Dooars

No Land for Tea Workers

Editorial, Upendra November 23, 2022

NO LAND FOR TEA GARDEN, CINCHONA GARDEN WORKERS – But…

I cannot help but wonder, why would the WB Govt post a quarter page ad on the front page of a leading Nepali language daily, about Parja Patta rights being given to “refugees” in Nadia, while denying the same rights to the people from Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars?

It’s because TMC knows that they will get away with murder, literally, as long as it happens in the North. They will continue to deny us our rights, for as long as we remain divided. They will keep the South appeased, as there are more MP and MLA seats in the south. They will to keep the indigenous communities of the North deprived, because they can afford to do so.

But, can we, the people from the North, afford to keep on appeasing a government that discriminates our region and people deliberately?

Parliamentary Standing Committee

National July 14, 2022

Parliamentary Standing Committee Scathing Findings on Darjeeling and Dooars Tea Industry – Recommends Legislative Action for Ensuring Parja Patta Rights and Other Reforms

The report takes note that “the tea garden workers in Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars do not have land or ‘Parja-Patta’ (land rights) on their ancestral tea growing lands. To dwell on their ancestral homes, they must send at least one family members to work for the tea company. On failure to send a family member for work, they lose their rights to live on their ancestral lands. Since the land rights are vested with tea company, there have been instances when the aged workers having no children were denied the right to even repair their houses on their ancestral lands.”

Permanent Political Solution Gorkhaland

Upendra October 7, 2021

“PERMANENT POLITICAL SOLUTION” – A Guide for Dummies

Much has been said and written about the so-called ‘Permanent Political Solution’ from many quarters. There are online discussions, zoom meetings, and political rallies galore, on ‘Permanent Political Solution’ (PPS). Some seem to believe it will be the panacea to all the issues confronting our region and people, while others believe it will be just another ‘Hawa-Mithai’.

COVID19

Darjeeling Spirit April 4, 2020

Apex Plan for Combating COVID19 in the Hills, Terai and Dooars

The COVID19 pandemic has been claiming lives and livelihood around the Globe at an alarming rate. Global & National Action Plans and initiatives to combat the pandemic have already been underway. Its success ultimately depends upon the effective and prudent actions undertaken at the Regional and Local level to implement it.

Gorkhaland

Upendra January 31, 2020

Post Bodo Pact, All Eyes on How Centre Deals with Gorkhaland Issue

As the news of a settlement between the government of India and various factions of Bodo groups started to trickle in, there was much curiosity in Darjeeling hills – home to another demand for the separate state — Gorkhaland. Even though parallels can be drawn between the two, the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland supersedes that of Bodoland by decades, and the unique geographical positioning of Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars, makes it one of the most cosmopolitan and at the same time one of the most vulnerable regions in India.

Darjeeling Protest

Articles November 25, 2019

Three-Tier Panchayat in Darjeeling – A Context

We, the people of Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts, wholeheartedly welcome the initiative to initiate Constitutional Amendment to implement the three-tier Panchayati Raj in these two districts. Panchayati Raj has been the backbone of Indian democracy. It envisaged incorporating all the villages and its population in the nation-building processes. Further, as the majority of the population lived in the villages it was an endeavour to make them equal stakeholders in the decision-making the process and the developmental activities. Panchayati Raj system came into existence when the Community Development Programmes failed due to the lack of governance and monopoly of the few. Panchayati raj was implemented to decentralise democracy.

Darjeeling Municipality Notice NRC

Dinesh Sharma November 16, 2019

NRC Issue: The Indian Gorkha Perspective

As the push for a nation-wide National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise gets stronger, there are growing concerns among the Indian Gorkha community settled in various pockets across the country. The discussions are gaining more ground after Assam published its final NRC list on August 31, 2019, the process which was monitored by the Supreme Court of India. As reported by different media organisations, of the estimated 25 lakh Gorkhas living in Assam, about 1 lakh were excluded from the final list.