An Open Letter to the Chairperson, The Standing Committee of Parliament

To,

Smt. Sushma Swaraj,

Chairperson,

The Standing Committee of Parliament

Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs

Parliament House

New Delhi

Subject: Sixth Schedule Constitution Amendment Bill in respect of Gorkha Hill Council Darjeeling

Respected Smt. Sushmaji,

This writer highly appreciates your esteemed self designated as the Chairperson of The Standing Committee of Parliament, to enquire into the relevancy of the Bill related to the amendment of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution in respect of Gorkha Hill Council, Darjeeling. Without intent to flatter you, it is only just, that a person of your stature and ability is occupying the chair for a just decision in order to hold the top position of a woman BJP politician but above all woman politician of other contemporary parties.

While deciding the fate of the Bill pending before you, this writer wishes to express pertinent and relevant views in this regard for your wider understanding to a more accurate perception to determine the issue, towards the evolution of the Bill standing before you. The Bill under scrutiny, as it stands comprises articles and subjects to address financial and administrative reforms, most of which are already incorporated in the existing Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council with additional subjects added on from the existing state subjects. The Gorkha Hill Council originated from the horribly concluded tripartite body signed in 1988 concluding the political agitation demanding a separate union state titled Gorkhaland, which was adamantly objected to and rejected by the Leftist Govt. of West Bengal under the Chief Minister-ship of Shri Jyoti Basue with CPM dominance. Mr. Basu condemned the democratic rights of self-determination by the hill peoples of Darjeeling district as “sessessionist and anti-national’ this was a slander to suppress the truth by hook or crook, whence the CPM led leftist Govt. reacted with unprecedented repressive police actions to thwart the movement from its very roots. It is roughly estimated more than 2000, most of whom were innocent, hill peroples perished in the police action. A reign of terror ran for over three years quite similar to the experience of the Emergency of 1977, a blot in the character of Late Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the nation and the Patriarch of the Congress party who delivered the Indian masses from the British yoke in 1947. This culture of violence leased during the demand for statehood agitation became a way of life then, and continues now to the present tense with no hope of recession in the future. This was intentionally mandated by the autocratic rule of the Bengal CPM Govt.

Under such violent and insecure climate to sue the autocratic rule of the GNLF Supremo Subhas Ghissing comfortably occupied the throne of Darjeeling hills and the DGHC for over twenty years blessed by the CPM govt. of Bengal puppeting him to dance to Bengali music by flushing him with DGHC funds to use as he wished. Ghissing as Chairman DGHC is alleged to have spent DGHC funds to his whims and fancies as his own, and evne failed to submit the mandated funds utilization certificate to the Bengal govt. who expressed Ghissing’s omission but failed to take action and reprimand misuse of funds without submission of utilization certificates, surely a violation of constitution norms. When rules and regulations are thrown to the wind by the powers that be, what can be expected from all levels of administration, causing panic, insecurity and total anarchy in the Darjeeling hills? This has been the order of the day under the GNLF regime support and intended by the rulers that be at Writers Building to bring about an order of total and intended by the rulers that be at Writers Building to bring about an order of total collapse of civil societies for the CPM to make a heroic entry to save the situation. Hence, the canvas and support for the DGHC and the new Sixth Schedule status by the CPM. After twenty years the people of Darjeeling have come to understand the CPM end game, that is, to rule the hills by various Council provisions headed by puppets including that is, to rule the hills by various Council provisions headed by puppets including nominating the puppet as an administrator, totally violating democratic rights and constitutional norms, for the past three years all democratic provisions has been withheld as a result of not holding any elections to the DGHC or otherwise, by extending the tenure of the Administrator, a political figure without mandate being nominated as such.

