NEW DELHI, India:‘ Much media attention has been received lately by an agitation in the Darjeeling District of ‘West Bengal state in eastern India. Led by a retired Indian Army sargeant, Subhash Ghisingh, the agitation seeks to establish so called Gurkhaland state of Indian Citizens of Nepali origin. There have been violent incidents off and ‘on when supporters of the agitation clashed with the police or ‘members of the Communist Party of India Marxists — CPIM — which is the dominant party in the left front government of West Bengal.
Both before India became free some 40 years ago and after that, the India Nepal border has been an open one. Many people from Nepal came and settled in this country and became part and parcel of the multilingual, multi religious, and multiethnic society of India. Because of Darjeeling District’s proximity to Nepal and other factors, many of the Indian citizens ‘of Nepali origin are to be found in that district. The center of the region is, of course, the picturesque and (word indistinct) hill town of Darjeeling, famous for the tea named after it and for the breathtaking view of the world’s second highest mountain, Kanchenjunga, in the Himalayas.
But in recent months, the hills have been restless and there are fewer tourists going to Darjeeling, although the tea continues to be produced and packed for nearby Calcutta, the Bengal’s capital, and faraway London among other ~ places, Mr. Ghisingh has mobilized his followers for one agitation after another and caught the attention of the people from other parts of the country and of course of West Bengal state by his teachings and activities.
He is not only demanding a state of Gurkhaland but also has been asking for annulment of some clauses in the treaty of friendship between India and Nepal. On the second issue, his contention is that by permitting Nepali citizens free entry into India and equal rights with Indians, the treaty makes no distinction between Indian citizens of Nepali origin and the Nepali immigrants, The name Gurkha it self is of Nepali origin. The Gurkhas are a section of the people in Nepal who are famous for their excellent fighting qualities. Even now under an agreement between India and Nepal, Gurkhas from that country are recruited in the Indian Army
In a loose sense, all Nepal is Whether those from Nepal or those long settled in India are referred to as Gurkhas, hence the name Gurkhaland for the objective that Subhash Ghisingh and his Gurkha National Liberation Front have before them. There has been a controversy whether the demand for a separate state of Gurkhaland is a separatist and secessionist one or it is just another agitation for a state of Nepali speaking people in the Darjeeling District but within the Indian union, Mr. Ghising has done nothing to remove this confusion At some stage, he addressed appeals to the United Nations, some neighboring countries, and the big powers seeking broad support for his demands. This maturely caused concern within India that the movement had clear overtones of secessionism,
The West Bengal government and the ruling left front of which the CPIEM jis the major component are much concerned over the Gurkhaland agitation. Even if it means only a separate state within India, the Gurkhaland demand amounts to seeking a division of the West Bengal state. Darjeeling, the center of storm, is part and parcel of West Bengal. The state government has been calling for a clear cut statement of policy from the Government of India on the issue.
This came forth when the Prime Minister, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, was in Calcutta a few days ago to conduct a unique exercise aimed at removing bottlenecks in the ‘execution of development schemes in the state of West Bengal. Speaking to newsmen, Mr. Gandhi said that there will be no division of West Bengal and indeed no more states would be created in India. He thus categorically ruled ‘out any conceding of the demand for a separate Gurkhaland state ‘and set at rest the fears in West Bengal that the central government’s policy on the issue was equivocal. But having said that much, the Prime Minister also went on to clarify that the Gurkhaland demand was not antinational. In other words, in Delhi’s view the movement is not secessionist. Both the ruling party in West Bengal and the state government have been strongly of the view that Mr. Ghisingh’s agitation is a threat to national unity. Several others, including some newspapers, also shared the view. Mr. Rajiv Gandhi has made it clear that his government had carefully studied the ‘evidence on the agitation and sees no reason to deem it as secessionist. His clarification that no more states will be carved out of the existing states will also help to put the issue in some perspective.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 10, 1986
