VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

DELETION OF NAMES OF FOREIGN NEPALESE FROM THE VOTER LIST

2011-02-03T23:25:00.000-08:00

Memorandum submitted to Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal by Bangla O Bangla Bhasha Banchao Committee(BOBBBC)to press for deletion of names of foreign Nepalese from electoral register
January 31, 2011

banglabanchao

Three groups want 3 states out of same Bengal districts.

2009-12-17T09:15:00.000-08:00

Three separate groups want an equal number of new states carved out of the same districts in West Bengal.

A day after activists of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha ( GJM) began a fast- untodeath for Gorkhaland, a nine- party coalition - Separate State Demand Committee ( SSDC) - started an indefinite hunger strike to press for a separate Greater Cooch Behar state. It is being led by Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party ( GCDP) general secretary Phanindranath Burman. He said the fast at Dinhata would continue till the Centre accepted the demand.

The Kamtapur Progressive Party ( KPP) and the Kamtapur Women's Organisation ( KWO) joined the SSDC. They want a separate state of Kamtapur.

But Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said: " The demand for Telangana is 60 years old. This does not mean new states are to be created everywhere." Cooch Behar had turned into a battlefield in 2005 when the police fired at a GCDP rally and arrested its leader Bangshibadan Burman and 58 others. Violence had taken place even last year when the GCDP organised a hunger strike to demand the release of its arrested leaders and activists.

The Kamtapur Liberation Organisation, which believes in an armed struggle to achieve a separate Kamtapur nation, is also regrouping in the area after the military crackdown against it in the jungles of Bhutan in 2003.

The situation in North Bengal is fast turning volatile as two organisations have decided to oppose the demands for separate states. The Adivasi Vikash Parishad ( AVP) has threatened to launch a militant agitation if there was any plan to include Terai and Dooars in the proposed Gorkhaland.

The Bangla Bhasa Bachao Samity, also opposed to the idea of Gorkhaland and any division of the state.

Apart from Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong, the map of the proposed Gorkhaland circulated by GJM includes Siliguri, Malbazar, Bhaktinagar, Nagrakata, Banarhat, Birpara, Madarihat, Joigaon, Kalchini and Kumargram subdivisions.

The KPP has demanded six districts of West Bengal and four of Assam to be included in its proposed Kamtapur state. These include Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, North and South Dinajpur and Malda in Bengal and Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri and Goalpara in Assam.

The GCDP wants to get back the original princely state of Cooch Behar that included the Cooch Behar district parts of Assam and even Bangladesh.

IS INDIA UNDER THREAT OF ANOTHER FOREIGN INVASION ?

2009-12-15T08:54:00.000-08:00

Back Drop

It will be justified if we begin our discussions from 1950, because from 26.1.1950 the constitution of India was commenced, Indo Nepal Friendship Treaty was also signed and ratified on 31st July 1950. It is also necessary to mention that in the year 1988 on 23rd august through an extraordinary gazette notification the government of India clarified that amongst the class of people known as Gorkhas, only those who were either born or had been resident in the territory of India from before 26.1.1950. are citizens of India.

Facts and figures

Number of Nepali speakers in Darjeeling district on 1951 was 88,958. This is the basic figure or the actual number of Nepali speakers in Darjeeling district at the commencement of the constitution of India. Just after a decade, 1961 census the number of Nepali speakers in Darjeeling rises to 369,130.which means an addition of 280,172 persons. The average percentage of growth rate in West Bengal in that same census was + 32' 80% when calculated according to this growth rate the justified increase of the Nepali speakers would be by 29,178. which would make a total of 88958+29178=118,136 which should have been the actual number of Nepali speakers for the decade ending in the year 1961 for Darjeeling district. Evidently the extraordinary increase in the number of Nepali speakers in Darjeeling district that is 369,130-118,136=250,994 was exogenous, which means they were foreigners from Nepal migrated to India by courtesy of Indo Nepal Treaty. It is a matter of great regret that the same trend is continued till to day unmonitored and uncared. These days the number of migrants from Nepal increased in an unimaginable rate, for example the growth rate of Nepali speakers in India in a decade 1981 to 1991 was + 52'62% from 1991 to 2001 it was + 38'29% .This huge number of foreigners created by Indo Nepal Treaty had come to India as non citizen legal migrants, but in flagrant violation of all the legal provision and constitutional obligations, the Nepali nationals are taking part in political agitations and other activities including elections in India. Shockingly our governments have preferred to remain silent spectators to this circus of extreme disrespect to the constitutional restrictions of our country. These migrants from Nepal continues to pour in through the open boarder unchecked, uncounted through ages no one cares to know who they are where from are thy coming, why are they coming, where do they go in India ,what do they do here in India, alas! It seems this is no body's concern here, the governments seem to have forgotten their constitutional compulsions to preserve the sanctity of the same.

All India Gorkha League an opportunistic political out fit organized their central office at Darjeeling in the year 1952 with the intention to use the migrants from Nepal to achieve narrow political gains. The protagonists of All India Gorkha League started politicizing the whole issue and under cover of those so called political moves they tried to camouflage the continued migration from Nepal to India, as a part of this evil design the Gorkha leaguers initiated ingenious inclusion of the whole of Nepali migrants into the domestic polity of India at Bengal province, Nepali identity was skillfully concealed behind British legacy to artificially promulgate a continuity from pre independence time in India which was in no way even near the truth, the nomenclature ' Gorkha' (which was never an ethnic identity) or the emblem of crossed 'Khukris'were selected as symbols of identity for the whole community, only for its pertinence to the Gorkha regiment of British Indian Army. The inane and dangerous politics of A.I.G.L. at Darjeeling, wherein they aligned the aliens from Nepal (Beneficiaries of Indo Nepal Treaty) with the citizens of India, unfortunately both belonging to the same linguistic community of Nepali speakers, which was an advantage for the aspirants of A.I.G.L. The hostile polarization of a bellicose community was the target of the Gorkha leaguers and this sort of political maneuvers are apt to produce certain concomitant eventualities like general deterioration of law and order situation and Darjeeling was no exception. Being connected to India and Indianism through only an imaginary umbilical cord of British Gorkha regiment, which was actually a hypothesis of convenience for the foreigner Nepali nationals in India, it was an easy mission for their mentors in A.I.G.L.to inculcate unreasonable communal hatred against the Bengalese in the hills of Darjeeling. In the year 1961 the so called rally in Darjeeling town in support of the demand for official recognition of Nepali language marks the beginning of marginalization for Bengalese in the hills of Darjeeling, through intimidation, assaults and coercion. Never less than eighty to ninety percent of the teachers, government servants, hoteliers and other businessmen of the hills were Bengalese, who began to recede on the face of organized violence of the land grabber foreign aggressors in our Indian soil. Even though there was full scale anti Bengali rioting by the aggressors of Gorkha league in the year 1970, non interference and inactivity of the government was conspicuous and in absence of constitutional governance the supreme leader of the rioters Mr Deoprakash Rai projected himself to be one and only one extra constitutional authority in his domain of the hills, it was he who initiated the riot ideologically and when the victims were scared enough to get the message he wanted to convey he reversed his role into that of a messiah for the victim Bengalese. This shame full surrender of the constitutional authority of India on the face of atrocities from the so called Gorkha aggressors, the majority of whom were confirmed foreigners from Nepal, was on principle the end of the rule of law in Darjeeling. On the face of continued intimidation and coercion and even attacks on private residences of Bengalese who were majorities in all three hill towns namely Darjeeling , Kurseong and Kalimpong, residing at those places from last 100 to 150 years, Chandmari, Guddi road, Ferendal road, Bilombari road, Dhobitola, Victoria falls and the vicinity of municipal building, every place had been densely inhabited by the Bengalese. Other than the government servants what we have already mentioned, the chairman of the municipalities and 70 to 80 percent of the municipal commissioners were Bengalese. The estates that belonged to Bengalese were forcibly occupied by the foreigner Nepalese by their fascistic gangster rule that they were allowed to continue unhindered and unabated all through Darjeeling hills till today .leaving aside the smaller private residences of Bengalese, let us take an account of the important heritage premises; the research laboratory of Sri Jagadish Chandra Bose with its surrounding compound, the huge compound of Basanti annex which belonged to Deshbandhu Chitta.Ranjan.Das, the land and the villas with the Capital Hall which belonged to Maharaja of Coochbehar , Lalkuthi the present day office of the D.G.H.C.and the surrounding land, all belonged to the same Maharaja and at present under forcible occupation of the intruders, the Burdwan House with its estate, a huge plot of land under the bridge of Victoria falls which had been Mr Biren Ghose's nursery, the house of the Kusharies on all the land space above Victoria falls, Maharani Girls' School, Ramkrishna Siksha Parisad, RamkrishnaVedanta Ashram temple with the huge school attached to it founded by Swami Abhedananda, all these were Bengali schools and Bengali organizations. Whether it was Luis Jubilee Sanatorium, or the rail way stations every where the workers and officers were mostly Bengalese so also were the tea gardens where most of the managerial staff, clerical and technical staff were Bengalese. The largest dairy farm of this region was a Bengali farm (Ganguli's) at Sonada near Darjeeling town. This never ending list establishes the fact that the hill towns with surroundings were naturally inhabited and dominated by Bengalese, the inhabitants of Bengal. Mass scale intrusion of the Nepali nationals as labourers and other fortune hunters in the tea gardens and surrounding rural areas brought in a massive change in linguistic demographic pattern of the region. This has to be mentioned with great regret that all the institutions of government of India had been a non interfering spectator of this upset in demography even when the foreign nationals out numbered the genuine nationals of the country. Empowered by the indulgence of inaction from the government agencies these aggressive band of gangsters ousted the Indian citizens from this part of Indian soil through continued intimidation and coercions, being helpless due to failure of the government to come in rescue Bengalese had to leave their favorite hill towns where most of them were born, and those were the places which grew up in their own hands and at the expense of their tax money. After relinquishment of Bengalese the hills of Darjeeling entered the era of domination by the gang stars of mostly or almost totally foreign nationals, census figures of 1971- 446,446, 1981- 1991 to 2001, are clear and true evidences of overwhelming growth of foreign Nepali nationals in Darjeeling district. As because the command and control of the administration in the hills of North Bengal virtually had gone into the hands of gang stars of the Nepali community due to continued appeasement from the administrative authorities on one side and unabated in pouring of endless flow of the Nepali migrants as intruders in our polity on the other side, in the year 1983 December, Mr Subhas Ghising emerged as a leader of the so called Gorkha National Liberation Front in Darjeeling and submitted a memorandum to the king of Nepal asking him to take measures to settle certain imaginary geopolitical disputes in India concerning the migrated people from Nepal to India, this gentleman who is practically a leader of the foreigners from Nepal in India, had no hesitation to send copies of this memorandum to U.N.O. and to the heads of many other foreign countries. Even after this disregard shown to the sovereignty and the constitutional authorities of India, our government preferred to act as if it is unaware and remained un-interfering. This same out fit G.N.L.F. continued with violent fascistic atrocities in the name of Gorkhaland movement from 13th April 1986 to 23rd August 1988.During this time period governance from the side of administration was totally absent in Darjeeling. Brutalities and killings were daily affair in Darjeeling, as the Bengalese were already ousted and out numbered in the hills, hence this time the target was political cleansing no one except the followers of the communal outfit of so called Gorkha interest were allowed to survive or operate in the hills, this is conspicuous from the virtual absence of any political activity from any one of the all India political parties in Darjeeling. C.P.I.M. a political party which had some political foot hold in the hills achieved through appeasement of course, received most of the beating. Chopped off head of C.P.I.M. leader was even hanged in a public place in Darjeeling town in one or two episodes, but not even a single eyebrow was raised and this sort imported cruelties continued on our sacred soil. Kidnapping, rioting, arson, attack on police force continued un interfered from 1986 to1988, government properties worth not less two hundred crores were destroyed shockingly for the Indians of this area, almost all the heritage buildings of the hills were burnt to ashes, which was but natural for the foreign national fortune hunters in our soil who does not have any emotional connection with our land and heritage. We have already shown how the basic figure of Nepali speaker Indian nationals hiked to an increase of more than three times in one decade and that the trend continued in Darjeeling district at the same rate or even more through decades after decades, this 'Psunami' of foreigners in Indian soil after ensuring sustenance here in India want achieve political space by any means. If this not war situation for a country what else is it then?

