WEST BENGAL : GORKHALAND VIOLENCE
Khukris over, now for bullets
Partisan police may force creation of Gorkhaland Army

The posters in Kalimpong and Kurseong subdivisions of Darjeeling district are scary. Signed by the shadowy Gorkha Liberation Army, they vow to bring in sophisticated arms to wage a war to achieve Gorkhaland. And though members of the Gorkha Jan Jagaran Morcha, the mass-based organisation that has revived the separate Gorkha state demand, tore those posters, some seniors in the party seem to indicate that they would follow the path of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and set up an army abroad to fight it out against the tyranny of CPI (M).

For over a week, clashes have started between the GJMM cadre and those of the CPI (M)-propped anti-Gorkhaland organisations, Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad (ABAVP) of Siliguri and Janajagaran of Duars area of North Bengal's tea belt. The clashes started when lathi and iron rod-wielding ABAVP cadres put up several road blockades to prevent GJMM from holding a rally ­– for which GJMM had police permission – and attacked them when they broke through the first cordon.

The police initially remained mute spectators but sprung into action when GJMM activists retaliated with flag-sticks and khukris. In the police lathi-charge that followed, over 200, including 25 policemen, were injured. One Rajesh Mahato was later admitted to hospital, apparently with bullet injury. The next day, GJMM retaliated against ABAVP’s “continuous Duars Bandh” with its “Hills Bandh”.

Though clashes continued for the next two days, police remained inactive. And the paramilitary forces that were called in were assigned to the barracks!

Meanwhile, Cabinet Minister Ashok Bhattacharya’s fiery speech against GJMM during an anti-GJMM meeting on January 18 was incendiary. It was only after the paramilitary forces expressed displeasure with the police’s handling of the situation, was the Duars Bandh called off from January 19 and GJMM women wing’s rally was allowed to be held at under heavy police bandobast. Earlier, ABAVP had vowed to resist this meeting.

It was in protest against police’s tacit support to the Marxist-backed unregistered outfits that the GLA plastered Dambar Chowk in Kalimpong and Kurseong with posters calling for “direct resistance with sophisticated arms”. And GJMM apparently has warmed to the idea. Binoy Tamang, publicity secretary of GJMM, hinted his party may take a lead from Netaji and raise an army abroad and, if necessary, garner support from foreign countries too.

The Duars have since the 1950s been a part of the Gorkhas' demand to be included in their aspired separate state. Though the state government does not consider Duars a Nepali-Gorkhali dominated area, GJMM has no intention of excluding it from their map.

Chandrasekhar Bhattacharjee