Darjeeling

Darjeeling (Bengali: [ˈdarˌdʒiliŋ],
Nepali: [darˈdziːliŋ]) is a city and a
municipality in the Indian state of West
Bengal. It is located in the Lesser
Himalayas at an elevation of 2,000 metres
(6,700 ft). It is noted for its tea industry, its
views of Kangchenjunga, the world's third-
highest mountain, and the Darjeeling
Himalayan Railway, a UNESCO World
Heritage Site. Darjeeling is the
headquarters of the Darjeeling district
which has a partially autonomous status
called Gorkhaland Territorial
Administration within the state of West
Bengal. It is also a popular tourist
destination in India.
 Darjeeling
City

A view of Darjeeling from the Happy Valley

Tea Estate

Nickname(s): The Queen of Hills

Darjeeling
 Location in West
Bengal, India
Show map of West Bengal
Show map of India
Coordinates:
Show27°3′N
all 88°16′E
Country  India

State West Bengal

District Darjeeling

Settled 1815, Treaty of

Sugauli

Founded by East India Company

Government

 • Type Municipal
Corporations in India

 • Body Darjeeling
Municipality

 • Chairman Pratibha Rai[1]

 • Vice-Chairman Sagar Tamang

Area
 • Total 10.57 km2
(4.08 sq mi)
Elevation[2] 2,042.16 m
(6,700.00 ft)

Population (2011)

 • Total 132,016

 • Density 12,000/km2
(32,000/sq mi)

Languages

 • Official Bengali and Nepali[3]

Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)

Postal Index Number 734101

Telephone code 0354
Vehicle registration WB-76 WB-77

Lok Sabha Darjeeling

constituency

Vidhan Sabha Darjeeling

constituency

Website darjeelingmunicipalit
y.org.in

The recorded history of the town starts

from the early 19th century when the
colonial administration under the British
Raj set up a sanatorium and a military
depot in the region. Subsequently,
extensive tea plantations were established
in the region and tea growers developed
hybrids of black tea and created new
fermentation techniques. The resultant
distinctive Darjeeling tea is internationally
recognised and ranks among the most
popular black teas in the world.[4] The
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway connects
the town with the plains and has some of
the few steam locomotives still in service
in India.
Darjeeling has several British-style private
schools, which attract pupils from all over
India and a few neighbouring countries.
The varied culture of the town reflects its
diverse demographic milieu comprising
Lepcha, Khampa, Gorkha, Newar, Sherpa,
Bhutia, Bengali[5] and other mainland
Indian ethno-linguistic groups. Darjeeling,
alongside its neighbouring town of
Kalimpong, was the centre of the
Gorkhaland social movement in the 1980s
and summer 2017.
Toponymy
The name Darjeeling comes from the
Tibetan words Dorje, which is the
thunderbolt sceptre of the Hindu deity
Indra, and ling, which means "a place" or
"land".[6]
 [Full screen]

Darjeeling
TE: tea estate, F: facility, T: religious place, I: institute
Abbreviations used in names – TE for Tea Estate
Owing to space constraints in the small map, the actual locations
in a larger map may vary slightly
All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen
map

History
Bringing in the Darjeeling tea harvest, circa 1890

The King of Sikkim in Darjeeling about 1900

The history of Darjeeling is intertwined
with that of Sikkim, Nepal, British India,
and Bhutan. Until the early 19th century,
the hilly area around Darjeeling was
controlled by the Kingdom of Sikkim[7] with
the settlement consisting of a few villages
of the Lepcha and Kirati people.[8] The
Chogyal of Sikkim had been engaged in
unsuccessful warfare against the Gurkhas
of Nepal.

From 1780, the Gurkhas made several

attempts to capture the entire region of
Darjeeling. By the beginning of the 19th
century, they had overrun Sikkim as far
eastward as the Teesta River and had
conquered and annexed the Terai and the
entire area now belonged to Nepal.[9] In the
meantime, the British Army was engaged
in preventing the Gorkhas from over-
running the whole of the northern frontier.
The Anglo-Nepalese War war broke out in
1814, which resulted in the defeat of the
Gurkhas and subsequently led to the
signing of the Sugauli Treaty in 1816.
According to the treaty, Nepal had to cede
all those territories annexed from the
Chogyal of Sikkim to the British East India
Company (i.e. the area between Mechi
River and Teesta River). Later in 1817,
through the Treaty of Titalia, the British
East India Company reinstated the
Chogyal of Sikkim, restored all the tracts
of land between the River Mechi and the
River Teesta to the Chogyal of Sikkim and
guaranteed his sovereignty.[10]

