Socio-Political Movements in North (A Sub-Himalayan Tract) Edited by Publish by Global Vision Publishing House Sukhbilas Barma

Gorkhaland or Ghisingh’s Land?

Tushar Pradhan

INDIA is a land of unity in diversity—often it is boasted. The country is composed of groups and sub groups with varied and diverse demands and needs. It is argued that the primary responsibility of the central/state governments as agents of development and planning is to take heed of the diverse requirements of social groups, not only of the majority social groups but also the groups in minority, residing within the length and breadth of its territory. It is also argued that ethnic expressions are in one way or the other related to development strategies adopted by a state and hence the failure and disparity in development strategies make the association with the state less worthwhile and generate a multiplicity of separate ethnic expressions. True to the above argument, over the years, the failure and disparity in development strategies in have led to the generation of multiplicity of separate ethnic expressions like , Bodo movement, Uttarakhand movement, Uttar Khanda movement, Jharkhand movement, Kamtapuri movement and many others. And often it is observed that the agitating ethnic groups are in minority,

Tushar Pradhan: A reputed journalist of . Hailing from Alipurduar, a small town of North Bengal, he has excelled in social, political and economic issues relating to North Bengal. 298 Socio-Political Movements in North Bengal having a distinct culture and language. They are geographi- cally isolated, socially, economically and politically insecure and they have a low self-perception compared to those occupying the state berth. Gorkhaland movement in the district of is one of such ethno-economic political expressions.

Subash Ghisingh in the Shaping of a Leader Once he was a soldier in the Indian army, once he was a boxer also he was an actor, participating in dramas. Beside that, he was a good footballer of Darjeeling. And he is Subash Ghisingh, now ‘The Chairman’ of the hill people of . Yes, he is a writer. He has many books, mainly novels and collection of short stories to his credit, though most of them are of average quality. He writes poems also. But he did not write on those days when he was preparing himself for Gorkhaland Movement. He has started his movement by saying ‘Khukri is mighter than pen’ and the Gorkhas are not the beggars. Still he stands that one will not find a single Gorkha begging for his livelihood. No, not in India only, outside the country also, even in . At the same time on those days, he was reciting ‘ÀmÊr SonÊr BÊnglÊ Àmi TomÊy BhÊlobÊsi’, because he was inspired by Tagore’s love for Bengal. He wanted to emulate this love for the hills. Probably, he would say, ‘‘ÀmÊr SonÊr PÊhÊr Àmi TomÊy BhÊlobÊsi’. Ghisingh basically belongs to Manju Tea Estate of , where his father was a staff. Ghisingh was born in the said Tea Estate on 22nd June, 1936. He had his primary education in Singbul Tea Estate. After that he was a student of St Roberts School, Darjeeling, where he read upto Class IX and Gorkhaland or Ghisingh’s Land? 299 then he joined 8 Gorkha Regiment of the Indian Army. When he was in the army he passed the School Final examination from Punjab Board of Secondary Education. His first marriage was with Surya Yonjan of Ging Tea Estate but their divorce took place in 1961. His second marriage was with Dhankumari Subba of Ghoom in 1970. She gave birth to two sons. Ghisingh was in the Army for only five years. He left the Army in 1958 protesting against inhuman torture upon Nagas in Nagaland through ‘Operation Fizo’. There Subash had to take part in the operation and gun down many guerillas. When the operation was going on, Subash heard the Naga Guerillas shouting, ‘You, the state-sponsored terrorists and we the guerillas, all of us are Indian. So stop butchering and go back. The warning of the Naga Guerrilas was ‘Don’t forget, we are fighting for our ethnical identity, as well as for our homeland.’ So far Ghisingh is concerned, that was the turning point in his life and he got his philosophy changed from then on. In his words, ‘Even a dog can manage his bread; so if I leave the job, I will be rather clear to my soul’. Thus after leaving the army job, Ghisingh was quite free. He was thinking of the identity of the Gorkha people, as because these people were exploited by the political Zamindars of Bengal as well as India. My friend and senior journalist Marcus Dam writes, ‘North Bengal is a veritable cauldron of sub-nationalist passion and linguistic sentiment, a place where people define themselves in terms of ethnic groups and where politics is often used to determine cultural identities. From the hills of Darjeeling to the plains of the and the , political loyalties have been structured along ethnic and community lines. Over the years, the region 300 Socio-Political Movements in North Bengal has witnessed social and political explosions that have resulted in calls for political autonomy, statehood, and boycott of the elections’. I tend to agree to the above noted version of my journalist friend. Leaving the army, Ghisingh got settled in Darjeeling. Marrying Surya Yonjan, he got admitted to Darjeeling Government College for a degree. Mr Nar Bahadur Bhandari, ex-Chief Minister of was his classmate there. From the jail Ghisingh made his attempt to pass the examination; unfortunately he could not. Ghisingh’s political activity started with the establishment of Tarun Sangha. In 1966, this Tarun Sangha made first attempt for a violent movement. After that Ghisingh established a new party ‘Nepali’which was also known as the Blue flag or Nilojhanda party. The colour of their flag was blue. The ‘Blue Salute’ was their symbolic identity. This Blue flag party had given boycott call in the elections for the first time in Darjeeling’s history in the year 1968 at the political demand of separating Darjeeling district from the administration of state. Ghisingh was a veteran political leader. He has been successful in achieving his goal in the face of opposition from the whole of Bengal and also from person like Jyoti Basu. So long the state police continued its repression they had to resist Ghisingh in his own terms. He has never played the game of one step forward, two steps backward. He might have come back by two steps on strategic reasons, but would advance by three steps in the immediate next opportunity. Personally he is a religious type of man. He is vegetarian and fond of salt tea without milk. He starts his day with worship. Then he reaches council’s headquarter Lalkuthi at dot time. There he worships 108 gods and goddesses and distributes ‘prasada’. He then starts the work of Darjeeling Gorkhaland or Ghisingh’s Land? 301

