Terai

Pandora Chicken Neck

Articles October 24, 2024

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

The budgetary allocation for the NE States has increased significantly, with over 285% growth in the past 8 years from Rs 24,819.18 crores in 2014-15 to Rs 70,874.32 crores in 2021-22. The Government has dedicated over Rs 336,640.97 crores solely for the development of the NE Region, indicating a future of multi-faceted possibilities for the people of the region, economically and socially.

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,

No Land for Tea Workers

Editorial, Upendra November 23, 2022

NO LAND FOR TEA GARDEN, CINCHONA GARDEN WORKERS – But…

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?