A dangerous situation may arise in the country if Mamata Banerjee’s demand for granting citizenship to Bangladeshi immigrants living in India for more than five years is conceded.

The West Bengal chief minister has called for restoration of the district magistrates’ former rights to grant citizenship which, in effect, may facilitate further immigration from Bangladesh.

The situation in West Bengal is so grim that as early as in the 1980s, TV Rajeswar, a former IB director and former governor of the state, was forced to write in a mass circulation daily cautioning against heavy infiltration from Bangladesh.

His article averred that in the 1981 census, the total population growth rate for West Bengal was 23.2 per cent while that of the minority community was 29.6 per cent. In the same census, the overall yearly population growth of the state was 2.3 per cent.

But in the districts bordering Bangladesh the figures were higher: 2.7 per cent in 24 Parganas, 3.3 per cent in Nadia, 2.55 per cent in Murshidabad, and 2.66 per cent in both Malda and Jalpaiguri.
Is Mamata Banerjee Playing the Right Card?

The same pattern continued in the 1991 census. The average population growth rate of West Bengal was 24.73 percent – quite an abnormally high figure.

But the districts bordering Bangladesh showed even higher figures: North Dinajpore (34 percent), North 24 Parganas (31.69 percent), South 24 Parganas (30.24 percent), Murshidabad (28.20 percent) and Nadia (29.95 percent). This proved that illegal immigration from Bangladesh was continuing. It is continuing unchecked even today.

The issue is sensitive and must be handled with statesmanship. Banerjee is playing this card a bit rashly with an eye on the coming election as she has reasons to be somewhat worried about a probable Left Front-Congress electoral understanding.

But she has picked up the right point from this complicated maze of population movement.

Communal Colour Unnecessary
Although Rajeswar had mentioned the abnormal rise of minority population in the 1981 census, he had missed one vital point: the exodus of Hindus from Bangladesh since the birth of that nation. The hard truth is that both Hindus and Muslims are emigrating from Bangladesh to India and there is no point in giving it a communal character.

The only logical reason behind Banerjee’s demand for granting citizenship to illegal Bangladeshi immigrants may be her fright that a significant quantum of votes, which the BJP could garner in the last parliamentary election, may be transferred this time to either the Left or the Congress.

In the last municipality elections, the BJP’s share of votes had dwindled by about 50 percent and this portion had found its way to the Left kitty. As most of these municipalities are situated in the Indo-Bangladesh border areas, playing the “citizenship for the immigrants” card may have temptations.
Double-Edged Sword

It is likely that the BJP, too, will lap up this issue. During the last parliamentary poll campaign, Narendra Modi held out promises in this regard. Some time back Rajnath Singh, the Union Home Minister, had lamented the centre’s inability to act on the issue as the BJP does not enjoy a majority in the Rajya Sabha.

It has now become a double-edged sword. On the one hand, voting patterns in large numbers of constituencies in 24 Parganas (North) , 24 Parganas (South), Kolkata, Nadia and several districts of north Bengal may be affected by majoritarian sentiments arising out of the issue. On the other hand, the minority community can also influence results in 60-odd constituencies.

West Bengal is now sitting on a powder keg and no one should try to disturb the fragile equilibrium that is still holding the social fabric together. There is no point in crying over Muslim immigration from Bangladesh. Hindus are also coming.

In 1951, East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, had 22 percent Hindus. Now the number has come down to a mere seven percent. Where are they going? The natural answer is India.
This Step Could Be Dangerous

Bangladesh being a Muslim-majority country, it is but natural that there will be a considerable number of Muslims among the emigrants. Trying to give a communal colour to it would be unjust.

As per the 2011 census, Hindus now constitute 72.5 percent of the population of the state. No doubt it shows a decline. This declining trend is also noticeable in the minority community’s share of the total population at 25.2 percent. But the rate of decrease is slower.

Many experts have, however, expressed reservations about the sharp decline in the population growth rate in West Bengal during 2001-2011. According to the 2011 census, the growth rate was 17.84 percent in 2001 but nosedived to 13.84 percent in 2011.

Any attempt to give citizenship to Bangladeshi illegal immigrants may seriously jeopardise the political, social and economic life of the country, as well as its security scenario too. West Bengal and the Northeastern Indian states can no longer accommodate the Bangladeshis. So neither Mamata Banerjee nor any other political party should tinker with such an explosive situation.

Courtesy: Amitava Mukherjee, The Quint/IANS

Is this why Gorkhaland is not being granted?

