C4's Head of News and Current Affairs, Dorothy Byrne, explains:

Earlier this year, we decided that Channel 4 should devote a substantial season of programming to the examination of gun and knife crime in Britain. It felt to us like something was changing about life on Britain's streets – but we wanted to find out the facts. Was there really a huge rise in gun and knife crime? Were people right to feel so afraid? Were there potential solutions to the problem that we should examine?

Last year Channel 4 carried out a major commission into Iraq - we decided to adopt the same model for this very different subject and, as a result, set up the Street Weapons Commission. Chaired by Cherie Booth, the commission has toured the country to find out why so many young people now carry guns and knives. Much of the evidence and statistical data gathered has been very surprising – it seems that much of what we presume to be true about gun and knife crime is not correct [...]

We genuinely believe that the season will bring some positive thinking to the debate on knife and gun crime.

More from the key people involved in this season can be found on the TV Show page here. You can also leave a comment, and we encourage you to do so. Because that, after all, is what it's all about.

On the 26th April, 2003, I came across a very important article in “The Statesman” under North Bengal and Sikkim Section which reads as follows-“Return of Mal Mateli in Darjeeling constituency demanded”. After reading the article I instantly felt that it as my moral duty as a citizen of the country to express my opinion and simultaneously to bring an awareness. I can sincerely say that I had made a detail survey of the area. Since I was sent as an observer from the AICC office at New Delhi to monitor the parliamentary and assembly elections in 1987 when Shri D.P. Roy (Mithu Bhai) was contesting for the Jalpaiguri Parliamentary Constituency as a NIC Candidate. After being briefed by the local congress leaders of the District I instantly took the initiative to go the Bakhrakot, where I interacted with the local businessman and the public. I was the advised to meet Shri Sukman Moktan who at the time was spearheading the agitation for Gorkhaland in the Dooars area. The said meting with the latter was not successful inspite of my waiting for him till 3 O’clock in the morning, his whereabouts was not known. But I was confident that my message had reached him in right earnest. Finally, later at 5 a.m. I met him on the appointed time and place desired by him. The meeting was short but not fruitful. [Inset: Ari Bahadur Gurung. Photo: Fallen Cicada - Unwritten History of Darjeeling Hills. Copyright Barun Roy]

During my entire tour of Jalpaiguri district even to the interior of Kalchini a S/T constituency which returned the Congress Candidate successful. I witnessed the misery not only of the general populace due to various economic disparities, but the pitiful condition of the children who were deprived of the basic amenities of education and health facilities was heart breaking. I also learnt that their grievances and reports of omission and commission had never reached Writers Building or New Delhi.

After the election I was directed by lat Shri Rajiv Gandhi the then President AICC to submit my report of the debacle to Shri Arjun Singh the then Vice-President, AICC at 24 Akbar Road, New ¬Delhi.In my report I elaborately described the miseries of these people, especially of the ethnic population of the area. I also added in my report the political dibacle which was the fall out due to the last minute withdrawal of the Congress Candidature Late Ray, Ex- Chief Minister of West Bengal for Darjeeling Parliamentary Constituency. Further this resulted to large scale resentment in North Bengal which further culminated to a split in the Darjeeling District Congress Party due to the non acceptance of the Official nominee.

It must also be mentioned here that the credit for the development of the Mirik Tourist Resort, North Bengal State Transport, North Bengal Medical College all goes to the personal initiative of the trusted Bhadralok1eader Late S.S. Ray Late Gajendra Gurung who was the then Minister in the S.S. Ray Cabinet. The frustration of the hill people resulted the latter joining the Gorkha Land Movement.

Now getting back to the news article, in my opinion the article demanding the inclusion of Mal, Matelli and Nagrakatta areas into the Darjeeling Parliamentary Constituency in justified for the criteria which has to be taken into account for the process of delimitation and likewise the history of the hills stands to justify the demand.

In section 9(1) of the Delimitation Act 1962 and clauses (a) to (d) have been stated to be taken into consideration for the process of Delimitation empowered by Article 327/329 read with article 170. But the 1972 delimitation process, I must admit seemed to have had over looked the conditions or criteria stated in section 9(1) of the Delimitation Act 1962. For the deletion of Mal, Matelli and Nagrakatta areas from the Darjeeling Parliamentary Constituency to the Jalpaiguri district and vice versa the simultaneous accretion of Islam and Chopra area of the then West Dinajpure/district into Darjeeling parliamentary constituency does not fulfill any of the stated criteria for the process of delimitation. Further the accretion of Mal, Matelli and Nagrakatta to the Jalpaiguri district is the root cause for the deterioration in the standard of living of the ethnic people the tribes of these areas since these areas do not share any kind of homogeneity or affinities in terms of geographical continuity, language customs, traditions with the present constituency and vice versa.Therefore unabling the representatives of the constituency to understand the grievances which in turn led to the inability for the representative to strive for the betterment of the people of these areas.

When looking at it from historical point of view. The demand holds weight, since various events in the history of the hills validates the demand. For instance the peace treaty concluded at Sinchula in Bhutan on 1st Nov. 1865, between the British and the Bhutanese. Under the term of the treaty the British retained the possession of the entire strip of the Assam and Bengal Dooars from the Dhansiri river in the East to the Tista rivers in the West, the low country lying along the foothills, together the Dalim (Kalimpong) hill tract co extensive with the Bengal Dooars. The British also retained Dewangiri and the area around it. Later in the 1920’s the various Association like the Darjeeling Planters Association, Himalayan Men’s Association and European Association demanded the exclusion of Darjeeling and the Dooars from Bengal. They further demanded to keep these areas with the Chief Commissioners province for at this time the I.N.C. had begun their wide spread movement for Independence. Thus the Britishers who were far thinkers desired that if India attained Independence, then Darjee1ing and the Doors should always remain under them.¬

It is also befitting to mention here the role of a member of veteran politicians who strove for the betterment of the Hill people.

First among the long list was late Damber Singh Gurung, who in 1937 elected as an independent candidate of the Bengal Provincial Legislative Assembly. This veteran politician realized that a political platform was necessary for the hill masses therefore in 1943 the Gorkhali Party was formed with the support of the Nepali Speaking population including Bhutia, Lepchas, Dukpa’s and others too who were residents of the area. D. S. Gurung objective was to safeguard the future of the Nepali speak¬ing population after India achieved Independence.

After he was elected the second time, he along with twenty four other members was elected by the house (Bengal Assembly) as members of the Constituent Assembly to represent the undivided Bengal Provinces for the framing of the Indian Constitution.

It is worth mentioning here that late Damber Singh Gurung had strove for the betterment of the Hill people of Darjeeling District and Dooars. As seen from the number of correspondence he maintained with Subhas Chandra Bose who was the then President of INC in which he had informed the latter of the plight of the hill people and was also given assurance by Subash Chandra Bose that a special committee would be appointed to investigate and solve the grievances of the hill people. But his unfortunate demise in 1948 brought about the entry of another veteran politician late Ari Bahadur Gurung a barrister by profession and a freedom fighter; He was one of the noted signatory of the Indian Constitution.

However the year 1952 was an important year for the year saw the first General election of Independent India. It was in this year that late T. Wangdi was elected and succeeded to become a Min¬ister in the general election as a Tribal candidate from the Naxal Bari Constituency and simultaneously late George Mahabert was elected from Siliguri Constituency. The next year 1953 saw the victory of late NB Gurung from the Kalimpong Constituency. The general election in Kalimpong was held a year later due to a court case, and he also succeeded to become minister in Dr. B.C. Roy’s Cabinet.