The situation was of trickily executed foreign invasion of the hereditary land grabbers from Nepal, our political leaders failed to appreciate the gravity of the situation, and were busy with petty terminology for classification of the movement as to whether this is separatist or anti-national, only to achieve short term smaller political gains at the cost of the sanctity of our mother land, the leaders of the national political parties did not have the commitment within them to take the bull by its horns. It was a grim situation and a national crisis yet there were none from the side of the administration to say enough is enough or to ask for identifying the foreigner Nepali migrants in Darjeeling so that they can be debarred from taking part in political movements unlawfully and continue with such horrifying and savage activities, the local inhabitants of the plain lands of Darjeeling district as usual remained unheard, even though few study forums of the plains of north Bengal namely Bangiyo Jubo Kalyan parishad, Siliguri and Bangiyo Adhikar Mancha, Bagdogra kept on sending memorandums and letters tirelessly to all the concerned institutions of central and state government, may be because these Indian organizations took to pen and not gun and preferred not to go for social disobedience in their own country, our government did not think it necessary to hear them. Hence rampant anarchy and lawlessness in the name of so called movement went on and despite all the atrocities administration sponsored appeasement continued too, as an inevitable outcome of this appeasement Subhas Ghising the leader of G.N.L.F. secured the post of the chairman of one newly formed autonomous body named D.G.H.C. very soon the chair man of D.G.H.C. Mr Ghising placed himself above all the laws and norms of India and refused to show accounts of the expenditure of government money or to submit utilization certificate for the same, but even that too was borne with patient shrugs of shoulder. It is not a concealed fact that the chief minister of the state or even the prime minister of the country had to wait for green signal from those aggressors to hold a meeting at Darjeeling, as usual the government had nothing to do about that too and over looked it. Mr Ghising was well aware about the presence of the huge number of foreign nationals residing in India in general and Darjeeling district in particular, practically those foreign nationals were the main strength of his movement, this fact is clearly understood when we take notice of the fact that as an aftermath of the deportation of Nepali labourers picked up from the coal mines of Assam it was actually the fear psychosis of Nepali nationals residing in India which triggered overwhelming support and attendance in the black flag day meeting at Chawkbazar Darjeeling on 13th April 1986 convened by Mr Ghising, in fact this huge gathering was beyond even the wildest dream of Ghising, because this was the first time that Mr Ghising could collect listeners for his oratory, from this time onwards Mr Ghising following the path of A.I.G.L.in 1952 and Mr Bhandari the ex chief minister of Sikkim took up the strategy of preserving this support base of foreign nationals in India for him and his G.N.L.F. through an illusory deceit of obtaining Indian citizenship for the migrated Nepali nationals in India. These foreigners from Nepal were at one hand frightened about their stay in India which was essential for their sustenance and on the other hand they were anxious to get the guarantee of Indian citizenship too. They new that they were foreigners, hence they were aggressive with there teeth and nail, this psychology of the migrants of Indo Nepal Treaty is evident in their abnormally aggressive attitude at political rallies or public meetings where they appear with Khukris hanging from their belts. The government authorities knowing fully well that those aggressors from the days of language rally of 1961 to the black flag day meeting of 1986 were mostly foreigners, did not care to even blink an eye lid on this issue for reasons best known to them. Mr Ghising over zealous after subversion of the government authorities in Darjeeling on the face of threat from him and his outfit G.N.L.F fortified his seize on the hills of north Bengal by deliberately defying the state government in all spheres. Meanwhile right from the beginning of his active movement that is the ghastly days of 1986 Ghising was continuously harping on two points, one was the clamour for incorporation of territory of Darjeeling and Doars of north Bengal into India, he opined that those were ceded land of Nepal, unclaimed hence rendered no mans land and lease hold land of Bhutan respectively, the other point was claim for grant of Indian citizenship for so called Gorkhas of India, the number of whom he opined were 60 lacs but according to census of India Nepali speakers in the year1981 was 1,360,636 and even in 1991 it was 2,076,645.in India. This is one evidence which unveils the unholy design and the intention of the G.N.L.F. leader, he was knowingly trying to mislead govt of India to unlawfully achieve grant of Indian citizenship for foreigners from Nepal under 'incorporation of territory'(Act 7 of the Citizenship act, Acquisition of) and continue this process indefinitely which could be absorbed into the cushion of fictitious sixty lacs of Nepali speakers in India. Unfortunately for Mr Ghising he could not procure his desired order for incorporation of territory from government of India, after being unsuccessful in this futile attempt to deceitfully manage citizenship for Nepali nationals in India this time his claim was for autonomous hill council in Darjeeling under provisions of 6th schedule of the constitution of India, visibly it was a frantic attempt from him to create an area within India which would remain an enter pot for the Nepali nationals from across the boarder under Indo Nepal Treaty and fraudulently convert them into Indian citizens. But this proposal of Mr Ghising did not get its passage through parliament and was referred to parliamentary standing committee, smelling chances of indefinite delay Ghising wanted to become the perpetual ruler of the hills. All legal and constitutional obligations of our country were flouted, all decorum of democracy disregarded as Ghising refused to go to election till the bill for promulgation of 6th schedule in Darjeeling hills is through. The subverted government failed to protect the sovereignty of the constitution of India, shamefully the constitutional authority of the state succumbed to the atrocities and threat from a handful of foreigner gang stars. With great regret and pain the Indian citizens of the plains of north Bengal observed that when all the forums of administration turned their deaf ear to the bona fide citizens the agents of contrary to the expectation the foreigners were appeased, elections postponed on their demand, nothing was virtually possible in the hill area without their consent. But inevitable outcome of this nonchalant attitude from the government, the protector of the sovereignty of the country gave birth to another monster Mr. Bimal Gurung, an ex gang star lieutenant of Mr. Ghising. On the plea of preaching for Proshant Tamang a contestant in a T.V.channel singing competition, Mr.Gurung shot to the lime light and took command of the foot soldiers of Mr.Ghising, extortion in the name of S.M.S. for Tamang continued unabated all the tourist, all the vehicles going to the hills, the business man government servants and whoever had gone to Darjeeling on those days had become victims of extortion or abasement, as usual government machinery for maintaining law and order was conspicuous in its absence. Being the natural out come of this free for all license from the keepers of law the foot soldiers of Gurung in the name of victory celebration transferred their go as you like activities on the plain lands of Bengal Terai too, victory processions were organized at very many places of plains at the foot hills, the communal over tone in place of joy of celebration was prominently perceptible in the behavior of the participants of victory rally in Siliguri atrocities crossed the threshold of tolerance level of the locals when an ambulance was obstructed at the gate of the hospital and a pregnant lady was manhandled. At least on the plains we were happy to see the administration taking prompt action, even to the extent of deployment of army to the rescue of the participants of victory procession from the fuming anger of the locals. No one knows when shall we see such an active government machinery for protecting sanctity of the constitutional provisions in the hills where contempt of the same in the hands of foreign intruders in our socio political sphere is a rule since 1961. Just after this episode Gurung of his own picked up the torch of so called Gorkha land movement and virtually started a parallel government of his fascistic gang star rule, the ministers, M.L.A. and even the district magistrate who is the highest administrative authority of the district were debarred from entry into the hills, along with this anarchy there were galloping is crease of extortion from the people of plains who could not but go to the hills on business as the district headquarter for Siliguri subdivision is Darjeeling, even after this chaos and anarchy reached its peak and the agony of the victims to extreme, the role of our government was but same, it was only divine inaction and silence, making rule of law insignificant and oppression unrestrained. Jubilant at their success in subverting the government authorities G.J.M.M. of Gurung tried to create a riot like situation in the plains of Terai and Doars by continuous provocation through demonstrations hunger strike and even attacks at selected places. G.J.M. protesters were on hunger strike at Panighata More Bagdogra and inside the campus of the Block Development office, Government of West Bengal, Naxalbari, those hunger strike centers became informal camp office for G.J.M. and were buzzing with perpetual gathering of G.J.M. activist through day and night, as centers of fright and danger for the simple and peace loving people of the area irrespective of their community, in contrary to the expectations of G.J.M. people in the plains did not react violently against those centers of provocation, in the meantime a citizen's organization was to initiate its signature campaign for their memorandum to the Prime Minister of India from 8th June 2008, requesting him to identify the foreign nationals from Nepal in India, visibly nervous G.J.M. brought trucks full of activists mostly from Nepal and its vicinity to Bihar More Bagdogra where they sat for a road blockade, even though there were enough police force present with two administrative heads of the sub division the blockade on NH31and NH31C was allowed to continue uninterrupted for three and half hours in spite of several requests from the victims of the blockade, when it appeared that the anger of the victims may become unmanageable the police took to Lathi charge on the inhabitants of the area and the activists while going back caused havoc in the locality there were incidents of stone pelting, trespass, assaults, intimidation, and even one incident of arson, but the administrative authority did not think it was necessary to take up the cognizable offences and start proceedings so that law can take its own course, and the criminals can be booked, not even sec 144 was promulgated as a preventive measure, but only next day the signature campaign of the citizen's organization JANA CHETANA was obstructed through promulgation of sec 144 at Bagdogra, interestingly both at Bagdora and Naxalbari the activists of G.J.M. who were on hunger strike were exempted from sec 144, hence they were continuing with their hunger strike under police protection. When the evil design of shifting the theater of skirmishes and heated political atmosphere on to the plains of North Bengal did not materialize, out raged Gurung called for an indefinite period strike and told the tourists to get out of the hills immediately, panic stricken tourists were harassed humiliated and forced to pay huge some of money to get a transport to go out of the hills, but even that was not the end of it, in this law less, governance less in fact government less territory of terror they were attacked at places with chopper and vehicle carrying tourists were burnt at Malbazar, amidst all these chaos and intimidation the exhausted tourists had to reach Siliguri in vehicles packed like canned sardines, just to be stranded at Siliguri which virtually collapsed under pressure of this huge number of tourists, we do not any more feel ashamed to say that police was inactive and spectators only, gravity of the situation can be assessed from the fact that government administration had to arrange one special train and 15 buses extra for the tourists so that they can at least reach Kolkata safely. All those shameful inertness of a practically subdued government and inactive police force naturally encouraged G.J.M.. to start defying the government in official and administrative spheres, as a challenge to the authority of government G.J.M. activists started changing the number plates of the motor vehicles where in place of W.B. they are compelling people to write G.L and at the same time collecting Gorkhaland tax from the vehicle owners, the most serious or the funniest part this whole commotion is that the government vehicles too are not exempted from this change over, none of the government offices had shown the courage to refuse this forced change over or to remove the tampered number plate, the activists of G.J.M. in their attempts to subvert the government authority are not hesitating to tamper with the registration certificates of the vehicles even. The government revenues like electric bills, motor vehicle taxes and telephone bills are not paid by any one in accordance to the directions of Bimal Gurung and his comrades, the offices of the respective departments are threatened of dire consequences if they try to discontinue the services for non payment of the bills. Every day a new injunction is imposed which even reaches to the extent of declaring dress code for people of Darjeeling. We have recently observed how the tyrannical leadership of the G.J.M threw Subhas Ghising, Dawa Pakhrin and other opposition leaders out of the hills to forced exile, and how their cars, houses and other properties were burnt to ashes. Last desire of Mrs. Ghising was left unfulfilled, because her dead body was debarred by the fascist gang star rulers from entering Darjeeling for cremation according to her last wish. Without going into every detail of failure from the side of the government, in simple words the whole of this hilly territory of Darjeeling, Kurseong, and Kalimpong is governed controlled and ruled by political out fits who initiated their unholy operations of smash and grab from the later years of 1950 making use of the fear psychosis of the migrated Nepali nationals in India, under Indo Nepal Friendship Treaty, even though they are legal migrants but unfortunately they have become illegal intruders into our socio political sphere. One has to understand the situation in Darjeeling is in no way similar to our domestic controversies of state reorganization.

A quick review of the census figures from 1951 to 2001will reveal the inner story of Gorkhaland movement which will be a glaring example of how India is invaded by foreigners, who are of late trying to disturb the peace, unity and sovereignty of our country.

Question on questionable CITIZENSHIP

2009-09-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

Darjeeling was not a Nepalese territory. Before 1947, that district was much smaller than what it is today; British used to use that only for their sanitariums and tea gardens. There were not Nepalese much, but only Bhutias and Lepchas and some Tibetans. Nepalese came after Nehru made another blunder to sign Indo-Nepal Treaty of 1950. Nepalese came after that in millions, particularly when in 1980s Nehru’s grandson Rajeev Gandhi made another blunder to create Darjeeling autonomous area, giving total control of the hills to the Nepalese. All retired Nepalese soldiers were allowed to settle down in Darjeeling. Now Nepalese do not allow other non-Nepalese to live in Darjeeling District and they are now expanding their new Nepal within India by demanding the whole of North Bengal. It is really a scandal that CPI (M) chief minister does not know administration; he is not taking action against these Nepalese, but allows them to create a total lawlessness situation in the North Bengal.

Prachanda wants to change the Indo-Nepal Treaty of 1950. Excellent. It has to start with the issue of the people. Nepalese who cannot prove that their ancestors used to live in India before 1950 must get Nepalese passports? That includes every part of India, Sikkim Darjeeling, Kumaun, and North Bihar etc. In that case there will be very few Indian Nepalese in Darjeeling. Most of the Nepalese in West Bengal, Sikkim are foreigners, i.e., those who came after 1950. They are not Indian by any means. Nepalese or gorkhas from Nepal cannot be claimed as Indian because Nepal is a separate country. Example is there. Yes, Pawan Chamling is a Nepalese but not an Indian, his ancestors came from Nepal. Baichung Bhutia is very proud to be a Bhutanese, he has never claimed that he is an Indian. Nepalese coming from Nepal has no claim at all; they are foreigners. So Nepalese/gurkhas cannot demand a separate state within India for the Nepalese/gurkhas communities. Maoism is much more dangerous than anything, as they believe in mindless violence, which has destroyed Nepal. That is the reason all Nepalese/gurkhas are coming to India. India should follow Bhutan and expel all Nepalese/gurkhas from India and cancel this defunct Indo-Nepal treaty of 1950. This is not racism, but a question of citizenship.So in view of the above foreign Nepalese cannot claim themselves as Indian.

BANDDH HITS THE LIFE OF NORTH BENGAL

2009-05-16T20:22:00.000-07:00

A 24-hour bandh called by the Bangla O Bangla Bhasa Bachao Samiti affected life in Siliguri and some parts of North Bengal. The Samiti had called the strike to protest against alleged irregularities during Lok Sabha elections in the three Assembly constituencies in the hills.
“Gorkha Janmukti Morcha members had threatened the supporters of other political parties during the elections. We called the strike to protest against the Morcha highhandedness and we have received an overwhelming response to the bandh,” said Mukund Majumdar, the president of the Samity.
In Siliguri, bandh supporters organised rallies at Hashmi Chawk and Bidhan Market this morning and burnt the effigies of Morcha president Bimal Gurung and Jaswant Singh, the BJP candidate backed by the party for Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat. The day passed off peacefully and nobody was on the streets, trying to enforce the bandh. Prabhat Chakraborty, the inspector-in-charge of Siliguri police station said: “It was a peaceful bandh and nobody was arrested.”

Shops, banks, educational institutions and markets remained closed. The bandh was affected the life of Falakata, Birpara and Madarihat. While schools and colleges were open, many shops and business establishments were closed.

In Kalchini block, the strike paralysed life as shops downed their shutters and vehicles were off the road. Shri Ranjit Ghosh, Secretary of BOBBC said "bandh was fully successful in entire Kalchini Block". S.R.Misra, the additional superintendent of police of Alipurduar, said there was no untoward incident during the bandh

CALL FOR BANDH ON 15TH MAY BY BOBBC

2009-05-14T09:42:00.000-07:00

Bangla O Bangla Bhasha Bachao Committee (BOBBC) today gave the call for 24- hour bandh on May 15 in West Bengal alleging irregularities during the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in the state on April 30.
The committee has demanded the Election Commission for repolling in the entire Darjeeling constituency.
Dr Mukunda Majumdar, president of the committee said ''We also demand that the name of migrated Nepalese should be omitted from the voter`s list''.

COURT ARREST EN MASS BY TRIBAL BODY ON 17TH MAY

2009-05-14T09:23:00.000-07:00

People of the tribal areas of North Bengal got some respite on Tuesday as the tribal body which had called for an indefinite bandh three days ago exempted tea gardens, shops and markets from it.
Government offices, however, remained shut and transport remained cut off due to the bandh. Adivasi Vikas Parishad, the tribal body, on Tuesday announced that the strike will end on May 17, when they will court arrest en masse in Jalpaiguri court.
The state government, meanwhile, refused to let off the two adivasis arrested for rioting and arsoning and remained firm in its stand.
“We are keeping a vigil. Things are under control. But we will not release the arrested people,” said Raj Kanojia, Inspector General, Law and Order.
“We have exempted shops and markets from the bandh, since we do not want the people to suffer. We will continue our bandh till May 17 and on the same day lakhs of tribals will surrender and court arrest in Jalpaiguri court,” said Rajesh Lakra, senior leader of Adivasi Vikas Parishad.

