Gorkhas repeat: Wont take no this time

An image makeover for Darjeeling to coincide with the secretary-level tripartite talks,slated for December 21,is almost complete.

An image makeover for Darjeeling to coincide with the secretary-level tripartite talks,slated for December 21,is almost complete. The words West Bengal have been wiped off all signboards on shops,business establishments,hotels and even in most government premises in all the three hill sub-divisions. Instead,Gorkhaland has been inserted in all such premises as a mandatory step.

The contours of a new Gorkhaland state have begun to take shape under Bimal Gurung and his associates who have designed and executed a meticulous campaign to show New Delhi and the state government that Darjeeling is no more a part of West Bengal,whatever be the outcome of the tri-partite discussions.

With the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha whipping up a frenzy for a separate Gorkhaland,there are clear rumblings of a major showdown from the hills if the Gorkha aspiration for a separate state fails to take a definite shape this time around.

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Every tea stall,business enterprise,hotel and other establishments on the way to Darjeeling adores this new lexicon Gorkhaland. Those who could not afford a fresh coat of paint to display Gorkhaland after having deleted West Bengal,have computer print outs proclaiming Darjeelings new identity pasted on their walls. The physical changes are matched by equally aggressive pronouncements by Gurung and his colleagues.

We have only one agenda for this round of talks creation of a separate state of Gorkhaland, says Gurung,the president of the GJM. Before that we are not going to deviate in any direction, Gurung adds. His lieutenant,Roshan Giri,joins in to elaborate the underlying mood: Should the December 21 talk fails to arrive at a consensus for a separate Gorkhaland state,we would unilaterally declare the Gorkha state. We would be the sole caretaker of Gorkhas fate.

The image makeover in Darjeeling began on November 7 after Gurung issued specific fatwa for immediate implementation. The Morcha leaders desperation is largely explained by the fact that no tangible results have come out of the GJM-sponsored agitation for Gorkhaland in the past two years and the movement runs the risk of losing its steam. Gurungs promise of a separate state by March 2010 has almost fallen flat. He has been abundantly apologetic over the slip. His next move to push the Gorkha cause by roping in BJP heavyweight Jaswant Singh proved futile too,after the expulsion of Singh for his book on Jinnah.

The Congress,the Trinamool and the CPM are opposed to division of Bengal. The senior-most Congress leader from Bengal,Pranab Mukherjee,has been categorical about not supporting Gorkhaland. Gurung and his party dont seem to have too many options but to lend a highly emotive pan-Nepali/Gorkha edge to the continuing agitation.