Interlocutor Blues analyses the political development that have unfolded, following the annoucement of an Interlocutor for taking forward the talks related to Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars

General Bipin Rawat had once said “India has to be ready for a two-and-a-half front war”, with the half referring to unnamed internal enemies, who are always ready to do the bidding of others. Of late, I have come to realize, in Darjeeling, the Gorkhas are also fighting a two-and-a-half front war. We are not just fighting those who are opposed to us, we are fighting among ourselves, divided on party lines, and even within the party, there are further frictions.

Who does this help? Definitely not the Gorkhas.

The Interlocutor

On the 16^th of October, 2025 the Ministry of Home Affairs appointed former Deputy National Security Advisor (Dy-NSA) retired IPS officer Pankaj Kumar Singh as the Interlocutor and Government of India Representative to hold discussions on the issues relating to Gorkhas in Darjeeling hills, Tarai and Dooars region of West Bengal.

As reported in the Telegraph, and as read by a senior journalist on a Live show, his mandate is to “undertake constructive dialogue with various stakeholders including representatives of Gorkha organisations on the issues relating to Gorkhas in Darjeeling Hills, Tarai and Dooars region of West Bengal and suggest measures to resolve issues and roadmap in this regard.”

Further, “to hold discussions with other stakeholders in Darjeeling Hills, Tarai and Dooars region of West Bengal in this regard.”

Furthermore, “Recommend measures for socio-economic upliftment, cultural recognition, and preservation of cultural heritage of Gorkhas in the region, and addressing their aspirations within the Constitutional framework.”

A fairly broad mandate, which in my opinion encompasses all issues including Scheduled Tribe re-inclusion for the left-out Gorkha sub-tribes through the “cultural recognition and preservation of cultural heritage of Gorkhas in the region,” and the long-awaited Permanent Constitutional Solution for our region as encompassed in “addressing their aspirations within the Constitutional framework.” For me, what’s more important is that the area demarcated is Darjeeling hills, Tarai and Dooars, and the discussions will not just be confined to the Gorkhas, but will also incorporate views of “other stakeholders’ in the Darjeeling Hills, Tarai and Dooars region.”

The appointment of a former Deputy-NSA, no less, signifies the seriousness with which the Central Government is going about this issue. A critical appointment, in a critical geography, which has direct implications on India’s National Security.

Interlocutor Blues

Even before the news of the appointment had been properly reported in the media, the ruling party in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, spokesperson for Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) Spokesperson had already denounced the appointment as another “Conspiracy to put the Gorkhas back in the sack – गोर्खालाई फेरि बोरामा हाल्ने षड्यंत्र.” They had further added, “the appointment of the Interlocutor by BJP has been done only for the sake of making it easy to give speeches.”

While Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, Gorkha National Liberation Front, Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists (CPRM) etc welcomed the announcement, the denouncements were louder to say the least.

On October 19^th the Indian Gorkha Jan Shakti Front (IGJF) held a press conference welcoming the appointment of the Interlocutor. This was followed closely by a Central Committee Member of IGJF through his article “Another Interlocutor, another election: Why Darjeeling Hills has reason to doubt” arguing that “under the BJP, interlocutors are appointed before major elections to create an impression of action, but once votes are secured, the dialogue loses urgency. The timing of the latest appointment, just ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, raises similar doubts about their intent”.

This has been followed by many “social workers” questioning the authenticity of the appointment, and demanding to know the mandate of the appointment.

On 18^th of October, the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to the Prime Minister, expressing her “objection to the Central Government’s decision to appoint former IPS officer Pankaj Kumar Singh as interlocutor for discussions on Gorkha-related issues in Darjeeling Hills, Terai, and Dooars”.

On October 24th IGJF Chief citing the letter written by Mamata Banerjee to the Prime Minister’s Office and the PMO allegedly forwarding it to the Home Ministry for reconsideration (as reported in the Telegraph), claimed that, this “exhibits the weakness of the BJP in the Centre and their Alliance Partners.” He had further appealed to the West Bengal Chief Minister thus, “We are not happy with the GTA, and you yourself had also said in the past that you would give us PPS. Therefore, this matter of the Interlocutor should be resolved quickly, because saying one thing before Tihar and something completely different after Tihar is not good – हामी जिटिएमा खुसी छैनौं अनि तपाईले पनि बिगतको दिनहरूमा पिपिएस म दिन्छु भन्नु भएको थियोे। त्यसर्थ यो इन्टरलोक्युटरको विषय चाडै समाधान होस् किनकी तिहार अघि एउटा कुरा अनि तिहार पछि अर्कै कुरा राम्रो होइन।“

On November 18th, the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written another letter to the Prime Minister in which she has claimed, “it is a matter of grave concern that without any further communication in response to my letter and despite your kind intervention, the Office of the Interlocutor under Ministry of Home Affairs, has, vide Memo dated 10th November 2025, communicated that the office of the interlocutor HAS ALREADY STARTED FUNCTIONING, THIS IS REALLY SHOCKING”.