In 1828, a delegation of the British East

India Company (BEIC) officials on its way
to the Nepal-Sikkim border stayed in
Darjeeling and decided that the region was
a suitable site for a sanatorium for British
soldiers.[11][12] The company negotiated a
lease of the area west of the Mahananda
River from the Chogyal of Sikkim in
1835.[13] In 1849, the BEIC Superintendent
Archibald Campbell and the explorer and
botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker were
imprisoned in the region by the Sikkim
Chogyal. The BEIC sent a force to free
them. Continued friction between the BEIC
and the Sikkim authorities resulted in the
annexation of 1,700 square kilometres
(640 sq mi) of territory by the British in
1850. In 1864, the Bhutanese rulers and
the British signed the Treaty of Sinchula
that ceded the passes leading through the
hills and Kalimpong to the British.[10]
Further discord between Sikkim and the
British resulted in a war, culminating in the
signing of a treaty and the annexation by
the British of the area east of the Teesta
River in 1865.[14] By 1866, Darjeeling
district had assumed its current shape and
size, covering an area of 3,200 square
kilometres (1,234 sq mi).[10]

A view of the Darjeeling War Memorial, located at the

Batasia Loop of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.
Kangchenjunga is visible in the background.

During the British Raj, Darjeeling's

temperate climate led to its development
as a hill station for British residents
seeking to escape the summer heat of the
plains. The development of Darjeeling as a
sanatorium and health resort proceeded
briskly.[8] Arthur Campbell, a surgeon with
the Company, and Lieutenant Robert
Napier were responsible for establishing a
hill station there. Campbell's efforts to
develop the station, attract immigrants to
cultivate the slopes and stimulate trade
resulted in a hundredfold increase in the
population of Darjeeling between 1835
and 1849.[10][15] The first road connecting
the town with the plains was constructed
between 1839 and 1842.[8][15] In 1848, a
military depot was set up for British
soldiers, and the town became a
municipality in 1850.[15] Commercial
cultivation of tea in the district began in
1856, and induced a number of British
planters to settle there.[11] Darjeeling
became the formal summer capital of the
Bengal Presidency after 1864.[16] Scottish
missionaries undertook the construction
of schools and welfare centres for the
British residents, laying the foundation for
Darjeeling's notability as a centre of
education. The opening of the Darjeeling
Himalayan Railway in 1881 further
hastened the development of the
region.[17] In 1899, Darjeeling was rocked
by major landslides that caused severe
damage to the town and the native
population.[18]

Map of the station and its environs, ca 1914

Under the British Raj, the Darjeeling area
was initially a "Non-Regulation District", a
scheme of administration applicable to
economically less advanced districts in
the British India; acts and regulations of
the British Raj did not automatically apply
to the district in line with rest of the
country. In 1919, the area was declared a
"backward tract".[19] During the Indian
independence movement, the Non-
cooperation movement spread through the
tea estates of Darjeeling.[20] There was
also a failed assassination attempt by
revolutionaries on John Anderson, the
Governor of Bengal in 1934.[21]
Subsequently, during the 1940s,
communist activists continued the
nationalist movement against the British
by mobilising the plantation workers and
the peasants of the district.[22]

Darjeeling view, 1880

Socio-economic problems of the region
that had not been addressed during British
Raj continued to linger and were reflected
in a representation made to the
Constituent Assembly of India in 1947,
which highlighted the issues of regional
autonomy and Nepali nationality in
Darjeeling and adjacent areas.[22] After the
independence of India in 1947, Darjeeling
was merged with the state of West Bengal.
A separate district of Darjeeling was
established consisting of the hill towns of
Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong and some
parts of the Terai region. While the hill
population comprised mainly ethnic
Nepalis, the plains harboured a large
ethnic Bengali population who were
refugees from the Partition of India.[23] A
cautious and non-receptive response by
the West Bengal government to most
demands of the ethnic Nepali population
led to increased calls, in the 1950s and
1960s, for Darjeeling's autonomy and for
the recognition of the Nepali language; the
state government acceded to the latter
demand in 1961.[24]
The creation of a new state of Sikkim in
1975, along with the reluctance of the
Government of India to recognise Nepali
as an official language under the
Constitution of India, brought the
Gorkhaland movement to the forefront.[25]
Agitation for a separate state continued
through the 1980s,[26] included violent
protests during the 1986–88 period. The
agitation ceased only after an agreement
between the government and the Gorkha
National Liberation Front (GNLF), resulting
in the establishment of an elected body in
1988 called the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill
Council (DGHC), which received autonomy
to govern the district. Though Darjeeling
became peaceful, the issue of a separate
state lingered, fuelled in part by the lack of
comprehensive economic development in
the region even after the formation of the
DGHC.[27] New protests erupted in 2008–
09, but both the Union and State
governments rejected Gorkha Janmukti
Morcha's (GJM) demand for a separate
state.[28] In July 2011, a pact was signed
between GJM, the Government of West
Bengal and the Government of India which
includes the formation of a new
autonomous, elected Gorkhaland
Territorial Administration (GTA), a hill
council endowed with more powers than
its predecessor Darjeeling Gorkha Hill
Council.[29]

