The 78-kilometer toy train line from NJP to Darjeeling is silent. Few are seen in the tea gardens. Tear gas shells counter the stones and bottles pelted at the police. The unrest over a long simmering separatist movement rattles the town which this time of the year keeps buzzing with tourists from all over India. Darjeeling is weeping and Gorkhaland which is a dream for the Gorkhas is now turning into a nightmare.

The sky remained cloudy even at dawn with tourists hurrying to leave the hills, bag and baggage at the earliest convenience. Tourists earlier stopped coming to Darjeeling. But after Mamata Banerjee had come to power, peace prevailed in Darjeeling and GTA was formed. Development projects were undertaken. People nearly forgot the ‘Gorkhaland ‘ aspirations and the Gurkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) inspired the people to be happy with Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and the developments works .

Suddenly after the Municipal elections where the GJM cut a very sorry figure, there is a pandemonium in the hills. Schools and colleges , banks and offices are closed. Life has come to a standstill. The GJM wants a new, separate state of “Gorkhaland” carved out of eastern West Bengal state, of which Darjeeling is a part. The decades –old imbroglio demands a permanent solution but no one knows the right one. It is unfortunate that there is some organized attempt to bring the Hill versus Plains issue to the limelight. More unfortunate is the attempt to show the fissure between Gorkhas and Bengali people. These unwarranted things have opened up a Pandora’s box.

Political analysts feel that Trinamul Congress which is becoming popular in the hills had kept GJM on the back-foot in the recent municipal elections. Bimal Gurung who suddenly seems to be unusually vocal about Gorkhaland is losing the image of Messiah for the hill people in spite of the recently declared support of Pawan Kumar Chamling for a separate state of Gorkhaland.

The hegemony of GJM is at stake and the followers of Gurung, who are behaving like club members instead of being responsible political leaders, are in a tizzy. Money was coming to the hills for development work but irregularities were found in audit and GJM leaders were found enjoying unexpected luxury while the poor people of Mirik , Kurseong and outskirts of Darjeeling remained in the same darkness of poverty.

The leaders were scared of the special audit that Mamata Government is planning to slap on them .

Another misinformation is spread regarding the inclusion of Bengali in the three-language formula which can never make Bengali mandatory for the learners in schools. Bengali is already optional since the 60’s and it will be an optional fourth language which can make Bengali people closer to Gorkhas. The emotional sentiments against Bengali is without any logic. Even if there is some misconception, it could have been solved by dialogue on language but it can never justify the demand for Gorkhaland.

Tourism is suffering and ordinary life will be hampered for an indefinite period and the number of deaths will increase with the so –called protection of Gorkha rights. Everyone knows that Gorkhas are patriots and not anti –nationals. They do not want separation from Bengal .They hardly spread communal hatred. If Gorkhaland is their demand , they will not keep silent for such a long time and suddenly after the defeat in the municipal elections they would not have come to the streets.

Everyone now realizes that the uproar and violence are not spontaneous but organized by some GJM leaders who failed to grind their own axe and are fishing in troubled waters. They know only one panacea for all sufferings – Gorkhaland. These possessive leaders being scared of exposure are distorting the state narrative on Gorkhaland and threatening with an armed rebellion which does not seem to have enormous public support.

Gorkhas are scattered across different states. They have socio-cultural roots across various Indian states such as Uttarakhand , Himachal Pradesh , Sikkim , Assam , Nagaland , Meghalaya Arunachal Pradesh Manipur , Mizoram etc., The same community has a strong presence in Myanmar. So the separation of Darjeeling as Gorkhaland will not solve the problem at all or give the Gorkhas a single state identity .

That is why for the last one century the issue of bifurcation of Bengal is left hanging and Gorkhaland remains a dream for many which the GJM is now turning into a nightmare for the hill dwellers. It is quite interesting that Ghishing earlier tried to fish in troubled waters and lived like a king by using the Gorkhaland issue.

Now Bimal Gurung and his people are again singing the same tune though this time the response is not up to his expectation as people have come to know about the financial irregularities of his party members and the luxurious life led by many of them while the interests of the common people are ignored . The development projects are being halted and people do not feel happy with this sudden bolt from the blue. Gorkhaland is no longer the ‘son of the soil’ movement in Darjeeling. It is now a weapon which through over-use has got blunt.

People are more worried about the ambiguity of their citizenship which cannot be solved by creating a Gorkhaland. Nor will it solve the identity crisis and ensure Constitutional guarantee for the 15 lakhs Indian Gorkhas living in so many states almost in equal number and mostly acclimatized and accommodated into the state cultural heritage. The Gorkha Nepali syndrome is confusing and many Nepalis do not want to be called Gorkhas. Before the Gurungs come out in armed rebellion with the support from the Sikkim Chief Minister they should become transparent and more accountable. They cannot shout Gorkhaland only when they have fallen in a trap. This will probably dilute the demand. There should be a rationale for any movement. The situation cannot change overnight.

Only yesterday GTA was nicely working towards the betterment of the Gorkhas. That suddenly a few leaders are shouting foul, in favour of Gorkhaland, will only affect the accountability and credibility of the GJM leaders who are now a broken house after the murder of Madan Tamang and the misappropriation of funds allotted for development for the hills. The adage still holds true : “You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”

(The author is Associate Professor and Head of Post Graduate Dept of English Dum Dum Motijheel College . All opinions expressed here are entirely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of Newsnet One or the editors)

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