Gangtok’s main promenade MG Marg was a riot of colours on Wednesday as the Sikkimese wore their identity on their sleeves by turning up in traditional attires in a show of solidarity among the Himalayan state’s three major communities — Nepali, Bhutia and Lepcha.

The Sikkimese Unity Festival was celebrated under the aegis of the Joint Action Council (JAC).

The trigger for the occasion that synchronised with Holi was the recent Supreme Court observation, which was subsequently deleted, labelling Sikkimese Nepalis as those of “foreign origin” and directive to amend the definition of the term “Sikkimese” by including Indian origin old settlers of Sikkim in it.

The verdict was related to a case filed by the Association of Old Settlers of Sikkim (AOSS) seeking income tax exemption on a par with the Sikkimese.

JAC is an apolitical organisation, which was formed in the wake of the Supreme Court verdict, to initially articulate the anger against the foreigner slur and subsequently, as the import of the verdict began to sink in, the directive to amend the definition of “Sikkimese”.

The day was not shorn of drama as there was no clarity whether or not JAC had the permission to hold its programme at the venue even as people started assembling from eight in the morning according to the schedule announced by the organiser. JAC had lined up a variety of programmes, including dance, music and sit-and-draw, on the occasion.

However, the Gangtok district police administration said they had only been informed about the JAC programme, but no formal permission was granted. “I had written in the information that they gave to me: number one, they shall not do sloganeering, then (they) cannot sit here and make public speeches…,” said Tenzing Loden Lepcha, the superintendent of police of Gangtok, adding that assembling at MG Marg by itself was not unlawful.

All throughout, the gathered people chanted slogans in favour of Sikkimese unity and preserving Sikkimese identity, besides intermittently breaking into what is held to be Sikkimese national song “Jahan bugcha Teesta, Rangeet (Where flows the Teesta and Rangeet)”.

The JAC programme was held a few days after Sikkim chief minister P. S. Tamang (Golay) had asked the organisation to be wary of some elements who were allegedly out to defame it by using the platform to indulge in politics. In the run-up to Wednesday, a few social organisations had also decided against participating in the JAC programme ostensibly to avoid disrupting the Holi celebrations.

Shanta Pradhan, the JAC president, however, dismissed both suggestions that the council was getting politicised and it had planned the unity festival to upset the marking of Holi. “There is an allegation that we are politicising this. I came to know later that our honourable chief minister had said that JAC is indulging in politics. But, this is unfortunate. JAC is far removed from politics…,” he asserted.

Pradhan said the biggest question facing the Himalayan state was the threat posed to its very identity and existence and the unity of the Sikkimesepeople. “The main issue is till such time the Sikkimese come together as one, there is a fearSikkim’s identity might be lost, which is why our youths have started this SikkimeseUnity Festival,” he said.