(Upendra, a resident of Darjeeling, spoke to The Quint about the clash between the West Bengal government and pro-Gorkhaland supporters that has brought normal life to a standstill in the hilly region. Read his story here.)
In the hills of Bengal, the Darjeeling spirit is winning. An uneasy calm engulfs Darjeeling today. I am not sure if this is the calm before the storm or if my beloved town has entered a state of limbo from where there is no return.
For the past one month, people in Darjeeling, Tarai and Doors have vocally protested against the imposition of Bengali as a compulsory language in schools. The scale and scope of the protest has continued to increase. So much so, that today, people are certain they want a state of their own because they feel Bengal will never do justice by them. They feel they will always continue to be treated as second-class citizens in Bengal. While the Bengal government completely failed to gauge the seriousness of the issue, they have been equally brutal in taking down the protest and the protesters. So far, three activists have been shot dead by the security forces, and about 50 have been injured.
Yet the Bengal Police continue to claim that they never fired at any of protesters but video evidence from that day reveals otherwise.
If the government of West Bengal had its way, they would probably label all Gorkhas as terrorists and put us behind bars, but the spirit of our Hill people remains unconquered – kind hearted, simple and generous.
Various epithets have been used to describe the Hill people and nowhere are these qualities more exemplified than in the way they treat the security forces who have been sent to quell to their right to protest.
We were cleaning our monastery, when a young policeman poked his head inside and asked if we could give him a cup of tea. He was young, and he reminded us of the sons of our town, many of whom were serving in the Army. We said yes. He brought three other policemen with him, and we served them all some tea.
They drank the tea and thanked us. Later, they came and asked us if we could make them lunch. We agreed. But when they showed up, they brought ten others along. We didn’t know what to do because we had prepared lunch for only three. But we kneaded some dough, made some rotis, and served them lunch. Later on, some of us took them sight-seeing to some tourist spots nearby.
Then next day, we heard that these policemen were involved in tear-gas shelling in nearby Ghoom. That evening, almost all of them avoided meeting our eyes when we served them tea. Perhaps, they were embarrassed about what they had been made to do.
Yesterday, as these policemen evacuated our village, their officer came to our monastery, offered prayers, and left without saying a word.
Today, as we were cleaning our monastery halls, where they had stayed, we found a note with just one word written on it – “Sorry”.
At least the officer had the strength of character to apologise.
I wonder if Mamata will ever apologise for the dictatorship she has unleashed in the Hills. For the torture she had unleashed on the people of the proposed Gorkhaland region. Our right to freedom of speech and expression have been set ablaze, internet services have been blocked and local news channels have been banned.
As Bengal continues to enforce an unofficial Emergency, I want the people of the nation to know that all we are asking for is the protection of our language.
All we are asking for is a state of our own, Gorkhaland, within India. We do not want separation from India. We are Gorkhas and no matter how much Mamata maligns us, we are not terrorists.
Video Editor: Mohd Ibrahim
Catch updates of the Darjeeling protests here.
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