Geography
View of Kanchengjunga as seen from Darjeeling

Darjeeling is the main town of the Sadar

subdivision and also the headquarters of
the district. It is located at an elevation of
2,000 m (6,700 ft)[2] in the Darjeeling
Himalayan hill region on the Darjeeling-
Jalapahar range that originates in the
south from Ghum. The range is Y-shaped
with the base resting at Katapahar and
Jalapahar and two arms diverging north of
the Observatory Hill. The north-eastern
arm dips suddenly and ends in the Lebong
spur, while the north-western arm passes
through North Point and ends in the valley
near Tukver Tea Estate.[30] The hills are
nestled within higher peaks and the snow-
clad Himalayan ranges tower over the
town in the distance. Kanchenjunga, the
world's third-highest peak, 8,598 m
(28,209 ft) high, is the most prominent
mountain visible. On clear days Nepal's
Mount Everest, 8,850 m (29,035 ft) high,
can be seen.[31]
The hills of Darjeeling are part of the
Lesser Himalaya. The soil is chiefly
composed of sandstone and
conglomerate formations, which are the
solidified and upheaved detritus of the
great range of Himalaya. However, the soil
is often poorly consolidated (the
permeable sediments of the region do not
retain water between rains) and is not
considered suitable for agriculture. The
area has steep slopes and loose topsoil,
leading to frequent landslides during the
monsoons. According to the Bureau of
Indian Standards, the town falls under
seismic zone-IV, (on a scale of I to V, in
order of increasing proneness to
earthquakes) near the convergent
boundary of the Indian and the Eurasian
tectonic plates and is subject to frequent
earthquakes.[31]

Climate …
 Climate data for Darjeeling (1981–2010, extremes 1901–2012)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
Record high 18.9 19.2 24.0 26.7 25.7 27.7 28.0 28.5 27.5 26.0 24.5
°C (°F) (66.0) (66.6) (75.2) (80.1) (78.3) (81.9) (82.4) (83.3) (81.5) (78.8) (76.1)
Average 10.7 12.4 15.6 18.5 19.3 19.8 19.6 20.0 19.8 19.5 17.1
high °C (°F) (51.3) (54.3) (60.1) (65.3) (66.7) (67.6) (67.3) (68.0) (67.6) (67.1) (62.8)
Average low 1.5 2.9 5.7 8.8 10.6 12.8 13.4 13.4 12.4 10.5 6.3
°C (°F) (34.7) (37.2) (42.3) (47.8) (51.1) (55.0) (56.1) (56.1) (54.3) (50.9) (43.3)
Record low −7.2 −6.4 −4.8 0.0 1.4 6.6 3.9 8.0 6.2 3.2 −4.4
°C (°F) (19.0) (20.5) (23.4) (32.0) (34.5) (43.9) (39.0) (46.4) (43.2) (37.8) (24.1)
Average
13.5 14.0 30.8 76.9 137.9 466.0 656.7 528.2 379.7 59.1 14.4
rainfall mm
(0.53) (0.55) (1.21) (3.03) (5.43) (18.35) (25.85) (20.80) (14.95) (2.33) (0.57)
(inches)
Average
1.1 1.5 2.8 6.8 10.5 18.8 22.9 21.7 14.9 2.9 0.6
rainy days
Average
relative
humidity 81 78 75 78 88 93 94 92 90 84 75
(%)
(at 17:30 IST)
Mean
monthly
167.4 141.3 145.7 147.0 151.9 72.0 77.5 102.3 96.0 167.4 189.0
sunshine
hours
Mean daily
sunshine 5.4 5.0 4.7 4.9 4.9 2.4 2.5 3.3 3.2 5.4 6.3
hours
Source 1: India Meteorological Department[32][33]
Source 2: Deutscher Wetterdienst (sun 1891–1990)[34]

Darjeeling has a temperate climate

(Köppen: Cwb,[35] subtropical highland
climate) with wet summers caused by
monsoon rains.[36] The annual mean
maximum temperature is 14.9 °C (58.8 °F)
while the mean minimum temperature is
8.9 °C (48.0 °F),[2] with monthly mean
temperatures ranging from 6 to 18 °C (43
to 64 °F).[35] The lowest temperature
recorded was −5 °C (23 °F) on 11 February
1905.[2] The average annual precipitation
is 3,092 mm (121.7 in), with an average of
126 days of rain in a year.[2] The highest
rainfall occurs in July.[32][35] The heavy and
concentrated rainfall that is experienced in
the region, aggravated by deforestation
and haphazard planning, often causes
devastating landslides, leading to loss of
life and property.[37][38] Though not very
common, the town receives snow at least
once during two winter months of
December and January.[39]

