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Home , Bimal Gurung, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, Madan Tamang, Prashant Tamang

the story 05 www.dnaindia.com I twitter.com/dna I epaper.dnaindia.com I facebook.com/dnaindia NEW DELHI I SUNDAY, JULY 2, 2017 I daily news & analysis

Challenges ahead for Mamata as demand for Gorkhaland remains relevant

Security personnel retreat during a protest by activists in —PTI The Gorkhaland demand continues to remain in the hearts of each Gorkhali

the boundaries of the promised (gorkha)land

„„The proposed area of The five mouzas The 398 mouzas the the Sen panel Morcha wanted to be Gorkhaland, as per the recommended for included in GTA. Each red demand of the GJM, ex- Samsing inclusion in GTA square denotes a cluster of mouzas, not a single mouza The battle for tends from the to the chalauni darjeeling Soonkos river, and then to Lankapara Hat The proposed Tursa near Bhutan. The Shy- Gulmakhari Hasimara GTA area before the Sen panel purba karaibari amal Sen Committee, formed Sukna Buxa Duar filed its report in 2011, recommended that mm Nagrakala only five out of 398 mouzas Matigara demanded be brought within Jayanti Gorkhaland the ambit of the GTA. Cutting across religious, political and ideological divides, Gorkhaland is a sentiment that can no longer be ignored A BRIEF HISTORY

