Morcha ends bandh after ‘national’ push

TT, Dec. 14: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today called off its four-day bandh to “respect” requests from national leaders but said party workers would press ahead with their fast to keep up the pressure for statehood ahead of tripartite talks next Monday.

The Morcha claimed “positive indications” from the Union home minister but added that the BJP too had played a role in the temporary truce.

The BJP leadership, which had lost its link with the hills after the expulsion of Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh from the party, today met a Morcha delegation in Delhi.

The BJP is officially in favour of small states. But the rash of demands in Uttar Pradesh and even Gujarat — states which the BJP does not want to carve up — appears to have prompted the party to counsel restraint to the Morcha at least until the tripartite talks scheduled for December 21 are over.

The serial bandh, which was in force in Darjeeling till 6 this evening, also set the stage for the first interaction in public between Jaswant and L.K. Advani since the expulsion.

In Parliament, Jaswant, the Morcha-backed MP, asked the House and Advani in particular to intervene to defuse the situation in the hills.

“People of Darjeeling have fought for India and have been our saviours for years. This is an emotional issue for them,” the former foreign minister said. He urged Advani “not to forget the party manifesto”. The party manifesto had said it would “sympathetically examine the long-pending demands of the Gorkhas”.

Advani responded, saying he was meeting representatives from Darjeeling.

A four-member Morcha delegation led by general secretary Roshan Giri met Advani and Sushma Swaraj.

In Darjeeling, Morcha president Bimal Gurung said: “L.K. Advani and Sushma Swaraj called me up today and requested us to lift the strike. A similar message had also been sent by P. Chidambaram and by Jaswant Singh. We will respect their requests.”

Bengal home secretary Ardhendu Sen said the state government was “happy”. “However, they are continuing with the hunger strike and two people have fallen ill,” he added. “We are concerned about the situation and it is not conducive for the tripartite talks.”

Morcha leaders said they had also kept in mind outgoing governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi’s departure-eve appeal to join the talks.

Gurung, however, warned that if the December 21 meeting didn’t yield “satisfactory results”, he would “intensify” the agitation and start an indefinite hunger strike involving schoolchildren.

Morcha leader Amar Lama said the delegation had received “positive indications” from Chidambaram.

“We cannot always look at pressure tactics. They can be used only to a certain extent,” Lama said. The statement appeared to suggest the Morcha didn’t expect a Telangana-like announcement anytime soon.

GJMM calls off Hills bandh mid-way

SNS,SILIGURI/KURSEONG, 14 DEC: Sensing the growing discontent among the masses, the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) today truncated its four-day long Hills bandh midway from 6 p.m. this evening.
Convened over the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state, the shutdown had begun at 6 a.m. today and was to continue till the same time on 18 December.
GJMM president Mr Bimal Gurung himself announced the strike withdrawal at a public meeting at Chowrastha in Darjeeling this afternoon.
“Outgoing West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi, the Union home minister, BJP leaders Mr LK Advani and Mrs Sushma Swaraj have requested us to call off the bandh and the hunger strikes.
“Also, there is the need to maintain a congenial atmosphere for the 21 December tripartite talks. In view of all these, we are withdrawing the bandh from 6 p.m. today, but the fasting would continue,”
Mr Gurung announced at the public gathering.
He further said that if the ensuing tripartite talks fail to make a positive outcome, the GJMM would include five students each from all the Hills schools in the fast and in that case, the hunger strikes would be staged on the NH 31 and NH 55 at different points.
“Also, let me remind that if there be a need, I would kill myself openly at Chowrastha on 10 March 2010, but those (opponent leaders) calling for my death should also be present there at that time. Before killing myself, I would turn Darjeeling into ashes,” Mr Gurung said at the meeting.
Political observers, however, believe that the GJMM chief was under tremendous pressure from a negative public opinion and were thus compelled to call off the bandh using the ministers’ request as a pretext.
GJMM rival the GNLF however, reacted with caution over the strike withdrawal call.

For a day only, but bandh haunts - Sikkim Himalayan state mum, fears sour relations

TT, Gangtok, Dec. 14: The bandh— although it came down to 12 hours from the four days planned initially—called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in the Darjeeling hills has affected tourists visiting Sikkim or local people who want to spend their nine-day Lossoong and Namsoong holidays outside the Himalayan state.

As usual, the strike choked the border town of Rangpo as NH31A remained out of bounds for vehicles plying on the highway, Sikkim’s only road link to the rest of the country.

