Gorkhaland Demand: What is it and why?

The basic point about Gorkhaland is IDENTITY and NOT DEVELOPMENT.

You should be very clear at the outset, that bringing in the talk of DEVELOPMENT in the way of IDENTITY is to DEVIATE from the core issue and to OVERSIMPLIFY and GENERALIZE the issues that the Gorkhas are trying to place before the nation.

Mixing up development and Identity is a conspiracy of the Ruling class to fool the people, resulting in more intensification of existing crisis.We rationalists should not take the faulty logic of the ruling clique and get trapped in rigmaroles.

Nevertheless, development or the lack of it is one reason for people’s rebellion.And most people who do not support the cause of Gorkhaland are now talking about non development in Darjeeling. Is it that all other places are highly developed except for Darjeeling?

But I wonder what development has there been in Kolkata except for adding the lesser used Vidhyasagar Setu to the colonial legacy. What development has there been to other parts of Bengal after the British left?And why is it that there is no demand for a separate state in Birbhum, Purulia, Bakura and Salboni etc., if it was just due to non development?

And that development is not the panacea for identity movements has been proved beyond doubt in Tibet where large scale development by the Chinese could not undermine the peoples’ aspiration for self respect and self esteem.

And the Indian Independence movement was, at least, not due to the lack of development.

Thus it is futile to prove that lack of development in the Gorkhaland area, is the cause of this movement. Proving it is the work of the conventional intellectuals and the cunning politicians.

Therefore, my request to you is that please do not bring in the issue of non development to the cause of identity and unknowingly confuse the whole movement for the emancipation of the Gorkhas.

Let me give you some core issues that the movement has put forward:

1)      Around 1780, the Gorkhas invade Sikkim and capture most part of it which includes Darjeeling with Siliguri. They administer it for 35 years when finally after the British-Nepal war,  Nepal cecedes its territory to the British in the treaty of Segoulee in 1816.

The ceded territory includes Darjeeling, Siliguri, the entire terai, Simla, Nainital, Garwhal hills, Kumaon upto the Sutlej., i.e., the entire region from Teesta to Sutlej.

Again, Darjeeling was handed over by the British to Sikkim but was later taken  back by the former for political reasons in 1835.The CPIM intellectuals and anti Gorkhaland intelligentsia talk only about 1835 but not 1780. I am sure that history does not begin only from 1835. What was prior to that??

2)      Lepchas were nomadic tribes and were engaged in zoom (shifting ) cultivation. They used to hang around the hills from one region to another. Sometimes they were in Nepal and sometimes in Sikkim.

That the Lepchas are the original inhabitants (they of course are, along with other tribes of this region) of this place is based on the account of one Capt. Lloyd, who wrote in his account that there were some 100 Lepcha huts in Darjeeling at the time. It is only that when he visited Darjeeling, those Lepchas just happened to be there. Had he ventured around, he would have surely met some other tribes of the region. It could have been any other tribe; Limbus, Magars, Rais etc who ran around these regions as it was their land. All these tribes belong to the Gorkha community. One thing should be kept in mind that Lloyd was not a trained historian but only a traveler.

These 100 Lepcha huts have now become a buzz word of the CPIM intellectuals to prove that the Gorkhas are foreigners here. They do not want to discuss other historical and anthropological contentions, which go in favor of the Gorkhas.

3)      When the British started tea cultivation in 1865 and the narrow gauge railway line in Darjeeling, a lot of people came here and started residing permanently. One should keep in mind that –

a)  these people did not have the modern concept of international borders,

b) they understood that the land was under the possession of their king and  when they came to work under  British enterprise as laborers ,they thought they were actually following  the orders of the Gorkha King and,

c)  they always understood that they were in their own land.

4)      When these events were happening, India, as we know today, was still not formed and all these people were British subjects, be it a Gorkha or a Bengali.

5)      But after 1947, India entered into an infamous treaty with Nepal in 1950- The Treaty of Peace and Friendship. The Article 7 of this Treaty reads: “The Government of India and Nepal agree to grant on a reciprocal basis to the national of one country in the territory of another the same privileges in the matter of residence, ownership of properties, participation in trade and commerce, movement and other privileges of similar nature”.

This treaty ambiguates the citizenship of the Indian Gorkhas, and it led to the loss of their Indian Identity.  It makes a Gorkha’s Indian citizenship a reciprocal one.

The present Gorkhaland movement is a search and a fight for this lost IDENTITY.

Only a separate STATE can give them this IDENTITY and nothing less.

(You can imagine what will happen to the citizenship of millions of Indian Bengalese if the Govt. of India and the Govt. of Bangladesh enters into such kind of a treaty with Art 7 intact). Rulers do not ask their subjects when they enter into treaties.  

So now it must be very clear that The Gorkhaland Movement is neither a fight against Bengal nor is it hatred against Bengalese. Once the STATE OF GORKHALAND is formed, no other INDIAN can call the GORKHA a FOREIGNER. The IDENTITY of the Gorkhas as Indians will become secured.

Therefore the Agenda of the Gorkhaland movement is only IDENTITY and not DEVELOPMENT.

 In that sense this movement is different from other movements for separate states. Telengana, Vidharb, Bundelkhand etc are a case for DEVELOPMENT, but Gorkhaland is a case for IDENTITY.

                                          #                            #                           #

 However I give you some cases of non development:

#     When the British left there were 180 tea estates in Darjeeling, now only 82 are left including some which are closed.

#      In North Bengal there is presently 18 tea gardens locked -out and in these some 30 thousand workers are jobless.

#      The wage of a labour in Darjeeling Dooars is the lowest in the country.

Tamilnadu                         Rs.101/-,

Kerala                                Rs. 92/-,

Karnataka                          Rs. 92.85/-

Darjeeling- Dooars            Rs.68.70/-

(These are inclusive of fuel and rations of poorest standards).

It is below the minimum wage of Rs.100/- .

#        The Government run Cinchona Plantations which employs thousands of people is on the verge of extinction, there is heavy corruption, and the authorities are conspiring to sell it to Hindustan Lever Group.

#       During the British Rule five to six mail and passengers trains used to go up and down Darjeeling – New Jalpaiguri, and the whole night goods trains used to run in the narrow gauge line. But now there is only one train with 3 compartments that runs between the two stations. 

