There seems to be no end to the agitation for statehood in the Darjeeling hills. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) delegation led by Bimal Gurung met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and submitted a memorandum demanding separate Gorkhaland. The delegation reminded Modi of his statement during his Lok Sabha election campaign last year that the dream of Gorkhaland was his dream. The BJP manifesto has also assured sympathetic consideration of the demand of not only the Gorkhas but also of Adivasis and other people in the hills and the Dooars. Gurung has said that the delegation’s talks with the Prime Minister were positive and fruitful. Modi appreciated the work of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The GJM stressed the fact that it had been in alliance with the BJP for the past eight years and had always ensured the victory of the BJP candidate in Darjeeling since 2009. Furthermore, it supported the BJP in states like Uttarakhand and Assam.
Gurung alleged that the GTA could not satisfy the aspirations of Darjeeling people which caused sporadic unrest. They are deprived of social, educational and political empowerment by the West Bengal government and only a separate state could address their grievances. Gurung who is the undisputed leader of the Gorkhas after the death of Subhas Ghisingh emphasized that Darjeeling was never a part of West Bengal historically and that Gorkhas were ethnically and linguistically cut off from the state. Gurung may have a case. But Gorkhaland, unlike Telengana, would be too small a state to be viable. Besides, political parties in West Bengal—the Trinamool, the Left and the Congress-are united against Gorkhaland. Peace in Darjeeling based on devolution of powers will be a healthy remedy for the continuing impasse in the hills.