Flora and fauna

Tea plantations in Darjeeling

Darjeeling is a part of the Eastern

Himalayan zoo-geographic zone.[40] Flora
around Darjeeling comprises sal, oak,
semi-evergreen, temperate and alpine
forests.[41] Dense evergreen forests of sal
and oak lie around the town, where a wide
variety of rare orchids are found. The
Lloyd's Botanical Garden preserves
common and rare species of plants, while
the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological
Park specialises in conserving and
breeding endangered Himalayan
species.[42] The town of Darjeeling and
surrounding region face deforestation due
to increasing demand for wood fuel and
timber, as well as air pollution from
increasing vehicular traffic.[43]

Forests and wildlife in the district are

managed and protected by the Divisional
Forest Officer of the Territorial and Wildlife
wing of the West Bengal Forest
Department.[40] The fauna found in
Darjeeling includes several species of
ducks, teals, plovers and gulls that pass
Darjeeling while migrating to and from
Tibet.[44] Small mammals found in the
region include small Indian civets,
mongooses and badgers.[45] TA
conservation centre for red pandas
opened at Darjeeling Zoo in 2014, building
on a prior captive breeding program.[46]

Civic administration
Darjeeling Municipality Building

The Darjeeling urban agglomeration

consists of Darjeeling Municipality and the
Tukvar Tea Garden (Tukvar valley).[47]
Established in 1850, the Darjeeling
municipality maintains the civic
administration of the town, covering an
area of 10.57 km2 (4.08 sq mi).[47] The
municipality consists of a board of
councillors elected from each of the 32
wards of Darjeeling town as well as a few
members nominated by the state
government. The board of councillors
elects a chairman from among its elected
members;[30] the chairman is the executive
head of the municipality. The Gorkha
Janmukti Morcha (GJMM) holds power in
the municipality As of 2011.

From 1988 to 2012, the Gorkha-dominated

hill areas of Darjeeling district were under
the jurisdiction of the Darjeeling Gorkha
Hill Council (DGHC). In 2012, the DGHC
was replaced by the Gorkhaland Territorial
Administration (GTA). The elected
members of this body are authorised to
manage certain affairs of the hills,
including education, health and tourism.
Law and order in Darjeeling town comes
under the jurisdiction of the district police
force, which is a part of the West Bengal
Police; a Deputy Superintendent of Police
oversees the town's security and law
affairs. Darjeeling municipality area has
two police stations at Darjeeling and
Jorebungalow.[48]

Civil utilities

Mall Road
Natural springs in the Senchal Range
provide most of Darjeeling's water supply.
Water collected is routed through stone
conduits to two lakes that were
constructed in 1910 and 1932, from where
it is piped to the town after purification at
the Jorebungalow filtration plant.[49]
During the dry season, when water
supplied by springs is insufficient, water is
pumped from Khong Khola, a nearby small
perennial stream. Increasing demand has
led to a worsening shortfall in water
supply; just over 50% of the town's
households are connected to the
municipal water supply system.[30] Various
efforts made to augment the water supply,
including the construction of a third
storage reservoir in 1984, have failed to
yield desired results.[49]

The town has an underground sewage

system, covering about 40% of the town
area, that collects domestic waste and
conveys it to septic tanks for disposal.[50]
Solid waste is disposed of in a nearby
dumping ground, which also houses the
town's crematorium.[50] Doorstep
collection of garbage and segregation of
biodegradable and non-biodegradable
waste have been implemented since
2003.[51] Vermicomposting of vegetable
waste is carried out with the help of non-
governmental organisations.[52] In June
2009, in order to reduce waste, the
municipality proposed a ban on plastic
carrier bags and sachets in the town.[53]

Darjeeling got from 1897 up to the early

1990s hydroelectricity from the nearby
Sidrapong Hydel Power Station, such
being the first town in India supplied with
hydropower. Today, electricity is supplied
by the West Bengal State Electricity Board
from other places. The town often suffers
from power outages and the electrical
supply voltage is unstable, making voltage
stabilisers popular with many households.
Almost all of the primary schools are now
maintained by Darjeeling Gorkha
Autonomous Hill Council. The total length
of all types of roads within the municipal
area is around 134 km (83 mi).[54] The
West Bengal Fire Service provides
emergency services for the town.

