Opinion Rocky mountain

Violence is nothing new in Darjeeling,which saw a bloody agitation for Gorkhaland that left hundreds dead,till the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council was set up in 1988. In fact,the killings did not stop even then. Rudra Pradhan and C.K. Pradhan,once seen as Ghisingh’s strongmen,were killed in crowded market areas even as late as 2002. Then too,there were whisper campaigns that Ghisingh was behind the killings,but these never rose above a murmur. Ghisingh himself was targeted in 2001. The attack was blamed on another former GNLF leader,Chhatrey Subba,who has since been arrested. 

But what is new is the public mobilisation against an outfit whose writ runs large in the area — at least for the present. Maybe it has something to do with Tamang’s persona,always seen as the moderate voice of the opposition. While he was an active proponent of the idea of a separate Gorkhaland state,he spared no punches in taking on either Ghisingh or GJM leader Bimal Gurung,once a Ghisingh acolyte. Recently,he played a key role in bringing together non-Morcha organisations to form the Democratic Front. There were reprisals aplenty — his house in his native village was burnt down,his public rallies were scuttled — but Tamang remained the dissenting voice. 

This,in a way,is the GJM’s litmus test of popular support after its meteoric rise in 2007,piggybacking on its clever campaign for

Indian Idol contestant Prashant Tamang who went on to win.

While the GJM has often claimed to be more “inclusive” and “different” from the GNLF,there weren’t many perceptible changes on the ground. Some of their diktats brought back memories of Ghisingh’s personal idiosyncrasies — orders to write “Gorkhaland” on the signboards of business establishments,to use “GL” numberplates on vehicles,non-payment of water,electricity and telephone bills as part of its “non-cooperation” drive against the state government and so on. And despite claims of following Mahatma Gandhi’s doctrine of non-violence,all these were enforced with a heavy hand. A separate volunteer force,the Gorkha Liberation Police,was raised to maintain “law and order”. 

There was some resentment,but the orders were obeyed,for fear of swift,brutal reprisal. But the mood seems to have changed now,not just among the masses but within the GJM itself. Already,some senior central committee members have quit the party,and more are expected to follow. 

Whether or not the GJM engineered the well-planned attack on Tamang is a subject of police investigation. But the party would do well to read the writing on the wall: unlike in the ’80s,the people of Darjeeling clearly are in no mood for violence now. Nor can the hills afford it. The last agitation pushed its development and economy back by a couple of decades. While Ghisingh ruled the DGHC as his personal fiefdom for about two decades,he did little to improve infrastructure. Power cuts often last for days. Most roads are a sorry mess,washed out every monsoon. Drinking water supply is erratic at best,with many paying as much as Rs 800 per 1000 litres to private water trucks. 

In the old days,it was said that Darjeeling’s economy is driven by two “Ts” — timber and tourism. With deforestation now inviting strict action and tourism almost non-existent,its economy is floundering. The path to revival had only just begun,when violence and bandhs seem to have become the order of the day again. 

But this time,maybe the public will resist,and the khukri will remain sheathed — for ever. 

dawa.lhamu@expressindia.com