Writer: Jyoti Thapa Mani

Gorkhaland is a huge question mark shaped cloud in the sky. The region never belonged to West Bengal. Yes. The demand for the Gorkha people’s recognition in the Darjeeling Hills is more than 100 years. Yes. The Nepali-speaking Indians need their distinct ethnic identity is India. Yes. So where is the problem? Why is the Government of India still pussyfooting over the issue? Bharat Rakshak, the official website of the Indian Army provided an interesting insight to the fears of the Indian Army drawing parallels between Khalistan and Gorkhaland movement. Jyoti Thapa Mani essays where the comparison on Sikhs and Gorkhas begins and ends.

‘Today India is at the crossroads. In some spheres, we have creditable progress, but in many others there has been alarming deterioration and are facing mounting crisis. Divisive and secessionist forces have been increasingly asserting themselves. Various contradictions in our society not only persist but have accentuated. The Army cannot remain totally isolated from these developments. The Sikh problem had its repercussions in the mutiny of some Sikh soldiers. The Gorkhaland problem may have ramifications amongst the Gorkha soldiers, if proper care is not taken. The Sikhs and the Gorkhas have been our finest soldiers and their record of loyalty and gallantry should not be allowed to get tarnished.’

The above extract indicates that the Army is clearly concerned about protecting its highly reliable Gorkha soldiers from political influences. Now why would they have reason to worry unless history has indicated so? Years ago, British India acclaimed the Sikhs and Gorkhas as the two martial races in its vast multi-ethnic Indian army. Side by side the two fought major battles earning an almost equal number of Victoria Crosses. Let us look at their commonalities and differences.

Originating from the undivided pre-partition Punjab, the Sikhs were formed as the followers of the Sikh religion founded by Guru Nanak (1469-1538). They were roaming rival misls or tribal groups of which the renowned Maharaja Ranjeet Singh (1780-1839) belonged to the Sukercharia clan. Under him the Sikhs were bound as a powerful Confederacy of Punjab with boundaries touching the Khyber Pass and enclosing Kashmir, Ladakh and Peshawar.

Similarly, in the Himalayan region, the Gorkhas consisted of various tribal clans gathered by the conquests begun by Prithvi Narayan Shah (1730-1775), the ambitious warrior king of a small hill kingdom called Gorkha. Subsequently, his descendants formed the dynasty of the House of Gorkha under which evolved the Gorkha/Nepalese Confederacy of Nepal. Their army called the Gorkha Sena led fierce campaigns, which extended Nepal’s boundaries till the rivers Sutlej in the west and Teesta in the east. While Punjab became the most powerful empire in the northern plains and foothills, Nepal was the most powerful Himalayan kingdom. The Khalsa Sikhs and the Gorkha warriors were the most inimitable armies of their time forming military protectorate rules at remotest of places.

The battle cry of the Sikhs is ‘Bole Jo Sonihal, Sat Sri Akal’ and their traditional weapon is called the Kirpan. The battle cry of the Gorkhas is ‘Jai Mahakaali, Ayo Gorkhali’ and their traditional curved knife is called the Khukri. During this era, the growth of such armies bound by their religious oaths developed to counter result of series of invasions from the North-Western Islamic Provinces.

The association of the Sikhs and Gorkhas
In the early 1800s, the paths of the Sikhs and Gorkhas first clashed at Kangra (in today’s Himachal Pradesh) where they both had interests in acquiring the Kangra fort. The Sikhs won the round and the two settled to a pact of peace on either side of the Sutlej River as neighbours. Circa 1814, when the war clouds with the East India Company loomed on the horizon, the Gorkhas sought coalition with the Sikhs to face the impending battles. Gorkha Commander Bada Kazi Amar Singh Thapa believed that together they could rout out the British from North India. But secure under the 1809 Treaty with the British, Maharaja Ranjeet Singh declined to accept the Gorkha appeal. With no strong allies, the Gorkhas fought the Company’s forces with admirable spirit but finally had to bow down to signing the 1816 Treaty of Sugauli, by which they to cede 1/3rd of its territory comprising of today’s Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Southern Sikkim and tracts of the Tarai region. Despite the losses, Nepal retained her monarchical independence and never came under British colonial rule. Punjab did not share the same fortune.

Soon after Maharaja Ranjeet Singh’s demise in 1839, the Company’s forces attacked the bastions of the crumbling Sikh stronghold. The Sikhs lost their empire, the Kohinoor Diamond and crown prince Duleep Singh was also taken away to England. Both the British-Gurkha Battalions (called the Nusseeree Battalions) and two Sikh Battalions were raised before their respective wars were concluded. Thus began their service with the Company’s forces.

