Post from Bimal Gurung Official Facebook Page

The Gorkhaland Joint Action Committee in Darjeeling today decided to put on hold our agitation for a separate State till October 20th 2013. This is in deference to the appeal by the Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde as a prerequisite for tripartite talks on the statehood issue. The condition set is that the talks should be held by October 20. The Home Minister has clearly stated that no new states cannot be created "immediately". We reiterate that the solution to Gorkhaland is not immediate and that it requires stepwise dialogue to solve the century old demand of the Gorkhas. We decry the hostile and confrontationist attitude of the State Government and would henceforth expect its cooperation to take the tripartite talks forward. We will also organize a sit in Dharna in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong from 13th September onward in our traditional attire. 

The students and Heads of educational institutions will also write a fax to the Prime Minister, Home Minister and the President of India regarding Gorkhaland. With this in mind I would like to remind all sides who agree on the need for tranquillity in the region to come together in inclusive dialogue to relook at the emerging reality in the hills. The Tripartite dialogue should be on the GJM’s ultimate demand. The GJM reiterates its commitment to safeguarding the well-being of the people and to ensure peace and calm in the Darjeeling hills It will indeed be unfortunate if any of the stakeholders who may share a common concern for the future of the region turns away from the prospect of a solution to the Hill problem. I am honoured to be given additional charge of functioning as the next chairman of the GJAC with Mr R B Rai as my aide. Mr Enos Kumar Pradhan will be the Committee’s spokesperson Our Movement for Gorkhaland continues...

DARJEELING : Employees, especially those working in the Darjeeling district collectorate and Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), may not get their salaries for August owing to no work, no pay being implemented to rein in supporters of the Gorkhaland agitation. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha renewed its demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland after the UPA government decided to carve out Telangana from Andhra Pradesh.  And since then the Hills have remained shut.  To rein in the agitators, the state government had issued a “dies non” notice ordering all the employees to attend office or face consequences, including salary cuts.  “Employees have attended office hardly for a day or two this month. That money will be adjusted with their provident fund hence most will not get their pay cheques,” said Puneet Yadav, district magistrate of Darjeeling. There are around 200 permanent and 160 temporary staff working in the Darjeeling district collectorate.  

Even GTA employees’ fate is hanging in balance.  “We have sent showcause notices to all the employees and have asked them to reply within the next seven days. If the employees cannot furnish valid reasons with supporting documents for their absence, their salaries will be deducted. This is not a rule alone for the Hills. This is applicable throughout the state,” said Ram Das Meena, principal secretary of GTA.  The GTA has a permanent workforce of around 3,600 and 6,000 temporary staff.  All eyes are trained on the Gorkhaland Joint Action Committee (GJAC) meeting scheduled for Tuesday.  The meeting will decide the fate of the ongoing bandh. Most feel that it will be difficult for the GJAC to open the educational institutes from September 13 amid the indefinite bandh.  “It is a difficult situation for us. 

While we cannot afford to defy the political diktat and go to work, the government cannot provide us with enough security so that we can go to work. Now, we have to bear the brunt,” said a local on condition of anonymity. After observing “Ghar Bhitra  Janta” (public indoors) and “Ghar bahira Janta” (public outdoors) programmes, the GJM called for “Bazar Ma  Janta” (public in the markets) on Monday to stock up food stuff for the indefinite bandh which is going to resume from Wednesday.  The GJM had announced a two-day bandh relaxation on Monday and Tuesday. Shops and ATMs witnessed serpentine queues from early in the morning.

DARJEELING : One of the few partially operating hotels in Darjeeling, whose only customers during the ongoing indefinite strike in the hills were media people, got an unusual vendor on a late evening. "I have some vegetables and a hen. Does anyone here want to buy?," a local asks Gobinda, the lone member of hotel staff who has been somehow persuaded by the owner to stay on. While buying the food items, Gobinda murmurs to himself in Bengali, "These people are struggling to earn their livelihood. I don't understand why they are still supporting this strike for Gorkhaland."

