Mohammad Jamil
On Tuesday, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supremo Bimal Gurung rejected West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s appeal to withdraw the indefinite shutdown in the hills, and said it would continue till the Centre holds a tripartite meeting on the Gorkhaland issue. “The indefinite shutdown in the hills will continue and there is no question of calling it off, until and unless tripartite talks are organised by the central government,” Gurung said in an audio message. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha had initially said the party would discuss the issue only with the Centre but had agreed to a tripartite meeting later. Gurung’s comment comes against the backdrop of Banerjee’s appeal to the agitators to withdraw the indefinite shutdown which entered its 90th day on Tuesday. For more than three months now, life in the hills of Darjeeling has been at a standstill.
Barring medical stores all shops are shut; the banks and schools are closed; internet services are suspended, making it difficult for the locals to make ends meet. Their demand once again is for a separate state of Gorkhaland. Despite the indifferent response from the Centre and the state, the Gorkhas are determined to continue their strike till their demand is fulfilled. On 28 Aug 17, Darjeeling Police arrested three active supporters of Gorkhaland movement on charges of involvement in arson and violence that took place in the hills in June. New Delhi is making every effort to create differences in the ranks of Gorkhaland Movement Coordination Committee (GMCC). Gorkha Janmutkti Morcha (GJM) leadership, especially its youth wing, wants not less than an independent Gorkha state. Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata pledged that a division of the Darjeeling Hills from Bengal would be resisted.
Demand for separate Gorkha land was also made in 1907, 1929, 1941, 1952 and 1984; but this time round GJM leadership is determined to take the movement to the logical conclusion. The current movement is because of Mamata’s policy to promote Bengali language at state level. However, an estimated 30 major armed insurgency movements are sweeping across the country, reflecting an acute sense of alienation on the part of the people involved. Broadly, these can be divided into three categories; movements for political rights/independence i.e. Assam, Kashmir, South India and Khalistan; movements for social and economic justice i.e. Maoist (Naxalite) and North-Eastern States and movements based upon religious grounds like that of Laddakh. The escalation of centrifugal tendencies fostering insurgency movements in India is mainly due to complete failure of Indian Government to address the root causes.
Some of the significant separatist movements in India include Naxalites or Maoists, which is second major freedom movement after IOK in India. Former Prime Minister of India had called Maoist insurrection the single biggest internal-security challenge. Maoists inhabit an area known as the ‘Red Corridor’ that stretches from West Bengal to Karnataka state in the southwest. They are active across 220 districts in 20 states forming about 40% of India’s geographical area. They also threaten to extend operations in major urban centers including New Delhi. Indian intelligence reports say that insurgents include 20,000 armed men and 50,000 regular or fulltime organizers and mobilizers, with the numbers growing. The seven states of Northeastern India called the Seven Sisters are also rocked by a large number of armed and violent rebellions. These states include Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.
They accuse New Delhi of apathy towards their issues such as illiteracy, poverty and lack of economic opportunities that have fueled the natives’ demand for autonomy and independence. Tamil Nadu is another area where separatist movements are haunting federation of India. In the wake of their defeat by the Sri Lankan military in the Jaffna peninsula, the Tamil LTTE freedom fighters took refuge in the adjoining Tamil Nadu State of India, where on account of common ethnicity, religion, language and culture they mixed easily and enjoyed mass support for their cause. Overtime LTTE regrouped and recruited volunteers from amongst the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees and the local population and began to amass weapons and explosives. There is a strong anti-India and pro-secessionist sentiment in Tamil Nadu. Most people want independence from India despite sharing a common religion, Hinduism.
They argue that religion is not a binding force that can override other considerations, such as language, culture, ethnicity, people’s aspirations and an identity that entitles them to an independent existence. Kashmir freedom movement is the deadliest nightmare for India. This long standing issue has serious repercussions for regional peace and security. Having that said, flawed economic policies whereby rich are become richer and poor more poor; heavy defence spending, neglected social development, ever-increasing radical Hinduism, ancient caste system and divisive/pressure politics are just few factors that trigger these secessionist movements. If Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not wean off his shenanigans, and continues to support the Hindu fundamentalists and extremists, India could implode.