#       Almost all the ropeways constructed by the British, an easy way of transport and employment, which carried goods to far flung areas are now defunct.

#       Malbazar- Mateley- Dooars was part of Darjeeling Parliamentary constituency, it was cut away and Islampur Chopra with no Gorkha population was attached to this constituency. This was done by B C Roy. His intention was criminal as the Gorkhas could not send an MP on their own, they had to depend on the Bengalese Ruling class’s whims and politics which always was detrimental to the interests of the Gorkhas.

#        Drinking water problem is world famous.

#          Although many departments were given to DGHC, it had no recruitment powers, which led to the unemployment of the educated individuals.  These are now the die-hard participants of the movement.  There was not even a single appointment in the hills in the last 20 years.      

#          Roads are always horrible.

These are some of the things which, I as a rationalist have been able to make some sensible people understand.

By Manoj Giri

[The author, a teacher in Kurseong, is Vice President of Humanists’ Association]

#darjeeling #gorkhaland #gjmm #gorkhas

Source:  Srai

Darjeeling pact wrongly read: GJM - Morcha to meet CM on March 16

Darjeeling, March 14: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today accused the state government of wrongly “interpreting” the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration agreement, a day after the chief secretary said there was “no scope” for “considering" the demand to hold election only after the territory issue was settled.

The GTA bill today became a law through a gazette notification.

Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri, who is a signatory to the agreement on behalf of his party, said: “The Bengal government is wrongly interpreting the agreement that only says that the electoral process will run parallel to the high powered committee’s functioning. It does not say that elections would be held. The people will not accept an election without the finalisation of the territory and we will never accept anything that goes against public wishes.”

The other two signatories to the agreement were the Bengal government and the Centre.

The state government has appointed a 10-member committee headed by Justice (retired) Shymal Sen to look into the Morcha demand to bring Gorkha-dominated areas of the Terai and the Dooars under the GTA.

Giri, along with other senior Morcha leaders will meet Mamata Banerjee and the chief secretary in Calcutta on March 16. “We will make our stand clear at the meeting. Elections are out of question without finalising the territory,” said Giri. The Shyamal Sen committee will also meet in Calcutta the same day.

The Morcha wants the GTA election to be held only after the Shyamal Sen committee submits its report to the government. Its tenure has been extended for six months.

“Until then, the election process like delimiting constituencies (the present DGHC has 28 constituencies while the GTA will have 45) can start. But holding election is a different issue altogether. Till the polls are held, an interim board with nominated members should be formed,” said Giri.

Chief secretary Ghosh had yesterday said in Calcutta that there was “no scope” for “considering” the Morcha demand. “The tripartite agreement has been signed (by the Morcha as well). The agreement is exactly reflected in the law that will be notified tomorrow. It clearly states that the election process would be conducted by the state government even if the committee is yet to submit its report on the territorial matter,” Ghosh had said.

“There is no scope now for such considerations. We will go ahead with the elections (in the present DGHC) area,” he had said.

Countering Ghosh’s claim, Giri today said: “Clause 6 of the MoA reads ‘The work of this high-powered committee will run parallel to the electoral process which will be based on the existing delimited area (under the DGHC). However, the empowering statute will have a provision for the transfer of additional areas from Siliguri and the Terai and the Dooars that maybe agreed upon, based on the recommendation of the committee.’ I don’t think this means that election will have to take place parallel to the functioning of the high powered committee. The electoral process can definitely start.”

CPRM fast

The supporters of the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists will be on a 12-hour hunger strike in front of the Jantar Mantar in Delhi on March 20 in demand of Gorkhaland.

“We will also submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister's Office on March 20,” said Shekar Chhetri, chief of the CPRM’s youth wing.

Source: The Telegraph

GJM rally on the streets of Darjeeling hills

Kalimpong, Feb. 12: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha took to the streets for a separate state for the first time today since the signing of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration agreement and a day after Mamata Banerjee’s visit to the hills.

The move, party leaders admitted, was part of a two-pronged strategy to force the government for an early implementation of the pact and to counter rivals who have been trying to use the delay to drum up support in their favour.

Rallies and public meetings were held across the hills by the frontal organisations of the Morcha, whose supporters shouted slogans for Gorkhaland.

The processions culminated in public meetings, where speakers spoke in favour of statehood. Although planned earlier, the rallies come a day after chief minister Mamata Banerjee blamed the Centre for the delay in implementing the GTA and promised the Morcha that she would discuss the matter with the Prime Minister.

Asked why the rallies were still being held despite the chief minister’s assurance, Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri said: “The programmes announced will continue. We want speedy implementation of the GTA.”

The Morcha will hold similar rallies and public meetings all over the hills every Sunday in the weeks ahead.

Binay Tamang, the Morcha assistant secretary, said the GTA would not be a stumbling block to Gorkhaland and the party would continue to raise the demand for a separate state before and after its formation.

Tamang said a series of programmes would also be held in Mirik from February 24 to March 1 in favour of Gorkhaland.

Although Tamang denied the Mirik programme was an attempt to thwart the GNLF from campaigning for a Sixth Schedule status for the hills, many felt it was otherwise. “The GNLF has said it will hold a public meeting in Mirik on February 26 to drum up support for the Sixth Schedule. The Morcha’s Mirik-centric programmes are an obvious attempt to counter that,” said an observer.

Arjun Rai, a GNLF leader from Mirik, said his party was yet to decide on the public meeting.

“Nothing is firmed up. We are thinking of holding the meeting. I don’t want to react to other parties’ decisions but what is important is that we are in favour of Sixth Schedule. We will do all that is in our means to force the Centre to implement the tripartite pact granting Sixth Schedule status to the hills,” he said.

The Morcha has accused its rivals of trying to use the delay in the formation of GTA to their advantage.

Morcha president Bimal Gurung last week launched a scathing attack on Gorkhaland Task Force, targeting Chhatrey Subba in particular and accusing him of harbouring Maoists.

The ABGL, CPRM, GNLF(C), Bharatiya Gorkha Parisang and the Gorkha Rajya Nirman Morcha are members of the GTF.

“The Morcha obviously believes that the opposing voices are getting vocal by the day because of the delay in the implementation of GTA. They seem to have learnt the lesson from the GNLF, which lost ground partly because of the long delay in the implementation of the Sixth Schedule pact,” said an observer.