The above mentioned politicians made the hill people proud for they had joined hands with the leaders of Independent India to restructure the country into a Democratic, Republic, Secular, and Sovereign Country.
It was only in 1955 after the government of India with the task of re-organizing all the State in India on the basis of language set up a state Reorganisation Commission (SRC), The Gorkhaleague Party represented Darjeeling District in this Commission and demanded for the exclusion of Darjeeling and Dooars areas from Bengal and also to declare it as an autonomous state.

The 1970’s therefore witnessed the dawn of various organizations and parties like “Pranta Parishad” led by Shri Gajendra Gurung and later the GNLF.

Before I conclude, I agree that the politica11eadership at Writers Building and New Delhi even though after receiving first hand reports from reliable sources including government agencies and political parties had failed to realize the aspirations and submission of the plight of the people. Emphasis should also be made that during the peace talks, the hill people were never taken into confidence by the leaderships. For it is seen that while peace negotiations are carried out by the government, retired Senior Government officials or retired judges are put to job, as in the present case of peace talks of Nagaland was done be deputing senior retired Home Department Officials to carry out the process. But in the case of Darjeeling no such Retd. officials or representatives of the Union Government was deputed instead Mr. Indrajit Khuller who was not acquainted with the problems of hill people was privately sent to negotiate by Shri Butta Singh the then Home Minister. Mr. Indrajit Khuller surprisingly was also elected as Member of Parliament from Darjeeling and in his tenure of office he did nothing to redress the grievances of the Hill people and did not recommend for the inclusion of the Nepali speaking or the ethnic tribal areas to be included in the Hill Council for which the present state of affairs are continuing.

I sincerely feel that the senior citizens of the areas in question should come forward to share their views and submit their support for a separate state keeping all political interest away and political interest should be sacrificed for the cause of the area and the people.

Greetings Mountaineers.

Please forgive this intrusion, but I need some ideas. The Himalaya
Atlas construction is progressing slowly and what I am looking for are
ideas about simple maps that will help amateurs like me orient
themselves a bit when confronting hundreds of aerial panoramas. I am
attaching a first draft of one of four such maps. Suggestions,
corrections, additions ...

Open it in your web browser and stretch out the window as far as it
will go. This is best seen on a large screen.

Thanks for any assistance you may be willing to offer. - Bill

--
Dr. William A. Bowen
California Geographical Survey

drwilliambowen@gmail.com

]]> http://beacononline.wordpress.com/?p=3741 Sun, 29 Jun 2008 14:53:44 +0000 barunroy http://beacononline.wordpress.com/?p=3741 The Editor
The Pioneer
B.S. Zafar Marg
New Delhi 110 002

Re: Kanchan Gupta’s article: Don’t sympathise with Gorkhaland

Mr. Gupta seems to have read all the history books available on how Darjeeling came into being and about Nepal and Sikkim Kings Queens and consorts…

Mercifully, he has also mentioned how the Gorkhas living in Darjeeling have been granted citizenship since 1950. Kind of him.

He however forgot to mention that there are Gorkhas living in all parts of India – just the way all Indians can and are allowed as “citizens” of Independent India. We Gorkhas are not just restricted to Darjeeling , Dooars or Siliguri, we are in large numbers in Himachal, Uttrakhand, Uttar Pradesh and have been living in these sates for centuries.

His theory of how Ghising’s dreams of “Gorkhaland” in the 1980s agitiation was fuelled to “re-establish Greater Nepal” by creating a bridge between Nepal and Sikkim is just that a THEORY.

By insinuating that the rightful demand of the Gorkhas for a separate state that has been pending for not one – ten or twenty years but more than one hundred years, has little do do with “local aspirations” of Gorkhas and more to do with the rise of Maoists in Nepal and the creation of Greater Nepal, Mr. Kanchan has deliberately chosen to cast aspersions on the loyalty and the integrity of the Gorkha community in India .

That the Gorkhas would even entertain such treachery would go against the common grain of all Gorkhas – it is not for nothing that members of our community have won the largest number of gallantry awards – posthumously. Yes posthumously, for protecting India ’s borders from 1947 until date, note not just protecting West Bengal ’s borders. And before that by being members of Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army. Even now the Gorkhas are proud of their association with the Indian armed forces in particular, and other profession in general, yes even tea-plucking that helps to garner India precious exports and revenues for a brand called “Darjeeling Tea”.

Mr. Kanchan should know most Gorkhas chose, yes chose to stay with the Indian Army rather than go over to the British Army.

And this is what we get even after 100 years our own countrymen call us “foreigners” our own countrymen and media label us as outsiders, and insinuate that we would side with other countries to encroach on India ’s territory. The whole point is that we Gorkhas are INDIAN and want to be seen and respected as Indians, not Chinese/Nepalese/North Easterns/Khasis/Mizos/Garos – we are Gorkhas, we are Indians. Believe it or not!

As Gorkhas we love India as much as any other Indian, it’s a pity that though we are in large numbers in India we are scattered as a community. We understand how the West Bengal government, ministers that hail from the state that have prominent positions and portfolios in the Cabinet including that of I&B, Foreign Affairs etc, the policy makers of which a large coterie is again from Bengal get more prominence than us poorly represented Gorkhas.

That is why the illegal immigrants of erstwhile East Pakistan/Bangladesh can and are infiltrating our borders at will and merging with the population of India, just because they look and speak – Bengali, therefore these immigrants are never subjected or challenged to prove their identity as Indians. We understand they are potential voter banks for political parties. These very same immigrants in North Bengal qualify for BPL ration cards and avail all facilities of the Government whereas the Adivasis – indigenous tribes of India and the Gorkhas have to fight and prove our identity to qualify for a ration card.

We are aware that many in the fourth estate too belong to Bengal and therefore to get a fair unbiased representation in the media may be a bit elusive but, as citizens of India we do expect that of the media. Sadly, the media perhaps has forgotten their role to be a mirror of society and instead is allowing their bias to show.

It is interesting to note how The Pioneer which we as readers are well aware has a definite soft corner for the BJP and Hindutva factor chooses to represent the Gorkha cause. The Gorkhas have taken their name from Baba Gorakhnath – protectors of “Gau” or cows that is holy to the Hindus. Also the BJP was quick to react to the Maoists winning the elections in Nepal and commiserating the fact that Nepal has chosen to become a secular state rather than the only “Hindu Kingdom” yet they protest and label us “anti-national” and “divisive” the call for Gorkhaland that would grant Gorkhas (Gau rakshaks) a state however small but bigger than Goa, that we can proudly call our own as Gorkhas all over the world.

Do note the call for Gorkhaland is for a separate state, repeat separate state not a separate country and therefore we are not dividing Bengal yet again. The media should desist from misinforming and resurrecting in the minds of the people the horrific bloody partition of Bengal in 1947 which led to the creation of East Pakistan – now Bangladesh .

Jai Gorkha! Jai Hind!

Varsha

The present movement for separate state of Gorkhaland in the Darjeeling hills and its adjacent terai area can be debated at two levels - national and regional.

At the national level Indian Nepali speakers/Gorkhas have always felt that they are treated as foreigners by the mainstream Indians. To a large extent their feeling is correct. Mainstream India repeatedly confuses with the Nepali of Nepal and Indian Nepali. As a consequence, bonafide Indian Nepali speakers suffer psychological as well as physical insecurity.

The culprit here, as often highlighted, is the Treaty of Peace and Friendship ( 1950 ) between India and Nepal. In the present context, not less than 50 per cent of the total Nepali population in India is composed of Nepalis who have crossed over from Nepal on the strength of this treaty- in search of greener pasture.

