News

India’s Gorkhas throw weight behind ”Robin Hood” for new state

Khaleej Times Online (AFP)

16 August 2008

DARJEELING, India - After two decades of an armed struggle for a separate state, a million-plus ethnic Nepalese Gorkhas in India’s northeast are hoping their new plain-speaking leader will deliver them the homeland they have long yearned for.

In the hilly tea-growing region of Darjeeling — where the Gorkhas constitute the majority — the demand for a new state within India dates back to almost a century, when the country was under British colonial rule.

This time, however, it is hard to find anyone — even among non-Gorkhas who have lived in this scenic region for decades — who does not back and believe in the possibility of a “Gorkhaland”.

One of the reasons for this new, quiet optimism is the emergence of a political leader who has been dubbed a local “Robin Hood” by many for raising money to help poor people learn new skills and get jobs.

“People say all that because they have seen my work. I have risen to this position from the bottom,” Gorkha leader Bimal Gurung said, sitting in his tiny Darjeeling office full of posters and table-top statues of Hindu gods.

Gurung, 44, split last year from the Gorkha party that had led the earlier movement for a homeland to form his own political outfit.

Though the eastern West Bengal state in which Darjeeling is located has firmly rejected the Gorkha demand, Gurung says he will have a new state.

“I am confident that we will get Gorkhaland by 2010. Most leaders come forward for votes but I am not interested in being a minister,” Gurung said.

“I am just a conduit for people’s aspirations. The Gorkhaland is meant for today’s generation.”

Gorkhas — most of whom were brought to the Darjeeling hills by the British when they started tea plantations in the region in the 1840s — say they deserve a homeland because of their ethnicity, different language and culture.

The question of identity is an emotional subject in the region, where violent protests broke out last year after a Gorkha man was mocked by a radio station after he won the popular “Indian Idol” singing contest on television.

Many Indians think we are migrants from Nepal

Gurung was quick to capitalise on the new wave of pride since he had won a major share of credit for singer’s victory by raising money to encourage people to send phone messages to vote for him.

The singer, Prashant Tamang, has since become a Darjeeling hero, with his posters plastered everywhere and autographed pictures prominently displayed in hotel lobbies.

“He is my kid. Being a father, I had to take him under my wing, but I don’t want him to join politics,” Gurung said. “He is a good singer and I want him to sing.”

It is this ability to connect with people that has made Gorkhas throw their weight behind Gurung.

“He is sincere. He does not seem to be interested in wealth or power, that’s why people think he can get them Gorkhaland,” said a local hotel owner.

The Gorkhas, considered fierce warriors who have fought for the British and Indian armies, also blame the West Bengal government for unemployment and neglect of roads.

Around 55,000 Gorkhas are employed in the tea gardens which produce the famous Darjeeling brew, but the plantations are owned mainly by merchants from northern India and a few by Bengali people.

“Many Indians think we are migrants from Nepal, even though we have been living here for several generations. If we have our own state, this won’t happen,” said a local photographer.

While Gurung enjoys nearly undivided support of the Gorkhas, he also has detractors.

Last month, a strike called by Gurung’s party hit the tea and tourism industries — the mainstay of the local economy.

“Workers could not pluck the leaves properly because of the strike. Work was not badly disrupted, but fear had spread with people hoarding oil and other essentials,” said Rajiv Lochan, secretary of Siliguri Tea Traders Association.

“He is just a fluke. He has no concrete plans,” said a tea exporter, who preferred not to give his name. “All that is needed is a strong development programme for the region and not a new state.”

© 2008 The Gorkhaland Chronicle.