GJM youth wing to push for Scheduled Tribe status demand

10:16 AM

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tribal news

Darjeeling 29 May 2016 The youth wing of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) today said it will hold a mass rally on June 2 to push for the demand of granting Scheduled Tribe status to the 11 communities of the hills and the plains of Siliguri.

The Gorkha Janmukti Yuwa Morcha (GJYM) rally will start from the Motor Stand area from eleven in the morning and end at Chowrastha and everyone has been asked to support the demand. The GJM has been demanding tribal status for 10 communities from the hills and one from the Dooars area. The communities from the hills are Bhujel,

Gurung, Mangar, Newar, Jogi, Khas, Rai, Sunwar, Thami, Yakha (Dewan) and the plains community is the Dhimal.

The Morcha got a boost to its demand after Prime Minister Narendra Modi endorsed it during an election campaign for party candidates in the north Bengal region recently. Earlier this year a committee was also formed by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs to examine and make recommendations.

Gorkha Janmukti Yuwa Morcha (GJYM) - A File Photo 

“The PM has given a positive response to our demand. A committee has also been formed by the central government. It must be remembered that we are demanding for ST status and therefore, we must take proactive steps to pursue the issue,” said Sanjeev Lama, the GJYM general secretary, today.

The state government too had recommended the inclusion of the 10 hill communities under the tribal status category. At present, the Bhutia, Sherpa, Yolmo, Lepcha and Tamang come under the Scheduled Tribe status. The Bharatiya Gorkha Janjati Sangarsha Mahasangh (BGJSM), an umbrella organisation of the communities demanding tribal status, too has been pursuing the issue with the central government. After the Centre’s initial nod to look into the issue, the Mahasangh has started a mass signature campaign to garner support and make people aware of the demand.

“We Gorkhas have faulted on many occasions with our various demands because of disunity. But the time has come to work together and take forward this demand to its end,” said Amrit Yonzon, the youth front’s spokesperson.

(EOIC)

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Bimal Gurung rakes up Gorkhaland demand on 23rd Bhasa Diwas

12:30 PM

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Politics

Gorkha Janmukti Morcha chief Bimal Gurung on Thursday said he trusted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was hopeful that the popular demand for a separate Gorkhaland state would be achieved soon under the BJP’s rule. Speaking on the occasion of the 23rd Bhasa Diwas in Darjeeling organised by the Gorkha Janmukti Yuwa Morcha (GJYM), the party’s youth front, Gurung said, “The BJP included our statehood demand in its election manifesto both in 2009 and 2014. The Prime Minister has even said that the dreams of the Gorkhas are his dreams. I am 110 per cent sure that he (Modi) will keep the promise he made prior to the 2014 Lok Sabha election.” In the same breath, Gurung also tried to clarify the hasty statement he had made saying “a separate state would be achieved by 2010 or I would kill myself”, which has become the Opposition’s ace card to throw at the GJM. “I was made to say that because of reasons that were favourable for us. In 2009, Jaswant Singh of the BJP became the Darjeeling MP and hopes were high that the saffron party would come to power in Delhi, but unfortunately this did not materialise. The BJP had also mentioned the Gorkhaland demand in the party’s election manifesto,” the GJM

Bimal Gurung Speaking on the occasion of the 23rd Bhasa Diwas in Darjeeling organised by he
Gorkha Janmukti Yuwa Morcha (GJYM)

Gurung asserted he has not lost hope and that a separate state would be achieved soon. “We have helped give the BJP and MP from Darjeeling once again and our demand has figured in their manifesto. We will soon celebrate the Bhasa Diwas in a Gorkhaland state,” he said. On August 20, 1992, the Nepali language was officially recognized under the 8th Schedule of the Constitution after a prolonged struggle. The GJM chief also reiterated that good relations should be maintained with the state government to usher in development of the hills. “We made a mistake by asking Bengal for a separate state as it is not capable of giving us anything. However, we need to keep developing the hills and this is why we should keep good relations with the state government,” he said. Gurung, who is the chief executive of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, also had a word of advice for the youths of the hills and asked them to prepare themselves for the future. “The GTA is only a test for us to see how well we can administer our region. We have learned a lot by now and the youths must be ready now because it will not be long before we achieve our demand. Should we hire IAS and IPS officers from outside to run our state?” he said to thunderous applause from the crowd. During the course of the day, Gurung handed out Rs68 lakh as compensation to the families of the June landslide victims and an additional sum of Rs50,000 each to two students for their higher studies. After the June landslide that

claimed 34 lives in different places of the hills, the GTA had promised to provide Rs2 lakh each to the victims’ kin, an amount in addition to the compensation promised by the state and central governments.

Source EOI

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GJYM to felicitate Nar Bahadur Bhandari on ‘Bhasha Diwas'

11:25 AM

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Sikkim

Sikkim’s former chief minister, Nar Bahadur Bhandari, is to be felicitated by the Gorkha Janmukti Yuwa Morcha on the occasion of ‘Bhasha Diwas’ or Language Day.

Sikkim’s former chief minister, Nar Bahadur Bhandari

A GJYM delegation led by Sanjay Thulung on Monday reached Gangtok to invite Bhandari to Darjeeling on August 20.

“We will always remain grateful towards Nar Bahadur Bhandari for his zealous support in making Nepali one of the national languages by fighting for its inclusion in the eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Hence, in order to educate the young generations on the history of the Nepali language, we want to honour Mr Bhandari as he is no less than a hero to us,” said Thulung.

Along with Bhandari, who will be present as the guest of honour, 30 other renowned individuals will be felicitated on August 20. Renowned litterateur Indra Bahadur Rai is expected to be present as the chief guest on that historic day.

Source EOI

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