Is Gorkhaland An Unjust Demand?
Posted by barunroy on June 29, 2008
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By Dhruba H. Adhikary [Editorial - Gorkhapatra, Kathmandu, Nepal] |
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Absolutely not. Indians of Nepali ethnicity deserve what they have been demanding since 1980s : Gorkhaland within the Indian union. All they are saying is that Darjeeling and adjoining areas be made a state so that Nepali-speakers could establish their identity on cultural and linguistic lines. Bimal Gurung and his colleagues in the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) have made it abundantly clear that theirs is not a secessionist movement of any kind. The political leadership as well as the bureaucracy in New Delhi need to understand the aspirations and concomitant pledge expressed through the GJM leadership. The Indian authorities can take timely measures so that the ongoing campaign does not assume additional, if not ugly, dimensions. It does not need elaboration, for example, that by being insensitive to a genuine claim New Delhi runs the risk of alienating the Gorkhas who are a crucial component of the India’s armed forces. Gorkhas, after all, are Gorkhas, and it does not make any difference, in a given situation like the present one, whether they live in the hills of Nepal or in areas across the Mechi river. Inexplicable New Delhi and Calcutta have remained indifferent to the voice of Gorkhas for far too long. Lack of enthusiasm in Calcutta initially looked understandable because fulfillment of Gorkhali demand would directly result in the reduction of the size of the state of West Bengal. But, the stony silence New Delhi chose to maintain on this issue remained unfathomable. As is obvious, a call for a general strike in the Darjeeling hills does not affect only the population of that area; it also disrupts the traffic on the highway linking Sikkim which borders Tibet. Security implications are there for everyone to see. Should effects on security aspect be pronounced after a prolonged spell of inaction, Calcutta would eventually be forced to take its share of the blame for making India insecure. The leftist leadership in West Bengal, therefore, has a choice to offer a timely help to the Gorkhas for a state of their own in territories currently dubbed as north Bengal or maintain a negative stand now and pay a heavy price afterwards. What Pranab Mukherjee, India’s External Affairs Minister, said in Calcutta on June 14 is reflective of the negative attitude on the Gorkhas. By assigning external affairs minister to say “no” to the Gorkhaland demand, the Indian leadership tried to show that the demand is prompted by foreign powers. This is bound make the Gorkhas angrier. If it was a separatist movement right from the start, as it is being projected now from Calcutta and New Delhi, where was the need for the Indian leadership to recognize Subhas Ghisingh and then grant a hill council status to the area under his leadership—in 1988 ? India’s omnipresent intelligence agencies must have collected necessary information on the movement. Controversial After all, there is nothing new or unusual in the demand for a separate statehood. Such demands have been successfully made elsewhere in India, and have been favorably responded to in a number of cases. The states of Uttarkhand, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand were created out of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar respectively. These newest states came into being when New Delhi had a BJP-led coalition government. Then there is an ongoing issue of Telangana in Andhra Pradesh. Do the Gorkhas have to wait until a new government is installed at the centre? It appears that the existing dispensation is determined to continue to deprive the Gorkhas of their distinct identity, on one pretext or the other. The Manmohan Singh government’s controversial attempt to turn Darjeeling into a tribal area has already been fiercely resisted by the Gorkhas. As Bimal Gurung has argued, the centre’s plan to put the area under Sixth Schedule of the Indian constitution would divide Nepalis along tribal and ethnic lines ; hence, unacceptable to the people living in three subdivisions of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong and surrounding areas. Obligation Should Nepal turn a blind eye to these developments in its eastern neighborhood ? Of course, not. While the demand/dispute is in the land that ceased to be Nepali territory since the Sugauli treaty of 1816, the social and cultural affinity that Nepalis enjoy with the Nepali-speaking inhabitants there cannot be overlooked. Nepalis in Nepal have to express their solidarity for the just struggle their brothers and sisters across the border have been carrying out for years. Even official Nepal must not keep quiet on the Gorkhaland issue. As is known to us all, it has been offering shelter to one hundred thousand Nepali-speaking Bhutanese who entered Nepal as refugees since 1990. Earlier, Nepal was compelled to accept several thousand Nepali-speakers evicted from Assam and Meghalaya. Nepalis in the Gorkhaland are not seeking assistance of this kind. All they are looking for is Nepal’s whole-hearted support for the cause they are fighting for. ” As Nepali-speaking community we are expecting a great deal of help,” said Bimal Gurung in an interview published in Nayaa Patrikaa on June 26. He has expressed hope that Nepal’s new government, to be headed by Prachanda, would pay attention to the subject which happens to have their origins in some of the old bilateral treaties. Anyhow, Nepal simply cannot afford to sit back and be a silent spectator when the issue at hand may affect the life of some 15 million Gorkhalis living in India. |
aardee said
15 million Gorkhalis living in India…we need to create a big hue and cry about this and how the Indian state is not giving us our rightful dues.