This is indeed the story of many in the hills - like Yogen Gurung, a 54-year-old worker in Happy Valley Tea garden of Darjeeling, or 32-year-old Raman, a driver with a local tourism agency - who are finding it difficult to provide for their family as the strike has brought economic activities in the hills to a standstill. Yet, they support the movement for a separate state and they are all convinced that Gorkhaland will give them their "identity" and this will be good for them and their children's future.

This indomitable spirit of many of the locals is undoubtedly the biggest strength of Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung who is spearheading the agitation. "It is not so much about development, the demand is a more basic one. The Gorkha community has made a lot of contribution to the freedom struggle. The fight was for Swadesh and Swaraj. We got swadesh - our country India - but what about swaraj or self-governance. It is a fight for our identity. This land has never been a part of Bengal," says the GJM president.

GJM spokesperson and MLA from Kalimpong, Harka Bahadur Chhetri, recalls the contribution of the freedom fighters like Bhagat Bir Tamang of Mirik, Durga Malla of Dehradun, Dal Bahadur Thapa of Himachal Pradesh, Dal Bahadur Giri of Kalimpong, who was imprisoned for his non-cooperation activities against the British, even Indian National Army musician Captain Ram Singh Thakuri who, among others, composed the tune for the famous patriotic song "Kadam kadam badhaye ja".

Historically, until 1905, when then Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, effected the partition of Bengal, Darjeeling was a part of the Rajshahi division, now in Bangladesh. From 1905 to 1912 Darjeeling formed a part of the Bhagalpur division now in Bihar. It was given back to Rajshahi in 1912 and remained with the Rajshahi division till Partition. History is on their side, believe the Gorkhas. "This demand is among the oldest such demands across the country," says Chhetri, recalling that the first plea made for an administrative set-up outside of Bengal was in 1907 to the Morley-Minto Reforms panel. Thereafter, numerous representations were made every few years first to the British government and then free India's government for separation from Bengal.

* * *

Gorkhas say that despite being Indians, who fought for Independence, they are considered foreigners and migrants from Nepal. This misconception can be rectified, say separate state activists, only by the creation of Gorkhaland. To achieve this, they want the Darjeeling district and the northern part of Jalpaiguri district, which comprises the Dooars, to be constituted into a new state. This would account for 6,450 sq km area and a population of three million.

This fight for the identity of Gorkhas had turned violent in 1986 under the leadership of Gorkha National Liberation Front supremo Subhas Ghising. The 28-month long protest had culminated in the formation of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) in 1988, which remained active for almost 22 years. When the DGHC proved inadequate to meet Gorkha aspirations, the Centre and state sought a sort of permanent solution in 2005 by initiating the process to bring the region under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, implying some degree of autonomy to a predominantly tribal area.

But, the Gorkhas, including a large section of GNLF supporters, opposed the Sixth Schedule and the Standing Committee of Parliament was forced to put a Bill tabled by the home ministry for this in cold storage. Riding on popular dissension against Ghising and DGHC, Gurung took control of the Gorkha leadership. Gurung, known to be a shrewd politician, had become popular among the locals primarily by means of garnering mass support for Prashant Tamang, the local contestant who went on to win the Indian Idol reality show in 2007.

The fact that Gurung could successfully gather mass support for his 'Gorkhaland' cause was perhaps an indication of misreading the situation by then chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's government, which banked on Ghising as a face of the hills for far too long. With Ghising banned from entering Darjeeling by GJM, the Left Front government was on a collision course with the new party.

Things seemed to take a change for the better when the Trinamool Congress strode to power in the state. The new chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, managed to strike an agreement and the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) headed by Gurung was formed. CPI(M) is of the view that Banerjee acted in haste in concluding the GTA agreement. "We have always supported autonomy, but not the creation of a new state. But when the GTA accord was signed in a hurry, the state compromised by mentioning Gorkhaland in it, which shouldn't have been done. The state government is now paying for it," says leader of Opposition Surya Kanta Mishra.