Gorkha Autonomous Hill Council. He takes lunch at home and after a little rest again goes to the Lalkuthi. Some people think that Ghisingh is not a man of worth and he has been living as the king of the hills absolutely on the strength of threats and reproofs. Only those who do not know Ghisingh’s works, can make such comments. As a journalist of Janpath Samachar and Aajkal I was very close to Ghisingh for some years since the days when he was preparing to launch a violent movement from his one room rented residence called Vinita Lodge in the extreme point of Cantonment Area of Darjeeling. I have seen the way Ghisingh can chalk out the developmental programmes of the hills, the way he prepares the plans for the buildings, helipad, etc. I don’t know whether any Minister or MLA of West Bengal can do this. Ghisingh has either set the stones in his own hands or has personally supervised the works in all the Tourist Lodges constructed by the Hill Council. Whether it is road or building or helipad, Ghisingh prepares plans and engineers put up their signatures only. Ghisingh supervises the engineering works regularly and this is his nature. He is in the habit of studying minutely the history of Darjeeling hills, Sikkim, Nepal and the Dooars. The historical records by which the State Government or the Central Government can be outmastered are on his finger tips. Because Ghisingh knows that Darjeeling hills do not belong to India even today. Dooars with belong to the domain of leased out to India. He can prove this with the help of series of records. Ghisingh may be a dictator. But he can never be called an autocrat in the sense Hitler is called so. Ghisingh was compelled to be an autocrat in the face of the environment and the situational position. In fact 302 Socio-Political Movements in North Bengal there is not a single leader whether in CPI (M) or Gorkha League, who can reach the height of Ghisingh. Once Chandra Kumar Pradhan alias C.K. the extremist leader of Kalimpong did his best to occupy the chair of the Chairman, Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council and Ghisingh smiled from behind. Because Ghishingh knew that the young man who had been thoroughly addicted to wine and women and had no quality except goondaism could in no way reach anywhere near him, far from surpassing him. Towards the end, he used C.K as a door-mat. Ghisingh did not expel him from the party as C. K once helped him a lot in preparing the base of the Gorkhaland movement in Kalimpong. So he kept C.K at his feet. Both C.K and Chhatre Subba , the extremist leaders of Kalimpong have tried to create problems to him every now and then. So Ghisingh played the strategic game of keeping C.K close to him while maintaining quite distance from Chhatre, so that the bad relations and enmity between the two persist on. Ultimately when both of them realized that it was not possible for them to dislodge Ghisingh from the post of Chairman, they tried to take Ghising’s life. There was a heinous attack on Ghisingh’s life on Pankhabari Road on the way to , but Ghisingh managed to escape the near death situation by camoflaging, crawling and hiding. Immediately after this, C.K was murdered and Chhatre Subba found himself in Jalpaiguri jail on the charge of terrorist attack on Ghisingh. Ghisingh cannot put up with any kind of opposition. By heart he believes that no leader of Darjeeling and the hills has ever tried to uplift the prestige and honour of the Gorkha race like him. None of them had the capability too. This naturally leads to the conclusion that Ghisingh remains the Chairman and the last word in the hills till his last breath. Gorkhaland or Ghisingh’s Land? 303