It is also that the history of Indian Gorkhas/Nepalis has been very poorly written by mainstream Indian historians. They did this possibly due to the lack of historical material available with them. As a result mainstream Indians even today believe that all the Nepali speakers on the Indian soil are Nepalese citizens and thus are foreigners. They are unaware of the fact that there are over a crore of bonafide Indian Nepalis/Gorkhas residing in India.

Moreover, as rightly highlighted by many Indian Nepali/Gorkha academicians and critiques, Indian Gorkha leaders like Dambar Singh Gurung and Ratanlal Brahmin negatively impacted the lives of Indian Nepalis in the post-independent India. There were several instances when they openly articulated their loyalty towards Nepal instead of their motherland. The speech by Dambar Singh Gurung in the Constituent Assembly ( 1948 ) immediately after the independence of India provides a prominent example in this regard.

At the regional level several factors can be attributed for the development of a need to carve out a separate state for the Indian Gorkhas. First and the most important factor in this respect has been the discrimination and step motherly treatment meted out towards the Gorkhas by West Bengal Government for many years. Such act of West Bengal can be recorded in every sector of development.

Basic infrastructure facilities like adequate educational institutions, health centres, communication, drinking water etc can be taken as important indicators in this respect. It is surprising that over 45 per cent of the villages in the region still do not have electricity facility while over 40 per cent of the villagers still have to walk to their nearest town. The spatial distribution of health centres and primary schools is extremely poor. With regard to the institutions of higher and technical learning, Darjeeling occupies the last position among the districts of West Bengal. The only University of Darjeeling district, University of North Bengal, is always flooded by the Bengalis. Rampant unemployment of Gorkha youths is another critical phenomenon that has contributed to the movement. Government offices in Darjeeling are swamped by Bengalis not to talk in other parts of Bengal.

Further, the superiority complex on the part of Bengalis and vice-versa in case of the Gorkhas has been an outstanding factor contributing to Gorkhaland movement. T. B. Subba ( 1992 ), a noted anthropologist remarks in this connection:

"Long years of interaction between the hill communities and the plainsmen (mainly the Bengalis) had more to do with Gorkhaland demand than anything else. On the one hand these communities had already developed various sorts of interdependence, agrarian and trade being two most important in this regard. Then there was the Nepali language to express themselves with each other and lay the foundation of hill ethnicity. On the other hand, they suffered from certain politico-economic disadvantages vis-a vis the plainsmen. Besides whatever little communication that took place between the hill men and the plainsmen being through the English or Hindi language such an interaction was limited to the educated class and businessmen".

Subba further asserts

" the argument that the Bengalis in particular often behaved as masters in Darjeeling hills cannot be easily brushed aside…Had their attitude towards the hill people been healthy the latter would probably have no strong reason to seek a separation from the former"

Mainstream Bengalis customarily consider themselves as superior to the Gorkhas intellectually. They have systematically discriminated and controlled the Gorkhas of Darjeeling academically over the years. Bengalis traditionally assume that Nepali speakers/Gorkhas of Darjeeling could never score first division marks in the board exams of the state. To cite an example, a dedicated Bengali teacher of Darjeeling Government College was shocked to witness discrimination of hill colleges of Darjeeling and Sikkim in the late 1990s by Bengali teachers of North Bengal University. As a part of the external examiners at NBU he observed that no students of the hill colleges would score first division marks if students of the plain colleges, particularly Siliguri College, did not score first division marks. His only advice to his honours students of which this writer was also a part was -"You guys have no options other than studying with sincerity and dedication. You have to win your battle through sincerity. The people down below do not want you guys to come up. They want to keep you at the bottom."

The movement for separate state of Gorkhaland is the product of these factors. It has to do with identity of Indian Nepalis/Gorkhas at national level and development of Darjeeling and its surrounding milieu, both physically and psychologically, at regional level.

Place : Jantar Mantar, New Delhi
Date : Sunday, June 29, 2008
Time : 1 pm onwards

Last time I received one mail from Mr.Bishal Rai (member of Beacon online and Gorkha welfare Society, New Delhi) mentioning that two ladies were assured for Job in Dubai and brought to Delhi and taken some money from them now these ladies are stuck in Delhi, because these agents are not giving money back to them everyday they are making new excuses, we don’t have to worry about them because Mr.Bishal rai is taking care of them.

Lots of agents are making fool to the people of Darjeeling and Sikkim. These agents are not having any license or shops. Even they don’t know anything but these agents are tied up with the manpower suppliers from Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. What these agents are doing they are taking 80 thousand or 1 lakh from the candidate and they are giving half money to manpower supplier and remaining amount is their profit. But these Agents don’t know that they are fooling our own brother and sisters.

I am writing this to aware all the people of Darjeeling and Sikkim do not give even a single penny to any agent unless he provide you employment visa and air ticket. Also you have to ask the offer letter if the Company is genuine then it will provide you offer letter and in offer letter it is clearly stated about your basic salary (Local Currecy), food, Transportation, air tickets, duty hours, and medical allowance etc after reading carefully you can acknowledge the offer letter to the concerned manpower office. If you are giving any money to any office then do not forget to take receipt and remember it should be a registered office. After getting your visa you must contact with your friends or relatives those who are in abroad and enquire about the sponsorship company etc or visa must be verified through the concerned Embassy or Consulate office. Then you can proceed further, for any kind of clarification especially for U.A.E then you can contact me freely through my e mail id ichamanikc@yahoo.com.I will get back to u and assist you.

DARJEELING, June 24: Two uncontested candidates from Ward numbers 16 and 31 of the Darjeeling Municipality assumed the post of commissioners in their respective wards today. Mr Kesar Rai of ward 31 and Mr Pramod Chettri of ward 16 took oath in the presence of chairman Mr Pemba Tshering and vice-chairman Mr Dinesh Gurung today. By-elections were announced in three wards after resignations of former commissioners Mr Passang Bhutia of ward 31 and Mr Pranay Rai of ward 18 respectively. Mr BB Dewan of ward 16 expired on 1 January this year leaving the post vacant. Both Independent candidates joined the GJMM camp after swearing in. “We extend full support to the GJMM and will work under the party's instructions,” they pledged. The post of commissioner of Ward 18 still lies vacant.

SILIGURI, June 24: The Kamtapur Progressive Party has decided to step up its movement in north Bengal for a separate Kamtapur state and Constitutional recognition of the Kamtapuri language.

Progressive president Mr Atul Roy said today that KPP activists would sit for a fast-unto-death programme in front of the Siliguri sub-division office at the Siliguri Court premises on 7 July. “The objective of the fast is to mobilise public opinion in favour of the two principal demands and also to deal with the CPI-M's motivated propaganda against us,” Mr Roy said.

He further said the Progressive activists would observe a "Bengali Language Boycott Day" on 6 July. “ We would take out a procession in Siliguri on that day asking the Kamtapuri students to boycott the schools and the colleges until Kamtapuri language is recognised as a medium of instruction,” he said.

“These apart, the KPP activists and sympathisers would sit for a fast-unto-death in front of each BDO office all through the north Bengal region on 28 July,” the Progressive leader said.

Kalimpong/Siliguri, June 23: A huge boulder blocked National Highway 31A and threw traffic out of gear for nearly five hours today when people from the hills rushed to Siliguri to replenish their stocks during the 60-hour relaxation in the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-sponsored strike.