When the Congress announced on July 30 that it was in favour of Telangana, Gorkha hopes were roused again. Soon after, Gurung resigned as chief executive of GTA, and the movement gathered strength anew, helped also by the fact that people had lost all faith in GTA. Banerjee's oft-repeated and emotional take on Gorkhaland is, "Bengal cannot suffer the pain of yet another partition". There are many in the government who question the very right of Gorkhas for such a demand. According to a senior bureaucrat, former chief minister Jyoti Basu had once told Ghising that the Gorkhas were but immigrants from Nepal who have settled in India over generations and so had no right to demand a state.

To such arguments, the Gorkhas point out the documented history of how they came to be in India. After the 1815 Anglo-British War, Nepal, the defeated power, ceded almost 18,000 sq km of territory in parts of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Darjeeling and parts of Assam to the British. "We came with this territory in 1815," is the slogan of the Gorkhas, "we are not settlers from Nepal." Darjeeling itself was acquired from Sikkim by the British in 1835 (Darjeeling had been given to Sikkim after 1815), Kalimpong and Dooars from Bhutan in 1865.

* * *

The agitation for a separate state has affected the economy of Darjeeling, home to the world's most loved tea. "Because of these strikes in the last few years, tea gardens here have often failed to meet their commitment of supplying tea. The industry is losing reliability in the market because of this," says Sandeep Mukherjee, secretary of Darjeeling Tea Association (DTA). According to Darjeeling Chamber of Commerce officials, tea industry in the hills generates an average of Rs 450 crore revenue annually, equal to that of the tourism industry in the region.

"The economy of the hills is mainly dependent on tea and tourism. Earlier timber had a major contribution but with stricter rules its importance has waned. While work is on in the tea gardens, tourism is worst affected," says Darjeeling Chamber of Commerce President B M Garg. The report on Gross State Domestic Product and Gross District Domestic Product of West Bengal for the period from 2004-5 to 2009-10 by the Bureau of Applied Economics & Statistics, shows GDDP for Darjeeling at 2009-10 price level Rs 10,224.84 crore, which is 2.5 per cent of state GSDP.

Many believe, Darjeeling has more potential, but the political impasse came in the way whenever the district showed sign of any improvement. Samrat Sanyal, executive director of Eastern Himalayas Travel and Tour Operators' Association, points out that the tourism industry had moved forward after the formation of GTA in 2011. "In 2012-13, there was substantial growth, with over 700,000 domestic tourists compared to 430,000 in the previous year. The first quarter was also good, but in the last one month hardly anyone has visited hills and we are back to square one," says Sanyal.

* * *

Snubbed by the state government, the Gorkhaland Joint Action Committee (GJAC, an apex group of eight political parties and organisations, including GJM, formed recently to spearhead the movement) plans to take the fight to New Delhi, as Gurung has pointed out, "Gorkhaland demand is a political issue, for which the remedy is with the Centre, not the state." A tripartite meeting involving the Centre, state and GJM is likely sometime soon. An agitated Banerjee has already written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that any tripartite meeting cannot be called by the Centre arbitrarily. "The prime minister had promised me nothing would be done in this regard without keeping the state in the loop.

 I do not understand why Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde is even meeting the GJM leadership in Delhi," she said at a press conference in Kolkata, after a GJAC delegation met Shinde in Delhi last week. Perhaps, time has come for all involved, including the Centre, to make their stands clear. Strategically also, the nation cannot afford any unrest in the region for too long given its location bordering four countries - Nepal in the west, Bhutan in the east, Bangladesh in the south and China in the north.