Gurung has also accused a section of the media of providing a platform to his opponents so that they can continue with their campaign against his party even though they do not enjoy any public support.

The local channel here has stopped airing news based programmes after Gurung’s allegation.

The Morcha denied that the party had anything to do with the programmes going off air. “The decision to stop telecasting the news is that of the cable operator,” said Tamang. The civil society has taken strong exception to the development.

“The news programmes must be allowed to resume. The local cable operator should not be allowed to feel insecure. This is the demand of the public,” said N.P. Dixit, the president of the Citizens’ Rights Forum, Kalimpong.

Source: The Telegraph

"State did not delay the Darjeeling issue" says Mamata

In the backdrop of threats issued by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJB) to re-launch its agitation, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sought to put the ball in the Centre's court by saying that the State had not been delaying the implementation of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) pact and the resentment of the GJM was justified.

Talking to reporters after a meeting with GJM leaders in Siliguri, Ms. Banerjee said the State government had not delayed the implementation of the tripartite agreement.

“We have not delayed matters. The agreement was checked clause by clause. I don't know why the Centre is delaying things. We have given all the clarifications that were asked for. I have myself contacted the Prime Minister's Office on this, and the Chief Secretary also took a meeting. I have sought time around February 23 and 24 for meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss this issue and some others.”

Ms. Banerjee said that besides the GTA implementation, development issues, including drinking water projects, tea-tourism schemes were also discussed at the meeting with GJM.

GJM leader Roshan Giri said while they were not budging from their earlier stand of re-launching the agitation if the GTA pact was not implemented by March 27, the issue of expediting the matter was discussed with the Chief Minister on Saturday.

He said Ms. Banerjee would be visiting Darjeeling on February 27 after meeting the Prime Minister.

“She told us she will help implement the GTA accord at the earliest.”

Earlier this week, GJM president Bimal Gurung had announced that copies of the memorandum of agreement for the setting up of the GTA in the Hills would be burnt at a public rally on April 17, if the proposed body was not put in place.

The people of the hills were disappointed that despite an assurance from the government that the GTA would be set up within six months of signing the agreement (on July 18), there were few signs of its implementation.

They are also unhappy about the extension of the term of the high-power committee set up to explore the inclusion of some Gorkha-dominated areas in the Terai and Dooars within the territorial jurisdiction of the GTA.

Source: The Hindu

GJM threatens to renew Gorkhaland demand in the Darjeeling Hills

Tempers are again rising in the hills of West Bengal, with the pro-Gorkhaland Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) threatening to renew its agitation for a separate state if a proposed hill body was not formed by March 27.

"We will burn the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) treaty if it is not formed by the deadline. We will renew our agitation for Gorkhaland from April 27," GJM president Bimal Gurung said.
Gurung, who had set the March 27 deadline for the GTA's birth, said the treaty would be burnt at a meeting in Sukna, about 20 km from Siliguri in Darjeeling district.

On July 18 last year, a tripartite agreement was signed between the GJM and the state and central governments for setting up a new autonomous, elected GTA, a hill council armed with more powers than its predecessor Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC).

As per the accord, an expert committee was set up for the purpose of the survey of the Gorkha-dominated parts of Siliguri, Terai (plains of Darjeeling) and Dooars (foothills of the eastern Himalyas) to examine if areas from these places can be brought under the GTA.

The committee, headed by retired justice Shyamal Sen, was expected to give its report in six months but sought and got a six-month extension late last month.

The GJM central committee has expressed anguish over the developments. GJM general secretary Roshan Giri met Governor MK Narayanan on Tuesday and requested him to ensure that the GTA was formed soon.

The governor, now on a visit to Darjeeling, assured Giri that he would take up the matter with President Pratibha Patil, whose assent is required for the The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Bill 2011 passed by the state assembly in December.

"I can assure you that the state government is committed to form the GTA," the governor told Giri.

Expressing anguish over the delay in the Shyamal Sen committee completing its survey of fresh areas to be brought under the GTA, GJM assistant general secretary Jyoti Rai said the condition in the hills will worsen if the panel did not complete its job soon.

Meanwhile, five anti-GJM parties in the hills - the Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League, Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists, Gorkha National Liberation Front (C.K. Pradhan), Gorkhaland Rashtriya Nirman Morcha and the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisang - have formed a Gorkhaland Task Force.

The elders of these parties have accused the GJM of betraying the cause of Gorkhaland and getting besotted with the GTA.

Chhatre Subba, chief of the Gorkhaland Liberation Organisation, has expressed his readiness to lead the Gorkhaland agitation if the "people so desire".

"I am prepared to give leadership to the people if they so desire. And if anybody obstructs me, he will get a befitting answer from the people."

On the other hand, the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), which had led the agitation for two decades till it was sidelined by the GJM, is also preparing for a meeting to be addressed by party chief Subash Ghising in Mirik Feb 26.

Ghising had been the uncrowned king of Darjeeling since the 1980s but was forced to leave the hills July 26, 2008 by the GJM.

He returned before last year's assembly polls, but fled in the cover of the night soon after the polls.

The three picturesque Darjeeling hill subdivisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong have been on the boil for nearly three decades due to anti-government protests over the demand for a separate state.

The hills had witnessed killings, police crackdowns and long shutdowns which severely impacted the region's economic mainstays of tea, timber and tourism.

Things have improved since the signing of the GTA, with calm and peace restored and tourists flooding the hills.

Source: Hindustan Times

Morcha threatens to boycott Darjeeling hill panel - Gurung cry for mouzas and early GTA

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today threatened to withdraw all its four members from the territory committee if the Gorkha-dominated mouzas that it has demanded were not brought under the new hill administrative set-up.

Morcha president Bimal Gurung also expressed displeasure at the delay in the implementation of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. One of the stumbling blocks to the early implementation of the GTA is that the territory panel is yet to submit its recommendations to the government.

The Morcha chief was speaking at a programme here to mark the first anniversary of the police firing that killed three party supporters at Sibchu.

“Our members will walk out from the HPC (high-powered committee) if it fails to include the mouzas demanded by us,” Gurung said.