Like the rest of West Bengal where there is no law and order (except the dictates of the CPM) and the total absence of human democratic rights deprived by the executive and various wings of the administration remote controlled by the CPM cadres and leaders, the civil societies are totally at the mercy of CPM rule. This state of affairs was expressed by the media earlier when the present CM, Buddhadev Bhattacharjee differentiated the people (as them and us) in regard to Nandigram ‘land grab by the govt’. Exactly the same situation exists in the Darjeeling hills wherein the Bengal rulers assert the sole ownership of Darjeeling hills declaring the hills as the ‘Crown of Bengal’ which claim is strengthened by chauvinistic Bengali sentitment, ‘Bengal will not be allowed to be divided for a second time.’ Truth has its own way of prevailing. Which Bengal and which Bengali is the rhetoric of the Statement. The real Bengal (East Bengal) is now a nation which was divided to create only the state of Bengal, which too is now facing total political and cultural extinction for having turned West Bengal into another Bangladeshi state. This truth whether inadvertent or intentional is the order of the day, and that large East Bengali or presently Bangladeshi large scale immigration converted into Indian citizens (via ration card production) by the CPM cadres to increase the vote bank for everlasting communist rule in Bengal. This illegal legalized entry of East Bengali/Bangladeshi into West Bengal has changed the demography to such an extent that the true Bengali Bhadraloke or the intellectual ‘is totally absent in Bengal’ as a result of the immigrant population stress. This is being reflected in the statehood issue for the Darjeeling hills, which people are denied the right to self-determination of indigenous peoples are the control over natural resources existing on indigenous peoples’ traditional lands, which norms was adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council on June 29, 2006.

The Article was further strengthened by the United Nations adoption of the Declaration of Rights of the Indigenous People of 13 Sept 2007 wherein the General Assembly adopted a landmark, outlining the rights of the worlds estimated 370 million indigenous people and outlawing discrimination against them. This is the plight of the hill peoples of Darjeeling who have been demanding a separate unit status from British Bengal and Indian Bengal and which the Central Govt. should note with a democratic sense and not just a political convenience to only rule India.

The issue of East Pakistani/Bangladeshi mass scale immigration to Bengal and all adjoining Indian states bordering Bangladesh is a crucial problem which is extending its hydra-heads to the region as well as the rest of India in terms of increasing incidents of terrorism which direct blame falls on Bengal for closing the eyes to the open door policy of Bangladeshi immigrants which flow is nowhere in sight to be damned. This ever growing east Bengali/Bangladeshi population has changed the demography of North Bengal totally wherein the original inhabitants are now in a minority status which is normal under such circumstances. You are well informed by your own party representatives from Siliguri town which has become already the most important metropolis in East India is part of Darjeeling District, which having undergone demographic change with illegal immigration of Bangladeshi Bengalis illegally converted to Indian Bengalis, is in process of being detached from the District totally due to the dominance of Bangladeshi Indians. If one only bothers to look up population statistic data’s of Siliguri for the past thirty years and earlier, the population of Bengalis was a minority with Nepalese as the plain tribals in the majority. What caused the fast rise of Bengali population is the million dollar question? This issue has marginalized the Nepali speaking hill peoples in the plains as well as in the hills threatening their socio-economic political existence insecure by the dominance of Bengali ethnical chauvinism and utterances as above, blowing the democratic aspirations of the hill peoples to the winds.

The Central Govt. it is assumed is aware of the ration card and other forms of backdoor entry to Indian electoral rights confirming citizenship rights too, is the chief reason for the CPM cadre based politics, creating frontal shield organizations like Amra Bengali, constituents of Bangladeshi migrants to suppress other genuine Indian organizations seeking democratic redressals not only in Darjeeling hills but the entire North Bengal extending into the regions of Assam. The Centre is advised to effectively implement constitutional provisions for obtainment of citizenship immediately in the national interest, as illegal immigration is depriving the true citizen of India their legal and constitutional rights by the dominance presence of illegal immigrants posing as legal. The impact of immigration in the Darjeeling hills too is a problem, wherein, the populations increase in the plains the people are pushed up back to the hills instead of flowing down to the plains. The hill towns and villages are being densely populated wherein the Darjeeling hill towns have achieved the inglorious position of being the densest populated town in the world as per a statistical survey report. This is a reverse pattern for environment ecology considering the fragility and sensitivity of the hilly region in a geographically and climatically extreme zone, but also being the hotspots for the diversity of flora and fauna practically unseen in other parts of the world. This ecology is been impacted beyond recovery as a result of over population in the Darjeeling hills. The relevancy of a Statehood is also concerted to reverse this ecological damage wherein the entire Darjeeling district was already predetermined as an Ecological Sensitive Area (ESA) as notified by the Union Ministry of Environment & Forests in 2002. This landmark decision to incorporate the Darjeeling hills in the ESA seems to have been conveniently overlooked by Subhas Ghissing’s DGHC, who claims to be the guardian of the hills and the State govt. and its administrative wing totally misin ghte cue while professing to look after the interests of the hills and its peoples. No effort was made by either or neither all of them to react and amend the notification for application as a rule. It is the condition of the hill people that only a Statehood can preserve as well as conserve the natural and human resources of the hills likened to the adjoining state of Sikkim which is lagging behind in every respect. This is most discerning considering that prior to Sikkim becoming a state of the Indian Union it was considered a village kingdom. Now becoming a Union State in 1975, its progress due to human resources obtained from Darjeeling hills has positioned Sikkim as one of the most enviable State among the North eastern states. Once can only imagine and aspire for the Darjeeling Hills as a state considering primarily its human resources presently frustrated and languishing by unemployment, and the tremendous natural resources in terms of tourism and tea industries and the vast natural wealth in terms of forest products and river resources in the hills and small scales industries on the plains from which Siliguri is already benefiting.