Darjeeling :Today the GJM Central Committee and the GJAC had a meeting. There will be a relaxation for two days on 9th and 10th (Monday and Tuesday) September. The GJAC will meet on 10th and decide the future program of the agitation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The History of Darjeeling is intertwined with that of Sikkim, Nepal, British India and Bengal. Until the early 19th century, the hilly area around Darjeeling was controlled by the kingdom of Sikkim, while the plains around Siliguri were intermittently occupied by the kingdom of Nepal,with settlement consisting of a few villages of Lepcha and Kirati people.The Chogyal of Sikkim had been engaged in unsuccessful warfare against the Gorkhas of Nepal. From 1780, the Gorkhas made several attempts to capture the entire region of Darjeeling. By the beginning of 19th century, they had overrun Sikkim as far eastward as the Teesta River and had conquered and annexed the Terai. In the meantime, the British were engaged in preventing the Gorkhas from overrunning the whole of the northern frontier. The Anglo-Gorkha war broke out in 1814, which resulted in the defeat of the Gorkhas and subsequently led to the signing of the Sugauli Treaty in 1815. According to the treaty, Nepal had to cede all those territories which the Gorkhas had annexed from the Chogyal of Sikkim to the British East India Company (i.e. the area between Mechi River and Teesta River). Later in 1817, through the Treaty of Titalia, the British East India Company reinstated the Chogyal of Sikkim, restored all the tracts of land between the Mechi River and the Teesta river to the Chogyal of Sikkim and guaranteed his sovereignty.

In 1828, a delegation of the British East India Company (BEIC) officials on its way to the Nepal-Sikkim border stayed in Darjeeling and decided that the region was a suitable site for a sanatorium for British soldiers.The company negotiated a lease of the area west of the Mahananda River from the Chogyal of Sikkim in 1835. In 1849, the BEIC director Arthur Campbell and the explorer and botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker were imprisoned in the region by the Sikkim Chogyal. The BEIC sent a force to free them. Continued friction between the BEIC and the Sikkim authorities resulted in the annexation of 640 square miles (1,700 km2) of territory by the British in 1850. In 1864, the Bhutanese rulers and the British signed the Treaty of Sinchula that ceded the passes leading through the hills and Kalimpong to the British.[6] Further discord between Sikkim and the British resulted in a war, culminating in the signing of a treaty and the annexation by the British of the area east of the Teesta River in 1865.By 1866, Darjeeling district had assumed its current shape and size, covering an area of 1,234 square miles (3,200 km2).During the British Raj, Darjeeling's temperate climate led to its development as a hill station for British residents seeking to escape the summer heat of the plains. 

The development of Darjeeling as a sanatorium and health resort proceeded briskly. Arthur Campbell, a surgeon with the Company, and Lieutenant Robert Napier were responsible for establishing a hill station there. Campbell's efforts to develop the station, attract immigrants to cultivate the slopes and stimulate trade resulted in a hundredfold increase in the population of Darjeeling between 1835 and 1849. The first road connecting the town with the plains was constructed between 1839 and 1842. In 1848, a military depot was set up for British soldiers, and the town became a municipality in 1850. Commercial cultivation of tea in the district began in 1856, and induced a number of British planters to settle there. Darjeeling became the formal summer capital of the Bengal Presidency after 1864. Scottish missionaries undertook the construction of schools and welfare centres for the British residents, laying the foundation for Darjeeling's notability as a centre of education. The opening of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in 1881 further hastened the development of the region. In 1899, Darjeeling was rocked by major landslides that caused severe damage to the town and the native population.

Under British rule, the Darjeeling area was initially a "Non-Regulation District", a scheme of administration applicable to economically less advanced districts in the British Raj; acts and regulations of the British Raj did not automatically apply to the district in line with rest of the country. In 1919, the area was declared a "backward tract". During the Indian independence movement, the Non-cooperation Movement spread through the tea estates of Darjeeling. There was also a failed assassination attempt by revolutionaries on Sir John Anderson, the Governor of Bengal in 1934. Subsequently, during the 1940s, Communist activists continued the nationalist movement against the British by mobilising the plantation workers and the peasants of the district.Socio-economic problems of the region that had not been addressed during British rule continued to linger and were reflected in a representation made to the Constituent Assembly of India in 1947, which highlighted the issues of regional autonomy and Nepali nationality in Darjeeling and adjacent areas. 

