User Rating: / 14
PoorBest 

Friday, 18 May 2012 11:58

Demand for a separate statehood comprising of Darjeeling district and the adjoining Dooars is over a century old. This region has very little to do with the state of West Bengal in terms of geographical features,  natural resources, socio-cultural pattern and livelihood system. A separate state comprising of Darjeeling district and Dooars region will be most economically viable. This new state could also bring the comprehensive security to India. This would include military, environmental and human security.

The people of this region now have realised that the West Bengal Government would not be able to do any substantive development activity for them. Instead it has ruined the entire forest resources, cinchona plantation, tea industry, opulent biodiversity, rich human resources and most importantly all the traditional institutions. The economy of this region remains in tatters and unmanageably scattered. The traditional institutions have been systematically demolished. The setting up of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council in 1988 in fact became a curse as it took Darjeeling back to the colonial period in every respect.

User Rating: / 8
PoorBest 

Friday, 18 May 2012 11:58

As luck would have it, the ‘Hanuman’ to ‘Ravana’ transition of Darjeeling MP Jawasnt Singh took place against the backdrop of 3rd tripartite meeting held at secretarial level that resulted in-as expected without any astonishment-no substantial result except for the agreement to exorcise ghosts from the past and forming an ‘alternative administrative setup’ (without naming it, which indicates denial). This is by the way 26th call for a separate homeland (counted by Dr. Sonam Wangyal) and it has been droned through a fetid century of disgusting regional and national politics. More than a thousand people died without ‘seeing’ or say in the process of ‘showing’ or ‘making it happen’ what it would be like ‘Gorkhaland payo bhane sungur le pani nuniya chamal ko bhhat khhanccha’ (even pigs will have basmati rice to chomp on if Gorkhaland forms), a slogan popularised by a raconteur that had caught fancy of gullible hills in 80s. Now its calm, but uncertainty looms large with some certainty for sure.