People’s Dream Vs Leaders’ Dream

By Salim Tamang,

Rimbick Bazaar,

Darjeeling

We would have been able to return back to earth had the journey been started from the time when the Hillmen of 1917 started the journey of salvation from Bengal. The innocent lovely ancestors trusted all the leaders in the hope that he/she would definitely bring or fulfill the long standing demand of salvation from Bengal. Our ancestors supported these leaders and gave everything. Bullets and lathi charge could not stop them. Blood of young and old had painted the Mela Ground in Kalimpong. To make people further aggressive “Gorkhaland can be achieved within six months or one year,” said Ghisingh. This was how he made the innocent people of the District of Darjeeling and Dooars believe that he was only saviour who could bring justice and salvation from Bengal.

The people have lost much from the time of Ladenla in 1917 to Damber Singh Gurung in 1946. To achieve a goal of salvation, Damber Singh Gurung and other Gorkha League party members visited Nepal on 23.12.1946 to merge Darjeeling into Nepal. The British then was paying Rs. 12, 000 (Twelve thousand) as rent of Darjeeling to Sikkim and it proved that Damber Singh Gurung and the League members were not the legal authority of Darjeeling who could merge it in Nepal. The way they thought to be right was actually wrong. Therefore the contribution made by the people proved fruitless. From then on, it has become a system or culture that Darjeeling areas are treated separately belonging to nobody.

The way they thought to be right not only deceived them but the people too.

Look into our history and one can find the true facts. Look into the struggle and contribution from 1907 to 2008 and one can see what went wrong. The dreams of the leaders can only been fulfilled at the cost of salvation from Bengal. The leaders never engaged in the true history of the people. They merely engaged in rhetoric. Salvation from Bengal cannot be achieved by being simply sentimental or emotional. Salvation from Bengal is a political demand and political demand can be possible when we are equipped with historical facts. Sorrow and misery have only been achieved by being sentimental. We’ve lost more than we’ve gain. We’re loosing what we shouldn’t have. For example, Siliguri is an integral part of Darjeeling District. The signing of Council Accord on 22.8.1988 by our so called saviour Mr. Ghisingh gave Bengal a right to claim / consider Siliguri not to be a part of District of Darjeeling, that is why recently peaceful procession of our ex-servicemen at Darjeeling more in Siliguri got stopped and stoned by the Government of West Bengal Police. When the Government of West Bengal issued Gazette notification or white paper on 29.10.1986 which states, “Historically what is known as the District of Darjeeling today was parts of two Kingdom – the Kingdom of Sikkim and Bhutan.” Would it not be our ignorance and foolishness to ask for salvation from the Govt. which has accepted in written that the District of Darjeeling was never a part of Bengal?

The white paper issued by the Government of West Bengal has been approved/sanctioned/recommended by the then Chief Minister, Ministers and the representative of all the political parties of Bengal. Is it not wrong to go to someone who holds no legal authority over the District of Darjeeling? What compels us to follow the same pattern of political agitation followed by our ancestors? I don’t see any reason to follow wrong path which led us nowhere. Now this is a tough time. The people of Darjeeling and Dooars must be united under the single umbrella of historical facts and march towards the path of the unification of Darjeeling with Sikkim.

Question 1: How was the path followed by our ancestors wrong?

Answer: The path of salvation from Bengal followed by our ancestors was wrong because they had no knowledge about Darjeeling’s legal authority. That is why they went to Nepal in search of salvation and Assam on 29.4.1952. They had no idea of the legal owner of the soil they were standing upon.

Our ancestors/forefathers had no idea of the fact that Darjeeling was given on rent to the British by the Seventh King, Sugtu Namgyal of Sikkim on 1^st February, 1835. The British made on payment till they disappear from Darjeeling. The final figure was Rupees. 12,000.

The Terai area of Sikkim, Siliguri and its adjoining areas were forcibly seized by the British in 1850 on the simple ground that the imprisonment of two British officers; Campbell and Sir Dalton Hooker by the then Prime Minister of Sikkim, Duniya Namgyal had infuriated the Governor General.