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 hill towns of Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong and some parts of the Terai region. While the hill population comprised mainly ethnic Nepalis who had migrated there during British rule, the plains harboured a large ethnic Bengali population who were refugees from the Partition of India. 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.The creation of a new state of Sikkim in 1975, along with the reluctance of the Government of India to recognise Nepali as an official language under the Constitution of India, brought the issue of a separate state of Gorkhaland to the forefront.  Agitation for a separate state continued through the 1980s, included violent protests during the 1986–88 period. The agitation ceased only after an agreement between the government and the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), resulting in the establishment of an elected body in 1988.

DARJEELING : Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) President Bimal Gurung’s decision to reopen schools and colleges on the 13th of September but to keep everything else closed has caused an uproar among the populace. A student of Darjeeling Government College who commutes to the college daily from Sonada said, “I can only attend my college after traveling on a bus daily. Without transportation I can very well give up my studies.” A Principal of a prominent schools said, “It will not be possible for us to recall our boarders because we will neither be able to provide transportation to them nor offer them food. 

Sushma, a housewife and a mother said, “First of all if the schools and colleges are to be reopened why not from tomorrow why 13th of September. Are they waiting for something to happen by then? Why no transportation? Why the continuation of the strike? It doesn't seem that the strike leads us anywhere because the number of strikes that we have had by now we should have achieved Gorkhaland many times over.”

SILIGURI : After the major political stir observed in Darjeeling hills with large public movement over the state Chief Minsiter's visit there on despite Gorkha janamukti Morcha's (GJM) bandh call, the practical life in hills went back to its usual uncertain and frozen state today. The much waited and largely talked about meeting to elect Gorkhaland Territorial Administration's (GTA) chief Executive could not take place failing to get hill administration back to life. Only two GJM leaders with their capacity of GTA Chairman and thus convener of the meeting along with the Vice Chairman were present. Naturally, the meeting could not be held. "The development has been reported to the Government. Next step will be decided soon," said Mr. R D Meena, GTA Principal Secretary. "GTA is not our agenda now. 

We want release of our arrested members first. And our movement for Gorkhaland will continue," said GJM President Mr. Bimal Gurung. GJM was pressing hard for the release of around 750 arrested members including 10 elected GTA councilorsbefore the meeting. But it was not accepted though the arrested GTA members were called in the meeting. Many GJM leaders, GTA councilors and their supporters kept on shouting slogans outside the meeting hall demanding 'immediate and unconditional' release of their members. GTA has 45 elected members from GJM and 5 nominated members. After resignation of Mr. Gurung from the post of its Chief Executive as a part of his movement step one month back, the administration board became defunct. To restart its activities, the board needs a new Chief. "We want the chief to be elected by the councilor in the meeting. But if they do not respond positively, Government will take strict step," said CM Miss Mamata Banerjee . 

However, general life in Darjeeling or Kurseong was under strong influence of 'Ghar Bahir Janta' (people out of home) call of GJM .Offices, shops, schools, transportation all remained off due to ongoing indefinite bandh. Interestingly, hill sub division Kalimpong had large scale public movement yesterday over the Chief minister's presence there to receive felicitation from Lepcha community and her public meeting. But, ground picture in that Lepcha dominated town was not much different from Darjeeling. Though still enjoying solid public response in its bandh, GJM knows that it may break apart anyday soon under the pressure of already generated mass resentment. 

While talking to media today on the issue, TMC all Indian General Secretary Mr. Mukul Roy said, said, "GJM is already detached from public." Even after one month long bandh and thus great suffering of public, GJM has practically failed to get anything positive. It has also failed to arrange a tri-partite talk with center. At this stage now it has become utmost important for GJM to come out of the knot while saving own supremacy in hills. As learnt, GJM central committee and Gorkhaland Joint Action Committee will meet again soon to chalk out future course of action.

