MY GORKHALAND Headline Animator
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Friday, July 4, 2008
STORM BREWING IN THE MOUNTAINS
The indifference of the state government towards the people of Darjeeling makes a separate state the obvious solution to their problems, writes Mahendra P. Lama
The inevitable has happened in Darjeeling district. The demand for Gorkhaland has erupted once again, and this time in a much more vocal, sweeping and determined manner than the last. There are four primary reasons for this. First, the setting up of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council in 1988 as a solution to the last round of Gorkhaland agitation of the Eighties failed to do Darjeeling any good. The DGHC had no power to speak of, as it remained under the control of the Writers’ Building. Its chairman, Subhas Ghisingh, ran it as a personal fief and with the tacit support of the Bengal administration, systematically demolished well-known institutions and created a deep sense of insecurity among the people. The West Bengal government obviously enjoyed this throttling of democratic rights and further consolidated its friendship with Ghisingh. Even nine months back, the Bengal government maintained that there are no opposition parties in Darjeeling.
Second, if Jharkhand, Uttaranchal and Chhattisgarh could happen without much fuss, why not Gorkhaland? An autonomous Gorkhaland would complete the geographical definition of the North-east. If Sikkim and Assam are parts of the North-east, then why not the contiguous Darjeeling district and the Dooars? The political history of the demand for Gorkhaland dates back to 1907. The memorandum submitted by the Hillmen’s Association to Sir Samuel Hoare, the Secretary of State for India, on October 25, 1930, states in detail why the hill people wanted to remain outside Bengal. Ghisingh and his party, the Gorkha National Liberation Front, sold out the core issue of Gorkhaland just to remain in power. This movement, like that for the constitutional recognition of the Nepali language before it happened in 1992, has been linked to questions of Gorkha identity and of the need to acknowledge their contribution in the making of modern India.
Third, the last 20 years have shown clearly that the Bengal government’s interest in Darjeeling is only skin deep. It continues to treat most parts of Darjeeling and the Dooars as an ‘internal colony’. This attitude was reflected most clearly in the way the government tried to impose the Sixth Schedule status on Darjeeling. For the Gorkhaland agitators, this proved to be the last straw.
Last, the sharp decline in economic and other opportunities within Bengal and the steady rise of Sikkim as a political power have had a serious effect on the Darjeeling region. Every one there now feels that the only way to ensure development for the hill people is to let them have a constituent state of their own.
Unlike the Gorkhaland agitation of the Eighties, this time the movement has spread not only all over Darjeeling but has also covered the Dooars region of Jalpaiguri district. As the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha took up the cause of Gorkhaland, it received tremendous and spontaneous support from the people. It is necessary to understand the fundamental differences between the Eighties protests and the present campaign.
Twenty years after the DGHC was formed, the people have become acutely conscious of the negligence and deprivation they are being subjected to. It is an awareness they did not possess last time. After two decades of misrule, they have realized how hollow the political intentions of the ruling elites of Darjeeling are. As a consequence, the movement has become more widespread. It is almost entirely being carried forward by the younger generation from across various communities — Marwaris, Biharis, Bengalis, Koche-meches and Gorkhas. While the mainstream political parties are nowhere to be seen now, in the last phase there had been a strong opposition from the cadre of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) operating in the hills. The presence of local, national and international media is a major boost to the movement.
The protest movement has now included the Dooars on the ground that a state that includes the hills and a part of the plains will have a solid economic viability. With the major tea gardens falling within this area and given the huge hydel power potential, attractive tourist destinations, important educational institutions and roughly four international borders, Gorkhaland will be one of the most developed states in the country. The future state can generate millions of dollars by diplomatically managing the economic transactions in the border areas. Darjeeling, as a brand-name, is well known all over the world. If rightly repositioned, it would attract a large number of multi-national companies and both domestic and foreign investment.
The protests this time have been non-violent, unlike the Eighties, when a large number of people were killed and properties destroyed. Moreover, in contrast to the last phase of agitation, the current struggle is receiving positive signals from the Union government, which seems to be fairly disposed towards the idea of giving a durable solution to the problem. The West Bengal government had called the GNLF movement ‘anti-national’. It had then promised to undertake substantial projects for development in the district. But even after two decades, it has nothing to show for its efforts. The government had been warned many a time about the steadily deteriorating situation in the hills. But it chose political convenience in prolonging Ghisingh’s debilitating rule rather than lend a ear to the grievances of the people.
The emergence of a dangerously communal outfit like Amra Bangali, blatantly parochial statements made by the urban development minister, Asok Bhattacharya, and police violence at the peaceful demonstration by veteran armymen clearly show how the government is resorting to condemnable tactics to suppress the hill people. Their agitations, like those in Nandigram, are more against state oppression than anything else. Today, the people of the Darjeeling district are demanding answers to questions such as why the entire tea and cinchona industry is in the doldrums, what happened to the rich forest resources, why are there starvation deaths in the Dooars tea gardens, why are the three hill subdivisions still crying for drinking water and basic health facilities, and why Darjeeling has only two drinking water reservoirs in Sinchal, built in 1910 and 1931 by the British administration. There are various other signs of neglect by the state government. There are no panchayats in Darjeeling and hardly any Central government schemes are implemented here. Except in the state assembly, the people of Darjeeling figure nowhere in the decision-and policy-making process of West Bengal.
If West Bengal thinks of Darjeeling as its ‘crown’, then why has there never been a tableau on the Queen of the Hills in the Republic Day parades in New Delhi for the last 60 years ? The state government has not added a single good educational institution to the entire hill region after 1947. What do the people of the Dooars and Darjeeling gain out of hydel projects like those on the Teesta, Rammam or Jaldhaka ? And, had it not been for the local residents and admirers of Darjeeling from outside India, the toy train would not have been included in the Unesco’s world heritage list. These are some of the complaints of the hill people today. They take these as the indicators of a policy of discrimination followed by the state government in dealing with the hill region. It is striking that even after Ghisingh’s humiliating exit, the Bengal administration still has nothing more to offer other than the talk about a few more freebies in the already defunct basket of autonomy.
All eyes are now rained on the way the Morcha conducts itself in its forward march. It is up to the Morcha now to enlist the support of other local and national political parties to its cause and to convince the state and Union governments about the inevitability of a separate state for the hill people. In the process, it has to find solutions to such vexed issues as those over the alleged advantages enjoyed by the people of the plains over those of the hills, and the communal insinuations being delivered deliberately by the political leaders of the ruling party in Siliguri. The tasks are not easy, to say the least. However, there is one assurance. The public opinion, as expressed in the media, is clearly in favour of a separate Gorkhaland. After all, why not a 29th state in the grand, ever-expanding federal structure of the country ?
The author prepared the first Development Plan of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council in 1989. The position he holds has no bearing on the views expressed in this article (The Telegraph)
The inevitable has happened in Darjeeling district. The demand for Gorkhaland has erupted once again, and this time in a much more vocal, sweeping and determined manner than the last. There are four primary reasons for this. First, the setting up of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council in 1988 as a solution to the last round of Gorkhaland agitation of the Eighties failed to do Darjeeling any good. The DGHC had no power to speak of, as it remained under the control of the Writers’ Building. Its chairman, Subhas Ghisingh, ran it as a personal fief and with the tacit support of the Bengal administration, systematically demolished well-known institutions and created a deep sense of insecurity among the people. The West Bengal government obviously enjoyed this throttling of democratic rights and further consolidated its friendship with Ghisingh. Even nine months back, the Bengal government maintained that there are no opposition parties in Darjeeling.
