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Poll: 4th Tripartite Meeting
During the 4th Tripartite Talk, GJMM has been immensely pressurized to focus only on the creation of Gorkhaland, besides, the conclusion of the Meeting seems to be only TALK on POLITICAL LEVEL in next round. Do you think 4th Tripartite Talk has been successful?
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Home : Voice of Darjeeling : Why I Support Gorkhaland: The Tale of a Non-Gorkhali
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Why I Support Gorkhaland: The Tale of a Non-Gorkhali

By Upendra on April 18,2009

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This write up is based on true experiences of a dear friend of mine, who has been living in Darjeeling for the past 35 years… He is a Bengali originally from a place very near Siliguri… He shared his experiences with me, and I in turn extracted his permission to add my own two bits and send it to DT… This write up is special to me, because, my friend had tears in his eyes, by the time he was done sharing his emotions… The words are mine, but the narrative and the feelings are entirely his…

Why I Support Gorkhaland: The Tale of a Non-Gorkhali

Many ask me “why”? Why do I support the notion of Gorkhaland… even though I am, visibly a minority… I do not prefer to speak Nepali… and… I am not even married to one (Nepali i.e.)….. My “so called” friends and well wishers wanted to know… why am I so much Pro-Gorkhaland? Was I being bribed or was family being threatened?

It happens often, when I travel to the plains, people I know assure me… “Ki Rey… Chinta Koris Naa… Aamra Aacchhii” (Hey!! Don’t worry…. we are there)…. When I say… “I am not worried at all, but seems like you all are”, they look at me with disgust and say… “Mono hocchye paharey bosey tor matha kharab hoye gyecchey…. Noiley Bangali hoy keno Gorkhaland support korchiss rey?” (Seems like having stayed in the hills for so long, your brain is sick… Otherwise why else would you support Gorkhaland, being a Bengali yourself?)… What my “so called” friends fail to see is… that’s all the opening I need…. to educate them as to why I support Gorkhaland….

Right and Justice

I am a Bengali, and not the self-hating kind… and I love my country… and I strongly believe that all the sections of our nation’s population should have the right to self-determination. One of the most well known phrases of Indian freedom movement was… “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it”….  Our country was founded on the idea of Swaraj (self-rule)… so I believe, when the Gorkhali’s of Darjeeling demand a land of their own to rule and to prosper, it is in fact not only their right, but it is the governments duty to ensure that their right is protected.

A tea garden worker in Darjeeling earns Rs 58 per day, and there are thousands of them… their pay has remained unchanged for almost a decade now… where as the pay of everyone who works in The Tea Board of India headquarters in Kolkata has seen a raise twice (fifth pay and sixth pay commission) and there is a talk of more increases soon [and even the peon there earns at least 4 times more than these workers] … I ask my “so called” friends… how do you justify this? When people who do the actual production are starving to death in Dooars… Tea Consultants in Kolkata are earning millions of rupees and flying all over the world… representing Darjeeling tea and Dooars tea… I pose this question… “should we allow our ego to overrule logic and facts? Is it fair for these tea garden workers to starve here, while someone in Kolkata enjoys all the privileges? Un-surprisingly, my “so called” friends have no answer…

The 'Sarbaharas'

The district of Darjeeling has seen population growth of phenomenal proportions since 1970s. The decadal growth of population has been a steady 40% and is perhaps the highest in the country. Given the area that is, this kind of population growth is unnatural… so I pose this question to my “so called” friends from the plains, “how did the population of our district raise so drastically”? My “so called” friends do not reply, for they know the answer… but obligingly I help… “Remember the post-1965 illegal immigrants from erstwhile East Pakistan”, who came over with nothing more than just the clothes they were wearing?

These illegal immigrants, who liked to call themselves 'sarbaharas' (ones who've lost everything)… have now settled in places in and around Siliguri… Those who are the original residents of West Bengal (the ‘Ghotis’) which includes my family… resent the large-scale influx of these illegal immigrants (the ‘Banglas’)…. they have diluted the original population of the place and now these illegal immigrants have an upper hand… So every native, including the ‘Ghoti’ Bengalis, will support a separate state in Darjeeling and Dooars, in order to protect the original inhabitants of the land… “What about you guys?” I ask my so called friends and they stand mute… I press further…

CPI (M)

Everyone in Bengal knows that the CPI (M) rode to power in Bengal on the unflinching support of the 'sarbaharas', who came to regard the Marxists as their saviors. These illegal immigrants are still being brought over in hordes especially in North-Bengal by the CPI (M)… I find it amusing that, the Government of India has not bothered to check the legal status of these illegal immigrants… I am sure, none of these people applied for immigration legally…. Has the government of India taken their assimilation for granted? Or does the government of India not care?

The CPI (M) has the Midas touch… only difference is that that, whatever they touch turns to shit [sorry could not find a softer word] instead of gold…. Look at all the industries that West Bengal had… now we have none… look at Nandigram… Singur… Lalbagh… Dooars… the desperate CPI (M) has turned a beast to retain its power… and I personally do not like the present state of my state…. “What about you guys”? I ask… and my “so called” friends now try to run away… but I do not let them get away… I know by now, I have stricken a lethal blow… but I love the over kill… and I press further….

