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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Whereas it has come to the notice of the Central Government that there have been some misconception about the citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution of India of certain classes of person commonly known as Gorkhas, who had settled in India at such commencement.

The National Population Register (NPR) is a Register of usual residents of the country. It is being prepared at the local (Village level), sub District (Tehsil/Taluk level), District, State and National level under provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.

The National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) will be a Register of citizens of the country. It will be prepared at the local (Village level), sub District (Tehsil/Taluk level), District, State and National level after verifying the details in the NPR and establishing the citizenship of each individual. The NRIC, therefore, would be a sub-set of the NPR.

It is compulsory for every citizen of the country to register in a National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) as per Section 14A of the Citizenship Act 1955 as amended in 2004. The NPR is the first step towards preparation of the NRIC. Out of the universal dataset of all the usual residents, the subset of citizens would be derived after due verification of the citizenship status. Therefore, it is compulsory for all usual residents to register under the NPR.

A usual resident of a local area, for the purpose of NPR, is defined as a person who has stayed in the local area for the past 6 months or a person who intends to stay in the local area for the next 6 months.

Yes. The NPR would include citizens as well as non citizens. As long as a person is a usual resident of India, she/he would have to register under the NPR. However, the fact that a person is in the NPR does not confer a right to any person to claim citizenship. They would have to satisfy the various criteria laid down in the Citizenship Act 1955 to qualify for Indian citizenship.

By definition, an NRI is not a usual resident of the country. Therefore, they would not be in the NPR till they are non residents. When they come back to India and take up usual residence within the country, they will be included in the NPR.

The biometrics will be collected as per the processes and standards laid down by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

During the first phase of Census 2011, enumerators have visited every household and have collected the details required for the NPR in a paper format. These forms have been scanned and the data has been entered into an electronic database in two languages – the State language and in English. Biometric attributes – photograph, ten (10) fingerprints and 2 iris images are being added to the NPR database by organizing enrolment camps in each local area. The enrolment will be done in the presence of Government servants appointed for this purpose.

Publicity will be given in the local areas regarding the duration and location of the enrolment camps. Intimation slips (KYR + Form) will also be distributed house to house before commencement of such camps, wherever possible. Besides, public will be informed through various other publicity measures like banners, announcement through mikes, drum beatings, posters etc.

No records are required for registration in the NPR. The details for NPR have already been collected during the visit of the enumerator to the household. An Acknowledgement slip has also been given. This should be carried to the enrolment camp. However, as part of the biometric enrolment process, the EPIC number, Passport number, Ration Card number etc. are also being collected from each household, if available. The intimation slip (KYR + Form) should be filled in for these additional data fields and carried to the camp.

The enrolment will be done free. No payment of any kind should be made to anybody for this purpose. In case, any money is asked for any reason, the matter should be reported immediately to the local authorities. Complaints can also be registered over the email and over phone.

The counter foil of the Acknowledgement slip will be available at the camp with the officials concerned. The relevant record pertaining to the household will have to be searched out in such cases.

A new NPR form will be given at the camp and have to be filled up there. The filled-in forms will be submitted to the Government official, present at the camp. These forms will be verified by the authorities and the individuals biometric details will be captured during the next round of biometric camps.

Two camps will be held in every local area. If an individual misses the first camp, intimation will be given to attend the second camp. In case the second camp is also missed, chance will be given to enroll at camps that would be set up at the subdistrict level until the designated date. After the designated date, the individuals name will be struck off the NPR.

A person whose name has been struck off from the NPR would be required to apply afresh with required documents. This will be verified by the designated officials. After the verification process is completed, the designated Officer would pass an order allowing the individuals to re-enter the NPR.

The biographic data has been collected by a Government servant at the doorstep of the individual. The biometrics have also been collected in the presence of government servants after verification of the Acknowledgement slip. After this, the biographic data along with the photograph will be displayed in the local area for inviting claims and objections. The lists will also be scrutinized by the local officials. These lists would also be placed in the Gram Sabhas and Ward Committees. Once the vetting by the local authorities is completed, the NPR database will be finalized. This process of social audit would bring in transparency and equity.

The NPR is a register of usual residents. The data collected in NPR after authentication will be sent to UIDAI for de-duplication and issue of Aadhaar Number. Thus the register will contain three elements of data – (i) demographic data, (ii) biometric data and (iii) the Aadhaar (UlD Number).

Yes. Under the NPR, certain processes like the collection of data at the doorstep of the individual by authorized persons, collection of biometrics after following a certain process, authentication through social audit, verification by authorities etc is mandatory. Thus, a person who has already enrolled with some other Registrar of UIDAI will have to register under NPR again.

The objective of the NPR is to create a comprehensive identity database in the country with full identification and other details by registering every usual resident in the country. This would help in better targeting of the benefits and services under the Government schemes/programmes, improve NPR and prevent identity fraud.