Jai Gorkhaland!
tatu said
first retorspect , why bhutan govt and assam and megalaya peopel kick out nepalis from their territory. because of our leaders are so corrupt and communal that no civilized society can accept them . though general gorkhas like me just opposite. NOW, what busines of NEPAL in india? mr adhikary,first mind your own businees in nepal. make your country selfsufficent instead of pocking your nasty nose in india.it is proof there is conspiracy to built a bridge between NEPAL , SIKKIM et. dangarous treand.
Mumbaiwala said
Dear Tatu,
Shall we start KICKING out all B’deshis from MUMBAI? What the HELL do you KNOW about BHUPALIS? First get some facts then do some analysis then open your TRAP.
Don’t get mixed up.Thank your STARS that GJMM is taking Gandhigiri.
I hope you got what I am trying to say.
Anti-tatu said
Crab Tatu-bengladeshi refugee you again came on this page too.You have no other work except criticize others blog & others affairs.Stop your parasitic nature.
tatu said
mr adhikary has no right to speak about indian affairs. if you have any problems with indian govt and laws pl go to nepal their is mr adhikary to take care of you. this is the consiparcy of greater nepal. alredy prachand start kicking out tibetians from nepal. it is turn to bimal/roshan to do so to kick out lepcha, bhutia, tibetians and other non nepalis from darjeeling. already they prvocoting so. but, that will not possible. insted of that bimal/roshan will be kick out from darjeeling. that is writing on the wall.
A true Gorkha... said
Who’s this adhikari??
Sab kaam bigaar raha hain yea sab statement de ke.Adhikari tu apna kaam mein dyan bata,edhar maat dekh.Hum khud GL ke liye ladenge.be maatlab state de raha hain.Aur listen we are not interested in Nepal aur tera leader Prachanda.Tu yea sab band kaad.Circus laga rakha hain.
V.Lepcha said
SEPERATE HILL STATE : NEED OF THE HOUR
The demand for the seperate hill stste is totally justified.
The demand for the separate state of the people of the hills has to be seen in the context of the social, cultural, economic aspirations of the region which after more than half a century of independence of the country is still without proper infrastucture, medical facilities, institutions of higher education. The region lacks in even the basic facilities including drinking water. There are no job opportunities for the youth, no economic development in the region. All these factors point to a total neglect of the hill region.
The demand for the separate state has therefore to be seen in the proper perspective.
The entity of state is essentially a unit of administration. The primary task of administration is to address the issues of the people and take appropriate steps for solving the problems of the people. The demand for the separate state by the people of the hills is only a logical culmination of the, unaddressed legitimate aspirations of the people in a democracy.
However, the seperate state should be called DARJEELING, which The seperate state should be called DARJEELING, which would convey a broader identity to the people of the hills and not Gorkhaland, which stands for just one section of the population. Calling the new state as DARJEELING would certainly address the feeling of gorkha domination prevailing among the indegenious tribes of the hills.
Pemsang_D said
The recent acts violence of the GJM aginst its former partners in the GNLF sets at rest all doubt about the real agenda of the GJM. The GJM basically wants power to be consolidated in its hands and does not believe in democracy. Leave aside any other opinion or view regarding the composition of the hill state, it does not even want any competition from its former party GNLF.
These power hungry people masquerading as leaders of the hill people and their goondas are supposed to provide leadership to the proposed new seperate state. We should beware of such elements before they grow big.
The hill people certainly deserve better than such criminals and lumpens.
gorkha... said
Ganta ko…Gorkhaland chai pahunchaw pahunchaw…nata…
JTM said
“The demand for the separate state of the people of the hills has to be seen in the context of the social, cultural, economic aspirations of the region which after more than half a century of independence of the country is still without proper infrastucture, medical facilities, institutions of higher education. The region lacks in even the basic facilities including drinking water. There are no job opportunities for the youth, no economic development in the region. All these factors point to a total neglect of the hill region”
Have you seen rest of India? But good that you are raising these issues so that rest of India can also agitate for the same.
p lama said
Why you are not raising the similiar demand of Gorkhaland within the Nepal and Britain. Before demanding it from India your gorkhali bhai must raise it from those countries.