Traffic, except for army vehicles and ambulances, on the highways was almost nil during the shutdown.

Vehicles, mostly from Kalimpong and Sikkim, began to pile-up from morning after the boulder landed at Hatisuray, about 24km from Siliguri. Some of the drivers’ attempt to jump the queue also compounded the problem. By noon when The Telegraph reached the area, the queue of vehicles extended from near the Sevoke rail gate to Kalijhora, nearly 8km away. Normal traffic on one half of the road resumed around 4pm.

Since the line of stranded vehicles extended beyond the Coronation Bridge, Dooars-bound traffic on NH31 was also affected. “We have been stuck here for more than two hours,” said a driver of a Siliguri-Jaigaon bus.

National Highway 31 bifurcates into NH31A at the Coronation Bridge. However, the ones to suffer the most were passengers travelling on NH31A. “We have barely managed to move about a kilometre in the last two-and-half hours. By the looks of it we, probably, will have to halt for a night in Siliguri since it is already 2pm,” said Rupesh Lama, a trader from Gangtok.

Sources at the Border Roads Organisation, which maintains the highways, said only one-way traffic was possible on the Hatisuray stretch today. “We will blast the boulder tomorrow and restore the two-way movement of vehicles,” the sources added.

The Northeast Frontier Railways today announced the suspension of toy train services “until further notice” because of damages on the tracks caused by rain in several places.

“The protection wall between Rongtong and Tindharia has collapsed, which caused a landslide forcing the tracks to hang in the air,” Samir Goswami, the chief public relations officer of the NFR, said in a release. “Besides, a formation wall between Tindharia and Gayabari has also collapsed. Huge boulders have fallen on the tracks on stretches between Gayabari and Mahanadi and Mahanadi and Kurseong.”

http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=4990&edition=1&ttl=20080623124455

The general mood of the "debate" I feel is summarised perfectly in this post which garnered 42 recommendations:

What annoys me is that whatever the issue, the BBC/lefty/liberal spin on world problems is always that it's OUR (developed Western world) fault, that WE NEED TO FEEL GUILTY and fix something or other in every third-world hellhole. (Then of course when we try doing something, we are also guilty of intervening). How about the Indian government doing something to stop child labour in THEIR country? They are independent and have a responsibility for THEIR people. They don't care? Then neither do I.

Robert Soria

As with just about any topic that makes you question the comfort of our privileged lives it is a left-wing conspiracy and the BBC is being unfairly biased against the white middle-class majority. Most of the contributors backing this view are outraged that the BBC would even suggest that it was possible to change their behaviour if they wanted to, and don't usually bother giving arguments beyond 'if it's already happening it can't be that bad or someone would have intervened already.' No consideration that this may be the moment of intervention; these people seem to believe that the world is incredibly well-regulated despite hating the interventions of their own supposed nanny-state.

There is also a ridiculous number of contributors comparing working 14 hours a day and sleeping under the factory table to having a paper round. Now I know that my paper round did not take 14 hours, did not interfere with my education, did not require me to leave home at the age of nine and I most certainly had the choice to quit if I felt like it. How these people can even dream that this is comparable to working in a sweat shop I have no idea but I am deeply appalled by their attitudes. I will not deny people's right to buy products made by children if they genuinely believe that giving these children the ability to provide for their families is a good thing, but to be so willfully blind to the realities of sweat shop labour suggests to me that this does bother them and they are deliberately not acknowledging it. I believe that if you are going to pick a side in an argument like this you shouldn't ignore the facts by spewing your personal privileges all over them.

This is an issue I have considered on and off and usually the answer I come to is that actually I don't need any new clothes at the moment. Perhaps this would be the best answer for all concerned with the debate: if you don't buy anything you're not endorsing either position, giving yourself more time to consider what is important to you and some extra pounds in your pocket to help pay for things that really matter.

The writer is Senior Editor, The Statesman

By ARINDAM GHOSH-DASTIDAR

l

Excessive Negativism, Little By Way Of Positive Action

l

Since the CPI (M) is West Bengal’s ruling party, any retaliation it undertakes can only add fuel to fire. From the editorial, Rough Courtship, in The Statesman dated 24 September 1986

l

Darjeeling has reached a grim pass, a crisis that is both a symptom and an explanation of what is wrong. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) should not cavil; historically, the Gorkhaland idea was first proposed by the undivided CPI in the aftermath of independence. The slide has been gradual since the mid-eighties and alarmingly swift since February this year. Governance once again lies rather thin on the ground in a volatile part of Bengal. And it would scarcely be an exaggeration to suggest that Darjeeling is becoming more intractable, even explosive, than Nandigram.

l

As the DGHC's tenure drew to a close, the government was palpably unnerved with the renewed stirrings of sub-regional jingoism. Over the past fortnight, the administration has been up to its depth in trying to cope with a lethal cocktail of ethnicity and parochialism, the second being used as a counter-strategy.

l

Bimal Gurung's credentials may be suspect just as Subhas Ghisingh's were once upon a time. But if the CPI-M MLA from Siliguri and a heavyweight in the Left Front ministry is linked to the emergence of two parochial organisations, the trends are more ominous than what the Chief Minister is prepared to acknowledge.

l

As the urban development minister, Ashok Bhattacharjee has emerged as the government's pointman in the Hills. Yet his contradictory advisories on tourism and backstage manoeuvres run counter to the professed cosmopolitan outlook of the CPI-M. Over the past week, the region has witnessed a churning of the quagmire, with the local minister making the waters murkier.

l

Having stirred the cauldron, the administration cut a sorry figure by seeking the help of the army in a manner that was reminiscent of summoning the soldier to restore order over a four-kilometre radius in Kolkata last November. The 33 Corps in Sukna and its three divisions based in Kalimpong, Binnaguri and Gangtok have more challenging responsibilities than confronting the lumpens of the Amra Bangali and the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha in Siliguri. Even if the conspiracy theory is discounted, the threat of a parochial flank in the plains is real.

l

In his dealings with Gurung, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee himself has been a victim of indecision. His initial refusal to meet the GJMM leader was reminiscent of Jyoti Basu's reluctance to meet Ghisingh in 1986. If the Chief Minister will not talk to Gurung, who will he talk to? Passions will not be pacified by damning the GJMM bell, book and candle. The sequence of developments confirms that the CM was either misdirected by his pointman or his own calculations went haywire. His reservations over the GJMM's participation in the all-party meeting stemmed from the fact that it isn't a political party. The point is taken. But he was presumptuous in trying to imagine that the resolution of the all-party meeting could be presented as a fait accompli to Gurung at a separate interaction the next day. That meeting of adversaries never materialised on 18 June.

l

The interaction between the Left and the Congress, masquerading as an all-party conference at Writers', petered out to a fizzle in contrast to the orchestrated pitch for Gorkhaland at the parallel 16-party meeting in Darjeeling.

l

The participation of the CPI suggests that even fellow-travellers in the Hills may now be playing the drumbeat of statehood. A grudging acceptance of reality explains the latest letter to Gurung. But with no indication of a possible discussion on statehood or Central participation, it could well be a non-starter. As we have noted in these columns, that precisely forms the brasstacks on which any interaction ~ all-party, tripartite or one on one ~ must boil down to.

l

The pledge on increased autonomy gets reinforced in direct proportion to the deepening crisis. Behind that pledge lurks the awkward truth that there are no takers in the Hills.

