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Demography of Darjeeling Hills

Global Demography Project

By Vimal Khawas

The then superintendent Dr. Campbell had reported the population of Darjeeling Himalaya to be 1900 in 1850 and 2200 in 1869. The years that followed saw the rapid growth in the population in the region. Over the years, people belonging to various castes, tribes, religions and speaking various languages have found places across the geographical and temporal spaces in the ‘queen of the hills’. It can be said that Darjeeling as of today is an ethnographic museum and a cultural melting pot. Darjeeling Himalaya offers the most remarkable example of growth of population stemming mainly from immigration from outside. The most potent factor contributing to the growth of population in the area has been the tea industry. Another important force which also encouraged immigration in the district has been the general agriculture. This is especially true in case of Kalimpong Sub-division with relatively low altitude and comparatively high potential for agriculture.Besides, immigrations due to political reasons (mainly from Bangladesh, Tibet and Bhutan) have played role in the growth of population in Darjeeling. As per the Census of India (2001) the total population of Darjeeling District comes to 1605900; the share of hill population being over 8.5 lakh.

The rapid population increase has caused unscientific expansion of the area of cultivated fields. Natural pakhas (slopes) and jungles have thus receded to greater distances from the original settlement. The daily transportation of fodder leaves and grasses, as well as firewood has become far more difficult and painstaking. This has reduced the number of animals per household over the period of time, which has in turn impacted the agricultural productivity in the Himalaya.

Such situation has forced the local folks to construct new terraced fields on more and more inappropriate slopes. Vast areas of forests have shrunk and many pakhas have been turned into cultivated fields. Consequently, the jungles around the villages have begun to disappear. This nibbling effect is apparent in around the hill villages and its diameter is increasing day by day. In consequence, soil erosion has accelerated. In areas where the cover of natural vegetation has been stripped off, the cycle of successive landslides has been abruptly shortened. Thus a number of landslides have begun to destroy fields and threaten the areas of inhabitants. Sources of water have begun to decrease in quantity.Consequently, the burden of everyday task of carrying water has become far more severe than before impacting the rural women. In number of cases, the quality of water has also dropped and as a result sickness increased. This simply means additional distress and economic burden.

Society of Darjeeling Hills

Darjeeling Himalaya is a multi-ethnic, multicultural and multi-lingual area. The society in the area is made up of various elements drawn from diverse origin. The social diversity is perhaps the most powerful manifestation of the area. The social groups with diverse ethnic and linguistic origins, representing various racial stocks and social status have found a place for themselves at different points of time adapting themselves to the different ecological niches offered by the physiographic and climatic setting of the area. The waves of immigration have drawn the ancestors of the majority of the present population of the area from the surrounding territories across the Himalayas. Their dispersal has resulted in a creation of a social mosaic with ethnic distinctiveness.

Approximate ethnic group wise composition of the population of Darjeeling Himalaya may be mentioned as follows -

• Nepali: this is a generic term and subsumes more than 15 ethnic groups under it. Various castes and tribe (like Sherpa, Subbas, and Tamangs) that immigrated to the area during the 18th,19th and early 20th century from Nepal are subsumed under this group. Today they are the permanent settlers and bonafide citizens of India

• Lepcha: they are the earliest settlers and are regarded as the autochthonous tribe of the region.

Tea

Beverage produced by steeping in freshly boiled water the young leaves and leaf buds of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis, a member of the family Theaceae, which contains 40 genera of trees and shrubs.

 Tea cultivation is first documented in China in AD 350; according to legend, it had been known there since c. 2700 BC. It was established in Japan by the 13^th century and was spread to Java by the Dutch and to India by the English in the 19^th century. Today tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world, drunk either hot or cold) by half the world’s population. Major tea types are classified by processing method: fermented, or black, tea produces an amber-colored, full flavoured beverage without bitterness; semi fermented, or oolong, tea yields a slightly bitter, light brownish green liquid; and unfermented, or green tea, results in a mild, slightly bitter, pale greenish-yellow beverage. Caffeine is responsible for tea’s stimulating effect. Green tea, long regarded as healthful in the Far East, has in recent years attracted much favourable attention in the West for a wide range of possible beneficial effects. Infusions and decoctions of the leaves, bark, and roots of many other, unrelated plants are commonly dunk as herbal or medicinal teas. 