Second, if Jharkhand, Uttaranchal and Chhattisgarh could happen without much fuss, why not Gorkhaland? An autonomous Gorkhaland would complete the geographical definition of the North-east. If Sikkim and Assam are parts of the North-east, then why not the contiguous Darjeeling district and the Dooars? The political history of the demand for Gorkhaland dates back to 1907. The memorandum submitted by the Hillmen’s Association to Sir Samuel Hoare, the Secretary of State for India, on October 25, 1930, states in detail why the hill people wanted to remain outside Bengal. Ghisingh and his party, the Gorkha National Liberation Front, sold out the core issue of Gorkhaland just to remain in power. This movement, like that for the constitutional recognition of the Nepali language before it happened in 1992, has been linked to questions of Gorkha identity and of the need to acknowledge their contribution in the making of modern India.
Third, the last 20 years have shown clearly that the Bengal government’s interest in Darjeeling is only skin deep. It continues to treat most parts of Darjeeling and the Dooars as an ‘internal colony’. This attitude was reflected most clearly in the way the government tried to impose the Sixth Schedule status on Darjeeling. For the Gorkhaland agitators, this proved to be the last straw.
Last, the sharp decline in economic and other opportunities within Bengal and the steady rise of Sikkim as a political power have had a serious effect on the Darjeeling region. Every one there now feels that the only way to ensure development for the hill people is to let them have a constituent state of their own.
Unlike the Gorkhaland agitation of the Eighties, this time the movement has spread not only all over Darjeeling but has also covered the Dooars region of Jalpaiguri district. As the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha took up the cause of Gorkhaland, it received tremendous and spontaneous support from the people. It is necessary to understand the fundamental differences between the Eighties protests and the present campaign.
Twenty years after the DGHC was formed, the people have become acutely conscious of the negligence and deprivation they are being subjected to. It is an awareness they did not possess last time. After two decades of misrule, they have realized how hollow the political intentions of the ruling elites of Darjeeling are. As a consequence, the movement has become more widespread. It is almost entirely being carried forward by the younger generation from across various communities — Marwaris, Biharis, Bengalis, Koche-meches and Gorkhas. While the mainstream political parties are nowhere to be seen now, in the last phase there had been a strong opposition from the cadre of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) operating in the hills. The presence of local, national and international media is a major boost to the movement.
The protest movement has now included the Dooars on the ground that a state that includes the hills and a part of the plains will have a solid economic viability. With the major tea gardens falling within this area and given the huge hydel power potential, attractive tourist destinations, important educational institutions and roughly four international borders, Gorkhaland will be one of the most developed states in the country. The future state can generate millions of dollars by diplomatically managing the economic transactions in the border areas. Darjeeling, as a brand-name, is well known all over the world. If rightly repositioned, it would attract a large number of multi-national companies and both domestic and foreign investment.
The protests this time have been non-violent, unlike the Eighties, when a large number of people were killed and properties destroyed. Moreover, in contrast to the last phase of agitation, the current struggle is receiving positive signals from the Union government, which seems to be fairly disposed towards the idea of giving a durable solution to the problem. The West Bengal government had called the GNLF movement ‘anti-national’. It had then promised to undertake substantial projects for development in the district. But even after two decades, it has nothing to show for its efforts. The government had been warned many a time about the steadily deteriorating situation in the hills. But it chose political convenience in prolonging Ghisingh’s debilitating rule rather than lend a ear to the grievances of the people.
The emergence of a dangerously communal outfit like Amra Bangali, blatantly parochial statements made by the urban development minister, Asok Bhattacharya, and police violence at the peaceful demonstration by veteran armymen clearly show how the government is resorting to condemnable tactics to suppress the hill people. Their agitations, like those in Nandigram, are more against state oppression than anything else. Today, the people of the Darjeeling district are demanding answers to questions such as why the entire tea and cinchona industry is in the doldrums, what happened to the rich forest resources, why are there starvation deaths in the Dooars tea gardens, why are the three hill subdivisions still crying for drinking water and basic health facilities, and why Darjeeling has only two drinking water reservoirs in Sinchal, built in 1910 and 1931 by the British administration. There are various other signs of neglect by the state government. There are no panchayats in Darjeeling and hardly any Central government schemes are implemented here. Except in the state assembly, the people of Darjeeling figure nowhere in the decision-and policy-making process of West Bengal.
If West Bengal thinks of Darjeeling as its ‘crown’, then why has there never been a tableau on the Queen of the Hills in the Republic Day parades in New Delhi for the last 60 years ? The state government has not added a single good educational institution to the entire hill region after 1947. What do the people of the Dooars and Darjeeling gain out of hydel projects like those on the Teesta, Rammam or Jaldhaka ? And, had it not been for the local residents and admirers of Darjeeling from outside India, the toy train would not have been included in the Unesco’s world heritage list. These are some of the complaints of the hill people today. They take these as the indicators of a policy of discrimination followed by the state government in dealing with the hill region. It is striking that even after Ghisingh’s humiliating exit, the Bengal administration still has nothing more to offer other than the talk about a few more freebies in the already defunct basket of autonomy.
All eyes are now rained on the way the Morcha conducts itself in its forward march. It is up to the Morcha now to enlist the support of other local and national political parties to its cause and to convince the state and Union governments about the inevitability of a separate state for the hill people. In the process, it has to find solutions to such vexed issues as those over the alleged advantages enjoyed by the people of the plains over those of the hills, and the communal insinuations being delivered deliberately by the political leaders of the ruling party in Siliguri. The tasks are not easy, to say the least. However, there is one assurance. The public opinion, as expressed in the media, is clearly in favour of a separate Gorkhaland. After all, why not a 29th state in the grand, ever-expanding federal structure of the country ?
The author prepared the first Development Plan of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council in 1989. The position he holds has no bearing on the views expressed in this article (The Telegraph)
Top cop raises KLO alert Inspector-general says extremist outfit regrouping in Jalpaiguri, Malda and the Dinajpurs
Siliguri, July 2: The intelligence wing of Bengal police has found enough proof to suggest that the KLO is trying to regroup in three districts of north Bengal, state inspector-general of police (law and order) Raj Kanojia said today.
“From inputs received from the intelligence wing, we have come to know that a fresh batch of KLO militants is trying to reorganise in Jalpaiguri, Malda and parts of Dinajpur districts,” Kanojia told reporters at Siliguri Circuit House.
The officer added that a number of other insurgent groups existed in north Bengal. “There are so many issues here. KLO and border-related issues are among them. I have discussed the issues with local police officials. We are getting information about Maoist activities as well and are alert about it,” he said.
The inspector-general arrived here on Monday and during his stay, reviewed law and order and force deployment in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts. He left for Calcutta this afternoon.
Kanojia did not comment on the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha or the possibility of force deployment if the party re-imposes its indefinite shutdown in the Darjeeling hills after July 5.
The hills are currently enjoying a bandh breather.
“I do not want to comment on these issues as everything has been stated by the state home secretary yesterday,” said the inspector-general.
However, Kanojia added: “Keeping in mind the current situation in the hills, besides keeping armed police, we also have the Straco Force, which was formed about a year ago. This force has been trained here in north Bengal and another batch is currently being trained in Panagarh.”
The Straco Force comprises men selected from police forces posted all over the state. The army trained them through its Junior Leaders’ Training Establishment that was set up in 2005.
If the Morcha bandh resumes, the administration’s main concern will be to keep open NH31A — the lifeline of Sikkim — which was affected during the earlier phases of the agitation.(The Telegraph)
“From inputs received from the intelligence wing, we have come to know that a fresh batch of KLO militants is trying to reorganise in Jalpaiguri, Malda and parts of Dinajpur districts,” Kanojia told reporters at Siliguri Circuit House.