Economy

Plucking the tea leaves in the traditional fashion

The two most significant contributors to

Darjeeling's economy are tourism and the
tea industry. Darjeeling tea, due to the
unique agro-climatic conditions of
Darjeeling, has a distinctive natural flavour,
is internationally reputed and recognised
as a geographical indicator. The office of
the Darjeeling Indian Tea Association
(DITA) is located at Darjeeling.[4] Darjeeling
produces 7% of India's tea output,
approximately 9,000,000 kilograms
(20,000,000 lb) every year.[28] The tea
industry has faced competition in recent
years from tea produced in other parts of
India as well as other countries like
Nepal.[55] Widespread concerns about
labour disputes, worker layoffs and closing
of estates have affected investment and
production.[56] Several tea estates are
being run on a workers' cooperative model,
while others are being planned for
conversion into tourist resorts.[56] More
than 60% of workers in the tea gardens are
women.[47] Besides tea, the most widely
cultivated crops include maize, millets,
paddy, cardamom, potato and ginger.[57]
Darjeeling had become an important
tourist destination as early as 1860.[15] It is
reported to be the only location in eastern
India that witnesses large numbers of
foreign tourists.[28] It is also a popular
filming destination for Bollywood and
Bengali cinema. Satyajit Ray shot his film
Kanchenjungha (1962) here, and his Feluda
series story, Darjeeling Jomjomaat, was
also set in the town. Bollywood movies
such as Aradhana (1969), Main Hoon Na
(2004), Parineeta (2005) and more
recently Barfi! (2012) have been filmed
here.[58][59]

Tourism
Tourist inflow into Darjeeling had been
affected by the political instability in the
region, and agitations in the 1980s and
2000s hit the tourism industry hard.[28][60]
However, since 2012, Darjeeling has once
again witnessed a steady inflow of both
domestic and international tourists.
Presently, around 50,000 foreign and
500,000 domestic tourists visit Darjeeling
each year,[61] and its repute as the "Queen
of the Hills" remains unaltered. According
to an India Today survey published on 23
December 2015, Darjeeling is the third
most Googled travel destination among all
the tourist destinations in India. Even
though there are political instabilities in
Darjeeling, its tourism rate is increasing
year by year. Many visit this place for food
specialities like momos, steamed stick
rice, and other steamed foods famous in
this region, as well as to see the natural
beauty of the area.[62]

Transport

The narrow gauge train often crisscrosses the street

Darjeeling "Toy Train"

Darjeeling can be reached by the 88 km

(55 mi) long Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
from New Jalpaiguri, or by National
Highway 55, from Siliguri, 77 km (48 mi)
away.[63][64] The Darjeeling Himalayan
Railway is a 600 mm (2 ft) narrow-gauge
railway that was declared a World Heritage
Site by UNESCO in 1999 for being "an
outstanding example of the influence of an
innovative transportation system on the
social and economic development of a
multi-cultural region, which was to serve
as a model for similar developments in
many parts of the world",[65] becoming
only the second railway in the world to
have this honour.[17][58] Bus services and
hired vehicles connect Darjeeling with
Siliguri and Darjeeling has road
connections with Bagdogra, Gangtok and
Kathmandu and the neighbouring towns of
Kurseong and Kalimpong.[63] However,
road and railway communications often
get disrupted in the monsoons because of
landslides. The nearest airport is
Bagdogra Airport, located 90 km (56 mi)
from Darjeeling.[63] Within the town, people
usually traverse by walking. Residents also
use two-wheelers and hired taxis for
travelling short distances. The Darjeeling
Ropeway, functional since 1968, was
closed in 2003 after an accident killed four
tourists.[66] It reopened in February
2012.[67]
Demographics

Colourful Buddhist prayer flags around Mahakal

Temple at Observatory Hill, Darjeeling.

St. Andrew's Church, Darjeeling. Built- 1843, Rebuilt-

1873
According to provisional results of 2011
census of India, Darjeeling urban
agglomeration has a population of
132,016, out of which 65,839 were males
and 66,177 were females. The sex ratio is
1,005 females per 1,000 males. The 0–6
years population is 7,382. Effective literacy
rate for the population older than 6 years
is 93.17 per cent.[68]

According to the 2001 census, the

Darjeeling urban agglomeration, with an
area of 12.77 km2 (4.93 sq mi), had a
population of 109,163, while the municipal
area had a population of 107,530.[47] The
population density of the municipal area
was 10,173 inhabitants per square
kilometre (26,350/sq mi). The sex ratio
was 1,017 females per 1,000 males,[47]
which was higher than the national
average of 933 females per 1000
males.[69] Gorkhas, speaking Nepali as
native language, form the majority which
includes indigenous ethnic groups such as
the Bhutia, Chhetri, Gurung, Lepcha, Limbu,
Magar, Newars, Rai, Sherpa, Tamang,
Yolmo, along with several other
denominations under the Indo-Aryan Khas
and the Mongoloid Kirats. Other
communities that inhabit Darjeeling
include the Anglo-Indians, Bengalis,
Biharis, Chinese, Marwaris, Rajbanshis and
Tibetans. The prevailing languages are
Nepali, Hindi, Bengali and English. Bengali
is prevalent in the plains while Tibetan is
used by the refugees and some tribal
people.[5] Dzongkha is spoken by the
Bhutias and the Tibetans.
Darjeeling has seen a significant growth in
its population, its decadal growth rate
being 47% between 1991 and 2001.[47] The
colonial town was designed for a
population of only 10,000, and subsequent
growth has created extensive
infrastructural and environmental
problems. The district's forests and other
natural wealth have been adversely
affected by an ever-growing population.
The official languages of Darjeeling are
Bengali and Nepali.[3]
Religion

