Some hurts are so deep, it gets radiated. You don’t have to spell it out; it’s there for everyone else to see. On the 23rd of October, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s hurt in losing Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat was for everyone to see. She had come to Kurseong for an administrative review meeting, but she couldn’t keep a lid on her politics and that betrayed her feelings.
On August 17, West Bengal tourism minister Gautam Deb addressed a press conference at Mirik in Darjeeling. Exuding his obvious concern for the Gorkhas and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) issue, he said, “If NRC is implemented in the Darjeeling hills, the hills will become empty, out of 15 Lakh people there will be no one to live there. Most Gorkha brothers and sisters and senior citizens they will be driven out from Darjeeling hills, both Darjeeling and Kalimpong, including Kurseong and this Mirik [sic].”
I want to begin my indictment of the TMC-led government by sharing a story about Pandit Oroan — a 35-year-old Adivasi man from Baroghoria Gram, which falls under Alipurduar district. In June 2017, Pandit Oroan and his wife were blessed with a baby boy – they named him Abhiraj. Sadly, Abhiraj was born with a birth defect, which prevented him from passing stool normally. All Abhiraj needed to function as a normal child was having a simple procedural operation, which would have cost around Rs 10,000 in a government hospital in Siliguri.
‘Gorkhaland’ the very name evokes strong sentiments – from a motley crew of passionate supporters to very dedicated gang of opposers, to a vast majority of well-meaning but clueless neutrals who irrespective of their understanding of the issue or absolute lack of it, comment on it passionately.
There is a famous story about this king Satyavrata, who wanted to ascend heaven in his human form. He found a willing partner in Sage Viswamitra – who through his immense powers managed to send Satyavrata to heaven without dying, but Indra, the king of heaven, refused to permit a human to enter the realms of heaven, alive – for it was against the law of nature. Amid Indra’s refusal, and Viswamitra’s iron will — Satyavrata by now known as Trishank, hung upside down between heaven and earth and there he has remained ever since – in a state of limbo.
The Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars are one of the most complex and complicated, cosmopolitan regions in India. This region is a miniature replica of our nation and the complexities surrounding it. Anyone wishing to govern such a complex piece of geography should have a thorough understanding of its history, polity, politics and socio-cultural fabric.
Yesterday, when I read the news about TMC Mouthpiece Khaar 365 Din labelling the hill peole “Baimaan Pahadbasira”, I laughed my butts off. Literally, I could hear the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of TMC and their proxies being shattered into a million pieces, and every piece crying out loud… “Baimaan Pahadbasira”.
We request all those who are reading this. If you have any reach in the West Bengal Govt, please tell them to implement Ayushman Bharat – they can call it Mamata Bangla, instead of Ayushman Bharat if they want to. But because of their ego fight with the Center, poor people here are suffering. This criminal denial of health care privileges to poor needs to end,
As tempting as it might be for the Center to implement President’s rule, they will in all likelihood wait out for this storm to pass, much like how they waited for Gorkhaland agitation to simmer down. As far as BJP central leadership is concerned, they seem to be in mood to give Mamata any toe hold.
Darjeeling and Sikkim stand out, not only due to our scenic beauty, but also due to our culture and food, and the safety and security of the tourists. Darjeeling has been rated among the top 5 most secure destinations in the world for single female travellers, making ours the most exciting tourist destination in all of South Asia.