Between the establishment's refusal to consider the statehood demand and Bimal Gurung's bluster, Darjeeling has been simmering more insidiously than at the peak of the GNLF movement. The response of the Centre, the State and Parliament to the robust revival of the statehood demand has been feeble to the point of skirting a decisive policy. The fact of the matter is that the DGHC has failed the people after being propped up and suitably pampered by the state. For more than two decades, the government was conveniently impervious to the fact that it lacked a popular mandate. And were it not for the groundswell of popular resistance to the spurious domination of Subhas Ghisingh, it is improbable that he would have been asked to step down.

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In the event, governance in Darjeeling has been in a limbo since February. The DGHC purportedly functions in a political vacuum under administrative control which has turned out to be a convenient option to wriggle out of the overwhelming mess, as constitutional as it has been ecological. Hoi-polloi has been the worst sufferer of the prolonged and conscious neglect, a reality that has provoked the GJMM to include the Dooars and Siliguri in the map-pointing exercise. The disenchantment is total, the grim reality that can't be so readily brushed aside with a flippant wave of hand as the Chief Minister dismisses the demand for Gorkhaland.

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Of course, the ultimate decision rests with the Centre. But the state authorities have scarcely realised that aside from directing the ineffectual Ghisingh to step down, there has not been a semblance of an effort either by the Centre or the Left Front to address the emotive grievances. There has been much too much of negativism ~ the stalling of the Sixth Schedule being the latest ~ and far too little of positive action towards a settlement.

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By assuring increased autonomy and yet convincing the Prime Minister that this precise piece of legislation ought to be kept in abeyance, the Chief Minister has managed to ensure that the hills are all of a tremble even without a tremblor. At any rate, the tenure of the present Lok Sabha will end by the time the parliamentary committee comes to a conclusion on its efficacy.

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Almost matching the state's indifference towards the Hills has been the unconcern of the Centre, the latter with a decidedly more critical role to play in the future of a region whose people will settle for nothing less than statehood. The state can at least make a beginning with a tangible translation of the periodic pledges on autonomy. The process could well get started with elections to the DGHC ~ a democratic imperative at this juncture but on which there has been no indication since the end of its term in March. By placing the DGHC under an administrator post-Ghisingh, the government has at best bought a fragile peace in a region where ethnic tension is never more than an inch below the surface of life and violence only a yard away from tension.

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The response of the state as much as the Centre must match the increasingly fervent sub-regional jingoism across an expanded canvas. It's time for a forward movement. Hopefully, sense will yet prevail upon men, organisations and the government.

The article “Why Should Sikkim Suffer?” as I understand, was one of frustration and a result of apathy and the lack of concern on the part of the authorities in Sikkim towards the well being of its citizens. Samarpan Chettri is of course, not alone here in experiencing the very real feeling of helplessness. Ask those people who have been bullied and bulldozed once beyond the Teesta, in the last few days. Take note of the fact here that in these tense times people do not take the risk just for fun trips. No one wishes to be at the receiving end of the Khukuri.
Samarpan has rightly referred to the facts that we here in Sikkim have had emotional and social ties with the people in the Darjeeling Hills and that Prashant was an equally emotional issue for us. But nothing can be far from the truth if we also say that we have given them much and received little. This is what perhaps pinches us the most.
As we understand, this is a movement for the achievement of their long cherished goal. It is their dream. There is no doubt that they have their planners, strategists, philosophers and experts with them. It cannot at any cost be a one man show. Why can’t those many heads calculate the fact that Sikkim alone can’t be the detrimental factor towards the realization of their dreams? Or are they trying to release their frustrations else where? A submissive target? A soft one that does not retaliate? If the decision makers here in Sikkim are still oblivious to all the hardships that the people are going through, we can call them fools.
‘Food officials take stock of the situation,’ an article in the June 19, 2008 edition of SIKKIM EXPRESS where the Secretary (S F & C S) is reported to have expressed his satisfaction over the fact that the supply of LPG cylinders could last for another two days, made a very poor reading. What is at stake for the people of the State beyond those two days? Food Security is a major subject if the Indian Union is to be taken as a welfare state. To quote the Secretary from the same article, “The department will try its best to avoid shortage of food grains and other essential commodities in the State.” What if the department fails? It worries us.
Sikkim Government, please be with us.

Milan Rai,
Gangtok

The Gorkhaland movement in the Darjeeling hills is the outcome of a serious sense of deprivation and an identity crisis amongst local communities who have been agitating for separate statehood from time to time but to no avail, say leading academics of the community.

Local communities like the Lepchas, Bhutanese and Nepalis, who have been living in Darjeeling over centuries, have raised their voice for a separate Gorkhaland state in the region, but were let down by the government and political leaders several times.

'We always feel like an outsider in this region. We are never recognised as sons of the soil. Now, with the Gorkhaland movement snowballing, we demand an ethno-regional identity of our own,' said Amar Singh Rai, a retired professor of political science in Loreto College, Darjeeling.

His comments come as a renewed demand for a separate state has led to an indefinite shutdown called by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) and life in the Darjeeling hills is paralysed.

According to Rai, the demand dates back to 1907 when the Hillmen's Association asked for a separate administrative unit in Darjeeling. Later, the undivided Communist Party of India (CPI), under the leadership of Ratanlal Brahmin - popularly known as Mailabajey - also advocated the same.

Ratanlal Brahmen was like a cult figure in the hills as he first started the unions in the tea gardens in three sub-divisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong.

'Over the years, several political and apolitical organisations voiced their demand for a separate Gorkhaland state. But the centre and West Bengal governments did nothing. Finally, the movement gained a momentum under the leadership of Subash Ghisingh and his party Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF),' said Rai, who was closely associated with the Gorkhaland movement in the 1980s.

He said: 'Unfortunately, the Gorkhaland movement, led by Ghisingh, lost its focus midstream and turned extremely violent.'

Ghisingh, a former Indian armyman, led a prolonged violent struggle in the 1980s for a Gorkhaland state before signing an agreement on Aug 22, 1988 with the central and state governments for creation of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) - an autonomous governing body for the hills.

Ghising remained an uncrowned king of hill politics, heading the DGHC for two decades till March this year, when he was forced to step down after most of his men deserted him to join the GJM.

Udaya Mani Pradhan, a prominent citizen of Darjeeling town, said the Queen of the Hills had always been a land of the Gorkha people.

'According to historical records, two British citizens - Captain G.A. Lloyd and J.W. Grant - travelled through Darjeeling in the 1820s and they felt so one with the place that they recommended the place for a sanatorium. They made a formal request to the then governor general of India William Bentinck to include this place into British-Indian territory. That time the land belonged to the Maharaja of Sikkim,' Pradhan said.

In an article, Lloyd penned his experience about the hill town and said: 'I stayed six days in an old Gorkha Station- called Darjeeling.'

'Since the land always belonged to the Gorkhas, so why can't they demand a separate homeland? We have always seen the land was caught in the crossfire between Nepal and Sikkim or the British-ruled India and Nepal during late 18th to early 19th century,' Pradhan said, adding that the sense of deprivation amongst Gorkhas has intensified with time.

'Our culture, topography and the religion is totally different from the Bengalis. The Gorkha people never raised any demand against their nationality. But now if they want a separate state in the Indian territory, I don't think there's anything wrong in that,' said academic Gautam Tamang.

'The innocence of the Gorkha people have been exploited several times. But how long can it continue? Already a century has passed and how long they would tolerate this,' he added.

'It's very natural when a baby will not get milk it will cry out, and then it's the responsibility of the mother to feed the baby. So we are protesting for our Gorkhaland after getting nothing all these years,' Tamang said.

