new mode of movement or ‘Ghar Bhitrai Janata’ to continue for five days beginning on 19 august
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Darjeeling, 16 August
In a move that amounts to a clear violation of the Calcutta High Court order that came down heavily on the GJMM in its latest ruling issued last Wednesday, equating bandhs and the Morcha’s “janata curfew”, the GJMM and other non-GJMM parties have decided at the second all-party meeting held today in Darjeeling to enforce the janata curfew under a new name for five days beginning on 19 August.
Another upshot of the all-party meeting is the formation of Gorkhaland Joint Action Committee (GJAC) to spearhead the statehood movement. The leaders of the parties present asked for immediate Central intervention to resolve the longstanding Gorkhaland statehood movement.
The GJMM earlier announced a four-day breather beginning from 15 August after they had enforced two-day janata curfew (13 and 14 August) ~ a variant of the shutdown following the hostile Calcutta High Court order, asking for immediate withdrawal of the indefinite shutdown in the Hills.
The leaders present made it clear that the new mode of the movement christened as ‘Ghar bhitrai janata’ is the same in tone and tenor with the Janata curfew. “We would ask the people to stay indoors for five days to display solidarity behind the current spell of the statehood movement,” said one of those present at the all-party meeting.
Asked whether the enforcement of ‘ghar bhitrai janata’ would amount to violation of the court ruling, Dr Enos Das Pradhan, chairman of the newly formed committee (GJAC) and chairman of the Gorkhaland TaskForce said: “Let Calcutta High Court decide.”
“It is not a call, it is the people’s demand,” he said, adding that the object is the same to prod the Centre to intervene. The committee is ready to talk to the Governor of West Bengal, Mr M K Narayanan if he invites us,” said Mr Pradhan.
Asked whether the committee has fixed any date for its proposed Delhi visit, he replied in the negative.
In another significant statement, the committee said the GJMM would dissociate from the GTA but in an appropriate manner and at the right time.
Further, torch rallies would be staged on 24 and 25 August in all the three sub-divisions of the Hills to be followed on 26 August a human chain. “People would be asked to gather on the state highway and national highway in huge numbers, wearing black bands and hanging posters in their neck in support of Gorkhaland,” Mr Pradhan said. He further said the next all-party meeting would be held on 18 August.
Today, all the nine parties who had earlier attended the first all-party meeting held on 12 August were present.
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Darjeeling, 16 August
In a move that amounts to a clear violation of the Calcutta High Court order that came down heavily on the GJMM in its latest ruling issued last Wednesday, equating bandhs and the Morcha’s “janata curfew”, the GJMM and other non-GJMM parties have decided at the second all-party meeting held today in Darjeeling to enforce the janata curfew under a new name for five days beginning on 19 August.
Another upshot of the all-party meeting is the formation of Gorkhaland Joint Action Committee (GJAC) to spearhead the statehood movement. The leaders of the parties present asked for immediate Central intervention to resolve the longstanding Gorkhaland statehood movement.
The GJMM earlier announced a four-day breather beginning from 15 August after they had enforced two-day janata curfew (13 and 14 August) ~ a variant of the shutdown following the hostile Calcutta High Court order, asking for immediate withdrawal of the indefinite shutdown in the Hills.
The leaders present made it clear that the new mode of the movement christened as ‘Ghar bhitrai janata’ is the same in tone and tenor with the Janata curfew. “We would ask the people to stay indoors for five days to display solidarity behind the current spell of the statehood movement,” said one of those present at the all-party meeting.
Asked whether the enforcement of ‘ghar bhitrai janata’ would amount to violation of the court ruling, Dr Enos Das Pradhan, chairman of the newly formed committee (GJAC) and chairman of the Gorkhaland TaskForce said: “Let Calcutta High Court decide.”
“It is not a call, it is the people’s demand,” he said, adding that the object is the same to prod the Centre to intervene. The committee is ready to talk to the Governor of West Bengal, Mr M K Narayanan if he invites us,” said Mr Pradhan.
Asked whether the committee has fixed any date for its proposed Delhi visit, he replied in the negative.
In another significant statement, the committee said the GJMM would dissociate from the GTA but in an appropriate manner and at the right time.
Further, torch rallies would be staged on 24 and 25 August in all the three sub-divisions of the Hills to be followed on 26 August a human chain. “People would be asked to gather on the state highway and national highway in huge numbers, wearing black bands and hanging posters in their neck in support of Gorkhaland,” Mr Pradhan said. He further said the next all-party meeting would be held on 18 August.