In his address earlier, Morcha secretary Roshan Giri said the committee would meet in Calcutta on February 24 to hear the opinion of all political parties in the Dooars and Terai in the set-up. “The additional areas (to be included in the GTA) will be decided on the basis of contiguity, continuity and homogeneity. There shouldn’t be any difficulty in including the areas from the Dooars and Terai,” he said.

Apart from the 199 mouzas in the Terai and 196 from the Dooars, the Morcha has demanded the inclusion of three mouzas from the Rajganj block of Jalpaiguri district in the GTA.

Gurung’s walkout threat is being seen as a tactics to put pressure on the committee to submit its report earliest given that the Morcha has set a deadline of March 27 for the state government to implement the GTA agreement. The party has threatened to re-launch the Gorkhaland agitation, if the deadline is not met.

The Morcha has four members in the HPC which is headed by Justice Shyamal Sen. Other members are the district magistrates of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri, a representative of the state home department, the director of census (representing the Centre) and the administrator of the DGHC. The government had on January 27 extended the term of the 10-member HPC formed in July last year by six months, a few days after the Morcha set the March 27 deadline.

The Morcha president wondered why the HPC was not being able to submit its report till today. “The delay in the formation of the GTA is providing an opportunity to the (opposition) leaders in the hills to chirp,” he said. Morcha rivals have revved up their campaigns in recent times, clamouring for statehood and Sixth Schedule status.

In Calcutta, Justice Sen said he did not know what the Morcha was saying. He said Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri had met him recently and had accepted the government proposals.

“He told me that a Morcha delegation would meet me in Calcutta on February 24. We have had cordial talks and had placed several proposals before them. They have agreed to them and it has been recorded. I don’t know what they are saying. They have not said they will not meet me on February 24,” Justice Sen told The Telegraph.

In Sibchu, on the fringes of the Dooars , Gurung came down heavily on Chhatrey Subba, accusing the 71-year-old rebel Gorkha leader of trying to breach peace in the hills. He, however, clarified that when he talked about training camps and Maoists in his speech, the charges were not against all constituents of the Gorkhaland Task Force. The GTF is an anti-Morcha consortium of five outfits — the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisang, CPRM, ABGL, Gorkha Rajya Nirman Morcha and the GNLF (C).

The GTF members had yesterday said Gurung would have to either retract his statements delivered on Monday or prove their involvement in conducting such camps.

“I mentioned the Task Force because Chhatrey (Subba) is part of it,” Gurung said. The Morcha chief had said the forests of Kalimpong were harbouring 15-20 Maoists. “No one should engineer violence. Remember, we too have GLP. We will pounce on any one (indulging in violence) and hand him over to the government,” he said. The GLP is a squad of lathi-wielding volunteers raised by the Morcha, apparently to control crowds at its meetings.

The Morcha president dared Subba to share his vision of Gorkhaland with the people. “I will assemble one lakh people in Kalimpong or anywhere to hear him,” he added.

Source: The Telegraph

Rivals in Darjeeling challenge Bimal Gurung on Maoist slur

The Opposition parties have challenged Bimal Gurung to provide concrete evidence on the existence of underground training camps in the hills or withdraw statements to that effect as “baseless” allegations could vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in the region.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president had said here yesterday that his political opponents were conducting underground training camps and were hobnobbing with Maoists in Kalimpong.

He hinted that the camps were run by the Gorkhaland Task Force, an anti-Morcha forum comprising the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisang, ABGL, CPRM, GNLF (C) and the Gorkha Rashtriya Nirman Morcha.

Munish Tamang, the GTF secretary, said in a press release that the “unfounded” statement of the Morcha only proved that its politics was based on lies and deceptions.

“The Gorkhas have seen through the doublespeak of the Morcha that still talks about the GTA (Gorkhaland Territorial Administration) as well as Gorkhaland in the same breath. The statement also shows that the party is now bereft of ideas and meaningful issues and is thus trying to divert public attention from its visible failures on all fronts.”

“The GTF challenges Shri Bimal Gurung to come out with concrete evidence to back his claims about the GTF receiving illegal underground training or else withdraw his statement and desist from making statements that vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in the hills,” he said.

The GTF said Gurung’s claim about the training camps is “all the more laughable” as everybody knows “which party or organisation is capable of sparking violence” in the hills.

According to Tamang, the GTF is an alliance of well-known political and social organisations as well as prominent individuals who are committed to the creation of Gorkhaland.

“All organisations that are part of the Task Force have a long, unblemished track record of dedicated service to the Gorkha society. No partner in the GTF is on any record for involvement in random violence,” he said.

The GTF pooh-poohed Gurung’s plea that he was free to lead the movement for a separate state as it was not he but Morcha secretary Roshan Giri who had signed the GTA agreement.

“The Morcha secretary signed the agreement on behalf of the party and with the full consent of the president. If indeed, as the statement of the party president suggests, the secretary signed against the wishes of the party and the president, then the GJM should expel Roshan Giri from the party, make an unequivocal statement for Gorkhaland and join the GTF to unitedly fight for the creation of a separate state for India’s Gorkhas,” reads the GTF statement.

Former GNLF leader Chhatrey Subba, who was at the receiving end of Gurung’s verbal attack yesterday, also attacked the Morcha chief.

Subba accused Gurung of settling for the GTA by hoodwinking the people. “So many people have died; didn’t they all die for Gorkhaland? Why can’t he (Gurung) accept Gorkhaland when he enjoys so much support,” he said.

Subba said he was willing to lead the agitation for Gorkhaland if the people wanted him to. “If I get the support, I will definitely lead the Gorkhaland agitation. If I don’t get the support, I can’t do anything,” he said, adding that he was open to the idea of heading the movement under the banner of the Gorkhaland Liberation Organisation (GLO) or any other forum acceptable to the people.

The GLO was formed by Subba after he fell out with GNLF chief Subash Ghisingh.

Source: The Telegraph

Gorkhaland Territorial Administration delay spurs campaign race in Darjeeling hills

Darjeeling: The rivals of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha have geared up their revival activities as prospects of the government implementing the new administrative arrangement for the hills by March 27 seem dim.

The deadline was set by Morcha chief Bimal Gurung but with the territory issue yet to be sorted out, chances of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) coming into force by next month is almost impossible.