The officer added that a number of other insurgent groups existed in north Bengal. “There are so many issues here. KLO and border-related issues are among them. I have discussed the issues with local police officials. We are getting information about Maoist activities as well and are alert about it,” he said.
The inspector-general arrived here on Monday and during his stay, reviewed law and order and force deployment in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts. He left for Calcutta this afternoon.
Kanojia did not comment on the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha or the possibility of force deployment if the party re-imposes its indefinite shutdown in the Darjeeling hills after July 5.
The hills are currently enjoying a bandh breather.
“I do not want to comment on these issues as everything has been stated by the state home secretary yesterday,” said the inspector-general.
However, Kanojia added: “Keeping in mind the current situation in the hills, besides keeping armed police, we also have the Straco Force, which was formed about a year ago. This force has been trained here in north Bengal and another batch is currently being trained in Panagarh.”
The Straco Force comprises men selected from police forces posted all over the state. The army trained them through its Junior Leaders’ Training Establishment that was set up in 2005.
If the Morcha bandh resumes, the administration’s main concern will be to keep open NH31A — the lifeline of Sikkim — which was affected during the earlier phases of the agitation.(The Telegraph)
Court blasts states ‘helpless’ in bandh
New Delhi, July 3: The Supreme Court today slammed state governments for their habit of pleading “helplessness” when supporters of “illegal” bandhs harass people through “muscle power”.
The court’s observations came as it asked the Bengal government to ensure that the sole highway to Sikkim was open to traffic when the indefinite Darjeeling hills bandh resumed from Saturday.
“Every day some part of the country or the other is blocked. Roads, railroads are blocked… and you are not doing anything as it is the election year. No one can be allowed to hold the country to ransom,” a two-judge bench said.
“You (the Bengal government) are waiting for a court order to do something that you should do by yourself… then you say there is interference and judicial overreach.”
Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice G.S. Singhvi referred to the recent bandh in Hyderabad during which seven patients died because they could not reach hospital in time.
“Movement of medicine, fuel and everything gets affected and the state expresses its helplessness. This cannot be allowed,” the court said.
The court was hearing a petition by Sikkim resident .P. Bhandari that mentioned the blockade of the state during the recent bandh in the Darjeeling hills.
When Bengal counsel Tara Chand Sharma said there was no strike at present and the state should be given time to reply, the court said: “What about July 5? What is going to happen then? You should stop thinking and do something.”
It added: “You are the state of West Bengal. You are required to maintain law and order… keep the national highway (No. 31) free for traffic.”
The bench directed the Centre to provide whatever help the Sikkim and Bengal governments sought in the matter.
Morcha attack
Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders accused the Bengal government of using the Sikkim issue to create a rift between the Himalayan state and the Darjeeling hills. “We’ll ourselves solve the issue with Sikkim; the Bengal government is trying to create trouble,” said Morcha central committee member Amar Lama. (The Telegraph)
The court’s observations came as it asked the Bengal government to ensure that the sole highway to Sikkim was open to traffic when the indefinite Darjeeling hills bandh resumed from Saturday.
“Every day some part of the country or the other is blocked. Roads, railroads are blocked… and you are not doing anything as it is the election year. No one can be allowed to hold the country to ransom,” a two-judge bench said.
“You (the Bengal government) are waiting for a court order to do something that you should do by yourself… then you say there is interference and judicial overreach.”
Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice G.S. Singhvi referred to the recent bandh in Hyderabad during which seven patients died because they could not reach hospital in time.
“Movement of medicine, fuel and everything gets affected and the state expresses its helplessness. This cannot be allowed,” the court said.
The court was hearing a petition by Sikkim resident .P. Bhandari that mentioned the blockade of the state during the recent bandh in the Darjeeling hills.
When Bengal counsel Tara Chand Sharma said there was no strike at present and the state should be given time to reply, the court said: “What about July 5? What is going to happen then? You should stop thinking and do something.”
It added: “You are the state of West Bengal. You are required to maintain law and order… keep the national highway (No. 31) free for traffic.”
The bench directed the Centre to provide whatever help the Sikkim and Bengal governments sought in the matter.
Morcha attack
Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders accused the Bengal government of using the Sikkim issue to create a rift between the Himalayan state and the Darjeeling hills. “We’ll ourselves solve the issue with Sikkim; the Bengal government is trying to create trouble,” said Morcha central committee member Amar Lama. (The Telegraph)
Gurung only interested in tripartite talks
The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha on Thursday said it was no longer interested in holding talks with the West Bengal government on Gorkhaland issue and was awaiting tripartite talks in Delhi.
GJM president Bimal Gurung made the comment while reacting to West Bengal Home Secretary A M Chakraborty's recent statement here last week that further talks between the GJM and state government were required to find a solution to the Darjeeling problem.
Gurung said that during talks with the West Bengal Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, in the last week of June, GJM leaders had requested Bhattacharjee to take the initiative for tripartite talks involving the Centre, state government and GJM.
"But we have not received any further invitation from the government. We can give our opinion only after we receive the invitation," Gurung said.
The GJM's insistence on tripartite talks, meanwhile, received a shot in the arm when three major constituents of the Darjeeling district Left Front -- CPI, AIFB and RSP -- unequivocally stressed the need for having immediate three-way dialogue.
Darjeeling district secretary of Forward Bloc Smritish Bhattacharya told PTI that the state government should take an immediate initiative for the talks.
Similarly, the CPI district secretary, Ujjawal Choudhury, said the state government should not lose any further time for the talks and the GJM at the same time should come forward with a positive frame of mind.
RSP district secretary Benoy Chakraborty went a step further, saying, "The GJM is doing the right thing by not showing interest in talks with the state government as the government has created the situation itself by indulging Ghising for almost two decades." (The Hindu)
GJM president Bimal Gurung made the comment while reacting to West Bengal Home Secretary A M Chakraborty's recent statement here last week that further talks between the GJM and state government were required to find a solution to the Darjeeling problem.
Gurung said that during talks with the West Bengal Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, in the last week of June, GJM leaders had requested Bhattacharjee to take the initiative for tripartite talks involving the Centre, state government and GJM.
"But we have not received any further invitation from the government. We can give our opinion only after we receive the invitation," Gurung said.
The GJM's insistence on tripartite talks, meanwhile, received a shot in the arm when three major constituents of the Darjeeling district Left Front -- CPI, AIFB and RSP -- unequivocally stressed the need for having immediate three-way dialogue.
Darjeeling district secretary of Forward Bloc Smritish Bhattacharya told PTI that the state government should take an immediate initiative for the talks.
Similarly, the CPI district secretary, Ujjawal Choudhury, said the state government should not lose any further time for the talks and the GJM at the same time should come forward with a positive frame of mind.