STERN ACTION TO BE TAKEN AGAINST ACTIVISTS OF ABAVP

2009-05-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad activists today locked the Madarihat Panchayat Samiti office and burnt the flag of the Hashimara Merchants Association, turning the situation tense in the Dooars once again. Around 200 ABAVP supporters today assembled at the Madarihat BDO office at about 1.30 p.m. and forced the BDO Mr Naved Akhtar out of his office, after he refused to leave. The agitators then drove out the rest of the staff from the office. ABAVP supporters also burnt the flag of the Hashimara Merchants Association when the traders were opening their shops. Protesting against the act, the traders called a trade halt in the New Hashimara area for an indefinite period and gheroed the Hashimara police outpost.Although the ABABVP leadership had declared yesterday that they would allow trade till 17 May, the Mateli and Banarhat-based traders decided to continue with the trade halt. The secretary of the Banarhat Merchants Association Mr Bijoy Barua said that they would not supply foodstuff to the tea plantation areas till the situation returned to normal. The bus operators in the region have sought administrative protection against ABAVP excesses. The secretary of the Dooars Minibus Owners Association Mr Chandi Sarkar today said that the administration must provide them with protection so that they can operate their vehicles safely. “The ABAVP activists have not been allowing us to run buses from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Dooars, as was announced yesterday,” Mr Sarkar alleged.The DM Jalpaiguri Mrs Vandana Yadav acknowledged the problem. “Several trains were diverted to other routes today due to the problem in the Dooars. If the ABAVP activists continue to disturb normal life, we would have to apply force,” she said. “The ABAVP stir is disrupting normal life and the administration will not allow it to continue. We are trying to normalize the situation and are hopeful the agitators will realize that the current state of affairs must alter. If not, the administration would be forced to apply stern steps to control the situation,” she added.The SP Jalpaiguri Mr Anand Kumar echoed the same sentiment: “The two ABAVP activists arrested a few days ago are accused of vandalizing six houses in Nagrakata on 30 April over voting. We want peaceful negotiations with the ABAVP leadership but if they continue to violate law and order, the administration will have to swing into action,” the SP added.

IDENTIFICATION OF NON-INDIAN NEPALIS

2009-04-02T08:03:00.000-07:00

SILIGURI, April 1: Jana Chetana, a Siliguri-based pressure group, would file a case at the Calcutta High Court seeking identification of the non-Indian Nepalis before the forthcoming Parliamentary election. “The election for the crucial Darjeeling constituency would become a futile exercise if the identification issue remains unredressed,” the Jana Chetana leaders said.
According to Dr Debaprasad Kar, president of the apolitical organisation, the election process for the Darjeeling constituency is “a mockery” of the Indian Constitution. “A foreign national cannot exercise franchise in any election in accordance with Article 326 of the Constitution. Yet, it is common knowledge that a large chunk of the voters in the Darjeeling hills are non-Indian Nepalis. The anomaly has assumed serious proportions in view of the prolonged Gorkhaland agitation and must be corrected to hold a meaningful election in the district,” he said.
Dr Kar further said that the groundwork in connection with the filing of the case was complete. “We would initiate the legal proceedings soon,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Bangla O Bangla Bhasa Bachao Samity and Amraa Bangali, today threatened to resist the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha campaign in the plains if the hill-based political party raised the Gorkhaland issue during poll campaign. The BOBBBS president, Dr Mukunda Majumder, said his organisation would allow the GJMM to campaign in the plains provided it erased all pro-Gorkhaland graffiti in the hills and removed GL number plates from the vehicles. The Aamraa Bangali Darjeeling district president, Mr Khusi Ranjan Mondal, said that his party would not brook any pro-Gorkhaland posturing likely to be indulged in by the GJMM in course of electioneering in the plains.

TODAY VIDEO FEATURE: Times Now alleges Gorkhaland to be an anti-India movement « The Himalayan Beacon

2009-02-20T09:21:00.000-08:00

TODAY VIDEO FEATURE: Times Now alleges Gorkhaland to be an anti-India movement « The Himalayan Beacon

UTTAR BANGA BANDH OBSERVED PEACHFULLY

2009-02-12T07:31:00.000-08:00

Siliguri, Feb 12 : A 24-hour North Bengal bandh, called by 'Bangla O Banglabhasa Bachao Committee' (BBBC), a non-political organisation, affected life partially today.
Public and private vehicles stayed off the roads in Siliguri subdivision of Darjeeling district while a few shops and business establishments remained closed. The bandh also had partial impact in Dooars and other places under Jalpaiguri district. No untoward incident was reported from anywhere, police said.
The bandh was called to protest the violence unleashed by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) in the region.
''We have called this bandh in protest against the GJM's atrocities against the adivasis, police and innocent people. Our aim is also to spread awareness among people,'' president of the Bangla Bachao Committee Mukunda Majumdar said.
Terming the demand for a separate state as ''absolutely irrational'', the committee called for deployment of Army or paramilitary forces in the region to restore peace.Public and private vehicles stayed off the roads in Siliguri subdivision of Darjeeling district while a few shops and business establishments remained closed. The bandh also had partial impact in Dooars and other places under Jalpaiguri district. No untoward incident was reported from anywhere, police said.

BOBBBC CALLED NORTH BENGAL BUNDH ON 12 TH FEBRUARY

2009-02-12T05:15:00.000-08:00

SILIGURI : The Bangla O Bangla Bhasa Bachao Committee has convened a 24-hour north Bengal bandh on 12 February to protest against the ‘acts of vandalism’ being indulged into by the GJM and also against the Centre and the state government’s ‘appeasement policy’ vis-à-vis the growing graph of the GJM-instigated subversion in the Darjeeling hills and in the plains.
Other pressure groups operating in the Teari-Dooars region have, however, decided to stay away from the bandh.
Announcing the proposed shutdown, the BOBBBC president Dr Mukunda Majumder said today that his organisation would spare no effort to mobilise public opinion against the GJM-sponsored hooliganism. “The hill party activists, having intentionally brought the separatist momentum down in the plains, have been attacking the tribals and the people of other ethnic communities, including journalists, police and petty traders, with impunity”.“The state government’s continuing temerity is emboldening the separatists to sharpen the assault pitch,” he added.
He also demanded immediate scrapping of Art 7 of the 1950 Indo-Nepal treaty empowering the Nepali citizens to reside and trade within the Indian territory and screening and deleting names of the aliens from the voters’ list taking 1950 as the cut-off year.
“We have ample evidence suggesting that a large number of Nepalese are crossing the border everyday and settling down in the Terai-Dooars region. And these aliens are instigating violence in cahoots with the GJM cadres,” he said.
(Courtsey : The Statesman)

डुवार्स मे अशांति नहीं होने देंगे : बारला

2009-02-08T05:57:00.000-08:00

Feb 08, बिन्नागुड़ी (जलपाईगुड़ी): डुवार्स में शांति भंग नहीं होने देंगे। अखिल भारतीय आदिवासी विकास परिषद के डुवार्स को-आर्डिनेशन के अध्यक्ष जान बारला ने शुक्रवार को यह बातें कही। उन्होंने कहा कि हर सुविधा मिलने के बावजूद गोर्खा भाइयों पर अलग राज्य का भूत सवार है और यह भूत पूरे डुवार्सवासियों व व्यवसायियों को अशांत किए हुए है।
जिसे डुवार्स की जनता हरगिज बर्दाश्त नहीं किया जायेगा। गोर्खालैण्ड आंदोलन ने जनता पूरी तरह उब चुकी है। इसलिए जनता आज सड़कों पर उतर आयी। डुवार्स में आदिवासी इनके शोषण व जुल्म के शिकार हो रहे हैं। वह मनमानी कर रहे हैं। अब इनकी मानमानी नहीं चलेगी। डुवार्सवासी डुवार्स बचाने के लिए आगे आ चुके हैं। हमारा संगठन उनके साथ है। गोजमुमो कहने को तो कहता हैं कि गांधीवादी नीति व हिंसा पर उतारू है। चामुर्ची में जो लोग मरे हें वे व्यवसायी ही तो हैं। इसका डटकर मुकाबला होगा।

ATTACK ON INDIANS PROPERTY/CITIZENS BY THE BHOPALIS/FOREIGN NEPALIS(BENEFICIARIS OF 1950 INDO NEPAL AGREEMENT)

2009-02-08T04:53:00.000-08:00

BANERHAT/SILIGURI: Riots broke out in the foothills of the Himalayas in north Bengal on Saturday morning, with large parts of the Dooars witnessing bloody street fights between the activists of GJMM and the locals. At the end of the day, two persons were dead. Adivasis and other local communities clashed with GJM supporters at Banerhat, Chamurchi, Birpara in Jalpaiguri and outskirts of Siliguri town Debidanga and Milan More, near the government circuit house. The dead have been identified as Sunil Mondol (28) of Chamurchi and Akbar Lama (45) of Ethelbari. Manas Ghosh, a Bengali, sustained bullet injuries while passing through Debidanga. The clash left hundreds injured 20 were admitted with critical injuries to hospitals spread over Jalpaiguri Sadar, Birpara and Banerhat. Many were arrested during the day, state home secretary Ardhendu Sen said at Writers' Buildings. Section 144 has been imposed in nine police station areas. The mob fury was at its worst in Chamurchi and places such as Debidanga and Milan More in Siliguri's backyard, near the government circuit house. Completely outnumbered, police failed to tackle the situation, despite threats from Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad on Friday. ABAVP (Dooars) secretary Rajesh Lakhra had threatened a civil war if GJM supporters came down from the Hills and enforced their bandh call in the Dooars on Saturday. GJM had called the bandh against police atrocities on the tribals of Lalgarh in West Midnapore. But GJM's ploy to rope in Adivasis did not work. Instead, trouble broke out in the morning when about 200 GJM supporters from Lakhipara and Gandrapara tea estates in Jalpaiguri put up a blockade on NH-31 (C) at Banerhat More. Streetfights between the bhopalis/ foreign Nepalis(bneficiaries of 1950 Indo Nepal Agreement) and the Adivasis/locals broke out after 200 GJM supporters put up a blockade on NH-31C. As the news spread, Adivasis, led by ABAVP, and also the local people chased the mob away. GJMM supporters burnt some of the shops that had kept the counters open during the bandh, and stabbed many people who dared to come in their way. Bandh supporters also set the CPM office at Chamurchi on fire. The police force was inadequate to control the mob till the RAF was deployed in the afternoon. Senior officials went to the spot. The clash soon spread to Ethelbari. Local people beat up GJM supporters, leaving three injured. The scene was similar in Odlabari and Birpara. GJJM supporters clashed with the police when they tried to block the Roads.

ABAVP WOULD CONTINUE CAMPAIGN AGAINST GJMM

2009-02-03T04:22:00.000-08:00

The Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad said today it would continue the campaigns against the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in the Terai and the Dooars despite an assurance by the chief minister that the government would not sit idle if violence recurred in the region.
Some leaders of the Parishad, which is at loggerheads with the Morcha following the hill outfit’s Dooars Chalo movement early this month to consolidate its support base in the plains, had met Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at Writers’ Buildings yesterday.
The Morcha had launched the campaign to include the Dooars in Gorkhaland, a separate state the party is demanding.
“We have made it clear to the government that we will not watch silently if the Morcha makes attempts to organise any programmes to amass support for the separate state,” said Birsa Tirkey, the state president of the Parishad.
“Our members have been instructed to renew their anti-Morcha campaign in the form of rallies, meetings and door-to-door visits to make people aware of the consequences of the division of state. We will respect law while holding such programmes,” he added.
Tirkey said people in the Dooars were not concerned over the Morcha’s activities in the hills. “But we suspect that they are inducting tribal youths into Gorkhaland Personnel only to attack and repress us. We will discourage our youths from joining the force.”
Source: The Telegraph

GJMM activists joined in AKHIL BHARATIYA ADIVASI VIKASH PARISHAD

2009-02-02T08:08:00.000-08:00

Several Morcha supporters surrendered to ABAVP today and apologised for their violance activities. They promised not to participate in any such divisive programmes of GJMM in future.

newspage3

2009-01-30T09:57:00.000-08:00

newspage3

GORKHA LAND IS NOT POSSIBLE : MHO

2008-12-30T00:34:00.000-08:00

As expected, the second round of the tripartite meeting over the Gorkhaland issue remained inconclusive with the Centre and the West Bengal government on Monday remaining non-commital on the separate statehood for Gorkhas. Though all the parties - including the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) - agreed to have another round of talks over the contentious issue soon, officials in the home ministry hinted that acceding to the demand might not be possible. They said that the government would try to convince the Gorkhas at the next meeting about accepting "more powers for Darjeeling Hills under special status" as a separate state was not practically possible. The Morcha has been demanding a separate state comprising the three hill sub-divisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong, besides Siliguri sub-division in the plains and adjacent area in North Bengal. Union home secretary Madhukar Gupta told reporters that the talks were held in a cordial atmosphere. He said: "Whatever decision is taken, it will be in national interest, keeping in mind the aspirations of the people."

CENTRE WILL NOT ACCEDE THE GORKHA LAND DEMAND

2008-12-29T04:38:00.000-08:00

NEW DELHI: Ahead of the second round of tripartite meeting with Gorkha leaders and the West Bengal government here on December 29, the Centre has finalised the modalities which will revolve around giving more powers to the Darjeeling Hills through special status instead of acceeding to the separate state demand.
The Gorkhas will be represented by the GJM which has been on the warpath since February demanding creation of a separate state — Gorkhaland — comprising the three hill sub-divisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong, besides Siliguri sub-division in the plains and the adjacent area in North Bengal.
Though GJM has been insisting on statehood, officials in the home ministry hinted that the Centre would in no way agree to the demand which has not found favour with other sections like non-tribals living in the area.
Sources in the home ministry said the negotiators would keep in mind the unique geographical position of the area as this has implications considering the sensitivities of the people living there.
The region — a thin strip of land called Chicken’s Neck which separates China and Bangladesh and also connects India’s mainland with North-East — has always been on the radar of security agencies which have time and again resisted the separate statehood demand.
Referring to such concerns, the sources said the Centre would not agree to any decision by excluding the wishes of a majority of non-tribals in the region as it could create unrest, opening a new front for insurgents and `external elements’ to fish in troubled waters.
“Through the tripartite talks, the Centre would like to address all such concerns by taking into confidence all stake-holders and the state government,” said a senior officer.

