A Letter to the Editor – The Pioneer by Varsha

The Editor
The Pioneer
B.S. Zafar Marg
New Delhi 110 002

Re: Kanchan Gupta’s article: Don’t sympathise with Gorkhaland

Mr. Gupta seems to have read all the history books available on how Darjeeling came into being and about Nepal and Sikkim Kings Queens and consorts…

Mercifully, he has also mentioned how the Gorkhas living in Darjeeling have been granted citizenship since 1950. Kind of him.

He however forgot to mention that there are Gorkhas living in all parts of India – just the way all Indians can and are allowed as “citizens” of Independent India. We Gorkhas are not just restricted to Darjeeling , Dooars or Siliguri, we are in large numbers in Himachal, Uttrakhand, Uttar Pradesh and have been living in these sates for centuries.

His theory of how Ghising’s dreams of “Gorkhaland” in the 1980s agitiation was fuelled to “re-establish Greater Nepal” by creating a bridge between Nepal and Sikkim is just that a THEORY.

By insinuating that the rightful demand of the Gorkhas for a separate state that has been pending for not one – ten or twenty years but more than one hundred years, has little do do with “local aspirations” of Gorkhas and more to do with the rise of Maoists in Nepal and the creation of Greater Nepal, Mr. Kanchan has deliberately chosen to cast aspersions on the loyalty and the integrity of the Gorkha community in India .

That the Gorkhas would even entertain such treachery would go against the common grain of all Gorkhas – it is not for nothing that members of our community have won the largest number of gallantry awards – posthumously. Yes posthumously, for protecting India ’s borders from 1947 until date, note not just protecting West Bengal ’s borders. And before that by being members of Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army. Even now the Gorkhas are proud of their association with the Indian armed forces in particular, and other profession in general, yes even tea-plucking that helps to garner India precious exports and revenues for a brand called “Darjeeling Tea”.

Mr. Kanchan should know most Gorkhas chose, yes chose to stay with the Indian Army rather than go over to the British Army.

And this is what we get even after 100 years our own countrymen call us “foreigners” our own countrymen and media label us as outsiders, and insinuate that we would side with other countries to encroach on India ’s territory. The whole point is that we Gorkhas are INDIAN and want to be seen and respected as Indians, not Chinese/Nepalese/North Easterns/Khasis/Mizos/Garos – we are Gorkhas, we are Indians. Believe it or not!

As Gorkhas we love India as much as any other Indian, it’s a pity that though we are in large numbers in India we are scattered as a community. We understand how the West Bengal government, ministers that hail from the state that have prominent positions and portfolios in the Cabinet including that of I&B, Foreign Affairs etc, the policy makers of which a large coterie is again from Bengal get more prominence than us poorly represented Gorkhas.

That is why the illegal immigrants of erstwhile East Pakistan/Bangladesh can and are infiltrating our borders at will and merging with the population of India, just because they look and speak – Bengali, therefore these immigrants are never subjected or challenged to prove their identity as Indians. We understand they are potential voter banks for political parties. These very same immigrants in North Bengal qualify for BPL ration cards and avail all facilities of the Government whereas the Adivasis – indigenous tribes of India and the Gorkhas have to fight and prove our identity to qualify for a ration card.

We are aware that many in the fourth estate too belong to Bengal and therefore to get a fair unbiased representation in the media may be a bit elusive but, as citizens of India we do expect that of the media. Sadly, the media perhaps has forgotten their role to be a mirror of society and instead is allowing their bias to show.

It is interesting to note how The Pioneer which we as readers are well aware has a definite soft corner for the BJP and Hindutva factor chooses to represent the Gorkha cause. The Gorkhas have taken their name from Baba Gorakhnath – protectors of “Gau” or cows that is holy to the Hindus. Also the BJP was quick to react to the Maoists winning the elections in Nepal and commiserating the fact that Nepal has chosen to become a secular state rather than the only “Hindu Kingdom” yet they protest and label us “anti-national” and “divisive” the call for Gorkhaland that would grant Gorkhas (Gau rakshaks) a state however small but bigger than Goa, that we can proudly call our own as Gorkhas all over the world.

Do note the call for Gorkhaland is for a separate state, repeat separate state not a separate country and therefore we are not dividing Bengal yet again. The media should desist from misinforming and resurrecting in the minds of the people the horrific bloody partition of Bengal in 1947 which led to the creation of East Pakistan – now Bangladesh .

Jai Gorkha! Jai Hind!

Varsha