The gorkhaland movement is a campaign to create a separate state of india in the gorkhaland region of west bengal. After four years, the dormant movement had sprung to life. View all notes many of these entrapped minority groups had a long history of demands for political autonomy or separate political identity and. Preksha sharma in terms of sociocultural, educational and political upliftment, indian gorkhas are really orphan sin in independent india. Another crisis triggered by language gorkhaland consists of nepalispeaking people of darjeeling, kalimpong, kurseong and other hilly districts. In section ill the attitude of the central government towards the movement has been analysed. Gorkhaland movement, basic human needs theory, protracted conflict. The violence of the movement arises out of the clash between these two identities, subverting the essential ethnic identity of the group, and diluting the strength of the movement. How not to write a history of gorkhaland himal southasian. As evident from the turn of events, it was a politically motivated rather than identity driven.
Sep 29, 2008 the primary focus of the paper is the study of the colonial construction of the gorkha identity and its later day crisis. Section iv restates the position of the state govern ment on various issues. Poverty, malgovernance and ethnopolitical mobilization. The primary focus of the paper is the study of the colonial construction of the gorkha identity and its later day crisis. Since the idea is based on one language, every nepali speaker of indian origin has a right over gorkhaland and hence, the struggle for this separate statehood is everybodys struggle. Gorkhaland supporters therefore preferred to call the gorkhas language gorkhali rather than nepali, although they did not attempt to claim there is any linguistic difference from what other people call nepali. It is therefore of utmost importance for the gorkhaland movement to. The land in gorkhaland environmental humanities duke. Rajput, who sacrificed himself for the movement, was not an ethnic gorkha but a bihari gorkha, as the minorities who support the movement refer to themselves. Pdf the right to selfdetermination is a vital attribute of any functional democracy. Gorkhaland movement submitted to sikkim university for the award of the. Jun 23, 2017 gorkhaland is a must now, said gorkha janmukti morcha leader roshan giri.
Eighth schedule election ethnic forest gandhi ghisings gnlf gnlf movement gorkha gorkha hill council gorkha national liberation gorkhaland agitation government of bhutan government of india government of west hill areas hillmens association honourable indian nepalese indonepal issue. Ultimately, the author ends the book by discussing the gorkhaland movement today. Parliamentary affairs minister partha chatterjee, however, seemed. The article was originally written on 22nd july 17 for and hasnt been updated with the current situation. Gorkhaland is to mamata what kashmir is to modi the agitation in west bengals hill areas may actually end up benefitting the chief minister politically. Allparty resolution on gorkhaland agitation, dated 18. The section also involves an indepth analysis of the political history of darjeeling hills and the surrounding areas with special references to the gorkhaland movement. Some party leaders conspiring to fail gorkhaland movement. The himalayan foothills of darjeeling are boiling again after 20 years of relative calm. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. As the media is regarded as a friend and guide of the people and are also the custodian of the human rights, the role of media in regional and national issue is really praiseworthy. They want a state for themselves called gorkhaland, leading to start of gorkhaland issue. Linguistic breakdown of the population of darjeeling and breakdown of nepali population in india g.
Photo by anshuman poyrekarhindustan times via getty images the leaders of the movement have changed but the ideas that drive the movement havent. Gorkhaland is to mamata what kashmir is to modi the agitation in west bengals hill areas may actually end. Brief overview of the gorkhaland movement gorkhaland movement basically refers to the age old demand of the gorkhas for a separate state of their own, within the indian union. I declare that the dissertation entitled ethnicity and politics of identities. In 2007, the second mass movement for gorkhaland took place. So while i expected to read about how the present gorkhaland movement, led by the gorkha janmukti morcha, has essentially been nonviolent in contrast to the bloodshed of the 1980s movement led by subhash ghising, what i found was a comparative study of religions. The proposed state includes the hill regions of the darjeeling district and the kalimpong and duwars areas. It is to be noted that during bhutanese regime kalimpong was within the western duars.
Jun 28, 2017 gorkhaland is the name of the proposed state in india that the nepalispeaking gorkha ethnic group in darjeeling and the dooars in north west bengal are fighting for. Residents there have taken to the streets in the quest for independence from west bengal and a separate state, gorkhaland, within the framework of the indian constitution. The mountains of former british colonies are dotted with hill stations, settlements ranging from laboratory campuses in the east african highlands to moderately sized indian cities like darjeeling, shimla, and mussoorie. The gorkhaland movement is a campaign to create a separate state of india in the gorkhaland. Residents there have taken to the streets in the quest for independence from west bengal and. Gorkhaland is a must now, said gorkha janmukti morcha leader roshan giri. The casual description of the gorkhaland movement as identity politics.
With the increasing number of casualties and civilians getting injured, situation is reportedly becoming tense. These are two words, embedded deep in the hearts of nearly 2 crore indian gorkhas across the country. Also get gorkhaland latest news from all over india and worldwide. I belong to assam but pune, maharashtra is my home now. The most important issue raised was identity evolution of the gorkha identity but, in the first place, it should be noted that there is no unanimity on the origin of the word gorkha. Gurung claimed that he has information and proper evidence of some of his party leaders involvement in the conspiracy with the bengal govt to foil the gorkhaland movement. Lamas novel thus critiques the gorkhaland movement by boldly exposing the fissures within the idealized gorkha figure, and holding this fractured identity. The people belonging to these areas hardly have any connection with the bengali community and are different in ethnicity, culture and language. It addresses the micro details of those processes and strategies through which the state has responded to the gorkha movement. The gorkha movement is for all who believe that cultures. Gorkhaland movement news and updates from the economic times. Selected indicators of development for darjeeling and other north bengal districts h. Gorkhaland agitation needs a trustworthy face to take the.
