Held hostage for 104 days, courtesy the protracted bandh, the people of Darjeeling hills can at last breathe easy. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), which had convened the seemingly endless bandh to press for the separate state of Gorkhaland, has withdrawn the clampdown, with effect from 27 September.
The twists and turns that go into the withdrawal decision are many and complex. The GJM is no longer the monolithic structure that it used to be.
Also Watch: Gorkhas Explain Need & Demand for Separate State of “Gorkhaland”
Factions in the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha
The West Bengal government has succeeded in driving a wedge so deep into the party that it has split into a moderate section headed by Binay Tamang, and a hardline group headed by the founding president of the party, Bimal Gurung.
Supported by the West Bengal government, Tamang, a former Gurung aide, is now curiously the ad hoc custodian of the caretaker board heading the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), which the GJM, under Tamang’s active stewardship, had trashed during the height of the current movement.
On the other hand, Gurung, slapped with Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and other sections of the law amounting to sedition, is on the run.
It is widely believed that he has taken refuge in the tri-junction of Bengal, Sikkim, and Nepal, and is operating through a set of loyalists. His influence, however, has diminished, which is one of the reasons behind the withdrawal of the bandh.
Gurung is in Trouble
Since the agitation began on 8 June and the bandh followed thereafter, Gurung had squarely refused to talk with the Mamata Banerjee government to end the deadlock. He had assured to withdraw the bandh only after talks with the Centre on the Gorkhaland issue.
Although the GJM is a part of the NDA, and had supported the BJP to secure the MP from Darjeeling constituency in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Centre had not responded to Gurung’s demand for long, even though the Union home minister Rajnath Singh had met GJM delegations at least twice in the interim.
That was the opening Gurung was looking for and withdrew the bandh forthwith. His rigidity, despite the inconvenience caused to the people in the past 104 days, had finally paid off.
That is the immediate reason, which the anti-Gurung camp is reading as a pretext, and they might not be far off base. Gurung is in trouble, both politically and personally, and it would take some doing for him to haul back his political career, which at this point looks done and dusted.
Also Read: Five Reasons Why A Separate State of Gorkhaland is Not A Reality
Bengal Govt Turns the Heat on Bimal Gurung
The Mamata Banerjee government has turned the heat on him so much that if he were to surface, it would mean courting arrest. In fact, a Bengal police team had raided a suspected hideout of Gurung’s in Sikkim in August.
Although Gurung managed to escape, the incident left a sour taste between the Bengal and Sikkim authorities.
In a follow-up, the West Bengal police also raided a Gurugram address last week to arrest the GJM general secretary, Rosh Giri, who has stuck with Gurung through thick and thin so far. Although the police team could arrest three GJM leaders from the address, Giri managed to give them the slip.
Keeping Gurung on the run serves the Bengal government just fine. It is one sure way of eroding the political grip he has on the hills.
The West Bengal government has already suborned Binay Tamang away from Gurung, and has propped him and his associates as the political guardians in the hills dangling the development candy.
Politics of Bandh
If the people accept the arrangement, Gurung’s political future is seriously in jeopardy. The Gorkhaland aspiration is final in every hill resident’s heart, which had prompted them to accept all the inconvenience the 104-day bandh had brought. But, there is a limit to everything, and overdoing the bandh has not increased Gurung’s popularity.
A wind of discontent had meanwhile started blowing across the hills, with people indicating in bits and pieces that they had grown tired of the bandh. Encouraged by the state government and the presence of large contingents of security personnel, the people resumed daily activities like opening a shop here, plying a vehicle there, going to office, etc, defying the bandh edict.
Had the practice caught up and normal life resumed before Gurung withdrew the bandh, it would have been sheer loss of face and politically, curtains for him. Withdrawing the bandh, now that the Centre has consented for talks, was therefore the sane thing to do, which he did.
Also Watch: Darjeeling Simmers: Bimal Gurung Explains The Gorkhaland Demand
Choosing the ‘Representative’ for Talks
Then there is ‘Dasain’, as the Durga Puja festival is referred to in the hills. Like in the plains of the state, ‘Dasain’ is the mother of all festivals in the hills too. Holding life to ransom during ‘Dasain’ is akin to committing political hara-kiri. No fatwa would have kept the people indoors or stopped them from observing even a listless festival. The timing of the Centre’s assurance for talks was therefore heaven-sent for Gurung, providing him the escape hatch.
But now comes the interesting part. Which faction of the GJM would the Centre hold dialogue with? Gurung has expelled Binay Tamang from the party, but the West Bengal government is recognising him as the official GJM negotiator for the hills and has provided him administrative powers.
Neither Gurung nor the West Bengal government is keen to negotiate with each other on the hill situation. Moreover, lookout notices have been issued against Gurung and the GJM secretary, Roshan Giri, which make them fugitive in the eyes of the law. Will the Centre hold talks with Gurung or Giri against the express wishes of the West Bengal government?
If yes, that would introduce a constitutional and legal confusion as law and order is a state subject. Conversely, if the Centre chooses to engage with Binay Tamang and company as the chosen one of the West Bengal government, Gurung and his camp would reject it outright.
There is a third option – to bring both camps along with all other marginal, but nevertheless ticking political organisations of the hills to the negotiation table. A solution to the impasse, albeit provisional, is the need of the hour. The people of the hills have suffered enough. Ask them.
(The writer is a Siliguri-based journalist. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)
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