Darjeeling, a small town located in the foothills of Himalayas, has been demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland, which in fact is the oldest statehood demand in our country. Darjeeling, known as the 'Queen of Hills', does not want to fall under the state of West Bengal, but carve a state of its own.
West Bengal boasts about Darjeeling, which is a jewel in the state's crown. For all my friends, the little train winding its way up alongside a hilly route, glistening white Himalayas on the horizon with lush greenery and aromatic tea gardens everywhere around is what the beautiful hill station is all about. While world over, Darjeeling is famous for quality of tea produced in the region.
The onus of development of this picturesque autonomous town dates back to the mid-19th century under the British administration, as it set up a sanatorium and a military depot as first step in formation of this region.
These days, Darjeeling is bagging headlines across the mainstream media, as their cry for Gorkhaland is once again echoing downhill to the centre in the plains, simple reason being ; millions of Nepalese residing in Darjeeling district are crying for independence. Kalimpong is once again becoming a centre of the anti India Gorkhaland movement, which had raised its ugly side in the early 1980s. This movement, unlike other movements for separate states is illegal because it fringes on descent from the Indian union.
Formation of Gorkhaland would be a treacherous move against our Indian union, fanned by traitors only as a separate state for indigenous population is understandable, like for Bodo's or Telangana but not foreigners.
History never lies and by its records ethnic population in areas in and around Darjeeling was a mix of Sikkimese, Lepchas, Bhutias, Bengalis, Marwaris, Anglo-Indians, Han Chinese, Biharis and Tibetan descent, before the Nepalese influx.
Let us look into the history of the region to understand the situation a little better. The British East India Company negotiated a lease of the area west of Mahananda River from the Chogyal of Sikkim in 1835. Friction between them resulted in the annexation of 1,700 square km territory by the British in 1850. In 1864, the Bhutanese rulers and the British signed the Treaty of Sinchula, which ceded the passes, leading through the hills and Kalimpong to the British.
A war between the two resulted in the signing of a treaty and annexation by the British of the area, east of the Teesta River in 1865. By 1866, Darjeeling district had assumed its shape and size, covering an area of 3,200 square km. During the time, the ethnic population of Nepalese stood around few thousand, which has now increased to lakhs.
This illegal Gorkhaland movement is the outcome of socio-economic problems in the region due to these illegal migrants, which should have been addressed during the British rule, but alas it continued to linger post our independence in 1947, when Darjeeling was merged with the state of West Bengal. A separate district of Darjeeling was established consisting of hill towns of Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong and some parts of the Terai region.
While the hill population comprised of mainly ethnic illegal Nepali migrants, who had migrated during the British rule, the plains harboured a large ethnic Bengali population, which were mainly Hindu refugees from India's partition. A cautious and non-receptive response by the West Bengal government to most demands of the ethnic Nepali population led to increased calls, in the 1950s and 1960s, for Darjeeling's autonomy and for the recognition of the Nepali language. The state government acceded to the latter demand in 1961. This was the starting point for all our problems today.
After Sikkim was created in 1975, the issue of statehood slowly assumed shape as well, and the reluctance of the Indian government to recognise Nepali as an official language under the framework of the Indian Constitution made the situation even more worse, where agitations were the order of the day. Some of them even turned violent in nature from time to time, especially in the 1980s, where more than 1200 people died, but the count could be even more than the mentioned figure.
The agitation came to an end only after Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council was formed in 1998, which granted autonomy to govern the district. Lack of economic development in the region fuels it further and has brought the statehood demand back to light. Fierce protests again took shape in 2007 by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's demand for a separate state, which resulted in the formation of a new autonomous elected body, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration in 2011. The body enjoyed more powers than its predecessor Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council. But in due process, the government fell into a viscous trap for the creation of a separate state, as GTA could not meet the demands of the people in the hills . The government’s hegemony has created a similar scenario in J& K today.
The two most significant contributors to Darjeeling's economy are tourism and the tea industry, which somehow are not enough to support a burgeoning population. But on the contrary, also if Gorkhaland is created, West Bengal would be deprived of two good revenue earning sectors, Tea and Tourism.
