Darjeeling recalls role of Netaji in freedom struggle

EOI, DARJEELING, JANUARY 23, 2023: On the 126th birth anniversary of Subash Chandra Bose, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration chairman and Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha president Anit Thapa said on Monday it was important to take inspiration from the freedom fighter to struggle and bring about change.

On Monday, the Darjeeling district administration in collaboration with the GTA organized a joint program in Chowrasta, to mark the birth anniversary of Netaji.

“We have to learn from Bose’s struggle during the freedom movement. It must have really been difficult to stand up and fight against the British. We must take inspirations from him,” said Thapa in his brief speech.

The BGPM president said it was a struggle to restore peace and make Darjeeling free from strikes. “We faced an uphill task and struggled really hard to restore peace and stability in the hills. Democracy is now flourishing and Darjeeling hill is strike free,” said Thapa. 

The hills of Darjeeling have witnessed bouts of agitation for a separate Gorkha state over the years including the now infamous 104-days strike in 2017 that destroyed the region’s economic backbone. 

The West Bengal government brokered peace and placed Thapa and Binoy Tamang at the helm of the GTA after Bimal Gurung leading the other faction of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha went in to hiding.

The GTA chairman said Netaji had close connections with the hills and the Gorkha community. “Wehave a history attached with the freedom fighter and our community is very close to him. Netaji stayed at Giddeypahar in Kurseong during the freedom movement,” said Thapa. In 1936, the freedom fighter was put under house arrest by the British and he stayed at Giddeypahar in the house owned by his brother Sarat Chandra Bose.

The house was brought by Sarat Chandra in 1922 and was witness to important incidents associated with the lives and struggles of the Bose brothers.

Interestingly, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee this year did not attend Netaji’s birth anniversary programme in Darjeeling.

After coming to power in West Bengal, it was Mamata’s initiative to organize an event on the occasion of Netaji’s birth anniversary in the hills and had never given it a miss. The Bose house in Giddeypahar has now been converted into a pictorial gallery on Netaji, developed by the Indian Museum, Kolkata. 

Just above the house is the Centre for Studies in Himalayan Languages, Society and Culture that was established in 2001, by the West Bengal Government. Four rooms of the house have been utilized to display photographs and other artefacts related to Netaji. 

The first room captures the essence of Giddepahar and its surroundings and the second room reflects the role of Bose brothers in the freedom struggle and various correspondences with Jawahar Lal Nehru and Rabindra Nath Tagore. While, the third room is concerned with displays concerning the Indian National Army (INA) and the role of the hill people in the national movement, the fourth room has been designated as the Period Room where the Bose family’s (especially Netaji’s)belongings have been put on display.