Going downhill

Sir — The situation developing in the hills brings ominous reminders of the Gorkhaland agitation of the Eighties when thousands of tourists suffered at the hands of the protesters. At that time it was Subash Ghisingh stoking the sentiment of the people of the hills. Now it is Bimal Gurung. It is strange that the issues that gave birth to the discontents then have remained unchanged, although almost twenty years have passed since then — stranger, since the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council was formed with the power and money to defuse the situation and yet it seems to have done nothing in the intervening years.

The crux of the problem paralysing the hills involves a question of identity — that of the Gorkhas of Darjeeling. But there is a need, as the editorial, “Down the slope” (June 11), points out, to separate the question from that of local politics. The DGHC has never tried to sort out the issue of identity. However, all this time, the coffers of its members have been fattened with the money meant for the welfare of the hill people. The DGHC has kept on accusing the state government of neglecting the welfare of the common man while the council’s members themselves have prevented funds from reaching the poor.

Now it is time for the members of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha to get rich. So they have duly revived the genie of separate statehood. However, this time they want even more power and wealth and hence are keen to start bargaining directly with the Centre. Needless to say, the real issue of identity will remain untouched. Discontent will grow until it comes to a boil. Meanwhile bandhs will continue to be thrust on the people, causing enormous damage to the economy of the hills.

Yours faithfully,
Kalyan Bandyopadhyay, Berhampur, Murshidabad

Sir — It is irresponsible of the GJM to announce an indefinite bandh in the hills, causing the tourists to vacate the place in haste (“Morcha pushes for ‘supreme sacrifice’”, June 10). The people of the hills should protest against this injustice. It is important for them to realize that all of them cannot benefit from a Gorkhaland, if it ever comes into being. The Gorkhas are not the only hill people. There are indigenous tribes such as the Lepchas and Bhutias too. They are peace-loving people who would hate to embroil themselves in any violence for the sake of a separate state. They have no anxiety regarding their identity since they have always lived in the hills of North Bengal and know that they belong there. It is the Gorkhas who are the outsiders. They are migrants from Nepal who have come and settled in the hills, upstaging the local tribes. A large population of the hill people, including the indigenous tribals and some among the Gorkhas, do not support the GJM or the Gorkha National Liberation Front. But they fear to speak out lest they be harmed by the militant cadre of the GNLF and the GJM.

If there is to be a separate state in the hills, it has to be led by sober, educated and selfless leaders. We do not want to be taken for a ride by people blinded by personal interests. The leadership of the GJM is as corrupt as that of the GNLF. The two parties have split in recent times only because of their over-ambitious leaders, not because one is more concerned about the people than the other. That the GJM does not care about the people at all is proved by the recent bandh, which put the tourism industry in jeopardy. Tourism is the backbone of the hill economy and the hardships of the common people will only increase if tourists stop coming. And a separate state, if it must be, should be called ‘Darjeeling’, and not Gorkhaland, since Gorkhas make up just one section of the population.

Yours faithfully,
V. Lepcha, Calcutta

Sir — The inconvenience caused by the indefinite strike in the hills is proved by the case of Vicky Biswakarma, the student who failed to sit for his philosophy examination because he could not reach his college in Malbazar (“Students miss examinations”, June 11). The bandh had shut down all transport in the area. If the GJM is indeed fighting for the rights of the people, then the least it can do is to ensure that the same people are not hit hard by the strike. If Biswakarma loses one year in college, will the GJM compensate?

Yours faithfully,
Cecil Yonzone, Kalimpong

Sir — The Nepalis inhabiting the Darjeeling hills are not the true ‘sons of the soil’ they make themselves out to be. They were encouraged to come across the Nepal border by a certain British commissioner of Darjeeling to work in the tea gardens and to participate in the development of Darjeeling as a hill resort. This is well documented in the book, Bayonets to Lhasa, by Peter Fleming. In a few years, the local Lepchas and Bhutias were overpowered by the aggressive, hardworking Nepalis. In the last 60 years, taking advantage of an almost open border with Nepal and the provisions of the Indo-Nepal treaty, which allows unfettered entry and work rights to Nepalis in India, the hills and the Terai of West Bengal have been overrun by Nepali migrants who are happy to occupy any roadside or forestland and eke out a living from marginal farming or casual labour.

West Bengal has borne the brunt of the Nepali ‘invasion’. The DGHC, set up almost 20 years ago, gave the people of Darjeeling statehood in almost all aspects except in name. But the council’s history has sadly been one of corruption, nepotism and self-aggrandizement.

In the interests of the hill people, more funds should be given to the DGHC, but under strict supervision and on condition of accountability. Further division of Bengal has to be resisted. There can be no justification of a state within India made up of just immigrants, so long as Nepal remains a sovereign neighbour of India.

Yours faithfully,
Subha Prasad Mookerjee, Calcutta