I could not make a difference between a Media and a Political Party Mouth Piece writes Blogger and Columnist Barun Roy

It all began with the hope of deliberating on the issue of Gorkhaland with a panel and a live Television Feed. 24 Ghanta, a Bengali Television Channel had done a yeoman’s work by putting on the panel, at Darjeeling, a group of learned local elders and intelligentsia. Of course, 24 Ghanta did also have their own panelist back in studio at Kolkata on whom they ultimately relied upon.

The live show started at 8 pm with standard questions on how and why the question of Gorkhaland rose. And the panelists back in Darjeeling answered wisely and promptly. Their remarks however were further deliberated upon by the panelist at Kolkata who declared solemnly and resolutely that the blame of disillusionment among the ‘hill people’ laid on the fact that Subash Ghisingh ruled upon the Hill people as an absolute ruler. “Their outrage is not against Bengal but against Ghisingh.” The awkwardness of the show ultimately found vent in Uday Mani Pradhan, a former Governor of the Rotary District’s remark, when the grandson of Dr. Parasmani Pradhan rose up in arms crying, “What an absurd question?” The 24 Ghanta correspondent who had filled in the shoes of an impromptu host had asked, “Mr. Uday Mani, is Gorkhaland viable?” Uday Mani controlling himself did go on to on to explain the viability of Gorkhaland but all of his remarks were of no consequence since the show ended with a 24 Ghanta declaration…. “We would like to end this show hoping that everything is resolved and peace returns back to Darjeeling Hills, without ever having to divide Bengal”. An anticlimax for sure… I was so shocked that I immediately dropped writing the names of the panelists and the hosts of the show…what a farce….if the verdict was already set even before the show was started… what was use of the show itself…unless, a distinct attempt had been made to malign the panelists back in Darjeeling - To debunk the aspirations of Gorkhaland and to make it known to all that ‘Autonomy’ was all that the ‘Hill People’ ever wanted. How did 24 Ghanta reached to the conclusion that Bengal should not ‘ever’ be divided? How did 24 Ghanta reached to the conclusion that peace ‘return back’ to Darjeeling Hills? Is there a Civil War going on in the Hills – An armed mutiny where the people have been forced to face mortal threat. Has the nation been held to ransom as the national media have been ranting all along? Absurd, is the only word that comes to my mind…. The presumptions that our fellow Television and National Daily Scribes seem to make even though being stationed in Darjeeling leaves much to be asked for. I wake up early in the morning, go for a walk, return home and pursue all my endeavours without ever having to for once being worried for the safety of my well being. I wonder what kind of violence are these scribes and these Television News Reporters talking about. The violence, they are talking about never did occur in the Hills or the Dooars Terai. In fact, whatever, violence that occurred, occurred at fringes of Siliguri like Hamiltonganj, Kalchini, Methibari etc where Amra Bangali and Jana Jagaran Cadres Gorkha dominated areas. If the Government or the media has to wish for the return of peace, it would have to be these areas.

I cannot teach and preach about Journalism but then again after authoring two books on the same and both of them being now in their 4^th editions, I think I ought to indulge in pointing out some facts if not challenging the very ethics that fuels the editorial policies of these organizations. Journalism must be candid. It should not portray shades of truth instead of one, naked unadulterated truth. In fact, I am of the view that beyond truth there should be no other things. We, as journalists should learn to tread away from the obvious, for the obvious might not always be the truth. While I will not go to the extent of calling these papers and news media as mouth pieces of political parties, in power or in opposition, I will like to state that Journalism or Mass Media as a whole, have begun a trend of going ‘in the popular way’ – reporting what the majority people wants. The result is that instead of the ‘right’ thing being published, the ‘most popular’ thing is published. If ‘Bengal cannot be divided’ is the most ‘popular’ and hence most ‘saleable’ news then go with it. This applies as much to the local press in the Hills and Dooars Terai as it does in Kolkata or in the capital of the nation. The Press as a result is slowly but steadily losing its objectivity. Instead of being an eye-witness to the happenings it is becoming part of the happenings. There are so many examples of such media organizations today, that it becomes almost impossible to find a candid, unbiased journalistic endeavour. This is perhaps symptomatic of the society we live in.

The only thing that I can do today is hope that out there, there are still dedicated scribes for whom their craft is not just a job but a duty with a great, great responsibility!

Siliguri, June 18: Darjeeling’s Zila Sainik Board today frowned on some former soldiers for raising pro-Gorkhaland slogans at a war memorial but couched its anguish in an appeal for the monument’s “sanctity to be maintained”.

The appeal was issued by board secretary Captain (retd) A.K. Saxena through a letter that referred to the June 8 demonstration by members of the Bharatiya Gorkha Bhutpurva Sainik Morcha before a team of visiting MPs. The forum is affiliated to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

“It is a matter of concern that some ex-servicemen, in proper attire and medals, raised slogans with flags and banners,” said Saxena.

“...their action that day has been to the detriment of the uniformed services and the sanctity of the war memorial....”

The memorial, at Batasia Loop, 5km from the hill town, was built in memory of the Gorkha martyrs.

Sainik Morcha president Colonel (retd) Ramesh Allay said: “We wanted to deliver a letter to the parliamentarians. The authorities had told us the best place to meet them would be the memorial.”

Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) still gets money but Darjeeling’s crumbling infrastructure is raising questions on how well the grants were used writes Rajdeep Datta Roy

The accounts of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, an autonomous body founded in 1988 under an Act for the “social, economic, educational and cultural advancement” of the people of Darjeeling, have not been audited for 20 years. [Inset: Lal Kothi. The DGHC Secretariat . A Photo by Barun Roy]

Yet, the West Bengal government continued to fund the council, offering it Rs 300-400 crore in annual grants in recent years, according to the district administration. While the money was spent, reportedly on building bridges and roads, Darjeeling’s crumbling civic infrastructure—perennial water shortages, roads in shambles—is raising questions on how well the grants were used, say some local activists.

“We estimate Rs 4,000-5,000 crore was given to the (council) by various agencies (since its inception), but nobody knows on what it was spent,” alleges D.K. Pradhan, a leader of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha, or GJM, which has been demanding a separate state for the Gorkhas.

Pradhan was earlier a member of the Gorkha National Liberation Front which, between 1982 and 1988, led an agitation in the hills with similar demands. A settlement was reached in August 1988 when the state agreed to create the council and give it executive power to oversee public works, health, agriculture, water resources, forest management and other administrative functions in Darjeeling.

The council was headed by chief, Subhash Ghisingh, since inception, until he stepped down in March. Ghisingh, now somewhat of a recluse, couldn’t be reached. His party, too, has disappeared, with almost all its supporters joining the GJM.

“The council used to carry out some kind of an internal audit, but that was an eyewash,” says Pradhan, who fought alongside Ghisingh in the 1980s. “He (Ghisingh) unleashed a reign of terror and forced us to keep quiet.”

Even GJM leader Bimal Gurung and general secretary Roshan Giri, who now lead the ongoing agitation in Darjeeling, were close associates of Ghisingh earlier but chose to remain silent during the GNLF’s regime. The state government, on its part, has never insisted on an audit.

“Our policy was to keep interference at a minimum so that Ghisingh was happy and the hills were peaceful,” says a joint secretary at the home department of the West Bengal government, on condition of anonymity.

Says the state’s urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya, who until last week had additional charge of hill affairs: “I know the accounts of DGHC had not been audited till 1998-99. I have even raised the issue in the assembly. But I am not sure what happened since and I don’t want to discuss the DGHC anymore.”