Our forefathers had no idea of the Treaty of Sinchula between the Government of Bhutan and British. The Treaty signed on the 11^th of November 1865 gave the British the right to possess Ambaree Falacottah, 18 Dooars, and left bank of River Teesta i.e. Kalimpong which were then integral part of Bhutan. The British on the other hand made yearly payments of Rupees 50, 000 to the Bhutanese Government. The payment was raised by the Treaty of Punakha to One Lakh Rupees (1, 00, 000) signed on the 8^th of January 1910 between the British Government and the Bhutanese King.

The British after obtaining Darjeeling from Sikkim in 1835, Siliguri in 1850 and Kalimpong, Ambaree Falacottah and 18 Dooars in 1865 formed the District of Darjeeling in 1866.

One important fact, everybody has to understand is that by paying the rent of Darjeeling to Sikkim and Ambaree Falacottah, 18 Dooars and Kalimpong to Bhutan, the British acknowledged in spirit and paper that the above territories respectively belonged to Sikkim and Bhutan.

Question 2. What happened to the lands or territories taken on rent by the British who vacated when India got independent in 1947?

Answer: The lands or territories taken by the British on rent from the Government of Sikkim and Bhutan automatically came under the possession of the two Governments. This is according to the prevailing International Laws. The permanent advocate of the International Court of Justice Bustamante Y. Sirven also expresses the same view. The Independence Act of 1947 also opines the same. After independence, Darjeeling was legally a part of Sikkim. Secondly, Kalimpong, Dooars, Ambaree Falacottah and 18 Dooars were legally integral parts of Bhutan. This was what the actual, exact and clear picture of the District of Darjeeling and Dooars after independence of India.

Question 3: How did these territories of Sikkim and Bhutan come under the Government of India?

Answer: Above facts proved that even after independence the District of Darjeeling was an integral part of Sikkim and Bhutan respectively. The Government of India concluded or signed treaty with the Government of Bhutan on 8.8.1949 which is called Indo-Bhutan Treaty. The Treaty facilitated Government of India and took the possession of Kalimpong, Dooars, Ambaree Falacottah and 18 Dooars for which the Government of India started to pay Rs. 5, 00, 000 (Indian Rupees) like the British used to pay to the Government of Bhutan. We should not get confused here. The Government of India by paying yearly rent of the above territories to Bhutan legally acknowledged in spirit and paper that the legal authority or supremacy in the hands of Bhutan. Government of India still pays the rent of above territories to the Government of Bhutan and it proves that the lands are still parts of Bhutan.

After leaving Darjeeling, the actual and legal owner of Darjeeling was unquestionable. The Government of India signed a treaty on 5.12.1950 with the Government of Sikkim which is called Indo-Sikkim Treaty. According to this Treaty the Government of India took the possession of Darjeeling and started to pay Rs. 3, 00, 000 (Indian Rupees) as rent which lasted till 1975 when Sikkim became 22^nd state of India.

Question 4. How did Darjeeling go under the administrative control of Bengal and how come India paid rent of Darjeeling to Sikkim till 1975?

Answer: The question of Darjeeling was the National interest of India because it was the Queen of the Hill with a heavy income from the tea, cinchona, forest, tourism, mini hydro electric powers. When India took possession of Darjeeling, she had to put it somewhere in the territories of India. Thus India put it in West Bengal in 1954 like the British who put Darjeeling in Bhagalpur division of Bihar in 1905. On the other hand, India was paying the rent of Darjeeling to Sikkim, possession of Darjeeling in whatever manner was in the supreme national interest of India and not in the interest of West Bengal. Therefore, Darjeeling came under the administrative control of Bengal and India went on paying the rent till 1975 when Sikkim became one of the State of India.

Above historical written facts should have acted like mirror. Without knowing the facts, our movement full of emotions and sentiments definitely led us to nowhere. The more sentimental we become the less chances of salvation. The more emotional we become the more chances of us being cheated by our leaders..

The historical facts therefore do not tally with the words of salvation of 1917 to 2008. Unless we follow the facts our only desire of salvation from Bengal becomes just a dream.

Therefore, I request everybody not to deceive themselves by ignoring the historical facts. Till today we have fulfilled the dream of the leaders only. To make people dream come true, written documents are inevitable. The unification of Darjeeling Hills with Sikkim is the easiest, shortest, safest way to achieve our ultimate goal of salvation from Bengal.

Lets work towards the unification of Darjeeling with Sikkim!