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Darjeeling on the boil: CM Mamata wants Bengali mandatory in schools, Gorkhas want Nepali, Hindi

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Army was deployed in the restive hills after GJM supporters clashed with security forces and set ablaze police vehicles and several government offices. (AFP Photo )

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india...stive-hills/story-joyEALJcTWlnq91ohWgeDJ.html

Army has been withdrawn from restive Darjeeling hills of West Bengal even as the district is reeling under violent protests by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), which is spearheading a movement for a separate Gorkhaland state.

The military was called in to assist the state administration on June 8 after morcha supporters clashed with security forces and set ablaze police vehicles, panchayat offices, block development offices, a station of the Darjeeling toy train, electricity supply office and a library.

Responding to the state government’s request army’s Kolkata-based Eastern Command dispatched six columns of Maratha Light Infantry.

According to state government sources, the personnel have already left the hills. It is, however, not clear what prompted the state government to ask for the withdrawal of the army.


“The forces were withdrawn on June 24 after the state government told us there was no need for army deployment any longer,” Eastern Command spokesman wing commander S S Birdi said on Wednesday.

The GJM had been demanding withdrawal of the army and para military forces as one of the pre-conditions for it to withdraw its indefinite strike that entered 14th day on Wednesday.

GJM supporters on Tuseday set ablaze offices of the engineering division of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and a gram panchayat.

This was the first instance when an office of the GTA -- the semi-autonomous body to run the affairs of the hills -- was set on fire.

On Wednesday morning two GJM leaders R B Bhujel and Samuel Gurung were detained by the police when morcha supporters were trying to lay a siege to Darjeeling Sadar police station. The two were later released.

The GJM supporters also held rallies and staged demonstrations in various places in the hills.

Cultural programmes were also organised in support of the separate state.

The GJM has, meanwhile, called an all party meeting at Kalimpong at 1pm on Thursday to chalk out the next course of cation. The earlier all- party meetings called by the GJM were held on June 13 and 20 at Darjeeling.
 
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By: PTI | Darjeeling | Published:June 30, 2017 3:52 pm
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Police patrolling in Darjeeling. (Representational Image via by Partha Paul)
http://indianexpress.com/article/in...curity-personnel-injured-in-violence-4729254/

Five police and CRPF personnel were seriously injured when suspected Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) activists attacked a patrol party in Teesta Valley area, police said on Friday. The attack took place last night when the security personnel had gone to a village near Teesta Valley, 40 km from Darjeeling, to conduct a search operation.

A mob attacked the security personnel with stones and traditional Nepali khukri, injuring five of them seriously. They were later rescued and admitted to a hospital, police said. The police had launched a search operation in the area after a community hall, that served as a temporary CRPF camp, was set afire by some protesters on Tuesday.

In another incident, the house of Mirik municipality vice-chairman M Zimba was set afire by the protestors early this morning. The supporters also ransacked Rangli Rangliat police outpost and snatched an SLR and a pistol. Two police vehicles were set ablaze in the incident, police said.

The building of Tung Gram panchayat was set on fire last night, they said. The indefinite shutdown continued to cripple normal life in Darjeeling and its adjoining areas for the 16th day today. An all-party meeting had yesterday decided to carry on with the indefinite shutdown. The next all-party meeting will be held on July 6.

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http://indianexpress.com/article/in...calcutta-hc-it-needs-additional-capf-4729492/

"We urgently need at least 15 to 20 companies (an addition of four to nine companies to the present deployment) in Darjeeling and Kalimpong," Dutta told the bench which is hearing petitions seeking restoration of normalcy in the Darjeeling hills.

The West Bengal government on Friday told the Calcutta High Court that it urgently needed additional Central Armed Police Force to tackle disturbances in Darjeeling. “We had made a requisition for 30 companies of CAPF, but have got only 11 companies from the Centre,” state Advocate General Kishore Dutta told a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Nishita Mhatre and Justice T Chakraborty.

“We urgently need at least 15 to 20 companies (an addition of four to nine companies to the present deployment) in Darjeeling and Kalimpong,” Dutta told the bench which is hearing petitions seeking restoration of normalcy in the Darjeeling hills. Observing that the issue has to be resolved, the bench directed the state government to make a fresh requisition to the Centre seeking additional forces.