1857-the test of duty for Sikhs and Gorkhas
The 1857 Sepoy Mutiny was then attributed to Muslim rulers trying to reassert their weakening powers and the Marathas Hindu rulers seeking to regain theirs, leading to an united front against the British. The Sikhs and Gorkhas had no connection to these factors so were neutral to the causes of the mutiny. Overrun by rioting, looting, arson and violence; the need of the day was to first bring about law and order where the Gorkha and Sikh Battalions played major roles. However, in a stray incident, a battalion of the First Gorkha Rifles then called had also rebelled in 1857 from their headquarters at Jutogh near Shimla. This mutiny was quickly quelled at Kasauli. The British kept moving the Gorkha centres to faraway places where they would be away from political influences.

The Sikhs also had a personal agenda in the mutiny. Erstwhile Mughal emperors such as Aurangzeb, Shah Zahan and Muhammed Bin Tuqhlaq to name a few, had been hard-core radicals bent upon oppressing minority religious groups such as the Sikhs. Several Sikh Gurus had been killed in the process. The 9th Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded in 1675 under the orders of Emperor Aurangzeb at Gurdwara Sis-Ganj at Chandni Chowk, Delhi for refusing to convert to Islam. The Mutiny ended with banishment of the Mughal Emperor at Delhi, Bahadur Shah Zafar to Rangoon in Burma after found guilty of orchestrating the revolt. The Mughal rule of Hindustan sank away and India changed hands to the direct rule of the British Empire with headquarters moved from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911. Post 1857, the Sikh leaders had begun actively looking at their identity. The 1920s saw the rise of the Akali or Gurdwara Reform Movement and the introduction of the Sikh Gurdwara Bill, which placed all historical Indian Sikh shrines under the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.

The INA battles- Cause vs Commitment for the Gorkhas and Sikhs:
By the 1940s the Indian Struggle for freedom was at this zenith. The Indian National Army (Azaad Hind Fauz)-a military alliance with the Japanese was established in 1942 to form an armed struggle against British rule in South-east Asia. The arenas of the then raging World War II provided opportunities for INA allies to influence the Prisoners Of War of the British Indian Army. It was a big shock when the entire 2/1 Gorkha Rifles captured on January 1942 in Malaya signed up with the INA. Most of them were Nepal-born. Two India-born Gorkhas, Durga Mall and Dal Bahadur Thapa were commissioned in the INA as Major and Captain. Later, captured by their parent Indian British Army, they were deemed ‘deserters’ and hung to death for treason in Delhi. Ex 2\1 GR’s Band-major Ram Singh Thakuri became INA’s bandmaster composing all the stirring Kaumi-Taraanas (patriotic songs). In terms of statistics, the major martial races who joined the INA were northerners the Pathans, Dogras, Baluchis and the Sikhs. Prominent leaders of the INA movement were Punjabis such as Giani Pritam Singh Dhillon, Prem Sahgal, Mohan Singh, Gurbaksh Singh Dhilllon and Shah Nawaz Khan. Of the INA Gorkha soldiers, three are still alive and living in Dharamshala, HP. They are Hoshiar Singh Thapa, Babbar Singh Burathoki and Charan Singh Thapa.

Gorkha civilian freedom fighters in the east
As of now, the Northern and eastern Gorkhalis are still trying to trace and gather names of their freedom fighters. The ones who have emerged on record so far are Sabitri Devi (Helen Lepcha), Gaga Tshering Dukpa, Dal Bahadur Giri, Mahabir Giri, Babu Damber Singh Gurung, Chabilal Upadhyaya, Bishnulal Upadhayay, Indreni Thapa, Dalbir Singh Lohar, Bhakta Bahadur Pradhan, Jungbir Sapkota, Krishna Bahadur Mukhia and Pushpa Kumar Ghising from Darjeeling Hills. Way back in 1891, Subedar Niranjan Chhetri from Manipur was hanged by the British as he led the Manipur king Tekendrajit Singh’s contingent of Nepali bodyguards.

The socio-economic settlement of the Gorkhas and political displacement of the Sikhs:
The Gorkhas and Sikhs are God-fearing, fearless, and hard working races whose traditional occupations are as farmers or soldiers. On a macro-scale, they are also known as Punjabis and Nepalis. The 19th-20th century saw major migration patterns emerging. The British colonies required rapid infrastructure building whether in India, Africa or the plantations of Malaya. Everyone was moving. Tamils and Gujeratis moved to Africa to build railroads. The western Nepalis moved into the ever-growing Gurkha army, and the easterners towards the Northeast to tea plantations, road constructions and mining. The concentration of Gorkha people developed around these occupational points. While the Gorkha movement was a natural socio-economic one, the Sikhs, Punjabi Hindus and Bengalis faced one of the worst political exodus in Indian history. In 1947, the Sikhs homesteads from Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Peshawar and allover the northwest was granted to Pakistan. They were now foreigners where what was once the citadel of their glorious empire. The border became the dreaded word for all.

