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Mainstream, VOL XLIX No 31, July 23, 2011

New Deal in Darjeeling Hills

Editorial

Monday 25 July 2011, by SC

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While Britain has been rocked by the phone-hacking scandal and both media moghul Rupert Murdoch and his son as well as PM David Cameron have been grilled on consecutive days before the House of Commons’ Media Committee, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to India and talks with External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna have brought out both the similarities of approach as well as divergences between the two countries on terrorism and nuclear commerce. Hillary did call upon the US’ “key ally” in the war on terror, Pakistan, to act against terrorism springing from its own soil. But she had done so in the past as well with little effect on Islamabad. So there was nothing new in that appeal. On nuclear commerce too she asserted that the new Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) restrictions on the supply of enrichment and reprocessing technology won’t detract from the essence of the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement but simultaneously urged New Delhi to expedite the process of bringing its nuclear liability Bill in tune with international norms without assuring that equipment suppliers would be made liable in the event of an accident, something South Block has been legitimately demanding (especially from the experience of the Bhopal gas disaster). This revealed the limitations of the bilateral strategic partnership despite all the associated hype.

However, the most heartening piece of news of the last few days has been the signing, on July 18, of a tripartite accord between Central and West Bengal governments and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) that promises to usher in genuine peace while ending the unrest in the Darjeeling hills. This agreement aims at meeting the Gorkhas’ longstanding desire for self-rule while maintaining the geographic and territorial unity of West Bengal. This pact constitutes another feather in the cap of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee as it strengthens the prospects of a lasting solution to the vexed Gorkhaland problem that defied solution during the 34-year-old Left Front rule in the State. The proposed Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) will have substantive executive and financial powers—far more than the former Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) run by Subhash Ghising (that actually failed to take off)—but no legislative power, and with a Rs 600-crore financial package assured from the Centre over the next three years, this autonomous body is expected to bring about much-needed development in the Darjeeling hills.

Of course, there have been discordant notes from the side of the GJM soon after signing the accord. Moreover the GJM is demanding 398 mouzas in the Terai and Dooars and it has been decided to set up a committee to determine the GTA’s territorial composition. No doubt the Bengalis and Adivasis in the area nurture justifiable fears. But the ruling coalition, and the Trinamul Congress headed by Mamata Banerjee in particular, is determined to protect the rights and interests of those Bengalis and Adivasis, and that has been repeatedly emphasised.

As of now with this new deal the possibilities of a new dawn breaking out in the Darjeeling hills without in any way affecting West Bengal’s integrity are brighter than ever before. And that in itself is of inestimable value in the current context.

July 21 S.C.

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