Buddhist Temple in Darjiling. Sikkim, by Vasily

Vereshchagin (1874)

The predominant religions of Darjeeling

are Shaivite Hinduism and Vajrayana
Buddhism, followed by Christianity.[70]
Indigenous communities such as the
Lepchas, the Limbus, and many others,
also practice Animism and Shamanism
which is very often, but not always,
intermixed with the more mainstream
Hinduism and Buddhism.[71]

Dashain, Tihar, Losar, Buddha
Jayanti, Christmas are the main festivals.
Besides, the diverse ethnic populace of the
town also celebrates several local
festivals. Buddhist ethnic groups which
include the Tibetans, Lepchas, Bhutias,
Sherpas, Yolmos, Gurungs, and Tamangs
celebrate their new year, called Losar, in
January/February, Maghe Sankranti,
Chotrul Duchen and Tendong Lho
Rumfaat. The Kiranti Rai people
(Khambus) celebrate their
annual Sakela festivals of Ubhauli and
Udhauli. Deusi and Bhaileni are songs
performed by men and women
respectively, during the festival of Tihar. All
these provide a regional distinctness to
Darjeeling's local culture from the rest of
India. Darjeeling Carnival, initiated by a
civil society movement known as The
Darjeeling Initiative, is a ten-day carnival
held yearly during the winter with portrayal
of the Darjeeling Hill's musical and cultural
heritage as its central theme.[72]

Culture

Peace Pagoda at a Buddhist Temple

Tibetan Refugee Self Help Centre

The culture of Darjeeling is diverse and

includes a variety of indigenous practices
and festivals as mentioned above. Many of
the Nepali Hindus, as well as the various
Buddhist and other ethnic groups such as
the Lepchas, Bhutias, Kiranti Limbus,
Tibetans, Yolmos, Gurungs, and Tamangs,
have their own distinct languages and
cultures and yet share a largely
harmonious co-existence.

Colonial architecture characterizes many

buildings in Darjeeling, exemplified by
several mock Tudor residences, Gothic
churches, the Raj Bhawan, Planters' Club
and various educational institutions.
Buddhist monasteries showcase the
pagoda style architecture. Darjeeling is
regarded as a centre of music and a niche
for musicians and music admirers. Singing
and playing musical instruments are
common pastimes among the resident
population, who take pride in the traditions
and role of music in cultural life.[73]
Darjeeling also has a Peace Pagoda built-
in 1992 by the Japanese Buddhist
organisation Nipponzan Myohoji.

Cuisine
Due to the varied mix of cultures in
Darjeeling, the local and ethnic food of
Darjeeling is also quite varied. Rice,
noodles, and potatoes seem to make up
the dominant part of the cuisine partly due
to the cold climate. The most popular local
snack food are Momos, which are
steamed flour dumplings with meat or
vegetables fillings served piping hot with a
side of clear soup and hot homemade
tomato sauce. Locals love Alu Dom (Spicy
steamed potato curry) and various
versions of it are served. For example, they
add Wai Wai Mimi instant noodles over a
bowl of Alu Dom and call it Alu Mimi.[74]
Another popular food is Thukpa which is
of Tibetan origins. Thukpa is homemade
noodle soup with meat, eggs and/or
vegetables. Kinema, Chhurpi, Shaphalay,
(Tibetan bread stuffed with meat).[75]
Fermented foods and beverages are
consumed by a large percentage of the
population.[76] Fermented foods include
preparations of soybean, bamboo shoots,
milk and Sel roti, which is made from
rice.[77] Tea (esp. the butter tea) is the
most popular delicacy,[75] Alcoholic
beverages include Tongba, Jnaard and
Chhaang, variations of a local beer made
from fermenting finger millet.[75][78][79]
A bowl of Alu Mimi
 Tongba

Education
There are 52 primary schools, 67 high
schools and 5 colleges in the town.[50]
Darjeeling's schools are run either by the
state government or by private or religious
organisations. Schools mainly use English
and Nepali as their media of instruction,
although there is the option to learn the
official language Hindi and the official
state language Bengali. The schools are
either affiliated with the ICSE, the CBSE, or
the West Bengal Board of Secondary
Education.

