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Journalism of Courage
The only discordant note amid a sense of jubilation surrounding the Darjeeling hills over the signing of the tripartite agreement on Monday is the shadow of a 48-hour bandh called by Siliguri-based Bangla Bachao Committee,beginning Tuesday morning.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,however,described these bodies as paper organisations who were out to disturb peace out of political compulsions. She arrived at Sukna near Siliguri on Sunday evening,a day ahead of the event.
There was a late night meeting between the CM and Bimal Gurung,when the GJM president called on Mamata Banerjee for consultations ahead of the agreement-signing ceremony. Sunday being Gurungs birthday,there was a celebration late at night.
Even for the hills,the CM is expected to make a host of announcements beyond the Rs 600-crore package that should make Gurung and his party feel happy. These would be part of the planned expenditure on different heads such as border areas development,hill areas development and other provisions for allocation of funds.
Still,an under-current of tension in Siliguri and its surrounding areas was felt in the Dooars and Terai where Adivasis and the Bengali population are said to be not too happy with the fast-unfolding scenario in the hills. But both sections are now too splintered to put up an aggressive front following such a landslide victory for Didi.
But internally,there was some simmering tension,particularly over the formation of the boundary demarcation committee for the new Gorkhaland Territorial Administration which is to take over after Mondays agreement is signed.
The Adivasis are aggrieved because the government has taken cognisance of the Gorkhas by undertaking a renewed border demarcation effort. Besides,there was not a single Adivasi member in the said committee.
The non-Gorkha community also felt there was a continuous flow of population from Darjeeling and other parts into the Dooars and Terai over the years. They wanted to know what would be the cut-off year to decide on the population figures and the linguistic majority factor. Many of the Dooars and Terai areas had seen settlements by Gorkhas after eviction drives from Bhutan and north-eastern states.
District administration officials said the underlying tension should partly explain why the Chief Minister was putting up at a forest resthouse at Sukna on the outskirts of Siliguri town and close to the venue of the agreement-signing ceremony in Pintail village. Security was beefed up for a smooth event.