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE: KALCHINI CLASH : MORCHA ACTIVISTS STABBED TWO PERSONS- SEVERAL INJURED - ATTACKED MP's HOUSE AND MORE VIOLANCE BY THE GJMM ACTVISTS

2008-12-11T03:46:00.000-08:00

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE: KALCHINI CLASH : MORCHA ACTIVISTS STABBED TWO PERSONS- SEVERAL INJURED - ATTACKED MP's HOUSE AND MORE VIOLANCE BY THE GJMM ACTVISTS

KALCHINI CLASH : MORCHA ACTIVISTS STABBED TWO PERSONS- SEVERAL INJURED - ATTACKED MP's HOUSE AND MORE VIOLANCE BY THE GJMM ACTVISTS

2008-12-11T03:20:00.000-08:00

Hamiltongonj, Dec. 10: A handful of employees had arrived at the Kalchini block development office around 10am today when around 300 local Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters came in a procession and began shouting slogans.
This surprised the staff members as well as block development officer R.R. Sunder, who came out of their offices. Shouting pro-Gorkhaland slogans, the Morcha rallyists proceeded to lock up the block and the adjacent panchayat samiti offices. GJMM supporters then reached the Latabari Gram Panchyat Office and demanded that office to be locked up.
The employees told the rallyists to move away and not to disturb them. The Morcha supporters refused to budge and slowly a crowd started gathering. Soon, angry people surrounded the Morcha protesters.
Mr. Ranjit Ghosh, Convenor of the Bangla O Bangla Bhasha Bachao Committee, Jalpaiguri, said this incensed the locals who started the protesting. The GJMM supporters then started attacking the locals. Armed with the traditional Khukris and axes, GJMM agitators threw stones at the locals and their houses. They attacked Alipurduar MP Mr. Joachim Buxla”s house, inflicting serious injuries on his wife Malati. The GJMM supporters damaged nearly hundred houses by pelting them with stones. Morcha supporters also stabbed two persons- Mr. Harish Sarkar and Mr. R.Rastogi.
The news of the clash spread fast and a large number of Morcha supporters arrived at the Kalchini block office and began throwing stones at the handful of policemen, making them scurry for cover. But soon, the Morcha supporters were pushed back by a stone-throwing mob, while the administration tried to get more police. Shops in the Hamiltongonj market downed shutters fast.
The Morcha activists damaged two police vehicles, which were on their way to the trouble spot. While one was from Hamiltangonj outpost, the other was from Hasimara. Around 11am, the minister of state (public works), Manohar Tirkey, arrived at the BDO office only to be heckled by people who wanted to know from him what the administration was doing to prevent government offices from being locked up. The police whisked him away.
By noon, reinforcements arrived from Alipurduar and Cooch Behar and they tried to keep the two groups at bay. Seven policemen and six others were injured. The police later said 16 of its men were hurt.
After 4pm, Jalpaiguri police superintendent Manoj Verma arrived with a large force. Tear-gas shells were burst to chase away Morcha people. Morcha People ran helter-skelter and motorcycles parked on the roadside fell on their sides in the melee. Section 144 of Cr. PC has been clamped on the area.
The SDO, Alice Vez, said the Morcha had not informed the administration that it would hold a rally.

FOREIGN HANDS IN THE ONGOING AGITATION IN HILLS

2008-11-20T05:04:00.000-08:00

The Centre has asked the state government to find out if there were any chances of ethnic violence in the Hills post the second tripartite meeting due in November-end.
Sources said the ministry of home affairs has information that there could be large-scale violence in the Hills following the second tripartite meeting, which is likely to be held between November 26 and 28. The MHA fears that the meeting might fail and lead to intense clashes.
“The report must be filed on a priority basis, because the tripartite meeting is nearing,” said a senior official at Writers’ Buildings. The state home department has therefore, already started its investigations. The IB has informed its state counterpart that quite a few foreign hands are supporting those involved in the ongoing agitation in the Hills.
The home ministry wants the state to step up vigil on army installations located along National Highways 31A, 31 and 55 - specifically on Binaguri, Kalimpong and Sukna points and the Mountain Division in Sikkim. It fears that an outbreak of trouble in the Hills and the Dooars may affect the movement of security forces.

Bengali body calls for fencing along Nepal border

2008-11-18T08:57:00.000-08:00

The Siliguri based Bengali body the Bangla O Bangla Bhasa Bachao Committee (BOBBC) has demanded the erection of barbed-fencing along the Indo-Nepal border alike the boundary with Bangladesh.The demand cropped up as one of the prime resolutions at the BOBBC convened citizens’ convention against the Gorkhaland demand held in Siliguri 17th November. The three-hour convention, was organised at the Kanchenjungha Stadium Hall in the town. “It has been unanimously resolved to create pressure upon the Union government to fence the whole Nepal border to check the unabated migration of scores of Nepalis into India everyday. Apart from serving a memorandum to the concerned authorities, we would also take up agitation programme on the demand soon,” the BOBBC president Dr Mukumdo Mazumdar said after the convention.It may be mentioned that, as of now, India shares a 1868 km long open border with Nepal spread over the five states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim. Other than the border fencing demand, the Bengali nationalist body also reiterated its pledge not to allow any further division of Bengal in the name of 'Gorkhaland', Kamtapur etc, abrogation of the Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1950 and the identification of the alleged ‘Nepali infiltrators’ residing in Darjeeling. Writer Mr Gourishankar Bhattacharya, Mr Chinmoy Chakroborty, Mr Arun Lahiri and others were present at the convention.

India-Bhutan rebel link ‘exposed’

2008-11-15T05:13:00.000-08:00

BBC News: Separatist rebels from India’s north-eastern state of Assam have developed links with dissidents from Bhutan, Indian officials have told the BBC.The Assam police are questioning a Bhutanese dissident leader for his alleged involvement in October’s blasts in Assam that killed 84 people.Tenzing Zangpo belongs to the Druk National Congress that is opposed to Bhutan’s ruling regime.Police say he has spoken of “close links” with rebels in Assam. Investigators told the BBC that Mr Zangpo said his group also had links with the fledgling Maoist movement in Bhutan.“India and Bhutan together want to destroy us, so we have to come closer for survival,” senior Assam police officials quoted Mr Zangpo as telling them.For more than a decade, Bhutanese dissident groups, specially those representing the Bhutanese refugees of Nepali origin, have tried to secure Indian support for their plans to march back to the kingdom through Indian territory.But as Delhi used tough police action to prevent the marches, the Bhutanese dissidents turned to India’s enemies, Mr Zangpo is said to have told the Assam police.The separatist United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB)- the former fighting for Assam’s independence and the latter for an independent homeland for Bodo tribes people - had more than 30 bases in southern Bhutan.The bases were demolished by Bhutan’s royal army during an operation in December 2004.“Until then, the Assam separatists kept a safe distance from the Bhutanese dissident groups, who campaigned in India against the royal government’s human rights abuses. But the equations changed after the Bhutanese military action,” Mr Zangpo said, according to the Assam police.Police say he told them that the NDFB and the Ulfa train the Bhutanese Maoists and the Druk National Congress activists in bomb-making.He is also reported to have said that the Druk National Congress had set up some bases together with the Assam separatists in southern Bhutan again.Southern Bhutan has been rocked by a spate of low-intensity explosions in recent months. Several people have died in these explosions.The Bhutanese Maoist party is made up mostly of “Bhupalis” (Nepali-speaking Bhutanese) who were chased away from the kingdom in the early 1990s.They received initial training from the Nepali Maoists before the latter decided to return to parliamentary politics by giving up their armed movement.“But now they depend on the Assam separatists for training in weapons and especially in bomb making,” Assam police say Mr Zangpo said.According to police accounts of the questioning of Mr Zangpo, he also said Assam separatist groups had been bringing in explosives from Bangladesh through India’s thin “north Bengal corridor” and stocking them up in the clandestine bases in southern Bhutan.“The bombs that devastated Assam on 30 October were assembled in these small south Bhutan bases and brought into Assam across an open border,” Mr Zangpo told the police after his arrest in Assam, they say.They were stray intelligence reports about the Assam separatists reviving their bases in recent months.But neither India’s federal government nor the state government of Assam paid much heed to them.“A complacency had developed. Nobody believed south Bhutan could be used again by these rebels after such a comprehensive military operation in 2004. But one must realise that was a long time back,” said a senior Assam police official.

Opposing the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state

2008-11-11T05:29:00.000-08:00

SILIGURI, Nov. 10: The Siliguri based ‘Bangla O Bangla Bhasa Bachao Committee’ (BOBBBC) has asked the Central Election Commission to segregate the ‘Nepali infiltrators’ from the Indian Gorkhas in Darjeeling district of northern Bengal and order an extensive revision of the existing electoral rolls of the whole district.
Serving a memorandum to the Chief Election Commissioner in Delhi on 6 November, the Bengali body pointed out that as per the provisions of the Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1950 “Nepalese coming to India after 26-01-1945 are not Indian citizens although they can reside and exploit the livelihood opportunities in India.”
But in the four-page memorandum served to the CEC, the BOBBBC has claimed that “in violation of the bilateral treaty, lakhs and lakhs of Nepalese migrating to India after the specified date have found place in the electoral rolls of Darjeeling district and are unjustifiably enjoying the citizenship rights at the cost of the native Indians.”
“Even till date, scores of Nepali migrants are entering into the Darjeeling district and the adjoining Dooars region and are easily finding place in the electoral rolls,” said the BOBBBC president Dr Mukundo Mazumdar. To address the malady, the Bengali body has placed a four-point charter of demands before the CEC, which include ~ initiating an extensive revision of the electoral rolls of the four sub-divisions of Darjeeling district so as to identify and shed the names of the ‘Nepali migrants’ as per the guidelines offered by the treaty of 1950, order the district election officer of Darjeeling not to publish the final electoral rolls (for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls) until the task was over, to depute special election observers in Darjeeling for overseeing the roll revision and lastly, postpone all scheduled elections in Darjeeling until the roll revision was over.
It may be noted here that opposing the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state in Darjeeling, the BOBBC on 7 November took part in a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. The agitation, which was also attended by the Siliguri based ‘Jana Chetena’ and other Bengali nationalist bodies from across India was convened by the ‘Bharatiya Bangla Bhasi Mahasabha’.
Separate memorandums were also submitted to the Prime Minister, President and the UPA chairperson Ms Sonia Gandhi in this regard.

(source : The Statesman)

डुवार्स विभाजन की साजिश रोकने के विरुद्ध जनसभा

2008-11-09T21:17:00.000-08:00

अलीपुरद्वार (जलपाईगुड़ी ): अलीपुरद्वार महकमा को जिला बनाने की घोषणा करने की मांग को लेकर और डुवार्स की अलगाववादी शक्तियों की विभाजन की साजिश पर रोक के लिए शहर अभिभावक मंच ने जनसभा का आयोजन किया। रविवार को अलीपुरद्वार म्युनिसिपल हाल में सुबह ग्यारह बजे से सभा शुरू हुयी। सभा में अलीपुरद्वार महकमा के विभिन्न स्वयंसेवी संगठन, व्यवसायी समिति व राजनीतिक पार्टी के प्रतिनिधियों ने हिस्सा लिया। पूर्व प्राध्यापक सुधीररंजन घोष की अध्यक्षता में सभा सम्पन्न हुयी। सभा में विभिन्न वक्ताओं ने अलीपुरद्वार को जल्द से जल्द जिला घोषणा करने के पक्ष में वक्तव्य पेश किये। वक्ताओं का कहना है कि जिला का दर्जा नहीं मिलने से अलीपुरद्वार महकमा के निवासी सरकारी सुविधाओं से वंचित हो रहे हैं। सभा में तृणमूल कांग्रेस के राज्य महासचिव मृदुल गोस्वामी, आरएसपी नेता सत्येन दत्त, फारवर्ड ब्लाक नेता पार्थसारथी राय, भाजपा के सम्राट दे उपस्थित थे। इन वक्ताओं ने गोर्खालैंड आंदोलन के नाम पर तराई व डुवार्स क्षेत्र को बांटने की साजिश का विरोध किया।
सभा में अखिल भारतीय आदिवासी विकास परिषद के कालीचीनी शाखा के अध्यक्ष विदुचिक बराइक भी उपस्थित थे। सभा में नवंबर के अंतिम सप्ताह में डुवार्स विभाजन के खिलाफ विरोध करने के लिए कालचीनी बीडीओ कार्यालय के समक्ष विरोध सभा करने का निर्णय लिया गया।