Having been a summer retreat for the

British in India, Darjeeling became the
place of choice for the establishment of
public schools on the model of Eton,
Harrow and Rugby, allowing the children of
British officials to obtain an exclusive
education.[80] Institutions such as Mount
Hermon School, St. Robert's H.S. School,
St. Paul's School, St. Joseph's School -
North Point, Loreto Convent are renowned
as centres of educational excellence.[81]
Darjeeling has five colleges—St. Joseph's
College, Southfield College (earlier known
as Loreto College), Darjeeling Government
College, Ghoom-Jorebunglow Degree
College and Sri Ramakrishna B.T. College—
all affiliated to the University of North
Bengal in Siliguri.

Political unrest
See article Gorkhaland
See also
Chowrasta

Notes
1. "Pratibha Rai Takes Over As
Chairperson Of Darjeeling Municipal
Corporation" . Siliguri Times. 17
January 2018. Retrieved 19 November
2018.
2. "District Profile" . Official webpage.
Darjeeling district. Archived from the
 original on 17 August 2015. Retrieved
30 September 2015.
3. "Report of the Commissioner for
Linguistic Minorities in India: 50th
report (delivered to the Lokh Sabha in
2014)" (PDF). National Commissioner
for Linguistic Minorities, Ministry of
Minority Affairs, Government of India.
p. 95. Archived from the original (PDF)
on 8 July 2016. Retrieved 13 July
2015.
4. Srivastava 2003, p. 4024.
5. "People And Culture" . Official
webpage of Darjeeling District.
Archived from the original on 25
December 2008. Retrieved
26 November 2009.
. "Pre-Independence [Darjeeling]" .
Government of Darjeeling. Archived
from the original on 31 October 2015.
Retrieved 17 August 2015.
7. Dasgupta 1999, pp. 47–48.
. Dasgupta 1999, p. 51.
 9. Dozey, E. C. (1922). 1922 Darjeeling
Past and Present – A Concise History
of Darjeeling District since 1835.
University of Michigan Library. p. 2.
ASIN B00416COE4 .
10. "History of Darjeeling" . Official
webpage. Darjeeling district. Archived
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Retrieved 15 June 2011.
11. Dasgupta 1999, p. 50.
12. Lamb 1986, p. 69.
13. Dasgupta 1999, p. 47.
14. Dasgupta 1999, p. 48.
15. Lamb 1986, p. 71.
1 . Kenny 1995, p. 700.
17. "Mountain Railways of India" .
UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
UNESCO. Archived from the original
on 3 May 2006. Retrieved 15 June
2011.
1 . Gerard 1990, p. 258.
19. Borbara, Sanjoy (2003). "Autonomy for
Darjeeling: History and Practice" .
Experiences on Autonomy in East and
 North East: A Report on the Third Civil
Society Dialogue on Human Rights and
Peace. Mahanirban Calcutta Research
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21 July 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
20. Dasgupta 1999, p. 60.
21. "Darjeeling Hills plunges into the
Independence Movement" . Official
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22. Dasgupta 1999, p. 61.
23. Dasgupta 1999, p. 55.
24. Dasgupta 1999, pp. 61–62.
25. Dasgupta 1999, p. 62.
2 . Dasgupta 1999, pp. 63–64.
27. Dasgupta 1999, p. 65.
2 . Dhar, S. (2009). "Darjeeling protests hit
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44. Mackintosh 2009, p. 2.
45. Negi 1992, pp. 43–48.
4 . "Snow leopard, red panda get new
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The Indian Express. 27 June 2014.
 Archived from the original on 22
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47. "Table-4 Population, Decadal Growth
Rate, Density and General Sex Ratio by
Residence and Sex, West Bengal/
District/ Sub District, 1991 and 2001" .
Directorate of Census Operations,
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original on 27 August 2005. Retrieved
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4 . "Table-3 District Wise List of Statutory
Towns (Municipal Corporation,
 Municipality, Notified Area and
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Directorate of Census Operations,
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49. "Water Supply" . Official webpage.
Darjeeling municipality. Archived from
the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved
3 December 2009.
50. "General Information" . Official
webpage. Darjeeling municipality.
 Archived from the original on 8 July
2011. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
51. Aftab 2005, p. 186.
52. Aftab 2005, p. 187.
53. Dam, Mohana (11 June 2009).
"Darjeeling to ban plastic altogether" .
Express India. The Indian Express.
Archived from the original on 14
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54. "Roads" . Official webpage. Darjeeling
municipality. Archived from the
