Amid political changes, book talks Hill issues especially PPS

MANAS R BANNERJEE, SNS, SILIGURI, 10 MAY 2021 : As new Cabinet members of the West Bengal government took oath of office under the leadership of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the third consecutive term today, political observers in north Bengal have started discussing development, especially in the Hills, given the election results in the region.

However, apart from development projects, the Hills, Terai and the Dooars have been long looking for a 'Permanent Political Solution (PPS) to the political problem plaguing the region, while during election campaigns, the MP, expecting a change of guard in West Bengal, and Miss Banerjee, through the then fugitive Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha leader, Bimal Gurung, had assured to work for the issue. "However, significantly, many Gorkha, Rajbanshi and Adivasi candidates have been elected from the Hills and Terai and Dooars region in North Bengal on BJP tickets, and we do not know what role the BJP MLAs will play for the Hills. On the other hand, Miss Banerjee is always seen going against the Centre. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also pointed out to the relations between the Centre and the state and ensured execution of the PPS if the BJP came to power in Bengal," an observer said.

JP Gurung, the author of a book on Darjeeling Tea 'All in a cup of tea,' talks of the Hill issue erupting again.

In a chapter titled 'Movement for a separate state,' Mr Gurung says, "1 for one believe that the problem in the Hills has just temporarily been swept under the carpet. It will only take a small issue to ignite into a mass movement again. I think all stakeholders must realise that a permanent political solution is the only answer." However,Mr Gurung has failed to update in his book Bimal Gurung's return just before the elections, as he had sent it for publication before that. But he mentions his long absence in the region and how the party's Binoy Tamang faction was close to Miss Banerjee.

Author Gurung's family has seen three generations in the tea industry- -KB Gurung, IP Gurung and Rajeev Gurung. A Salesian College Publication, Sonada, Darjeeling, Mr Gurung dedicates the book to his father KB Gurung.

"This book is as much an autobiography as it is perceptive commentary into the life and times of the Darjeeling planter and his milieu," says Krishna Katal, Chairman (RTD) J Thomson & Co Pvt Ltd.

In his 12th chapter, Mr Gurung says: "The quest for an Indian identity through creation of a separate state within the framework of the Indian constitution has been a long standing demand of Indian Gorkhas. It all started with a memorandum being submitted to the Chief Secretary, Government of Bengal, by the Hillman's Association on 18 November 1917."

That time, according to Mr Gurung, SW Ladenla, Kharga Bahadur Chhetri, Dr Yensing Sitling, Prem Singh Kumani, Meghbir Singh, Lachuman Singh and Nar Prasad Kumai had put in their signatures. "A second memorandum was submitted on 25 October 1930 by Hillman's Association, addressing to Sir Samuel Hoare, Secretary of State for India, London. According to him, the same Association submitted the third memorandum to Sir Samuel Hoare and its copy was marked to Sir John Anderson, the then Governor of Bengal."

After that, according to the author, the president of the All India Gorkha League, NB Gurung, served a memorandum on the problems of Darjeeling district and neighboring areas, seeking suggestions for solutions, to the then Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru during his visit to Kalimpong. In 1972, demanding inclusion of the Nepali language in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution, a demonstration was staged when the then PM Indira Gandhi visited Darjeeling. Even black flags were waved after PM Morarji Desai, who allegedly declared that Nepali was a foreign language, the author says.

Before explaining the movement under the leadership of Subash Ghising, Mr Gurung says: "The then CM of the Congress-led government of West Bengal, Siddartha Shankar Ray, must have settled the discontentment in the Hills and formed the Darjeeling Hill Area Development Council comprising local members of Parliament, legislative Assembly and nominated members, but nothing much came of it." Mr Gurung also points out how tea gardens faced closure and battle between the CPIM and GNLF as in the valley stretching from Darjeeling to Singla on the Sikkim border, by presenting an article published in The Statesman, written by Ashish Chakraborty, in July 1988.

Terming Ghishing as the "Tiger of Darjeeling" and detailing information on his movement and the Darjeeling situation, Gurung says: "I must confess that I myself felt the heat and had to go and live in Sikkim for many months and returned to find all my personal belongings vandalised and anything of value stolen."