Cover Story - Issue IV

While the 9/11 incident revealed the worst facet of terrorism when Al Qaeda attacked the Twin Towers in USA killing thousands of civilians, the 4/9 incident divulged the nastiest form of state sponsored terrorism when hundreds of ex Gorkha soldiers were thrashed by both the administration and the cadres of CPI (M) at Darjeeling More. The atrocious crackdown of the police on the peaceful demonstration led by the Gorkha Butpurwa Sainik Morcha at Darjeeling More once again brought to fore the inherent totalitarian regime of the CPI (M) led government. Those who participated in the demonstration included the ex-servicemen (who were mostly 60 years of age or above) of the Indian Army who fought and won battles for their motherland-India.

The administration, instead of ensuring that the ex servicemen were provided adequate protection against any possible suppression by the CPI (M) goons, ruthlessly silenced it by resorting to lathi-charge and firing teargas shells. It seems that the present day administration, which was the brainchild and handed down by the British Government, still needs to be shaken off its colonial hangover when it foiled and lynched any voice against the colonial masters. It seems that the administration needs to be reminded that as a public institution functioning within the democratic setting, it cannot resort to dictatorial behaviour of taking a third degree course to coerce the people and their aspirations.

In fact, the nexus between the so called ‘steel frame’ administration and the Left Front government to have anything and everything done at the wimps of babu’s at Writers Building, puts a big question mark on credibility and accountability of the administration and the legitimacy of the CPI (M) and other Left allies as a political party because in any democratic state the role of a political party is to ventilate the grievances of the people through appropriate channels – legislation, policies and decisions makings etc. Ironically, the supposed “vanguard of the people”, CPI (M) seems to believe in terrorising the people and sabotaging their movements against injustice and crime perpetuated by the party cadres. The CPI (M) takes it as its divine right to inflict horror and terror on people, be it the attack of the Red cadres on the poor peasants of Nandigram or assault on the ex-servicemen at Darjeeling More.

The incident also clearly exposes the hypocrisy of the administration which while giving a green signal to CPI (M) to hold meeting at Siliguri Municipal Corporation, denied permission to Sainik Morcha to go beyond Darjeeling More. It should have been other way round, precisely because one can’t use [as CPI (M) did to utilise SMC] a public institution to propagate its programme with a view to influence public opinion in its favours and to convene a meeting to foil a constitutional and democratic movement is tantamount to murdering democracy itself. No wonder that even the Left allies like RSP and Forward Bloc and other opposition parties decided to stay away from such convention. However, even the parties like Congress and Trinamul Congress refrained from condemning the high handedness of the administration and have been conspicuously silent about the state sponsored terrorism, which only expose their ‘vote bank’ brand of politics. Besides, the demand of the Sainik Morcha to allow it to hold demonstration at various pockets of Siliguri was in no way unconstitutional because it wasn’t intended to incite any kind of communal feeling or violence whatsoever.

In fact, the onslaught on the peaceful demonstrators amounts to the violation of fundamental right guaranteed under Art. 19 (1) (b) of the Constitution of India which secures to all citizens of India the right “to assemble peaceably and without arms”. Although reasonable restriction can be imposed on the right by the State by law “in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India or public order”, the point which overweigh any justification of the police action is the fact that the ex servicemen were carrying on in a peaceful and democratic manner without any threat to either the ‘’sovereignty or integrity’’ or ‘‘public order’’.  So what made the administration deny the permission to Sainik Morcha to proceed with its march/procession and resort to vandalism?

As a damage control mechanism to save its face, the government appointed a one-man inquiry commission under Mr M L Meena, principal secretary, department of environment to inquire into “the sequence of events leading to the police action against the agitators” at Darjeeling More on April 9. The commission which is expected to submit its report by May 16 has so far questioned 20 ex servicemen who were present and injured during the police action on April 9. Mr Mams Tamang, an ex-serviceman who deposed before the commission, said he was astounded by the police brutality on that day. “We were leading a peaceful rally. The police denied us permission to enter Siliguri town. But we were stupefied with consternation when they, without any provocation on our part, pounced upon us as if we were hardened criminals bent on some heinous crime against the state”.

