Sukhna (West Bengal):The Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) staged a rally under the banner of Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) to press the demand for separate Gorkhaland state here on Saturday. Hundreds of demonstrators raised slogans such as 'We Want Gorkhaland'. Addressing the rally, Bimal Gurung, chief of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha, said that their demand is over a century old unlike the wishes of the people Telangana which date back to just a couple of decades. "Now, the process for the formation
of Telangana state has begun. We would like to thank the Central Government for
that. Along with it Gorkhaland should also be formed. Demand for Telangana is
50 years old, but our demand (for the state of Gorkhaland) is older than that.
It is 102 years old demand. For that we are holding the rally," Gurung said.
On Friday, the GJM called for a 96-hour shutdown and 21 members each from Darjeeling, Kursiong, Kalimpong and Siliguri went on an indefinite fast beginning
Friday. The GJM wants a separate state carved out of the districts on the northern
border of West Bengal. "The proposed new state will include the popular hill stations
of West Bengal -Darjeeling, Siliguri, Kurseong and Kalimpong", GJM leader Roshan
Giri said on Thursday. "We have been pressing for a separate Gorkhaland since 1907.
If there can be a separate Telangana, there should also be a separate Gorkhaland,"
he added. The Bharatiya Janata Party has thrown its weight behind the demand for
a separate Gorkhaland, saying that the region lies along the border and a separate
statehood would put off infiltration and protect the border better. The biggest
worry for the Centre now is that there are similar demands rising from the other
parts of India. There are speculations of protests from some other areas as well.
The demands for Bundelkhand, Harit Pradesh and Purvanchal to be formed from Uttar
Pradesh, a state each for Garos and Khasis from Meghalaya, Gorkhaland from West
Bengal and Bodoland from Assam are anticipated to rise in near future. There will
be around 50 States, if the Central Government accepts all demands and sets up
the second State Reorganisation Commission. The protestors have now decided to
raise their voice for further small states as well, such as Coorg in Karnataka,
Vidarbha in Maharashtra, Saurashtra in Gujarat, Mithilanchal in Bihar, Mahakosala
in Orissa and Ladakh & Jammu in Jammu And Kashmir State. The protestors are garnering the support from the BJP and the other regional parties. This has come up as a
strong topic for discussion.