Statehood is about our identity, about our right to self-determination. Just as Mamata Banerjee says she is from Bengal, we too want to say we are from Gorkhaland. Its is unconstitutional for Mamata Banerjee to say Bengal cannot be divided. Article 3(a) in The Constitution Of India 1949 clearly says that a new State can be formed by separation of territory from any State or by uniting two or more States or parts of States or by uniting any territory to a part of any State. Mamata Banerjee' statement of Bengal cannot be undivided is unconstitutional as the Constitution of India clearly provides a provision of creating a new state under Section 3(A). No person is above the law or the Indian Constitution. Gorkhaland is a justified and a constitutional demand.

DARJEELING : A contempt petition was filed against GJM president Bimal Gurung and general secretary Roshan Giri on Tuesday, accusing them of flouting the Calcutta high court order on bandhs. On August 7, the HC had directed the state government to ensure normal life in the Hills and ordered GJM not to disrupt the process. On August 14, the court warned that any agitation that disrupted life in the Hills would be deemed a violation of the HC order. The petition asks for a rule of contempt against Gurung and the others. It is likely to be heard again on September 5. 

नई दिल्ली : केंद्र ने गोरखालैंड की मांग पर चर्चा के लिए जल्द ही त्रिपक्षीय बैठक बुलाने का आज वायदा किया. बैठक में केंद्र, पश्चिम बंगाल सरकार और गोरखालैंड संयुक्त कार्यसमिति (जीजेएसी) के प्रतिनिधि शामिल होंगे. केंद्र के इस वायदे के बाद गोरखालैंड की मांग पर प्रदर्शन कर रहे लोगों ने दाजिर्लिंग में अनिश्चितकालीन हडताल खत्म करने का संकेत दिया है. गृह मंत्री सुशील कुमार शिन्दे ने दाजिर्लिंग से सांसद एवं भाजपा नेता जसवंत सिंह के नेतृत्व में आये गोरखा नेताओं के प्रतिनिधिमंडल से कहा कि पृथक राज्य की मांग पर चर्चा के लिए केंद्रीय गृह सचिव अनिल गोस्वामी जल्द ही पश्चिम बंगाल के मुख्य सचिव और जीजेएसी के नेताओं की बैठक बुलाएंगे. शिन्दे ने संवाददाताओं से कहा, ‘‘मैं मुख्यमंत्री (ममता बनर्जी) से भी इस मुद्दे पर बात करुंगा.’’  उन्होंने प्रदर्शनकारियों से अपील की कि वे दाजिर्लिंग और आसपास के इलाकों में अनिश्चितकालीन हडताल समाप्त कर दें क्योंकि इससे जनता को परेशानी हो रही है.

KALIMPONG : Affirming that Darjeeling is part of West Bengal and it is inseparable, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today accused the GJM of imposing an autocracy in the hills by forcibly organising shutdowns and warned that such action would not be tolerated. By asking the people to stay indoors in the name of agitation, the GJM is pursuing an "autocratic" style of governance even after the GTA was formed as per its wishes, the chief minister said here during a felicitation by the Lepcha community. "Autocracy is going on in the name of the agitation stalling the development of Darjeeling. They are asking the people to remain indoors.

It is as if the king is asking his people to stay inside. It cannot be tolerated," she said at the programme attended by several thousands, mostly Lepchas. She warned, "You are free to go to Delhi. You are even free to go to Obama, if you wish. But Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong are part of West Bengal and will remain so. There is no question of separation." She was apparently referring to the camping of top leaders of GJM in Delhi in a bid to meet central ministers and Congress and BJP leaders with the single-point agenda of statehood. "We have given you GTA as you had wanted. What more do you want?" Banerjee wondered and urged the GJM to participate in tomorrow's scheduled meeting of the GTA to find a successor to its president Bimal Gurung who had resigned as the chief executive in the wake of the announcement of the decision to form Telengana. 

