'Gorkhaland not partition of Bengal'

PTI , ENS and KalimNews : Kolkata/New Delhi, Aug 18 2013: GJM president Bimal Gurung in a new Facebook post today wrote: "Creation of Gorkhaland is not the partition of Bengal". 

"Darjeeling was not part of Bengal and was leased by the British from the kingdom of Sikkim in 1835. Kalimpong and Dooars were also annexed in 1865 from Bhutan," He further added that the movement reaffirms their patriotism for India. 

"Allegations of being foreigners used by those opposed to Gorkhaland only strengthens our statehood movement." Claiming that historically Darjeeling was never a part of Bengal, GJM supremo Bimal Gurung said that those opposed to the Gorkhaland movement and were dubbing Gorkhas as 'foreigners' were only strengthening the statehood movement. 

He said that Kalimpong, which is in Darjeeling district and the Dooars in Jalpaiguri district, were annexed in 1865 from Bhutan. He was apparently referring to chief minister Mamata Banerjee's assertion that there would be no division of West Bengal. 

"The allegation of being 'foreigners' used by those opposed to Gorkhaland only strengthens our statehood movement. The current movement constantly reaffirms our patriotism to India with our slogan 'Jai Hind, Jai Gorkha'," he said. 

According to the white paper, published by the West Bengal government in 1986, the present territory of Darjeeling historically belonged to Sikkim and Bhutan and was included in India following wars and agreements. 

The Raja of Sikkim, by a Deed of Grant signed on February 1, 1835, ceded Darjeeling to the British for setting up a summer retreat camp. The British India paid annual lease amount every year to Sikkim. 

After Independence in 1947, Indian Government continued to do so till 1975, the year Sikkim merged with India.Copies of the receipts of payments are available and sometimes back made public by the Gorkha Rashtriya Congress. Till 1975, the people of Darjeeling paid land revenue taxes to the Sikkim ruler through Kazis and Dewans, said late D.K. Bomzan the then President of GRC. 

He had produced a document where he had been paying taxes for his land in Darjeeling. 

In 1997, Darjeeling Zilla Congress passed a resolution for merger of Darjeeling to Sikkim. Indira Gandhi had asked the Darjeeling Congress to create a public opinion in favour of the merger, as reported in newspapers at that time. 

''However, the West Bengal Congress leaders killed the momentum,'' late Bomzan had accused. ''The paradoxes of the events are that the Sikkim government, after its merger with India, should have claimed its lost territories which were not done. As a result, the Gorkha, Lepcha and Bhutia communities, residing in this region, naturally feel that they have been ignored by their rightful owner and become the political victim of Bengal's colonial rule,''  Bomzan had added.