You can jail me, torture me, but you cannot wish away the Gorkhaland issue: IGJF leader Ajoy Edwards

The timing of it is definitely suspicious. Within 12 hours of the ‘Gorkhaland Bridge’ inauguration, the bar was raided and sealed.

Q. Given the controversy, why did you decide to name the community-built structure the ‘Gorkhaland Bridge’?

Before this bridge, I built Balwabas Bridge in Darjeeling’s Singtam area in 2024. It was a community-built suspension bridge transformed into Darjeeling’s first glass-bottom skywalk. I believe that local people had this hope that I might help them build this recently inaugurated bridge, too. People from 32 villages came and requested me for the bridge. I planned it, donated JCB machines, tools, equipment, and manpower. Local people put in the labour; if I had to put in labour, it would have cost me a lot. If the Centre does something, PWD does something, they all use their names. You can jail me, you can torture me, but the vision of Gorkhaland cannot be erased from the minds of people. You cannot wish it away.

Q. Does the naming of the bridge indicate your intention to use the Gorkhaland demand as an electoral issue in the 2026 Assembly elections?

I am myself a victim of 40 years of violence in Darjeeling, and I will not lead people in that direction. But you have to respect the locals’ vision. People have seen what happened in Nepal; Gen Z in Darjeeling has seen Nepal and Bangladesh, too. They feel their neighbouring Sikkim, which is just a border away, has its own CM, its own policies. But no, I will not make Gorkhaland an election issue; it is the electors who have this vision.

Q. What has been the immediate financial impact of the Excise Department action?

In just one day, the sales were down by 50 percent. It has come down from 12 lakh a day to 6-6.5 lakh. Glenary’s is an integral part of Darjeeling. If you know it has been playing live music for 140 years. It started live music even before Park Street’s Trincas. Louis Banks was first noticed in Glenary. (Banks is a legendary Indian jazz musician, composer, and pianist, often called the “Godfather of Indian Jazz”).

Q. How do you view the growing trend of social and political conflict in Bengal centered around food choices? Like the recent incident over the sale of chicken patties?

It is a very dangerous trend…Imagine we consider doctors as first-class citizens, and the same doctors making bombs. Also, thinking that a section of people is dangerous for the nation is disturbing too. I feel it is a person’s choice. I wonder how there is a huge conversation over people being beaten up outside Kolkata for speaking Bengali, and many claiming it is the Bangladeshi language, but no one bothers that our people from Darjeeling have been facing this for several decades.

Q. Can you elaborate on that?

People have given us names…but there is no movement or conversation on that. I guess the power structure in Kolkata does not understand the feelings of the locals in Darjeeling. Darjeeling is still under neo-colonialism.

Q. When you speak of ‘power in Kolkata,’ what political or administrative disparity are you hinting at?

Whenever I come to Kolkata, I see bridges, flyovers, big malls, hospitals, and shops. People in Darjeeling cannot dream of a life like that. Despite being part of the same state, there is a huge difference.

Q. Do you believe the demand for Gorkhaland will continue to be a significant underlying factor that could impact the 2026 elections?

I will never make Gorkhaland an electoral issue. It is up to the people to decide. The government or those enjoying power are not realising that the issue is still brewing on the ground, and I will do everything to support this vision.

Q. Following the Gen Z protests in Nepal, do you anticipate a similar non-violent surge of agitation in Darjeeling in near future?

We do not believe in damaging public properties. On one hand, there is the BJP, which has fooled locals for years. They make false claims, and then nothing happens on the ground. On the other hand, there is CM Mamata Banerjee and her party that does not understand the pulse of people on the ground.

Making a rule that West Bengal schools are required to sing the state song “Banglar Mati, Banglar Jol” will definitely face backlash from people here due to cultural and linguistic diversity. We are not racists or anti-Bengal, but in the last several years, nothing has changed for people in Darjeeling.
India’s revised earthquake design code has classified the Darjeeling region as Zone VI, the highest-risk seismic zone. Despite that, people built G+4 buildings, and now there are G+9 buildings coming up.

Q. Darjeeling is a tourist spot. Bengal is seeing a massive response in the tourism sector. How is it benefiting Darjeeling?

I doubt if the foreigners’ footfall data published recently is factually correct because I feel that they might have used Bengal as a stopover before heading to Sikkim and Assam. Earlier, in Darjeeling, it was 70% of the international footfall, and about 30% was domestic footfall. Now in Glenary’s or overall in Darjeeling, it has gone down drastically.

Q. The Bengal government is trying to project a pro-business image. From your perspective, what are the primary obstacles to the ‘ease of doing business’ in Darjeeling?

It is a double standard of the government. I have visited many foreign countries. When people want to do business there, all statutory permissions are granted seamlessly. You just need to have the vision. But in Bengal, you have to fight so many departments, and the “Babu Culture” is very much rampant. It is like the British rule, where you have to please everyone across so many departments. Why would people want to struggle in Bengal when they can leave the state for better prospects? Also, the process lacks transparency. I mean, if I am paying taxes, I should get the receipt. If I am applying for permission, I should be given in writing that permission has been granted or declined.