Darjeeling Unrest: Meeting between WB Govt and GJM Fails

It has been 80 days now that the alarming situation in the Darjeeling hills has begun and the indefinite shutdown in the region is still going on. Bipartite negotiations between West Bengal government officials headed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and a team comprising members of the Gorkhaland Movement Coordination Committee (GMCC) was held on August 29. But it proved to be futile, as Banerjee ruled out the discussions on the separate state in the meeting.

“They raised the demand of Gorkhaland, but we did not agree on this issue. We said this is not in our hands and we cannot discuss this. You can raise your voice as it is your democratic right, but the state government has its own jurisdictions, some constitutional obligations, and bindings," IANS reported Banerjee saying.

With trade on hold, the tourism industry affected, schools shut down and internet banned in the region, this announcement of Mamata Banerjee was not welcomed by the Gorkhas.

Tensions in the region got intensified on Friday with the alleged police firing in which a Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporter was killed. With this, the death toll reached nine, in the ongoing agitation that had started on June 8.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung has been absconding ever since the agitations have begun. He has been communicating with his party members and supporters through audio and video messages in secrecy. The CID West Bengal is currently probing a case and has issued lookout notice for Bimal Gurung along with two other GJM members for their alleged role in various violent incidents, including the blasts in Darjeeling and Kalimpong.

Division within the movement:

An alliance of 14 hill parties has formed into GMCC and is leading the Gorkhaland movement with GJM playing a crucial role. For the past few days, there has been an upheaval in the political arena of the hills, particularly within the GJM. In a central committee meeting held on Friday, the GJM leadership expelled its Joint Secretary Binay Tamang and senior party leader Anit Thapa. “They were not working in sync with the party’s aspirations and attempted to derail the Gorkhaland movement,” GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri told IANS.

A Need for a Tripartite Meeting

A tripartite meeting has to be achieved between the Central Government, the state government, and the GMCC in order to resume normalcy and peace in the region. Earlier in August, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had appealed the West Bengal government to initiate a dialogue with the leaders of the movement. Since the bipartite meeting couldn’t bring any change in the situation, now it is up to the Central government to intervene.

This decade old movement for separate statehood has occurred in several waves. In the late 1980s, the entire Darjeeling Hills were thrown into violence as the Gorkhaland movement became militant. In recent past, large scale agitations have occurred in 2007 and again in 2013. The ongoing agitations began with the West Bengal government’s announcement of making Bengali as mandatory language.