Gorkhas imitate Telangana protest, fast for Gorkhaland
Taking a leaf from the protest of Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha called a 96 hour strike in Darjeeling for Gorkha statehood. 21 Gorkha members each from Darjeeling, Kursiong, Kalimpong and Siliguri will sit on hunger strike.
AS THE union government reluctantly accepted the demand for a separate Telangana state, on Wednesday, December 9, it would not have even imagined how many other groups across the nation would stand up with their own separatist demands. One of these groups is the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, a group active in Darjeeling, in West Bengal. They have been demanding a separate Gorkha state, called Gorkhaland.
Taking a leaf from the protest book of Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha workers called a 96 hour strike in Darjeeling for statehood. Apart from this, 21 members each of the group from Darjeeling, Kursiong, Kalimpong and Siliguri will take up a hunger strike from Friday, December 11.
For long, the Gorkha inhabitants, led by the GJM want a separate state for themselves in the hilly regions of West Bengal. It would include Darjeeling, Siliguri, Kurseong and Kalimpong. GJM leader Roshan Giri explained,"If there can be a separate Telangana, there should also be a separate Gorkhaland. We've been pressing for statehood since 1907.”
The demand for Gorkhaland is apparently fuelled by a feeling of being slighted by the state government. Getting a concrete shape in the eighties, the Gorkha movement culminated in the formation of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council. The agitation received another boost two years ago, when on October 7, 2007, Bimal Gurung founded the current spearhead for the movement, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.
For long, the Gorkha inhabitants, led by the GJM want a separate state for themselves in the hilly regions of West Bengal. It would include Darjeeling, Siliguri, Kurseong and Kalimpong. GJM leader Roshan Giri explained,"If there can be a separate Telangana, there should also be a separate Gorkhaland. We've been pressing for statehood since 1907.”
The demand for Gorkhaland is apparently fuelled by a feeling of being slighted by the state government. Getting a concrete shape in the eighties, the Gorkha movement culminated in the formation of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council. The agitation received another boost two years ago, when on October 7, 2007, Bimal Gurung founded the current spearhead for the movement, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.
On the other hand, the hardliner faction - United Gorkha Revolutionary Front (UGRF), has threatened to hang negotiators of the GJM, if they fail to get the centre to agree to a separate Gorkhaland in the upcoming December 21 meeting.
 | Previous Post |
Login
 Login through Social ID
|
