The Darjeeling Tango: The result of equating apples with oranges

Simmering discontent

On the flip side, people of the hills were also fed up with the recurring bandhs and the atmosphere of uncertainty.

The tea gardens were not doing well, tourism had taken a beating, no new investments were coming in, students were feeling insecure in this competitive world and the youth were slowly but steadily migrating for greener pastures away from their cushy haven of the sun-kissed hills.

Slowly and silently, there was also something ominous playing out in the form of politics from the corridors of power in Kolkata. This politics was steadily seeping into the hills.

First in the form of different development boards – like the Lepcha Development Board, Sherpa Development Board, Gurung Development Board, Tamang Development Board, etc etc – thereby weakening the Gorkha construct which united them in the first place.

Second was by attacking the GJMM stronghold by poaching their leaders and creating new organisations like the Jan Andolan Party (JAP) or by strengthening the old political outfits like Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) and Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League (ABGL)together with the All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC) making inroads into the hills.

And, last but not the least, was the creation of Kalimpong District and Mirik Subdivision – which was done without even consulting the GTA.

Many will disagree that 'Gorkha' is a political construct – a singular word to differentiate between the Nepalese of Nepal and the Nepalis of India. Yet, these are issues which keep getting debated on different platforms – whether we call ourselves Nepalis or Gorkhas, whether our language is Nepali or Gorkhali.

Even without really going into that debate, it is necessary to acknowledge the fact that the British have been a great unifier when it comes to the Gorkha construct.

The 10 Gorkha battalions under the British have been quite an unifier even though they did keep separate battalions based on different communities they belonged to.

The 11th Gorkha Regiment was raised after Independence and had a good mix of all communities.

When the British left, they took with them five of the 10 battalions and left the other five with the Indian government.

Divide and disrupt

However, the formation of the different development boards did rupture the adhesiveness among the people of different communities, who once identified themselves as Gorkhas.

They forgot that one of the greatest soldiers like the late Victoria Cross recipient Ganju Lama had changed his name and surname to enroll himself into the Gorkha Rifles and then had proudly proclaimed himself as a 'Veer Gorkha'.

They started asking questions, accusing one another of inflicting cultural hegemony on the other.

It is sad to see, that the development boards were just being given money to rake up community and identity issues instead of unifying Gorkha construct. A construct which unifies all – beyond any type of cultural domination by any of the communities.

People were silent, but they did understand the dynamics of this type of ruthless social engineering.

It also sad to see that the Bengal government had not done anything substantial to preserve or recognise any of the languages in the hills. In this matter, they have much to learn from the Sikkim government which has been a front-seat driver in preserving the local languages by introducing at least three languages (Lepcha, Limboo and Bhutia) right up to Masters Degree-level in the university and certain lesser spoken languages till the secondary level.

What's stoking the fire now?

The reason for this sudden upsurge has been the Bengal government’s circular to make Bengali compulsory till the secondary level. However, Mamata had quickly retracted by saying that in the hills it would be an optional fourth subject.

Surely, the Bengal government had not thought through in this regard.

It was actually a move to counter the Centre’s plan to make Hindi compulsory across the country. It backfired in the hills.

Emotions go a long way and people of the hills have a high emotional quotient. It was perfect fodder to light the fire and counter the allegations of fund misuse propaganda on the GJMM.

It was also an opportunity for the politically wounded GJMM (due to the loss of municipal polls in Mirik), lack of development due to the GTA being fund-starved. And it was also the perfect agenda to push for a win in the upcoming GTA elections by a cent percent mandate or even buy time to push the elections off to a suitable time when they would have reinforced their position.

Whatever could be the reason, but the tango has started.

The CRPF and the military are back even if the situation is not bad enough to call in the army.

The shut-down of offices and banks have started. People have started discussing the issue of Gorkhaland vehemently once again and have started gearing for a last battle.

This turmoil will also have a bearing on the central government as the sitting MP and minister is from the BJP.

The Modi-led NDA government is all hammer tongs against Mamata and the AITMC. The splintering of dormant organisations like Amra Bangali is once again active. The stage is all set for a conflict which was being waited for with baited breath in the hills and plains of North Bengal.

We would not like to see a bloody battle once again.

Responses and reactions should be based on responsible and reasonable reflections. A restraint from both sides can be the only key to finding solutions and avoid rogue repercussions. Let agreements be signed and respected in letter and spirit. Let peace prevail.

The author is an Associate Professor at Sikkim Government College, Tadong, Gangtok.

Edited by Jhinuk Sen