Darjeeling is the crown of West Bengal, ignored for long many decades. The district, associated with the world-famous tea suffered in the wake of successive disturbances earlier from Gorkha National Liberation Front led by Subhas Ghising, and later by its breakaway faction, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha led by a militant leader Bimal Gurung.
Separate statehood for Darjeeling has not been new, a demand placed with the Morley-Minto Reforms Panel as early as 1907 and renewed periodically with the British and after that the Indian government.
Subah Ghising carried the separate Gorkhaland manifesto with his Gorkha National Liberation Front, initially peacefully but later on turning to violence, destruction of government properties and killings. Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council was formed in 1988 in a tripartite meeting between GNLF, Govt. of India and the West Bengal Government. A historical Memorandum of Settlement was signed on 6th Dec 2005 creating an autonomous self-governing council under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution for the Hill areas of Darjeeling.
The district had relative calm until 2007 when Bimal Gurung under the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha began the boycott of taxes and resorted to violence and frequent lightning strikes and bandhs, the longest of which lasted 105 days. After three and a half years agitation, in 2011, the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration was formed.
The firebrand CM of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, in her firm and no-nonsense approach thundered, Darjeeling is and shall remain a part of West Bengal and dared the militants by holding her meetings in the Hills. She played a masterstroke in creating a balance to the overweighed Gorkhas with a Lepcha Development Board in Kalimpong.
A cabinet meeting of the West Bengal Government was held at Darjeeling when Bimal Gurung committed the gravest blunder in instigating violence by hurling bombs at the venue of the meeting, causing a furore in the entire country. A criminal charge-sheet was filed covering 72 persons, which included Gurung and Roshan Giri and a large number of arms and ammunition were also recovered, resulting in the absconding of Bimal Gurung’s.
The 105 days constant bandh on the hills called by Gurung action yielded no result but crippled the hills which wanted to end the agitation by any face-saving means. A new Gorkha Territorial Administration, under Binay Tamang, a one-time deputy of Gurung was formed to administer the region. Mamata has responded by ushering development as the key to happiness as the trade has looked up and new investments are seen, be it in the form of many malls, or the tourists’ inflows.
I met a cross section of the society, workers, cab-drivers, hoteliers, restaurateurs, politicians who all unanimously agree that the earlier movement for inclusion of Darjeeling in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution was derailed with independent Gorkhaland agitations. I guess, the Gorkhas misinterpreted the Sikkim prosperity, which grew under a peaceful situation for decades.
By crippling the tea industry, Bimal Gurung displayed naivety, as it infuriated many thousand tea garden workers. By challenging the state and electing S.S. Ahluwalia, a member of parliament from the opposition BJP, the region suffered from a greater disconnect from Bengal. There is dismay over BJP, as Rajnath Singh, the Home Minister in Delhi bluntly told Gurung to shun violence and join the discussion-table in a truly democratic fashion.
Sikkim, which relied on passage through Darjeeling for its access, too suffered severely from the earlier and frequent Bandhs in Darjeeling, is now empowered with its own airport. The agitators have realized that throttling tea would be of no much use, as they will lose out sending the material down to Siliguri for auctions. The hills rely primarily on Bengali tourists, who are found continuously, braving even the violent times.
A hotelier stated with firmness, “It’s the peace that is so important, and with peace grows prosperity.” Darjeeling is and will be a part of West Bengal, as I drive down passing a huge roadside banner at Sonada, a beaming and smiling Mamata Banerjee welcoming one and all on behalf of the Gorkha Territorial Administration.
Sampath Kumar (from the Hills)
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