Time to step in

The West Bengal government is clearly giving the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha the proverbial long rope to hang itself. The method is not without merit, a time will surely come when the people in the Darjeeling hills will themselves get tired of the current pointless agitation for a separate state and bring pressure upon Bimal Gurung and his associates to settle for autonomy. That, however, will take time. Meanwhile, will the GJM be allowed to run amok, driving out all political opponents from the hills and creating obstacles in the way of revenue-collection? The agitation has already created a rift among the Nepalis in the district and the Bengalis and also the adivasis in the Dooars, who have made it clear they do not wish to be any part of the Gorkhaland that Gurung has in mind.

The adivasi resistance to the Morcha has certainly put the latter somewhat on the back foot. The hills are paying a heavy price for the agitation. All development work there has come to a standstill, and it may only be a matter of time before water and power supply is also affected. Ultimately, such a situation will certainly boomerang on the agitating leaders but should the government wait for that eventuality or make it clear to them who is the real boss? And this perhaps is the right time to do it as the Morcha is showing signs of desperation.

The Morcha is seeking to tie up with the Maoist-backed tribals protesting in distant Lalgarh in the plains. It is doing so to create a wider area of unrest in the state which it thinks will be of advantage to itself. The Morcha is also in touch with those trying for long to sell such pipedreams as a separate Kamtapur and Greater Cooch Behar. These dreams will perhaps never become reality, just as a Gorkhaland might never come into being. But, in the process, violence can always be unleashed. When that happens, the government will have to step in. So why not act before it is too late?

Essential points

None of the Morcha’s agitations is democratic in nature. A democratic agitation cannot take recourse to digging up roads or setting ablaze offices and houses of politicians who refuse to toe the line. Thus, firmness on the part of the government is only to be expected. It is true that any show of force might bring Mamata Banerjee out on the streets, but that will also reveal where her sympathies lie. Indeed, it is time that she and the Opposition in the state as a whole came clean on the issue of integrity versus division. In this context, isn’t it particularly essential for the Congress member of parliament from Darjeeling to announce where he stands on the Gorkhaland demand? He has been strangely silent all this while.

Display of official firmness is also essential as there is every reason to wonder whether the different agitations are as spontaneous as the organizers would have one believe. Bimal Gurung and Roshan Giri had participated in the tripartite talks in New Delhi and agreed to keep the agitation in abeyance till the next round. But on their return to the hills, they went back on their word. Was this betrayal of trust caused by some other forces? Sustaining such agitations as that of the Morcha requires funds, and it will perhaps be a little naïve to believe that ordinary Nepalis are taking care of that with subscriptions, which can at best be paltry.
There are also other questions that come to mind. The GJM has driven out almost all leaders holding contrary views. Why? Is it because the GJM activists are scared of any healthy debate? Or is it because they know that historically the Nepalis do have claims on the hills and are afraid that this will come out in course of any debate? Right now, they are getting away with murder. But how long should this be allowed to continue?