His methodology of organizing people at the very initial stage was quite interesting. He used to talk to people in tea shops, small gatherings on the roadsides. Through his informal small meetings with common hill people he used to provoke them about the ethnic identity, language, culture etc. At the same time, he would narrate the stories how the hill people were being subjected to misbehaviour and neglect of the Bengali babus who are often called bhadralok. Gradually, he formed small groups with his associates who had done the job of inspiring them with the idea of a hill state. Ghisingh is a leader, who knows the magic how to influence and sweep the mood of the hill people. You can say anything about Ghisingh, but people’s mandate is that Ghisingh is their leader; Ghisingh is their Chairman. He enjoys his power in the democratic institution in a manner a priest enjoys the power in the name of temple’s sanctity. It is true that, Darjeeling Himalaya as of today is one of the socio-economically backward regions in India. Its backwardness can be attributed to environmental/physical constraints like rugged topography, harsh climate, varying altitude with steep slopes, undulating valleys, ethnic classes and political instability which make the life painstaking and hazardous. These parameters have a bearing on the social, economic, political and environmental health of the hill folk that are often ventilated through frustration seeking linguistic and political autonomy. There is a need to work out a comprehensive regional planning strategy capable of addressing social, economic, political, demographic and environmental issues and concerns in this fragile, strategic, backward, and unstable region in order to bring in sustainable regional development, 304 Socio-Political Movements in North Bengal employment potential, regional income and general improve- ment in the quality of human life.

