Rebuttal to the article by Dr Soumitra Mohan “No case for separate Gorkhaland state”

As a counterblast to the article written by Dr Soumitra Mohan “No case for separate Gorkhaland state” posted recently in the internet and leading daily newspapers, Ranjan Sharma  a Gorkhaland supporter and a practicing lawyer in Delhi has said that with due respect to his experience and expertise in the sphere of state administration and civil services, but on many instances it seems he is completely misplaced and ill informed. Everybody is entitled to his opinion as freedom of expression in our Constitution guarantees right of expression to every citizen and exchange thoughts.  Ranjan says that sometimes to understand things at a micro level one has to wear the victim’s hat.  It is a reiterated argument and a matter of fact that Darjeeling district was never a portion of Bengal.

Historically, the region was under the administration of Viceroy as a scheduled area and subsequently under the President as partially excluded area. Gorkhaland has not just become an issue of concern but a social necessity and it is expedient upon the government to address the issue by giving a fair hearing.  Critics raise the argument that statehood demand effect the process of nation building but they fail to appreciate the role played by Gorkhas in nation building right from the time of freedom struggle to the Kargil war and the present day ceasefire violation in the frontiers of Kashmir. If it is said that statehood movement is  a reflection of selfish and egotist desires, we say that demanding something guaranteed by the Constitution is a matter  right , the crisis of identity is a cause of  major concern for us, and we are simply not making a song and dance of it since 1907.  The flowery phrases often used by the state government in the form of instant painkillers like “administrative & financial autonomy” “good governance”  “holistic development”  are used to subvert the movement are merely  like assurances of lolly-pops made in  dairy farms of Switzerland.

Dr Soumitra Mohan quoted that Darjeeling has the best social indicators, and also referred to the West Bengal Human Development Report, 2004.  Ranjan says that  it is relevant to rely upon the one hundred ninetieth report of Parliamantary Standing Committee for development of tourism in Darjeeling and Sikkim dated 06.02.2013, wherein it has clearly been mentioned in para 133;

“The Committee while going through different areas in and around Darjeeling and Sikkim could notice a strong sense of deprivation and discrimination among the people of Darjeeling.  The Darjeeling area is also effected by the same problems and has all the considerations based on which other adjoining areas are getting special help, but same treatment is not being given to them. There are no special projects either by the Union or the State Government to boost the economy of the area …………….   ………  But with no developmental work taking place in the region, the Darjeeling area has lagged behind other states and has been left to remain only in our memories.”  

Comparison of Gorkhaland to Telangana or other similar demands cropping up in the country are like comparing apples and pears because the issues involved are different altogether. If creation of new state is not a healthy proposition, then why was Jharkhand, Uttarakhand created, and presently thumbs up to Telangana?  

Ranjan says that one reason why state government is adamant in its approach is it does not want to lose a golden goose that lays golden eggs. The brand name Darjeeling is enough to attract tourists from across the globe, and increase footfalls in Kolkata and Siliguri / North Bengal to add on substantial revenue to the state exchequer, not to mention the revenue generated from the tea industry and small scale industries.  It is not merely sufficient to brush up the issue on the pretext of pandora’s box and jumping to hypothetical arguments like  there  are 5000 ethnic communities and people speaking 850 languages in this country and if Gorkhas are given a separate state what will happen to the  yadavas , Jats,  Rajputs etc. The reality is nobody questions the nationality of yadavas, jats and the rajputs.  The core issue is that nobody alienates them and raises eyebrows when they speak their native language, but Ranjan says, we do face awkward situations everyday when people ask ‘are u from Nepal? ,even though we speak in a language recognized by the eighth schedule of the Constitution.

   It is surprising that on one hand the state government files Affidavit in the Hon'ble High Court submitting that the state has incurred heavy loss of revenue during the strikes in Darjeeling and on the other hand critics write that Darjeeling has a limited revenue generation potential thereby indicating completely contradictory opinions.  The act of administration by way of rampant arrest of more than 2000 Gorkhaland supporters and the way the situation was handled seemed that Darjeeling hills is a banana republic. The hypothetical assumption that more and more demands in other parts of the country will crop up if the Gorkhaland demand is entertained also does not hold water. Ranjan says that we qualify with full marks on all the grounds ie longevity of the demand as we are 107 years old, strategic location and national security as  we live in a "chicken's neck" which gives access to the north east and international borders. Therefore, we are not shooting in the dark, our demand stands on a constitutional sanction ie Article 3.

It is the West Bengal Government who has changed its stand; it resorted to breach of contract by shifting goal posts. The clauses of the Tripartite Agreement of 2011 were not followed by the state in letter and spirit. A substantial amount of population in the hills are also open to the concept of centrally administered arrangement in the form of Union Territory or any parallel arrangement wherein the state government  cannot poke its nose as per its whims and fancies.  The state administered arrangements like DGHC and GTA have miserably failed to deliver, so any well drawn arrangement beyond the domain of state is an acceptable proposition.  It is now time for the state to understand and appreciate that lolly-pops like GTA and DGHC is too little too late.