Posts tagged ‘Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’

01/08/2013

Telangana Effect: Protests Brewing for Gorkhaland

As we thought (see –   https://chindia-alert.org/2013/07/31/divide-uttar-pradesh-into-four-states-mayawati-says/ ), one permissible split leads to others’ great expectations.

WSJ: “Protesters in Darjeeling, a tea-producing mountainous town in West Bengal in northern India, have stepped up calls for their own separate state of Gorkhaland, promising strikes and protests until their demands are met, after New Delhi gave the green-light to create Telangana state out of the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, in the south of the country.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha [Gorkha People’s Liberation Campaign], a political party spearheading a movement for the creation of Gorkhaland state, has called for a complete shutdown in the popular Himalayan town starting Saturday after protests brought life there to a standstill earlier this week.

“Now that Delhi is creating Telangana, Gorkhaland should be considered too. We have no option  but to intensify our movement,” Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s general secretary, Rooshan Giri, told India Real Time Thursday.

Mr. Giri said his party had advised tourists and students of boarding schools to leave the town as protests were planned over the next few days that will restrict movement of public transport and trucks carrying food grains to Darjeeling from Siliguri, a commercial center in the northern part of West Bengal, about 40 miles south of Darjeeling.

“There’s no way out. We will not stop until our demand is met,” Mr. Giri said.”

via Telangana Effect: Protests Brewing for Gorkhaland – India Real Time – WSJ.

05/08/2012

* Gorkhaland demand still alive

The Hindu: “Even as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee assured the people of the Darjeeling hills that their demands would be met and urged them to refrain from getting into a conflict with the government, the spectre of a separate Gorkhaland loomed over the swearing-in of the elected and nominated representatives of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) Sabha here on Saturday.

Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) president Bimal Gurung addressed the gathering as the people of “Gorkhaland,” and said the newly-elected representatives would work to usher in development and peace for those who live in the “Gorkhaland region.” After they were sworn in, most of the members of GTA Sabha hailed “Jai Gorkhaland” from the podium. The GJM leadership used the word “Gorkhaland” repeatedly, but avoided mentioning the party’s earlier demand for a separate State. The GJM leadership has already stated that it isn’t giving up on its demand for a separate State.

The Darjeeling hills have been on the boil in recent years, with a series of agitations and bandhs called by the GJM. On July 18 last year, a tripartite treaty was signed among the Centre, the State government, and the GJM and it paved the way for the setting up of the GTA — a development for which Ms. Banerjee takes the credit, for “having restored peace to Darjeeling in three months” (since her government came to power). “The process that began on July 18 has reached its final conclusion with the swearing-in of all members of the GTA Sabha,” said Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh.”

via The Hindu : States / Other States : Gorkhaland demand still alive.

Indian ethnic minorities continue to demand separate states.

See also: ability of the Indian central government to continue to hold the country together

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