The court also directed additional solicitor general, representing the Union Government, to take instructions from the Centre on its position over deployment of more CAPF in Darjeeling, which has been witnessing large-scale violence since June eight over demands for a separate state, named ‘Gorkhaland.’ The ASG was asked to apprise the court of the Centre’s stand on July four, when the matter would be taken up for hearing again. The advocate general informed the court that at present there were 3,506 state police personnel deployed in the hills, while the CAPF deployment was of 704 personnel.

The state’s top law officer also submitted that on the court’s direction, a copy of the petition and notice had been served on Gurung’s office and pasted on its walls. No lawyer, however, represented Gurung or his party Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, which is spearheading the movement for a separate state of Gorkhaland to be carved out of West Bengal, during Friday’s hearing. One of the petitioners submitted that Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung, his wife Asha and several others accused in the killing of All India Gorkha League leader Madan Tamang had been directed to stay in Kolkata from the date of framing of charge in the case and till completion of the trial.

Counsel Indranil Roy submitted that another division bench of the high court, while granting bail to these accused on December 19, 2016, had directed them to stay in Kolkata police area during the said period. Stating that the bench had directed that the trial court frame charges against the accused by February, 2017, Roy submitted that it should be found out whether charge framing had commenced and if so, Gurung and others had flouted directions of the high court by staying put in Darjeeling.

Upon hearing the submission, acting Chief Justice Mhatre directed the state’s advocate general to find out the facts and inform the court. The trial in the case had been transferred from Darjeeling to Kolkata by the high court on a plea by Tamang’s widow that the accused persons could influence witnesses.
 
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"The Central government should look into this issue of gross human rights violation," GJM leader Binay Tamang asserted. Meanwhile, the West Bengal State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has issued a summon to GJM supremo Bimal Gurung for violation of child rights

By: PTI | Darjeeling | Published:July 3, 2017 9:12 pm
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http://indianexpress.com/article/in...-as-gorkha-agitation-enters-19th-day-4733825/


As the agitation for a separate Gorkhaland entered its 19th day today, a vehicle was set on fire and two cars damaged, even as the Internet services remained suspended in Darjeeling hills. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) activists held a demonstration at Chowkbazar demanding Gorkhaland. Children in traditional dress were also seen carrying ‘We Want Gorkhaland’ placards. This was the second such rally in the last 10 days wherein children also participated in propagating for the cause of Gorkhaland. A vehicle was set ablaze in Six Mile village of Darjeeling and two cars were damaged in Kurseong by the protesters in the morning.

The police and security forces patrolled the streets and kept a tight vigil on all entry and exit routes. Barring pharmacies, all shops, markets, schools and colleges were closed. Hardening its stand, the Darjeeling district administration has extended the Internet ban in the hills for eight more days. “The Central government should look into this issue of gross human rights violation,” GJM leader Binay Tamang asserted. Meanwhile, the West Bengal State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has issued a summon to GJM supremo Bimal Gurung for violation of child rights.

“We have issued a summon to Bimal Gurung for violation of child rights and asked him to appear before the commission on July 11. Despite our show cause notice last week, GJM again used children in their rally,” the panel’s chairman, Ananya Chakraborti, said. Renowned boarding schools in Darjeeling, scheduled to reopen tomorrow, have extended their vacation due to the indefinite shutdown in the hills.

“We have decided to extend the vacation as the shutdown is on. We have not given any time frame as to when the schools will reopen. As soon as normalcy returns in the hills, we will inform the parents and reopen the schools,” principal of St Joseph’s North Point School, Father Shanjumon told PTI.

Meanwhile, the GJM said the Centre should open a dialogue on Gorkhaland as it was the “aspiration of the hill people.” “Gorkhaland is the aspiration of the people in the hills. It should be respected. The Centre should open a dialogue and take concrete steps,” GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said here.

“The Mamata Banerjee government is dealing with it as a law and order problem. But it is not a law and order problem. It is a political problem and should be solved politically,” he added.
 
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http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...lashes-erupt-in-kalimpong/article19216593.ece

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No respite: Violence broke out at Kalimpong in West Bengal on Wednesday during a GJM rally.