Sanjay Agarwal, a resident of Rangpo, said no vehicles plied through the checkpost till late in the afternoon. “The Morcha picketers only allowed army vehicles to move and those people who had emergencies and with valid air or train tickets. No other vehicle was seen since morning today,” he said. While Sikkim government officials are in contact with their counterparts in Darjeeling, the state administration is taking a cautious approach.

Sources in the government said if Sikkim made it known that it was facing hardships, then it could dampen relationships between the two areas. “Again, if we claim that there are no hardships then the Morcha could impose harsher methods of blocking the state,” a senior officer in the state administration said. Police here said all tour operators and hoteliers had been told in advance to inform their guests and tourists about the bandh and make arrangements accordingly.

Since the announcements had been made relatively early, precautionary measures had been taken. Many Sikkimese had advanced their tours although officially the holiday for the harvest festival is supposed to start tomorrow. They left for their destinations last week itself. Businessmen had also managed to stock up on their merchandise. The tourist visiting Sikkim, however, had to curtail their holidays.

Among those who had to leave in advance were Nepali actor Uttam Pradhan and Padmashree winner and littérateur, G.S. Lama. “Both of them had to cut short their presence at the reality show organised by Swar Sikkim. While Pradhan is the judge of the show now in its quarter final stage, Lama is the president of Swar Sikkim,” one of the organisers of the show said.

Many drivers like Dawa Tamang, however, were not willing to venture out today even if there was a relaxation provided by the Morcha picketers for his vehicle, which could have carried passengers with valid tickets. “There are many risks involved and I do not want to get involved into any trouble,” he said. In fact, the motor stand in Gangtok had a deserted look throughout the day.

Jaswant reaches out to Advani

ET, NEW DELHI: The four-day-long bandh called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in support of their demand for a separate Gorkhaland state was called off on Monday evening after Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh and the principal Opposition party, the BJP, appealed to them to help restore normalcy in the region in the run up to thecommencement of the December 21 tripartite talks.

The issue came up during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha on Monday, when Mr Singh, who was elected to the House from Darjeeling with the backing of the GJM, made out a strong case for the formation of the separate state of Gorkhaland. He, at the same time, urged the protesters to withdraw their bandh call to pave the way of favourable conditions for the resumption of tripartite talks. His appeal was endorsed by Leader of the Opposition and his former colleague L K Advani.
A GJM delegation led by its general secretary Roshan Giri met Mr Advani and Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley later in the day, seeking their support for their cause. “Mr Advani appealed to the GJM leaders to continue with the tripartite talks after giving up the path of bandh and fast,’’ Ms Swaraj informed newspersons later in the day.
The combined efforts of the BJP and its estranged colleague had a positive impact on the GJM. The 96-hour shutdown was subsequently called off at 6 pm. “The decision was taken after the BJP leaders urged that the shutdown call be withdrawn for a normal situation to prevail before the tripartite talks schedule in Darjeeling on December 21,’’ Mr Giri said later.
Jaswant appeals to House to intervene

TT, New Delhi. Dec. 14: Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh today asked the Lok Sabha to collectively intervene to defuse the growing tension in the hills after the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha decided to go ahead with its hunger strike.

Warning parliamentarians against ignoring the people of Darjeeling, Singh asked the House to appeal to protesting Morcha leaders to call off their indefinite fast for statehood and to return to the talks table.The fourth round of tripartite talks — between the Morcha and the central and state governments — will be held on December 21.   Shops shut in Kurseong during the bandh on Monday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

The Morcha, however, has called off its 96-hour bandh, a part of its movement that had gained fresh impetus following the Centre’s decision to carve out Telangana from Andhra Pradesh.

“Darjeeling is our guardian. People of Darjeeling have fought for India and have been our saviours for years. This is an emotional issue for them,” the former foreign minister said making a rare appearance in the Lok Sabha this session.

The appeal from the House, Singh said, should specifically ask the Morcha to refrain from blocking National Highway 31A. The highway is Sikkim’s only road link to the rest of the country and is affected every time Darjeeling calls a strike.

Singh contested finance minister Pranab Mukherjee’s statement last week suggesting that the creation of Telangana -— announced by the Centre -— was a one-off decision. Mukherjee’s comments had come after a series of demands for separate states from across the country flowed in, following the decision to form Telangana.

“Granting statehood is not a matter of principle. It is an issue of governance and of emotions,” said Singh, who had won from Darjeeling riding piggyback on Morcha support. Despite being a part of Bengal, Darjeeling had largely been ignored by the state, the former BJP leader alleged.