History of Darjeeling Gorkhaland movement was a crisis of the very process of nation building of India. It was also a crisis of uneven development caused by our capitalist path of development since independence. We have to analyse the experience of Gorkhaland movement through the theory of right to self- determination propagated by V.I. Lenin. Subash Ghisingh told several times that Darjeeling is no man’s land and Kalimpong including Dooars is a lease land which originally belonged to Bhutan. Let us have a look how Ghisingh describes it through his poem in regard to status of Darjeeling; The fate of the no-man’s land and lease-hold land waiting for their bad days or good days just like an old graveyard of an unknown soldier in the desert. Or an unclaimed dead-body of an unknown person lying for a long period in the morgue house. No one can predict or forecast the fate of the deserted kite as flying in naked sky where it goes and falls in the unknown ocean or on the burning fire. Darjeeling, a town in the Indian state of West Bengal in the Shiwalik Hills on the lower range of the eastern Himalaya is intertwined with the , Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and, of course, the British East India Company. Nepal by a treaty of Sugauly in 1815 ceded 4000 sq. miles of its Gorkhaland or Ghisingh’s Land? 305 territory to British India. On 10th of February 1817 the British India made the land over to the Rajah of Sikkim on the basis of a treaty signed at Titlya. The Raja of Sikkim restored the country between Mechi and the Tista rivers. Ten years after the treaty, disputes on the Sikkim-Nepal frontiers arose and the then Governor General sent two Officers Captain Lloyd and Mr. Grant to help control the dispute. Sikkim, including Darjeeling was then a between Nepal and Bhutan. After settling the discord, the two representatives found the area around present Darjeeling suitable to establish a sanitarium for the British troop. Captain Herbert, the Deputy Surveyor General was sent to the area to examine the country. The court of Directors of the British East India Company approved the project. General Lloyd was given the responsibility to negotiate a lease of the area from the Chogyal of Sikkim. The lease was granted on 1 February, 1835. The deed of grant reads as follows: ‘The Governor-General having expressed his desire for the possession of the hill of Darjeeling on account of its cool climate, for the purpose of enabling the servants of his Government, suffering from sickness, to avail themselves of its advantages, I the Sikkimputtee Rajah, out of friendship for the said Governor- General, hereby present Darjeeling to the East India Compay, that is, all the land south of the Great Rungeet river, east of the Balasur, Kahail and Little Rungeet rivers, and west of the Rungno and Mahanadi rivers.’ This was an unconditional cession of what was then a worthless uninhabited mountain; but in 1841 the government granted the Raja an allowance of Rs. 3,000 as compensation, and raised the grant to Rs. 6,000 in1846. Dr Campbell who was the architect of Darjeeling brought China tea seeds in 1841 from Kumaon region and started growing tea on an experimental basis near his residence at Beechwood, Darjeeling. This experiment was followed by similar efforts by several other British people. The 306 Socio-Political Movements in North Bengal experiments were successful and soon a number of tea estates started operating commercially. The rapid growth of Darjeeling excited the jealousy of the Maharaja of Sikkim. When Dr. Campbell and the eminent explorer Sir , were touring in Sikkim in 1849, they were suddenly seized and, imprisoned. This detention continued for weeks. An expeditionary force was sent by the Company to Sikkim. However, there was no necessity for bloodshed, and after the Company’s troops had crossed the Rangeet river into Sikkim, the hostilities ceased. Consequent to this trouble, and further misconduct on the part of the Sikkim authorities a few years later, the mountain tracts now forming the district of Darjeeling became a portion of the British Indian Empire, and the became a protected State. Darjeeling Municipality established in 1850 took the responsibility of maintaining the civic administration of the town. From 1850 to 1916, the Municipality was placed in the first Schedule (along with Halna, Hazaribagh, Muzzaferpur etc. in which Commissioners were appointed by the local govt.) and second Schedule (along with Burdwan, Hooghly, Nadia, Hazaribagh etc.) in which Chairman was to be appointed by local government. The Darjeeling District was a “Non-regulated area” (where acts and regulations of the were not automatically applied in the district in line with rest of the country, unless specifically extended) prior to 1861 and from 1870-74. It was temporarily a Regulated Area from 1862 to 1870. The term Non-regulated area was changed to Scheduled District in 1874 and again to Back Ward Tracts in 1919. The status was known as Partially Excluded Area from 1935 till the independence of India. Gorkhaland or Ghisingh’s Land? 307