The Half Front

If you study the appointment of the Interlocutor issue, the Chief Minister of West Bengal has written two letters to the PMO, opposing the appointment. However, I am yet to see or become aware of any Gorkha politician writing to the PMO thanking for the appointment. I am sure our politicians are busy, but definitely they wouldn’t be as busy as the Chief Minister, would they?

What’s important to note here is that, the Chief Minister who, I am assuming is receiving all official communications, has already taken a stand against the appointment of the Interlocutor. The West Bengal government, thus emerge as the first front opposed to finding Constitutional Solution through constructive dialogue.

The second front will naturally be the political parties based in Bengal, like TMC or even BJP Bengal and Congress Bengal, who will outright oppose any solution for our region, they see it as an infringement on their domain.

What’s more worrisome is that while Gorkhas should be uniting and united for a cause, we are not working towards that. The call by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha for all political parties to attend a discussion regarding creating a common platform and agenda to take to the Interlocutor was met with cold shoulders by some political groups. Instead of uniting, it has exposed our existing fault lines further.

This is where, the half-front will come into play. They will try and create divisions, diversions, and doubts among us.

United we stand

I hope our politicians, and more importantly the citizens of our region will recognize the need for unity at this moment. In our unity, lies the defeat of those who have treated us as a distant colony, those who have treated us as a second-class citizen, those who have killed our brothers and sisters in cold blood.

Remember, the Interlocutor is not just a talks facilitator; he is also a Government of India representative with a wide mandate. So, let us put our best foot forward, and stay united. Let us ensure that the Constitutional Solution we derive through this exercise is something that will address our generational aspirations, safeguard our political, social, cultural, linguistic and economic space. Most important of all, let us ensure a Constitutional Solution which will address the crisis of identity that Gorkhas and the people from Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars have had to face till date – i.e a state called Gorkhaland

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It is heartening to see the Central Government finally take notice of the concerns of the erstwhile peripheral states of the NE, whose inclusivity and integration were not a prime focus of earlier governments. In a similar vein, North Bengal, especially the Darjeeling hills and the Terai and Dooars areas, continues to remain peripheral to the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government of West Bengal. The cultural and social uniqueness of the communities of the region remains ignored.

Given the shared history and heritage, similar socio-cultural, ethnic, and linguistic milieu, and the geographical continuity of Darjeeling hills, Terai, and Dooars with the rest of North East states, the region has faced similar geographic hindrances, regional imbalance, deprivation, and discrimination. Much like the rest of NE States, our region suffers from similar developmental challenges and unmet regional aspirations amidst the larger political debates of Bengal that primarily echo the concerns of the dominant Bengali Bhadralok. As a result, the specific concerns of the people of the region remain unattended.

The political division of North Bengal comprises eight districts: Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Coochbehar, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, and Malda. About 18% of the area of Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling districts is covered by forests, and both districts are dotted with numerous Tea Gardens. The Dooars region, which acts as a gateway to Assam, Sikkim, and Bhutan, stretches from the plains of Kalimpong district, covering the whole of Jalpaiguri district and Alipurduar district and the upper region of Cooch Behar district in West Bengal, and the districts of Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon in Assam. Historically, the Dooars belonged to the Koch dynasty, which ruled the eastern-Indian subcontinent comprising present-day Assam and Bengal. In 1865, after the Bhutan War, the British annexed it, and the region was divided into two parts: the eastern part was merged with the Goalpara district in Assam, and the western part was turned into a new district named Western Dooars.

The name of the region was changed again in 1869 to Jalpaiguri District. After the end of British rule in India in 1947, the Dooars acceded to the dominion of India and merged with the Union of India in 1949. Logically speaking, it has more cultural and historical affinities with tribal communities residing in various parts of Assam rather than mainland West Bengal.

However, the region has been reeling under the burden of informal immigration from neighboring countries over the past four decades, which continues to remain unchecked by the TMC-led state government. It is evident that the State Government has been sanctioning such illegal immigration into the region as a guaranteed ‘vote bank’. This unchecked cross-border immigration, facilitated by the strategic placement of the region sharing borders with three neighboring countries- Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal- continues to pose a threat to the original hill populace. It also poses a threat to their dynamic socio-cultural fabric.

Moreover, the state government’s stepmotherly treatment of the Darjeeling-Dooar region also poses a serious threat to national security. The Siliguri Corridor, also popularly referred to as the ‘Chicken Neck’ corridor, is an integral part of the region. It is a very sensitive stretch of land, especially with its proximity to China, making it the only area of the country to share four international borders. Strategically, any external intrusion to the Siliguri Corridor may threaten the connectivity of the entire NE region with mainland India. Recently, there have been disturbing reports of the Siliguri corridor being endemic to arms and ammunition supply to terrorist organizations via Bangladesh. Much of it, I believe, is due to the lack of attentiveness and concern of the State government of Bengal regarding the extremely delicate situation of the region.