RSP district secretary Benoy Chakraborty went a step further, saying, "The GJM is doing the right thing by not showing interest in talks with the state government as the government has created the situation itself by indulging Ghising for almost two decades." (The Hindu)
Pintail village not to let battalion in
Statesman News Service SILIGURI, July 3: Pandemonium broke out at the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council tourist resort ‘Pintail Village’ in Siliguri this afternoon over providing accommodation to the security personnel summoned in view of the turmoil in the Darjeeling hills. Apprehending escalation of the Darjeeling turmoil, the administration has summoned about five companies of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) and obtained permission from the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council to lodge the personnel at the ‘Pintail Village’ tourist resort located on the outskirt of Siliguri. On the other hand, the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM), which is spearheading the renewed bout for Gorkhalnad, is occupying a number of cottages at ‘Pintail Village’ and is using those for its political activities. The GJMM central committee, its Siliguri sub-divisional wing and the women wing are occupying one cottage each allegedly without any formal permission from the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council authorities. A section of the hill students too had moved into the ‘Pintail Village’ following the violence in Siliguri during an anti-Gorkhaland band on 12 June and since then has been appearing for their under-graduate examinations in Siliguri colleges from the resort. Thus, when the IRB troops moved into the resort last afternoon and were taking accommodation in the cottages, a section of the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha activists confronted them demanding that apart from the three cottages occupied by the GJMM directly, one more cottage would have to be spared for the hill students to enable them to appear for their examinations which are yet to conclude. With night descending, the tension subdued yesterday only to resurface this afternoon after the security personnel allegedly tossed away the furniture in use by the students. Pandemonium broke out at the resort, with the GJMM activists and a few of the students present opposing the action demanding another cottage for the students at the same time. Police teams from the Pradhannagar police station and the Sukna outpost arrived at the spot and saved the situation. According to the ASP Siliguri, Mr Rajesh Yadav, the feud over accommodation has been resolved amicably. “There are a number of cottages at ‘Pintail Village’ and both the IRB personnel and the hill students would lodge there,” the ASP said.The tourist resort ‘Pintail Village’ was a dream project of the former DGHC chairman, Mr Subash Ghisingh. The resort was built on a plot leased out by the state government to the DGHC as per provisions of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council Agreement of 1988.
‘Gorkhaland’: GJMM seeks Advani’s intervention
DARJEELING, July 3: The Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha is all set to submit documents pertaining to the separate state of Gorkhaland to the leader of the Opposition in Parliament Mr LK Advani. “The outcome of meetings with the different leaders in New Delhi recently proved fruitful. We will submit various documents of Darjeeling, Dooars, Terai and Siliguri from the time those areas were ceded to Bengal from their respective territories,” said GJMM general secretary Mr Roshan Giri today. With the nuclear deal controversy coming in the way of the Gorkhaland movement, Mr Giri cleared that the larger perspective must be considered before taking any decisions. “The Centre is busy trying to save the UPA-Left coalition, which may collapse any day. It would be wise for us to make our moves according to the present political situation. It is encouraging that the union home minister assured that Gorkhaland is a constitutional demand and has not been ruled out by the Centre. He has even agreed to a tripartite meeting to discuss the demand,” Mr Giri said. Countering the hill-based Opposition parties’ allegation that the GJMM's actions lacked transparency, party central committee member, Mr Amar Lama said: “There is speculation why we went to Kolkata two days ahead of the meeting with the chief minister. The reason is that our party units are being set up in Kolkata and we had to look over such matters. We had no hidden agenda.” Mr Lama further added: “Some anti-Gorkhaland elements are trying to counter the Gorkhaland movement by linking it with controversial issues like the Greater Nepal theory. It would not affect the movement.” n SNS
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Volunteers for Gorkhaland movement
BY BENUPRAJ BHATTARAI
DARJEELING (INDIA), July 3 - Hundreds of youths here are busy enrolling themselves in the Gorkhaland Personnel (GLP), a contingent of volunteers representing Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) that has been struggling for separate statehood for Nepali speakers since the past eight months.
At the initial stage, GJM has decided to recruit around 2000 GLP from Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong, Siliguri and Dooars regions. GLP will be mobilized throughout the proposed Gorkhaland boundary to provide support to the ongoing Gorkhaland Movement.
Besides, the GLP will also be used to provide security to GJM leaders, undertake social reforms and assist the local administration. The tasks of GLP selection, training and management are being supervised by GJM's sister organization, Ex-Indian Gorkha Army Front.
"The proposed GLP will be different, of greater standard and more disciplined than the Indian Police Force," claimed the Front chairman Colonel Ramesh Ale.
According to GJM Publicity Secretary Binay Tamang, the recruitment process will be complete by mid-July and selected GLP will be mobilized after they undergo a seven-week long training session. "GLP will be unarmed and they will be mobilized peacefully as GJM volunteers, staying within the norms set by the Indian constitution," said Tamang. Aware that mobilization of GLP could mean GJM's unannounced challenge to the state's security, the West Bengal (WB) and the Indian federal government have already corresponded with GJM leadership for a fresh round of talks to discuss its demand.
GJM has also shown positive response to the talks invitation. Earlier, GJM had spurned the talks offer of WB state government. (Kantipur)
DARJEELING (INDIA), July 3 - Hundreds of youths here are busy enrolling themselves in the Gorkhaland Personnel (GLP), a contingent of volunteers representing Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) that has been struggling for separate statehood for Nepali speakers since the past eight months.
At the initial stage, GJM has decided to recruit around 2000 GLP from Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong, Siliguri and Dooars regions. GLP will be mobilized throughout the proposed Gorkhaland boundary to provide support to the ongoing Gorkhaland Movement.
Besides, the GLP will also be used to provide security to GJM leaders, undertake social reforms and assist the local administration. The tasks of GLP selection, training and management are being supervised by GJM's sister organization, Ex-Indian Gorkha Army Front.
"The proposed GLP will be different, of greater standard and more disciplined than the Indian Police Force," claimed the Front chairman Colonel Ramesh Ale.
According to GJM Publicity Secretary Binay Tamang, the recruitment process will be complete by mid-July and selected GLP will be mobilized after they undergo a seven-week long training session. "GLP will be unarmed and they will be mobilized peacefully as GJM volunteers, staying within the norms set by the Indian constitution," said Tamang. Aware that mobilization of GLP could mean GJM's unannounced challenge to the state's security, the West Bengal (WB) and the Indian federal government have already corresponded with GJM leadership for a fresh round of talks to discuss its demand.
GJM has also shown positive response to the talks invitation. Earlier, GJM had spurned the talks offer of WB state government. (Kantipur)
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Gorkhaland: An unrealistic proposition
CJ: Sujit Roy
The latest developments on Gorkhaland issue have given birth to several mind-boggling questions. How far is the proposition for separate Gorkhaland practical? Is it really a demand on ethnic issues or does the GJM have some master-plan.?.
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 destination
With 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. (Merinews)
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 destination
With 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. (Merinews)
Communism - a utopian dream( From Ashutosh Space)
Left in India is very powerful for the time being but Leftism at the international map is a marginal force . I still remember my one of the professors, who was a commited Marxist and doyen of Marxist theories , said from a public platform just after the disintegration of USSR , that it is no longer fashionable to call oneself a Marxist . Another professor who happened to be Dalit ,in one of his most frustrating moments, admitted he wasted his life chasing an utopian dream in the shadow of Marxism.
Both these gentlemen were still convinced that Marxism as a philosophical argument was a very effective tool for social change but its practitioners have been responsible for its demise. They were honest people and commanded enormous respect from their students and pear group and were willing to internally introspect practical dimension of Marxism . They were intellectually restless to understand what went wrong with Left ideology .
But unlike these professors, the problem with the mainstream Indian Left is that though they are honest and committed bunch of politicians but are unwilling to look inward , to find out what is wrong with Marxism in theory and in practice.
That is the fundamental reason for their unambiguious approach towards Nuclear deal, the consequent of which might result in instability at the centre and lead to early elections . For me this is very surprising as the Indian Left were the only communists apart from Chairman Mao who realised the ground realities and accordingly experimented with Marxism .