गोर्खालैंड में डुवार्स व तराई को शामिल करने का विरोध

2008-11-09T21:10:00.000-08:00

नागराकाटा (जलपाईगुड़ी): प्रस्तावित गोर्खालैंड राज्य में डुवार्स व तराई इलाके को शामिल करने की मांग का आदिवासी विकास परिषद ने विरोध किया है। उसने कहा है कि यदि इस तरफ किसी का हाथ बढ़ा तो उसे काट दिया जायेगा। उसने माकपा के उस बयान की निंदा की जिसमें कहा गया है कि आदिवासी विकास परिषद का माओवादियों से संबंध है। उल्लेखनीय है कि रविवार को नागराकाटा में अखिल भारतीय आदिवासी विकास परिषद का 21वा राज्य सम्मेलन हुआ। शुक्रवार से चल रहे इस राज्य सम्मेलन के दौरान रविवार को स्थानीय यूरोपियन मैदान में एक खुली जनसभा की गयी। सम्मेलन में आदिवासियों की विभिन्न मांगों की चर्चा की गयी। इस जनसभा में लोगों की काफी भीड़ उमड़ी थी। जनसभा में पचास हजार से भी ज्यादा लोगों ने हिस्सा लिया। हालांकि आदिवासी विकास परिषद का दावा है कि सम्मेलन में लाखों लोगों ने हिस्सा लिया। वहीं सभा में आरोप लगाया गया कि स्वतंत्रता के 61 साल बाद भी देश में आदिवासी सरकारी सुविधा से वंचित हैं। इसके विरुद्ध आंदोलन की चेतावनी दी गयी। संगठन की राज्य कमेटी के अध्यक्ष बिरसा तिर्की ने बताया कि माकपा की जलपाईगुड़ी जिला कमेटी के सचिव माणिक सांन्याल ने आदिवासियों को माओवादी कहा जो गलत है। माकपा को इसका प्रमाण देना होगा। उन्होंने कहा कि प्रमाण नहीं देने पर आदिवासी समुदाय इसका उचित जवाब देगा। अखिल भारतीय आदिवासी विकास परिषद किसी पार्टी से जुड़ी नहीं है। केवल आदिवासियों की समस्या को हल करने के लिए 1967 से काम कर रही है। जनसभा में गोर्खा जनमुक्ति मोर्चा को खबरदार करते हुए कहा कि डुवार्स व तराई की जमीन की ओर हाथ बढ़ाने वालों के हाथ काट दिये जायेंगे । उन्होंने सभी हिंदी माध्यम के स्कूलों में हिंदीभाषी शिक्षक नियुक्त करने, डुवार्स-तराई इलाके में और हिंदी माध्यम के स्कूल व कालेज की स्थापना, पूर्व निर्धारित रूट से ईस्ट-वेस्ट कारीडोर निर्माण, माध्यमिक व उच्च माध्यमिक में सभी प्रश्नपत्र हिंदी में देने की मांग की। श्री तिर्की ने कहा कि दो सौ वर्ष परिश्रम कर आदिवासियों ने डुवार्स-तराई इलाकों का निर्माण किया। इसलिए आदिवासियों को उपेक्षित न करें। संगठन के अखिल भारतीय अध्यक्ष सोमजी भाई दातोड़ ने बताया कि पूरी भारतवर्ष में एलान करना चाहते हैं कि आदिवासी अब पिछड़े हुए नहीं हैं। पश्चिम बंगाल तथा उत्तर बंगाल सभी आदिवासी अपने अधिकार के लिए एक हो गये हैं। अलग गोर्खालैंड में डुवार्स व तराई को शामिल करने का विरोध सोमजी भाई ने भी किया। उन्होंने कहा कि गोर्खालैंड नहीं यह आदिवासियों की जमीन है। उधर, माकपा के जलपाईगुड़ी जिला कमेटी के सचिव माणिक सान्याल ने बताया कि आदिवासियों के साथ माकपा के संबंध को खराब करने के लिए कुछ लोगों ने विज्ञप्ति जारी की है। उन्होंने कहा कि आत्मविकास के लिए आंदोलन करना अन्याय नहीं है। श्री सान्याल ने यह भी बताया कि आज पंचायत की त्रिस्तरीय व्यवस्था में आदिवासियों का प्रतिनिधित्व है। सरकार भी इनके विकास के लिए काम कर रही है। पत्र में प्रकाशित विज्ञप्ति की आलोचना करने से पहले विकास परिषद को मसले की जांच करनी चाहिए थी। सम्मेलन में एक कमेटी भी गठित की गयी।

Lawlessness in the Hills

2008-11-04T08:30:00.000-08:00

The GJMM agenda of ethnic cleansing and the use of threats and force has now come to the fore. Right from beating up of poor Bengali, tourists, forcing bengali business in the hills to pay donations forcibly and forcing everybody (including the government vehicles) to sport the GL number plates, the GJMM is now a law unto itself in the hills. The writ of the West Bengal Government does not run in the hills. Bengal govermment is incapable of doing anything there. Neither Chief Minister Shri Buddhadev Bhattacharya, nor Hills affairs minister Ashok Bhattacharya have the guts to enter the hills. There is a complete breakdown of constitutional institutions in the hills. All this because of years of appeasement of the hill population and the indecisiveness of the Bengal government.

गोर्खालैंड के विरुद्ध खुला मोर्चा, 22 अक्टूबर को चौबीस घंटे का उत्तर बंगाल बंद।

2008-10-18T19:48:00.000-07:00

सिलीगुड़ी (दार्जिलिंग) : गोखालैंड राज्य की मांग को लेकर गोजमुमो के चल रहे आंदोलन के विरुद्ध मोर्चा खुल गया है। बांग्ला व बांग्लाभाषा बचाओ कमेटी ने 22 अक्टूबर को चौबीस घंटे का उत्तर बंगाल बंद का एलान किया है। इसे लेकर उसने शनिवार दोपहर को सांकेतिक रूप से हिलकार्ट रोड जाम किया। उधर, सीटू ने एलान किया है कि वह 20 अक्टूबर से पहाड़ पर आवश्यक सेवा ठप करायेगी। इसके लिए सभी वाहनों को पहाड़ जाने से रोका जायेगा। इस बीच दार्जिलिंग जिला माकपा की बैठक में गोजमुमो का पहाड़ पर चल रही साइनबोर्ड से बंगाल हटाने व बिना जीएल नंबर वाहनों को नहीं घुसने देने की मुहिम की निंदा की गयी। बैठक में प्रमुख रूप से शामिल मंत्री अशोक नारायण भटृटाचार्य ने कहा कि वर्तमान परिस्थिति पर मुख्यमंत्री और पार्टी महासचिव से विस्तृत बात की गयी है। वाममोर्चा के अन्य घटक दलों के साथ बैठक कर गोजमुमो के फतवे के खिलाफ आंदोलन की रूपरेखा तैयार की जायेगी। जिला प्रशासन के साथ भी इस मुद्दे पर बैठक की जायेगी। किसी भी पार्टी या संगठन को जिला की शांति व्यवस्था में खलल डालने नहीं दिया जायेगा। माकपा समर्थित सीटू ने पहाड़ पर जबरन समतल के वाहनों पर जीएल लगाने के खिलाफ 20 से ही किसी भी वाहनों को पहाड़ पर नहीं जाने देने की घोषणा की है। ट्रैक्सी चालक एसोसिएशन के सीटू सचिव अजय चक्रवर्ती का कहना है कि सिर्फ पर्यटकों के ही वाहन नहीं, सभी प्रकार की आवश्यक सेवाओं को भी ठप कर दिया जायेगा। पहाड़ पर राशन, तेल, गैस की आपूर्ति भी तबतक नहीं होने दी जायेगी जबतक वाहनों पर जबरन जीएल नंबर लगाना मोर्चा बंद नहीं करेगा। बांग्ला व बांग्लाभाषा बचाओ कमेटी के अध्यक्ष डाक्टर मंजू मजूमदार ने प्रशासन से कहा है कि वे जिले की जनता को बताये कि वह गोर्खालैंड में है या पश्चिम बंगाल में। माकपा के जीवेश सरकार ने कहा कि आमलोगों में आक्रोश बढ़ रहा है। कहीं भी हिंसक झड़प या अन्य कोई घटना होती है तो इसके लिए एकमात्र दोषी होगा गोजमुमो। गांधीवादी सिद्धांतों पर चलने की बातें करने वाले गोजमुमो नेताओं के फतवे और पहाड़ पर चलाये जा रहे कार्यक्रम हिंसा को जन्म देने वाले हैं।

पश्चिम बंगाल मिटाकर गोर्खालैंड नाम लिखने की मुहिम, गैर कानूनी कार्रवाई के खिलाफ प्रशासन व पुलिस की चुप्पी

2008-10-18T19:17:00.000-07:00

गोर्खा जनमुक्ति मोर्चा (गोजमुमो) के कार्यकर्ताओं द्वारा साइन बोर्डो से पश्चिम बंगाल मिटाकर गोर्खालैंड नाम लिखने की मुहिम चलायी गयी। शनिवार को डुवार्स के वीरपाड़ा थानांतर्गत वीरपाड़ा दो नंबर ग्राम पंचायत के साइन बोर्ड में पश्चिम बंगाल मिटाकर गोर्खालैंड लिखा गया। दलमोड़ इलाके के बीट अधिकारी के साइन बोर्ड पर भी गोर्खालैंड लिखा गया है। गोजमुमो की केंद्रीय कमेटी के सदस्य तथा मध्य डुवार्स इकाई के संयोजक मधुकर थापा ने बताया कि शनिवार को और भी इलाकों के साइनबोर्ड से पश्चिम बंगाल मिटाकर गोर्खालैंड लिखा जाएगा। राज्य के हर सरकारी विभाग के साइनबोर्ड पर पश्चिम बंगाल मिटाकर गोर्खालैंड लिखा जाएगा । इस बीच अखिल भारतीय आदिवासी विकास परिषद अभाविप की तराई डुवार्स कोआर्डिनेशन कमेटी के अध्यक्ष जान बारला ने इस घटना की निंदा करते हुए प्रशासन से इस बारे में सख्त कार्रवाई करने की मांग की है। उन्होंने आशंका जताई है कि यदि ऐसा नहीं होता है तो तराई व डुवार्स इलाकों में सांप्रदायिक सद्भाव बिगड़ सकता है और इसके लिए प्रशासन जिम्मेदार होगा। साइनबोर्ड पर गोर्खालैंड लिखने के बारे में शनिवार को बीरपाड़ा थाना के ओसी समर दास ने बताया कि उच्च विभाग से गोजमुमो कार्यकर्ताओं के खिलाफ मामला दर्ज करने का निर्देश आया है। शनिवार को भी साइनबोर्ड पर पश्चिम बंगाल मिटाकर गोखालैंड लिखा गया। उधर विभिन्न सरकारी विभागों में साइनबोर्ड पर पश्चिम बंगाल की जगह गोर्खालैंड लिखने को लेकर क्षोभ व्यक्त करते हुये प्रदेश कांग्रेस सदस्य मान्नालाल जैन ने बताया कि इससे पता चलता है कि राज्य सरकार कानून का पालन कराने में कितना सक्षम है। यदि राज्य सरकार ने कोई कड़ा कदम नहीं उठाया तो उनकी पार्टी आंदोलन की रूपरेखा बनायेगी। अलीपुरद्वार के अतिरिक्त पुलिस अधीक्षक सब्यसाची मिश्र ने बताया कि मसले की जांच कर गोजमुमो के खिलाफ मामला दर्ज करने की अनुमति दी गयी है। बहरहाल परिस्थिति पर नजर रखी जा रही है। चामुर्ची संवाददाता के अनुसार गोजमुमो की केंद्रीय कमेटी के निर्देश के मुताबिक जहां पहाड़ी शहरों की तरह बानरहाट थानान्तर्गत आंगराभाषा ग्राम पंचायत कार्यालय, बापूजी स्कूल तथा अन्य सरकारी तथा गैर सरकारी कार्यालयों के साइनबोर्ड पर गोर्खालैंड सरकार लिखा गया वही वीरपाड़ा तथा बाग्राकोट में भी गोर्खालैंड सरकार लिखा जा रहा है। केलाबाड़ी के गोजमुमो नेता जीवन शर्मा ने भी अपने इलाके के सरकारी व गैर सरकारी कार्यालयों के साइनबोर्ड पर गोर्खालैंड सरकार लिखे जाने की बात बतायी। बानरहाट पुलिस सूत्र के अनुसार इस कार्य में लिप्त ग्यारह लोगों के नाम से थाने में लिखित अभियोग दायर किया गया है। उधर, अखिल भारतीय आदिवासी विकास परिषद की तराई-डुवार्स को-आर्डिनेशन कमेटी के अध्यक्ष जान बारला ने प्रेस विज्ञप्ति जारी कर तराई-डुवार्स क्षेत्र के सरकारी व गैर सरकारी कार्यालयों के साइनबोर्ड से पश्चिम बंगाल मिटाकर गोर्खालैंड लिखे जाने की कार्रवाई की निंदा करते हुए प्रशासनिक कदम उठाने की मांग की है। इनका कहना है कि तराई-डुवार्स क्षेत्र पारंपरिक रूप से आदिवासियों का क्षेत्र है जिसकी एक इंच भूमि भी विकास परिषद गोर्खालैंड में देने के लिए तैयार नहीं है। उन्होंने इस तरह की गैर कानूनी कार्रवाई के खिलाफ प्रशासन व पुलिस की चुप्पी पर आश्चर्य प्रकट करते हुए कहा कि यदि उक्त घटनाक्रम में तराई व डुवार्स क्षेत्रों में सांप्रदायिक सद्भाव नष्ट होती है तो इसकी जिम्मेदारी सीधे तौर पर प्रशासन की होगी।

Bandh against the demand of Gorkhaland, ABAVP shutdown hits life in Siliguri,Terai and Dooars area.

2008-10-16T18:54:00.000-07:00

Oct. 16: Blockades on roads and railway tracks were organised in several parts of Dooars and Terai as part of a 24-hour strike called by the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad today.
The agitation was called to protest against the demand by the Gorkha Janmukthi Morcha to include the two regions in the new state, Gorkhaland, that it wants.
In the Siliguri subdivision, all tea gardens were closed and 300 members of the organisation were arrested for blocking roads. They were released later.
“Overall, the situation was peaceful and no untoward incident occurred in Siliguri,” said Pradip Dutta, the deputy superintendent of police, Siliguri.
The bandh supporters organised a rally at Naxalbari, about 35 km from Siliguri. Several shops and establishments were closed and no tea garden was open in the block.
Vehicles were stopped at Salbari and Dagapur also. The scene was same at Sevoke where NH31 that connects Siliguri and Dooars was blocked.
“As we constitute 68 per cent of the population in the Dooars and Terai, how can the two regions be included in the separate state the Morcha is demanding,” asked Rajesh Toppo, the assistant secretary of the coordination committee of the Parishad.
In Alipurduar subdivision blockades were held at many railway stations. The Northeast Frontier Railways said the strike had affected train services in north Bengal.

Is this Gandhibadi Movement?

2008-10-15T20:37:00.000-07:00

Kalimpong, Oct. 15: Two houses were torched, a Maruti van turned on its side and a motorcycle set ablaze here today, allegedly by supporters of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha reacting to the circulation of pamphlets critical of the party and its leader Bimal Gurung.
The victims were Pratap Khati, the president of the Tarun Gorkha (a wing of the ABGL), and Basant Singh, a suspended Morcha leader.
In separate complaints lodged with Kalimpong police, Khati’s sister and Singh’s wife have held the local Morcha leadership responsible for the incidents. Singh, who was the first target, alleged that hordes of Morcha supporters raided his 10th Mile house when neither he nor his ailing wife was present. “They destroyed my computers and even looted my wife’s gold ornaments and cash. They also took away the insurance papers,” he said.
The mob also torched his motorcycle that was parked on the road. “Ever since my three-month suspension from the party, I have been keeping a low profile. Is this Gandhibadi?” Singh asked.
Khati, too, was away when his house was targeted. The attackers pelted his house with stones that smashed the windowpanes. They also turned his Maruti van on its side.