New State for the Sikhs
1947 was a very dark period for the Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims as they moved in and out of India and Pakistan. It was a religious division where people lost their homes, belongings and families with anguish leading to severe violence, sorrow, anger and frustrations. During this time, the British-Gurkha soldiers stood guard to help the refugees, provide escort to safety and curb violence. Many refugees who survived and arrived safe still remember with gratitude the role of the Gurkhas. The process of creating a separate state for Muslims had began way back in 1889, the details of which will make this essay too lengthy, but resulted in the Muslim majority in Punjab given separate electorates and reservation of seats compared to none for the minority Sikhs. Baba Kharak Singh in 1929 publicly opined that no single community should be granted political hegemony in Punjab. In 1940, the Sikhs received a jolt when Mohammed Ali Jinnah called for a separate state for Muslims to be called Pakistan, carved out of Punjab. In August 1944 Master Tara Singh declared that the Sikhs were a nation. Two years later, the Shiromani Akali Dal passed a resolution for the creation of a separate Sikh state. In 1947, The Sikhs opted for India and the period saw years of losses and rehabilitation programmes. Bhutan and Nepal were declared independent states by the British and thus remained unaffected by the partition of the British India Empire. The partition saga continued till 1971 with the secession of Bangladesh from Pakistan.

Khalistan
The 1960s demand by the Sikhs for a state based on their lingua franca unfortunately led to fresh communal frays as Hindus were targeted to be ousted from Punjab. Finally, the Punjab region was divided along the present area of Punjab for the Sikhs, and for the Hindu majority the states of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and part of Rajasthan were segregated. Based on claims of Sikh discrimination and marginalization by the Congress party, Sikh politics began to get active again in the 1970s. The background to this was the Khalistan movement, which sought to create a separate country called Khalistan from within India. By the 1980s, the movement had become a militant one calling for counter-insurgency operations from the Indian Security Services. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared Emergency rule against a backdrop of escalating violence with prominent Sikh leaders such as Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale on the field. Finally, she had to call for Operation Blue Star, an armed attack on Amritsar. In June 1984, it was an ironical day when a Sikh General Kuldip Singh Brar led the Indian Army into the Golden Temple to flush out militants who were based inside. Sacred structures such as the Akhal Takht were damaged; innocent lives were lost but Bhindranwale and his men finally annihilated. The operation received worldwide criticism and hurt the sentiments of the Sikhs. Mutiny is the nightmare of any Army, and it happened. Revolts struck in the Sikh Regiments. Brigadier General R.S. Puri, the Commander of the Sikh Regimental Centre at Ramgarh, Bihar was killed by his angry troops. Two senior officers and some soldiers were also killed in the firing. There were also incidents of hijacking of buses and trucks. Another rebellion took place at Pune, where firing from Sikh soldiers in military vehicles resulted in the death of one person. About 5,000 Sikh soldiers are said to have rebelled.

In a stern reprimand, the then Chief of Staff of the Indian Army, General A.S. Vaidya said “Those who acted in a mutinous manner will be dealt with severely under the laws as enacted for the army”. He also stressed that “It was a matter of shame that some of you forgot the oath of allegiance you took to this country of ours and chose to get instigated by the enemies of the land, both internal and collectively did an act of disloyalty”.

1984-The Assassination of Mrs Indira Gandhi
On the 31 October 1984, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated. To the horror of everyone the deed was committed at her residence by two of her faithful Sikh bodyguards called Satwant Singh and Beant Singh. Shock turned to anger towards the Sikh community and over the following four days, thousands of Sikhs were killed as arson, violence and looting erupted on the streets of Delhi and outside. The issue simmered with Sikhs demanding justice for the victims of the anti-Sikh riots and the progress of Punjab.