 Asking the hill party to withdraw the bandh to facilitate a return to normal life so that tourists come back, she charged that GJM workers were stockpiling food for themselves and keeping the poor unfed in the name of the bandh. She accused them of terrorising the people so that no one came to receive food at the centres opened by the state government, and of indulging in arson, destruction of property as well as stalling development including the 100-day work programme.

DARJEELING : Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung ruled out talks with chief minister Mamata Banerjee and said he won’t attend the GTA Sabha meeting on September 4. Banerjee is arriving on a two-day visit in Kalimpong on September 2. Soon, GTA members along with the three GJM MLAs will also resign. “If I meet Mamata Banerjee now, I will enquire after her health. Other than that there will be no talks regarding the political issue or our demand. Gorkhaland is not an issue that concerns her. “It is a matter pertaining to the Union government. Mamata Banerjee should not interfere in the Gorkhaland issue,” said Gurung. Gurung explained that the Centre had talked the GJM into accepting the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) citing reasons that the Union government was not in a position to carve out Gorkhaland. “They assured us that the GTA is a temporary arrangement hence we have clearly mentioned in the Memorandum of Agreement of the GTA that we are not dropping the demand for Gorkhaland,” said Gurung.

“However, the Union government has now decided to carve out Telangana. If Telangana, why not Gorkhaland? It is more than a 100-year-old demand,” said Gurung. Regarding Banerjee’s visit to Kalimpong, Gurung said, “We wish her all the best. Let her continue with her programme and we will continue with ours. On September 2 and 3, we have given a call for Ghar Bhitra Janta (public to remain indoors.)” Gurung made it clear that the GJM would not participate in the GTA Sabha meeting on September 4. “Let them first release the 810 GJM supporters and leaders they have arrested, then only will we take part. We are anticipating a major crackdown by the police and central forces after September 4.

“However we will not back out. Let them fill all the jails of Bengal with our supporters, the agitation will still continue” said Gurung.

He said that in the next phase of agitation Gorkha ex-servicemen will take out protest rallies sporting black Nepali topis (caps) and black bands covering their mouths. Even the student agitation will continue. “Very soon the GTA members and the 3 GJM MLAs will also resign. We will also launch a cultural agitation where the demand of Gorkhaland will be raised by men and women dressed in traditional attire.” Meanwhile, the ongoing “Shanti Dharna” (Demons tration for peace) in Kalimpong was lifted on Sunday. People of the Lepcha community under the banner of ‘Hill people’ were sitting in a ‘peace protest’ at the triangular park near the Kalimpong police station demanding the restoration of normalcy and peace in the Hills.

Darjeeling : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will on Monday begin her two-day visit to trouble-torn Darjeeling hills. On Sunday, the Darjeeling hills had faced a shutdown after a day's relaxation. Banerjee is likely to appeal to Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) to withdraw its shutdowns and ensure the hill development body, the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), functioned properly. The Chief Minister is likely to visit Kalimpong sub-division of Darjeeling district in connection with a felicitation programme organised by members of the Lepcha community on September 03. Last week, the Gorkhaland Joint Action Committee (GJAC), a conglomerate of eight pro-Gorkhaland parties, had called a "Ghar Bhitra Janta (people to remain indoors)" agitation coinciding with Banerjee's visit to the region. 

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-led GJAC here and followed the Banerjee government's stiff opposition and stern security measures in the hills ever since the GJM renewed the movement for a Gorkhaland state. However, officially the GJAC did not concede that the virtual shutdown call was linked to Banerjee's trip. "We are not informed. We are not bothered about who is coming to the hills", GJM leader and GJAC convenor Raju Pradhan had said. Trouble started afresh in the hills after the GJM intensified the Gorkhaland movement following the United Progressive Alliance's (UPA) green light to a separate Telangana. 

Two GJM activists attempted self-immolation and of them, one succumbed to his injuries. The Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress state government has ruled out any division of the state. The Gorkhaland movement for a new state - to be carved out of parts of Darjeeling and its neighbouring Jalpaiguri district - has left many dead over the past two-and-half decades, besides affecting the region's economy based on tea, timber and tourism.