Today, all the nine parties who had earlier attended the first all-party meeting held on 12 August were present.
Hill strife spurs state hartal call, People urged to stay indoors on August 19
Siliguri, Aug. 16: The Bangla O Bangla Bhasha Banchao Committee today called a 24-hour hartal across the state on August 19 to demand the revocation of the GTA agreement and to protest the ongoing movement in the Darjeeling hills for the statehood.
Although the outfit asked the people to be at their homes across the state on Monday, similar to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s call for a janata curfew, the hartal is unlikely to have an impact beyond Siliguri subdivision and a few pockets of the Jalpaiguri district.
“There will not be a single picketer on the streets of Siliguri or in other parts of the state on August 19. We won’t force anybody to observe the hartal but will only campaign till August 18, urging the people to sit at their homes. Our request is that any person, who is against further partition of Bengal, should support the hartal,” said Mukunda Majumdar, the president of the Bhasha Banchao Committee. “We want the people of Bengal to support the hartal and consider it as a public mandate against the demand raised by the Morcha.”
The Bhasha Banchao Committee’s call for the people to stay indoors on the hartal day is akin to the janata curfew announced by Morcha president Bimal Gurung for August 13 and 14. “....our people will observe a janata curfew and no one will come out of their homes. What will they (government) do? Will they use police to break open business establishments?” Gurung had asked on August 10.
The high court had come down heavily on the Morcha for paralysing normal life in the hills and called the janata curfew “illegal”.
Whenever the Bhasha Banchao Committee had called strikes, its impact was limited to Siliguri and Malbazar subdivisions and Jalpaiguri town.
Majumdar said the fears expressed by his outfit had come true with the resumption of the Gorkhaland movement.
“When the new government had taken charge in 2011 and initiated talks for the formation of the GTA Sabha, we vehemently opposed the move and warned that it was the first step towards the creation of Gorkhaland. We warned that by forming such an autonomous body, the central and state governments would fuel fire. Our apprehensions have come true as despite the formation of the GTA, the Morcha is again into the Gorkhaland movement,” said the president of the Bhasha Banchao Committee.
“We want the agreement to be cancelled immediately and we want to reiterate that development of the hills is possible by the formation of a zilla parishad like in any other district of the state.”
With the announcement of the 24-hour hartal, Siliguri police commissioner K. Jayaraman held a meeting with representatives of educational institutions, trade bodies, transporters and hoteliers.
“At the meeting, the commissioner made it clear that according to the high court, no picketing or forceful closure of shops would be allowed by the administration. The police will be vigilant across the area under the jurisdiction of the commissionerate. Those present at the meeting were requested to go ahead with their regular activities,” said O.G. Pal, the deputy commissioner of Siliguri.
North Bengal development minister Gautam Deb also said steps would be taken to defeat the hartal.
Jana Chetana, another apolitical organisation opposed to the Morcha, has demanded that migrant Nepalis be identified and their names registered so that they could be separated from the Nepali-speaking Gorkhas, who are Indian citizens.
“The identity crisis of the Gorkhas is cited as the primary reason for the demand for Gorkhaland. We feel this is an absurd proposition and the issue can be dealt with only by the identification and registration of migrant Nepali nationals in India. Once that is done, the Nepali-speaking Indians can be separated from the migrant Nepalis,” said Debaprasad Kar, the president of Jana Chetana.
Although the outfit asked the people to be at their homes across the state on Monday, similar to the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s call for a janata curfew, the hartal is unlikely to have an impact beyond Siliguri subdivision and a few pockets of the Jalpaiguri district.
“There will not be a single picketer on the streets of Siliguri or in other parts of the state on August 19. We won’t force anybody to observe the hartal but will only campaign till August 18, urging the people to sit at their homes. Our request is that any person, who is against further partition of Bengal, should support the hartal,” said Mukunda Majumdar, the president of the Bhasha Banchao Committee. “We want the people of Bengal to support the hartal and consider it as a public mandate against the demand raised by the Morcha.”
The Bhasha Banchao Committee’s call for the people to stay indoors on the hartal day is akin to the janata curfew announced by Morcha president Bimal Gurung for August 13 and 14. “....our people will observe a janata curfew and no one will come out of their homes. What will they (government) do? Will they use police to break open business establishments?” Gurung had asked on August 10.
The high court had come down heavily on the Morcha for paralysing normal life in the hills and called the janata curfew “illegal”.
