'We have to engage with the Bengal government, there's no other way' - Binay Tamang, rising star of Gorkha politics, he remains committed to a separate hill state

Devadeep Purohit, TT, 28 October 2017: Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has made it clear that she will not allow division of the state; Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to be on the same page. The Bharatiya Janata Party has not lent any support to the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland, or the agitation that inflicted a 104-day strike on the Queen of Hills.

A stoic Binay Tamang listens with rapt attention when told that from the looks of it, Gorkhaland doesn't have supporters in the power corridors of Calcutta or Delhi. The contours of his face change when asked if the idea of Gorkhaland is at all viable, given the limited resource-generation ability of the proposed new state. Then, as he starts arguing, the frown melts away.

"Till Article 3 remains a part of the Indian Constitution [it deals with the formation of new states, alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing states], the demand for Gorkhaland will resonate in the Darjeeling hills," says the rebel Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leader. "A separate state of Gorkhaland has been a dream we grew up with. We have tea, timber, tourism. We can have hydel power projects. This question of economic viability doesn't have any basis," Tamang stresses. He crosses his legs and leans back after making his point.

We are in his suite in Gorkha Bhavan in Salt Lake, a satellite town on the northern fringes of Calcutta. It has been a long day for him. He travelled from his village, Bloomfield Dali, to Bagdogra early in the morning to catch a flight to Calcutta. Upon his arrival, he went straight to Nabanna - the Bengal secretariat - for a meeting.

It is now 8.35 in the evening. Tamang might be gearing down to retire for the day, but that's not likely to happen soon. He has had an hour-long meeting with Mamata Banerjee lined up and television crews are milling about for a sound bite.

"We have to engage with the Bengal government. We don't have a choice," says the 52-year-old, justifying his interactions with the CM. He is reclining on a sofa, while two of his aides look on; yet another stands guard at the door. Once in a while his gaze wanders to his phone, sitting on the coffee table. It is on silent mode, but from the low groaning sound it emits from time to time, you can tell that it is ringing constantly.

"Yes, life has changed," he flashes a smile and adjusts the yellow sapphire on his right index finger. His wife got him to wear it in 2013, at the end of a six-month-long jail term he served in connection with the statehood movement.

Dressed in a linen shirt and trousers, Tamang does not quite look the regular politician that he has become. He has an athletic bearing and, when standing, he looks taller than his 5 feet 8 inches.

Tamang's father had been a soldier in the British Army, had been posted in the erstwhile British colonies of Hong Kong and Singapore. It seems Tamang Junior too had once dreamt of a career in the military. Then he got pulled into the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF)-led movement in 1986 and all else was forgotten.

His life has witnessed a sudden transition over the last month or so. From being a trusted aide of GJM chief Bimal Gurung, he is now one of his biggest adversaries. The same man, who would shout anti-Bengal government slogans till a couple of months ago, now moves around with AK-47 toting security guards provided by the Calcutta establishment.

Tamang doesn't talk about the shenanigans of the Trinamul regime anymore, now that he has assumed the role of chairman of the board of administrators of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). Instead, he has peace on his lips and invitations for prospective tourists.

He does maintain Gorkhaland still remains his " junoon" or obsession, but insists in the same breath that he doesn't believe in the philosophy of Gurung. "I do not believe in violence... Daju [the word for elder brother in Gorkhali and a reference to Gurung] wanted to pursue the path of violence. So, we had to part ways after spending around 11 years together."

Gurung and Tamang had come together in 2007 with the common aim of making Prashant Tamang, a Kolkata Police constable, the winner of Season 3 of the reality show, Indian Idol. "We spent many long nights planning how to get votes for Prashant," Tamang recounts.

Prashant's victory catapulted Gurung into leadership position in the hills. Tamang, who cut his teeth as a GNLF activist in his college days and thereafter as a social worker, joined him even as the GJM replaced the GNLF as the main force in Darjeeling.

But how things change. Tamang today complains that Gurung has hired professional killers to eliminate him. Thirteen armed security guards are posted at his home in Bloomfield Dali, off the road that connects Darjeeling and Kurseong. Visitors to his home are frisked and plainclothes cops start tracking any stranger that enters the village.

Such frills have lifted his bearing and stature as a leader, but some people have also started saying that "Captain of Morcha" - the nickname he had earned for his trouble-shooting abilities - is now an agent of the Bengal government.

Does it hurt?

"That's a wrong perception. There was some misconception after I gave a call to withdraw the strike following the first bipartite meeting with the state government on August 29. People did burn my effigy. But soon they started realising that violent protests and strikes yield nothing. And that's why the strike was finally withdrawn," says Tamang. "Now, people trust me. They come to meet me through the day at my home," he adds.

Indeed, with Gurung on the run to evade arrest, Tamang is trying to fill the leadership void and the Trinamul government is facilitating the process.

Following the withdrawal of the strike on September 26, the Bengal government has announced plans to inject around Rs 640 crore in the hills through the GTA. As chairman of the board of administrators, Tamang will have a say on the use of these funds in a variety of projects, ranging from construction of roads and buildings to installation of drinking water facilities.

Many in the hills believe Tamang is drawing his power from his command over this booty and the consequent ability to provide jobs - most of the projects are likely to be taken up under the 100-day work scheme in rural areas. But there are other views as well. Some complain that Tamang doesn't have Gurung's toughness and charisma, while others are apprehensive that he will turn into a stooge of Mamata Banerjee.

Tamang is well aware of it all. He doesn't try to dispel theories about what he is and what he is not. "I want to work for the peace and development of the hills. I want more tourists and film crews," he says and goes on to recount how he would wait for hours to catch a glimpse of Amitabh Bachchan, when the super-duper star was shooting for Barsaat Ki Ek Raat in Darjeeling of the 1980s.

He claims he has the hill people on his side, but he is not looking at any election right now - not even that of the GTA, the term of which ended in July 2017. "The board of administrators will run it for now. Even the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) continued without elections for four years," he says. The DGHC, a semi-autonomous body, was created to look after the administration of the hills in 1988. It was eventually replaced by the GTA.

And what about Gorkhaland?

According to Tamang, the movement will continue. "One day, we will surely realise our dream," he says, setting the long-term agenda, without spelling out a deadline. Clever that. Only a month in the limelight and he seems to have learnt what it takes - to talk the walk.

tétevitae

2007: Tamang is one of the founding members of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) floated by Bimal Gurung

The 50-something leader is a more moderate face of the Gorkhaland movement, low-key — till recently — and a trusted aide of Gurung.

At a rally in Kurseong this August, he declared that if Gurung was Ram, he was his Hanuman

August 2017: The assistant general secretary of the GJM is named chief co-ordinator in an emergency meeting since Gurung is on the run, evading arrest

August 31: He is expelled from the party after he announces decision to call off the indefinite bandh in the Hills, going against the GJM president. Is referred to as ‘Mir Jafar’ by Gurung

September 20: Mamata Banerjee forms the Board of Administrators for Darjeling Hills till the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) elections are held. Tamang is appointed its chairman and is the new power centre in the hills.

(Shared by Kalimpong News, Source & Courtesy: https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/we-have-to-engage-with-the-bengal-government-there-s-no-other-way-181637)