Mao knew that communism in its classical form will not gel into agrarian Chinese society . Hence he redefined Marxism which would be in sync with local needs and practiced in a way which suits Chinese needs . After Mao when his successors realised that even Mao's dictum is no longer valid they did not even hesitate to flirt with market forces in the Communist garb . No body can be more candid than Deng Xio Pheng who openly used to say that it does not matter if cat is black or white as long as it catches mice . It was due to this pragmatic approach to Marxism that China suddenly took a dramatic turn and moved on to a capitalist path thereby becoming future super power without destroying their old power structure .
Indian communists were also very pragmatic . They had no problem in becoming part of a feudal society with ultra modern state structure . Despite being ideologically convinced that Indian state is semi-capitalist in nature, democracy a facade they joined mainstream politics , did not go underground to launch a movement to overthrow anti-working-class-state- apparatus as Marxists did in Nepal . I am not talking about the fringe players like Naxals or Maoists who call CPM and others as Sarkari Marxists . In fact they were so successful in their approach that in 1957 they created a history when they formed the first democratically elected communist government in Kerala. And E M S Namboodaripad became their first leader to become Chief Minister . It's a different thing that in the implementation of their government policies at the state level they became so radical that central government dismissed their government .
Despite being dismissed they did not waver from their path , they did not leave mainstream politics , they continued taking part in democratic set up , remained a powerful block , kept occupying opposition space , contested elections , and as they got opportunity formed communist governments in West Bengal , Kerala and Tripura . And gradually they become so glued to the system that CPM even accepted having functional relationship with ultra conservative forces like Jansangh in mid seventies and with BJP in late 80s .
But as success has a self destructive logic . CPM in its pursuit to power lost its revolutionary fervor and became a conservative force which did not try to redefine its ideology with a pragmatic approach to Indian society and accordingly did not re-strategise its vision and policies . It got trapped in it own Jurassic park . So when BJP discovered aggressive Hinduism and backward leaders radicalised caste politics, CPM did not have an answer to it rather they continued indulging in rhetorics . They were not even willing to understand that caste is a reality in Indian society . They were still caught in the class web . For them Ayodhya movement was only a by product of nationalism and an urban phenomena . They failed to understand that Ram Mandir movement could also be a search for a militant identity for a section of Hindus.
When congress got disillusioned with its brand of socialism and drifted towards market economy, CPM could not give a convincing alternate ideological response.
They only had words which lost its meaning with the death of communism . When momentous changes were taking place old Comminists guards, who had their grounding in freedom struggle , were at the helms of affairs while the next level of leadership was trained in JNU where only two class existed - an English speaking upper class and language speaking lower class. No caste , no community , no religion and even no nationalism only internationalism .
This was the JNU in 70s when Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechuri were doing political internship . Yechuri was so away from reality or was so naive that when pro democarcy students were massacred in 1989 at Tianmen square , Yachuri had the guts and courage to lie to the students of JNU in Pereyar Hostel mess that 'NOT A DROP OF BLOOD WAS SHED AT TIANANMEN SQUAR '. But after coming back from Rumania he reported to party politburo that every thing is hunky dory in Rumania. And he realised in a weeks time that PEOPLE of Rumania had revolted against then communist ruler Chausesku who was shot dead .
Now when all three new militant reflexes of Indian society i.e assertive-caste-identities, aggressive-hinduism and liberal - market-forces-creating-ultra-confident-class are consolidating their political grounds Prakash Karat is still speaking a language which is alien to them and so in direct disconnect with these aspiring sentiments.
I don't buy this argument that Karat is opposing nuke deal because he has been told to do so by China .
His problem is that at the ideological level he is convinced by old Marxistdogma that it's a trap laid by Imperialist America to colonise strategic Indian interest and at the political front he believes that Muslims will not vote for CPM if it is seen favouring nuke deal meaning perceived anti-Muslim America. This dual logic has two inherent contradictions . One , America is no longer the same Capitalist nation and world is no longer captive to communism vs capitalism logical divide . At the normative level communism can no longer boast of the final victory for the struggling working class which was the single most inspirational motivating factor in their fight against oppressive capitalism . Communist models all over the world have proved to be equally repressive and anti -freedom to common man . And at the empirical level world has seen disappearance of communist states one after another without any resistance in late 80s and early 90s .
Iraq war has made America realise that powerful economy and military might can not win a war . In modern times, defined by interdependent-global-economy and inter-linked-virtual-web-world, winning of minds are more important than winning a strategic battle . America first time in history is defensive and vulnerable as it has lost the moral battle after the attack on Iraq . Emergence of economically and startegically growing China and slowing down of American economy has created more cracks in its armour .
Two, Indian Muslim is now a changed lot . Al-Qaeda style of terrorism has made them a suspect globally and Modi brand of Hinduism has forced them to strategise their political understanding . They have realised that minoritism and secularism is no guarantee for their physical security . So there is no point in living dangerously . It is more important to have a strategic alliance under the gab of silence and surrender with pro-Hindu forces with the intention to extract better benefits for their physical needs and their families .
Unless Prakash Karat realises these new trends, sheds his old mind set, tries to rediscover new ideological moorings he will remain prisoner of the past and keep the country hostage to his whims thereby confining CPM as a party of only three states . I am sure Karat will not like to lament like my professors that they wasted their lives chasing an utopian dream in the age of virtual world.
Posted by Ashutosh
Both these gentlemen were still convinced that Marxism as a philosophical argument was a very effective tool for social change but its practitioners have been responsible for its demise. They were honest people and commanded enormous respect from their students and pear group and were willing to internally introspect practical dimension of Marxism . They were intellectually restless to understand what went wrong with Left ideology .
But unlike these professors, the problem with the mainstream Indian Left is that though they are honest and committed bunch of politicians but are unwilling to look inward , to find out what is wrong with Marxism in theory and in practice.
That is the fundamental reason for their unambiguious approach towards Nuclear deal, the consequent of which might result in instability at the centre and lead to early elections . For me this is very surprising as the Indian Left were the only communists apart from Chairman Mao who realised the ground realities and accordingly experimented with Marxism .
Mao knew that communism in its classical form will not gel into agrarian Chinese society . Hence he redefined Marxism which would be in sync with local needs and practiced in a way which suits Chinese needs . After Mao when his successors realised that even Mao's dictum is no longer valid they did not even hesitate to flirt with market forces in the Communist garb . No body can be more candid than Deng Xio Pheng who openly used to say that it does not matter if cat is black or white as long as it catches mice . It was due to this pragmatic approach to Marxism that China suddenly took a dramatic turn and moved on to a capitalist path thereby becoming future super power without destroying their old power structure .
Indian communists were also very pragmatic . They had no problem in becoming part of a feudal society with ultra modern state structure . Despite being ideologically convinced that Indian state is semi-capitalist in nature, democracy a facade they joined mainstream politics , did not go underground to launch a movement to overthrow anti-working-class-state- apparatus as Marxists did in Nepal . I am not talking about the fringe players like Naxals or Maoists who call CPM and others as Sarkari Marxists . In fact they were so successful in their approach that in 1957 they created a history when they formed the first democratically elected communist government in Kerala. And E M S Namboodaripad became their first leader to become Chief Minister . It's a different thing that in the implementation of their government policies at the state level they became so radical that central government dismissed their government .
Despite being dismissed they did not waver from their path , they did not leave mainstream politics , they continued taking part in democratic set up , remained a powerful block , kept occupying opposition space , contested elections , and as they got opportunity formed communist governments in West Bengal , Kerala and Tripura . And gradually they become so glued to the system that CPM even accepted having functional relationship with ultra conservative forces like Jansangh in mid seventies and with BJP in late 80s .
