Why not Gorkhaland?
Posted by barunroy on July 6, 2008
By CS Thapa (The writer is a retired Indian Army brigadier)
The demand for a separate Gorkhaland has brought a prompt nay from the Centre, while the State Government is indulging in politicking. West Bengal Transport Minister Subhas Chakrabarty’s terming the Gorkhas “foreigners” is evidence of this, and overlooks the fact that Indian citizens of Nepalese origin came to this country more than 200 years ago.
The formation of States in India is a case of dithering politics where sectarian, linguistic and communal aspects have been more pronounced. To resolve the issue, a commission was set up in the 1950s called the States Reorganisation Commission (SRC). It recommended the formation of 16 States and three Centrally Administrated Territories (CATs); the Government in turn settled for 14 States and six CATs.
In 1960, Maharashtra and Gujarat were granted Statehood. The same happened with Haryana in 1966; then it was Himachal. Old Assam broke up into Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. Goa was liberated from Portuguese rule in 1962 and became a full-fledged State in 1987.
After protracted agitation, the three new States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand were created. Besides, there is now a demand for Vidarbha and Telangana. Then why not Gorkhaland? The Gorkhas are only asking for what the rest of the country is — space for themselves.
Unfortunately, political expediency has begun to play an important role in meeting or rejecting such demands. Witness the Gujjar agitation in Rajasthan where the Centre resorted to inaction possibly because a rival party was in the dock, and the campaign against north Indians in Mumbai where the State Government and Centre stepped in late allegedly because the unrest benefitted them politically.
It is now politically expedient for the Centre to tell the Gorkhas to keep quiet. For, though relations between the UPA and the Left have soured, the Congress might still need the Left’s support after the forthcoming general elections.
A second reason could be the distance from Delhi. For, it seems that as long as the Capital is not affected directly, it will never hear the cry of pain of others. The Northeast, for instance, can be left to boil since it is far away from the Centre.
The Central and State Governments fail to realise that the demand for Gorkhaland goes back to as early as 1907. After that, it was revived in the mid-1980s with the rise of Subash Ghising. Ghising, however, did not live up to the expectations of the people. He proved to be autocratic and a poor administrator who also gave special privileges to his own community in the form of reservations. Hence the current turmoil.
The hills have always been neglected in India. They have poor infrastructure, while greater spending leads to fewer returns. Moreover, in an era of vote bank politics, they count for very few seats. It is in these hill regions that Indian citizens of Nepalese origin generally live. They have settled down as a rule close to military centres and are thus present in States like Himachal, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya and Mizoram. As the Indian economy has improved, progress has been slow to reach up the hills. Indian citizens of Nepalese origin in the three hill divisions of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong have however advanced comparatively more than other citizens of a similar background. As a logical next step, they are now asking for their rights.
The GJM’s talks with the West Bengal Government on June 27 went along predictable lines with the Left not in favour of the State’s division and the Gorkhas declaring that the earlier experiment of a hill council had failed. With its sharp rejoinders, the authorities have only added fuel to the fire.
This is election time in India and it may perhaps be the best time for the Gorkhas to present their case and generate a healthy debate. Admittedly, the current method of pressing for their demand by organising bandhs is not desirable, but it is also true that pleading has not worked. Furthermore, the Gorkhas are only resorting to a tactic that has been perfected by the Left.
Yet, the issue must be resolved peacefully in a democratic manner. The common man must be a gainer and not a loser.