- See more at: www.merinews.com
West Bengal boasts about Darjeeling, which is a jewel in the state's crown. For all my friends, the little train winding its way up alongside a hilly route, glistening white Himalayas on the horizon with lush greenery and aromatic tea gardens everywhere around is what the beautiful hill station is all about. While world over, Darjeeling is famous for quality of tea produced in the region.
The onus of development of this picturesque autonomous town dates back to the mid-19th century under the British administration, as it set up a sanatorium and a military depot as first step in formation of this region.
These days, Darjeeling is bagging headlines across the mainstream media, as their cry for Gorkhaland is once again echoing downhill to the centre in the plains, simple reason being ; millions of Nepalese residing in Darjeeling district are crying for independence. Kalimpong is once again becoming a centre of the anti India Gorkhaland movement, which had raised its ugly side in the early 1980s. This movement, unlike other movements for separate states is illegal because it fringes on descent from the Indian union.
Formation of Gorkhaland would be a treacherous move against our Indian union, fanned by traitors only as a separate state for indigenous population is understandable, like for Bodo's or Telangana but not foreigners.
History never lies and by its records ethnic population in areas in and around Darjeeling was a mix of Sikkimese, Lepchas, Bhutias, Bengalis, Marwaris, Anglo-Indians, Han Chinese, Biharis and Tibetan descent, before the Nepalese influx.
Let us look into the history of the region to understand the situation a little better. The British East India Company negotiated a lease of the area west of Mahananda River from the Chogyal of Sikkim in 1835. Friction between them resulted in the annexation of 1,700 square km territory by the British in 1850. In 1864, the Bhutanese rulers and the British signed the Treaty of Sinchula, which ceded the passes, leading through the hills and Kalimpong to the British.
A war between the two resulted in the signing of a treaty and annexation by the British of the area, east of the Teesta River in 1865. By 1866, Darjeeling district had assumed its shape and size, covering an area of 3,200 square km. During the time, the ethnic population of Nepalese stood around few thousand, which has now increased to lakhs.
This illegal Gorkhaland movement is the outcome of socio-economic problems in the region due to these illegal migrants, which should have been addressed during the British rule, but alas it continued to linger post our independence in 1947, when Darjeeling was merged with the state of West Bengal. A separate district of Darjeeling was established consisting of hill towns of Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong and some parts of the Terai region.
While the hill population comprised of mainly ethnic illegal Nepali migrants, who had migrated during the British rule, the plains harboured a large ethnic Bengali population, which were mainly Hindu refugees from India's partition. A cautious and non-receptive response by the West Bengal government to most demands of the ethnic Nepali population led to increased calls, in the 1950s and 1960s, for Darjeeling's autonomy and for the recognition of the Nepali language. The state government acceded to the latter demand in 1961. This was the starting point for all our problems today.
After Sikkim was created in 1975, the issue of statehood slowly assumed shape as well, and the reluctance of the Indian government to recognise Nepali as an official language under the framework of the Indian Constitution made the situation even more worse, where agitations were the order of the day. Some of them even turned violent in nature from time to time, especially in the 1980s, where more than 1200 people died, but the count could be even more than the mentioned figure.
The agitation came to an end only after Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council was formed in 1998, which granted autonomy to govern the district. Lack of economic development in the region fuels it further and has brought the statehood demand back to light. Fierce protests again took shape in 2007 by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's demand for a separate state, which resulted in the formation of a new autonomous elected body, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration in 2011. The body enjoyed more powers than its predecessor Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council. But in due process, the government fell into a viscous trap for the creation of a separate state, as GTA could not meet the demands of the people in the hills . The government’s hegemony has created a similar scenario in J& K today.
The two most significant contributors to Darjeeling's economy are tourism and the tea industry, which somehow are not enough to support a burgeoning population. But on the contrary, also if Gorkhaland is created, West Bengal would be deprived of two good revenue earning sectors, Tea and Tourism.
- See more at: www.merinews.com
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