Fight will go on, says GJM
Fresh clashes erupted between supporters of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) and the police in Kalimpong on Wednesday.

GJM secretary Binay Tamang claimed that the police fired several rounds and three persons, including an ex-Army man, suffered bullet injuries. Refuting the allegations, Anuj Sharma, ADG Law and Order, West Bengal Police, said: “The police didn’t fire a single shot.”

Clashes erupted after the GJM supporters took out a rally with their traditional weapon, Khukri, in Kalimpong town. During the rally, protesters allegedly hurled a petrol bomb at a building which houses the Trinamool Congress office. The situation turned violent and the police fired teargas shells and lathi-charged the crowd. Some police personnel were also injured in the attack.

It took hours for the fire fighters to control the blaze at Damber Chowk. Protesters also tried to set on fire a ticket counter of the North Bengal State Transport Corporation.

On June 17, three GJM supporters were killed in alleged police firing when clashes broke out between the police and GJM supporters.

Shutdown continues

With the shutdown entering the 21st day on Wednesday, the GJM held a public meeting in the hills. GJM president Bimal Gurung said the fight for Gorkhaland “can go on for months or even years”.
 
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Gorkhaland, Mamata and the Chinese factor
Imran Chowdhury, July 3, 2017

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Just a few days ago I warned two young student leaders in Darjeeling of West Bengal, against the violent movement which has started there for a separate Gorkhaland. I told them in no way should they support this demand. This has multifarious geo-political risks. If a Gorkhaland state is formed, this will be the second split of Bengal since 1905. Its political significance is of Himalayan dimensions and the people of West Bengal have a historical obligation to prevent it.

From the very outset, I was certain that the unrest in Darjeeling was suddenly provoked in order to create pressure on the Chicken Neck, that is, the Shilliguri corridor. PK Balachandra’s columnreflected exactly what I feared. During Narendra Modi’s American trip, he wrote about the China attack on the border of Sikkim, which had been peaceful for quite a few years.

‘By its action on Monday, China has also shown that it can strike Indian interests at a most critical point, namely, the tri-junction between Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet and threaten the Siliguri corridor. The Siliguri corridor is the chicken neck linking West Bengal and Assam as Bangladesh juts into the space between West Bengal and Assam. The Siliguri area in West Bengal is particularly vulnerable now in the context of the violent agitation of the Gorkhas of North Bengal for an autonomous Gorkhaland.’

Believable or not, India’s ruling party BJP and West Bengal’s Trinamool Congress have aided and abetted this in some way. Both Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and West Bengal’s BJP president Dilip Ghosh have instigated further agitation rather than calming things down. Firstly, upon coming to power, Mamata Banerjee formed the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, thus giving recognition to the name ‘Gorkhaland’. And BJP has openly expressed its support for the Gorkhaland state. In fact, it is no longer a secret that it was at the instigation of BJP’s state leader Dilip Ghosh that violence flared up in Darjeeling under Gorkha leadership last month.

If the equation is laid out systematically, the results will be disastrous. A few days ago I had written that China becoming active in Bangladesh, means that it is becoming active in West Bengal too. Many of us are aware of what’s happening in Nepal. In recent times, China at times sends its consul general, sometimes its ambassador in Delhi, to Kolkata to build a bond with Mamata.

Right back from 2011 I have been thinking that Mamata can’t be viewed on the same footing as the chief ministers of India’s other states. She was quite a favourite with America for managing to topple the firmly established left rule in West Bengal. That is why Hilary Clinton, US Secretary of State at the time, dropped in to pat Mamata Banerjee on the back while returning from her Dhaka visit in 2012. It is apparent that Mamata is in China’s good books too. This will have an impact of the next elections in West Bengal. Unlike rural polls, this will not be a simple game of local muscle!

http://southasianmonitor.com/2017/07/03/gorkhaland-mamata-chinese-factor/
 
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Show of support: GJM women supporters take out a rally near Darjeeling on Thursday.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...ling-shutdown-to-continue/article19225530.ece

A meeting of various political parties and organisations decided on Thursday to go ahead with the ongoing shutdown in the Darjeeling hills in support of the demand for a separate State of Gorkhaland.

