Darjeeling: Lt General (retd) Shakti Gurung, who is heading
the National Gorkhaland Committee (NGC), an apolitical think tank
looking into issues of the Gorkha community, said on Sunday that they
were in favour of some "control" and "regulation" on the Indo-Nepal
border.
Gurung's comment comes at a time an Eminent Persons Group
(EPG) appointed by the governments of Nepal and India are reviewing the
India-Nepal Friendship Treaty 1950 that has provisions for free movement
of India and Nepal citizens into each others territory.
Asked about the NGC's stand on the open border, Gurung, said:
"There is a general feeling among Indian Gorkhas that we get questioned
because the borders are open. There are some reasons why the country
(India) has kept the border open, we share similar culture, traditions,
Nepal is a friendly neighbour, but we believe that the treaty should be
reviewed in light of the identity (of Indian Gorkhas)."
The EPG was formed in 2016 and its mandate runs till June this
year. EPG members from Nepal include former foreign minister, Bhekh
Bahadur Thapa, former lawmaker Rajan Bhattarai and constitutional and
legal experts Nilambar Acharya and Surya Nath Upadhyay.
The demand for the scrapping of Article VII of the treaty was first
raised by GNLF leader Subash Ghisingh when he led the statehood
agitation in 1986. The GNLF had wanted the clause to be scrapped as it
felt the rights given to the citizens of Nepal - a country contiguous to
Darjeeling - under this treaty were blurring the distinction between
Nepalese citizen and Indian Gorkhas who speak the same language.
Gurung said on Sunday: "There should be some kind of control,
regulation (at the border). This is a general feeling, talk to any
Gorkha community member in India, whether from here or Uttarkhand, they
all feel that an open border raises questions on their (Indian)
identity."
The NGC clarified that none of its members would be encouraged to contest elections.
"We will also form regional committees but we will only take
those people who are not attached with political parties," said Gurung.
The Telegraph