The Demand for Gorkhaland State-Darjeeling unrest
The Nepali-speaking population in India had issues of their own. They desired ethno-linguistic rights and official recognition as Indians. Way back in 1907, during the British rule, the people of Darjeeling had demanded a separate administrative unit. In 1917, the Hillmans’ Association of Darjeeling submitted a memorandum (the first of many unheeded ones) to the governing bodies centred in Calcutta for a separate administrative unit for Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts. In 1947, memorandum was submitted to the Constituent assembly of India’s interim government demanding Gorkhasthan. The series of memorandums continued to successive Indian Prime Ministers demanding separation from Bengal. Post 1947, Prime Minister Morarji Desai considered of the Gorkhali people as ‘foreigners from Nepal’ reflecting undeserving ignorance and dismissal. The selfish attitude of the politicians hurt the sentiments of the Gorkhali people who decided to continue their fight for recognition nevertheless. By 1988, the issue gained momentum to blast into a violent agitation demanding the state of Gorkhaland. In 2007, a semi-autonomous body called the Darjeeling Hill Council was granted for certain areas in the Darjeeling district. In 2011, the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration also a semi-autonomous body was granted replacing the DGHC, but no statehood.

On April 7, 2014, the Bhartiya Janata Party mentioned in its manifesto that the party will “sympathetically examine and appropriately consider the long-pending demands of the Gorkhas”. However, the uploaded version on their website does not mention this. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha Party has been always on the job of reminding the BJP this promise, which seems to do the disappearing act now and then. The promise of delivering Gorkhaland was never inked and has remained a matter of verbal assurance now almost becoming hearsay. To address the issue point-blank does the Government of India fear another Khalistan in the Darjeeling Hills? Will the loyalty of Gorkha troops remain unaffected as long as there is no state of identity granted especially in the delicate Chicken’s neck corridor of India?

Different nerve points for Gorkhas and Sikhs

The Sikhs are extremely sensitive to their religion. It is believed that what upset Satwant Singh and Beant Singh and the Sikh Mutiny was the attack on the Sikh holy shrine of the Akal Takht under the orders of Mrs Gandhi. The Sikhs also said that they were hurt by the alleged reports of innocent women and children killed in the operation. The Sikh sensitivity is a result of his history. The Gorkha history is different. What hurts Indian Gorkhas most is to be considered as ‘foreigners’, when as a race they have shed their blood for India time and again? The Gorkha issue is about being recognised in his homeland India. This is where their similarity with the Sikhs ends and therein, rests the answer to the fears of the army.

How Bollywood Movie Stereotype reflects "Identity crisis" of Gorkhas and Why Gorkhaland is Necessary?

Writer: Abriti Moktan

I was doing a project on the "identity crisis" faced by the Gorkha communities in India and after having worked on it I have become more sensitive towards the issue. My brother friend who graduated from IIM Bangalore had once told me that identity crisis can be checked only by the community itself by earning a credible name in every sector through hard work and perseverance. But now it makes me wonder even after having luminaries in every field from literary, social activism, journalism, education, sports, fashion, music, corporations, bureaucracy, politics to science, the country still thinks the Indian Gorkhas who are ethnically Nepalese and whose mother tongue is Nepali to fall in the servant class.

It was indeed very sad to have encountered a small part in the “Kapoor and Sons” where Alia Bhatt’s caretaker servant is portrayed to be a Nepali. The locale of the movie is the hill station Coonoor, which also resembled my hometown Darjeeling in many ways, with its tea plantations, view points, and the curvy roads. The movie was intriguing with the kind of story it depicted. The audiences can relate to it and enjoy every bit of emotional upheavals which was so very played by all the characters. A small world with the complexity in every relationship where the differences among the family members is finally resolved. Tears rolled down my eyes too, but something in the movie left a very bitter taste, the depiction of ‘Kishore’, a character in the film.”

“Kapoor and Sons” is directed by Shakun Batra, and featured Fawad Khan and Alia Bhatt, two of my favorite actors. Alia’s (Tia) caretaker servant is portrayed to be a Nepali/Gorkha guy.

Interestingly the writers this time did not stick to the conventional name “Bahadur” and named the servant as ’Kishore’ The movie was smoothly running until when “Kishore” entered the frame and asked Tia (Alia Bhatt) if he could go and watch a Nepali film that has released in the town. Tia asks him to go and watch it alone as she doesn’t understand the Nepali language. The second time “Kishore” enters the frame is when he offers help to Tia when the electricity is down in the house.

Well, the whole scene of this Nepali Servant might not even have lasted for more than two to three minutes but it left a lasting impression on me.

The locale of the movie is Coonoor which made me curious of the fact that the hilly place must have been chosen for some reason. When I recollected the number of Bollywood movies shot in Darjeeling and researched, I was surprised to find that one or the other kind of misrepresentation has happened in the past too.

After I have done all my research on the ‘identity crisis’ for my university papers, perhaps I am now more aware in understanding how outsiders perceive about us and our Identity. My brother’s friend who graduated from IIM Bangalore had once told me that “identity crisis” can be checked only by the community itself by earning a credible name in every sector through hard work and perseverance. But now it makes me wonder, even after having luminaries in every field from literary, social activism, journalism, education, sports, fashion, music, corporations, bureaucracy, politics to science, the country still thinks the Indian Gorkhas who are ethnically Nepalese and whose mother tongue is Nepali to fall in the servant class.

