The Binay Tamang faction of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha today took out rallies in different parts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts in support of Mamata Banerjee, to protest against, what they are calling vindictive politics by BJP.
A popular mass leader from Darjeeling who championed the cause of Gorkhaland state, Bimal Gurung’s compromise with TMC for his return has evoked mixed feelings among the common masses.
The West Bengal Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha has written to the Chairman of the Railway Board Vinod Kumar Yadav stating the willingness of West Bengal government to bear the “entire cost of movement by special trains to West Bengal, of migrants of the State stranded in various parts of the country”.
We are a group of non-resident Bengali physicians, health scientists, and healthcare providers born, raised, and educated in the state of West Bengal. Almost all of us have families who currently reside in the state. We are spread all around the globe, but what links us beyond our common ancestral heritage is our public health conscience during these times of unprecedented global health disaster.
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.
Beware 2021 West Bengal Elections are coming up, and from what we have seen, there are already attempts at buying Social Media Influence on behalf of IPAC.
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.
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 murderer of thousands of Gorkhas can be the tallest statesman for some people who can compromise with their dignity, but not for those Gorkhas who are even today living a life of dignity.
But after the formation of DGHC with the intervention of then Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi there is a complete paradigm shift. The people of Darjeeling Hills trust New Delhi to fulfill their aspirations rather than trusting and believing Writers Building or Nabanna in Kolkata.