Under the circumstances, the GNLF has decided to hold a public meeting in Mirik on February 26 to garner support for the Sixth Schedule status for the hills. Party president Subash Ghisingh will be present at the meeting — to be his first public address after the Assembly elections. He had attended a public meeting before the elections.

The Gorkhaland Task Force, a conglomerate of five outfits opposed to the Morcha, has revved up a campaign for statehood. The GTF members — the ABGL, CPRM, GNLF(C), Gorkhaland Rashtriya Nirman Morcha and the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisang — are currently meeting MPs and MLAs in the Northeast, seeking support for the formation of a separate state, an activity that has been bothering Morcha chief Bimal Gurung.

He had come down heavily on the GTF yesterday in Kalimpong, accusing its members of being in touch with the Maoists. He also said his rivals were opposing the GTA only for the sake of opposing it.

Arjun Rai, the convener of the GNLF’s Mirik unit, today said: “We have decided to hold a public meeting in Mirik on February 26 and our party president Subash Ghisingh is expected to be present. He will announce the party’s future course of action in support of the implementation of the Sixth Schedule status in the hills.”

Ghisingh, who had been hounded out of the hills by the Morcha in 2008, returned on April 8, 2011. The very next day, he headed for Mirik to attend an election meeting — the only public meeting he had addressed — to drum up support for the three party candidates.

Following clashes between Morcha and GNLF supporters at Sonada after the election results were announced, Ghisingh had quietly slipped out of the hills under the cover of darkness on May 16, 2011.

A section of GNLF supporters, however, feels that Ghisingh who now stays in Jalpaiguri may come to reside permanently in the hills when he comes up to address the public meeting.

On the other hand, in the GTF camp, a team met P.A. Sangma, the NCP leader and former Speaker of the Lok Sabha at his residence at Tura in Meghalaya yesterday.

Chhatrey Subba, the chief of the Gorkha Liberation Organisation, also appears to have plans to revive his political activities after nearly 10 years. Gurung has been wary of the 71-year-old Gorkha leader, who is known to be against any form of autonomy, even the GTA, and is a staunch supporter of Gorkhaland.

The Morcha has threatened to re-launch the agitation for statehood if the government fails to implement the GTA by March 27.

Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri said his party was not worried about the GNLF demand for the Sixth Schedule status for the hills.

He said governor M.K. Narayanan has assured the party of all possible help for the early implementation of the GTA. “The governor has promised to speak to the President during their scheduled meeting on February 15,” said Giri, who met Narayanan at the Darjeeling Raj Bhavan this evening. The GTA Bill is awaiting the President’s approval.

Sibchu meeting

The Morcha will hold a prayer meeting at Sibchu tomorrow after a 12-km run from Nagrakata, reports our Jalpaiguri correspondent. Party members will pay tribute to Morcha supporters “who laid down their lives” for Gorkhaland at the meeting.

The rebel faction of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad led by John Barla will also participate in the meeting.

The Jalpaiguri district administration has granted permission to the Morcha to hold the run. But police are unaware of the public meeting to be addressed by Gurung.

“The police will be deployed along NH31 from Chulsa to Nagrakata and we have granted them permission for the run. But we have no information about the public meeting. We have appealed to everyone to maintain peace,” said Arindam Sarkar, the subdivisional police officer of Malbazar.

Source: The Telegraph

GJM seeks quake relief package for Darjeeling

On the eve of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's visit to Darjeeling, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leadership said on Sunday that the devastation in the Darjeeling Hills caused by last month's earthquake near the Sikkim-Nepal border had been largely ignored by the State and Central governments.

It also demanded a special package of at least Rs.1,000 crore for restoration work and resettlement of the affected.

“The devastation caused by the earthquake in Sikkim has received the attention it deserved. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union Minister Chidambaram and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi visited Sikkim and relief packages have been announced, but no such package has been given to the Darjeeling Hills,” Harka Bahadur Chettri, senior GJM leader and the party's MLA from Kalimpong told The Hindu over telephone.

Dr. Chettri said the GJM leadership would meet Ms. Banerjee on Monday and submit a memorandum. “We expect Ms. Banerjee to impress upon the Centre the urgent need to provide relief to the quake victims in Darjeeling hills,” he said.

Dr. Chettri pointed out that the death toll in Sikkim had been very high, whereas not many died in the Darjeeling Hills, but the damage to property on this side of the State border “is in no way less than that in Sikkim.”

“There are many remote places here where the government machinery has not yet been able to reach,” Dr. Chettri said, adding that the quake caused damage worth several thousand crores of rupees.

The Prime Minister had announced a special package of Rs.1,000 crore for earthquake relief in Sikkim during his visit there last month. Immediately after the tragedy, Ms. Banerjee had announced compensation to those killed and injured in the earthquake in West Bengal, but the State government had not announced any relief for those who lost their houses, Dr. Chettri said.

Source: The Hindu

Darjeeling Hills civic polls scheduled for December 11

Darjeeling: Elections to the four hill municipalities will be held on December 11, more than two years after polls could not be held following stiff resistance from the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and nobody coming forward to file nominations.

So long, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik municipalities had been run by a board of administrators.

District magistrate Saumitra Mohan said: “We have received a notification from the state government and elections to all the four hill municipalities will be held on December 11.” The schedule for the election has, however, not been finalised but is expected in a day or two.

The elections to the municipalities were scheduled for June 28, 2009 last time. But following opposition from the Morcha which demanded that the state government first implement a three-tier panchayat system in the hills, nobody filed nominations.

The Darjeeling municipality was set up in 1850 and is the second oldest in Bengal with 32 wards. Kalimpong has 23 wards followed by 20 wards in Kurseong and nine in Mirik.

Since July 14, 2009, a day after the five-year term of the hill municipalities came to an end, the civic bodies have been run by a board of administrators with the SDOs of the respective subdivisions as chairpersons of the board.

After the memorandum of agreement was signed between the Centre, the state government and the Morcha on July 18 this year to set up the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, provisions were included to ensure that the three- tier panchyat system was brought back in the hills.

Following the insertion of the clause, the Morcha is now eager to hold the municipal elections. The state government has, however, made it clear that the three-tier panchayat system would be in place only after the GTA is implemented. The Morcha, too, had agreed to the state government proposal.