Mr. Shakun Batra, the director who happens to be the co-writer too, I just have one question for you. “When you wrote about “Kishore” did u think of him to be just an immigrant from Nepal or an ‘Indian Gorkhali?’

Either ways there is an illustrious history of Nepalese people from Nepal and the Indian Gorkhalis residing in India. Time and again portraying a particular community to be a servant class does not get digested well. The cliché that has been attached to the Nepali community needs to be DROPPED.

For those of you who are interested in reading my University presentation, here is the detailed paper I have researched on the identity and political history of the Gorkhas in India.

Demand for a separate state Gorkhaland vis-à-vis Identity Crisis
The queen of the hills Darjeeling found in the lap of the Himalayas is located in the northern region of West Bengal. This territory of Darjeeling was transferred to the Bengal presidency in 1935 when the British rulers faced difficulty in its administration. Ever since it has been a part of Bengal. The denizens of this region are ethnically, linguistically, culturally and traditionally different from the rest of Bengal. The everyday experience of this community of people known as the Gorkhas has given impetus to the “identity crisis” which has been felt by them since time immemorial. The identity crisis can be seen to be a social construct but when the Gorkhas have to face an insult on an everyday basis the demand for national identity becomes all the more relevant and valid for them.

Before Telangana state was formed, a friend from Darjeeling who lives in another city had posted this conversation, which explains how the "identity crisis" manifests:

"Monday morning on my birthday day... had gone to the temple... and the conversation followed:
Pandit Ji: Where are you guys from?
Me: Darjeeling
Pandit Ji: So you guys are Nepali?
Me: Ethnically, yes...
Curious random stranger from Kerela: Where are you from?
Me: Darjeeling
Pandit ji: That's in Nepal?
Me: No, it’s in India
Pandit Ji: Oooooo which province?
Me: West Bengal
Curious random stranger from Kerela: O so you guys are Bengali?
Me: No... I am a Nepali... whose state is West Bengal
Curious random stranger from Kerela: So you are from Nepal?
Me: No uncle ethnically I am a Nepali, and I am from India
Pandit Ji: So how are you in India? did you guys immigrate?
Me: No Panditji, we came with the land, that's why we are demanding Gorkhaland... our own province to end this confusion."

The first deputy Prime Minister of India Shri Vallabhai Patel stated his doubt over the patriotism, loyalty and the sincerity of the Gorkhas. Prime Minister Moraji Desai termed Nepali the mother tongue of the Gorkhas as a “foreign language.” The prominent political figures of the West Bengal state Dr.Mukund Majumdar, CPI(M) leader Asok Bhattacharjee and many other Bengali scholars like Sumanta Sen continue to claim the ethnic Gorkhas as foreigners and intruders. Mr. Chandra Kumar Bose the grand nephew of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose who is contesting for the upcoming legislative assembly election in Bengal went on to say that “slogans like ‘Bharat ki Barbaadi’ and ‘Gorkhaland’ attack the integrity of India” (Darjeeling Times).

Here is a short historical fact. Darjeeling and the Terai areas was a part of the Kirat kingdom Bijaypur, after the disintegration of this kingdom Darjeeling was annexed with Sikkim and Bhutan. Thereafter the Anglo-Nepalese war of 1814-1815 ensued; Treaty of Sugauli was signed between the Nepal and East India Company in 2nd December 1815 and implemented in 4th March 1816. Under this Treaty Nepal had to cede away a huge expansion of its territory to the Britishers. The east India Company after forcing the treaty upon the Nepal king returned Darjeeling to Sikkim through Treaty of Titaliya (Datta, 2014). Britishers when encountered the Gorkha warriors they saw in them the everlasting fire of bravery and proclaimed them to be a martial race. They recruited them in the British army and established the Gorkha regiment in the year 1814.

Later Darjeeling was leased out to the British by the Maharaja of Sikkim to build a sanatorium (Datta, 2014). The Britishers had thus discovered the Queen of the hills with its native populace. Down the years in order to establish their base through construction of infrastructure and industry the colonizers facilitated the migration of people from Nepal for more manpower.

The highlanders under the suppression of the colonizers had managed to form ‘The Hillmen Association’ which put forward the demand for a separate administrative set up for Darjeeling in 1907. This is taken to be the first demand for the separation of Darjeeling. This was followed in similar suit in the subsequent years of 1917, 1920, 1929, 1930, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1941, 1943 (Wangyal).