It is most distressing for the Darjeeling hill people to see their counter parts in Sikkim progressing at neck breath speed whereas on this side of the border in West Bengal the sight is miserable in comparison. One would only have to cross the West Bengal border of Darjeeling with Sikkim at Rangpo to see the contrast of progress. The Sikkimese side has practically become a township with glittering shops and arcades whereas the Darjeeling side of West Bengal is a decrepit shamble of hutments. You are personally recommended to see this contrast and determine the truth of the grievances of the Darjeeling hill peoples who has found no breath through by the DGHC and neither the new Council under the Sixth Schedule which simply seems to be the recast of the old with a new name and package.

The renamed Gorkha Hill Council Darjeeling as provided in the bill pending before you are simply more administrative and financial backup subjects and describe to look like tribal area councils of the northeaster tribal council genre with provisions of self rule, unlike the Bill for Darjeeling with only administrative financial powers and therefore, not at all autonomous and to be ruled by the power of the purse indirectly by Bengal. The exclusion of Para 2 of Sixth Schedule regarding autonomous districts with the provision for Governor’s intervention is self evident of the non-autonomous status of the Council where all intervention regarding Council is under the State Govt. Also the exclusion of Para 10 of the Sixth Schedule in the New Council obliterates the autonomous status of the New Council.

The Sixth Schedule under Article 244 (2) are specific provisions to the administration of tribal areas and scheduled tribes whereas the New Council envisaged for the Darjeeling hills is to be incorporated in it as an amended form which specifically apply to the administration of the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. The amended form of article 244 (2) dilutes the very body for which the Sixth Schedule represents for the tribal areas which is not applied to the Darjeeling Hills where the present tribal population composition is only 34%. This juggling by the State Government regretfully with the connivance/sanction of the Central Government painting the New Council to look like that of a tribal area status whereas it not being so, is to hoodwink the hill peoples from achieving statehood in the near future, which was a possibility on linguistic basis (Nepali language speaking population) considering the fact Nepali is one of the national languages incorporated in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Surely future state reorganisation commission would accept this to create a separate state for the Nepali speaking hill peoples of Darjeeling district and contiguous regions of the Nepali plains people.

The creation of DGHC and its existence for over fifteen years totally undermined the democratic political aspirations of the hill people and for which Subhas Ghissing had formed the Gorkha National Liberation Front to achieve a separate statehood which aspiration has been continuously demanded for 100 years now. Similarly, Sixth Schedule status for Darjeeling does not fulfill the long cherished demand of the hill peoples but is suited to continue the GNLF regime and sustenance of Subhas Ghissing with the guidance of the state government with connivance regretfully by the Centre.