In light of such ignorance towards the concerns of the region and the highhandedness of the State Government of West Bengal trivializing what could become a threat to national security and integration, I believe, and continue to plea to the Government of India, that the North Bengal region needs to be incorporated into the North Eastern Council. The reasons for my plea are simple:

1. Prioritization for Development: Inclusion with the NEC will ensure that the region gets prioritized for various developmental initiatives, projects, and schemes of the central government in line with the other NE states. This could reverse the damage of ignorance that the region has been facing for decades of TMC rule.
2. Regional Planning and Problem-solving: The NEC as a regional planning body discusses matters of interest to the states under its purview and takes calculated steps to solve issues of concern. The socio-cultural challenges, isolation, and deprivation of the indigenous communities of the region would be highlighted more seriously once the Council is made a guardian of the region’s well-being.
3. Institutional Acknowledgment of Cultural Affinities: The emotional affinity of the indigenous communities with the other tribal groups of the NE could be institutionally acknowledged if the region is incorporated under the NEC. The various ethnic groups have been historically placed at the margins of West Bengal’s political imagination. Socially, economically, emotionally, and culturally, the North Eastern Council would be able to do justice to the well-being of the people in question by bringing them to the center stage of the debates regarding their priorities.

The goal of democratic politics, after all, is nation-building with people’s well-being at the core of it.

Writes: Manoj Karki is an MA-II student in Politics (specialization in international relations) at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

The post Inclusivity, Well-being and Nation-building: The Need for Incorporating North Bengal (Darjeeling, Dooars and Terai Region) Under the North Eastern Council  appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

Cheapening Chowrasta is how cheap politicians are ruining the iconic and historic promenade in the heart of Darjeeling town

Most of the people I know, head to the hills to avoid the heat, the dust, the pollution, the loud noise, and the over crowded cities.

They arrive in Darjeeling, they are met with the same dust, same pollution, and loud noise. Thank God for the last remaining vistage of luxury, Chowrasta and the Mall Road – an oasis of traquility, amidst the sea of chaos.

But, how can the politicians, their alleged “advisors”, their alleged “Think Tanks” permit that oasis to exist? Where’s the money to be made in allowing the oasis to remain an oasis?

Let’s convert it into a Mela Ground – and charge the stall owners. Better yet, make the SHGs work for the “party [political]”, and as a pay off allow them to sell Momo, Thukpa and whatever they want to in the middle of Chowrasta for two weeks or so. Don’t forget to spray some dust in the eyes of the people, let’s label the event, “Darjeeling Tourist SHOPING Festival”.

There, that’s what the tourists have come to enjoy – CHAOS

You guys got that right.

When we were young, you needed a special permit to drive from Bhanu Bhawan to the Zoo. Today, there are many “taxi stands” that have come up on the Mall Road. Who permitted those stands? So much so, even the Mahakal Mandir premise has been converted into Hotel and Taxi Stand zone. Another half has been taken over by the so called “hawkers”.

Whatever little is left, is at times converted into “gundri bazar”, at times to “dog show” venue, at times to “marathon venue”, at times to “political rally venue”, at times “government program venue”, and at times even “car sales venue”…

If these lot have their way, the only place left in Darjeeling, where you will be able to find peace is the SP Bunglow. Rest of the places, they will rent out, lease out, sell out.

They don’t have any sense of belonging to our place, there is zero sense of “mero”. For them, all of Darjeeling is a piece of property to be converted into money.

I don’t mind the politicians, most of them are morons anyway, however I pity the “petty brains” who fuel this madness, all to cozy up their pockets and satiate their never ending greed. In cheapening Chowrasta, they are exhibiting the cheapness of their menality and their very being.

What’s truly ironic is that, all of them are “bhumiputras,” rushing in to pawn whatever little “bhumi” is now left in our region, including the public toilets, to the highest bidders.

As Thomas Sowell once said, “In a democracy, we have always had to worry about the ignorance of the uneducated. Today we have to worry about the ignorance of people with college degrees.”

Wake up Darjeeling, identify these crooks behind the books, who are destroying our beloved town and our region, before it’s too late.

The post Cheapening Chowrasta: रोटेपिंग र डाइस लाग्नूको बेर छ appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

We have Bodoland University in Bodoland, Assam. Mamata Banerjee could have allowed DHU to be named as Gorkhaland University (GU) as a goodwill gesture, but she and her entire power corridors in Kolkata de-taste the very word ‘Gorkha or Gorkhaland’. Few years ago, I came across a momo shop called ‘Tibetan corner’ operated by a Gorkha person from Kalimpong in Tollygunj area (name changed), Kolkata. While having momo, I informally advised him to rename the shop as ‘Gorkha Corner’ as it would sound more relevant. He was scared and turned uncomfortable as many locals were also eating. He mildly told me, “daju, I feel insecure as a Gorkha, hence I identify myself as Tibetan here. It’s a business and survival strategy for me”. Constitutionally, Kolkata is equally ours as they feel Darjeeling hills is theirs.  