Another blackening act by GJM

2008-10-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

Darjeeling, Oct. 16: In a repetition of yesterday’s “stray” incident, the face of a woman was blackened with paint this morning for defying the dress code imposed by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in the hills.
Although the Morcha said it had nothing to do with either of the smear drives, questions have been raised about the party’s control over its cadre.
The woman, who is in her mid-twenties and works as a maid, was accosted by a group of local people in Kalijhora, 3km from here around 8am. Eyewitnesses said the youths, three of them women, are Morcha supporters.
“The lady who belongs to one of the minority communities was first asked why she was not wearing her traditional dress. Then there was a heated exchange after which they smeared her face with black paint. The group dispersed soon after the incident that took place just below Queens Hill school,” one of the witnesses said. He said the girl was in a salwar kameez.

The president of the ABGL, Madan Tamang, has condemned the smear campaign. “People should have the right to choose what they want to wear. The mindset of Subash Ghisingh’s party can be seen in this outfit,” said Tamang. In an advice to Morcha president Bimal Gurung to control his party cadres, Tamang said: “Violence and fear psychosis lead to nowhere.”

DOES BIMAL GURUNG POSSESS ANY QUALITY OF A LEADER ?

2008-10-15T06:44:00.000-07:00

Does Bimal Gurung possess any quality of a leader? It is like chewing a stone accepting Bimal Gurung as a leader, who rules upon the people with the help of around 50 criminals.” This was according to an anti-Bimal Gurung leaflet distributed in Kalimpong yesterday. The leaflet has been signed in the name of the ‘Aware Citizens’ and addressed to the people in general requesting them to rise up against Bimal Gurung and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.
According to people in Kalimpong, an unknown man was seen distributing leaflets to people and shops. The distributer is said to have dropped the leaflet at most of the places. People picked up the leaflets or accepted the leaflets from the man thinking that the leaflet was from a Governmental or a Religious organisation, informing them of some function.
The Leaflet suggests that Bimal Gurung President, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha was an uneducated man and that he was a criminal. The leaflet further alleges that people are not able to understand the true meaning of Gorkhaland and that Bimal Gurung was the only individual who was reaped the most benefits from Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council. The leaflet goes on to allege that Bimal Gurung was the richest of the former GNLF Councillors. The leaflets also hits at the leaders of other political parties and questions Gorkha League, CPRM, Congress (Hills) among other parties’ acceptance of Bimal Gurung as Gorkha’s ultimate leader. Targetting the Journalists and intellectuals in the Hills as being mere ‘Paper Tigers’, the leaflet alleges that the Journalists and Intellectuals knowing fully well that Bimal Gurung an illiterate man with no knowledge of national and international politics can represent the Gorkhas. The leaflet alleges that the journalists and intellectuals knowing this fact fully well still supports him because everyone is out to make a quick buck. Why can’t these intellectuals offer written suggestions to Gorkha Janmukti Morcha? Will Gorkha Janmutki Morcha in turn accept these suggestions. Do the advisors of Bimal Gurung have the capacity to have pass a Gorkhaland Bill in the West Bengal State Legislature? Which, the leaflet suggests can be done by getting the support of anti-Communist legislators.

24 HOURS STRIKE IN DOOARS DEMANDING SIXTH SCHEDULED STATUS FOR DOOARS & TERAI

2008-10-14T04:04:00.001-07:00

Oct. 12: The Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad has called a 24-hour strike in the Dooars and the Terai on Thursday, demanding Sixth Schedule status for the region and protesting against the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s move to include the areas into Gorkhaland.
“On July 17, we submitted a 13-point charter to the state and central governments and set a deadline of 90 days to fulfil the demands,” said Rajesh Lakra, the secretary of the Dooars-Terai Coordination Committee of the Parishad, today. “As the administration has not responded, despite a couple of reminders, we have decided to observe the strike.”
Healthcare, airline, army, media and other essential services have been kept outside the purview of the strike, Lakra said.
The Parishad charter of demands also included opening of closed tea estates, construction of East-West corridor through the Dooars and setting question papers of the Madhyamik exams in Hindi from 2009.

GORKHALAND IS NOT POSSIBLE

2008-10-06T09:59:00.001-07:00

Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi said that Gorkhaland was an impossibility.Blaming the state government for neglecting the Darjeeling hills, which had led to the growth of divisive forces in the region, the minister and also PCC chief told reporters that all problems would be settled through dialogue.But under no circumstances, West Bengal would be divided, he said adding that the demand for Gorkhaland would not be possible to meet.

DO'NT SYMPATHISE WITH GORKHALAND

2008-10-06T09:39:00.000-07:00

In the summer of 1966, Hope Cooke, the American socialite-turned-Gyalmo, or Queen Consort of the ill-fated 12th Chogyal of Sikkim, created a furore in New Delhi by contesting, in an article published in the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology’s bulletin, India’s possession of Darjeeling that was ‘gifted’ to East India Company by Tsugphud Namgyal. In his book, Smash and Grab: Annexation of Sikkim, Pioneer columnist and former editor of The Statesman Sunanda K Datta-Ray recounts how she argued that “no Sikkimese monarch was empowered to alienate territory”. According to Hope Cooke, Tsugphud Namgyal’s gift to the Company was “in the traditional context of a grant for usufructage only; ultimate jurisdiction, authority and the right to resume the land being implicitly retained”. She claimed Darjeeling’s cession was the “gift of a certain tract for a certain purpose and does not imply the transfer of sovereign rights”. The immediate context of the Gyalmo’s assertion of the Chogyal’s indivisible rights was the web of deceit that was being spun, with more than a little help from the Kazi and other local players, by New Delhi to bring Gangtok within the orbit of its absolute control, converting India’s suzerainty into sovereignty over Sikkim. What happened subsequently is well known: Sikkim was annexed and made a part of the Union of India; the Chogyal was stripped of all powers and died a broken man; and, Hope Cooke, after separating from the Chogyal, returned to the US where she now lives in Brooklyn Heights, New York. These details are inconsequential today. What, however, is relevant is the history of Darjeeling, which is once again in the news, this time because Gorkha settlers are asserting their right to set up a homeland in the three hill divisions — Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong — apart from Siliguri and the Dooars, which they want to re-christen Gorkhaland.
History tells us how Sikkim’s borders once stretched up to eastern Nepal; how Prithvi Narayan Shah, who welded feuding clans and warring regions into a sprawling kingdom, grabbed Darjeeling; and, how General Ochterlony’s campaign against the Gorkhas resulted in the Treaty of Sugauli (also spelt Segouli) in 1816 when Nepal ceded 10,000 sq km of territory, including Darjeeling, to the East India Company. That’s where history begins and ends for the Gokhas both in Nepal and in India who are clamouring for Gorkhaland: Darjeeling was Nepali territory ceded to the British and, therefore, must now revert back to the Gorkhas.But history also tells us, much to the discomfort of the champions of Gorkhaland, that the Treaty of Sugauli was followed by the Treaty of Titlya in 1817, whereby the British restored the land between Mechi and Teesta rivers to Sikkim, to which it legitimately belonged. Eighteen years later, the then Chogyal leased Darjeeling to the British who wanted to set up a sanatorium in its soothing, sylvan climes. In the brief lease agreement signed on February 1, 1835, the Chogyal is referred to as the ‘Sikkimputtee Rajah’. The Bengal Gazeteer informs us that in 1841 the East India Company granted the Chogyal a compensation of Rs 3,000; it was later raised to Rs 6,000.
This is how Darjeeling, till then an uninhabited mountain region, came to be inhabited. The British administrators needed ‘natives’ to first build and then maintain the picture postcard town that came up in Darjeeling. Some Bhutias and Lepchas were already there, others came from Sikkim. The demand for labour increased after planters cleared forests for tea gardens and Darjeeling Tea became a source of enormous revenue. The Gorkhas came, as did tribals from what is now Jharkhand, to work as ‘coolies’ in the gardens, plucking leaves and working shifts in the tea-curing and packaging factories. Bengalis sought and found employment as babus (clerks) in the tea gardens, in the municipal administration and other establishments, for example schools set up by missionaries primarily for the children of Anglo-Indian families.
In 1907, the Hillmen’s Association petitioned the British for a separate administrative set-up free from Bengal; the petition was contemptuously ignored, and rightly so. After independence and the reorganisation of States, Darjeeling, along with the Dooars, became a part of West Bengal. Darjeeling has since been designated a separate district, Siliguri is part of Jalpaiguri district in the foothills, and the Dooars are part of Cooch Behar district. The Gorkhas who came and settled in Darjeeling, Siliguri and the Dooars became citizens of India in 1950; a separate Gazette notification was issued to settle this point and remove any doubts about their citizenship.
The status of Darjeeling may have been considered a settled issue by Kolkata and New Delhi, and after Sikkim’s annexation, Gangtok, but not by the Gorkha settlers. In 1986 Mr Subash Ghising launched a violent agitation to press the Gorkha National Liberation Front’s demand for a separate Gorkhaland, citing West Bengal’s “step-motherly” treatment of Darjeeling and “exploitation” of its residents. He was clearly motivated by dreams of helping re-establish ‘Greater Nepal’ by creating a bridge between Nepal and Sikkim. The agitation ended with the signing of an agreement, which resulted in the setting up of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, an elected and empowered body that would look after development-related issues. Mr Ghising failed to deliver and became a Sagina Mahato, putty in the hands of the West Bengal Government and happy to have his snout in the trough.
Cut to 2008: Mr Bimal Gurung, a former associate of Mr Ghising, has parted company with the GNLF and floated his own separatist organisation, the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha, and revived the demand for Gorkhaland. He has audaciously staked claim to the three hill divisions of Darjeeling as well as Siliguri and the Dooars. The revival of the agitation coincides with Maoists — who hope to re-establish the frontiers of Prithvi Narayan Shah’s ‘Greater Nepal’ — coming to power in Kathmandu. Mr Gurung’s agitation has little to do with “local aspirations” of Gorkhas; it is as insidious and dangerous as the assertion of ‘Kashmiriyat’ in Kashmir Valley.
Those who are “sympathetic” to the demand for Gorkhaland would do well to bear in mind that ‘Greater Nepal’ is not only about Nepal expanding its territory in the east up to Teesta, but also recovering the land ceded by Prithvi Narayan Shah which stretches up to Sutlej. If we concede the demand for Gorkhaland, we should be prepared to concede vast tracts of land in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. If the latter is not acceptable, then a third partition of Bengal is equally unacceptable.
BIGGEST QUESTION
The biggest question that romps on the current political situation is that whither goes Darjeeling? Will the state and the Centre ever allow the separation of West Bengal and creation of a new state? If so, at whose cost and for what reason? If not, what will be Gurung’s strategy? Will he follow the path of Ghising for a blood shedding movement? And even if Darjeeling gains its separate statehood, how will it run without having a strong economic backup?
It is anybody’s guess that the Centre will not bow down to the demands of the GJM, considering the demand on ethnic issues. Once the claim is approved,
ethnic issues in other states too will gain momentum and that will be horrible to tackle. This will be a very costly proposition because the base of the movement lies in separatism - the most vulnerable danger before the central government.
Another issue, which is more important, is the demographic situation of Darjeeling. Being a northern border area, Darjeeling has always posed threat of foreign aggression. Leave aside the immigration issues, largely related with illegal intrusion. This threat will mount manifold if Sikkim joins the movement because Sikkim is close to China. China has already claimed a part of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

CLAIMS OF GORKHALAND

2008-10-06T09:19:00.000-07:00

FIGHT FOR A NEW HOME
-Sumanta Sen
First it was Subash Ghisingh. Then it was Bimal Gurung’s turn. Now, both of them have separately demanded for a Gorkhaland. Of course, the two are not the only players in the hills — the demand for Gorkhaland has also been voiced by the Gorkha League and by the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists. Right now, it is not so much a question of whether the demand will be met as to who will upstage whom. In the midst of the tussle, a pertinent question seems to have got lost.The question is how valid is the Nepalese claim to Darjeeling, which includes Kalimpong and Kurseong? Are they the original inhabitants? The answer, unfortunately, is a ‘No’. The area concerned had been gifted to the British by the king of Sikkim for driving away the Gorkha invaders from Nepal. The East India Company needed a place of rest and recuperation for its servants and the hill resort came up with Dr Campbell’s help. So, if one looks at history, it is evident that it is the Sikkimese, and not the Nepalese, who can lay a rightful claim to Darjeeling.Ghisingh himself is aware of this truth. He also knows that Sikkim will never press for such a claim. With Sikkim safely out of the way, Ghisingh demanded that since the treaties signed with the British had become null and void after Independence, Darjeeling ought to be gifted to him as his fief. However, when nobody paid him any attention, he had to change tact. The fact remains that the Nepalese are not the original inhabitants of Darjeeling. Neither Ghisingh nor the others will be able to change the truth.Rights and wrongsIn the Eighties, Ghisingh sought to establish links with the Gorkhas, who had overrun the territory before being forced back. The Gorkhas, however, are a small community in Nepal. They fought their way to win power in Kathmandu, and then looked around to extend their territory. But this does not mean that every Nepali is a Gorkha. Strictly speaking, the Nepalese in Darjeeling can be dubbed ‘foreigners’ because they have come from another country. Nobody calls them foreigners because they have now become a part of the population. Some of them have even got themselves elected to the state legislature. At the same time, there is the issue of influx from the Indo-Nepal border. Is the demand for a new state legitimate in an area with such a high rate of influx? The time is ripe for a discussion on the issue of immigration from Nepal. Perhaps measures such as the fencing of borders would have to be put in place. But whether India takes this up with the new dispensation in Kathmandu remains to be seen. Also, will the supporters of Gorkhaland agree to this? Ghisingh perhaps will not, considering the fact that he was supported by the palace in the former kingdom. The Maoists in Nepal may not be too happy with the proposal to fence off the border either. Gorkhaland can never be termed a birth right for the Nepalese. They might have the numbers on their side, which, in fact, have enabled their leaders to often adopt violent means while demanding a new state. The display of muscle power has also ensured that they ride roughshod over a Buddhist culture, which advocates peace, friendship and harmony.Should numbers alone be the deciding factor when it comes to determining the future of the hills ? Bringing the hills under the Sixth Schedule would be the best way to break the present deadlock. The Sixth Schedule acknowledges, to a large measure, the right to self-determination as well as the issue of protection of minorities. Opposing the Sixth Schedule, more for personal reasons than anything else, can only be an invitation to further unrest, especially since Messrs Ghisingh and Gurung have threatened to take the agitation to the Dooars.