The objection to the Sixth Schedule status is the autonomy denied had the Darjeeling hills been declared a tribal area, which it is not by virtue of the minority status of the population. In order to achieve this tribal area status it is well known in the hills that Subhas Ghissing was also determined as psychologically imbalanced while trying to convert all the Gorkhas as tribals despite their precedents. He even went to the extent of determining the number of hands of Goddess Durga which was dissimilar to that of Bengal Durga. In order to show tribal characteristics he promoted the festival and use of bygone days tribal medicine men known to the hills as dhamis and jhakris. He made people worship boulders personally carried on shoulders and walk all the way from the riverbeds to their homes, suggesting sacredness to this act. He encouraged people from all walks of life to start drinking the lock brew known as tongba served in the traditional cylindrical bamboo vessels and the liquid siphoned into the mouth using a pipe. The Buddhist were asked not to worship the present Buddhist deities but the image that was brought from Indonesia from where he had brought the Indonesian concept of Buddha, calling it, the genuine Buddha. There are many such instances depicting his character bordering madness and which is the subject of discussion in all households for many years. Tolerating all these whimsical fantasies of the dictator, the question must be asked whether he is mentally sane to sign the Memorandum of Settlement and that too, as a representative of the Government of West Bengal and not as the elected representative of the hill people, although he occupies the Presidentship of the GNLF which party is practically disseminated in the hills by the opposition combined, opposing the Sixth Schedule in whatever form as it neither redresses the social, economical nor the political aspirations of the Darjeeling hill people. The Sixth Schedule DGHC is flawed in its very inception, in that, Subhas Ghissing neither had the mandate nor the fitness of the mind to sign the Memorandum of Settlement in regard to the New Council under the Sixth Schedule besides the fact that he was the Administrator appointed by the State Government. Anticipating the GNLF and Ghissing unpopularity the Bengal Government could not bear the thought of replacing Ghissing from the chair of the DGHC anticipating revival of the statehood demand made by the opposition parties climaxing in a massive movement by the advent of Bimal Gurung and the inception of the Gorkha Jana Mukti Morcha, a political party formed to demand and attain statehood.

The reference to Bodoland Sixth Schedule status is to be referred here in contrast to that of the Darjeeling hills, wherein both the states comprised of minority schedule tribe population but the Bodoland have been provided tribal majority status in terms of the council seats whereas the Darjeeling Hill Council is allotted a proportionate minority status electoral seats. In other words Bodoland and the Darjeeling hills having identical backgrounds are differentiated to suit the intention of the states. The Bodo tribes majority status was accepted retrospectively to earlier years of their majority status and this backdated status taken as the metrics for the majority council seats provided for them. The reason offered for this justification was, the random immigration of non-Bodos to the Bodo areas, especially non-Bodos Assamese displaced by the illegal immigrant population migrating from erstwhile East Pakistan/Bangladesh along the Assam borders. A similar state actually exists in reference to Darjeeling hill people comprising both tribals and non-tribals who are further pushed up the Darjeeling hills from the Bengal plains by similar East Bengal Bangladeshi illegal immigrants entering North Bengal and concentration on Siliguri which demography has completed changed in favour of ethnic Bangladeshi Bengali as state earlier.

The past and present plight of the Darjeeling hill peoples originate from various sources and reasons. The Darjeeling district during the pre and post independence years had become the centre for all social activities of trade and commerce, civil and political activities, and a cultural hub for the entire eastern India and in fact for Bengal and the rest of India. It was the Switzerland of the East. The District also occupied the centre stage primarily due to this strategic and geographic location with contiguity of international borders and proximity to the independent ethnically Mongoloid dominated kingdoms of Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and was in the recent past history an extension of independent state of Sikkim acting as a buffer between India and Tibet. The relevance of the present region of Darjeeling was transformed totally to being an extension of Bengal, and its earlier import shifted from a hill sanatorium and the shortest passage to Tibet via the Sikkimese passes, to become an economically sustainable region producing tea and tourism for the world and timber and forest products which now go to fill the coffers of the Bengal Government. Siliguri, a subdivision of Darjeeling district has become the hub of trade, commerce and industry for the entire northeast Indian states including Sikkim and the nearby countries of Nepal, the entire northeast Indian states including Sikkim and the nearby countries of Nepal, the entire northeast Indian states including Sikkim and the nearby countries of Nepal, the entire north east Indian states including Sikkim and the nearby countries of Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. To detach Siliguri from Darjeeling district has been the intention of West Bengal for all valid reasons but this is unacceptable to the Darjeeling hill people as the areas has always been attached to the hills geographically and ethnically since time immemorial. The Sixth Schedule status will be the guillotine to the final beheading of Siliguri from Darjeeling district and hence morally and emotionally a sentimental and a political uncompromising issue. To find the truth of this matter you may ask the Government of West Bengal who is in a hurry to pass the Sixth Schedule bill whether they agreed to accept the Bill with Siliguri included in the New Council. The answer will determine the genuineness of intention in regard to the Bill.