Amrita Madhukalya compulsory language, after English and 1907: The first demand for [email protected] Hindi, in all state schools. The most im- Gorkhaland submitted to Morley- portant difference, as Thubten tragicomi- Minto Reforms panel. he cynicism inside a cafe on the cally puts it, is the people. The last two 1952: The All Gorkha League outskirts of Siliguri is palpable. movements, fuelled by people who hit the submits a memorandum to then The intent, however, remains ear- streets, were taken over by charismatic Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru nest. Local businessman Thubten leaders. The current agitation stands demanding separation from the Sherpa, 35, backs the separatist un- proof of the futility of the earlier two. state of Bengal. rest in and around Darjeeling Tthat’s crippled the region’s famed tea and A battle zone 1981: Then Prime Minister Indira tourism industries and rattled the pictur- Protests soon broke out in Darjeeling, Gandhi receives a memorandum esque hills for a fortnight now. with a large number of people coming out from Pranta Parishad, demanding His father and uncles have been part of on the streets against what they felt was a separate state. the previous agitations for a separate the imposition of Bengali on the local Ne- state of Gorkhaland for the area’s majori- pali-speaking population. Thousands of 1980-90: The demand for ty Nepali-speaking ethnic Gorkha com- Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) sup- Gorkhaland intensifies with Gorkha munity within . Some of porters called a strike on June 15. Police National Liberation Front chief them are still fighting court cases. action sparked large-scale riots and ar- Subhas Ghising. Around 1,200 Thubten wants protesters to be realistic son. Three people have been killed and people killed. Darjeeling Gorkha and cautious. several injured in clashes between pro- Hill Council formed. In the 1980’s, about 1,200 people were testers and security forces. 2007: At the fag end of the Left killed as the agitation turned violent. An- What started as an agitation against a front’s regime, Gorkha Janmurti A protestor shouts slogans at a rally in Darjeeling —PTI other round of unrest gripped the region change in the school curriculum quickly Morcha supremo from 2007 to 2011. The last bout took place escalated into a revival of a century-old launches agitation. in 2013. demand for Gorkhaland. ly-driven battle for Gorkhaland. Gorkhas “In 2013, the leaders asked us to stop Darjeeling, known for its sprawling tea 2011: New CM Mamata Baner- feel Bengali-speaking outsiders have ex- BJP’s flip-flops paying the bills. For months, no one paid gardens and panoramic views of snow- jee forms Gorkhaland Territorial ploited their resources and imposed their the electricity bills, the water bills, and clad mountains, has turned into a battle Administration (GTA). Gurung is culture on them. „„The BJP’s silence over the issue the telephone bills. There are people today zone, and hundreds of Indian and foreign its leader. The GJM’s symbols are the sun, the has also led to several furrowed who are still paying those arrears; my sis- tourists, besides students of its famed 2013: With the formation of Himalayan mountains and two crossed brows. In its 2014 manifesto, the ter had to pay Rs 90,000,” Thubten recalls. boarding schools have fled the area since on July 20, 2013, the kukris, used by the famously fierce party said that it would “sympa- “So today, when we go out on the streets, the unrest began. The green, white and movement for Gorkhaland again Gorkha soldiers, from and India. thetically examine and appropriately we make sure we pay our bills first.” yellow flags of GJM fly from homes, intensifies. Gurung resigns as the consider the long-pending demand There are many differences between shops and cars. Jai Mahakali, Ayo head of GTA. The bloodied fight of Gorkhas.” BJP’s West Bengal the previous agitations and the present Gorkhali, the war cry of the feared Post-Independence, the demand for chief Dilip Ghosh has now said that one that began in mid-May at the height Gorkha soldiers reverberates across the 2017: The West Bengal Gorkhaland found its voice in Subhash the party never supported the divi- of tourist season after the West Bengal streets. government’s move to make Ghising, a charismatic leader, who started sion of the state. “We never talked government angered the Gorkhas by an- The state government has blocked mo- Bengali mandatory in all state out by forming a political party, Nilo about Gorkhaland. If we were to nouncing plans to make Bengali the third bile and broadband Internet. Youngsters schools sparks a fresh round of Jhanda, in 1968. He made his first claim divide the state on linguistic groups, in Darjeeling are angry. “Does this look agitation for Gorkhaland. for a separate state during an agitation in then Assam has more Gorkhas than Opposition unity like Kashmir to you? This is a violation of 1979. A year later, he formed the Gorkha Bengal. What will happen there?” our human rights,” says Rabgay Rai, who Who is Gurung? National Liberation Front (GNLF). Over studies at a local college in Darjeeling. the course of the next decade, he launched „„The current strife has brought to- a bloodied struggle during which over rial Authority (GTA) on September 2, 2011. gether all Opposition parties in Dar- Who are the Gorkhas? „„Many say that GJM chief 1,200 Gorkhas lost their lives. The agita- A Memorandum of Agreement to form the jeeling under one roof. A convention The Nepalese inhabitants of the Darjeel- Bimal Gurung is a man who tion ended on August 22, 1988, when the GTA was signed on July 18, 2011 between saw parties as diverse as the GJM, ing hills have been viewed as migrants operates by fear. There were GNLF signed a tripartite agreement with the then Union Home Minister, P Chidam- its predecessor Gorkha National from Nepal and therefore ‘foreigners,’ whispers about a spate of se- the state and the Centre to form the Dar- baram, Chief Minister Liberation Front (GNLF), Jan even though their history in the area long cret killings that were allegedly jeeling Gorkha Hill Council, a semi-auton- and GJM leaders. Andolan Party (JAP), the Bharatiya predates an independent India. Nepal ced- carried out by the GVC under omous administration. Under its administration, the GTA had (BJP), among oth- ed some of its territories, including Dar- him. In 2010, three hill sub-divisions: Darjeeling, Kur- ers. The leaders declared that the jeeling, to the British in 1816 following the of the Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha The last two bouts seong, Kalimpong, Mirik and parts of Silig- movement is now no longer about Anglo-Nepal war. India retained these ter- League, one of the most vo- Ghising’s reign waned over the years. In uri. In the last few years, the West Bengal a single party or an individual; it is ritories after Independence. Darjeeling cal detractors, was hacked to 2007, Darjeeling boy , who government formed eleven welfare boards now about Gorkhaland. and its adjoining areas later became a part death by GJM workers. Tamang was on the popular TV show , within the GTA, which the GJM opposed. of West Bengal. This sparked an ethnical- had levelled charges of corrup- was called a watchman by an FM channel tion against Gurung. In 2015, host. The community felt offended. This is What lies ahead Gurung was charged with when Bimal Gurung made his move. Gu- The GJM has vowed not to lift the strike Tamang’s murder. rung, who was a close Ghising aide and was till security forces are withdrawn and the then heading the Gorkha Volunteer Corps Centre holds talks to discuss its demand Mamata’s stand — a militant outfit maintained by the for Gorkhaland. Chief Minister Mamata GNLF — went around town asking for votes Banerjee has also toughened her stance, for Tamang. Frenzied canvassing metamor- vowing she would not allow the state’s di- „„On June 5, West Ben- phosised into a political upsurge. Gurung vision. This time, with the help of social gal Chief Minister Mamata surfed the wave of ethnic pride and won by media and the press, the agitation is a Banerjee said Bengali would a huge margin, launching two careers — closely-watched one. A wrong step could not be made compulsory in one for himself, and the other for Gurung. lead to a long-term ouster for any one of the hills. This sparked anger. In 2007, Gurung launched his first agita- the leaders. And, as for the Widespread protests prompted tion for Gorkhaland. bills, they will, for now, have the West Bengal government to The West Bengal Assembly passed a Bill to go along hand-in-hand ask for the deployment of the for the creation of the Gorkhaland Territo- with the protests. Army. The troops were with- drawn on June 24, but protests continued. As the protests We’ve tolerated the undemocratic functioning of grew louder, Mamata Banerjee called Bimal Gurung and his the West Bengal government on our land. But men “corrupt”. She has vowed when they attacked our language, we said it is not not to allow the division of West right. Let’s see how far this goes. Bengal. Bimal Gurung, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Amid the stir, hundreds of students studying in schools of Darjeeling were left stranded and had to head home