Pawan Chamling lights a lamp at the State Day function. Picture by Karchoong Diyali

Gangtok, May 16: Sikkim today completed 28 years of statehood after its merger with India but the man in the spotlight was chief minister Pawan Chamling, whose biography was released at the function to mark State Day.

The chief minister’s biography, Pawan Chamling — Daring to be Different, written by Yogendra Bali, was released by Governor V. Rama Rao at the function at the community hall at the Development Area here.

Chamling said the progress made by the hill state since the Sikkim Democratic Front came to power in 1994 had exceeded the expectations of the party.

To substantiate his claims, the chief minister presented a brief “progress report” of the state and also reiterated his government’s commitment towards all-round development of the state so as to make it a “model state in the country”.

Electricity has reached more than 90 per cent of the population in the state and an equal number of people have access to safe drinking water. These, Chamling said, were only a few of the “country’s first” that the state had achieved.

The chief minister also said his party would continue with its policy, giving priority to education, health and service sectors including tourism. Extra care was being taken to ensure the uplift of the poor and downtrodden, he added.

The government has earmarked 70 per cent of its annual budget for rural development, said Chamling.

A patriotic song contest for schoolchildren was held before the chief minister’s speech. Governor Rama Rao also presented trophies to the winners of the state-level patriotic song competition.

Besides the biography of the chief minister, another book, Sikkim’s Sons: Nation’s pride, honouring the famous sons of the state, was also released at the function.

Rama Rao said Sikkim had embarked on its journey on the road to peace, progress and prosperity. Visiting experts from Darjeeling, professor at St Joseph’s College Noreen Dunne and Sahitya Akademi winner Lakhi Devi Sundas presented reviews on Chamling’s biography.

The book, which has 26 chapters, elaborates Chamling’s evolution as a “visionary and pragmatic” political leader and his stands on environment, grassroots identity, and ideals for the poor, women, youth and children of the state.

Bali, who is the bureau chief of Asia Defence News International, said the biographical account of one of the most “humane” and “ideal” politician in the country was not a biography in the conventional sense of the term. Mentioning that as a man of the masses, Chamling’s early development as a politician was closely knit with the evolution of Sikkim as a constituent democratic state of India from an independent kingdom.