The local police (who wear military style uniforms and carry automatic weapons in addition to large batons) were out in force.
Women comprised the first 100m of the march chanting in unison slogans supplied by the sole male in the centre with a megaphone. The men followed up.
Around Darjeeling, many shops display "Ghorkaland" prominently above their shops. During the recent strikes, virtually all businesses in Darjeeling either shut down voluntarily or through social pressure. Tourist trade tanked and many parents reassessed their enrolment in prestigious local schools.
Luckily for us, the ensuing tourist season saw economics trump culture, and a peace deal was struck providing relative calm.
Ethnic Gorkha's comprise a substantial majority of Darjeeling and surrounds. They are the descendants of Nepalese colonialists but use the term Gorkha so that their ethnicity can be considered a subset of Indian diversity rather than as foreign Nepalese.
They seek a Gorkhaland state to protect and promote their ethnic identity. Both major Indian parties wish to gently reject the separatist tendency because statehood requires such an expensive bureaucracy, and there are so many similar groups who would see this as a precedent.
The historic irony is that the Gorkha's (as Nepalese) overran the local indigenous population in their war of conquest against the Sikkim. The British arrived and found that the best bet was to help the Sikkim loser become a winner and thus obtain grants of land and other rights over the Darjeeling hills. The Anglo-Nepalese War lead to the incorporation of the area into the Raj, and thus incorporation into India.
I wonder how many Gorkha's are grateful to the "Britishers" for making them part of India instead of China?
Around Darjeeling, many shops display "Ghorkaland" prominently above their shops. During the recent strikes, virtually all businesses in Darjeeling either shut down voluntarily or through social pressure. Tourist trade tanked and many parents reassessed their enrolment in prestigious local schools.
Luckily for us, the ensuing tourist season saw economics trump culture, and a peace deal was struck providing relative calm.
Ethnic Gorkha's comprise a substantial majority of Darjeeling and surrounds. They are the descendants of Nepalese colonialists but use the term Gorkha so that their ethnicity can be considered a subset of Indian diversity rather than as foreign Nepalese.
They seek a Gorkhaland state to protect and promote their ethnic identity. Both major Indian parties wish to gently reject the separatist tendency because statehood requires such an expensive bureaucracy, and there are so many similar groups who would see this as a precedent.
The historic irony is that the Gorkha's (as Nepalese) overran the local indigenous population in their war of conquest against the Sikkim. The British arrived and found that the best bet was to help the Sikkim loser become a winner and thus obtain grants of land and other rights over the Darjeeling hills. The Anglo-Nepalese War lead to the incorporation of the area into the Raj, and thus incorporation into India.
I wonder how many Gorkha's are grateful to the "Britishers" for making them part of India instead of China?
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