Bhattacharya stepped down as minister for hill affairs following clashes between activists of GJM and political outfits backed by the state’s ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Siliguri last week.

On 10 March, Ghisingh stepped down as council chief under pressure from the GJM, following which the state government has launched a “special audit” into its accounts, according to Rajesh Pandey, district magistrate of Darjeeling.

“I can’t say what happened before we took over. Some people say Ghisingh used to work like an autocrat, but   it’s rather amusing that people who now say these things were members of his party until lately,” says Pandey. He says the government didn’t audit until now because it would have been seen as an “intrusion into its autonomy”.

For a place famed for its schools, the hills of Darjeeling have just a lone option for higher education: The woefully short-staffed government college.

For Gorkha students, who can afford it, going to a college in Delhi or Bangalore is far more attractive. But for the majority who can’t, the college in the town and a couple more in the foothills are what they have to make do with.

“It is these sullen, disaffected youth who will create the biggest headache for the government in the days ahead,” warns a retired army colonel, who is now an adviser to Bimal Gurung, leader of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) agitating for a separate state, Gorkhaland.

“And the state of the government college is one of the biggest reasons for this disaffection,” he adds on condition of anonymity.

The Singamari residence of Bimal Gurung is teeming with student activists. Some have just come from Siliguri and other areas in the foothills, having run the gauntlet of anti-Gorkhaland activists. The litany of complaints ranges from physical assault to more subtle means of opposition.

“The SFI boys at Suresh Chandra College and Siliguri College refused to even accept the forms of hill students who had gone to seek admission to undergraduate courses,” said Keshav Raj, the organizing secretary of the GJM’s student wing, Vidyarthi Morcha.

The SFI, or Students’ Federation of India, is the student wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which leads the Left Front government in the state.

The government college in Darjeeling in Singamari—set up in 1947—caters to some 2,600 students from the hill subdivisions of Kurseong, Kalimpong and Darjeeling. “We need at least two more colleges as the population has burgeoned but the government has not opened any new colleges in the hills,” says Raj.

Darjeeling Government College Students at Fast Unto Death. Photo by Barun Roy [From the Beacon Online Archives]

The college has already turned into a breeding ground for activists, and the retired colonel’s words sound ominous in the light of recent rumours that the GJM is planning to raise a Gorkhaland police force and sending youth to Nepal for arms training.

Though the organization rubbishes the rumour, a local tea grower, requesting anonymity, said, “Remember the feared Gorkha National Volunteers (an activists’ group led by the erstwhile Gorkha National Liberation Front, or GNLF)? It had also started this way.”

The Darjeeling government college, Raj says, hasn’t had a full-time principal for six years now, has 47 posts of lecturers lying vacant and suffers from a “communication gap” between teachers and students.

The “gap” is predictable since there are only 70 teachers for 2,600 students. But what the students say is altogether different—the mostly Bengali teachers at the college cannot communicate with the Nepali-speaking Gorkhas.

“We’ve written to everyone, from the district magistrate to the chief minister to the governor, but all we’ve got are assurances,” Raj says, waving a sheaf of petitions.

The young men and women , who were earlier part of the Gorkha National Student's Front (GNSF), now swear allegiance to Gurung and the Vidyarthi Morcha.

“I admit the shortage of teachers but our hands are tied. It’s a problem with all government colleges across the state,” says Lalita Rai Ahmed, college officer in charge.

“We have to recruit teachers through the state public service commission and not enough are coming through,” says Ahmed, who has been running the college in the absence of a regular principal.

She, however, admits not many people are willing to work in Darjeeling. “They prefer to join government-aided colleges near their homes and there aren’t enough suitable candidates from the hills,” she says, rueing having to play the principal without being paid.

“That’s precisely why we want Gorkhaland because that will allow us to formulate our own recruitment norms for teachers,” said Sachin Gurung, general secretary of the college union. “We will be able to formulate our own syllabus and introduce more contemporary courses that will help us get jobs.”

Gomdhen Dhim, Upper Dumaram, Kurseong

Issue- Slavery of Tea Garden Workers since the British Raj…

Dogmatic Communists have ruled West Bengal for over a quarter of century now, nonetheless, they have in no way grasped the structure on which the Tea Gardens of Darjeeling and Doars is operationally managed.

Generations of same families living in Tea Gardens have been encouraged to enslave themselves and survive on penury. Even after the establishment of Darjeeling Hill Council, there were no initiations to free over 80,000 people of slavery and give them higher status of farmers who could own land on which their families have toiled for generations. Continually since the British Era, dependents of Tea Garden workers numbering close to 700,000 people living in 100 odd tea gardens in Darjeeling Hills and Dooars have no ownership right to their ancestral residential homes despite their private investment on extension, repair and maintenance. The status of their properties are limited to that of a “labour quarter” subject to lease contract of the management company and state as the land owners and not secured by individual legal documents in favour of the workers.

This has resulted in workers not being able to capitalize on their assets, thereby, forcing them to be continually be “bonded as a labour” of the company presently managing the Garden and it amounts to their ancestral land and residence being a form of collateral  submitted to the tea company in exchange of work and right to reside.

This current structure of ownership/management of Tea Garden is a continuation of British Raj structure and the status of tea estate workers has remained same ever since and the government of West Bengal never bothered to apply the famous communist dogma of “land to the tiller” here unlike the rest of Bengal. The feudalistic structure remained with White Bada Sahebs being replaced by Calcutta based Brown Sahebs continuing with the privilege of absolute rule but with no accountability on regulation, welfare and local development.

The Calcutta based Tea Companies govern over these local communities with absolute impunity and is only driven by top line sales and annual bottom line returns while West Bengal establishment continues to hand these companies semi administrative rights like distribution of utility services like electricity and telecom, maintenance of roads, primary health care etc while frame conditions for government outreach and sustainable development was further eroded during the Subash Ghisingh era in the Tea Gardens.

Very clearly, with dynamic market forces is driving the economic output of the Darjeeling and Doars Tea Garden settlements and West Bengal’s being a perennial under performer in market based economy isn’t West Bengal too  big a state to be managed properly and Darjeeling Hills and Doars too complex for Calcutta policy makers to comprehend ?

Furthermore, wouldn’t it be better for the people to Darjeeling Hills and Doars be given the right to form a superior administrative set up for local governance in any form or structure?

Issue-Despair in Dooars…

The state of Adivasi people in Doars area is in complete despair with every indicator about these communities being below state and national average. Indigenous people of Dooars like the Koch and Totos are completely lagging behind in all parameters of human development such as such as literacy percentage, per capita income, school enrollment percentage, access to higher education, access to medical services or unemployment percentage.

We often hear about cases of suicides and hunger related deaths especially amongst the Adivasi community and further their indigenous language and culture is in process of being eroded owing to their strength of population numbers being diluted due to the arrival of mainstream ethnic Bengalis in traditional Adivasi land.

Evidently, the cause of the Adivasi community in Dooars and North Bengal has never being prominently featured in West Bengal’s governments’ priority list despite the Marxist government being one of the world’s longest ruling government.

Would you not agree that there will be a better focus on the development of these communities should Dooars be handled by a smaller and local administrative and legislative set up?

Issue-West Bengal not gaining the required Momentum for Growth…

India as a nation has one of the fastest growing economies and is being lauded for the continuous growth that it has managed since last one decade, however, many independent studies continues to place West Bengal in the bottom rung of investment attractiveness and lags behind in all the parameters in creating investment friendly environment.

Years of cadre driven philosophy of Marxist Government has infiltrated all institution of government, including the law and order machinery hence the West Bengal has not been able to attract neither domestic nor foreign investment thereby not being able to create employment and opportunities for it’s people to partake.