Political Situation in Darjeeling in 1940’s Indeed several questions arose prior to the independence of India in regard to the fate and future of the Gorkha people and the land of Darjeeling. At one stage, the British were stated to be interested in returning the ceded land back to the kingdom of Nepal. This proposal was favoured by a majority of the Ranas in the ruling circles in Kathmandu. However, the proposal was eventually not accepted by the Ranas on the ground that it would bring politics into the kingdom of Nepal. The reason is that the Gorkha people of Darjeeling who were highly politicized because of their involvement in India’s freedom movement. They feared that this would only add to the troubles of the Rana Sarkar which was already under threat and tottering. The British Government then toyed with the idea of making Darjeeling a ‘Chief Commissioner’s Province’ under direct British Rule as in the case of Hongkong. This proposal is said to have been inspired by the British Tea Planters of Darjeeling District. Most of the local elite, intellectuals and lawyers whole-heartedly welcomed this development. A campaign was even launched by them to educate the masses of Darjeeling and to mobilize their support for the proposal. But some local political leaders, vehemently opposed the move. The proposal thereupon fell through, much to the anger of the British Planters. Meanwhile, the then leaders of the Muslim League came forward with their own plan for Darjeeling and its merger with East Pakistan. A Muslim League team visited Darjeeling around the same time, held talks with the leaders of the local political party and participated in a convention on the merger issue. Some understanding appears to have been reached between them. This was reflected in the bizarre 308 Socio-Political Movements in North Bengal developments in Darjeeling between August 14 and 18, 1947. The Pakistani flag fluttered on the Darjeeling Town Hall for full five days in place of the Union Jack. Darjeeling was popularly stated to have become a part of Pakistan in preference to India and Nepal. Even sweets were distributed and fireworks let off in joyous celebration of Pakistan’s independence. However, confusion and speculation in regard to Darjeeling’s fate and status ended on August 19, 1947 when India’s tricolour, the national flag, replaced the Pakistani flag on the Darjeeling Town Hall. A fresh controversy, however, arose after a year, when the local unit of the Communist Party of India adopted a resolution advocating the creation of Greater Nepal or Gorkhasthan comprising Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Darjeeling and Dooars. It is true that the vast majority of the Gorkha people did not understand the concept of the Greater Nepal. Ghisingh dwelt on his commitment again and again that the land of Darjeeling district including Kalimpong and Dooars areas, was ceded to the East India Company and to British India by the kingdom of Nepal and the kingdom of Bhutan as per the Treaty of Sugaulee of December 2,1815 and the Treaty of Sinchula of November 11,1865 respectively. History thereafter took many twists and turns in regard to status of these ceded areas. At one time, these ceded areas were a part of Sikkim. The district was included in the Rajshahi division until October 1905. As a result of Partition of Bengal it was included in the Division of Bhagalpur in Bihar. Next, these were made a part of Rajshahi Division, presently in Bangladesh. Now the areas are a part of West Bengal. The British even considered making Darjeeling a part of Assam in response to a strong demand from the people of the area. Gorkhaland or Ghisingh’s Land? 309

The question of the legal status of the said areas remained hazy and undecided when the British decided to quit. Darjeeling’s elite residents were the British ruling class of the time, who visited Darjeeling every summer. An increasing number of well-to-do Indian residents of Kolkata (then Calcutta), affluent Maharajas of princely states, land- owning zamindars and barristers of Calcutta High Court also used to visit Darjeeling. The town continued to grow as a tourist destination, gradually becoming known as the “Queen of the Hills.” The town did not see any significant political activity during the freedom struggle of India owing to its remote location and small population. However, there was a failed assassination attempt by revolutionaries on Sir John Anderson, the Governor of Bengal in the 1930s. After the independence of India in 1947, Darjeeling was merged with the state of West Bengal. A separate district of Darjeeling was established consisting of the hilly towns of Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong and some parts of the Terai region. When the People’s Republic of China annexed Tibet in 1950, thousands of Tibetan refugees settled across Darjeeling district. The population rose by leaps and bounds. Growth in population has been more rapid from 1970 onwards exceeding the growth rates at the district level. The growth rate touched the sky height of about 45% in the 1990s and thus was far above the national, state, and district average. The colonial town of Darjeeling was designed for a mere population of 10,000. So the population spurt has made the town more prone to the environmental problems in recent decades as the region is geologically relatively new with hosts of environmental problems and hence unstable in nature. The rise in tourism also affected the ecological balance 310 Socio-Political Movements in North Bengal of the area. A diverse ethnic population gave rise to socio- economic tensions, and the demand for the creation of the separate state of Gorkhaland along ethnic lines grew popular in the 1980s. The issues came to a head after a 40-day strike called by the Gorkha National Liberation Front, during which violence gripped the city, causing the state government to call in the Indian Army to restore order. Immigration from Nepal expanded with British rule in India, and some 34 percent of the population in 1876 was of Gorkha (also seen as ) ethnicity. By the start of the twentieth century, Nepalese immigrants made a modest socio-economic advance through government service, and a small group of anglicized elite developed among them. In 1917 the Hillmen’s Association came into being and petitioned for the administrative separation in 1917 and again in 1928 and 1942. In 1928 the Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League (All India Gorkha League) was formed. It gained additional support after World War II with the influx of ex-soldiers from the Gurkha regiments who had been exposed to nationalist movements in Southeast Asia during service there. During the 1940s, the CPI organized Gorkha tea workers. In presentations to the States Re-organization Commission in 1954, the CPI favored regional autonomy for Darjeeling within West Bengal, with recognition of Nepali as a Scheduled Language. The All India Gorkha League preferred making the area a union territory under the national government.

