Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Advocates Sixth Schedule Inclusion for Darjeeling Hills

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, a senior Congress politician, brought attention to the long-ignored matter by demanding that the Darjeeling hills be included in the Sixth Schedule.

During his Tuesday speech in Parliament on statehood and Ladakh's Sixth Schedule position, Chowdhury also attracted attention to Darjeeling's Sixth Schedule status.

"I would request the government to consider the long-standing demand of the Gorkha community in Darjeeling, Bengal, to be included in the Sixth Schedule. This has been a demand for many years," Chowdhury said on Tuesday.

Many in the hills questioned if the Congress had acted prematurely on the matter. Subash Ghisingh lost his position of authority in Darjeeling in 2007 after Bimal Gurung overthrew him due to his disapproval of the Sixth Schedule. According to a hill resident, "the majority of the hill people united behind Gurung to oppose Ghisingh's Sixth Schedule demand and demand Gorkhaland."

In order to protect the rights of the local tribes, the Sixth Schedule calls for the management of tribal regions in a few Northeastern states. Since the majority of people in the Darjeeling hills are nominally non-tribal, many of them are against the Sixth Schedule. The majority of hill parties have argued that before implementing the Sixth Schedule status, the government should first award tribal status to 11 hill settlements, making tribal people in the hills the majority.

Only the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) is now promoting inclusion in the Sixth Schedule.

One homeowner stated, "Perhaps the Congress leadership does not have its ear on the ground on this issue."

Mahendra Chhetri, the head of the GNLF, recently met Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress, and demanded that the Sixth Schedule be put into effect. The BJP's ally, the GNLF, punished Chhetri for two years for meeting Rahul without getting the group's leadership's approval.

Early this month, at the beginning of Rahul's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Ajoy Edwards, the head of the Hamro Party, got to know him and accompanied him. On the other hand, Edwards has insisted on a constitutional resolution to the Sixth Schedule problem.

West Bengal Pradesh Congress general secretary Binay Tamang thanked Chowdhury for bringing up the Darjeeling issue and made an effort to emphasize that the party is pro-Gorkha.

"We are certain that the Congress and leading figures will continue to speak up for the political and constitutional justice of the Gorkhas and the entire region in order to find a solution, just as they have in the past," Tamang said in a written statement.

On Wednesday, Darjeeling-based BJP MP Raju Bista brought up the subject of the Darjeeling region's "long-standing demand for constitutional autonomy."

"Over the past ten years, the influx of Rohingyas and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants for political gain has posed a grave threat, resulting in demographic shifts that endangers the indigenous communities such as Gorkhas Adivasis, Rajbangshis, Rabha, Toto, Koche, Meche, Bengalis, and Hindi bhasis," stated Bista, emphasizing the region's strategic significance. I thus pleaded with the Government to accelerate the adoption of a constitutional solution for our area, protecting the populace and realizing their dreams."