But as success has a self destructive logic . CPM in its pursuit to power lost its revolutionary fervor and became a conservative force which did not try to redefine its ideology with a pragmatic approach to Indian society and accordingly did not re-strategise its vision and policies . It got trapped in it own Jurassic park . So when BJP discovered aggressive Hinduism and backward leaders radicalised caste politics, CPM did not have an answer to it rather they continued indulging in rhetorics . They were not even willing to understand that caste is a reality in Indian society . They were still caught in the class web . For them Ayodhya movement was only a by product of nationalism and an urban phenomena . They failed to understand that Ram Mandir movement could also be a search for a militant identity for a section of Hindus.
When congress got disillusioned with its brand of socialism and drifted towards market economy, CPM could not give a convincing alternate ideological response.
They only had words which lost its meaning with the death of communism . When momentous changes were taking place old Comminists guards, who had their grounding in freedom struggle , were at the helms of affairs while the next level of leadership was trained in JNU where only two class existed - an English speaking upper class and language speaking lower class. No caste , no community , no religion and even no nationalism only internationalism .
This was the JNU in 70s when Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechuri were doing political internship . Yechuri was so away from reality or was so naive that when pro democarcy students were massacred in 1989 at Tianmen square , Yachuri had the guts and courage to lie to the students of JNU in Pereyar Hostel mess that 'NOT A DROP OF BLOOD WAS SHED AT TIANANMEN SQUAR '. But after coming back from Rumania he reported to party politburo that every thing is hunky dory in Rumania. And he realised in a weeks time that PEOPLE of Rumania had revolted against then communist ruler Chausesku who was shot dead .
Now when all three new militant reflexes of Indian society i.e assertive-caste-identities, aggressive-hinduism and liberal - market-forces-creating-ultra-confident-class are consolidating their political grounds Prakash Karat is still speaking a language which is alien to them and so in direct disconnect with these aspiring sentiments.
I don't buy this argument that Karat is opposing nuke deal because he has been told to do so by China .
His problem is that at the ideological level he is convinced by old Marxistdogma that it's a trap laid by Imperialist America to colonise strategic Indian interest and at the political front he believes that Muslims will not vote for CPM if it is seen favouring nuke deal meaning perceived anti-Muslim America. This dual logic has two inherent contradictions . One , America is no longer the same Capitalist nation and world is no longer captive to communism vs capitalism logical divide . At the normative level communism can no longer boast of the final victory for the struggling working class which was the single most inspirational motivating factor in their fight against oppressive capitalism . Communist models all over the world have proved to be equally repressive and anti -freedom to common man . And at the empirical level world has seen disappearance of communist states one after another without any resistance in late 80s and early 90s .
Iraq war has made America realise that powerful economy and military might can not win a war . In modern times, defined by interdependent-global-economy and inter-linked-virtual-web-world, winning of minds are more important than winning a strategic battle . America first time in history is defensive and vulnerable as it has lost the moral battle after the attack on Iraq . Emergence of economically and startegically growing China and slowing down of American economy has created more cracks in its armour .
Two, Indian Muslim is now a changed lot . Al-Qaeda style of terrorism has made them a suspect globally and Modi brand of Hinduism has forced them to strategise their political understanding . They have realised that minoritism and secularism is no guarantee for their physical security . So there is no point in living dangerously . It is more important to have a strategic alliance under the gab of silence and surrender with pro-Hindu forces with the intention to extract better benefits for their physical needs and their families .
Unless Prakash Karat realises these new trends, sheds his old mind set, tries to rediscover new ideological moorings he will remain prisoner of the past and keep the country hostage to his whims thereby confining CPM as a party of only three states . I am sure Karat will not like to lament like my professors that they wasted their lives chasing an utopian dream in the age of virtual world.
Posted by Ashutosh
30 Minutes: Darjeeling demands Gorkhaland | Gen X leaders
Sougata Mukhopadhyay / CNN-IBN
CNN-IBN takes you inside Darjeeling, a region, which many now believe should be called Gorkhaland. The Gorkhaland demand is one that not only includes Darjeeling, but also Siliguri, Terai and Dooars in its domain - places that the Gorkha leaders believe they are in striking distance of.
Siliguri (Darjeeling): Drills are carried out on the outskirts of Darjeeling town to recruit the youth in the hills of Bengal for the Gorkhaland Personnel (GLP).
This group is meant to act as an independent force for the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM)
GJM is the organisation that has renewed the demand for the separate state of Gorkhaland after two decades. Under the garb of a social service group it's, for all practical purposes, a cadre force to run a parallel civic and law and order administration in the hills of Darjeeling.
Recruiter Gorkhaland Personnel, K Tshering Bhutia says, "We are going to teach the youth about the IPC, CrPC, Indian Police Act. Also motivating them is very important. We shall have to tell them that you will have to further our aims and objectives and realise our dream, our only dream that is Gorkhaland."
And there is dearth of excitement amongst the GLP aspirants. Most want to achieve and believe they can achieve Gorkhaland and post that, they want to get into social work.
Raising an autonomous police force for the hills, which could duplicate as the people's army when required, is a clear indication that the GJM already has one foot firmly grounded on statehood.
To achieve Gorkhaland is over a century old aspiration of the multi-ethnic Gorkhas of Darjeeling hills. However, it gathered momentum in the mid-80s when Subhas Ghising-led Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) ensued a violent struggle, which killed over 1,200 people. Ghising settled for an autonomous hill council but failed to address the identity crisis of the Gorkhas. Scholars trace root of the crisis to a certain mindset.
Former Teacher Loreto College Darjeeling, Amar Rai says, "Why do people still call us foreigners? Just because we have a state near Nepal and they associate us Indian Nepalese with Nepal? I think there lies the problem of identity and that is why this demand for a separate state has become strong."
In the recent past, the Gorkha demand has resorted to violence, which has spread in the adjacent plains of Siliguri and the hills have witnessed phases of indefinite bandh. GJM leaders like Amar Lama - who is a Central Committee member - justify the Gorkha ethnicity.
"In Darjeeling, Gorkha is not a race. It's a way of life. Here Gorkhas include even the Bengali. Everybody speaks Nepali language. So language is our common thread," says Lama.
That's the long-term goal which the new generation rebel Gorkhas are hell bent on achieving in the days to come.
But who are these new generation leaders who have fired the imagination of the hill people two decades after Ghising's so-called surrender before the Centre and the Bengal government? Here is a look into their background.
CNN-IBN takes you inside Darjeeling, a region, which many now believe should be called Gorkhaland. The Gorkhaland demand is one that not only includes Darjeeling, but also Siliguri, Terai and Dooars in its domain - places that the Gorkha leaders believe they are in striking distance of.
Siliguri (Darjeeling): Drills are carried out on the outskirts of Darjeeling town to recruit the youth in the hills of Bengal for the Gorkhaland Personnel (GLP).
This group is meant to act as an independent force for the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM)
GJM is the organisation that has renewed the demand for the separate state of Gorkhaland after two decades. Under the garb of a social service group it's, for all practical purposes, a cadre force to run a parallel civic and law and order administration in the hills of Darjeeling.
Recruiter Gorkhaland Personnel, K Tshering Bhutia says, "We are going to teach the youth about the IPC, CrPC, Indian Police Act. Also motivating them is very important. We shall have to tell them that you will have to further our aims and objectives and realise our dream, our only dream that is Gorkhaland."
And there is dearth of excitement amongst the GLP aspirants. Most want to achieve and believe they can achieve Gorkhaland and post that, they want to get into social work.