Whenever the Bhasha Banchao Committee had called strikes, its impact was limited to Siliguri and Malbazar subdivisions and Jalpaiguri town.
Majumdar said the fears expressed by his outfit had come true with the resumption of the Gorkhaland movement.
“When the new government had taken charge in 2011 and initiated talks for the formation of the GTA Sabha, we vehemently opposed the move and warned that it was the first step towards the creation of Gorkhaland. We warned that by forming such an autonomous body, the central and state governments would fuel fire. Our apprehensions have come true as despite the formation of the GTA, the Morcha is again into the Gorkhaland movement,” said the president of the Bhasha Banchao Committee.
“We want the agreement to be cancelled immediately and we want to reiterate that development of the hills is possible by the formation of a zilla parishad like in any other district of the state.”
With the announcement of the 24-hour hartal, Siliguri police commissioner K. Jayaraman held a meeting with representatives of educational institutions, trade bodies, transporters and hoteliers.
“At the meeting, the commissioner made it clear that according to the high court, no picketing or forceful closure of shops would be allowed by the administration. The police will be vigilant across the area under the jurisdiction of the commissionerate. Those present at the meeting were requested to go ahead with their regular activities,” said O.G. Pal, the deputy commissioner of Siliguri.
North Bengal development minister Gautam Deb also said steps would be taken to defeat the hartal.
Jana Chetana, another apolitical organisation opposed to the Morcha, has demanded that migrant Nepalis be identified and their names registered so that they could be separated from the Nepali-speaking Gorkhas, who are Indian citizens.
“The identity crisis of the Gorkhas is cited as the primary reason for the demand for Gorkhaland. We feel this is an absurd proposition and the issue can be dealt with only by the identification and registration of migrant Nepali nationals in India. Once that is done, the Nepali-speaking Indians can be separated from the migrant Nepalis,” said Debaprasad Kar, the president of Jana Chetana.
Morcha tones down protest
Darjeeling, Aug. 16: Hill parties today scaled down the statehood agitation, announcing another “people’s” shutdown from August 19 to 23 but only a programme of torchlight marches and human chains for the next three days.
“Realisation has dawned that achieving a Gorkhaland state would be a long-drawn affair and it’s not feasible to carry on with a shutdown of the hills indefinitely,” a Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader said, indicating an effort to maintain a degree of normality.
“The leadership has also (taken into account) that the tourist season is approaching and that tourism is a source of livelihood for the majority of the hill people.”
An all-party meeting in Darjeeling today formed a Gorkhaland Joint Action Committee, made up of representatives from nine hill parties, which would decide the future course of the agitation.
The committee called the August 19-23 shutdown “in deference to the wishes of the people” and named it “Ghar Bhitra Janta” (people inside homes). Calcutta High Court had earlier ruled the August 13-14 “janata” curfew illegal.
“If you say the (new) programme (involves) just a change of nomenclature, that is your interpretation,” Morcha leader Raju Pradhan said.
The agitation will be limited to torch rallies on August 24 and 25, followed by a two-hour human chain on highways and streets on August 26. On August 18, the joint action committee will chalk out the post-August 26 programme.
Morcha president Bimal Gurung chaired the all-party meeting, which nominated Enos Das Pradhan of the apolitical Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh as joint action committee chairman. J.B. Rai of the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists was made vice-chairman.
“Realisation has dawned that achieving a Gorkhaland state would be a long-drawn affair and it’s not feasible to carry on with a shutdown of the hills indefinitely,” a Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader said, indicating an effort to maintain a degree of normality.
“The leadership has also (taken into account) that the tourist season is approaching and that tourism is a source of livelihood for the majority of the hill people.”
An all-party meeting in Darjeeling today formed a Gorkhaland Joint Action Committee, made up of representatives from nine hill parties, which would decide the future course of the agitation.
The committee called the August 19-23 shutdown “in deference to the wishes of the people” and named it “Ghar Bhitra Janta” (people inside homes). Calcutta High Court had earlier ruled the August 13-14 “janata” curfew illegal.
“If you say the (new) programme (involves) just a change of nomenclature, that is your interpretation,” Morcha leader Raju Pradhan said.
The agitation will be limited to torch rallies on August 24 and 25, followed by a two-hour human chain on highways and streets on August 26. On August 18, the joint action committee will chalk out the post-August 26 programme.
Morcha president Bimal Gurung chaired the all-party meeting, which nominated Enos Das Pradhan of the apolitical Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh as joint action committee chairman. J.B. Rai of the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists was made vice-chairman.
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