DARJEELING : Accusing the West Bengal government of playing "dirty politics", the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) on Sunday asserted that its fight was against the central government and it would not compromise on its demand for a separate Gorkhaland. "Gorkhaland is not for me but for all, most importantly the youth of Darjeeling. Bengal is playing dirty politics and we must not be scared. They are pointing guns at us but we fight them with the might of the pen," GJM supremo Bimal Gurung said here.  Observing that the autonomous Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) was an "interim arrangement", Gurung said the GTA accord was signed without dropping the demand for Gorkhaland.

Darjeeling : Even as the statehood agitation in the hills is surging forward with demonstrations, rallies and speeches, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung today surprised one and all by stating he would demand for something other than a separate Gorkhaland state when the appropriate time approaches. Further, he sounded vague when commenting on the state government’s attempts to crush the ongoing agitation and the Centre’s apparent refusal to be part of the ongoing ‘political showdown’. “If the state government has a problem with the Gorkhaland state demand, then there will come a time when we will have to ask for something else,” said Gurung. “In any agitation there are pluses and minuses, this we do accept. We maybe on a lower ground at the moment, but that position will not remain permanent. Darjeeling was never a part of West Bengal.”

The GJM chief made these comments this morning in Darjeeling to an electronic media channel while overseeing a public meeting organised by the student’s front. However, when was asked to comment on the same issue at a press meet later in the afternoon, Gurung refused to elaborate and snapped, “Darjeeling was never a part of West Bengal.” With the state government proving a hard nut to crack and using every option at its disposal to crush the ongoing movement, the GJM is desperately seeking central government intervention to come to some sort of a solution. “The Union government must look at our agitation for a separate state positively. This (statehood) demand needs a political solution and the central government must intervene as it is not a state government matter anymore,” said Gurung.

The GJM chief has already said he would not sit for talks with the state government under the present circumstances given the arrest of more than 800 party activists and leaders including Gorkhaland Territorial Administration sabhasads in raids since July 29. The party has also said it would attend the GTA meeting on September 4 provided each of the arrested persons is released. But observers believe this condition is unlikely to be accepted by the state government as it will not want to portray itself as having succumbed to the GJM’s strong arm tactics. Although Governor MK Narayanan has said he would readily mediate between the state government and GJM to end the present impasse, the latter has shown little interest given the governor’s unambiguous assertion that Bengal’s borders will continue to extend from the ocean to the mountains. 

Despite this, the GJM has said it would convene a meeting to discuss Narayanan’s offer to mediate. Under the present scenario, it will be interesting to see what role the central government plays as also the part chief minister Mamata Banerjee enacts, who, until now, has refused to buckle down even as the GJM has declared it would intensify its agitation going forward. Meanwhile a news report suggests that GJM leadership is softening its stand on statehood and warming to the idea of a Union Territory status!

Darjeeling : The Left Front urged the West Bengal government, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and the Centre to hold talks to end the stalemate in the Darjeeling hills and find a realistic solution. "A stalemate prevails in the hills as the GJM and the state government have taken contrary stands. To end the impasse as well as to to find a realistic solution, the three should sit immediately," Front chairman Biman Bose said. He said that they should not adopt a rigid attitude and immediately sit on the negotiation table. Meanwhile, a large number of school students today gathered at Chowk Bazar in Darjeeling town in response to GJM president Bimal Gurung's call for student rallies in the hills for five days starting from today. 

However, the other constituents of the Gorkhaland Joint Action Committee, the nodal body of eight political parties, have decided in principle to keep schools and colleges out of the ambit of the agitation. Nearly 5,000 students held demonstration at Chowk Bazar shouting slogans in support of a separate state. GJM general secretary Roshan Giri had yesterday said his party would not attend the meeting of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration on September 4 till all 800 party members were released The GTA meeting has been called by the administration to select a successor to Bimal Gurung who had resigned from the CEO's post on July 31 after the proposal to create a Telangana state was announced by the UPA government.