Raising an autonomous police force for the hills, which could duplicate as the people's army when required, is a clear indication that the GJM already has one foot firmly grounded on statehood.
To achieve Gorkhaland is over a century old aspiration of the multi-ethnic Gorkhas of Darjeeling hills. However, it gathered momentum in the mid-80s when Subhas Ghising-led Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) ensued a violent struggle, which killed over 1,200 people. Ghising settled for an autonomous hill council but failed to address the identity crisis of the Gorkhas. Scholars trace root of the crisis to a certain mindset.
Former Teacher Loreto College Darjeeling, Amar Rai says, "Why do people still call us foreigners? Just because we have a state near Nepal and they associate us Indian Nepalese with Nepal? I think there lies the problem of identity and that is why this demand for a separate state has become strong."
In the recent past, the Gorkha demand has resorted to violence, which has spread in the adjacent plains of Siliguri and the hills have witnessed phases of indefinite bandh. GJM leaders like Amar Lama - who is a Central Committee member - justify the Gorkha ethnicity.
"In Darjeeling, Gorkha is not a race. It's a way of life. Here Gorkhas include even the Bengali. Everybody speaks Nepali language. So language is our common thread," says Lama.
That's the long-term goal which the new generation rebel Gorkhas are hell bent on achieving in the days to come.
But who are these new generation leaders who have fired the imagination of the hill people two decades after Ghising's so-called surrender before the Centre and the Bengal government? Here is a look into their background.
Demand for Gorkhaland: The new generation leadership
Sougata Mukhopadhyay / CNN-IBN
The leadership of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is repackaging a demand that many believe is as old as the hills - that of achieving Gorkhaland. But who are these new generation leaders who have fired the imagination of the hill people two decades after Ghising's so-called surrender before the Centre and the Bengal government? Here is a look into their background.
Amar Lama says, "This is not a fight to divide Bengal. We are fighting for our existence, for our identity. This is right to self-determination."
An accused in an assassination attempt on Subhash Ghising - in Saath Gumti, Siliguri, February 2001 - Amar Lama spent 15 months in jail. Today, a key man for the GJM, he calls himself just a soldier in the cause for Gorkhaland. Like the other leaders, he believes in a peaceful second coming of Gorkhaland along a Gandhian route.
The GJM office today preaches Gandhigiri, but many of those office-bearers inside were once an integral part of the first and violent Gorkhaland movement.
The President of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, Bimal Gurung, was once Subhash Ghising's right-hand man, striking terror in the hills in the '80s, heading the Gorkha Volunteers Council, armed militia of the GNLF.
Son of a tea plantation worker, Gurung has come a long way from driving tourists around Darjeeling. His drift away from Ghising started in the mid-90s as the popularity of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council began to fade under charges of corruption and failure to generate employment in the region.
He did all he could to upstage Subhash Ghising, even campaigning for Indian Idol contestant and local boy, Prashant Tamang. The formal breakaway came with the formation of the GJM in 2007.
Gurung says, "Our students were beaten up. People looking like Gorkhas are being beaten up. But have we even slapped anyone?"
Amar Lama adds, "No violence from out side, no violence from our side."
This restraint seems to be the USP of GJM's demand for a separate state. Under constant media glare, these leaders, calling bandhs at their own will, bringing Darjeeling to a screeching halt, all for Gorkhaland, seem to project a new face of "Janmukti".
GJM is clear that the people of the hills have been left waiting for a long time by the state, the Center and the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council. And they are out to redraw the map.
GJM General Secretary, Roshan Giri says, "When the hill council was formed, Siliguri, Terai and Dooars were left out of what was historically our land."
What's more, not a single voice today speaks against the GJM.
A journalist, Neeraj Lama says, "People in the hills stay together. Dissidence is not encouraged. What I have seen is that there is a tendency amongst people to make heroes here."
The leadership of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha is repackaging a demand that many believe is as old as the hills - that of achieving Gorkhaland. But who are these new generation leaders who have fired the imagination of the hill people two decades after Ghising's so-called surrender before the Centre and the Bengal government? Here is a look into their background.
Amar Lama says, "This is not a fight to divide Bengal. We are fighting for our existence, for our identity. This is right to self-determination."
An accused in an assassination attempt on Subhash Ghising - in Saath Gumti, Siliguri, February 2001 - Amar Lama spent 15 months in jail. Today, a key man for the GJM, he calls himself just a soldier in the cause for Gorkhaland. Like the other leaders, he believes in a peaceful second coming of Gorkhaland along a Gandhian route.
The GJM office today preaches Gandhigiri, but many of those office-bearers inside were once an integral part of the first and violent Gorkhaland movement.
The President of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, Bimal Gurung, was once Subhash Ghising's right-hand man, striking terror in the hills in the '80s, heading the Gorkha Volunteers Council, armed militia of the GNLF.
Son of a tea plantation worker, Gurung has come a long way from driving tourists around Darjeeling. His drift away from Ghising started in the mid-90s as the popularity of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council began to fade under charges of corruption and failure to generate employment in the region.
He did all he could to upstage Subhash Ghising, even campaigning for Indian Idol contestant and local boy, Prashant Tamang. The formal breakaway came with the formation of the GJM in 2007.
Gurung says, "Our students were beaten up. People looking like Gorkhas are being beaten up. But have we even slapped anyone?"
Amar Lama adds, "No violence from out side, no violence from our side."
This restraint seems to be the USP of GJM's demand for a separate state. Under constant media glare, these leaders, calling bandhs at their own will, bringing Darjeeling to a screeching halt, all for Gorkhaland, seem to project a new face of "Janmukti".
GJM is clear that the people of the hills have been left waiting for a long time by the state, the Center and the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council. And they are out to redraw the map.
GJM General Secretary, Roshan Giri says, "When the hill council was formed, Siliguri, Terai and Dooars were left out of what was historically our land."
What's more, not a single voice today speaks against the GJM.
A journalist, Neeraj Lama says, "People in the hills stay together. Dissidence is not encouraged. What I have seen is that there is a tendency amongst people to make heroes here."
Is Gorkhaland An Unjust Demand?
By Dhruba H. Adhikary (Gorkhapatra)
Absolutely not. Indians of Nepali ethnicity deserve what they have been demanding since 1980s : Gorkhaland within the Indian union. All they are saying is that Darjeeling and adjoining areas be made a state so that Nepali-speakers could establish their identity on cultural and linguistic lines. Bimal Gurung and his colleagues in the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) have made it abundantly clear that theirs is not a secessionist movement of any kind. The political leadership as well as the bureaucracy in New Delhi need to understand the aspirations and concomitant pledge expressed through the GJM leadership. The Indian authorities can take timely measures so that the ongoing campaign does not assume additional, if not ugly, dimensions. It does not need elaboration, for example, that by being insensitive to a genuine claim New Delhi runs the risk of alienating the Gorkhas who are a crucial component of the India’s armed forces. Gorkhas, after all, are Gorkhas, and it does not make any difference, in a given situation like the present one, whether they live in the hills of Nepal or in areas across the Mechi river.
