GORKHALAND STATE ACHIEVEMENT COMMITTEE (G-SAC) – A Broad Based Leadership : The Only Way Forward for Gorkhaland

Mahendra P. Lama, KalimNews, 26 June 2017: A strategy, roadmap on the way forward for the ongoing movement for a separate state of Gorkhaland seems to be necessary. Prof. Lama depicts it as follows:

1        The  present phase of movement for Gorkhaland has made five important achievements

i)  For the first time public opinion has converged  into a single point agenda i.e. Gorkhaland to be the 30^th constituent state within the constitutional framework  of India.

ii)   It is now peoples’ movement driven by the people, for the people and of the people.

iii)  It has now received the huge support from all across the country

iv)  It has received a huge media coverage and national audience for the first time in last two decades

v)  A healthy debate is recorded in all social media including in Facebook, Twitter and others

vi)  Hon’ble Chief Minister of Sikkim Dr Pawan Chamling, by writing a letter to the Home Minister of India supporting the statehood demand of Gorkhaland,  has added a new dimension to the demand paving the way for a huge national debate on the issues involved and the required national intervention. He has once again demonstrated his political sagacity.

2        Now what needs to be done :

i)  The demand for Gorkhaland has to be taken to the national level and discussions should start at the Parliament as soon as possible. And also outside in Delhi and other cities among the political parties, national civil society and other stakeholders including industrial and business houses.

ii)  The ongoing Bandh impact is maximum and unprecedented and the people have shown both courage and resilience/stamina to withstand the fall out of the Bandh in no uncertain terms.

However, the Bandh has to be lifted sooner or later as it is the ordinary people who are suffering and both the State Government and Central Government have become silent spectators.

iii)  A major shift has to be made in the contents and orientation of the movement from the present emotional outpourings to discussion and debate on concrete and substantive issues of why Gorkhaland ?

iv)  Increasingly move away from the Bengal administration’s distractive tactics and repressive measures like internet ban, security forces clamp down  and others. And concentrate in Delhi where the decision for a statehood is actually made.

3       How do we reach the Goal of Gorkhaland :

             Organisational Structure

i)   Forge a multi-community and inter-disciplinary 31 member GORKHALAND NATIONAL LEADERSHIP (GNL) with Members of Parliament, Member of Legislative Assemblies and representations from states like Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh,  Bihar, Delhi, Assam and other North East states  in the following lines :

a)    political parties

b) professionals including lawyers, ex-armymen, media, technocrats, academics, industrialists, former civil servants, literary figures and sports and musicians            

c)   youth and students representatives

d)   women

e)   workers and employees and

f)  Darjeeling diaspora : who graduated from Darjeeling schools and colleges and also those who worked in Darjeeling, spread all over the country and who are from Darjeeling  Parliamentary Constituency and Dooars working all across.

ii)    Make national level GORKHALAND  STRATEGIC BODIES (GSB)of :

a)    Youths and students

b)    Women

c)    Professionals

d)    Teachers and Academics

e)   Workers and Employees

iii)  And the most critical GORKHALAND STATE ACHIEVEMENT COMMITTEE

                                                             (G-SAC)

a)  It should be an 11 member team picked up or co-opted from the multi community Gorkhaland NATIONAL LEADERSHIP (GNL)

b)   It will be the core strategy making body

c)    It will announce all the programmes

c)   It will have the national spokes-person

d)    It will negotiate with the Union Government and other related agencies.

e)   It will manage the activities of GNL and GSBs

                                           Organisational Structure Framework

         

                                  GORKHALAND   NATIONAL  LEADERSHIP (GNL)

                                                                                     

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                       GORKHALAND STATE  ACHIEVEMENT  COMMITTEE (G-SAC)

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GORKHALAND  STRATEGIC  BODIES (GSB)

Framework  Floated  By :

Mahendra P Lama,

Member, Civil Society and 

Darjeeling Dooars United Development Foundation