Gorkha or Nepali Inclusion of the in the VIII Schedule has been a long felt need. If a particular group is recognized as belonging to a race, the language of that group also deserves recognition. The state of West Bengal nominally Gorkhaland or Ghisingh’s Land? 311 has been supportive of the use of the Nepali language. The West Bengal Official Language Act of 1961 made Nepali the official language of the hill subdivisions of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong, where Nepalese are a majority. The state legislative assembly passed a resolution in 1977 that led Parliament to amend the national constitution to include Nepali as a Scheduled language. However, the Gorkhaland National Liberation Front has accused the state government of failure to actually implement the use of the language. Gorkaland is the name given to the area around Darjeeling and the Dooars in north West Bengal in India. Residents of the area, mostly Gorkhas have long demanded a separate state for themselves to preserve their Nepali identity and to improve their socio-economic conditions. The Gorkhaland movement grew from the demand of living in Darjeeling district of West Bengal for a separate state for themselves. The Gorkhaland National Liberation Front led the movement, which disrupted the district with massive violence between 1986 and 1988. The issue was resolved, at least temporarily, in 1988 with the establishment of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council within West Bengal. Content of the agreement given in Appendix A. Historically, Darjeeling belonged to the kingdom of Sikkim, which had lost it several times since the eighteenth century. The ethnic identity “Gorkha” comes from the kingdom with that name that united Nepal in the late eighteenth century and was the focal point of Nepalese in the British army. The Gorkhaland movement distinguished Gorkhas from nationals of Nepal legally resident in India, from Nepali- speaking Indian citizens from other parts of the country, and even from the majority in neighboring Sikkim, where Nepali is the official language. The movement was emphatic 312 Socio-Political Movements in North Bengal that it had no desire to separate from India, only from the state of West Bengal. Gorkhaland supporters therefore preferred to call the Gorkhas’ language Gorkhali rather than Nepali, although they did not claim any linguistic difference between the two. The 1981 census of India, whether in deference to this sentiment or for some other reason, called the language Gorkhali/Nepali. However, when the Eighth Schedule of the constitution was amended in 1992 to make it a Scheduled Language, the term Nepali alone was used. Government of India clarified the position in this way through Home Minister’s statement in the Rajya Sabha on 20th August, 1992. ‘While including Nepali language in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, the Government of India has also noted that in some areas this language is also known as Gorkha Bhasa. In fact, the Autonomous Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council has declared Gorkha Bhasa to be its official language. The Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council will therefore be free to continue using Gorkha Bhasa as its official language.’ In 1986 the Gorkhaland National Liberation Front, having failed to obtain a separate regional administrative identity from the Parliament, again demanded a separate state of Gorkhaland. The party’s leader, Subash Ghisingh, headed a demonstration that turned violent and was severely repressed by the state government. The disturbances almost totally shut down the district’s economic bases of tea, tourism and timber. The Left Front government of West Bengal, which had earlier supported some form of autonomy, now opposed it as “anti-national.” The state government claimed that Darjeeling was no worse off than the state in general and was richer than many districts. Gorkhaland or Ghisingh’s Land? 313