JTM said
Dunno about Britain, but the disdain that the present regime has for Gorkha soldiers in Nepal, they will soon raise their voices for a separate Gorkha category.
p lama said
From the above article of Mr.Adhikari it is needless to mention here that :
BIMAL GURUNG HAS A CLEAR CONNECTION WITH THE ACTIVISTS OF MAHA NEPAL.SO THE DEMAND OF GORKHALAND IS NOTHING BUT INDIRECTLY IT’s A DEMAND OF MAHA NEPAL. NO DOUBT BIMAL IS A AGENT OF NEPAL.
JTM said
Then how does Prachand and Bhattarai’s friendship with Buddhadeb fit into this plot?
Mohan Srivastaba said
Gurkhas from Darjeeling should go now to Britain and leave us alone in peace in West Bengal.
Let the British has all these filthy dirty Nepalese and they will be happy with them cleaning their streets in the same way Sikhs clean the toilets in London airports.
JTM said
Arrey Srivastavaji, Lagta aap Bengal niwaasi hain. Pahila number. Bharat main Gurkha nahin kahte. GORKHA kehte hain. Paschim Bengal main aapko kaun jyada pareshaan kar rahe hain? Gorkhey ya Mamata Bannerjee ya raatdin ka politicalbandh aur dharnabaazi? Croro rupaiya ka project chala gaya gujerat main. Darjeeling se chai, tourism, lakri, Bijli milta hain.
Kaun bola Nepali log gande hain? Raaste bhar kaun paan gutka thukta hain? Jagah jagah pe kaun peshaab karta hain? Kalkatta shahar main kaun gandigandi gaaliya nikalta hain? Bara Bazaar main kaun garib Bihariyo ke saath bhaare ke jaanwar jaise salook karte hain? Pura bharat main sabse jyada bhikari kahan hai? Aap hi ke aas paas. Pura Bharat main sabse bara laal-batti kahan hain? Aapke Songachi main.
Accha Sikhon ko bhi gaali nikala? Aapko apna Pradhan mantriji ka bhi koi izzat nahin hain? Gorkho ka khukri aur Sikhon ke kirpaan ko nahi uksaayey. Srivastava logon ka Sir-vavastha ho jayega
Bengaliyo ne aaplog jaise vyapari jaat ko sar par rakhkar khud bahar ho gaye hain.
Aur aakhri number pe, agar aapko Britain jaane ka mauka mila, to aap sabese pahile apna paan choona ka dibba le ke champat ho jayenge heathrow ke liye. Parantu wahan paan khana or thukna mana hai
YK Shrestha said
Mohan Srivastaba Says:
October 14, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Gurkhas from Darjeeling should go now to Britain and leave us alone in peace in West Bengal.
Let the British has all these filthy dirty Nepalese and they will be happy with them cleaning their streets in the same way Sikhs clean the toilets in London airports.
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Bloody Kayasth, it was coz of u kayasth that British was able to rule India for so long. India would have got freedom much before 1947, but it was coz of u kayasths who were the real chamchas of the british. Swine!!
M Tamang said
The Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad has called a 24-hour strike in the Dooars and the Terai on Thursday, demanding Sixth Schedule status for the region and protesting against the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s move to include the areas into Gorkhaland.
“On July 17, we submitted a 13-point charter to the state and central governments and set a deadline of 90 days to fulfil the demands,” said Rajesh Lakra, the secretary of the Dooars-Terai Coordination Committee of the Parishad, today. “As the administration has not responded, despite a couple of reminders, we have decided to observe the strike.”
Healthcare, airline, army, media and other essential services have been kept outside the purview of the strike, Lakra said.
The Parishad charter of demands also included opening of closed tea estates, construction of East-West corridor through the Dooars and setting question papers of the Madhyamik exams in Hindi from 2009.
Birsa Munda said
BIGGEST QUESTION
The biggest question that romps on the current political situation is that whither goes Darjeeling? Will the state and the Centre ever allow the separation of West Bengal and creation of a new state? If so, at whose cost and for what reason? If not, what will be Gurung’s strategy? Will he follow the path of Ghising for a blood shedding movement? And even if Darjeeling gains its separate statehood, how will it run without having a strong economic backup?
It is anybody’s guess that the Centre will not bow down to the demands of the GJM, considering the demand on ethnic issues. Once the claim is approved,
• ethnic issues in other states too will gain momentum and that will be horrible to tackle. This will be a very costly proposition because the base of the movement lies in separatism – the most vulnerable danger before the central government.