Darjeeling – The Queen of Hills

[Reproduced with permission from Himalayan Travelers Guide to Darjeeling by Barun Roy]

Unanimously described as the ‘Queen of Hills’ Darjeeling is unique in its versatility. For the tourists, fresh from the sights of other lands, Darjeeling comes not only as a delightful surprise but as a veritable relief from the hot and sultry weather of the plains. From the surroundings of this unrivalled mountainous town which stands at an average height of 7,000 feet above sea level, one sees the breath-taking beauty of the snow covered peaks, the tips of which seem too silvery to be real, a dappled effect indeed of vivid white and patches of grey.

Darjeeling is at once, both old and new. The cosmopolitan town itself has come a long way since its modest beginnings in 1835. The new includes modern amenities, first class hotels, comprehensive shopping centers; some of India’s most famous boarding-schools, cinema halls and the world’s most sought trekking trails. Yet a few miles of the town one comes into contact with age-old customs and ways of living – hand plowed terraced hill side fields, surrounded by gaily painted huts, hollowed out bamboo pipes for carrying water and villagers still utterly unspoilt by the rush and materialism of the Twenty First Century.

 

A Brief History

The name ‘Darjeeling’ came from the Tibetan words, “dorje” meaning thunderbolt (originally the scepter of Indra) and “ling” a place or land – Hence, ‘the land of the thunderbolt’. This name could also have been inherited from a Buddhist Monastery of the same name once situated on the top of the Observatory Hill.

The town which originally consisted of a few mud huts surrounding the monastery on Observatory Hill was officially inaugurated by Captain Lloyd and Dr. Chapman. In 1839, the station was handed over to Dr. Campbell who was its first Superintendent. At this time there was not more than 20 families in the district of Darjeeling, and the further building up of Darjeeling, both physically and industrially was due almost entirely to Dr. Campbell’s twenty two years of untiring labour.

From a collection of a few mud-huts it has today grown up to be one of India’s premier hill stations, visited by tourists from distant corners of India and all over the world.

Atmospheric brown cloud – A seasonal phenomenon

Atmospheric Brown Cloud is primarily spread over different parts of the world including Asian, African and South American region in which fossil fuels and biomass burning processes are incomplete or combustion efficiency is low. In the Indian region, the Brown Cloud observations are found to be dominant over winter period while the observations in the other seasons are very few. During summer monsoon however, the cloud size and volume are usually very low writes Kalpana Palkiwala

The Atmospheric Brown Cloud (ABC) refers to the high loading of pollutants in the atmosphere consisting of mixture of anthropogenic sulphates, nitrates, organics, black carbon, dust, fly ash particles, and natural aerosols such as sea salt and mineral dust. The brownish colour of cloud is due to the absorption and scattering of solar ultraviolet radiation by black carbon; soil derived dust, fly ash and nitrogen oxide. The ABC phenomenon occurs over several world regions, and is seasonal phenomenon.The precise impacts of pollutant loading over monsoon rain and agriculture are still under study, and an international programme has been initiated by the world community to better understand the origins, inventories and impacts of Atmospheric Brown Cloud.The Government has taken several measures to reduce the pollutant loading like introduction of tightened emission norms for vehicles, improvement in fuel quality in transport sector, use of cleaner fuels, introduction of electrostatic precipitators in thermal power plants, introduction of biogas plants and improved biomass stoves especially, in rural areas. These measures are aimed to improve the air quality by reducing the pollution loading.A programme named INDOEX (Indian Ocean Experiment) -undertaken during 1996-1999 with the participation of the Indian scientists, has drawn the attention of the international community on issues pertaining to pollution. The preliminary investigation of effects of pollution loading on rains was undertaken for India with the help of a model.