The genesis of the scheme was in 1986, when a pilot scheme was implemented for issue of identity cards to residents in selected border areas of Rajasthan. In 1993 a legislation – The Specified Areas (Issue of Identity Cards to Residents) Bill was introduced in the Parliament but could not be passed. After the Kargil war, a Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted to review the National Security system recommended that there should be compulsory registration of citizens and noncitizens living in India, which would facilitate preparation of a national register of citizens. The GoM also recommended that all citizens should be given a Multipurpose National Identity Card (MPNIC) and non-citizens should be issued identity cards of a different colour and design. The recommendation of the GoM was accepted by the Government in 2001. Following this, the Citizenship Act 1955 was amended in 2004 by inserting Section 14A, which allowed the Central Government to inter alia compulsorily register every citizen of India and issue National Identity card and maintain a National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC). The Registrar General, India was designated as the Registrar General of Citizen Registration. Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003 were also framed. A pilot project was conducted at several places across the country to test the processes and procedures between 2003 and 2006. The results of the pilot were placed before an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) which recommended the creation of an NPR as the first step towards creating a National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC). The NPR would be the master data base, of which, the NRIC would be a sub set. Accordingly, the process of creating the NPR has been set in motion.

The Citizenship Act 1955 was amended in 2004 by inserting Section 14A which provides for the following:

The procedures to be followed for creating the NPR have been laid down in the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003, and the guidelines being issued from time to time.

A house to house enumeration for collection of specified parameters relating to each family and individual residing in a local area was conducted along with the first phase of Census 2011.

The provisions of the Citizenship Act and Citizenship Rules give powers to the Central Government to lay down the procedures. The procedure as laid down envisages the creation of the NPR (a register of usual residents) as the first step towards creation of the NRIC (register of Indian citizens). Thus, the legal provisions of the Act and Rules cover the NPR as much as NRIC.

The responsibilities of the Central, State/UT Governments in the creation of NPR have been laid down in the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 200,).

The data collection (in paper format) for creating the NPR has been completed in the country along with House listing and Housing Census in 2010. The scanning of these filled in NPR Schedules (approx. 26 crore) has also been completed. The work of data entry of more than 14 crore individuals has been completed so far. Biometric enrolment of more than 50 lakh persons has also been done.

The work of data entry and biometric enrolment has been entrusted to two agencies – a consortium of central Public Sector Undertakings (BEL, ITIL and ECIL) and Department of Information Technology (DIT), Government of India. The CPSUs are covering the coastal States/UTs, Delhi, Manipur and Nagaland. They are expected to complete the data entry by March 2012 and the biometric enrolment by December 2012. This covers a population of around 57 crore persons. As far as the States/UTs covered by DIT, Tenders have already been called for data entry and biometric enrolment. The work is expected to be awarded in October 2011 and commenced shortly thereafter. The expected date of completion is mid 2013.

A proposal to issue Resident Identity Cards to all usual residents in the NPR of 18 years of age and above is under consideration of the Government. This proposed Identity Card would be a smart Card and would bear the Aadhaar number.

A mechanism to continuously update the NPR database is being formulated. It is envisaged that capacity will be created at the level of the sub District to continuously update and maintain the NPR database. Besides catering to birth and deaths, alteration in name, address, etc are also being contemplated under this scheme.

The entire expenditure in creating the NPR is being borne by the Government of India. This includes payment of Honorarium to the officials involved in the creation of the NPR, contingent expenditures, and publicity. The cost of data entry and enrolment is directly paid to the CPSUs and DIT. Thus, the State/UT Government does not have to incur any expenditure in this regard.

Up to 10 additional data fields are being collected (KYR +) along with the NPR. This would allow mapping of the Aadhaar Number across the State data bases without any need for the concerned State departments to duplicate the same effort. The Identity (smart) Cards that are proposed would allow off-line mode of authentication. The maintenance mechanism which is being proposed would allow the data bases to be dynamically updated. E-Governance applications can be developed on this platform. Central Schemes such as MNREGA and BPL are already working on such applications.

Providing any false information would attract penalties under Citizenship Rules 2003.

A proper administrative hierarchy has been provided under NPR. At the village level, it is local village officer, at Tehsil/ Taluk level, it is Tehsildar/ Mamlatadar/ Subdistrict officer and at me District level, it is District Magistrate/ Collector/ Deputy Commissioner. In each State/ UT, Director of Census Operations will co-ordinate all the matters relating to creation of PR.

