Ajoy Edwards, the chief convener of Indian Gorkha Janshakti Front (IGJF) and the principal Opposition leader in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), is looking to team up with regional forces from Leh to the Northeast to fight the "tyranny of distance" from Delhi and make voices from the hills count.
The move comes in the wake of several Northeast leaders coming together. On November 4, Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma of the National People’s Party, Tripura leader Pradyot Debbarma of Tipra Motha, Daniel Langthasa of the People’s Party, Assam, and former BJP minister of Nagaland, Mmhonlumo Kikon, announced their decision for “a strong, unified, and indigenous political voice at the national level”.
On Monday, Pradyot Debbarma announced his meeting with Edwards.
“Lovely to have met Ajoy Edwards from the Indian Gorkha Janshakti Front (IGJF). Our ideas for a larger unity are similar; our demand for a constitutional solution for the Gorkha is Again similar to ours in Tripura. We should try to unite for a better future for our people,” stated Debbarma on his Facebook page.
Edwards, when contacted, validated Debbarma's post.
“The tyranny of distance, from Delhi to far-flung areas, have affected many. Our party is looking at forming an alliance right from Manipur to Leh-Ladakh,” Edwards told The Telegraph.
While the recent move of Meghalaya chief minister Sangma and Tripura leader Debbarma has been to unite the Northeast voices, Edwards added that his party was exploring the idea of a wider network.
“Regions like ours have very few representatives in Parliament. Sikkim just sends one MP; such is the case with many states and regions in the country. This is why forming a larger network helps as numbers are important in a democracy (to be heard),” said Edwards.
Edwards also added that technically Darjeeling was not yet part of the Northeast.
Darjeeling hills, the Dooars and the Terai regions are together the stretch that breaks the geographical contiguity of seven northeastern states with Sikkim.
Sikkim, north Bengal's neighbour, was included in the North Eastern Council (NEC) by the Centre in 2002.
Earlier, the NEC comprised seven states from Assam onwards.