 original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved
8 January 2010.
55. "Darjeeling tea growers at risk" . BBC
News. 27 July 2001. Archived from
the original on 27 March 2012.
Retrieved 15 June 2011.
5 . Haber, Daniel B. (14 January 2004).
"Economy-India: Famed Darjeeling Tea
Growers Eye Tourism for Survival" .
Inter Press Service News Agency.
Archived from the original on 2 June
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57. "Agriculture" . Official webpage.
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original on 29 January 2012. Retrieved
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5 . Sudha Mahalingam (March 2001).
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destination" . Outlook Traveller.
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 Archived from the original on 7 May
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0. Dasgupta 1999, p. 66.
1. "Darjeeling hills showing highly
positive tourist inflow picture" .
timesofindia-economictimes.
Retrieved 30 December 2015.
2. "Top 10 Indian destinations searched
on Google in 2015 : Plus List, News -
India Today" . indiatoday.intoday.in.
Archived from the original on 31
 December 2015. Retrieved
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3. de Bruyn et al. 2008, p. 578.
4. "NH wise Details of NH in respect of
Stretches entrusted to NHAI" (PDF).
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Dasgupta, Atis (1999). "Ethnic Problems and
Movements for Autonomy in Darjeeling".
Social Scientist. Social Scientist. 27 (11–12):
47–68. doi:10.2307/3518047 .
JSTOR 3518047 .
de Bruyn, Pippa; Bain, Keith; Venkatraman,
Nilofer; Joshi, Shonar (2008). Frommer's
India . Frommer's. ISBN 978-0-470-16908-7.
Retrieved 8 January 2011.
Gerard, John (1990). Mountain environments:
an examination of the physical geography of
mountains . MIT Press. p. 317 . ISBN 978-0-
262-07128-4.
Kenny, Judith (1995). "Climate, Race, and
Imperial Authority: The Symbolic Landscape
of the British Hill Station in India". Annals of
the Association of American Geographers.
[Association of American Geographers,
Taylor & Francis, Ltd.] 85 (4): 694–714.
doi:10.1111/j.1467-8306.1995.tb01821.x .
JSTOR 2564433 .
Lamb, Alastair (1986). British India and Tibet,
1766–1910 (2nd ed.). Taylor & Francis.
p. 353. ISBN 978-0-7102-0872-9.
Mackintosh, L.J. (2009). Birds of Darjeeling
and India (2nd ed.). BiblioBazaar, LLC.
p. 322. ISBN 978-1-116-11396-9.
Negi, Sharad Singh (1992). Himalayan
wildlife, habitat and conservation . Indus
Publishing. p. 207. ISBN 978-81-85182-68-1.
Sarkar, S. (1999). "Landslides in Darjeeling
Himalayas, India". Transactions of the
Japanese Geomorphological Union. 20 (3).
pp. 299–315. ISSN 0389-1755 .
Srivastava, Suresh C. (2003). "Geographical
Indications and Legal Framework in India".
Economic and Political Weekly. Economic and
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Tamang, Jyoti P.; Sarkar, Prabir K; Hesseltine,
Clifford W (1988). "Traditional Fermented
Foods and Beverages of Darjeeling" (PDF).
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Further reading
Bradnock, R; Bradnock, R (2004). Footprint
India Handbook (13th ed.). Footprint
Handbooks. ISBN 978-1-904777-00-7.
Brown, Percy (1917). Tours in Sikhim and the
Darjeeling District (3rd (1934) ed.). Calcutta:
W. Newman & Co. p. 223.
ASIN B0008B2MIY .
Forbes, Andrew ; Henley, David (2011).
China's Ancient Tea Horse Road. Chiang Mai:
Cognoscenti Books. ASIN: B005DQV7Q2
Kennedy, Dane (1996). Magic Mountains: Hill
Stations and the British Raj . University of
California Press. p. 265. ISBN 978-0-520-
20188-0.
Lee, Ada (1971). The Darjeeling disaster:
Triumph through sorrow: the triumph of the six
Lee children. Lee Memorial Mission.
ASIN B0007AUX00 .
Newman's Guide to Darjeeling and Its
Surroundings, Historical & Descriptive, with
Some Account of the Manners and Customs
of the Neighbouring Hill Tribes, and a Chapter
on Thibet and the Thibetans. W. Newman and
Co. 1900.
Ronaldshay, The Earl of (1923). Lands of the
Thunderbolt. Sikhim, Chumbi & Bhutan.
London: Constable & Co. ISBN 81-206-1504-
2.
Roy, Barun (2003). Fallen Cicada - Unwritten
History of Darjeeling Hills (2003 ed.). Beacon
Publication. p. 223. ISBN 978-81-223-0684-2.
Saraswati, Baidyanath (ed.) (1998). Cultural
Dimension of Ecology. DK Print World Pvt.
Ltd, India. ISBN 978-81-246-0102-0.
Singh, S. (2006). Lonely Planet India (11th
ed.). Lonely Planet Publications. ISBN 978-1-
74059-694-7.
Waddell, L.A. (2004). Among the Himalayas.
Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7661-8918-
8.
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