Why are we obsessed with such ludicrous names like ‘Green Field’ for Universities? They are sacred and valuable spaces often with historic vision and missions. We also have an airport called Greenfield Airport at Pakyong, Sikkim. In Sikkim we have Universities with names like Capital, Medhavi, Alpine, Skill, Professional etc.  Such names demean the very idea of a University and often give us the impression of two-rooms computer diploma centres of the mid-1990s in Darjeeling like APTEC, NIIT etc. We have so many luminaries and historical figures in the region, why can’t we have these universities in their names? This diploma-centre mentality of our policy makers also in one way or the other reflects their understanding and respect for higher education institutions. They should take out their time to tour and walk through the campuses of the Universities like JNU or BHU to internalise the very idea and concept of a University. The ‘diploma-centre mentality’ will only harm higher education system in the region.

Coming back to DHU, it carries the weight of expectation – to cater to the long-felt need for accessible and quality academic opportunities in a unique geographical and cultural landscape of Darjeeling hills and its surrounding. Students from the region often have to migrate to pursue higher education, facing geographical and financial hurdles. DHU’s establishment actually aims to bridge this gap by providing local youth with access to quality education closer to home. The university’s motto, ‘excellence. inclusion. innovation,’ reflects its commitment to academic rigor, catering to diverse student backgrounds, and fostering a culture of ground breaking research. Sounds good on paper! The reality is, however, quite different.

DHU, since it was established in 2021, has been functioning with the help of University of North Bengal and its affiliated colleges. To be blunt, part-timers are running the academic and administrative affairs of Darjeeling Hills University for the last three and half years.

The project of DHU has made mockery of the Gorkhas and higher education in the region. The PG-courses floated by DHU had been operating through online mode since their start till about few days ago, thanks to COVID19! It was only on April 09, 2024, DHU, reportedly, started its offline classes.

Not a single regular staff has been appointed by the Government of West Bengal so far! It has been functioning under the mercy of NBU and college teachers in and around the region. Why is there no full-time VC, Registrar, Finance Officer, Controller of Examinations, Librarians and faculty members in the university even after three years of its establishments. Why is the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, the custodian of well-being of Darjeeling hills, not pushing and putting pressure on the state government?

It’s sad that college teachers /staff members are now given additional charges to run the Darjeeling Hills University. University is not a college, it’s a different ecosystem.

It has bigger and far reaching objectives, missions and vision. Higher education in Darjeeling hills cannot be taken so lightly. Hill students cannot be taken on ride in this way! In Sikkim also they take higher education or education as a whole very lightly. In the state university of Sikkim, school teachers were deputed to teach MA courses few years ago. An Assistant Professor of a college was made registrar, controller etc. These are statutory positions equivalent to the post of secretary of a state. It requires decades of academic/administrative experiences to take up the responsibilities of these positions. It’s also important to understand that having NET/SLET does not mean we can bypass procedures to be appointed in a University. There are rules, regulations and protocols to be followed.  But babus up-there just do not bother. Their objective is just to grab power with little concern on the quality higher education. A simple question to the bureaucrats: Can an under-secretary be made chief secretary or even a secretary by-passing over a decade of experience?

It is sad and frustrating to record here that public at-large also show little or no concern on the state of higher education in the region while institutions like Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) is busy on construction and mining projects. It’s high time DHU becomes a full-fledged functional University with its own staff-members, teachers, campus and infrastructure. Public should rise in unity to make it fully functional. We need to take help of judiciary if things do not move.

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What I find most infuriating is the tragic irony of organizing tea tourism summit in 5-star hotels situated in the tea estates, where the tea garden workers, the original owners of the land don’t have any land rights.

‘Tea Tourism’ is the buzz word WB Govt has used to justify diversion of tea garden lands for constructing commercial real-estate. Is the much vaunted “Tea Tourism” in Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars region benefiting the locals? or is it another form of exploitation?

No Land for the Locals

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”.

Today 5-star hotels have been built in the tea gardens, whereas the tea garden workers who have toiled in the same garden for generations are forced to seek “company permission” even to bury their dead.

Imagine the level of hurt a child of a tea garden worker must feel, when s/he sees opulence and grandeur in her garden, but they like all other tea garden workers and their children are not even permitted to walk on the hallowed grounds of those very hotels that have been constructed uprooting the tea bushes, which their great grandparents had probably planted.

How much is our labour worth?

A cursory look of the price of stay in these hotels shows why we need to put an end to this exploitation.

