“Statehood on lips, etc”

Hillman - the analyst, KalimNews, 17 October 2013: Apropos Telegraph 5 Oct 2013, the news “Statehood on lips, etc” by Vivek Chettri, is not only a welcome news but heartening to many who were under the misconception that continuing participation in the GTA with the election if Binay Tamang as the Chairman, was seen by many of the opposition as submitting to the diktat of the State. 

This surmise has now been totally contradicted by Jyoti Kumar Rai, GTA Executive member by passing the second and more important resolution for the demand of creating a separate state of Gorkhaland as the only solution aspired by the people of Darjeeling hills, Terai and the Dooars. This is not only genuine and proper target as indicated in the Constitution of India itself in allusion of the fact that, Darjeeling District as a Partially Excluded Area determined in the Govt. of India Act 1935 and Order 1936, implies the same provision of the Act was lock, stock and barrel incorporated into the draft Constitution of India 1950 wherein Darjeeling District’s identity was safeguarded within the provisions of the Fifth Schedule. That a Tribes Advisory Council (TAC) was established by the Govt. of West Bengal under direct notification by the President of India in 1952. 

This is in record and therefore cannot be denied at any cost but on the other hand the provisions of the Schedule require to be implemented to its ultimate conclusion – a separate State outside West Bengal for the territories covering Darjeeling District and the continuous areas of the Dooars. The reasons underlying incorporating these areas within the new State /UT, whether as Gorkhaland or Darjeeling & Dooars, has already been discussed many times over by this writer in previous discourses on the Gorkhaland issue. 

The fact still remains however that even at this moment of time, although the end in question is very near, the application for the demand under the Fifth Schedule criterias defined, i.e. Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Area, still stands incomplete Although the first aspect (Scheduled Tribes) exist, the second and the more important portion of the Schedule, i.e. Scheduled Area is absent as of the moment. This however is already in gear aligned with the fact that the hill political unit spearheading the statehood agitation has already submitted a demand to list all the Gorkhas as Scheduled Tribes. This fact is know to all the hill communities in the District and elsewhere and on which understanding the respective hill communities have already submitted their applications accordingly. However since the Govt. of West Bengal had not taken any undertaking to proceed with this demand, it so happens the program was initiated by the Govt. of Sikkim. 

This is implied by the two commissions established in Sikkim. This refers to the A.C.Sinha Commission in 2005 and submission of which report was immediately followed by the Roy Burman Commission (CRESP) Report in 2005-08. 

In support of the above as genuine and legal demand i.e. to consider the additional list of ST in Sikkim as per the above two Commissions, it is interesting to learn that quote “An Ordinance for this had been passed by the government following a Supreme Court order” (By Indo Asian News Service/IANS India Private Limited-Thu 14 Mar,2013). 

Whether the Ordinance contains the recommended hill communities as the additional list of Scheduled Tribes of Sikkim is another question and remains to be verified by all those, particularly the hill political parties by enquiring the true validity of the news. Although it is more or less certain that the new additional list are guaranteed to take shape ( A.C.Sinha & CRESP) as well as accounted by the belief that the Sikkim State Assembly has passed a resolution in the regard in demanding the inclusion of the additional list of STs in Census 2011. So all eyes and ears should be directed towards obtaining the information through their own channels in New Delhi as the SC/ST bill happens to be pending before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on social justice and empowerment. 

Although this has enquired with various resources at command but as yet no reply has been received. Therefore within this writing, it is urged that President GJM, take the necessary measures to enquire from the Darjeeling District Constituency MP, Hon’ble Jaswant Singh to at least find out, in writing to the said Committee 

1.Whether the additional list of STs in Sikkim are in the list in the Ordinance and 

2.If and when the Parliamentary Committee will complete its findings and report. 

It is of interest to note in the referred IANS India (of March 14,2013) although the said Bill is titled as SC/ST, that in one of the middle paragraph of the script it is mentioned, “it was essential to bring this ordinance to give effect to a Supreme Court order. There has been an addition to the list of Scheduled Tribes, but there has been no revision in demarcation of the constituencies and assembly areas to give proper representation” Ashwini Kumar said.” This clearly indicates that the process of including the new STs in Census 2011 is already on the anvil and would have been passed in the Rajya Sabha. Further CPIM leader Sitaram Yechury said, “the Supreme court case was only in relation to STs questioning why the government included SC’s in the bill”. This presumes the fact that the list only contains ST in the Bill and no new list of SC. Therefore it is very certain that a new list of STs are reckoned to be contained in the applicable States. However this was challenged by none other than the BJP leader of the Rajya Sabha , Arun Jaitley insinuating, “questioned why government was rushing with the legislation when the general elections were a year away”. 

Further quote “The Supreme Court never told you to pass the legislative process and pass the bill, nor did the Supreme Court tell the government what the contents of the bill should be’, Jaitley said”. Since the members pressed, “the government agreed to send the bill to a standing committee with a fixed time frame”. Accordingly the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, P.J.Kurien addressed the issue, “I would convey it to the Chairman M. Hamid Ansari to refer the bill to a standing committee”. 

The above internet news (IANS) clearly amplifies that a new list of STs is certain to be incorporated in the respective states in Census 2011. With this understanding in mind read with the report submitted by the two related Commission’s in Sikkim during the period 2005-08 it can be presumed the list of new ST submitted by the two commissions and ‘resolved’ by the Sikkim State Assembly, can be said to be contained in the ST bill presently assumed standing under parliamentary committee. 

Therefore taking the entire above considerations in view, the additional list of STs applicable to the State of Sikkim surely and eventually would become a reality in time. After which moment the same list will be transferred to Darjeeling District and possibly in the adjoining areas of the Dooars, thereby ascertaining that the identity of these areas are similar to that of the State of Sikkim/Bhutan in a manner of constitutional understanding. As already stated in earlier discourses once the additional list of ST are listed in West Bengal, it would be only a matter of time the President under recommendation by the State Governor submitting a report determining Darjeeling District inhabited by a majority tribal population (80%) would allow the District and possibly, the Dooars to be determined as Scheduled Areas, the second and more impacting constituent of the Fifth Schedule which allows the area the legal right to democratically demand internal self rule, or a State/UT if you will, which ever applicable constitutionally. 

All said and done, it is unnecessary to prove further that Jyoti Kumar Rai must be complimented for taking the right decision at the right time in passing the resolution to the creation of a separate state of Gorkhaland. With the passing of the resolution it is now more or less confirmed, after the Central Cabinet constituting a group of ministers (GOM) to undertake the establishment of Telangana, is a prelude, triggering the Gorkhaland statehood demand as genuine and viable constitutionally. This is for the simple reason, that both Telangana and Darjeeling District (including the Dooars) are legally qualified to their respective demands as Scheduled Areas. Whereas Telenagana is already in the Fifth Schedule provision both as Scheduled Tribes and as a Scheduled Area and which provision taken to its logical end gives it the legal and constitutional guarantee in becoming a State of Telangana. Whereas in the case of Darjeeling & the Dooars the Scheduled Area criteria will eventually be a reality as per the above submissions, however, a delay seems to be prevalent as per the deliberations undertaking (above) in the Rajya Sabha. The matter seems to be pending with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on social justice and empowerment. 

( Hillman the analyst is Karma T. Pempahishey writer of various articles and topics on separate statehood and others )