Singh urged the Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani “not to forget the party manifesto”. The BJP had in its election manifesto, released before the Lok Sabha polls in May, said it was in favour of small states. It had not incorporated or made any specific reference to “Gorkhaland” but had said that the party would “sympathetically examine.the long pending demands of the Gorkhas”.

Autonomy cry in Dooars

TT, Siliguri, Dec. 14: The Terai Dooars Regional unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad has demanded the formation of a Dooars Terai Regional Autonomous Council to counter the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s demand that the region be included in the new state that it wants.

Tez Toppo, the state general secretary of the Parishad, said: “We are going to organise a public meeting at Meteli in Jalpaiguri district on December 20, where we will formally raise the demand for the formation of an autonomous council for Terai and the Dooars.”

The unit of the Parishad was formed on December 6 for the sole purpose of demanding an autonomous council.

“We are not against the Morcha’s demand for a separate state as long as they confine it to the three hill constituencies. But if they try to include the Dooars and the Terai in the state that they want, we will oppose it and we will announce our stand in the coming meeting as well,” Toppo said. “The Morcha leaders have their support base in the hills and if they demand a separate state for the hills only, we are not going to raise any objections. But in Dooars and Terai area, we have the majority.”

Sanjibhai Damor and Birsa Tirkey, the Parishad’s presidents at the national and state committee levels, will address the meeting to be attended by Parishad supporters from different parts of north Bengal.

The Bangla o Bangla Bhasa Bachao Committee, on the other hand, is opposed to the Morcha demand of statehood, with or without the Dooars. They will organise a day-long hunger strike in Siliguri tomorrow in protest.

Mukunda Majumdar, the president of the committee, said: “A 15-member team of our organisation will sit on fast in front of the head post office here as a mark of protest against the conspiracy of dividing the state.”

The Morcha bandh today affected traffic in Siliguri. No buses from Sikkim Nationalised Transport Terminal could ply to the Himalayan state because of a Morcha picket at Sevoke Bazar. No vehicles, except some on school and emergency services, ran on NH55 that connects Darjeeling to the plains. Morcha supporters checked all vehicles at Dagapur, on the outskirts of Siliguri, before letting them pass.

Nirmal Rai, one of the central committee members of the hill outfit, said: “We had arranged special buses for the stranded passengers who have come from outside and needed to reach their destinations today. Apart from that, we had also exempted school buses and ambulances from the strike.”

All-party meeting on Gorkhaland demanded

SNS, SILIGURI, 14 DEC: Taking cue from the Darjeeling district Left Front convener and a senior CPI-M leader, Mr Asok Bhattacharya’s plea for an all-party meeting on the Gorkhaland problem, the Front constituents RSP and the CPI have demanded the same in view of the fresh spurt in the agitation momentum following the Centre's concession on Telangana. The Opposition Trinamul Congress, on the other hand, has asked the state government to come clean on the Sixth Schedule issue vis a vis the Darjeeling hills.
Demanding an immediate all-party meeting on the deepening political crisis in the hills, a senior district RSP leader, Mr Tapas Goswami said that the situation warranted the state chief minister's intervention for a platform to exchange views across the political spectrum. “The fasting agitation is going on. The situation might take a turn for the worse on the law and order front. It seems imperative the state government takes a stand on the problem. Besides, my party thinks that the state government should take the initiative to involve non-GJMM parties like the GNLF, CPRM and AIGL in the tripartite dialogue slated on 21 December,” the RSP leader said.
Echoing the view, the district CPI secretary, Mr Ujjwal Chowdhury said that an all-party meeting on the deepening tangle might help evolve a consensus clearing much of the political cobwebs hanging around the intractable matter.
However, taking a different stand, a senior district Forward Bloc leader, Mr Smritish Bhattacharya said that the focus should remain trained instead on the coming three-way parleys at this juncture.
“We should first see what stand the UPA government takes on the matter. The people know about the individual stands of Mr Pranab Mukherjee and Ms Mamata Banerjee. But these can hardly be construed as the collective stand of the Centre on the sensitive matter,” he said.

Meanwhile, the district Trinamul Congress president, Mr Goutam Deb asked the state government to clarify its stand on the Sixth Schedule issue. “The state government has, chameleon like, changed colours with time on the matter to suit political expediency. It slept on the proposal for years, placed it in the state Assembly for a consensus and then suddenly woke up to its terrible importance. Again with the proposal being put on the backburner at the behest of the Congress and the BJP at the national level, the state government has gone into a slumber on the issue. We wonder whether the state government has ever been serious on it or just milked it to sow dissension in the trouble-struck hills to let the crisis smoulder,” the Trinamul leader said.