“Taj Chia Kutir” in Makaibari Tea Estate charges from Rs 21000 to Rs 77000 per room per night in off season (I had checked the tariff for one person for one night).

Get this, for a tea garden worker who is only paid Rs 235/day (the new revised daily wages announced by WB CM Mamata Banerjee recently) will take her/him 328 days to be able to afford the high end room at “Taj Chia Kutir”.

Nothing can be more exploitative than this.

Unsustainable Tourism

The so called “tea tourism” venues chosen for this summit is the prime example of unsustainable tourism. The UN Environment Program and UN World Tourism Organization defines Sustainable Tourism as “tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.”

These massive constructions in a fragile mountain ecosystem are not at all sustainable. Further, I would be surprised if any of these 5-star resorts that have come up had their Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) done. The impact these massive hotels place on local resources are huge, and other than working paltry jobs, these massive hotels don’t benefit the local communities in any way, shape or form.

Moreover, the tea industry has a very dark past. The Tea Plantations are MONOCULTURE. The British destroyed our old growth forests to plant tea-trees, and ruined our entire ecosystem, they cannot be sustainable. Just because it’s green, it doesn’t mean it’s sustainable. What’s happening to the rainforest of Indonesia, that is being destroyed by palm plantations today, has happened to our region 200 years ago.

Moreover, the tea Plantations are feudalistic and have ZERO local participation in tourism activities. As a friend most aptly put it, “when the tea gardens came into existence the locals became bonded labourers from land owners.”

Speak Up

In the western countries, G20 summits are used by activist groups to highlight local issues, but in Darjeeling, I am told activism has been banned. Funny thing is we have more political parties than we can count, but not a single one has bothered to highlight the exploitations faced by our region or people.

This is the 21st century India, and I feel by keeping quiet over this rampant exploitation of our land, and outright discrimination against our brothers and sisters who work in the tea gardens and cinchona gardens, we too are silently supporting their exploitation.

It is time we all spoke up.

As Edmund Burke reminds us, ““The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

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Rethinking the tea industry has become nexessary, as the tea garden families continue to be treated as ‘bonded labourers’ by the tea companies – argues Upendra

The recent announcement by the WB Govt to grant 5-decimal land to tea garden families has raised multiple issues. The state government seems to have taken the decision haphazardly without any forethought, as has been made apparent.

After the announcement, the government has now asked for the tea companies to send in their feedback and views on the said announcement. While, no such offer has been made to the tea garden workers, their family members, or their trade unions.

No such feedback or views were sought when the Mamata Banerjee government decided to hand over 7500 Acres of tea garden land for tourism development, making the tea companies biggest land owners in a prime tourism destination like Darjeeling, overnight.

What I find most audacious is that the tea companies expect the workers and their families to remain bound to them, like bonded labourers.

screen shot of a report from The Telegraph

Arguing against granting the tea garden workers their Parja Patta rights, the tea companies are arguing that the workers may not join work after getting the patta, or the next generation family members of the workers may not work for the tea industry, so they may have to construct new “labour lines”, again these new workers may have to be given land rights, and again their next generation may not come to work and so on…

What about the tea companies? Did anyone ever ask what will happen if the tea company decides to abandon the garden but continue to retain their investment in the tourism business? What if one company does it, and then another and another and so on?

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.

In the 21st century, this is simply unacceptable.

Today, almost all the welfare measures taken by the tea companies earlier have been assumed by the government. For instance, the government is building homes through PMAY scheme, government is constructing roads through PMGSY scheme, the government is providing highly subsidized ration through PM Garib Kalyan Scheme. In place of firewood, the government provides cooking gas cylinder through PM Ujjwala scheme. Drinking water is provided through Jal Jeevan Mission’s ‘Har Ghar Jal’ scheme. Health Centres are being built through the National Health Mission. The West Bengal government is even constructing crèche for the children of the tea workers. The Tea companies are thus saving a lot of money these days, as the government has stepped in to deliver the welfare facilities that the tea companies were actually supposed to provide. Yet, the tea companies don’t want to give decent liveable wages to the workers, and later complain of absenteeism.

I strongly feel that it is high time for the government to work towards dismantling this indirect bonded labour practised in the tea industry. The tea garden workers should have as much right to choose where they want to work as anyone else in the country. It is because of this feudalistic practice that the tea industry today affords to give the workers the lowest salaries, and almost no benefits, as they know they will have a ready supply of the next generation of workers, no matter how exploitative they are. Imagine, a non-skilled labourer today earning at least Rs 500 per day, whereas the tea garden workers are getting Rs 232 per day after multiple interventions by the state government. The tea garden workers too should be paid at least Rs 500 per day, that way the workers or their family members won’t need to go to distant cities to earn their livelihood.

The era of exploiting workers should be over.

