Between the cup & the lip

This winter of 2008 in Darjeeling has been less about idle basking at Chowrastha. The political flurries blowing across the hills are keeping almost everyone busy: while some indulgences are aimed at a bigger share of the power pie, for a vast majority it’s the call for realizing that much-treasured dream of sub-regional identity.
This season of discontent in the hills has its genesis in the summer of 2007. Interestingly, it all started as a plain and simple support campaign for a local crooner who made it to become “Indian Idol” in a reality television show. But as it turned out, the mobilization has now culminated into a renewed demand for statehood, albeit under the veil of frenzied opposition to the proposed Sixth Schedule status for Darjeeling and a denouncement of the dogmatic Subash Ghisingh, who has ruled the DGHC uninterruptedly since 1989.

What went wrong for Ghisingh?
Even six months back, he was the omnipotent leader in the hills. In fact, in December 2005, when Ghisingh returned from New Delhi after signing the memorandum of understanding for conferring Darjeeling Sixth Schedule status, thousands of hill people turned up at Bagdogra airport to receive him. The mass hysteria to put a khada (the traditional Nepali scarf offered as a mark of respect and allegiance) on Ghisingh was a sight to remember and portrayed, if anything, his undisputed popularity.

At that point, the lone political voice opposing Sixth Schedule status was the All India Gorkha League, in particular its president Madan Tamang. But with an overwhelmed mass backing him, Ghisingh did not even bother listening to AIGL arguments.

Given this background, one wonders what has now prompted the majority of the hill masses to defy Ghisingh — to the extent of not allowing him to return to Darjeeling and, finally, dethroning him from the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council. The answers lie in Ghisingh’s near two-decade rule over the hill council area and his dictatorial style of functioning.

Without going into the intricacies, it can precisely be said that under his chairmanship, the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council has by and large failed to address the aspirations of the hill people. Leave aside Ghisingh’s over-hyped promise of mass employment, etc, the hill council has even failed to address basic needs like drinking water, roads, drainage and sanitation. Tourism and agriculture, the backbone of the hills’ economy, have also been neglected over the years.

The scarcity of water is so chronic that even in the tourist hub of Darjeeling town, residents remain bothered for every single drop and tourists need to pay for every additional bucket at a hotel. Although the DGHC is not directly responsible for water supply in the municipal areas, Ghisingh has been the immediate target of public grievance on that account.

The embezzlement of funds by some of his councillors and DGHC officials has further tarnished Ghisingh’s image.

While all these speak of his inefficiency as a ruler, at the same time, the truth is that the DGHC had very limited powers and scope to usher in all-round development in the hills. More so when, in the popular perception, the hill council was somewhat equal to a separate state.

Then there is this dogmatic and dictatorial style of functioning that Ghisingh practised through out his tenure as DGHC chairman. It’s not merely word of mouth, but he actually perceived himself as the “king of the hills” and had distanced himself from fellow men and subjects in a manner that befitted only a king.

Internal democracy both within the DGHC or the GNLF was something unheard of and considered irrelevant, too. On all matters of importance, Ghisingh’s wish was the last word and his councillors were there only to give the customary nod. Thus, over the years, from a popular founder-leader of the Gorkhaland movement, Ghisingh transformed himself into an authoritarian ruler with no direct links with the masses. Again, there were a number of potential rebel groups that stemmed out of Ghisingh’s denial to share the power pie with them and his constant disregard of hill intellectuals.

Yet the non-consolidation of the aggrieved sections allowed Ghisingh to win one election after another. He also remained blind to mounting public discontent, the overwhelming presence of deceptive supporters at all GNLF meetings and rallies.
Finally, it was his unwillingness or failure to explain the proposed Sixth Schedule status to the people that turned the tide and consolidated all grievances to take on his 18-year-old regime. The doctored perception about Sixth Schedule status being the end of Gorkhaland prospects worked as the key motivator in rousing the hills against Ghisingh.

Does Bimal Gurung come across as old wine in a new bottle? However doubtful, had he not dared to take up cudgels against his guru, would the consolidation of the grievances against Ghisingh been possible? For to reign in hill politics, a certain amount of heroism, anti-establishment attitude and muscle power are a must. These were traits by which Ghisingh used to command awe from the masses.

But when Gurung openly revolted against Ghisingh, the people were astonished to discover that there was someone who could challenge the “unchallengeable”. Gurung’s “credibility” was heightened by the fact that till the other day he himself was part of the important “ammunition” that ensured Ghisingh’s rein over the hills remained intact.

Hence, the hill people soon shifted their allegiance to their new-found hero and deserted Ghisingh, who was becoming more intimate with the establishment (read state government) by the day. Interestingly, while denouncing Ghisingh, the people overlooked the fact that Gurung, too, was a councillor in the DGHC that has, over the years, dispensed misrule and corruption. And if being DGHC chairman Ghisingh was to shoulder the major blame, all his councillors were responsible too.

But as so often happens, when emotions come into play logic takes the backstage.
It was the CPI(M) that gave Gurung his first taste of victory. It was in November last year when, in the face of Gurung’s diktat, the ruling Marxists shifted the venue of its district conference from Darjeeling. While from the administrative point of view this was probably a justified decision to avoid unnecessary confrontation, for a political party it was nothing but suicidal – vis-a-vis the party’s existence in the hills and the morale of workers.

This imprudent CPI(M) act not only raised Gurung’s confidence, it also solidified his anti-establishment image across the hills. This was, however, not something incoherent of the Marxists’ fickle-minded policy concerning the Darjeeling hills, which was evident since the Gorkhaland movement of the ’80s.
In the post-Gorkhaland movement era, the CPI(M) has never stood firmly as an opposition party in the hills. In fact, it has experimented with a number of contradictory coalitions there, keeping an eye on mere electoral gains. Thus, over the years, the CPI(M) has lost credibility and strength in the hills and is now been reduced to an insignificant force that cannot even hold its conference in the face of threats by a novice politician.

So, what next?
Ghisingh is not history yet and will definitely make the plunge to regain lost ground. By his side will be the few to whom the option of switching over to the new camp is not open. And as soon they clamour onto the survival bandwagon, a confrontation with Gurung’s Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha will be in sight.
It will be a fight to decide the authorised franchisee for the Gorkhaland demand, with the cause itself probably slipping out of focus.

(The author is on the staff of The Statesman, Siliguri.)