The strike has been on since June 15. The hills are witnessing a near total shutdown for the last three weeks.

“The Gorkhaland Movement Coordination Committee at a meeting on Thursday condemned the blockade that has affected the transportation of basic commodities, including even baby foods, to the Darjeeling hills and Sikkim. The administration will be responsible for any unfortunate events arising out of the blockade,” Neeraj Zimba, spokesperson of the Gorkha National Liberation Front ( GNLF), told The Hindu. Representatives of 14 political parties and social organisation participated in the meeting at St George School at Pedong. The members decided to form subcommittees, including a legal sub committee.

The next all-party meeting will be held on July 18.
 
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Darjeeling , August 25, 2017 12:19 IST
Updated: August 25, 2017 12:22 IST
http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...in-darjeeling-no-casualty/article19559185.ece

The blast was triggered on a road near Teesta Bazar, close to the Teesta bridge.
A low-intensity blast took place in Teesta Bazar area of Darjeeling this morning as the indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling Hills entered the 72nd day.

Though there were no reports of any casualty or injury to any person, some shops were damaged.

Darjeeling district officials said, the blast was triggered on a road near Teesta Bazar, close to the Teesta bridge.

The police is investigation the matter.

The blast comes just a day after twin blasts shook Darjeeling hills. In Thursday’s blast also, there was no report of any casualty or injury.

Friday’s blast is the third such incident since the indefinite shutdown to press for a separate Gorkhaland state, began over two months ago.

On last Saturday, twin blasts rocked Darjeeling hills in which one civic police volunteer was killed and two others were injured.

The Gorkhaland Movement Coordination Committee (GMCC) is all set to meet at Kalimpong today to discuss the issue of attending the August 29 talks convened by the state government in response to the GNLF’s letter requesting for a dialogue to restore normalcy in hills.

The GMCC comprising members of all the hill parties, including GJM and GNLF, is headed by the GJM.

The GJM on Thursday wrote a letter to the West Bengal government expressing its willingness to attend the August 29 talks to resolve the Darjeeling stalemate, abandoning its earlier stand.

The letter, written by Binay Tamang, a leader of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said, .

“No other alternative or modified step will do justice to our plight...other than creation of a separate Gorkhaland.”’

Mr. Tamang’s letter was preceded by a letter GJM chief Bimal Gurung wrote to the state government on Wednesday requesting for a “political dialogue” on the demand for a Gorkhaland.

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http://www.deccanherald.com/content/629770/two-more-blasts-rock-darjeeling.html

DH News Service, Kolkata, Aug 25 2017, 1:32 IST
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The Darjeeling hills were shaken by two blasts on Thursday amid the indefinite shutdown spearheaded by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) demanding a separate of Gorkhaland.

The first incident happened outside Sukhiapokhri Police station, damaging several shops and vehicles, the police said.

The second blast took place in the Lebong area, where several vehicles were badly damaged.

"There have been no reports of any casualty or injuries in the two blasts. Preliminary investigation indicates that IEDs and grenades were used for the blasts. Forensic teams have reached the spots and a detailed probe is on," said ADG (law and order) Anuj Sharma.

The police said suspected Gorkhaland supporters also set a godown on fire in the hills later in the day.

The blasts came barely five days after an IED blast in the heart of Darjeeling and a grenade attack on Kalimpong Police station, killing one civic volunteer and seriously injuring two cops.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has convened a meeting of all hill parties on August 29 at the state secretariat in an effort to bring back peace and normalcy in the Darjeeling hills. Both the GNLF and GJM had written to the chief minister urging her to convene the meeting.
 
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I am with gorkhas on this.. bengali ruliing class (upper class hindus) will always be dismissive of any minority voice which is far away from Kolkata . The center should inervene if WB is unable to bring gorkhas to table for amicable solution.
 
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GJM chief Bimal Gurung

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...n-august-29/article19564938.ece?homepage=true



It has not been decided who will be part of the delegation, says senior GJM leader

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) on Saturday said it will attend the August 29 meeting convened by the West Bengal government after the party received an official invitation for talks.