Since the tea industry is so adamant about not granting the workers fair wages or their rights, from my vantage point, I sense that the only way for the tea industry to survive is by having the workers as equal stakeholders in the tea industry. The workers should get a share in the profit. Alternatively, instead of giving the tea gardens to be run by massive conglomerates, the government should adopt the cooperative model, and the tea gardens should be run as a worker cooperative. If AMUL can be successful worldwide as a cooperative, so can the tea industry of Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars. We need to dismantle the existing exploitative company-worker structure. We need to ensure justice for the workers by making them co-owner and equal partners in running the gardens.

In the long run, the cooperative system of tea gardens will not only rake in huge revenues for the government, but it will also ensure the economic well-being of the workers, as well as our entire region.

The post RETHINKING THE TEA INDUSTRY – Tea Garden Familes Aren’t Bonded Labourers appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

The TMC Govt has posted this advertisement in Himalaya Darpan, published today. Apparently, the WB Govt is handing over Parja Patta to around 200 refugee families from different blocks of Nadia district like Chakdah, Karimpur, Nabadwip, Krishnanagar, Ranaghat, places most of us in the hills may never even have heard of. According to a report in Hindustan Times (Bengali edition) in the past 10-years WB Govt has handed over close to Parja Patta to 37000 families.

In contrast, when a local politician asked WB Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to consider Parja Patta rights for the tea garden and cinchona garden workers at an administrative review meeting held in Kurseong broadcast live on social media, she chided him and said, “तुमको जमीन देगा तो हम बिजनेस कैसे करेगा? – if we give them land, how will we do business”?

Imagine the audacity to say deny land rights to the families of tea workers and cinchona workers who have toiled their ancestral lands for generations. While at the same, handing over land rights to the “refugees”. I am all for social justice and I am supportive of providing dignified living to the refugees and assisting them in restarting their lives, but this is the highest level of hypocrisy. What makes the “refugees” more eligible for land rights, than the Gorkhas, Adivasis, Rajbangshis, Bengalis, Koche, Mecha, Rabha, Toto, Hindi Bhasis and others who have worked in the tea gardens for generations? It is beyond my comprehension, as to what makes the “refugees” more special than the tea garden and cinchona garden workers, that the “refugees” are deserving of more support from the West Bengal government, than our own citizens who have been kept deprived of their basic rights for generations?

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 district, 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?

It is time, all the people from Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars, irrespective of their political affiliations thought about this.

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Dear Sir,

Welcome to our beautiful region.

Given your wide-ranging experiences from being one of the finest intelligence officers our nation has ever seen to founding the Vivekananda International Foundation, I am sure you must have had the opportunity to visit our region many times in the past. But this is perhaps the first time, your arrival was publicly announced and thus I am taking this opportunity to write you an open letter, so that you get enjoy your stay better.

1. Visit the tea gardens

Sir, according to media reports you are somewhere in the Makaibari region, I am hopeful you are enjoying your stay. Since you are already put-up in the lap of a tea garden, can you please take some time to take a walk sir, and visit the villagers who live there, find out how their life is going, and what do they think of the 5-star hotel that has come up in Makaibari?

I am not sure if you know this Sir, but while the tea garden owners have been given the right to construct 5-star hotels in the name of “tea tourism“, the tea garden workers, even though they have lived, toiled and worked in the same garden for generations have to this date been denied their right to Parja Patta of their land. It doesn’t matter when a company bought the tea garden, a decade ago, a year ago, a week ago or even a day ago, they are entitled to diverting 15% of the tea garden land for “tea tourism” purposes. But the tea garden workers can’t even repair their home or bury their dead, without the permission of the tea company.

Even as our nation celebrates “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” tea garden workers are forced to operate in a feudalistic set up, where at least one member of the family has to be employed in the tea garden, else the garden management can order the ouster of the family.

So, I am requesting you to kindly visit the tea gardens and you will get to enjoy the First Hand Stories of the tea workers along with your hot cup of the First Flush Special Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe tea, yeah the one they sell for over Rs 4-lakh-a-kg in the market, and pay the tea garden workers only Rs 235 per day to produce.

The taste of Darjeeling tea you are probably so relishing comes from the blood and sweat of these workers Sir.

2. Drive through the main road in a local taxi

Sir, I have grown up reading stories about your great exploits for our nation. Especially you going undercover in Pakistan for 7-long-years.

Live the thrill once more Sir, travel incognito across Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars region. Meet with everyday regular people, spend some time in the Momo hangouts, Chowrasta, Dambar Chowk, Jaigaon Bazar, Malbazar Haat – see how the people across this region are enjoying their lives under the most generous and caring West Bengal government. So what if the Panchayat elections to our region have not been conducted since 2000, and the GTA forcefully imposed, people are voting for GTA and electing their representatives, and dancing and singing while the mortal remains of our soldiers are still warm from their last breath. So what if we don’t have a single government hospital in the region with a CT Scan Machine or enough doctors and nurses. So what if our roads are crumbling and there has been no infrastructure development in the rural region for decades, as the WB Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claims “Pahar Hasche”.