After independence with the departure of the English only the geographical status of Darjeeling changed hands from the British to Bengal (India) without giving the least consideration to the ethnical emotions generating the political right to self determination by separation of Bengal which aspirations have been raised since 1907. A brief account of this cherished dreams for the right to self determination by the Darjeeling hills peoples are chronologically stated in a 51 page pamphlet titled Separation for Integration by Priyadarshini Shrestha. This writer’s own authored book, Sikkim: Darjeeling-Compendium of Documents incorporates documentary historical status of the region beginning from 1641 to 2002, proving accurately and conclusively Darjeeling district as a part of Sikkim, and the controversy still exists whether it has been transferred to the Indian Union by virtue of the fact that the deed of Darjeeling grant signed in 1835, making over Darjeeling to the East India Company, was ever transferred to British India and thereby determining Darjeeling as part of Bengal or even India is questionable. Should it not be revered back to Sikkim than wrangling over issues like the DGHC, the Sixth Schedule and even the demand for statehood?

You are requested to clarify the related issue above from the concerned Ministries so that the matter does not become a bone of contention for the future political status of Darjeeling district as there is already a movement seeking the return of Darjeeling hills to Sikkim on a status quo basis post independence. The implications of this demand can have future bearings of political consequences. This author maybe given a personal interview and hearing to present the intricacies of this matter for your information, judicious enquiry and decision related to the Sixth Schedule status of Darjeeling presently placed before you.

There also seems to be a controversy of the word Gorkha in the Indian context as originating from Nepal and further subdivided prefaced with Indian and British in respect to the armed forces; as the Bahadur and the darwan (watchman/guard) dressed in khaki attire, a khukri by the side and the black cap on the head in which Prashant ‘the Indian Idol’ was dressed; followed by the commentator of the FM channel commenting the elevation of the Gorkhas from darwans to Indian Idol status, hurting the sentiments of hill people whether wrongly or rightly but triggered a violent riot in Siliguri between two communities wherein the army had to be called out to stabilize law and order, when two lives were lost in the melee.

Whereas it was Damber Singh Gurung, the founder of Gorkha League in order to unite all the hill peoples under the party of the same name with the famous slogan, ‘Paray, Bhotay, Lapchay akhay ho’. The basic idea was to unite the various hill tribes and non-tribes under the title of Gorkha which was made internationally famous by the hill tribes extending from the Sikkim Himalayas to the Nepal Himalayas to the borders of present Himachal Pradesh. The hill tribes consisted of the Parays (Gorkhas), Tamangs, Gurungs, Magars, Rais, Limbus, Bhotay, lapchay and such ethnically indigenous Mongoloid and Tibeto Burman communities inhabiting in this region. The word Gorkha rightly or wrongly applied had the desired effect of uniting the hill peoples under one banner not only in Darjeeling district but all the Indian Nepali speaking people diaspora which population presently stands at over 20 lakhs (1991 census) as per the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh (BGP) statement over 1 crore. This population whose language is already incorporated in the Eight Schedule requires a territory as a state otherwise it is like a fatherless child without a name which has been deprived past 100 years, despite the Darjeeling hill peoples under the title of Gorkhas in the Indian Army have fought and many laid down their lives in all the Indian wars against external threats from Kashmir to the borders of Burma, as well as various internal security forces stationed all over India including the BSF, SSB, CRPF, RPF, State Police and Security personnel protecting valuable assets of the country, besides serving the Government of the states and the nation in various posts. Hundreds and thousands of Gorkha soldiers lost their lives as well as created history fighting for British India during the First and Second World Wars besides British Indian campaigns throughout the empire. More than 30,000 Darjeeling hill people are presently serving in the Gorkha regiments ready to lay down their lives for India’s honour.

It was the British who made the term Gorkha popular with international connotation to all the soldiers serving in the British Indian Army which hill peoples inhabited the entire ranges of the Himalayas from the Doons to the borders of Bhutan incorporating all ethnical tribes of Indo Mongoloids, Indo Tibetans, Tibeto Burmans and some stocks of pure Mongoloids having their own lingual dialects, customs, religions and areas but all commonly bound by the common Nepali language, the common language to all the tribes under the title Gorkha which word also unified the common aspiration inclusive of all denominations of peoples within the tribes and communities.