Ghisingh made lavish promises to his followers, including the recruitment of 40,000 Indian Gorkhas into the army and paying Rs. 100,000 for every Gorkha writer. After twenty eight months of fighting and the loss of at least 200 lives, the government of West Bengal and the central government finally agreed on an autonomous hill council. In July 1988, the Gorkhaland National Liberation Front gave up the demand for a separate state, and in August the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council came into being with Ghisingh as Chairman. The Council had authority over economic development programmes, education, and culture. Political tensions largely declined with the establishment of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council under the Chairmanship of Subash Ghisingh. The DGHC was given semi-autonomous powers to govern the district. Later the name of DGHC was changed to Darjeeling Gorkha Autonomous Hill Council (DGAHC). Though Darjeeling is now peaceful, the issue of a separate state still lingers. The peaceful condition continued for a short period and difficulties soon arose over the Panchayat elections. Ghisingh wanted the Hill Council excluded from the national law on Panchayat elections. Rajiv Gandhi’s government was initially favourable to his request and introduced a constitutional amendment in 1989 to exclude the Gorkha Hill Council, along with several other northeast hill states and regions (Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and the hill regions of ), but the same fell through. In 1992 Parliament passed the Seventy-third Amendment, which seemed to show a newly serious commitment to the idea of local self- government by Panchayats. The amendment excluded all the hill areas just mentioned except Darjeeling. Ghisingh declared that this omission was a machination by the West 314 Socio-Political Movements in North Bengal

Bengal government and threatened to revive militant agitation for a Gorkhaland state. He also announced that Gorkhaland National Liberation Front would boycott the village Panchayat elections mandated by the amendment. A section of his party, however, refused to accept the boycott and split off under the leadership of Chiten Sherpa revitalising the All India Gorkha League, which won a sizable number of Panchayat seats. The decade of 1990’s saw radical changes on the political scenario of Darjeeling. The DGHC consisted of Councilors elected by the people of Darjeeling. This body was granted autonomy to function as an independent body. However, with the passage of time, over-confidence set in among the Councilors of Darjeeling. Easy win in elections gave rise to the Councillors’ lethargy to work. Moreover, almost all the Councillors were illiterate or uneducated. There was frequent fund mismanagement. Close observers assert that Ghising was repeatedly failing to deliver the goods. Thus, not only the movement lost fire, the functioning of DGHC became sloth. Development of the area took a back seat. The economic conditions of the local folk became worse over the period of time. Funds earmarked for development projects were diverted to pay for overheads. Over the years, the situation gained momentum. It is alleged, in spite of the formation of DGHC, Darjeeling is still a neglected region. Development work has failed to yield desired results. In 1995 it was unclear whether the region would remain content with autonomy rather than statehood. In August 1995, Sherpa complained to the state government that Ghisingh’s government had misused Hill Council funds, and West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu promised to investigate. Both the Gorkha parties showed willingness to use general shutdowns to forward their ends. The fact that Gorkhaland or Ghisingh’s Land? 315 so many people were willing to follow Sherpa instead of the hitherto unchallenged Ghisingh may indicate that they will be satisfied with regional autonomy. More recently, repeated bandhs have become a regular feature and its effects are widely reflected on the society and economy of the region. There had been voices in support of including the whole of Darjeeling Hills under Sixth Schedule or Article 371 of the Indian Constitution. Local political forces were also talking of including the left over subdivision of Darjeeling district and the Gorkha/ Nepali dominated Dooars region of Jalpaiguri district within the purview of DGHC. Consequently, a new chapter to the history of Darjeeling hills was added on December 6, 2005 following a tripartite agreement between the DGHC, the West Bengal government, and the Government of India. It was formally agreed upon to include Darjeeling hills in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution with two more mauzas of Sevak Hill Forest and Sevak Forest as the part of the updated Council. He has agreed to exclude the Nepali inhabited Duars areas from the jurisdiction of the Council in alliance with the claim. The objective of this agreement is to replace the existing Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council by Gorkha Hill Council, Darjeeling, and to fulfil economic, educational and linguistic aspirations and the preservation of land rights, socio-cultural and ethnic identity of the hill people and to speed up the infrastructure development in the hill areas with much more autonomy. Careful examination of the ethnic expressions in India reveals the importance of planning for development in ethnic and linguistic lines. There is a need for development plans to address ethnic and linguistic factors besides economic aspects. This becomes particularly true and relevant in a country like India where we talk of unity in diversity. The 316 Socio-Political Movements in North Bengal popular phrase that India is a land of unity in diversity itself suggests identification of diversities and giving due respect to them which we have unfortunately misunderstood over the years. The lack of development plans to identify the diverse issues and problems prevailing across the length and breadth of the Indian territory and the resultant ethnic expressions often violent in nature at many cases gave rise to the creation of distinct spatial planning and development units within the Indian federation - in the form of separate states (Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Mizoram etc.) and Autonomous Development Councils (Darjeeling Gorkha Autonomous Hill Council, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council and Bodo Autonomous Development Council). The extension of Sixth Schedule to Darjeeling Hills is not without controversies. There is hardly any difference between what the Council was before and what it would be under the Sixth Schedule now except that it will get constitutional recognition. The Council already had a considerable amount of autonomy with respect to administrative and development matters. There will only be some minor changes here and there and revision of electoral representation in the updated Council. Further, as earlier, the offices of the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police will be outside the control and direction of the new Council. Hence, many political observers do not hesitate to maintain that the Sixth Schedule drama is nothing more than Ghising’s ploy to delay further the long overdue DGHC election in the region. Suffice here it to say, Darjeeling Himalaya as of today is a living confusion. It is up to the local people to decide whether they would keep it as the “Queen of the Hills”. The social and political life is characterised by the Nepali-Bengali conflict which has dominated the area since the incorporation Gorkhaland or Ghisingh’s Land? 317 into Bengal of Darjeeling in 1835, Siliguri in 1850, and Kalimpong in 1865. Since then Bengalis have occupied elite positions in education and government. Nepalese have fought this marginalisation through the Gorkhaland movement, which has sought a self-governing state, independent of West Bengal. Some political autonomy resulted in the establishment of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council in 1989, after violent agitation (March 1986 to August 1988). In such a marginalising climate, smaller population, like Tibetan refugees who moved into the area after 1959 have been sidelined.