I am sure you will be happy to learn that “Pahar Hasche” is not just a catch -phrase, but the reality of life here. We have to “Hasche” even if jabarjasti, why risk getting arrested by frowning, so we smile. Just like how Joker smiled in the movie aptly titled “Joker” – have you have seen it?

3. Enjoy a Visit to the Schools and Colleges

If I am not mistaken Sir, you are from Pauri Garhwal. A beautiful mountain region like ours. Both of our regions have much to be grateful for – we have kind and caring people, beautiful natural vistas, and weather that Gods would be jealous about. Both of our regions have another thing in common, our great schools. Both our regions have some of the best schools in the nation, hence I would suggest that you take some time to visit the govt schools and colleges in our region.

You will not only get to meet some of the most highly qualified teachers who have been recently appointed to teach in schools under the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration first hand, but you will also get to perhaps understand why Darjeeling MP had to write to the Ministry of Defense requesting them to lower the qualifying educational criteria for Gorkha Youths for recruitment into the Indian Army.

If you are lucky, you may also get to see College Professors sitting on a hunger strike demanding the recognition of their college.

Sir, I had the pleasure of visiting the HNB Garhwal University in Srinagar. I was pleasantly surprised to note that the august University had been established in 1973. In Darjeeling the demand for the setting up of a University can be traced as far back as 1955. The demand for a Central University is as old as HNB Garhwal University. Yet, the government of India has turned a complete deaf ears and blind eyes to the request from our region. Like the great street fighter Rajdeep Sardesai once labelled “tyranny of distance” to justify non-coverage of issues from the NE region, perhaps the Govt of India too suffers from the same. But since, the Govt of India has come to our region – in your form, we hope this will ring in your ears.

4. Avoid, Deny, Make Excuses

Sir, as you are aware, recently there was a massive landslide in Manipur, in which at least 30 jawans of 107Bn T.A (11 Gorkha Rifles) which is headquartered in Jalapahar, Darjeeling have been martyred. The mortal remains of around 14 jawans have reached the region.

We are used to our Martyrs being ignored by the West Bengal government, as they have done so innumerable times, it is kind of reassuring that the Central Government too feels equally indifferent. Despite the largest loss of serving soldiers our region has ever seen in peace time, no one other than Central Minister John Barla (who is from here) has bothered to visit the region. Hence, may I suggest, you avoid meeting the Sahid Pariwar, just to keep the indifference perpetuating.

So what the Gorkhas have shed blood for the nation since the time of our independence and before? So what the Gorkhas are zealously patriotic to a fault, the Govt of India has continued to deny them their rights – like inclusion of 11 left-out Gorkha sub-tribes as Schedule Tribes, citing the bogey of “Nepal citizens may take advantage as ST in India”? This is as classy as it gets. Deny the Indian citizens their rights, citing the fear of foreign nationals. Do you have a hand in suggesting this excuse Sir? For if you do, I salute your ingenuity. Nothing works on politicians better than fear of the foreigners in our country.

5. Don’t talk about Gorkhaland

No matter what you do Sir, please avoid talking about Gorkhaland.

Uttarakhand and Darjeeling have similar geography, people, political conditions, yet Uttarakhand became a separate state, and Darjeeling hasn’t. Sometimes we are told it’s because “we live in a critical geography, we can’t have Nepal on one side, Bhutan on the other, Sikkim, Darjeeling, Dooars dominated by the Gorkhas.”  Forget the fact that thousands of Gorkhas have sacrificed for our nation, and the immense contribution of the Gorkha community towards our nation building. Hold on to the centuries old grudge if you must, label us foreigners, immigrants, outsiders, whatever you must, but please don’t say a word on Gorkhaland.

The people from Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars have endured all. We have lived through the atrocities of Congress when the original Naxalbari movement was on, we have survived the tumultuous Communist rule for 34-years, we are surviving the draconian TMC government for 12 years, but we know they opposed Gorkhaland. But what is actually causing the slow death of the people from our region is the “meethi churi” approach of the Central Government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who once proclaimed “गोरखाओं का सपना मेरा सपना – The dreams of the Gorkhas are my own” and has perhaps forgotten to wake up to make those dreams come true.

Hence, avoid talking about Gorkhaland, or even thinking about it.

We know Sir, you must have multiple agenda and issues to deal with nationally, so I felt I will help you with avoiding some issues, while you relax with your family here, and perhaps meet with politicians who have won the recent elections and ink a few deals on “Political Solution” (fact that Mamata Banerjee hasn’t said a word against your presence here is a dead give-away).