Entitlements evade Nepalese SCs in Hills

SNS, SILIGURI, 14 DEC: The senior functionaries of the All Indian Nepalese Scheduled Caste Association have alleged that the people, belonging to the Scheduled Caste categories in the Darjeeling hills, remained at the receiving end of administrative apathy regarding the SC entitlements in case of loans, subsidies and educational stipends.
“Loans we are entitled to as per several Central schemes meant for the socially weaker sections have ceased to be sanctioned as the concerned departments remain non-functional here. This aside, several schools catering to the educational requirements of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students spread over the hills have ceased to exist because of lack of funds and administrative support. Both the state backward welfare ministry and the Darjeeling district administration seem engaged in passing the buck on one another,” said the representatives of the organization.
According to an AINSCA central committee member Mr Rajman Darmal, the loans previously sanctioned by the Darjeeling branch of the West Bengal SC/ST Development Corporation have stopped altogether with the department remaining non-functional for years. “Deputations served to the state ministers and administrative officials have failed to yield positive results. The story is the same with the NSFDC loans and subsidies. Even the Siliguri branch of the Central Board for the Workers’ Education, entrusted with the responsibility of arousing awareness about the government conceived welfare programmes and schemes among the socially weaker section of the society is non-functional. To cut the long story short, the SC and ST people seem at their wits’ end wondering whether they would continue to be given such raw treatment as long as the Darjeeling hills remain within the administrative contours of West Bengal,” Mr Darmal said.
Speaking on the matter, another functionary of the organization, Mr Suresh Diyali said that the educational stipends meant for the SC and ST students had stopped coming for two years. “Besides, several schools catering to the academic requirements of the subaltern students were wound up for lack of funds. We can cite the instances of the Panighatta-based Dr Ambedkar Memorial Primary School and the Ambedkar Vidyapith at Soureni Bazaar. These have remained closed for years,” he complained.

According to Mr Sachit Lohar, another senior functionary of the organization, their grievances over atrocities and humiliation remain unaddressed. “Though such atrocities remain a grim reality in our society, the administration rarely takes recourse to the Anti-Atrocities Act to bring the perpetrators to justice,” he said. Asked to comment on the deprivation grievances among the SC-ST people in the hills, the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council administrator, Mr B L Meena said that he would ask his officials to look into these. “But as far as my knowledge goes application forms regarding loans and other entitlements are being distributed for the SC-ST people. Stoppage of students’ stipends is a serious matter,” Mr Meema said. BITS AND PIECES

Malvika Singh, TT, 15 Dec:

