The crowd at Darjeeling’s Chowk Bazar that had gathered to listen to Madan Tamang while a police van stands guard. Picture by Suman Tamang

Darjeeling, May 15: The contents of a letter sent by the Kamtapur Progressive Party (KPP) to the home ministry two years ago has left Bimal Gurung’s party red in the face as it says the Gorkhas are “actually…not Indians”.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha of which Gurung is the president and the Atul Roy led KPP has in recent times forged an alliance to support each other’s statehood cause. While the Morcha wants Gorkhaland, the KPP has been demanding Kamtapur.

The letter dated November 28, 2005, followed soon after the state and the Centre decided to sign a memorandum of settlement to include the Darjeeling hills within the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

“The domiciled Gorkhas who are presently living in the hill region of Darjeeling, actually, are not Indian, nor are they recognised as ST. Historically, during the British rule in India, the Gorkhas were brought to the region by the British Government for extension and development of tea industry,” the letter to home minister Shivraj Patil reads. It was signed by Roy and endorsed by Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Kamtapur Unit (West Bengal).

Copies of the letter were today distributed to the media by Madan Tamang, the president of the ABGL: “If this letter is forged you can take me to court. However, it this is true, then you (Morcha) should immediately break this alliance with the signatories.”

Roy, however, said he had merely copied the content of the letter from a white paper published by the Left Front during the Gorkhaland agitation. “Vested interests are trying to create problems. I have already made my stand clear in various public meetings and we support the demand for Gorkhaland,” said Roy.

The Morcha, which was caught by surprise, did not react immediately. “We will talk to Atul Roy first,” said Roshan Giri, the general secretary of the Morcha.