Inexplicable
New Delhi and Calcutta have remained indifferent to the voice of Gorkhas for far too long. Lack of enthusiasm in Calcutta initially looked understandable because fulfillment of Gorkhali demand would directly result in the reduction of the size of the state of West Bengal. But, the stony silence New Delhi chose to maintain on this issue remained unfathomable. As is obvious, a call for a general strike in the Darjeeling hills does not affect only the population of that area; it also disrupts the traffic on the highway linking Sikkim which borders Tibet. Security implications are there for everyone to see. Should effects on security aspect be pronounced after a prolonged spell of inaction, Calcutta would eventually be forced to take its share of the blame for making India insecure. The leftist leadership in West Bengal, therefore, has a choice to offer a timely help to the Gorkhas for a state of their own in territories currently dubbed as north Bengal or maintain a negative stand now and pay a heavy price afterwards. What Pranab Mukherjee, India’s External Affairs Minister, said in Calcutta on June 14 is reflective of the negative attitude on the Gorkhas. By assigning external affairs minister to say "no" to the Gorkhaland demand, the Indian leadership tried to show that the demand is prompted by foreign powers. This is bound make the Gorkhas angrier. If it was a separatist movement right from the start, as it is being projected now from Calcutta and New Delhi, where was the need for the Indian leadership to recognize Subhas Ghising and then grant a hill council status to the area under his leadership—in 1988 ? India’s omnipresent intelligence agencies must have collected necessary information on the movement.
Controversial
After all, there is nothing new or unusual in the demand for a separate statehood. Such demands have been successfully made elsewhere in India, and have been favorably responded to in a number of cases. The states of Uttarkhand, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand were created out of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar respectively. These newest states came into being when New Delhi had a BJP-led coalition government. Then there is an ongoing issue of Telangana in Andhra Pradesh. Do the Gorkhas have to wait until a new government is installed at the centre? It appears that the existing dispensation is determined to continue to deprive the Gorkhas of their distinct identity, on one pretext or the other. The Manmohan Singh government’s controversial attempt to turn Darjeeling into a tribal area has already been fiercely resisted by the Gorkhas. As Bimal Gurung has argued, the centre’s plan to put the area under Sixth Schedule of the Indian constitution would divide Nepalis along tribal and ethnic lines ; hence, unacceptable to the people living in three subdivisions of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong and surrounding areas.
Obligation
Should Nepal turn a blind eye to these developments in its eastern neighborhood ? Of course, not. While the demand/dispute is in the land that ceased to be Nepali territory since the Sugauli treaty of 1816, the social and cultural affinity that Nepalis enjoy with the Nepali-speaking inhabitants there cannot be overlooked. Nepalis in Nepal have to express their solidarity for the just struggle their brothers and sisters across the border have been carrying out for years. Even official Nepal must not keep quiet on the Gorkhaland issue. As is known to us all, it has been offering shelter to one hundred thousand Nepali-speaking Bhutanese who entered Nepal as refugees since 1990. Earlier, Nepal was compelled to accept several thousand Nepali-speakers evicted from Assam and Meghalaya. Nepalis in the Gorkhaland are not seeking assistance of this kind. All they are looking for is Nepal’s whole-hearted support for the cause they are fighting for.
" As Nepali-speaking community we are expecting a great deal of help," said Bimal Gurung in an interview published in Nayaa Patrikaa on June 26. He has expressed hope that Nepal’s new government, to be headed by Prachanda, would pay attention to the subject which happens to have their origins in some of the old bilateral treaties.
Anyhow, Nepal simply cannot afford to sit back and be a silent spectator when the issue at hand may affect the life of some 15 million Gorkhalis living in India.
Absolutely not. Indians of Nepali ethnicity deserve what they have been demanding since 1980s : Gorkhaland within the Indian union. All they are saying is that Darjeeling and adjoining areas be made a state so that Nepali-speakers could establish their identity on cultural and linguistic lines. Bimal Gurung and his colleagues in the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) have made it abundantly clear that theirs is not a secessionist movement of any kind. The political leadership as well as the bureaucracy in New Delhi need to understand the aspirations and concomitant pledge expressed through the GJM leadership. The Indian authorities can take timely measures so that the ongoing campaign does not assume additional, if not ugly, dimensions. It does not need elaboration, for example, that by being insensitive to a genuine claim New Delhi runs the risk of alienating the Gorkhas who are a crucial component of the India’s armed forces. Gorkhas, after all, are Gorkhas, and it does not make any difference, in a given situation like the present one, whether they live in the hills of Nepal or in areas across the Mechi river.
Inexplicable
New Delhi and Calcutta have remained indifferent to the voice of Gorkhas for far too long. Lack of enthusiasm in Calcutta initially looked understandable because fulfillment of Gorkhali demand would directly result in the reduction of the size of the state of West Bengal. But, the stony silence New Delhi chose to maintain on this issue remained unfathomable. As is obvious, a call for a general strike in the Darjeeling hills does not affect only the population of that area; it also disrupts the traffic on the highway linking Sikkim which borders Tibet. Security implications are there for everyone to see. Should effects on security aspect be pronounced after a prolonged spell of inaction, Calcutta would eventually be forced to take its share of the blame for making India insecure. The leftist leadership in West Bengal, therefore, has a choice to offer a timely help to the Gorkhas for a state of their own in territories currently dubbed as north Bengal or maintain a negative stand now and pay a heavy price afterwards. What Pranab Mukherjee, India’s External Affairs Minister, said in Calcutta on June 14 is reflective of the negative attitude on the Gorkhas. By assigning external affairs minister to say "no" to the Gorkhaland demand, the Indian leadership tried to show that the demand is prompted by foreign powers. This is bound make the Gorkhas angrier. If it was a separatist movement right from the start, as it is being projected now from Calcutta and New Delhi, where was the need for the Indian leadership to recognize Subhas Ghising and then grant a hill council status to the area under his leadership—in 1988 ? India’s omnipresent intelligence agencies must have collected necessary information on the movement.
Controversial
After all, there is nothing new or unusual in the demand for a separate statehood. Such demands have been successfully made elsewhere in India, and have been favorably responded to in a number of cases. The states of Uttarkhand, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand were created out of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar respectively. These newest states came into being when New Delhi had a BJP-led coalition government. Then there is an ongoing issue of Telangana in Andhra Pradesh. Do the Gorkhas have to wait until a new government is installed at the centre? It appears that the existing dispensation is determined to continue to deprive the Gorkhas of their distinct identity, on one pretext or the other. The Manmohan Singh government’s controversial attempt to turn Darjeeling into a tribal area has already been fiercely resisted by the Gorkhas. As Bimal Gurung has argued, the centre’s plan to put the area under Sixth Schedule of the Indian constitution would divide Nepalis along tribal and ethnic lines ; hence, unacceptable to the people living in three subdivisions of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong and surrounding areas.
Obligation
Should Nepal turn a blind eye to these developments in its eastern neighborhood ? Of course, not. While the demand/dispute is in the land that ceased to be Nepali territory since the Sugauli treaty of 1816, the social and cultural affinity that Nepalis enjoy with the Nepali-speaking inhabitants there cannot be overlooked. Nepalis in Nepal have to express their solidarity for the just struggle their brothers and sisters across the border have been carrying out for years. Even official Nepal must not keep quiet on the Gorkhaland issue. As is known to us all, it has been offering shelter to one hundred thousand Nepali-speaking Bhutanese who entered Nepal as refugees since 1990. Earlier, Nepal was compelled to accept several thousand Nepali-speakers evicted from Assam and Meghalaya. Nepalis in the Gorkhaland are not seeking assistance of this kind. All they are looking for is Nepal’s whole-hearted support for the cause they are fighting for.
" As Nepali-speaking community we are expecting a great deal of help," said Bimal Gurung in an interview published in Nayaa Patrikaa on June 26. He has expressed hope that Nepal’s new government, to be headed by Prachanda, would pay attention to the subject which happens to have their origins in some of the old bilateral treaties.
Anyhow, Nepal simply cannot afford to sit back and be a silent spectator when the issue at hand may affect the life of some 15 million Gorkhalis living in India.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