The word Gorkha has been the beacon inspiring all the hill peoples of Darjeeling district and adjoining areas and whether applied wrongly or rightly has remained to stay to identify their cultural identity and therefore serving to unify all concerned. No doubt the word has confused many people with national identity of Nepal, although the term may have confused many people with the national identity of Nepal, although the term may have relevance to Nepal. To understand this one must ask the question, who is the real Indian? Bengali, Bihari, Punjabi, Gujarati, Maharashtrian, ………the names is endless if all the different language and dialect speaking people are to be mentioned, maybe over 550 different names. In contrast, Nepali is already incorporated in the Eighth Schedule as a national language but as already state earlier without a state. This lacunae needs to be addressed before it becomes a problem.

It is important all differences regarding the word Gorkha is resolved to clear the path for a separate state for the Darjeeling Hill peoples whether it is called Gorkhaland (coined by none other than Subhas Ghissing), Gorkhasthan (coined by CPI – undivided), Nebula (Nepal, Bhutia, Lapchay – the title of a magazine published by none other than the Late Nepali Laureate Shri Paras Mani Pradhan under a body union of Darjeeling hill peoples titled The Hillmen’s Association, even before the birth of India), or simply Darjeeling Himalaya which should have no complaint from any particular persons or community.

The Sixth Schedule Bill incorporating the new body, Gorkha Hill Council Darjeeling has become confusing despite the title Gorkha the hill peoples being divided under the category of Scheduled Tribes (already recognized) and non-tribals (Gorkhas?). This was the very differentiation which Subhas Ghissing tried to adjust by appealing to the Central Government to incorporate all the people under the title Gorkha as tribals and truly provide a tribal area status within the provision of the Fifth and Sixth Schedule of the Constittuion initially and to prepare and achieve a statehood later. He even went to the point of sending representatives of the Hill Scheduled Castes to Delhi with letters to the Minority Commissions to convert the caste into tribals (according to Mr. Ramu Dhamu, the leader of the scheduled castes of Darjeeling – Kami, Damays and Sarki castes).

While deliberating on the Sixth Schedule Bill, you maybe well advised to keep the Bill pending till such time all denominations of political parties concerned for and against the Sixth Schedule status of Darjeeling are able to define the very title of the Bill, and the considered perceived divisive premises of the Bill, which is said to cause all the misinterpretations to the point of dividing the hill people than uniting. In order to understand the full context of implications of the title Gorkha Hill Council Darjeeling to be included in the Sixth Schedule as an amended Bill lacking the tribal area status for which the Schedule was provided seems haphazardly prepared by the West Bengal Government bordering on mal intent, that is, misdirecting the road to statehood by creating the roadblock by Gorkha Hill Council Darjeeling and so called division of the hill peoples.

To understand the above implications, it is recommended to refer to the following well researched books to understand and resolve the crisis:

1. History, Literature and Language of Nepal and Tibet by Brian H. Hodgson, 1884
2. The Goorkhas by Vansittart Eden, 1890
3. Darjeeling District Gazetteer by LSSO’ Malley 1907
4. A Concise History of Darjeeling District Since 1835….by E. C. Dozey 1922
5. Sikkim and Darjeeling (Division and Deception) by Sonam B. Wangyal 2002
6. Sikkim: Darjeeling Compedium of Document by R. Moktan 2004

It maybe relevant to mention here inline with the contents of the above books that the hill tribes are common to the entire region from the Doon hills to the borders of Bhutan whereto many Himalayan tribes inhabit besides the ethnic Bhutanese.

The only option and alternative open to resolve this issue is to accept the justification of incorporating most of the hill communities as Scheduled Tribes providing reservation for Scheduled Castes and other minorities and providing a New Council with complete provisions of the Fifth and Sixth Schedule status to the path of a future statehood in lieu of the present Sixth Schedule Bill. The alternative is a fully statehood under the provision of Nepali speaking communities to be included for the future State Reorganisation Commission to decide along with the new states of Telangana (Andhra Pradesh), Vidharba (Maharashtra), Darjeeling Hills (West Bengal) and any others.

