The way the tea industry is set up is highly feudalistic with the workers having zero rights. This was a model championed by the colonial Britishers. They did not want the natives to have any rights, and to remain bonded to the tea companies. This modern day bonded labour practice has continued in the tea gardens of Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars.
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?
The tea garden workers despite working for generations, are still deprived of their right to land – Parja Patta, they are paid less wages than what other workers, even unskilled labourers make in West Bengal, the facilities they are entitled to are rarely provided. Adding salt to their woes, the WB Govt has allowed the tea garden owners to build commercial real-estate labeling it “tea tourism”.
Ruing the state of Darjeeling, a friend had recently told me, “हाम्रो दार्जीलिंग त टिका लगाएर छोड़ेको सांड जतिकै भई सक्यो जसको कोहि मालिक छैन, यहाँ जसको शक्ति उसकै भक्तिको चलनले गर्दा हाम्रो ठाउँ र जाति तुरी सक्यो…”
“Online Classes” was a term added to the popular lexicon after the COVID pandemic forced schools and colleges across the country to shut down. Today almost everything is being done online – schooling, office work, meetings, and sometimes even wedding ceremonies. The digital world is a great equalizer, it provides equal opportunities for all, as long as they are connected to the network. Tragically for the majority of students from Darjeeling hills, Terai, and Dooars accessing the network itself is a battle, they keep on losing. Other than those lucky few who live in towns, or on the right side of the mountain where network signals are strong, the majority of the people from rural regions here do not have access to cellular networks.
For all his flaws, Bimal Gurung is still liked by a large section of the people from North Bengal. Especially in remote rural regions where politicians rarely venture, Bimal Gurung is seen as someone who has cared for the people. But will this sentiment prevail across the region? It’s difficult to say. But in tying his fate to TMC and also himself, Bimal has made a bold move, will it help him bounce back or will it backfire?
Often described as the Queen of the Hills for its stunning natural beauty, complemented by the world-famous and UNESCO world heritage – the Himalayan Railway, also holding an intoxicating political history the Darjeeling hills does not fail to mesmerize the tourists as well as the scholars. It is sad but not surprising that the Queen of the Himalayas has always been a victim of political betrayal (Dhoka) and there is neither a “ Queen” like leader, nor a permanent “Hills” like solution to achieve its true potentials.
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.