In 1947 the CPIM members of the hill demanded for a separate nation Gorkhasthan comprising of Nepal, Darjeeling, Sikkim to the vice president of the interim government pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. This was followed again by the demand for a separate administrative set up in the years 1949, 1952. In 1986 which happened to be the 23rd demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland within India was spearheaded by Shri Subash Ghishing the leader of the Gorkha National Liberation Front. The trigger for this movement had been the ‘Bhumiputra - son of the soil movement’ in the north-east which had led to the eviction of the Gorkhas from the state of Meghalaya and Assam. The 1986 agitation saw a scenario like the tragedy of Jallianwalla Bagh; on 27th July 1986 the protesters in Kalimpong while burning the Indo-Nepal treaty of 1950 were fired at indiscriminately which resulted in the death of 13 people and leaving 50 injured.

The hill people regard this day as the Black day in the history of the Gorkhaland movement (Rai, 2005). Thus from 1986 to 1988 Darjeeling saw an agitation wherein 1200 Gorkhas were left dead. This Gorkha Movement was termed as antinational by the then CPIM government. The official 1987 report of the state government claims that the basis of separation from Bengal by the hill people did not have any strong ground.

Subash Ghising had written a letter to the king of Nepal and UN regarding the situation of the Gorkhas in India wherein they were subjected to the discrimination and eviction within their own country. He had written to the benign majesty stating the suffering of the Gorkhas who had been the victims of the movement of border of their own land. This act of Subash Ghising was taken to be ‘anti national’ and ‘secessionist’ (WB Govt official document 1987).

The state government vehemently opposed the silence of the central government on this matter. But the Gorkhas had already gained momentum in their movement, they had an armed Gorkhaland Volunteer Cell to counter the state sponsored arms against them, together with the atrocities of the central reserve police force. The state government claims that GNLF had intimidated the common people and were imposing their diktats, nowhere in the official document the government mentions about the atrocities imposed by them on the Gorkhas.

It is a fact that there was a division in the hills for the demand of Gorkhaland. The CPIM in the hills were against it and hence they had the support of the state government even in terms of illicit arms. But the state claims that a majority of people were anti-Gorkhaland and thus GNLF was not a mass movement of the natives. Contrary to this, it is a known fact that in Darjeeling GNLF was the single largest party enjoying the support of all the classes of Gorkhas.

The state even goes against the fact that Darjeeling was a part of Nepal and hence does not validate the Treaty of Sugauli which happens to be the integral part of the history of Darjeeling. The state of Bengal terms the very word Gorkha misused by the natives of Darjeeling. But the scholars of Darjeeling state that Gorkha is an umbrella term unifying the communities living in the Darjeeling area under one roof.

The natives/ aboriginals of Darjeeling include Lepcahs, Limbus, Rai, Dukpas and the Mangars. Following the subsequent wars prior to the British taking over Darjeeling region the Gurungs, Thapas, Chettris, Newars, Sunwars, Brahmins, Kamis, Damais, Bhutia, Thami, and Tamangs came to the region. But the state considers only Lepchas to be the natives. The state government refutes the argument of the Gorkhas that the Indo- Nepal treaty 1950 which facilitates the free movement of citizens between the two countries has endangered their national identity. The state government claims that Darjeeling stands fourth in the per-capita income and the literacy rate is also high as compared to other districts of Bengal (Official document, 1987). Thus, they claim that the hills is neglected in terms of education, economic development is considered baseless.

The then Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi, and Home Minister P. Chidambaram did recognize the agitation as a national problem but did not agree with the state government for terming the GNLF movement as anti-national. The state clarifies itself by saying that the GNLF movement was anti national but not the Gorkhas which in itself reflects the paradoxical argument. The bloodshed, the continuous strike for 42 days had crippled the life of the Gorkhas in the Hill. Their unsolicited faith in the leadership for bringing a separate state was crushed when Subash Ghising signed for the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) on 22nd august 1988 in a tripartite meeting comprising of the state, central and the GNLF.

DGHC failed to bring regional autonomy to the Gorkhas. It was designed to be financially crippled. Nevertheless, Subash Ghising run his writ and consolidated his position firmly. The politics in the hills took a turning point in 2007 when Gorkha lad Prashant Tamang made it to the finals of the popular talent show Indian Idol (Rai, 2005). Gorkhas were adamant to make him the winner in the show which would be a projection of their identity as well. This resulted in the formation of fan clubs for the voting process. Subash Ghising might not have thought about the gravity of the situation when he failed to render any support to the aspiration of the denizens. He got alienated from the masses and this resulted in the birth of Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJMM) in the latter half of 2007 under the leadership of Bimal Gurung, a former confidant of Shri Ghising.