This time too the Constitution has to be amended. It was amended once in 1992, soon after the DGHC was formed. The amendment was necessitated to implement a two-tier rural system for the Darjeeling hills since no two zilla parishads — the highest rung in the panchayati system — could exist in one district. So while the plains of the Darjeeling district had a Mahakuma Parishad (equivalent to the zilla parishad), the hills had a two-tier system without the zilla parishad.

This clause will now have to be amended to put in bring back the three-tier panchayat system in the hills.

Source: The Telegraph

Expedite Darjeeling civic election to facilitate development: GJM

Darjeeling: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leaders have demanded to speed up election to the four municipalities of Darjeeling to facilitate development work. GJM chief Bimal Gurung recently hinted at a public meeting that development works in the municipal areas has remained stalled for the last five years.

"Our party is serious about development in the Hills. Several development works have been hampered since election to the municipalities is still pending," said a senior GJM central committee leader.

The last election to the four municipalities was held in 2004. Then, the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) had formed the boards. However, GNLF chief Subash Ghisingh took forward the demand for including Darjeeling under the sixth schedule of the Indian constitution. This stopped election to the civic body and also to the panchayat system.

However, after GJM came to power in 2007 with the separate Gorkhaland state demand, most GNLF leaders and commissioners had defected to the GJM. Since then, the four municipalities at Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong and Mirik are run by a board of administrators headed by the sub-divisional officer.

"The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) will take time to be fully functional. In the meantime, development must also take place simultaneously," asserted the leader.

GJM though has not yet given its consent to holding election to the two tier panchayat system in place in the Hills. A demand has been made by the party to create several blocks from the existing ones for people's convenience. "Some of the blocks in the sub-divisions are vast in areas. We want the government to create at least 24 blocks from the existing ones so that development schemes and facilities reach the remotest of areas," reasoned the central committee leader.

GJM wants the existing eight blocks to be bifurcated into 24 blocks. The demand is that three blocks are created from one block. At present, it is time-consuming and cumbersome for people to get work - like issuance of birth and residential certificates and old age pension - done at a panchayat office that is situated several kilometer away, complained another GJM leader.. GJM's contention is that people waste one whole day at the office and are also not sure if the work will be done and secondly it feels officials of panchayat offices will be less burdened.

The Hills has only the gram panchayat and panchayat samaity. A zilla parishad runs the sub-division of Siliguri in Darjeeling district. However, in the GTA Bill there is provision for a three tier panchayat system as demanded by GJM.

Meanwhile, a six member GJM team including the three Hills MLAs and central committee leaders today left for Sikkim, to meet chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling and express their sorrow over the earthquake devastation and deaths.

Source: Times of India

Bimal Gurung threatens to revive Gorkhaland movement if state fails to release funds

DARJEELING, 21 AUG: The soft-approach of the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) towards the Mamata Banerjee-led government seems to be fast fading with the GJMM president, Mr Bimal Gurung, declaring that it may take up the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland again if development funds for the Hills are not released soon.

While attending the 19th Nepali language recognition day and the Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhawana Diwas function in Darjeeling yesterday, Mr Gurung said: "When the GTA agreement was signed on 18 July, both the Centre and the state government leaders had asked us to work towards the development of the Hills. But, it is becoming difficult to carry out development as the state government has not released the funds. We have no option left, other then renewing our statehood demand.”
Until the new council is implemented in the Hills all the developmental works are being looked after by the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC). At present the old council is being run by the DGHC administrator, Mr Anil Verma, Darjeeling district magistrate Mr Mohan Gandhi and three MLAs from the Hills.
“We want to beautify the Hills and the Dooars-Terai regions. Bringing in development here requires huge effort, time and financial support. We have already panned for a slew of developmental projects for the Hills but those have not gone on the floor yet due to the fund crunch,” said Mr Gurung.

He said the state government was not providing adequate funds for the DGHC to carry out its work. “The implementation of GTA will take some time and in the face of acute funds crunch, the DGHC, which is empowered to carry out development works, cannot function properly,” said Mr Gurung. The state government provides Rs 22 crore annually to the DGHC for development.
The chief minister, Miss Mamata Banerjee, had inducted the three Hills MLAs into the Board of Administrators of DGHC. It can be mentioned here that the MLAs had rejected the action plan budget for 2011-2012 prepared by the chairman of DGHC in the first meeting between the MLAs and the DGHC board on 3 June.

In the first ever backlash to the present state government, the Morcha president said the reluctant attitude of the government was also hampering its party's image. “The GTA is a test for us. We have to carry our task efficiently to please everyone particularly the Opposition parties,” said Mr Gurung. To promote tourism in the Hills, he said that Rs 5 crore would be needed to renovate the Mirik Lake in Mirik.

The Statesman

GJM warns of fresh protest

DARJEELING: The bonhomie is souring. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) is upset with the state government's neglect of the Hills, just over a month after the 'historic' tripartite agreement that was supposed to end the agitation in Darjeeling.

Party chief Bimal Gurung warned on Sunday that the Morcha would relaunch the Gorkhaland agitation. The Morcha is losing patience with the state government for the delay in sanctioning funds for development work, said Gurung.

"The CM tells us 'Darjeeling ke liye jaldi-jaldi kam kijiye', but how can we work without funds?" Gurung asked.

"When we signed the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) agreement last month, home minister P Chidambaram asked us to work towards developing the Hills.

But the state government is not helping us with funds. We will be left with no option but to renew our agitation for Gorkhaland," he said at a memorial programme for former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

The Times of India

GJM suggests Darjeeling split

KOLKATA: At the all-party meeting held in Kolkata on Wednesday to discuss the reorganization of districts of West Bengal, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) suggested the bifurcation of Darjeeling.

The GJM also recorded its objection against the proposal of the state government to bifurcate Jalpaiguri district till the formation of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), with the apparent aim to bring the areas in Dooars the GJM wants to be included in GTA under the administrative jurisdiction of a new district.

GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said later that he had suggested at the meeting that the population of Darjeeling district had grown much and it would help in better administration if the district was bifurcated. Being a hill area, districts of smaller size were preferable, he argued. The GJM delegates, including Kalimpong MLA Harka Bahadur Chhetri, wanted one district to comprise Darjeeling and Kurseong subdivisions on the western part of the Teesta and the Terai areas included in the present Darjeeling district and the second district to comprise the Kalimpong subdivision on the eastern part of the Teesta and parts of Dooars. Both the districts should be placed under GTA, Giri argued. He did not mention anything about the parts of Siliguri subdivision not strictly under Terai.