North Bengal  

The Left, the right and the centre in West Bengal is biased towards the development of South-Bengal…. Of the 14 districts in the state, 6 are in North-Bengal and 8 in South-Bengal… the population ratio of South:North is… roughly 3:1.. which means… for every person in North-Bengal.. there are three in South-Bengal… However, South Bengal has over 14 universities, where as North-Bengal has but one… South Bengal has over 25 medical colleges, where as North-Bengal has but one… and so on…..

So finally I ask my “so called” friends… Why should we want to remain with West Bengal, when they do not consider us equal? Just because I am a Bengali does not mean I have been treated as equal or fair… why should we want to remain in a state where we do not matter? All our decisions are taken by people from South… what has the CPI (M) government done in terms of development in its 33 years of rule?

At least, if Gorkhaland is formed… Siliguri and Dooars is guaranteed and bound to develop… whereas if we remain with West Bengal, we will never develop…

By now… most of my “so called” friends have already left, but with a thoughtful look in their eyes…

I support the notion of Gorkhaland and I am sure many others do… and if it could be explained to the people living in Siliguri and Dooars, that our economic well being and prosperity is tied to us severing ties with West Bengal… I am sure many more would support the formation of a new state… be it Gorkhaland or simply the state of “Darjeeling”

Hope!! Our leaders have the foresight to engage our minorities
 
 
 
Upendra

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comment Comments (31 posted)
  • image jai gorkha, when the times come of happiness but some sorrow also come one good person understand the problem than solution the problem then why these anty gorkha dose'nt understand us. sagar thapa
    (Posted by sagar thapa, December 23, 2009, 8:57 AM)
  • image Dear friend, You are great and a true resident of Darjeeling. Only those people who actually lives here knows the true plight of this place. I appreciate all your reasonings on this article. Gorkhaland is certain, if it is not now then later, but is absolute certain.
    (Posted by hemraj, September 19, 2009, 8:06 AM)
  • image I got a lot of frends who are not from the hills, and when I talk with them they are far away from the factual information that is the course of state up in the hills. To add to our woes, negative hype and discoloured broadcasts that come out from the media about DARJEELING makes me bleed. It creates an air of disbelief and the unusuall fuss that surrounds the need for GORKHALAND, A great writeup my dear friend, at this juncture I just hope more of the masses get educated and come to the actual state , the shams that Darjeeling is in at the moment. It will be presumed that when we speak our words will echo racial feelings and be biased, so it the non Gorka Commuinty people that dwell peacefully up in the hills to come up and stand forth for its not about only the GORKHAS, its about THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE OUT HERE. Lets not stop till the right is ours , lets do it for the sake of generations to come and for the betterment of the country..
    (Posted by Dushyant , August 15, 2009, 2:15 PM)
  • image WHY A TRUE BENGALI WILL UNDERSTAND US! Some of my best childhood friends are Bengali, grew up reading Tagore and Sharath Chandra ... that is the reason I know why Bengali people will understand we Gorkhas better than any other people ..... " I will never forget the taste of Tortoise meat that the mother of my Bengali friend cooked-- it was really good."
    (Posted by Samir Thapa, August 14, 2009, 2:19 AM)
  • image That bengali is a PURE AANTEL and is worthless fellow.
    (Posted by An Indian, August 12, 2009, 4:24 PM)
  • image I have family members in Siliguri. Everybody in the neighbourhood are muslims from Bangladesh. The Bangladeshis have changed the political landscape of Siliguri. Will my bengali friends in Kolkota allow the gorkhali population not have their birth rights in their own land. Are we so blind by vote bank politics ?
    (Posted by Dev Chhetri, July 21, 2009, 3:08 AM)
  • image This is a comment on the present mode of agitation for Gorkhaland in the Darjeeling Hills. Please consider who are the benificiaries and who are the sufferers. The shopkeepers and businessmen who are selling above market price before every anticipatory indefinite stikes are mostly . Just go around Darjeeling and you will know which community most of them belong to. Who are the people who benefited financially when dress code was imposed on the people of Darjeeling during the Puja tourism season last year? Who are the people who had to buy exorbitantly priced garments for friends and family or face the consequences? During the agitation last year for the first time in my life I had seen beggars in Darjeeling, in such numbers! What prevented the present leaders and a party registered with the election commission of India (acc. to Wikipedia) from contesting the elections on their own ? The fact that it would definitely have given them a much greater bargaining power at the center irrispective of which political party came to power ? Are our leaders really serious about 'Gorkhaland' ? What do my fellow readers think ? Can we have a vote on this irrespective of whether you like my article or not ? For myself, my answer is No, I do not think the present group of leaders are serious about 'Gorkhaland'.
    (Posted by Open Window, July 14, 2009, 2:37 AM)
  • image "We need to learn to set our course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship."
    (Posted by Bri Bahadur Rai, July 13, 2009, 5:42 PM)
  • image it is one of the heartening article i've ever read.Thus hearty congratulations to Mr.Upendra for taking the initiative to share such an article with everyone.Moreover it carries a bunch of information which our people are quite unaware of. Thanx for letting it out and providing us a chance to create a different perspective towards our fellow neighbours.
    (Posted by Vana, May 22, 2009, 2:46 PM)
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