The future statehood of Darjeeling district is inclusive of the four subdivisions of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Siliguri including the contiguous plains of North Bengal populated in majority by the Nepali speaking hill peoples. The territorial area of the Sixth Schedule has divided Darjeeling district and excluded Siliguri, the major important township in the plains within the subdivision of Darjeeling district. This is in total violation to the territorial integrity of Darjeeling district, as the whole of Siliguri subdivision has always been a part of Darjeeling district since time immemorial. The exclusion of the major portion of Siliguri in the New GHCD is not acceptable to the Darjeeling hill peoples, and tantamount to the partition of Darjeeling district as an anticipatory measure of West Bengal to delineate Siliguri from Darjeeling district forever. To vouch for the status of Siliguri subdivision as an entity of Darjeeling can only be confirmed by the Government of Sikkim and the Government of Bhutan under whose territory, Siliguri and the Dooars as a whole, constituted before 1835and 1865 respectively. Therefore, the Sixth Schedule status excluding any portion of Siliguri subdivision under the new GHCD is not acceptable taking into consideration the attachment of the Darjeeling hill peoples to whom Siliguri and the contiguous areas belonged. Bengal charges the hill peoples to whom Siliguri and the contiguous areas belonged. Bengal charges the hill peoples for trying to divide Bengal whereas, on the contrary the Darjeeling hill peoples consider Bengal is dividing Darjeeling territorially, as well as dividing the hill peoples to suit its nefarious goal not to release Darjeeling district from its ethnical rule negating the Darjeeling hill peoples democratic rights to self determination to form a Union state of India.

This factor of the division of the District and the division of the people under categorization of Scheduled Tribes and non-tribes of the hill people, purely to incorporate the new GHCD within the provision of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution is arbitrary, unilateral and undemocratic as the signatory (considered on behalf of the Darjeeling hill peoples) of DGHC violates the fundamental principle of all aspects of democratic representative government polity as provided by the Constitution of India. Shri Subhas Ghissing being accepted as the representative of the Darjeeling hills peoples both by the State and the Centre is legally at fault for having signed the tripartite MoS in respect of the new Gorkha Hill Council in the Sixth Schedule. It is upto your judicious mind to interpret the Gorkha Hill Council in the Sixth Schedule. It is upto your judicious mind to interpret the whole relevancy and the passage of the Sixth Schedule by Parliament into a statute in consideration of the unlawful act of signing off the MoS by Shri Subhas Ghissing (only an individual under law). It was only the greatness of the Bharatiya Janta Party and your esteemed and erudite leader Shri L.K.Advani who stopped the whole unlawful process by having it referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee as the matter involved the important issue of the amendment of the Constitution. No doubt being an experienced man of integrity Shri. Advani was able to read the lines in between before a constitutional debacle occurred simply to suit the whims and fancies of the CPM ruled government in West Bengal and UPA Government ruling India, wherein it is assumed the Congress in order to remain in power obliged the leftist in Parliament to coalesce with the West Bengal Government and the CPM at the Centre in allowing the Bill to be passed by the Cabinet and its introduction in Parliament assuming an easy clearance.

It was only the wit and genuine concern of Shri Advani and the BJP party as a whole which has hindered the hidden agenda of the CPM ruled Bengal Government hurrying to pass the Sixth Schedule Bill, while the end game being to blind the hill peoples from achieving any kind of statehood, which has been the aspiration for the last 100 years.

The Sixth Schedule Bill is not being contested by the hill people on the grounds of claiming for a statehood as is commonly surmised and improperly being attested by the CPM, the left front including the GNLF leaders and representatives. It is also given to understand, but for the various undemocratic, unlawful and unconstitutional methods having been applied by the constituents behind the signatory officials of the government of West Bengal and India and an individual (a Government of West Bengal appointee alluded to be a representative of the hill peoples), nowhere being the truth, particularly in reference to the context, politically, lawfully and constitutionally.

It is not known to this writer when the statehood demand for Telangana and Vidharba began but a separate unit separate from Bengal (British and India) was first started in 1907 which still continues till date, a span of a century. This is a disgrace to the democratic institution on which India was founded. To make amends for the lapse of inconsideration by the Indian Union, primarily by West Bengal, it is only just, this matter is resolved to judicious and amicable settlement to preserve the goodwill and friendly relations amongst the diverse communities that is India. The dominant communities should come out to deliver self determination to minority community in the states as exemplified by the open commitment of the UP Chief Minister Smt. Mayawati who is a democratic nationalist in the true sense of the word. She has clearly stated large states is not the solution for development and progress which happens to be the aspirations fo the hill peoples of Darjeeling and to achieve which end, a statehood is the only solution. Sikkim has clearly shown the path in all round development and which the Darjeeling hill peoples have been enviously watching over the border as stated earlier. Jai Hind!

Respectfully yours,

Shri R. Moktan,

Sumaralaya

8 ½ th Mile, Rishi Road,

Kalimpong – 734101