Gorkhas of Arunachal, Tripura rally for Bengal protesters

Tripura tribal party hold protests backing Gorkhaland

Itanagar: Gorkhas in Arunachal Pradesh brought out a rally here this evening in support of the ongoing movement in Darjeeling hills for the creation of a separate Gorkhaland state. Gorkha men, women and children took part in the rally amidst heavy rains carrying pro-Gorkhaland placards and shouting slogans against the West Bengal government.

The rally, which started off from IG Park, culminated at the Itanagar Monastery where the protesters lit candles in memory of three persons who were allegedly killed in clashes with police in Darjeeling on June 17.

“We, the people of Arunachal Pradesh are not supporting the Gorkhaland movement because we want a land in Darjeeling or Kalimpong. We are doing it for our identity,” said All Arunachal Pradesh Gorkha Youth Welfare (AAPGYWA) president Shyam Ghatani.

AAPGYWA chairman Chanbir Sonar said that it was high time that Prime Minister Narendra Modi fulfil his promise made to the Gorkha community.

BJP’s manifesto before the 2014 Lok Sabha election had said that the party will “sympathetically examine” the demand for Gorkhaland.

The rally was also supported by various unions and organisations including All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union and All Nyishi Students Union.

Arunachal Pradesh has been a home to the Gorkha community for many decades. The Gorkha population in the state is said to be more than 1 lakh.

Meanwhile, the Tripura tribal party organised  rallies in 29 places across the state on Saturday to support the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state in West Bengal’s Darjeeling.

Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), a tribal based party in Left-ruled Tripura, held rallies and protest demonstrations in 29 places under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) areas.

“We not only support the separate Gorkhaland state in West Bengal, we also strongly condemn the atrocities on the leaders and members of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM),” IPFT President Narendra Chandra Debbarma told reporters here.

The IPFT has for the past few years been agitating for the creation of a separate state, carved out by upgrading the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) area.

The TTAADC was formed in 1987 under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to protect and safeguard the political, economic and cultural interests of the tribals.

The IPFT has announced blockading of National Highway-8 and the rail tracks for an indefinite period from July 10 in support of their demand.

NH-8 maintains the surface connection between the land-locked state and the rest of the country through Assam.

The politically-important TTAADC constitutes two-third of Tripura’s 10,491 sq km area and 1,216,465 (mostly tribals) of the state’s total 37 lakh population reside in the areas.Almost all the political parties in Tripura have opposed the IPFT’s demand for a separate state. (Agencies)