2134022 Navaneet K

The Gorkhas are an ethnic minority living in the north of West Bengal. The
community is linguistically and culturally different from the rest of the population of Bengal.
As a result, people belonging to this community do not identify themselves as Bengalis and
there has been minimal cultural assimilation of this community to the Bengali-speaking
region over the years. The Indo-Nepal Treaty in 1950 and a series of steps by the West
Bengal state government have led to a feeling of isolation among the Gorkhas. This has led to
a series of tensions in regions ultimately leading to the demand for the Gorkhaland (a
separate state for the Gorkhas) in 1986 led by Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF)
leader Subash Ghising.

One of the major reasons behind the agitation is the lack of cultural recognition of the
Gorkhas. The Indo-Nepal Peace treaty was signed in 1950 by the Indian Ambassador to
Nepal Chadreshwar Narayan Singh and the last Rana Prime Minister of Nepal Mohan
Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana. Article 5, 6 and 7 of the treaty deals with the treatment of each
other’s citizens in terms of trade, protection, residence and economic matters. They also
allow the free movement of Nepalis across the nations. These articles have led to the belief
that Nepalis living in India are citizens of Nepal and therefore foreigners. A separate state for
the Gorkhas would, in their opinion solves this problem.

The West Bengal Government constituted the Siliguri-Jalpaiguri Development

Authority by granting regional autonomy to the Darjeeling Hill areas and declaring Siliguri-a
city. The local leaders argue that the step has isolated the Darjeeling hills. The West Bengal
government invested heavily on Siliguri. No heavy industry was set up in Darjeeling since
1988 while Siliguri has become the industrial hub of Northwest Bengal. The West Bengal
government has taken various initiatives to develop higher education facilities in Siliguri by
developing the North Bengal University. On the other hand, Darjeeling lacks any higher
education facilities. The new developments in Siliguri have reduced the flow of tourists into
Darjeeling leading to widespread resentment among the Gorkhas.

The drinking water supply was particularly scarce in urban areas of Darjeeling. It
could not cater to the growing population. As a result, Darjeeling faced water shortages
during summer, the peak tourist season. Road conditions were also appalling and prone to be
affected by landslides. The frequent landslides during the wet monsoon seasons kept the
region from the plains for long periods. Chronic power shortages and problems of low
voltage not only affected the local population but also the tourism industry. The Hills also
lacked higher educational facilities.

Tourism is the main source of income for the majority of households. But the lack of
infrastructure improvements has led to the region attracting fewer tourists over the years
rendering many educated youths unemployed. The youths were forced to leave for the plains
in search of work where they did not possess the local language. The increasing
unemployment led to a series of social problems. Drug use and the popularity of punk culture
increased among the youth. There was also a substantial increase in population. Deforestation
is another major issue in the region. Forest cover fell from 45% in 1951 to 23% in 1986. This
increased water scarcity, soil erosion and the aesthetic beauty of the region that the local
administration had to ban the felling of trees in the 1980s.

It was in these conditions that the 1986 agitation erupted. Hundreds of people died,
and thousands were injured. Many were rendered homeless. There was a substantial loss to
the local economy due to work stoppages, loss of tourist revenue and closure of tea gardens.
The infrastructural damage was substantial. The ecological balance of the region was also
affected. The agitation led to the deep separation between the majority Bengali and minority
Gorkha communities.

The rift between the communities further increased in 2017, when the West Bengal
government imposed the Bengali language in schools from classes 1 to 10. Several
households took to the streets demanding a circular for not making Bengali compulsory in the
hills. The protests became violent when three local activists were killed during clashes with
police in Darjeeling and Sonada on July 7. Police raids were intensified as two bomb blasts
took place in Darjeeling and Kampong in which one civic volunteer and two security
personnel were killed. The leader of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, Bimal Gurung went under
hiding as a notice of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act has been issued against him.
Although the protests have stopped, Bimal Gurung is still in hiding.

The question of linguistic independence is one of the core aspects of the Gorkha
community. Any attempt to impose language on the community increases tensions in the
region leading to more violence. The Gorkha community has been open to talks with the
centre regarding the share of power. But the multiple steps taken by the state government to
isolate the region have led to losing of trust in the state government and the Gorkhas are
looking more towards the centre to intervene in this matter.
 References

Rajat Ganguly (2005) Poverty, Malgovernance and Ethnopolitical Mobilization: Gorkha

Nationalism and the Gorkhaland Agitation in India, Nationalism and Ethnic
Politics, 11:4, 467-502, DOI: 10.1080/13537110500379286

NewIndianXpress. “2017: The Year When Darjeeling Hills Simmered in Gorkhaland

Movement .” The New Indian Express, The New Indian Express, 27 Dec. 2017,
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2017/dec/26/2017-the-year-when-
darjeeling-hills-simmered-in-gorkhaland-movement-1737026.html.

DATTA, P. (1991). THE GORKHALAND AGITATION IN WEST BENGAL. The Indian

Journal of Political Science, 52(2), 225–241. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41855553

Natasha Manhas and Mamta Sharma (2018); The 1950 Treaty of Peace & Friendship: An
Issue of Contention between India and Nepal; Int J Sci Res Publ 4(11) (ISSN: 2250-
3153). http://www.ijsrp.org/research-paper-1114.php?rp=P353356