“We have received an invitation last night so it has been decided that GJM will attend the meeting. A delegation of senior GJM leaders will attend the talks. It has not been decided who will be part of the delegation,” GJM MLA and senior leader Amar Singh Rai told PTI.

The development comes on a day when the indefinite strike in the hills for a separate state of Gorkhaland entered its 73rd day today.

A senior state government official said, “We have sent letters to various parties including the GJM asking them to attend the talks. Other parties such as the JAP, the GNLF, the ABGL and many other parties of the hills have also been invited for talks.”

The GJM, which had expressed its willingness to attend the talks, had set a pre-condition that they should be officially invited.

The State government has called for talks on August 29 in response to a letter form the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) requesting a dialogue to restore normalcy in the hills.

“As we have been invited now, there is no harm in attending the talks,” a senior GJM leader said.

The GJM on Thursday wrote a letter to the West Bengal government expressing its willingness to attend the August 29 talks to resolve the Darjeeling stalemate.

The letter, written by GJM leader Binay Tamang to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, had said, “No other alternative or modified step will do justice to our plight...other than creation of a separate Gorkhaland.”

Mr. Tamang’s missive was preceded by a letter of GJM chief Bimal Gurung who wrote to the State government on Wednesday night requesting a “political dialogue” on the demand for a separate state.
 
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http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...jeeling-tea/article19566785.ece?homepage=true

The unrest in the Hills has prevented the harvesting of the Second Flush, which used to be 25% of the annual production
Twenty kilometres up from Darjeeling, towards Peshak and little further on to Namring, tall weeds are choking the tea bushes. The tea gardens wear an unkempt look, victims of the Gorkha agitation for a separate homeland.

The 70-day shutdown in Darjeeling has severely affected the region’s highly sought after Second Flush tea. Worse, the continuing trouble has raised concerns about a much longer-term impact on the tea industry here.

“The second flush tea has not reached us, but anticipating the crisis we stocked up for six months,” said Dolly Roy, of Dolly’s Tea, the iconic boutique tea store of Kolkata. “But the retailers, especially the smaller ones, are in serious trouble,” she points out.

Lower volume

Darjeeling tea fetches much higher rates in global markets, but its volume is small compared to overall production in the country. India produces about 1.2 billion kilogram of tea annually, while Darjeeling, being part of the annual produce, produces 8.5 million kilogram.

While Assam or Dooars in North Bengal or Nilgiri mountains in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka produce much higher volumes, Darjeeling’s unique selling point is its quality. “It is not the volume but the flavour– best explained by the French word ‘terroir’ [the micro environment in which it grows, soil, climate, etc] that is used in connection with wine that has made the Darjeeling tea a globally recognised brand,” says Binod Mohan, Chairman of Darjeeling Tea Association.

The “queen” of that flavour is the Second Flush which is harvested towards the end of May until the middle of July. The shutdown from middle of June has prevented the full harvesting of the Second Flush which is 25% of the annual production. The ongoing shutdown has also affected the Monsoon [30-35% of the produce], which is harvested till September as well as the Autumnal crop, which harvested in October [15% of the produce], says a veteran planter in Darjeeling.

The fear is that the losses already suffered are likely to be compounded in the near future. There will be weeds that need clearing once the gardens open up. Following this, we have to give a cut to the [tea] leaf uniformly, bring it down to a level so the workers can reach the top of plant to do the plucking and wait for a month. Meanwhile, the hill will slip into autumn when the growing conditions are not good. So we have lost the most financially productive Second Flush, the Monsoon crop and nearly the entire Autumn, assuming that the gardens would open in September,” the planter said.

The planter and his friends in the business are now looking forward to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s meeting with the leaders of Gorkha homeland movement in Kolkata on Tuesday, August 29.

Kaushik Basu, the Secretary General of DTA, feels it would take couple of years for the business to “normalise.” “We are assuming that in 2018, the production would be affected by 50% as the entire garden needs to be pruned and even in 2019 there could be a 25% impact of the shutdown on the production,” Mr Basu said. Meanwhile, most workers have left the hills seeking work elsewhere as daily wage earner. “In place of one worker we now need three as the new growth needs to be cleared,” said Sandeep Mukherjee, the principal advisor to DTA.

