Gorkhaland

Interlocutor Blues

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.


Gorkha Hill Transport Composite Complex – A betrayal

During the tenure of Subhash Ghisingh and under the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), a vision was laid out to create a Gorkha Hill Transport Composite Complex in Darjeeling More, Siliguri – a project inspired by the Sikkim Nationalised Transport Composite Complex.

The plan was to build a unified transport hub that would serve as a lifeline for the hill population, designed to benefit both local passengers and hill taxi drivers across Darjeeling.

That vision has been betrayed today


Mahakal, The Mandir I Knew

For me, being Hindu was never about rigid codes or centralized doctrines. Dara Mandir became a shared identity, a Darjeelingey or “Gorkha” way of being that embraced diversity and coexistence. I’ve met practicing Christians in Chowrasta who hold Dara Mandir in reverence, not out of religious obligation but out of respect for its place in our collective memory.


The hills deserve better

The people of the hills are yearning for genuine change, and the only weapon they possess is their vote. It is therefore imperative that we do not fall prey to the propaganda machinery that thrives on rhetoric and raw emotions. We must decide wisely, lest we spend another five years trapped in regret, lamenting unfulfilled promises and watching our backyards crumble further.



Culture of Peace Research Support: How important is this for us and our narrative?

The advertisement for the research grant for the Culture of Peace research programme by Zubaan in collaboration with Heinrich Boll Stiftung becomes significant to us. It is open to applicants from the eight Northeastern states, along with those from Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong. The advertisement further states that our region has been included as a contiguous region. Though the institutions do not have any political reasons for our region’s inclusion but for us it is politically a very significant development. It indicates that certain organisations, have started to understand that our region’s inclusion is of paramount importance to establish the continuity of the northeast region.


Crispin Chettri – The Pride of the Nation

Crispin’s achievement and contribution to the nation should be documented in the annals of Gorkha history. This beleaguered community has been fighting to establish its identity in India for a long time. Crispin’s achievement is historical not only for the nation but also for the Gorkha community. The Gorkha community of the country has to be thankful to Crispin for bringing the community into the imagination of the nation.



PARAKAMPAN – Aftershocks

As we travelled in the airport taxi, he didn’t ask about home, our neighbours, or old friends. Nothing.

After his house was burned down during the 1986 political movement for Gorkhaland in Darjeeling, his parents had passed away the following year. Perhaps it was the overwhelming grief and exhaustion from losing their home. That was what the locals believed, too.


TheDC ANNIVERSARY: WE ARE ENTERING OUR TEENS…

TheDC was born ON 18th of Nov, 2013 . It was born at a tumultuous time, when the West Bengal government had banned all local news outlets following the Gorkhaland Andolan of 2013, and we did not have a collective platform reporting on local issues, from local perspectives. The narratives about our place, our people and the perspective about Gorkhas were being shaped by news that were mostly being reported from Kolkata, which were predominantly devoid of grounded truths

In the past 12-years, like a little kid growing up, we have seen Darjeeling Chronicle – the platform you all have cared for, shared, criticized, scolded, but above all loved – GROW.