Giri said Jalpaiguri should not be bifurcated and Alipurduar be constituted into a new district, as suggested by the state government, till the survey of Dooars was completed to finalize the territorial reorganization and GTA was constituted. "Among the 196 mouzas we have demanded in Dooars for inclusion in GTA, some are in Alipurduar subdivision," Giri said. Three other moujas are in the Rajganj area, adjoining Siliguri town.

GJM president Bimal Gurung did not attend the meeting, but met chief minister Mamata Banerjee later in the day. He said he had discussed with her the issue of reserve forests. GJM wants reserve forests to be brought under the control of GTA. In the memorandum of agreement signed between GJM and the state government, "it was agreed that the state government will make a reference to the Centre on the issue of reserve forests as the power delegated to the state government under the central statute cannot be delegated to any other authority straightaway".

The Times of India

Khukuri attacker a woman

A woman had wielded the khukuri thrice at home guard Karuna Tigga, the injured law enforcer said today, recounting the events that led to the police firing at Sibchu in Jalpaiguri yesterday.

“Suddenly, some women grabbed me and dragged me into the crowd. My helmet slipped off my head and I fell in the confusion. A woman hit my head with a khukuri. She hacked me thrice and I heard the report of a shot being fired as I fell,” said Karuna, who was erroneously identified as Kalyani yesterday.

Lying in a bed at the district hospital here, a feeble Karuna said: “I have been posted either at Kumani or Sibchu ever since the Morcha set up camps there. There were other home guards and lady constables deployed in front of the community centre at Sibchu where hundreds of Morcha supporters had gathered shouting slogans.

“We, the women, formed the front of the police barricade as we were confronting mainly supporters of the Nari Morcha (the women’s wing of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha). I was wearing khaki and a helmet and carrying a lathi. Behind the women security ring were policemen and then CRPF personnel.”

She said tear-gas shells had been burst and Nari Morcha members on a hunger strike evicted from the community hall. “The senior officers were urging the demonstrators to disperse and we had once again come face to face with a group of protesters.”

After recounting the khukuri attack, Karuna, a mother of two, said: “I do not remember what took place after that. I woke up at the hospital in pain. However, I am feeling a little better today.”

The home guard job had passed on to Karuna four years ago from her father Shyamal Tigga who had died while in service. Her husband, Samsul Ekka, had died some years ago. “I have no one but my two children who are in hostel. My colleagues are looking after me in hospital,” said Karuna, who lives in a rented room in Panpara near here. According to officials, home guards with Karuna’s experience drew anything between Rs 5,000 and Rs 6,000 a month.

Karuna’s 12-year-old daughter Deepika is a student of Class VI and stays in a tribal hostel in Nagrakata. Ten-year-old son Rohit Ekka studies in Class IX and stays in a similar facility in Banarhat.

Doctors said Karuna was out of danger. “She had received three injuries on the top of her head and on the back and the wounds were stitched,” said a doctor.

Karuna said what happened on Tuesday was not comparable to the small skirmishes she had come across in the past. “They were not like what I experienced yesterday. I do not know where I will be posted next but I will definitely report for duty during similar situations in future,” she said.

A senior police officer said home guards were trained in crowd control and baton charge. Asked why home guards, who were only allowed to wield lathis, had been deployed at Sibchu yesterday, the officer said: “Women home guards are also deputed to control law and order situations as they are counted as lady police in every police station they are posted.”

Source: The Telegraph

Police lathi charge GJM supporters at Shibsu to disperse GJM supporters

Tension gripped the entire hill when a news spread about the lathi charge by the police at Sibshu. GJNM staged demonstration in all the police stations and traffic was halted for about three hours in all the areas of three hill subdivisions and NH 55, NH 31 C near Bagrakote and NH31A during the afternoon. Later at about 5 pm the blockade was withdrawn. Four GJM supporters were arrested from Rangpo for disrupting the traffic movement in NH 31 A.

According to the informations received from local GJM members of Sibshu, police charged with batons to a group of GJM and GJNM members gathered there. On the second day of hunger strike in Sibshu Dooars near Khumani more 7 local GJNM members of Sibshu Forest village had participated in the verandah of Sibshu Community hall. Violating 144 CrPC GJM supporters were gathered near the premises of a pandal erected for the hunger strike. They were joined by GJM and GJNM supporters from Khumani area by sneaking through a bye lane via a forest.

There was a commotion when police lathicharged to disperse the crowd of GJM supporters without any warning or firing tear gas shells. Atleast 8 people suffered minor injuries while one is seriously injured and rushed to SD Hospital Kalimpong. The group of GJM supporters had entered Sibshu area from Khumani through a bye lane. Jalpaiguri police has stopped plying of all vehicles through the Khunia more to Jaldhaka via Sibshu. All the vehicles of this route are taking the Matelli Khumani route to reach Jholung, Todey and Gairibas, Rongo.

On the second day of the relay hunger strike in Kalimpong seven members of Janmukti Asthayi Karmachari Sangathan participated. Meanwhile in the morning GJNM the women's wing of GJM gheraoed residence of Dawa Pakhrin former GNLF councillor and present President of Gorkhaland Rajya Nirman Morcha for speaking against the GJM stand about Gorkhaland. Pakhrin had ridiculed the recent switching over of demand of GJM from GRA to separate statehood. In the afternoon GJNM supporters stopped movement of all two and four wheelers and protested against the police atrocities in Dooars and demanded safe passage to the Long March Padyatra of Bimal Gurung GJM President from Khumani to Jaigaon.

Source: KalimNews

GJM supporters block NH-55

DARJEELING: Protesting the alleged police lathi-charge on supporters in Dooars, activists of the GJM blocked NH-55 in Darjeeling and demonstrated in front of the Sadar police station for more then two hours on Sunday afternoon.

GJM assistant secretary Benoy Tamang, who is currently in the Dooars, alleged that the police had tried to forcibly remove the participants of the ongoing relay hunger strike at Shibshu. Failing to do so, they allegedly entered the houses of some GJM supporters and beat them up with lathis. "Police used force to remove those participating in our hunger strike. But when they could not, they vented their anger on our innocent supporters," alleged Tamang. Five GJM supporters were allegedly beaten up.