Like Mams Tamang, the truth is known to everyone present on the spot that tragic day, including the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police who ordered lathi charge, but everybody except the ex servicemen who sustained major injuries is turning his back from revealing what transpired the police action at Darjeeling More.    It would not be surprising if nothing substantial comes out of such state instituted commission which is simply eyewash to pacify the people from taking a hostile attitude against the administration.

The CPI (M) on its part have been trying every trick in the book to portray the resurgent Gorkhaland movement as being anti national and having links with the terrorist groups both within and outside India. “The ongoing movement for statehood in the Hills led by the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha and the recently unearthed terror plots in Siliguri are interwoven,” says the state urban development minister Mr Asok Bhattacharya. As if the allegations already made against the Gorkhaland movement were not enough, Mr Asok Bhattacharya went to the extent of labelling the Gorkhas as ‘foreigner’, thereby questioning the integrity of the Gorkhas to their motherland.

Ironically, the so called ‘intellectuals’ of Bengal seem to agree in nod with CPI(M) and Mr Bhattacharya’s comment and observation, without wanting to know the truth. The Gorkhaland movement, since its inception way back in 1980’s, have been a pro national movement [and not ‘anti national’ as alleged by the CPI (M)] of the Gorkhas and though the movement still reflects the aspiration of Gorkhas to crave an identity for itself through Gorkhaland, the movement has never targeted the minorities who have been living in complete harmony in Darjeeling Hills, since ages. In fact, the voice for Gorkhaland is the united voice of the hill folks, who irrespective of their diverse religion, language and other social multiplicities have joined hands to combat the despotism of the CPI (M), methodically perpetuated by the administration. One might review heaps of literature on regionalism and various autonomy movement, it still seems doubtful if any of these movements is as broad based (on the democratic lines) and as united as the Gorkhaland movement. As such, the allegation of CPI (M) and Mr Bhattacharya against the Gorkhas and Gorkhaland is a scandalous plot which Mr Bhattacharya and other CPI (M) leaders have been trying to sell/circulate either by way of distributing leaflets (which cautions tourists and people about the danger of Gorkhaland movement and GJM) or holding conventions in Siliguri to corrupt the minds of the people and widen the gulf between the people on the lines of language, history and geography.

The essence of Indian federalism is the devolution and decentralisation of power and even the framers of the Indian Constitution well acquainted with the diversities surrounding the heterogeneous-plural Indian society left enough scope in the Constitution by making Art 368 (dealing with the amendment procedure) flexible and lenient enough to crave a new state (which can be established by a simple majority of the members present and voting in the Parliament) within the “Union of India” to respond to the aspirations of the people for greater participation in the administration and decision making bodies. Further, the Gorkhaland movement unlike the movement for Nagalim led by the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) is not a secessionist movement, but just a demand for greater autonomy in the form of a new state called Gorkhaland. Therefore, it is a baffled paradox on the part of the government and CPI (M) to tag the on going movement for Gorkhaland as anti national. It is, nevertheless, anti state; anti government and rightly so because the various institutions of democracy – legislature, executive, panchayati raj institutions, police, civil society etc have failed in almost all the fronts and has made democracy a farce .

Democracy survives and is revered not just because people can participate in the governing process but also because it acknowledges the diversities of various social and ethnic groups. Indian democracy, a classic case of ‘unity in diversity’, can sustain its unity only by appreciating the diversities of various groups and defending their rights and not by wiping out their cries and demands. The Gorkhaland movement is the voice of millions of Gorkha who have been systematically robbed off their rights by the power famished politicians both at Delhi and Kolkata. The callous incident against the chivalrous yet valiant Gorkha soldiers is a blot on the face of Indian democracy which ironically is the world’s largest democracy. But while the CPI (M) and the government may try to dislodge the movement in every possible way, the spirit of the people for Gorkhaland only seems to be soaring higher and faster than ever before.