I hope you will enjoy your trip to our region, and see how well developed our region is, how “tea tourism” is thriving in our region, how everyone is happy, how our education system is top notch, how grassroots democracy is thriving, how people are celebrating in the streets, how our infrastructure, hospitals have all been made world class under the most tolerant, benevolent, kind, generous, and gracious TMC run Government of West Bengal.

Enjoy Sir, for I am sure, that’s what you came here to do.

The post Ajit Doval – An Open Letter to the National Security Advisor appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

Drain of Wealth

In 1867, Dadabhai Naoroji was the first person to assert that internal factors were not the reasons for poverty in India but poverty was caused due to the colonial rule that was draining the wealth and prosperity of India. He put forward the ‘Drain of Wealth’ theory, in which he stated that the United Kingdom was draining India’s economic resources completely. He mentioned this theory in his book ‘Poverty and Un-British Rule in India.’ Recently, in a new research by the renowned economist Utsa Patnaik, published by Columbia University Press, Patnaik highlighted through authentic tax and other related data, that Britain drained a total of nearly US$45 trillion from India during the period 1765 to 1938.

Ever since Independence that is exactly what has been happening to the wealth from Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars region too. The share of revenue paid by our region to the WB Govt is much much higher than the share of return investments made by the state government in the region.

However, nowhere is this exploitation more apparent than in the tea gardens.

No Land for the Locals

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”.

Today 5-star and 7-star hotels have been built in the tea gardens, where as the tea garden workers who have toiled in the same garden for generations are forced to seek “company permission” even to bury their dead.

Imagine the level of hurt a child of a tea garden worker must feel, when s/he sees opulence and grandeur in her garden, but they like all other tea garden workers and their children are not even permitted to walk on the hallowed grounds of those very hotels that have been constructed uprooting the tea bushes, which their great grand parents had possibly planted.

While the WB Govt has outlined certain do’s and don’ts for the “tea tourism” projects, personally I am yet to see it applied or enforced on the ground level.

For instance, in Makaibari Tea Estate the fabled “Taj Chia Kutir” has been constructed bang in the middle of the tea bushes. It wasn’t done on vacant land.

How much is our labour worth?

A cursory look of the price of stay in these hotels shows why we need to put an end to this exploitation.

“Taj Chia Kutir” in Makaibari Tea Estate charges from Rs 21000 to Rs 77000 per room per night in off season (I had checked the tariff for one person for one night on July 13).

While “Glenburn Tea Tourism Botique Hotel” charges from Rs 27555 for single person to Rs. 46376 per room for 2 persons sharing on double or twin occupancy basis.

Get this, for a tea garden worker who is only paid Rs 235/day (the new revised daily wages announced by WB CM Mamata Banerjee recently) will take her/him 328 days to be able to afford the high end room at “Taj Chia Kutir”, and 197 days to be able to afford a double occupancy room in “Glenburn Tea Tourism Boutique Hotel”.

Nothing can be more exploitative than this.

Speak Up

This is the 21st century India, and I feel by allowing this rampant exploitation of our land, and outright discrimination against our brothers and sisters who work in the tea gardens continue unabated, we too are silently supporting their exploitation.

It is time we all spoke up.

As Edmund Burke reminds us, ““The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

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We, the CONCERNED YOUTH OF HILLS, would like to draw your attention towards one of the well known yet least cared issues of the hills of Darjeeling and Kalimpong (GTA region) : the problem plaguing the education system in the hills.

We all are well aware about the crucial role a good education system plays in shaping a good society. A well educated individual in any society is an asset who will go on to help in building a society, a state and the nation.

However, the current situation of the hills as to the subject matter is grim and gloomy. Few issues that we would like you to look into includes :

1. It has been more than two decades since the hills saw any official and formal form of teacher recruitment. The last time the hills had a recruitment agency was in 2000.
2. Present recruitment of the teachers are being carried out on the basis of the political party affiliation of the candidate.
3. Most of the candidates so nominated are not even eligible to teach as they lack required educational qualifications like B.Ed. or D.I. Ed., thus clearly violating the norms set by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE ).

All these issues and problems will ultimately have severe repercussions on the quality of education that a child receives. When quality is compromised parents (especially the poor ones) are likely to find it pointless in sending the children to schools reducing enrollment of the children.

This will clearly go against article 21(a) of the Indian constitution which provides for right to free and compulsory education to the children from age 6- 14 years.

Moreover, at the time when the government is trying to increase the enrollment ratio in schools such situation will act as a drag to the initiative.

Furthermore, article 16(i) of the constitution provides for the right to equal opportunities in employment. But when the education received itself is of poor quality how will right under the article play out is also a serious concern.

Therefore, considering all these issues and its consequences, we would like to place before you a sincere request to kindly look into these matters urgently. We would be more than happy to be included and provide our support in whatever plans and initiatives that you will devise to address these issues.

Thanking you,

Sincerely
Concerned Youth of Hills

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