partial terai region in the state of West Bengal.
Indian Gorkhas, also known as Nepali Indians, are an Indian ethno-cultural group who speak Nepali as a common language. They inhabit mainly the states of Sikkim, West Bengal, Northeast India and Uttarakhand, including their diaspora elsewhere in India and abroad. The modern term "Indian Gorkha" is used to differentiate the Nepali language Speaking Indians from Nepalis.
Subash Ghisingh was an Indian politician who was the leader of Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), which he founded in 1980. He was the chairman of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council in West Bengal, India from 1988 to 2008. He spearheaded the Gorkhaland movement in the 1980s.
Greater Nepal is an irredentist concept in Nepal, which claims current Indian and Bangladeshi territories beyond Nepal's present-day boundaries. These claims typically include the areas controlled by Nepal between 1791 and 1816, a period that ended with the Anglo-Nepalese War and the signing of Sugauli Treaty. In addition, extensive territories in the present-day Indian states of Uttarakhand, Himanchal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and some parts of Bangladesh are also included in the claims of the activist organisation Greater Nepal Nationalist Front, which demands the "return" of these territories to Nepal. A map similar to theirs was displayed by the mayor of Kathmandu in his office in June 2023, in reaction to an alleged "Akhand Bharat" map in the Indian Parliament building.
Shiva Kumar Rai (1919-1995) was a Nepali language writer and politician from Darjeeling, India. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1978 for his collection of short stories Khaharey. He was the first Gorkha minister in the state of West Bengal after becoming a deputy minister in 1952.
Kumar Pradhan was an Indian historian and writer whose research interests include the History of the Eastern Himalayas, Genealogical studies and the Nepali literature. Pradhan has also edited and written a number of literary journals and anthologies and published learned articles in Nepali. He was the chief editor of Sunchari Samachar and other prominent Nepali newspapers.
Mani Kumar Chetri is an Indian cardiologist, a former director of West Bengal State Health Services and a former director of the IPGMER and SSKM Hospital, Kolkata. He is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences and a recipient of the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri from the Government of India in 1974.
Prem Singh Tamang, better known as P. S. Golay, is an Indian politician and former teacher who is serving as the 6th and current Chief Minister of Sikkim since 2019 and the founder and leader of the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha since 2019. He represents the Poklok-Kamrang in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly since 2019, Upper Burtuk from 2009 to 2019 and Chakung from 1994 to 2009. Before forming the SKM party, he was a key member of the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) Party.
Binay Tamang is an Indian Politician and a former leader of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha political party. He joined All India Trinamool Congress in 2021 and left in 2022. After then he joined Indian National Congress in 2023 and became State General Secretary of the party.
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