• Another issue, which is more important, is the demographic situation of Darjeeling. Being a northern border area, Darjeeling has always posed threat of foreign aggression. Leave aside the immigration issues, largely related with illegal intrusion. This threat will mount manifold if Sikkim joins the movement because Sikkim is close to China. China has already claimed a part of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
• The claim of Gorkhaland with the inclusion of the Terai and dooars region is a a foolish proposition because this will give birth to serious political trouble and ethnic issues. Communal clashes are also not overruled. Is it believable that the Bengali and Adihibasi population of the Terai and Dooars region who are majorities will accept the rule of the Gorkhas to remain as second class citizens?
There is a danger that if the Gorkhaland demand is conceded, the next step would be to ask for merger with Nepal. We can not support a separate state for a million people based on ethnicity. However, more autonomy can be give to their local affairs by the state government. Delhi alone has a populaton of 150 million. Till how long will you keep carving new states whenever a million people get together and ask for one?
Birseko Muda said
@Birsa Munda
Aren’t we second class citizens under Bengal rule? You would do well to join us and have a separate state Gorkhaland where everyone’s future would be safe. Tell me Birseko Muda, what have you gained living under Bengal’s rule? BTW, I do not think you are really a Birsa Munda, you must be a bong writing under an Adivasi’s name. And yes, we would prefer you being called Tribals rather than Adivasi. Think about it.
Rakesh Anand said
The Gorkhas want a separate homeland not because of economic step-motherly attitude of the Bengali Politicians. They are much well off than all other districts except Kolkata(Check up datas). They think they will be much better off with out the Bengalis. So they began the ethnic cleansing of Bengalis from the hills at least 2 decades ago. Subhas Ghising successfully started and finished this job with the help of his henchmen like the kinds of Bimal Gurung! They even told other religious communities how they should go about worshipping according to their own sweet will! Now Bimal Gurung is preaching Gandhigiri? “900 chuha khakey billi huj ko chali!”. They should be first prosecuted for embezzlement of Hill Council funds and for instigating communal violence that led to thousands of deaths during the eighties!. All dissident voices in the Hills have been silenced! The way I see men and women in Darjeeling praising and worshipping Bimal Gurung as their leader in front of the eletronic media, confirms my doubts that these helpless people, who are not Gorkhas are desparete to show their allegiance to ensure their survival in the hills ! We have seen the same behaviour of the ordinary North Korean people towards their leader Kim Jong Il, even when they are devoid of any liberties in the world! They do so only to save their lives from tyranny and oppression of their Communist Govt.
The CPI(M) managed to purchase Ghishing, by giving him Darjeeling Hill Councill and looking the other way when he and his henchmen like Bimal Gurung, were blowing up the money for the development of the Hills! Today Ghising is removed because he was trying to have all that alone. They split up only because they were having a problem in shareing the booty! I see Bengali Buddhijibis giving long lecturers on TV channels about how hills are being deprived and how their problems are not being solved! My question is that – Who is responsible for that? Bengalis? Certainly not. Why the HIll council did nothing to solve problems like say the Water Shortage in Darjeeling? The Gorkhas are themselves to blame. Now Bimal Gurung is only useing this sentiment to spread hatred against Bengalis. Why was he with Ghising for so many years?
What were the Gorkhas doing when the Bengalis were fighting for India’s freedom? They were following orders from their British masters to shoot civilian Indians in Jallianwallah Bagh. They were killing Indian freedom fighters under Masterda Surya Sen in the hills of Jalalabad near Chittagong(All documented history).
And about the Gorkha regiment! There are probably more Bengalis in the Armed Forces than the Gorkhas. Thanks to the British and Lord Curzon for srapping the Bengal Regiment because of their vindictive attitude, and successive Indian Govts who always saw India through the eyes of the British . That did not deter the Bengalis from joining the Armed forces. If Gorkhas can parade Ex-service men, Bengalis will be able to arrange for a much larger contingent, even without a Bengal Regiment!
WE INDIANS, Do not think your problem will be over by creation of Gorkhaland! The Kamtapuri Liberation Movement, Greater Coochbehar movement and so on are just waiting in the wings!
Similarly dear Gorkhaland friends! Your problems will also not be over if you can create Gorkhaland! There is surely a “Lepchaland Movement” to follow! Remember this land originally was inhabited, not by Gorkhas, but by Lepchas! Dont try to prove otherwise. Because that is the historical truth! Gorkhas arrived Darjeeling after Tea Gardens were started by the British.