--- इस लेख को हिन्दी में पढने के लिए क्लिक करें 

  ORIGINAL LINK

The demand for Gorkhaland, pending since 1907 is not only about identity of Gorkhas but also, fits into the socio-political, economic and security architecture of the north east. The state re-organisation commission created linguist states and Gorkhas have got nothing in common with West Bengal. The short clip on national television showing  the chief minister of West Bengal speaking in Bengali displaying the Honorable high court order and warning to stop the bandh in 72 hours, clearly shows the disconnect to a neutral bystander. Linguist states are the bedrock of India and the disconnect is so visible, the Gorkhas do not speak or understand Bengali. They have undertaken a very circuitous journey in seeking their identity. It is whispered that during the time of the Constituent Assembly (‘47-’50) OBC status was offered to Gorkhas, which they denied saying they were high caste Hindus. The community than labored for inclusion of the language in the eight schedule of the constitution granted on 22 August 1992, which again did not get them political identity.

Today the community is still struggling for identity, Gorkhaland is one part of it, the other being an all India OBC status and the third being a linguistic minority status. The Hillmen’s Association first raised the issue for a homeland for the people of this area, in 1907 before the Minto-Morley Commission. The issue has been raised more than 17 times some of which are before the Simons Commission in 1929 and subsequently at the time of the Constituent Assembly in 1947 by Damber Singh Gururng, and finally, before the First State Reorganisation Commission, in 1955. It was Subash Ghishing who coined the name Gorkhaland, in mid-1980, and violence did take place back then and in the earlier avatar of Bimal Gurung (2008-2012).

The Gorkhaland movement always also brings up a couple of false images; the first is of violence in the hills, a legacy of the earlier movement of the eighties, nearly 1,200 dead. Gorkhaland is located in a sensitive  area  for the defence and security of India as it is a sensitive geographical piece of land bordering, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, the Gorkhas have proved their loyalty time and again. The Siliguri corridor is strengthened by the formation of Gorkhaland and will fit seamlessly into the look east policy of the government of India, with the other states of this region.  Once the vast trade network opens, a well administered state will be able to manage its cross border trade better and also be suitably poised to exploit the south-east Asia trade build up. The economic viability of the state, Gorkhaland will not have any problems, because of its rich biodiversity, tourism, education, tea and cinchona plantation, plus the vast unexplored hydro power.

The hang over of Darjeeling’s past raises another tricky issue. Darjeeling initially belonged to Sikkim, was captured by the Gorkhas, ceded to East India Company in 1816 by the Gorkhas, restored to Sikkim in 1817 and taken on lease by the British  from the King of Sikkim in 1835 and made a protected area. Darjeeling stayed with India at independence in 1947 and Sikkim joined India in 1975. The greatest weakness of the Gorkhas is that they are in a minority in all geographical areas like Himachal, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal, Assam except Sikkim (which borders China) and Darjeeling. This weakness has to be converted to strength in vote bank politics. The election result shows that seats are won or lost by one or one and a half per cent swing in votes. If the Gorkhas vote en mass they can create a swing in at least 16 to 20 seats in parliament elections and dozens of seats in state assemblies, but lack of unity and one up man ship have not allowed Gorkhas to get political identity, which in vote bank politics gets seats which again in turn gets progress to the community at large. The other option is to wait for the second state reorganisation commission as and when it is set up.

In the case of Gorkhaland the Achilles heel is local issues take priority over core Identity issue, thus both Subash Ghishing and Bimal Gururng twice took the agitation to a crescendo and blinked at the last moment. In the first instance the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Committee was formed and in the second cases the Gorkha Tribunal Authority. Gorkha civil society needs to bring the various Gorkha political factions together.

The factions are All India Bharatiya Gorkha League (ABGL), headed by Bharati Tamang widow of late Madan Tamang, The Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), Ghishing own, Bimal Gurung own, Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) and the Gorkha Land Task Force consists of four parties headed by R Muskanto and a civil society called Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh, are some of the major national players. The ultimate aim is creation of a Gorkha identity which manifests in creation of a state, in the first part. Once the state is created than only the other two important pieces of Gorkha identity fit in, linguist minority status, as vernacular language over rides culture, and progress through reservation accorded through OBC/tribal status. Once all these are in place then the children have to shed the Khukri for the pen and there will be scope for emancipation for the Gorkha.

Gorkhas identity is too complex to be discussed in a few words except the old saying united they stand and divided they fall. There is a lot of intransigent strength in the Gorkha state once sanctioned, today, one party might have an edge but ten years down the line any national main line party may be popular, traditionally Gorkhas have been Congress supporters but a BJP candidate won in Uttarakhand, some credit must go to the Gorkhas. A state will allow the community to usher in prosperity and be a part of the national main stream. With due reservations the community will be able to prepare its citizen for second tier leadership in the prestigious civil services, its students in prestigious engineering, medical, and business management institutes.

The five fingers of the palm are individually fingers clench them together they become a fist. Gorkhas who form a thin population, a one per cent or more swing population, in all the hill states of India need to unify, and create that one per cent swing which affects seats in sixteen or more parliament seats all over India, than only will they be noticed. Unity could not be more acute than now, and the agitation policy needs a review of logic, which prevails in democracy.