Justifiability of the Gorkha Movement People differ in their view points about the merit of such movements like Gorkhaland. A section of scholars, intellectuals and politicians considered the Gorkhaland movement as nothing but the expression of aspirations of the Nepali leaders. Some go to the extent of calling it as anti-national even. What about the claim of Akali Dal for Punjabi Suba, if the claim of Gorkhaland is considered anti- national? One should not forget that the Communists had no hesitation to join hands with Akali Dal. Very recently, Kiran Desai, the winner of the Man Booker Prize in 2006 for ‘The Inheritance Loss’ in which the main setting is Kalimpong town during 1980’s where the militant Gorkha movement was highly active, is reported to have stated in an interview with Mukul Padmanabhan on the question whether she was rattled by the reaction in some quarters in Nepal and in and around Kalimpong about her portrayal of Nepali speaking people and Gorkhaland movement, ‘As I have said earlier, I have sympathy for the cause. I was also trying to say that it is true that it did turn violent and that it was very frightening for everyone on the hill side – Nepali or non-Nepali… I make it clear, it was stamped out very brutally by the police. 318 Socio-Political Movements in North Bengal

I read many books on the (Gorkhaland) movement as well. I realized there is a parallel to immigrant stories everywhere. Immigrant communities several generations on are still struggling to find space in their countries.’

REFERENCES O’Malley, L.S.S., Bengal District Gazetteers, Darjeeling, Government of West Bengal, Calcutta, 2001. Pradhan, Tushar, B.J.P. Bandana! Bangal Kampate Chan Ghisingh, Aajkal, 17th August, 2000. Pradhan, Rukesh Mani (compiled), Continuous Political Struggle for a separate Constitutional Status of Ceded Land of Darjeeling and Leasehold Land of Kalimpong, Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, DGHC, Darjeeling, 1996. Routh, Manoj, GNLF: Nayek O Nepatha, Aajkal, Bengali daily on 9th, 10th, 11th August, 1986.

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