Gorkhas to take part in the Mumbai marathon for Gorkha ‘identity’

Mumbai marathon for Gorkha ‘identity’ Kalimpong, Jan. 10.TT: A group of Gorkhas has decided to take part in the Mumbai International Marathon on January 15, not exactly to give other participants a run for their money but to highlight the “identity crisis” faced by the community in the country. Twenty-two runners, 14 of them from the Darjeeling hills, will take part in the marathon wearing T-shirts embossed with the slogan “We are Gorkhas and proud to be Indians. Jai Gorkha, Jai Hind”. The campaign is the brainchild of Rosni Rai, a Pedong resident based in Mumbai, where she works as a legal executive in a private firm. Rai, an amateur marathon runner, said she thought of participating in the run as part of a course she was pursuing in Mumbai. “The course requires me to do a project that is close to my heart and will benefit my community. Through the run, I want to highlight the identity crisis we Gorkhas are facing in our country,” she said. Of the 22, three are non-Gorkhas. “The non-Gorkhas in the team are my friends who have come forward to help me in the campaign,” said Rai. While 17 people will take part in the half-marathon of 21km, the rest will try the “dream run” of 6km. “All 21 runners have been training very hard. In fact, such is their enthusiasm that I have to tell some of them to stop training so hard,” said Rai. The amateur runner who had participated in many marathons all over the country said the other objective of the campaign was to encourage young people from her community to take to running. “I want them to take up long-distance running seriously. Six runners from the hills are very strong and can complete the half-marathon between one-and-a-quarter hours and one-and-a-half hours. If these runners are given proper guidance and training, they will be able to compete with the best in the world,” she said. The 14 runners from the hills left New Jalpaiguri for Mumbai on train this evening. Premika Rai, a businesswoman from Kalimpong, said they were all excited to make the trip. “I have trained very hard according to the training schedule provided to me by Rosni. This will be my first half-marathon.” Saurav Banerjee, a volunteer teacher from Pedong, said he had been taking part in running competitions since his school days. “But the Mumbai event will be the biggest of them all. It will be a dream come true for me. Apart from the running, the marathon will be special for me because it will allow me to lend my voice in support of the grievance of the Gorkhas.”