UTTARBANGA JANA JAGARAN MANCH: VIEWS OF INDIAN IDOL TAMANG ON GORKHALAND ISSUE

2008-10-06T06:10:00.000-07:00

UTTARBANGA JANA JAGARAN MANCH: VIEWS OF INDIAN IDOL TAMANG ON GORKHALAND ISSUE

Smaller states no answer to people’s needs

2008-10-06T05:42:00.000-07:00

First there was Telangana, and now disquiet and violence have enveloped the hills of Darjeeling. And unlike the Gorkhaland agitation of the ’80s, there is a conscious attempt to extend violence to the plains. The statehood question has, since the days of our freedom struggle, been complex. India through ages has assimilated cultures and ethnicities, emerging as a composite and plural society. Celebration of ‘Unity in Diversity’ has been the signature tune of Indian nationhood. All political forces engaged in freedom struggle recognised this basis for building modern, post-independent India. The sole exception was RSS. Advocating the enforcement of ‘oneness’ with emphasis on religious identity, subsuming the historical diversities of ethnicity, language, culture and geographic reality. Therefore, it was not a coincidence that the Constituent Assembly rejected the conceptual framework of creating over 100 states, which the RSS preferred. The emphasis was on creating linguistic states, which while recognising historical pluralities would also reinforce modernism to strengthen national unity. The States Reorganisation Commission, formed in 1953, recommended formation of linguistic states. However, language was not the only criterion. Administrative and economic viability, and geographic reality were also emphasised. That is why the entirety of Hindustani-speaking areas was not clubbed into a single state. However, the post-Independence period has not been free from tensions. The inherent nature of capitalist development has resulted in regional imbalances. Lack of development has been a basis for demanding new states, often undermining the principle of linguistic states. On the other hand, ethnic and linguistic considerations, which ignore the question of viability, have been pushed to the fore. Care has to be taken to evolve mechanisms like autonomous councils for some communities — with adequate constitutional safeguard for their respective identities and greater role in deciding their own future. Imperialism, particularly US imperialism, has been using the identity question to destabilise nations. So, formation of new and obviously smaller states cannot be an answer to the aspirations of our people.

- Nilotpal Basu ,Member, CPI(M) Central Secretariat

CPI LEADER EXPELLED FROM THE PARTY FOR CONTINUING HOBNOBBING with GJJMM

2008-09-16T23:46:00.000-07:00

The CPI leader for Kalimpong Mr Mohan Singh Rai may be expelled from the party for his continuing hobnobbing with the Gorkha Jana Mukti Morcha and its pro-Gorkhaland allies. The CPI state secretary, Mr Manju Kumar Majumder, today said that the party leadership is waiting for his reply to the show cause notice served to him about two months back on the issue. “The party might take a severe step once we get the reply,” he said.
Mr Mohan Singh Rai hit the headlines over his decision to accompany a political delegation from Darjeeling to New Delhi to take part in the proposed tripartite dialogue on the Gorkhaland issue.
He was show caused and suspended from the party a few months back when he, defying the party whip, attended a parallel all-party meeting in Darjeeling convened by the GJMM as a counter-measure to the all-party meet in Kolkata on the subject. His party has asked him why he should not be expelled from the party for his defiance of the party whip. The CPI state secretary, Mr Manju Kumar Majumder, today said that the time frame fixed for the reply to the show cause had not expired yet. “We are expecting a reply from him. Once we have it, the party might take a drastic step against him,” the CPI leader said.
“My party's stand on the Gorkhaland issue is clear. We are opposed to the statehood demand for the Darjeeling hills. The CPI would like to have the problem solved through bilateral or tripartite negotiations. Further division of Bengal is out of question. No person, however, important, is above the party's stand,” Mr Majumder asserted. Mr Rai could not be contacted.

BIMAL GURUNG, GJMM LEADER, SUMMONED BY THE CALCUTTA HIGH COURT

2008-09-14T22:23:00.000-07:00

DARJEELING, Sept. 11: Calcutta High Court has issued summons to three GJMM leaders Mr Bimal Gurung, Mr Roshan Giri and Mr Binay Tamang on the basis of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Bangla O Bangla Bhasa Bhachao Committee asking them to appear before court on 30 October.
According to a GJMM party source, the committee has levelled against them charges of defying law by formation of the Gorkhaland Personnel (GLP) and implementation of GL plates on vehicles.
They have been charged for inciting tension by making provocative statements. In the notice they received, the committee has described these three leaders as “foreigners” who have no right to demand ‘Gorkhaland’. Despite the implementation of GL plates and non-payment of motor-vehicle taxes that began from 7 July, the administration has not taken any action in the Hills.
The Inspector General of Police (North Bengal) Mr KL Tamta on his recent visit to Darjeeling maintained that the administration would not go for confrontation on the issue in the Hills. But action would be taken against vehicles with GL plates in Siliguri.
The Gorkhaland Personnel on the other hand has been viewed as GJMM’s effort to set up a parallel administration.

'वृहत्तर नेपाल' की मांग शुरू

2008-09-07T00:30:00.000-07:00

TODAY GORKHALAND TOMORROW MAHA NEPAL ?

MAP OF MAHA NEPAL

'वृहत्तर नेपाल' की मांग शुरू

'वृहत्तर नेपाल' की मांग शुरू नेपाली फिल्म निर्माता मनोज पंडित की वृहत्तर नेपाल के निर्माण विषय पर बने वृत्तचित्र में दिखाया गया है कि 19 वीं सदी में भारत पर शासन करने वाली ईस्ट इंडिया कंपनी और नेपाल के बीच हुए युद्ध में हार के बाद सुगौली संधि के द्वारा नेपाल की एक-तिहाई जमीन पर भारत का कब्जा हो गया।भारत की स्वतंत्रता के बाद नेपाल ने सुगौली संधि को समाप्त करने के लिए काफी प्रयास किया। नेपाल में राजतंत्रवादी और माओवादी दोनों इस संधि के खिलाफ हैं।नेपाली फिल्म निर्माता मनोज पंडित की वृहत्तर नेपाल के निर्माण विषय पर बने वृत्तचित्र में दिखाया गया है कि 19 वीं सदी में भारत पर शासन करने वाली ईस्ट इंडिया कंपनी और नेपाल के बीच हुए युद्ध में हार के बाद सुगौली संधि के द्वारा नेपाल की एक-तिहाई जमीन पर भारत का कब्जा हो गया।भारत की स्वतंत्रता के बाद नेपाल ने सुगौली संधि को समाप्त करने के लिए काफी प्रयास किया। नेपाल में राजतंत्रवादी और माओवादी दोनों इस संधि के खिलाफ हैं।एकीकृत नेपाल नेशनल फ्रंट नामक संगठन ने भारत से जमीन वापस करने की मांग शुरू की है। इसके अध्यक्ष फणींद्र नेपाल द्वारा लिखित पुस्तक 'वृहत्तर नेपाल' ने मनोज पंडित के वृत्तचित्र के लिए मूल सामग्री का काम किया है।नेपाल के राष्ट्रवादियों का कहना है कि 1950 में भारत-नेपाल के बीच हुई मैत्री और शांति संधि के बाद सुगौली संधि समाप्त हो चुकी है। उनका कहना है कि भारत को पहले की संधि के प्रावधानों को समाप्त करके कब्जा की गई जमीन नेपाल को वापस कर देनी चाहिए।एकीकृत नेपाल नेशनल फ्रंट नामक संगठन ने भारत से जमीन वापस करने की मांग शुरू की है। इसके अध्यक्ष फणींद्र नेपाल द्वारा लिखित पुस्तक 'वृहत्तर नेपाल' ने मनोज पंडित के वृत्तचित्र के लिए मूल सामग्री का काम किया है।नेपाल के राष्ट्रवादियों का कहना है कि 1950 में भारत-नेपाल के बीच हुई मैत्री और शांति संधि के बाद सुगौली संधि समाप्त हो चुकी है। उनका कहना है कि भारत को पहले की संधि के प्रावधानों को समाप्त करके कब्जा की गई जमीन नेपाल को वापस कर देनी चाहिए।

GORKHA LAND MOVEMENT LIES IN SEPARATISM : A THREAT OF FORIEGN AGGRESSION

2008-09-06T20:27:00.000-07:00

THE FRUITLESS bipartite talks between the West Bengal chief minister and the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) have added a fresh lease of life to the Gorkhaland movement. Apart from this, a public announcement of the GJM leader Vimal Gurung to create Gorkhaland before 2010 and to go underground for six months before that has also breathed life into the movement. Sikkim’s Democratic Front leader and former state chief minister BB Gurung’s claim for the separate state of Gorkhaland is another contributor to the recent turn of events.It may be noted that all these developments have shaped up in the same day. At the same time, these series of events have given birth to the question on the future of the hill queen, its added localities and its people.The biggest question that romps on the current political situation is that whither goes Darjeeling? Will the state and the Centre ever allow the separation of West Bengal and creation of a new state? If so, at whose cost and for what reason? If not, what will be Gurung’s strategy? Will he follow the path of Ghising for a blood shedding movement? And even if Darjeeling gains its separate statehood, how will it run without having a strong economic backup?It is anybody’s guess that the Centre will not bow down to the demands of the GJM, considering the demand on ethnic issues. Once the claim is approved, ethnic issues in other states too will gain momentum and that will be horrible to tackle. This will be a very costly proposition because the base of the movement lies in separatism - the most vulnerable danger before the central government. Another issue, which is more important, is the demographic situation of Darjeeling. Being a northern border area, Darjeeling has always posed threat of foreign aggression. Leave aside the immigration issues, largely related with illegal intrusion. This threat will mount manifold if Sikkim joins the movement because Sikkim is close to China. China has already claimed a part of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. The movers claim a bigger state with the inclusion of the Terai region. This is also a foolish proposition because this will give birth to serious political trouble and ethnic issues. Communal clashes are also not overruled. Is it believable that the Bengali population of the Terai region will accept the rule of the Gorkhas to remain as second class citizens?So what will be Gurung’s stand in the expected scenario? He will go underground, as announced and definitely the announcement is not to hide from the movement but more evidently for initiating something more vigorous, even if it is not in the style of guerilla warfare. Is the state and the Centre ready to undertake the trouble of a greater master-plan to disturb the country’s communal and demographic fabric?However, the most vulnerable point to be discussed in different forums is whether the Gurungs will be able to run, perhaps, the smaller state Gorkhaland without having enough revenues? And whether West Bengal will agree to abandon the revenue whatever may be the amount, being collected from the hill corner?Administering a state without sufficient revenue generation is an imprudent offer because it is not like running a small family. The poorest family can only survive on begging. And in the case of Gorkhaland, the Gurungs will have to survive on central aids and subsidies. This is more troubling than freedom.The hill queen Darjeeling, once a British colonial town, had been designed for a mere population of 10,000. But as per the 2001 census, the Darjeeling urban agglomeration with an area of 12.77 per square km has a population of 1,09,163. The municipal area only has a population of 1,07,530. The town has an additional average diurnal floating population of 20,500 – 30,000, mainly consisting of the tourists. The population density of the municipal area is 10,173 per square km. The sex ratio is 1,017 females per 1,000 males, which is higher than the national average. The town houses approximately 31 per cent of its population in the slums and shanty buildings — a consequence of heavy immigration. The major religion is Hinduism, followed by Buddhism. Christians and Muslims form minorities. The population’s ethnic composition is closely linked with that of Bhutan, Nepal, Sikkim and Bengal. The majority of the populace is of ethnic Nepali background, having migrated to Darjeeling in search of jobs during the British rule. Indigenous ethnic groups include the Lepchas, Bhutias, Sherpas, Rais, Yamloos, Damais, Kamais, Newars and Limbus. Other communities that inhabit Darjeeling include the Bengalis, Marwaris, Anglo-Indians, Chinese, Biharis and Tibetans. The most commonly spoken language is Nepali (Gorkhali). However, Hindi, Bengali and English are also spoken.Darjeeling has seen significant growth in its population during the last century, especially since the 1970s. Annual growth rates reached as high as 45 per cent in the 1990s, far above the national, state, and district averages. The subsequent population growth has created extensive infrastructural and environmental problems. The region is relatively new in geological terms and unstable in nature, suffering from a host of environmental problems. Environmental degradation, including denudation of the surrounding hills has adversely affected Darjeeling’s appeal as a tourist destinationWith this background, the two most significant contributors to Darjeeling’s economy are tourism and the tea industry. Darjeeling tea is regarded as the best of the black teas and is widely popular, especially in Britain and the countries making up the former British empire. The tea industry has faced competition in recent years from tea produced in other parts of India as well as other countries like Nepal. Widespread concerns about labour disputes, worker lay-offs and closing of estates have affected investment and production. Several tea estates are being run on a workers’ cooperative model, while others are being planned for conversion into tourist resorts.The district’s forests and other natural wealth have been adversely affected by an ever-growing population. The years since independence have seen substantial advances in the area’s education, communication and agriculture – the latter including the production of diverse cash crops like potato, cardamom, ginger, and oranges. Farming on terraced slopes is a major source of livelihood for the rural populace around the town and it supplies the town with fruits and vegetables.Summer and spring seasons are most popular with tourists, keeping many of Darjeeling’s residents employed, directly and indirectly, with many residents owning and working in hotels and restaurants. Many people earn a living working for tourism companies and as guides. Darjeeling is now one of the popular filming destination for Bollywood and Bengali cinema. Small contributions to the economy come from the sale of traditional arts and crafts of Sikkim and Tibet.This is all, with enough thorn helmets on its head. It is difficult to say what economic plan does the GJM have in mind for the proposed Gorkhaland because they are yet to submit any document on its sustainability.The questions, however, would take a separate turn if the whole of north Bengal joins the movement and poses a greater threat to the east and north-east region of the country.

GJMM RUNNING PARALLAL GOVERNMENT IN WEST BENGAL

2008-08-29T21:37:00.000-07:00

tintin Says: August 29, 2008 at 11:08 pm
What type of govt they run by? should not mis utilize indian tax payers money. It is a anti indian concept . GJMMs days are numbered. By their activities they are provocating a strief between hills and plains people. when plains start reacting no indian will support GJMM. whole world now a days hate GJMM for their anti tourist , racial and un civilizad activities.