Five reasons why a separate state of gorkhaland is not a. Peoples joint action committee of bodoland movement pjacbm spearheaded by all bodo students union absu has extended its support to gorkha janamukti morcha gjm leading the gorkhaland movement in darjeeling hills and condemned the police action to gag the voice of gorkha people aspiring for a gorkhaland state. You cant have one state to create an identity for one. The movement was emphatic that it had no desire to separate from india, only from the state of west bengal. Find gorkhaland news, videos, photos and articles on news oneindia. It was nothing short of an adventure when i undertook the perilous journey into the subjective world of the gorkhaland movement. The gorkhaland agitation had resurfaced and television channels were beaming footage of destruction and violence. Bodo group supports gorkhaland movement in darjeeling. Gorkhaland agitation the issues an information document.
In 20102011, the gorkhaland agitation saw a new turn after local leaders fought among themselves as one of the leader of the akhil bharatiya gorkha league abgl, was. Thereby, the second biggest agitation in gorkhaland movement took place. The gta was formed in 2012 to replace the darjeeling gorkha hill council, which was formed in 1988 and administered the darjeeling hills for 23 years. Although there is skepticism about the credibility of the gorkhas political leadership, the popular sentiment in darjeeling is overwhelmingly in favor of a separate gorkhaland state. Role of media in gorkhaland movement my gorkhaland. The gorkhas have a right to demand gorkhaland but that does not mean that the lepchas support the nomenclature, says dorjeet lepcha, president of the lepcha youth association and coordinator of the lepcha rights movement. The gorkhaland territorial administration often abbreviated as gta is an autonomous district council for the darjeeling and kalimpong areas of the west bengal state in india. The pdf took a strong antignlf line and threw its support behind the. A peoples account of the ongoing struggle for gorkhaland. Taking the colonial encounter as the historic moment of its evolution, the paper makes an attempt to map the formation of the gorkha identity over the last two hundred years or so by locating the process of formation within the colonial public sphere that emerged in. Gorkhaland is the name of the proposed state in india that the nepalispeaking gorkha ethnic group in darjeeling and the dooars in north west bengal are fighting for. Jan 25, 2014 the violence of the movement arises out of the clash between these two identities, subverting the essential ethnic identity of the group, and diluting the strength of the movement. The gorkha movement is for all who believe that cultures are.
The ongoing gorkhaland movement in west bengal state of india has attracted unprecedented media attention in the past couple of weeks. Rightfully, india is a multiethnic, multicultural and multilingual. Is the demand for the separate state of gorkhaland justified. Ideas of selfdetermination, opposing any form of cultural imposition and that of preserving their cultural identity drive the movement forward. Gorkhaland agitation facts and issues information document ii. Gorkhaland agitation turning into mass movement, hill. Tucci, an authority on nepal and tibet, seems to believe that. The book deals with the gorkhaland movement, an ethnic movement that has endured for more than a century, in the district of darjeeling, west bengal. The contours of the gorkhaland movement, which is over 100 years old, have been defined by the conflation of these positions the politics of identity on the one hand, and the realisation of. News of the unrest seems to have moved off the front pages of national newspapers, but the crisis, far from retreating, has in fact deepened. The gorkha janmukti morcha gjm headed by bimal gurung have high hopes from nda at. Respect for peoples culture, religion and language should be the guiding principle of any mass democratic movement.
Taking the colonial encounter as the historic moment of its evolution, the paper makes an attempt to map the formation of the gorkha identity over the last two hundred years or so by locating the process of formation within the colonial public sphere. Aug 05, 20 in 2007, the second mass movement for gorkhaland took place. It is the dream of a homeland that they cherish, an essential pre. Gorkhaland issue everything you need to know clear ias. Cultural revolution and the issue of gorkhaland priyankar datta ph. Introduction the present darjeeling district was formed in 1866 where kalimpong was transformed to the darjeeling district. So different social as well as political organizations, in both pre as well as post independent era made demands for the formation of. A demand for a separate administrative unit in darjeeling has existed since 1909, when the hillmens association of darjeeling submitted a memorandum to. The town of darjeeling, in the himalayan foothills of the indian state of west bengal, began as a hill station.
The morcha has been spearheading the gorkhaland movement. A brief history of the gorkhaland movement youtube. Gorkhaland movement news and updates from the economic. A demand for a separate administrative unit in darjeeling has existed since 1909, when the hillmens association of darjeeling submitted a memorandum to mintomorley. Mirik win might explain why the gorkhaland janmukti morcha is keen to start an agitation around the issue of language identity even after the trinamool has backtracked. Is the demand for the separate state of gorkhaland. The people here have always everywhere asked me whether i belong to nepal, may be because of my features but i always used to answer them that i am assamese. Sikkims ruling party sdf on thursday also passed a resolution, supporting the gorkhaland demand, at an event chaired by chamling. The fresh movement for a separate state of gorkhaland in the darjeeling hills gathered steam on tuesday with smaller parties backing. Feb 22, 20 the first chapter of my personal story of darjeeling would be similar to romit bagchis. Gorkhaland has always been an emotional issue and political parties such as the gorkha national liberation front gnlf, and later the gjm, have projected their movement as a quest for the.