Within a year GJMM took upon its shoulder the onus to raise the demand for Gorkhaland once again which would be the 26th demand for a separate state. GJMM emerged as the strongest political party in the hills with no opposition of its stature. It put forth the demand for a separate state on the basis of some strong arguments that were analyzed and studied thoroughly by its intellectual wing. The identity crisis was projected as “strive to gain a space not only in the political arena but also in the social cultural set up.”

The apathy towards the Gorkha people can be seen in any of the fields. The absence of a university and technical or vocational institutes, specialty hospital, the slag in the tourism industry, the tea industry where the tea workers are equivalent to bonded laborers, the railway where the locals have no stake, the forests which are subjected to heavy deforestation, no proper disaster management strategies or trained personnel and simply the exclusion of the locals in the administration (GJMM, 2008). The Bengal administration has been no less than the colonizers to the Gorkha community wherein they were and still are absorbing the rich and natural wealth of the Darjeeling and transferring it to the other parts of Bengal.

The GJMM claims that the revenue generated from the hills are invested only in the plain areas. The west Bengal government formed Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority to which it provides with a hefty grant despite the fact that Siliguri is actually a subdivision of the Darjeeling district (GJMM, 2008). The GJMM questions this treatment of the state towards the Gorkhas in every sector. The Gorkhas are marginalized and oppressed, every time their demand has been crushed using different strategies by the state and the centre.

The Bengal government has violated the constitution of India in its governance policy in the hills. Since 1989 there has been no election for three-tier panchayat, therein violating article 243E of the constitution. There has been no election to the Gram Panchayats since 2004. Siliguri Mahukuma Parishad an intermediate tier of the panchayat was elevated to the Zilla Parishad against article 243B. The party also alleges the Government sponsored infiltration of the Bangladeshis for the vote bank politics which is considered to be a sensitive issue as the Siliguri corridor is considered to be the ‘chicken neck’ which connects the north east region to the rest of India.

Bimal Gurung states that only through the formation of Gorkhaland these issues would be addressed and countered. The patriotism of the brave Gorkha soldiers are questioned by some public figures in the country. The GJMM counters the critics by putting forth the contribution of the Gorkha soldiers against the colonizers for the freedom struggle, the participation of the Gorkhas braves in the Chinese aggression 1962, Indo- Pakistan war 1971, and the Kargil aggression. The Gorkha are termed to be the only ones who are not even scared of dying.

Time and again why do the Gorkhas have to prove their patriotism towards the country for which they continue to shed their blood? The Gorkhas are demanding for a separate state within the Indian nation which is very much their constitutional right as Article 3 implies that the boundaries of the state are not immutable. The aspirations of the Gorkhas are compromised by their very leaders who fall into the meticulous trap of the centre and the state. GJMM after spearheading a strong movement has followed in the footsteps of its predecessor by trampling the aspirations of the Gorkhas by signing the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration on 18 July 2011.

GTA is an autonomous body with financial, executive and administrative powers but devoid of legislative powers (Bagchi, 2012). This argument was well crafted by the Trinamool Congress government headed by the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. It was an outcome of the tripartite dialogue among the state, GJMM and the center. GJMM had helped the TMC to overthrow the CPIM regime little realizing the fact that it would not but them the assurance for the separate state of Gorkhaland. Mamata Banerjee has been boastful about the fact that she has brought about normalcy in the hills within months of her taking power in the office. She might have projected to have a soft corner for the demand of the Gorkhas but ultimately she has like any other political figure from West Bengal shown possessiveness for the Queen of the Hills. She would definitely not support the separate state for the Gorkhas at any given cost.

The statehood demand of the Gorkhas is 109 years old now. They are till date subjected to the beatings of the migration theory that the rest of the country believes to be the truth. Little knowing the fact that the Nepali speaking Gorkhas who are Indian citizens are not migrated individuals but are the son and daughters of the soil that became a part of the Indian nation. The quest for the identity is not just confined to the Gorkhas of the Darjeeling hills but also encompasses the Gorkhas living in the other parts of the country where they are treated as the second class citizens. They also aspire for the fulfillment of Gorkhaland because then they too would have an identity in the political, cultural and social space of the Indian nation.

The struggle has now been running into more than a century but the Gorkhas should not let their faith in the aspiration of separate state of Gorkhaland waver at any circumstance because-
“What we call beginning is often the end
And to make an end is to make a beginning
The end is where we start from” – T.S. Eliot