CREATION OF GORKHALAND WILL THREATEN THE SECURITY OF INDIA

2008-07-15T06:54:00.000-07:00

Veteran Naxalite leader and the CPI-ML general secretary, Mr Kanu Sanyal has expressed support towards the ongoing agitation in the Darjeeling hills demanding a separate Gorkhaland state. The Maoist leader said, his party had favoured the Gorkhaland demand earlier and supports it now as well. "The Nepalis in Darjeeling have got every right to self-rule and the demand for Gorkhaland is very genuine.
But how genuine is that demand? The fact remains that the Nepalese are not the original inhabitants of Darjeeling. By all means, except for the few who were in Darjeeling before 1950, almost all of them are Nepalese citizens i.e., foreigners but due to the Indo-Nepal Treaty of 1950 were allowed to stay in India. Does that treaty gave them the right to demand a separate state?
If we look back in history Nepalese were in expansionary mode before. The Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814 - 1816, was fought between Nepal and the British East India Company as a result of aggresive attacks by Nepalese on both India and Tibet. Gorkhas were originated in West-central Nepal. The Gorkha army, after occupying all of eastern Nepal by 1773, invaded Sikkim in 1788. In the west, the Kumaon region and its capital Almora, were occupied by Gorkhas as well. To the north however, aggression against Tibet forced China in 1792 to attack Nepal and occupy areas very close to the capital Kathmandu. However, the Gurkha appetite of invasion was not stopped. In 1803, the Kingdom of Garhwal was occupied by the Gurkhas. Further west, even Kangra was occupied until in 1809, but Ranjit Singh the Sikh Emperor drove them out. Finally the British defeated them and drove them out of all these areas in India and Sikkim. In the Treaty of Sugauli in 1816, Darjeeling was returned back to Sikkim. According to the treaty, Nepal lost Sikkim, the territories of Kumaon and Garhwal, and most of the lands of the Tarai in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Darjeeling was annexed by the British Indian Empire in 1849. Immigrants from Nepal were recruited to work at construction sites, tea gardens, and on other agriculture-related projects; but their numbers were few and far between.After the independence of India in 1947, Darjeeling was merged with the state of West Bengal. The separate district of Darjeeling was established consisting of the hill towns of Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong and some parts of the Terai region. When Tibet was occupied by in 1950, thousands of Tibetan refugees settled across Darjeeling district. Darjeeling has seen significant growth in its population during and after 1950, when the Nepalese started coming in, especially since the 1970s. Annual growth rates reached as high as 45% in the 1990s, far above the national, state, and district averages.Nepalese were mainly labourers as they could work at high altitudes. They stayed on in India but they still identify themselves with Nepali music, culture, art and tradition.
During the 1980s, encouraged by some section of The Congress party, particularly Arjun Singh, who wanted to destabilise the leftist government of West Bengal, a violent movement by the Gorkha National Liberation Front started demanding a separate state. As a compromise Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council was given semi-autonomous powers to govern the district. Later its name was changed to "Darjeeling Gorkha Autonomous Hill Council" (DGAHC), although Gurkha are not the original people but immigrants to Darjeling from Nepal.
Gurkhs are Nepalese, not Indian at all. The land in Darjeeling was always belonged to the Lepchas. This was true during the signing of the brotherhood treaty between Tibetans and Lepchas in the 1420s, during the Nepalese invasion of the 1760s, or when the East India Company took Darjeeling in 1816. However, the Indo-Nepal Treaty of 1950, Article VII, grants citizens of both countries to move, reside and own property and participate in trade and commerce in each other"s territory. Nepalese taking advantage of that treaty came to India to demand a separate state, but would Nepal tolerate a similar demand by the Indian citizens who are now settled in Nepal?
India is always a soft state without any strategy, without any policy and even it does not react but always give in to the demands by its neighbouring countries. In similar circumstances in 1950s when large numbers of Indians were settled in Burma and Sri Lanka, they got expelled and India had accepted them back without protests. Both Pakistan and Bangladesh have expelled almost all non-Muslims. However, now when India is facing the prospect of a very violent country Nepal, controlled by vicious Maoists closely linked with China, and expanding through the emigrations of its citizens, India"s response is to offer more autonomy to these foreign citizens in India and allow them to come to India more and more to take over even larger areas. Nepalese demand today is not restricted to the Darjeeling District any more; they are demanding practically the whole of north Bengal as a part of their new state of Gurkhaland. Nepalese immigrants already taken over Sikkim, where they are today more than 70 percent of the population.
Two questions should be asked. How long would it take these Nepalese through immigration to take over parts of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarachal, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which they had occupied during the early 19th century? What would be implications of that given the close relationship between the present government of Nepal and China for the security of India? The government of India does not care about these, but it is urging the West Bengal government to compromise more, although the creation of Gurkhaland as a Nepalese controlled area threatens the link between India and the whole of the North Eastern India.

-Dr. Dipak Basu

DEMANDS OF UTTARBANGA JANA JAGARAN MANCH

1. Both the demands of Sixth Schedule and separate State of Gorkhaland would mean ultimate partition and disintegration of West Bengal. Both the demands should be rejected.

2. Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council may be abolished and the Darjeeling District put directly under state administration, with Army protection.

3. Clause-VII Indo-Nepal Treaty of 1950 may be repealed to prevent foreign Nepali infiltration.

4. All foreign Nepalese should be identified and pushed back to Nepal, as per the Foreigners Act, 1864 as is being done in the case of illegal Bangladeshi migrants.

5. Border outposts be set up with barbed-wire fencing. Visa be introduced in the Indo-Nepal border as is the case with Bangladesh.

VIEWS OF INDIAN IDOL TAMANG ON GORKHALAND ISSUE

2008-07-06T05:08:00.000-07:00

Speaking to The Indian Express, Tamang said: “Gorkhaland or no Gorkhaland, the deadlock must be solved only through dialogue. There should not be any violence or bloodshed, as these do not lead us anywhere. I am a singer and not a politician. I just want that the problem is solved amicably.” Tamang, who won the singing competition last year, works for the Kolkata police.
He added that he was pained to see the Bengali-Nepali divide not only in the Hills but also in Siliguri. “This is the worst thing that could have happened,” said Tamang, who is currently in Mumbai on leave.

STANDING COMMITEE REPORT ON GORKHALAND

2008-07-05T00:32:00.000-07:00

PARLIAMENT OF INDIA
RAJYA SABHA
DEPARTMENT-RELATED PARLIAMENTARY
STANDING COMMITTEE ON HOME AFFAIRS
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY NINTH REPORT
ON
THE SIXTH SCHEDULE TO THE CONSTITUTION (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2007 AND THE CONSTITUTION (ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTH
AMENDMENT) BILL, 2007
(PRESENTED TO RAJYA SABHA ON 28 FEBRUARY 2008)
(LAID ON THE TABLE OF LOK SABHA ON 28 FEBRUARY 2008)
RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIAT
NEW DELHI
FEBRUARY, 2008/ PHALGUNA, 1928 (SAKA)

Extracts of the Few Report under various clauses :
(vi) Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council areas should remain a part of the State of West Bengal duly governed by it and no Sixth Schedule status be granted to the area
so as to defuse the prevailing tension in the region.
(vii) Both the demands of Sixth Schedule and separate State of Gorkhaland would mean ultimate partition and disintegration of West Bengal. Both the demands
should be rejected.
(viii) Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council may be abolished and the Darjeeling District put directly under state administration, with Army protection.
(ix) Clause-VII Indo-Nepal Treaty of 1950 may be repealed to prevent foreign Nepali infiltration.
(x) All foreign Nepalese should be identified and pushed back to Nepal, as per the Foreigners Act, 1864 as is being done in the case of illegal Bangladeshi
migrants.
(xi) Border outposts be set up with barbed-wire fencing. Visa be introduced in the Indo-Nepal border as is the case with Bangladesh.

TRIBAL BODY OPPOSSES GORKHALAND

2008-06-30T23:35:00.000-07:00

Jaigaon, June 29: A pan-Indian organisation of tribal communities has objected to the inclusion of the Terai and Dooars in the new state demanded by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.The state leadership of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad announced this today while forming its Nagrakata local committee. More than 5,000 people from tribal communities had gathered at Nagrakata Hindi Madhyamik School to hear their leaders speak.The general secretary of the parishad's state committee, Tejkumar Toppo, cautioned the gathering that the demand for the inclusion of the Himalayan foothills in Gorkhaland should not be allowed to gather momentum."There has been a wind blowing in the Dooars and the Terai that these areas would be included in a so-called Gorkhaland. Let me tell you, do not allow this wind to turn into a storm," Toppo said."We cannot understand why these two regions are being included in the proposed Gorkhaland, as 75 per cent of the population here comprises people from tribal communities," said that parishad's state president, Birsa Tirkey."We are not bothered whether or not the Bengal government allows the division of the state. We will oppose the demand to include the Terai and the Dooars in Gorkhaland," Tirkey added.(Source : The Telegraph)

DON'T SYMPATHISE WITH GORKHALAND

2008-06-30T23:23:00.001-07:00

In the summer of 1966, Hope Cooke, the American socialite-turned-Gyalmo, or Queen Consort of the ill-fated 12th Chogyal of Sikkim, created a furore in New Delhi by contesting, in an article published in the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology's bulletin, India's possession of Darjeeling that was 'gifted' to East India Company by Tsugphud Namgyal. In his book, Smash and Grab: Annexation of Sikkim, Pioneer columnist and former editor of The Statesman Sunanda K Datta-Ray recounts how she argued that "no Sikkimese monarch was empowered to alienate territory". According to Hope Cooke, Tsugphud Namgyal's gift to the Company was "in the traditional context of a grant for usufructage only; ultimate jurisdiction, authority and the right to resume the land being implicitly retained". She claimed Darjeeling's cession was the "gift of a certain tract for a certain purpose and does not imply the transfer of sovereign rights". The immediate context of the Gyalmo's assertion of the Chogyal's indivisible rights was the web of deceit that was being spun, with more than a little help from the Kazi and other local players, by New Delhi to bring Gangtok within the orbit of its absolute control, converting India's suzerainty into sovereignty over Sikkim. What happened subsequently is well known: Sikkim was annexed and made a part of the Union of India; the Chogyal was stripped of all powers and died a broken man; and, Hope Cooke, after separating from the Chogyal, returned to the US where she now lives in Brooklyn Heights, New York. These details are inconsequential today. What, however, is relevant is the history of Darjeeling, which is once again in the news, this time because Gorkha settlers are asserting their right to set up a homeland in the three hill divisions — Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong — apart from Siliguri and the Dooars, which they want to re-christen Gorkhaland.History tells us how Sikkim's borders once stretched up to eastern Nepal; how Prithvi Narayan Shah, who welded feuding clans and warring regions into a sprawling kingdom, grabbed Darjeeling; and, how General Ochterlony's campaign against the Gorkhas resulted in the Treaty of Sugauli (also spelt Segouli) in 1816 when Nepal ceded 10,000 sq km of territory, including Darjeeling, to the East India Company. That's where history begins and ends for the Gokhas both in Nepal and in India who are clamouring for Gorkhaland: Darjeeling was Nepali territory ceded to the British and, therefore, must now revert back to the Gorkhas.
But history also tells us, much to the discomfort of the champions of Gorkhaland, that the Treaty of Sugauli was followed by the Treaty of Titlya in 1817, whereby the British restored the land between Mechi and Teesta rivers to Sikkim, to which it legitimately belonged. Eighteen years later, the then Chogyal leased Darjeeling to the British who wanted to set up a sanatorium in its soothing, sylvan climes. In the brief lease agreement signed on February 1, 1835, the Chogyal is referred to as the 'Sikkimputtee Rajah'. The Bengal Gazeteer informs us that in 1841 the East India Company granted the Chogyal a compensation of Rs 3,000; it was later raised to Rs 6,000.This is how Darjeeling, till then an uninhabited mountain region, came to be inhabited. The British administrators needed 'natives' to first build and then maintain the picture postcard town that came up in Darjeeling. Some Bhutias and Lepchas were already there, others came from Sikkim. The demand for labour increased after planters cleared forests for tea gardens and Darjeeling Tea became a source of enormous revenue. The Gorkhas came, as did tribals from what is now Jharkhand, to work as 'coolies' in the gardens, plucking leaves and working shifts in the tea-curing and packaging factories. Bengalis sought and found employment as babus (clerks) in the tea gardens, in the municipal administration and other establishments, for example schools set up by missionaries primarily for the children of Anglo-Indian families.In 1907, the Hillmen's Association petitioned the British for a separate administrative set-up free from Bengal; the petition was contemptuously ignored, and rightly so. After independence and the reorganisation of States, Darjeeling, along with the Dooars, became a part of West Bengal. Darjeeling has since been designated a separate district, Siliguri is part of Jalpaiguri district in the foothills, and the Dooars are part of Cooch Behar district. The Gorkhas who came and settled in Darjeeling, Siliguri and the Dooars became citizens of India in 1950; a separate Gazette notification was issued to settle this point and remove any doubts about their citizenship.The status of Darjeeling may have been considered a settled issue by Kolkata and New Delhi, and after Sikkim's annexation, Gangtok, but not by the Gorkha settlers. In 1986 Mr Subash Ghising launched a violent agitation to press the Gorkha National Liberation Front's demand for a separate Gorkhaland, citing West Bengal's "step-motherly" treatment of Darjeeling and "exploitation" of its residents. He was clearly motivated by dreams of helping re-establish 'Greater Nepal' by creating a bridge between Nepal and Sikkim. The agitation ended with the signing of an agreement, which resulted in the setting up of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, an elected and empowered body that would look after development-related issues. Mr Ghising failed to deliver and became a Sagina Mahato, putty in the hands of the West Bengal Government and happy to have his snout in the trough.Cut to 2008: Mr Bimal Gurung, a former associate of Mr Ghising, has parted company with the GNLF and floated his own separatist organisation, the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha, and revived the demand for Gorkhaland. He has audaciously staked claim to the three hill divisions of Darjeeling as well as Siliguri and the Dooars. The revival of the agitation coincides with Maoists — who hope to re-establish the frontiers of Prithvi Narayan Shah's 'Greater Nepal' — coming to power in Kathmandu. Mr Gurung's agitation has little to do with "local aspirations" of Gorkhas; it is as insidious and dangerous as the assertion of 'Kashmiriyat' in Kashmir Valley.Those who are "sympathetic" to the demand for Gorkhaland would do well to bear in mind that 'Greater Nepal' is not only about Nepal expanding its territory in the east up to Teesta, but also recovering the land ceded by Prithvi Narayan Shah which stretches up to Sutlej. If we concede the demand for Gorkhaland, we should be prepared to concede vast tracts of land in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. If the latter is not acceptable, then a third partition of Bengal is equally unacceptable.