Source: Times of India

Barricade breach foiled - Morcha accuses police of baton charge, administration denies allegation

Another attempt by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters to move from Kumani to Sibchu in Jalpaiguri was thwarted today by police with the agitators claiming that they were baton-charged, a contention that was denied by the administration.

The Morcha supporters led by party president Bimal Gurung, who has been camping in Kumani in Kalimpong subdivision since January 19, have so far made two unsuccessful attempts to breach the police barricade on the Dooars border.

The first attempt was made on January 25, on the day the Morcha leadership met Union home minister, P. Chidambaram in Delhi.

Matters were peaceful at Kumani today where around 10.30am Morcha supporters led by Gurung observed the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Then around 300 Morcha supporters, including those from the Nari Morcha, suddenly headed towards the police barricade at Sibchu, 5km from Kumani.

A number of Nari Morcha supporters also sat on a relay hunger strike at a community hall in Sibchu, protesting the administration’s refusal to allow their party president to lead a padayatra through the Dooars to Jaigaon for Gorkhaland.

At 2pm, police officers, in the presence of divisional commissioner A.K. Singh, requested the Morcha supporters to disperse from the spot as just beyond the barricade Section 144 was in place.

“The demonstrators refused to budge. As they still continued to demonstrate, we ordered the policemen to chase and disperse them from the area. It was done to maintain law and order and there was no lathi-charge,” said Sukhen Baraik, a deputy magistrate posted at Sibchu.

The Morcha leadership has condemned the lathi-charge on their supporters. “Five of our supporters have been injured in the lathi-charge. One of them, Prakash Rai, has fractured his ankle and has been admitted to the subdivisional hospital in Kalimpong. Among the others who have suffered injuries is 67-year-old Kaila Rai,” said Binay Tamang, Morcha assistant secretary, over the phone from Kumani.

Tamang said the administration has “detained” them at Kumani for nearly 13 days. “The administration is treating us like terrorists and have been citing the imposition of prohibitory orders but Asok Bhattacharya held meetings in Malbazar a couple of days back,” he said.

From 4.30pm, the Morcha set up road blockades across the hills for two hours and demonstrated in front of police stations to protest the alleged lathicharge.

Jalpaiguri police chief Anand Kumar denied that the Morcha supporters were lathi-charged. “Our men just chased them away from Sibchu as they were repeatedly trying to violate the prohibitory orders. There was no lathi-charge,” Kumar said.

Inspector general of police (north Bengal) Ranvir Kumar said cases have been started against Morcha activists who blocked NH31A today.

“Subsequently, a case could be framed against Bimal Gurung if investigations reveal that he had called for the blockade,” Kumar said. The national highway is Sikkim’s only road link with the rest of the country.

Source: The Telegraph

24 hr Relay hunger strike of GJM started from 29 January

Indefinite relay hunger strike for 24 hr was started in all the three hill districts and Dooars. On the first day of the hunger strike 7 members of Parvatiya Apanga Kalyan Sangathan participated. In other areas members of different frontal wings of GJM participated. In Shibsu of Nagarkatta Dooars located near Khumani, local GJM supporters participated in relay hunger strike. IG of North Bengal Police prohibited GJYM members to assemble there and dismantled the other camps of GJYM though the hunger strike is continuing.

Tension prevailed in Khumani where police force had shifted the barricade about 50 mt towards Darjeeling district. Later the police agreed to shift the barricade to Jalpaiguri area from tomorrow. Hundreds of GJM supporters gathered in the spot protested against the police. Additional force is deputed in Khumani. Everyday 50 supporters from each unit is deputed at Khumani to demonstrate near the police barricade. Youths from other areas are also swarming in the camps of GJM at Khumani. Police halted the traffic in NH31C near Bagrakote Mina more for about 2 hr and checked vehicle to stop the GJYM supporters heading towards Dooars from hills. Traffic in NH 31A was also halted by GJM Teesta Unit for about 3 hr when the news of Bagrakote reached the Highway.

Source: Kalimpong News

GJM suspends bandh till February 7

Two days after the meeting between its representatives and Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram in New Delhi, the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) leadership that had earlier threatened a 15-day bandh in Darjeeling district from January 29, decided on Thursday to suspend its programme till February 7.

“We have suspended the third phase of the bandh that was to have been resumed [as part of its call for a 26-day bandh] on Saturday, but will continue with our plans for a padayatra to the Dooars”, GJM central committee leader Harka Bahadur Chettri told The Hindu over telephone from Kumani in the Kalimpong sub-division of Darjeeling district.

While the GJM leaders had, following their meeting with Mr. Chidambaram on January 25, expressed their satisfaction with the outcome of the talks, the decision to suspend and not withdraw its bandh call is being construed as a ploy to put pressure on the Centre to come up by the first week of February with a draft for the proposal of an interim arrangement to replace the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.

Dr. Chettri, who was in the GJM delegation that met the Union Home Minister, had said shortly after, that his colleagues were hopeful that the draft of the proposal for the interim set-up would be ready for perusal by the first week of February. They had also been reportedly assured that it would not compromise their demand for a separate Gorkhaland State.

Future of stir discussed

The future of the GJM's agitation to put pressure on the Centre to clarify its position on the separate State issue was discussed at a meeting at Kumani of the party's central committee in the presence of GJM president Bimal Gurung. A report on the talks with Mr. Chidambaram was also placed at the meeting.

While the GJM leadership awaits the draft proposal for the interim arrangement, it chose to go ahead with its padayatra to Jaigaon in the Dooars, even if that means breaking through barricades set up by the police.

The Jalpaiguri district authorities had imposed prohibitory orders in certain areas of the Dooars to prevent the GJM leaders from walking into the region in view of the tense situation prevailing there following clashes in Jaigaon on January 16 between supporters of the GJM and those of regional outfits opposed to the Statehood demand.

Volunteers of the GJM will be going on a relay hunger-strike at places across Darjeeling district and parts of the Dooars during the days the bandh remains suspended, to maintain pressure on the Centre for a clarification of its stand on the Gorkhaland demand.

The Hindu