GNLF to chalk out plans after central committee meeting

Siliguri, March 13: The GNLF would try to get its acts together after a central committee meeting, which is to be held once Mr Subash Ghisingh returns to Darjeeling. A senior GNLF leader and the party’s Kurseong unit president Mr IN Pradhan said today that Mr Subash Ghisingh would soon return to Darjeeling and plunge himself into the Hills’ political arena with renewed vigour. “It is wrong to think that the GNLF leader has ceased to be a force in the changed political scenario of the Hills. We would prove the prevailing idea wrong very soon,” he added. Criticising the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s embargo on Mr Ghisingh’s entry into Darjeeling, the GNLF leader said that Mr Ghisingh had stayed away form the Hills on his own volition and not because of any threat. “Being the father figure of the Hills he is singularly reluctant to further intensify the strife-ridden atmosphere. Following his resignation from the DGHC caretaker administrator’s post, he is now eager to return to the Hills. He would perhaps return in a day or two,” he added.Asked about the GNLF’s future strategy Mr Pradhan said that Mr Ghisingh, who is ill at the moment, would take a week’s rest once in Darjeeling and then the central committee of the party would meet to finalise the future strategy. [The Statesman]

Dog bites in hills on rise

Darjeeling, March 13: Incidences of dog bites have surfaced in the hill town with the Darjeeling Municipality not functioning for the past one month.

Plaban Das, medical director, Planter’s Hospital, today confirmed seven cases of dog bites, which were treated in the hospital in February. “The victims included two foreigners and of the seven cases only one had been bitten by a pet dog,” Das said.

A 17-year-old boy from Arunachal Pradhesh studying in Darjeeling is being “suspected” of having contacted rabies. “The boy did not seem to have taken the bite seriously. He got alarmed only after the dog died 15 days of the bite. He contacted a local pharmacy which suggested him anti-rabies vaccine but that seems to have been insufficient in this case,” the doctor said.

People who are bitten by dogs should get treated within 24 hours. Medical experts maintain that any delay could be fatal as the earliest confirmation of rabies comes only after 10 days.

Kurseong lines up Gorkha fare for track tourists

Kurseong, March 13: A platter of piping hot gundruk ka jhol (vegetable soup), shel roti (bread made of rice dust) and local brew made from guras or rhododendrons — all these and more to create a perfect Gorkha ambience.

Gorkha Bhansa Ghar, a restaurant set up on the premises of Kurseong railway station, will provide to tourists travelling on the toy train all that is associated with the Gorkha community — be it food or culture. [Inset: The interior of the restaurant on Kurseong station premises. Picture by Vivek Singh]

Dawa Golay, one of the six former jawans who are behind the running of the restaurant, said the proceeds from the earnings would be given to local clubs for the promotion of sport and culture.

“The Darjeeling Himalayan Railways had wanted a Gorkha food restaurant, but could not get hold of the right people. When we got the offer from HELP, we at once seized upon the idea. The restaurant started functioning yesterday,” said Golay today.

Tables turned at Tribeni, a year later- Fun, feast and stock taking

Kalimpong, March 13: Till a year ago, the GNLF had used the Maghe Mela at Tribeni to establish the tribal roots of the Gorkhas and build up its case to demand Sixth Schedule status for the hills. [Inset:  Gurung greets a Morcha supporter at Tribeni. Picture by Chinlop Fudong Lepcha]

A little more than 12 months later, about 20,000 people from the Darjeeling hills and the Dooars descended on the picturesque venue of Tribeni, the confluence of the Teesta and Rangit, to celebrate the success of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in stalling the special status bill and in ousting Subash Ghisingh as caretaker administrator of the DGHC.

As in Singla, Morcha president Bimal Gurung was present at Tribeni, 50km from Darjeeling, today to join in the revelry. However, unlike yesterday when he only did the listening, Gurung did speak, albeit briefly. Conscious of the presence of a large number of people from the Dooars, Gurung reassured them saying: “We will not part with even an inch of the Dooars during our struggle for Gorkhaland.”

Showcaused for file raids

Siliguri, March 13: The Darjeeling district police chief has showcaused the inspector-in-charge of Darjeeling Sadar police station, N.T. Sherpa, for raiding the houses of retired DGHC officers without search warrants to retrieve official files in their possession.

Police had already made an inventory of the files seized on Tuesday. On that day, the supporters of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters were demonstrating outside the houses of Tshering Bhutia, Tika Khati, Tshering Wangchuk and M.N. Pradhan, accusing them of removing the files on the sly. The law enforcers initially arrived to control the law and order situation.

“Suddenly, Morcha supporters started demanding that the houses be searched. Without any warrant, the police conducted raids and seized 200 files,” a source said. The Morcha later lodged a complaint with the Sadar police station, alleging that files had been removed from DGHC offices.