The Darjeeling Chronicle wishes its readers a very Happy New Year 2019

Dear readers. We wish you all a very happy and joyous New Year.

2018 has been a tough year for all of us. It was a very difficult year. We witnessed suppression of our fundamental rights, rampant chaos, violence, dominance, grave injustices and extreme human rights violations right at our door steps. In all honesty, in 2018 we experienced a more violent, more intense and more cruel take down of any and all voices that are not singing in tune with the powers that be.

But then, in 2018 we also witnessed a rare display of courage, of defiance and will to continue speaking out against the wrongs by a few brave-hearts, and no matter how feeble those voices may have been, they have been resilient and have refused to be silenced. We salute you all.

We witnessed how power, the lure for money, fear tactics, successfully used by the powers that be on our people, particularly on those already in the political space, completely hijacked our unity by sowing and deepening the seeds of differences and animosity among us. Some have succumbed to these, while some are still resisting.

But however brutally our struggle – to dream of a dignified life through the creation of a separate State of our own within the Constitution of India have been suppressed by the powers that be, we endured 2018 and have NOT STOPPED from aspiring to struggle for the realisation of Gorkhaland. This way we have kept the hope of Gorkhaland alive.

This was possible only because of you all, so please keep your struggles and the hope for a better tomorrow on. Let us continue to fight tooth and nail for a life that we value living, a life of free will with no fear, a life of dignity, respect and pride

As we enter into 2019, we salute our people for their unimaginable strength and endurance against the divisive, dominating and powers and their dummy-stooges.

Let us consciously keep in mind the precious lives that were snubbed out in their prime, their surviving families, and all those who are continued to be hounded for reporting the truth.

Let us welcome 2019 praying and asking God to keep their blessings and protection on us. Let us continue to keep believing in our collective aspiration Gokhaland.

Jai Gorkha. Jai Gorkhaland.