Old Wine in New Bottle?

  The claims that West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee made Tuesday that the Gorkhaland problem had been resolved didn’t come as much of a surprise, given the general mood with the people of Darjeeling Hills that the framework for a “setup” had already been in place, much before the Bengal Assembly polls last month. Mamata said on Tuesday an agreement has been reached between the state government and the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) delegation that would bring down the curtains of the Gorkha crisis. A beaming Mamata claimed breakthrough in their talks over the vexed Gorkhaland issue, saying that an agreement has been reached between the two sides, which will allow for peace in the region after years of agitation and violence.

At the core of the agreement is the formation of a new autonomous elected Hill Council, which is armed with more powers compared to the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) formed in the late 1980s. The new council to be formed through enactment of a law in the state assembly, would have administrative and financial powers and can also frame rules related to the hills. The council members will later be chosen through election, but the body cannot enact any law. A nine-member high powered committee, comprising four members each from GJM and the state government and one from the central government, will be formed to study GJM's demand on demarcating Gorkha majority areas in the Terai (plains of Darjeeling) and Dooars (foothills of the Himalayas) for inclusion in the council. The committee will give its report in six months.

 GJM president Bimal Gurung was quoted as saying he is very happy with the outcome of the talks. He said he will wait for the leaders in Kolkata to come back to Darjeeling and brief him on the talks, and then for the Centre and state government to come to Darjeeling and announce the agreement there. Amidst speculations that the demand for a spate state of Gorkhaland had died a natural death with this “setup”, the GJM leaders asserted that it has not gone back on its demand for Gorkhaland. They called it “the foundation for Gorkhaland” and said that they would “cooperate with the government for a period before we come up with our demand (for Gorkhaland)” and that the GJM had “not signed any pact yet.” Only time will time if the Gorkhaland issue is still alive and kicking or had been swept under the carpet just like in the past. (source: Sikkim Express)