Seventy five per cent of Darjeeling tea is sold to private buyers and the remainder auctioned, which together fetch about Rs. 500 crore. “This won’t happen this year when we are witnessing such a long shut down. We did lose 40 days in 1986, but that was not in the harvesting season. The cumulative losses has touched ₹400 crore mark, as per our initial estimates,” adds Mr Basu.

Worker’s woes

“Those who finally bear the brunt of the shutdown are tea plantation workers and those who reside in the forest villages,” says Roshan Rai, who works in an NGO (DLR Prerna) and has worked on issues of fair trade in tea plantations. The DTA estimates that there are about one lakh garden workers in 87 plantations of Darjeeling, both permanent and temporary, each being paid ₹132 for a day’s work. According to Mr. Rai they are “hit the most” every time the hill is shut indefinitely.

“I do not think that there was ever a discussion on compensation package for the workers for the wages lost in previous struggles. The plantation owners have always maintained that their business is not profitable enough,” Mr Rai says.

Interestingly, the workers who are part of the movement or agitation are not complaining. “We have no problems,” replies Shanti Rana, a worker in Gielle tea garden, about 30 kilometer east of Darjeeling. Asked if the prolonged strike in Darjeeling and Kalimpong has affected daily wage workers, she says: “We would rather eat once a day than give up the demands and we need a permanent solution to the issue.”

As a local leader of the GJM, Ms. Rana is clear where her sympathies lie. But planters too favour a solution of a lasting nature, rather than be subject to sudden changes in their fortunes that threaten the future of the tea industry.

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http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...eling-hills/article19569705.ece?homepage=true

The Durga Puja, the biggest festival of Bengal, is scheduled to be held from September 26-30.
The indefinite strike in the hills for the past two months has made the Durga Puja celebrations in September—end uncertain. With no sign of the shutdown being called off, most of the Durga Puja organizers in the hills have either cancelled their Puja plans or have decided this year’s celebrations would be rather low key.

The Durga Puja, the biggest festival of Bengal, is scheduled to be held from September 26-30. The indefinite shutdown in the hills, which started on June 15 over the demand of a separate state of Gorkhaland, entered its 74th day today.

According to the officials of the Bengali association, Kurseong, which has been organizing Durga Puja at the century old Raj Rajeswari Hall for the past one hundred years, the budget for organizing Durga Puja has been slashed. The British era heritage hall run by the association was set ablaze by miscreants in July.

“Initially we had decided against organizing the Puja this year, as there was a lot of uncertainty. We are yet to place the order to make the Durga idol. So this time we’ll organize it in a very small way. We have to make a marquee and the Durga idol will be much smaller in size,” a member of the association told PTI. None of the members of the association wished to be named as they are afraid of backlash from pro—Gorkhaland activists.

Subhomoy Chatterjee, a member of the Bengali association, Darjeeling said “this year we’ll be organizing Durga Puja, but our budget is low, as neither have we collected Puja subscription from the locals nor has any proper sponsor. Initially, we had thought that we would cancel the Puja as there was a lot of threats, but later we have decided that we’ll organize it in a small way,”

The Bengali association in Darjeeling has been organising the Puja at the Nipendra Narayan Bengali Hindu hall for the past one hundred years. The total number of communal functions organzied as a part of Durga Puja in various parts of the hills is around 10 to 15.

Most of the other small committees in the hills have decided against organizing a Puja to avoid the ire of Pro—Gorkhaland supporters, and due to lack of preparation that is needed to organize the five—day long festival. “This time we are not at all prepared to organize a Puja. Let’s see if the shutdown is called off in the next one week, we might plan something,” said a member of Puja committee of Kalimpong.

Contrary to the Durga Puja celebrations in the plains, where most of the Pujas are theme based, Durga Puja in the hills are organized in a traditional way. Senior GJM leader and Darjeeling MLA Amar Singh Rai, too was apprehensive about the fate of Durga Puja in the hills.

“I really don’t know whether it will be organized or not. But I am hopeful that it will be organized in a small way. And I’ll extend all sort of support to organize it,” Rai said.
 
