Land, Language, and Identity Themes Echo in Darjeeling Politics

The fundamental themes of hill politics—land, language, and identity—reverberated across Darjeeling on Thursday.

At two different ceremonies in Darjeeling on Thursday, senior members of the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) and the competing Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) were present.

A celebration was held on August 20, 1992, to commemorate the inclusion of the Nepali language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, which came about after a 40-year fight under the authority of the BGPM.

As the main guest at the GTA event, Dil Kumari Bhandari, a former Sikkim MP who had introduced a private member bill for linguistic recognition and was instrumental in securing support from other MPs, was invited.

The subject of "Gorkhas' dream" was brought up by Anit Thapa, the president of the BGPM and the chief executive of the GTA.

The leaders of this campaign did not anticipate being in power after the victory of the language fight, thus it was a success. The aspiration of the Gorkhas must not be politicized," Thapa said.

During his 2014 Lok Sabha campaigning in the area, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the infamous claim that the desire of the Gorkhas was also his dream.

The BJP has pledged a long-term political solution for the area in its campaign for the 2019 elections, as well as the awarding of tribal status to 11 Gorkha groups. The promises, however, have not yet been fulfilled.

Since 2009, the hills have elected the BJP to the Lok Sabha for three straight elections.

The president of the GNLF, a BJP affiliate in the hills, Maan Ghisingh, also said on Thursday that the initiative now belonged to the party.

At Chowrasta, Ghisingh said, "We have done everything to win their (the BJP's) heart. The ball is now in the BJP's court."

However, the GNLF leader expressed optimism for a resolution and stated that they were often bringing up hill problems with the BJP.

The general public is aware that even the BJP's friends in the hills are concerned about the delay in fulfilling the twin pledges.

The annual Banbo festival (a celebration for environment worshipers) was organized by the GNLF on Thursday. Subash Ghisingh, the head of the GNLF at the time, organized the event to emphasize the hill people's tribal identity.

Ghisingh was then promoting the Sixth Schedule, a constitutional clause for certain tribal regions, despite the fact that just 32% of tribal people lived in such areas in 2005, the year a deal for the provision was reached.

Ghisingh had wanted tribal recognition for the whole Gorkha population against the objections of numerous non-tribals and the Schedule Caste group. He said that in the 1931 Census, the British had categorized the Gorkhas as hill tribes.

The need to provide tribal status to 11 Gorkha groups, as promised by the BJP, was underscored at the GNLF event on Thursday.

In the highlands, BJP allies are hopeful for the next special five-day session of Parliament that will be held in September.

"We are pinning our hopes on this session as the five-year tenure (of this BJP-led government at the Centre) is almost ending and none of the hill promises has been fulfilled so far," a hill leader said.