With the government at the Centre having buckled to the ‘fast-unto-death’ pressure or blackmail, call it what you may, the United Progressive Alliance government has paved the way for many groups to make their demands and fast unto death till their personal little kingdoms are delivered. Vidarbha should take a quick lead and bring its demands to a boil. So should Gorkhaland, Bodoland, Maoland and Ulfaland, among others. Fifty-eight-plus states would be easy pie. Rumours abound about who forced the pace and brought about this negative decision. The great oral tradition tells no lies and the very small, key group of ‘players’ who orchestrated the timing from Delhi with their ‘partners in crime’ in the state, have defied the real political position in Andhra Pradesh as well as the late Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, who was dead against the breaking up of this Congress bastion in south India. A snippet of recent history — when the high command in Delhi was consciously misinformed by a vested interest faction about the possible election result in 2009, he, as the incumbent chief minister, asserted the correct political position, pulled the rug from under the feet of the ‘manipulators’, stalled the deal for the time being, and won an incredible victory, killing all talk of ‘anti-incumbency’. He understood the reality of his state. N. Chandrababu Naidu, who at the same time had tried to become the saviour of Telangana in a desperate effort to assert himself politically, lost badly. K. Chandrasekhar Rao and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti were wiped out at the hustings. To resurrect them for no reason at all, and to consciously dilute the presence of the Congress in the South, can only be described as a ‘kneejerk reaction’. Scarred nation The other explanation for this ‘announcement’ was that the core group believed, wrongly, that there was a ‘people’s uprising’, and that stopping the bifurcation would lead to violence. To jog our recent memories, this was the same ‘reason’ given by those who triggered the killing of the Sikhs in Delhi, the destruction of the Babri Masjid and more — passing the buck to innocent citizens who want none of this. If the Congress was keen on the creation of Telangana, it should have started the process some years ago, when the TRS was a part of the coalition. Clearly, no thought has gone into that. Political ‘business’ in the Congress is, as usual, meticulously planned behind the scenes in Delhi, with regional players making parochial demands. False statements about the reality on the ground are deliberately made to those few who finally take the decision in good faith. The leadership in Delhi should have its hand on the pulse. What prompted the Congress to destroy itself, just when it had begun to recover? Has the Congress-led UPA worked out a meticulous plan to divide Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashta into sub-regions? Will it give in to the demands of Rayalaseema, Braj, Bhojpur, Oudh, Bundelkhand, Magadh, Darjeeling, Duars, Marwar, Mewar, Bhilistan and more? Is it serious about redefining state boundaries? Doing this sensibly requires a profound understanding of our civilization and a keen knowledge of the mechanisms and processes of decentralized governance. Alas, those who manipulate such moves are just political ‘operators’, not political stalwarts. That is the tragedy of present-day India. It is bereft of great leaders. It would be fascinating to know how this ‘deal’ happened. A little booklet written by a fly on the wall would make riveting reading and would expose the manner of politicking in India. Instead of calming tempers, faulty political judgement has stoked the fire that will engulf ordinary, decent citizens and leave the next generation scarred. Can this be reversed? Meet and Greet Bijay Bantawa in Guwahati Gangtok based senior journalist from Sikkim Bijay Bantawa who is in Guwahati in a ten day visit for ground study on various spheres of life of Gorkhas in Assam today met members of various Gorkha organizations that includes All Assam Gorkha Students’ Union (AAGSU), Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh; Assam State Committee, Nepali Sahitya Kala Niketan, Nepali Mandir Prabandhak Samitee. The formal meeting presided by Purna Chetri Gorkha columnist and journalist was attended by  Dr. Shanti Thapa  Assistant Editor “Hamro Dhwani”, Rohit Goutam Deputy Editor “Saparivar”, Nanda Kirati Dewan Guwahati Bureau Chief “Gorkha Times” , Gokarna Mishra former Executive Editor “Saparivar”, Sanjay Pradhan Publisher “Hamro Dhwani” and poetess Indu Prava Devi also representatives of the named organizations. The “Meet and Greet Bijay Bantawa” program was held at the office of AAGSU, Gorkha Thakurbari Paltan Bazar Guwahati.  Mr. Bantawa on his arrival at Nepali Mandir (Gorkha Thakurbari) was accorded warm welcome with flower bouquet and traditional Asomiya phoolam gamocha. In a formal introduction ceremony he was felicitated by all the organization while Gorkhali press fraternity of Guwahati felicitated him with a traditional Asomiya Xorai and published books and magazine from Assam. Purna Chetri and Dr. shanti Thapa listens while Bijay Bantawa(M) addresses In his welcome address Purna Chetri who is also the spokesperson of Gorkha Autonomous Council Demand Committee (GACDC) said that its been an honour to meet and greet a personality like Mr. Bantwa who has served the Gorkha community as a journalist for the 25 years now. He asked him throw light on demand of Gorkha Autonomous Council in Assam, on agitation and formation of proposed Gorkhaland and Sikkim’s stand on both issues.  He welcomed him in virtual capital of the North East and wished him a healthy stay in Assam. He also requested him to speak on issues he feels to address in common. The editor of “Himgiri” replied to all the queries raised in the meeting by all organizations in a very sweet and simple way. “The adoption of Gorkha Development Council by the state cabinet in Assam is good news not only for the Gorkhas of Assam but also for the nation as a whole”, he added. He threw light on need of creation of Gorkhaland a homeland for Gorkhas and asserted that Gorkhaland is never for Darjeeling alone. Bantawa in his short speech outlined the history of Sikkim and settlement of Gorkhas in the state. Representatives of all the organization also exchanged their views in the meeting. The veteran journalist finally after replying to queries thanked the overwhelming response, love and affection showered by the people of Guwahati. The senior journalist in few days will discuss issues with AAGSU, Assam Gorkha Sanmellan, BGP Assam State, Nepali Sahitya Parishad; Assam, Assam Nepali Sahitya Sabha and GACDC. He will also interact with members of Gauhati Press Club. Message of arrival of Bijay Bantawa has spread like a forest fire. The common people of Guwahati has expected a good well researched material online on Gorkhas of Assam.