Darjeeling and Dooars possesses unique potential in the areas of specialized agriculture, floriculture, hydropower, handicrafts for exports, non timber forest products such as medicinal and aromatic plants and furthermore on service sectors such as Tourism and Information Technology Enabled sectors ( ITES).

Would not it better for an empowered local government to harness these potential as Planners sitting in Calcutta has failed categorically to start any initiation to facilitate Darjeeling Hills and Dooars join and contribute to the growth momentum of larger Indian economy?

Issue-Weak Governance and failure of service delivery…

Governance either federal, state or local is the key issue and will continue to be a key issue and governments world wide including some  state governments within India are embarking on steep learning curve to improve government services such essential utilities, tighter regulations on environment, justice delivery, human rights, law and order, education, health, employment and broad based local economic development and other continuously evolving infrastructural requirement such as telecom, transport and digital communication.

Innovative programs have been designed at macro, meso and micro levels of governance to enhance the delivery of these services by many governments, nevertheless, one never hears of West Bengal government being creative and committed for any such programs.

In actual fact, for example, West Bengal Government’s Health care system is considered to be one of the poorest in the world and for years’ variety of independent media has highlighted the deplorable conditions of state run hospitals across West Bengal. Similarly, the state run educational facilities are poorly funded and the majority of public prefer privately run educational services despite the Marxist promises of competitive educational quality.

Would it not be better for Darjeeling and Dooars to create a small functional administrative, legislative and juidicial set up so that there is a complete accountability of the elected representative and allow powers of democracy to function?

Mr. Chettri is the patron of Beacon Online and an upcoming columnist with good deal of his works being published in The Himalayan Beacon and The Himalaya Darpan. He is presently stationed at Dubai, United Arab Emirates

I read in Himalaya Darpan in one of its issues this month that we are forming G.L.P (Gorkhaland Police).It was stated in the papers that males between 18 to 30 and females between 18 to 24 are allowed to enroll in the outfit. There was however a further condition that all the  recruits should be the  Gorkha Janmukti  Party (GJM) member.

I would like to inquire here as to why such a condition have been laid? Is Gorkhaland only for GJM  and not for other party supporters such as those of Congress, ABGL, GNLF among others? Aren't we repeating the same mistake committed by GNLF decades ago? The Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) treated the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council as its own enterprise and used it to recruit individuals solely from the GNLF party. We should not create any such discrepancy in the mind of the general populace again. People cannot be treated as per their political views or party membership. We must treat people by their abilities. Gorkhaland must be for the people of Gorkhaland not the members of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha alone.

We, the people of the District of Darjeeling are same and equal before the Law as dictated by the  Indian Constitution. We have right to Join or form any political parties. I am not against a single party domination in political hues in the Hills and Dooars Terai but Democracy must exist.There should not be any kind of partiality. Gorkhaland must be a corruption free state of India.

GANGTOK, June 17: The tiny, landlocked Himalayan State of Sikkim has become a victim of neighbourhood politics it has little to do with. The unrest in the neighbouring Darjeeling Hills, punctuated with frequent and unpredictable bandh calls have left Sikkim not only completely cut off from the rest of the country but with a huge dent in its exchequer. [Inset: The Capital City of Gangtok. Photo courtesy Shunya.net]

Sikkim is losing a staggering Rs 6 crore a day whenever the Darjeeling hills shut down and the National Highway 31A, the vital road link connecting Sikkim with West Bengal, is subjected to closure by the agitators. About 60 percent of the National Highway 31A connecting Sikkim runs through the Darjeeling District in West Bengal.

This figure is based on a survey conducted by the State department of Economics, Statistics, Monitoring and Evaluation in February this year. The survey was carried out during a two-day bandh called by the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) in Darjeeling around the same time. It calculated the daily financial loss suffered by various sectors in Sikkim because of the shutdown.

This figure includes losses in terms of revenue loss in taxes and losses incurred by businesses, taxis, companies, losses in exports and imports; and losses incurred by hotels.
The per day loss is estimated to be around Rs. 7 Crores during the peak tourist season of April, May and June.

The highest loss is suffered by businesses - a huge Rs. 1.65 crores in lost profits in a single day; followed by the losses suffered by State government to revenue loss from VAT and Sales Tax - Rs. 1.54 crores. The State exchequer also loses Rs. 1.1 lakhs in excise duty on import and another Rs. 15,000 on tax on animal imports, taxis plying on the highway (Rs 75 lakh), goods carriers (12 lakh) and various industrial and manufacturing companies (Rs 64 lakh).

The per day loss suffered by the State’s economy every time National Highway 31A becomes out of bounds for Sikkim traffic, whenever some political outfit calls a bandh in the Darjeeling Hills or in Siliguri, is enough for the Sikkim Government to worry about.

As if landslides along the National Highway 31A during the Monsoons were not enough to paralysis normal life in the State, the bandhs have added to the problems the State has to face.
The closure of National Highway 31A means that the vital supply line to Sikkim is completely blocked. The supply of essential commodities, including foodgrains, fruits and vegetables, and petroleum products (petrol, diesel and LPG) is snapped as the State has to completely depend on the Siliguri market for the supplies.

With the supply line cut off, the prices of foodgrains and vegetables shoot up, with inflation in the State going up by almost 50 percent. It also means untold hardships to local residents travelling to outside of the State for personal works, medical treatment or securing admissions in Colleges across the country.

When the GJMM called the indefinite strike earlier this month, the State was forced to ration the distribution of LPG and fuel from various depots and petrol pumps. Sikkim remained cut off from the rest of the country for four days following the simultaneous bandh call by another outfit opposed to GJMM in Siliguri. The Highway remained closed which led to a mass exodus of tourists from the State.

The agitation for a separate state of Gorkhaland has surfaced again, and the recent clashes between the GJMM and those opposed to the idea of a separate state of Gorkhaland have once brought to light the unnecessary hardship that Sikkim has to endure, caught in a struggle it has little to do with.

The strategy adopted by the GJMM is similar to the strategy its predecessor GNLF adopted 20 years ago when the Gorkhaland movement gathered momentum. Block the National Highway 31A and choke the vital lifeline of Sikkim. This may be seen as a tactic-pressure on Sikkim to perhaps support the Gorkhaland demand more openly than before or force the Centre to accept the demand for Gorkhaland keeping in mind the hardships Sikkim faced because of the unrest in its neighbourhood.

The hardships faced by Sikkim are manifold and as said by the Chief Minister Pawan Chamling on many occasions, the State cannot be held at ransom. Chief Minister Chamling has said time and again that National Highways belonged to the nation and to forcefully keep it closed on the pretext of some political agenda by anyone would be anti-national and anti-Constitutional. Last week, Mr. Chamling wrote to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh informing him of the hardship the state is facing and asking for his personal intervention.

The GJMM has, in the past, always refused to relax its frequent bandhs for Sikkim, although the State and its people have emotional and social ties with the Darjeeling Hills and have supported the demand for Gorkhaland. The Sikkim Government has brought up this matter a number of times before the Centre as well as the West Bengal Government but this issue has largely been ignored.

This time around too, the GJMM has declared that the National Highway 31A will be blocked during the indefinite bandh call starting Monday. While the State administration has assured that there is adequate stock of essential commodities like food grains petrol, diesel and LPG in the State to last at least a week, it will all depend on how long the bandh will continue or whether the Highway is opened for Sikkim.

Taking into consideration that the Monsoo