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One of the most picturesque hill stations, acquired by the British in 1835 as a health resort, is shut for last two and half months following a movement of separate Gorkha homeland led by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, founded in 2007. Photo: Suvojit Bagchi
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http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...-tamang-removed-from-post/article19600433.ece

Binoy Tamang led a team of GJM to an all-hill party meeting with the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on August 29
After an apparent calm for about a fortnight, protests erupted in Darjeeling and Kalimpong hills in north Bengal since Thursday night following an announcement to call off nearly 80 day strike in the hills.

The supporters of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha [GJM] and residents of Darjeeling took to the streets at night. Mnay of them were seen marching on roads or organising demonstrations in the town on Friday morning.

GJM assistant general secretary, Binoy Tamang, who was recently appointed as the Coordinator of GJM, was removed from the post of Coordinator, said Roshan Giri, party’s general secretary.

“We will be having a central committee meeting little later in the day where it will be decided through a resolution if Tamang and Anek Thapa [a senior leader] will be expelled from the party,” said Mr. Giri.

Mr. Tamang led a team of GJM to an all-hill party meeting with the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on August 29.

Following the meeting Mr. Tamang gave a call to postpone the ongoing strike to September 12, which has reportedly irked the party President Bimal Gurung.

GJM claimed that a section of their party leaders “have shaken hands with Bengal government and have worked to derail [the] movement” and thus the party chief Gurung issued strongly-worded statement claiming that as long as people wish to continue with the struggle for a Gorkha homeland GJM will not vacillate.

“They [section of the leaders led by Tamang] went to Nabanna [State Secretariat in Kolkata] and sat for a meeting with Mamata Banerjee without consulting me,” Mr. Gurung alleged.

Following the developments, it is likely that Mr. Tamang and his followers would be expelled from the party on Friday which may escalate tension in the hills.

The police have said that they are closely monitoring the situation and would “strongly” deal with any attempt to influence the law and order in the hills.

“So far the meetings and protests are peaceful and democratic and we have no reason to use force,” said DIG, Darjeeling Range, Humayun Kabir.
 
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http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/row-over-arrests-in-sikkim/article19605087.ece

Inspector General of the Darjeeling Range Manoj Verma said his team arrested at least 10 persons from Sikkim, suspected to be associated with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), on Friday.

However, the Sikkim police “has not allowed” the Bengal police to take the arrested persons back to West Bengal, a senior Sikkim police official told The Hindu.

“They [the Bengal Police] had no papers or warrants. They also did not inform the Sikkim police. They will have to approach a Sikkim court to take custody of the arrested men,” the official said.
 
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Head of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha party Bimal Gurung interacts with media in Darjeeling on June 14.(AFP File Photo)

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india...imal-gurung/story-QMlXdhTuMr3oL3PTuMKeVP.html


A massive search operation was launched on Saturday in Darjeeling hills and adjoining areas for GJM supremo Bimal Gurung, even as the indefinite shutdown entered its 80th day.

The police had on Friday issued a lookout notice against the GJM chief for his alleged involvement in various cases, including a bomb blast in Kalimpong police station in which a civic volunteer was killed.

The bandh continued after Gurung revoked party convenor Binay Tamang’s decision of suspending it till September 12, when the next round of dialogue with the state government is scheduled.

The GJM chief had also expelled Tamang on Friday on the charge of “violating the party line and indulging in anti-party activities”.

Questioning the decision, Tamang on Saturday lashed out at Gurung and party general secretary Roshan Giri.

“I do not need to take lessons from them. I am a son of the soil and am fighting for the interests of my Gorkha brothers. I want to ask Gurung and Giri, if they are so concerned about fighting for Gorkhaland, why did they send their families abroad so that they can be safe?” he asked.

Meanwhile, chairman of Kurseong municipality, Krishna Limbu was arrested on Saturday for his alleged involvement in cases of arson and violence in the hills in June this year.

Protests by pro-Gorkhaland supporters have rocked various parts of the hills in support of the shutdown. Picketing by GJM supporters has been strengthened in several parts of the hills, and posters and leaflets were distributed in support of the bandh.

Rallies in support of the ongoing shutdown and Gorkhaland were taken out in Darjeeling, Kurseong, Mirik, Sonada and Kalimpong.
 
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