The agitation for Gorkhaland in the hilly town of Darjeeling has been going on for almost a week. Police raids and protests have disrupted daily life.
The agitation was freshly revived after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made Bengali mandatory for classes I-X.
Coming under pressure after the protests, Mamata clarified that Bengali will be optional, not mandatory in the hills. Moreover, she said Nepali will be recognised as one of the official languages of the state, which is also one of the demands placed forth by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).
Mamata’s clarification did not decelerate the protest. It only intensified after security forces conducted raids in places connected to GJM workers. The BJP also had a hand in flaming the passions.
BJP Adding Fuel to Fire
After being elected as CM in 2011, Mamata Banerjee pushed for the formation of a Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), a semi-autonomous administrative body for the Darjeeling hills. The memorandum for the GTA was signed on 18 July 2011, and it was hoped that this would be the end to the Gorkhaland protest.
However, in 2013, GJM chief Bimal Gurung resigned from the GTA citing interference from the West Bengal government and renewed the agitation for Gorkhaland. That’s when the BJP jumped in.
In 2014, the BJP which has been trying to create a voter base in West Bengal made a reference to the demand for Gorkhaland. Hoping to find an ally in the GJM, it said:
The BJP reiterates that it will sympathetically examine and appropriately consider the long pending demands of the Gorkhas, the Adivasis and other people of Darjeeling district.
Since then, the BJP has only been adding fuel to fire. In 2015, Darjeeling MP SS Ahulwalia, further instigating the movement, had said:
The Biharis say they are from Bihar, the Punjabis say they belong to Punjab. When will the Gorkhas say that they belong to Gorkhaland? Their dreams should also come true.
Yet three years after being elected to power, the BJP has not lived up to its promises.
Gorkhaland Agitation Destructive for the Commoner
Over the last week, protesters and riot police clashed, after a series of raids uncovered more than 300 weapons, including arrows and explosives from premises connected with Bimal Gurung.
Does the average Darjeeling resident want to lose tons of money from the peak tourism season because of bandhs, have their kids’ studies disrupted because of protests or do they want a separate state to write at the bottom of their address?
GJM Disenchanted With BJP as Well
Although Gurung urged the people to stand against Mamata Banerjee in strongly worded messages, their protests and bandhs have much to do with the BJP titillating them with promises of statehood but never acting upon it.
Why won’t the BJP take a firm stand and address the issue? Why let Darjeeling continue to hope and thus, be subject to bandhs and turmoil every few months?
Video Editors: Purnendu Pritam and Ashutosh Bhardwaj
Cameraperson: Shiv Kumar Maurya
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)