Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09KOLKATA215
2009-08-03 11:20:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Kolkata
Cable title:  

GORKHAS PURSUE POLITICAL STRATEGY TO FURTHER STATEHOOD

Tags:  PGOV ASEC CASC IN 
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RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHDBU RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW
DE RUEHCI #0215/01 2151120
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 031120Z AUG 09
FM AMCONSUL KOLKATA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2438
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/DIA FT BELVOIR
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 3008
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KOLKATA 000215 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/INSB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ASEC CASC IN
SUBJECT: GORKHAS PURSUE POLITICAL STRATEGY TO FURTHER STATEHOOD
MOVEMENT

REF: A. A) KOLKATA 130

B. B) 08 KOLKATA 179

C. C) 08 KOLKATA 177

D. D) 08 KOLKATA 66

KOLKATA 00000215 001.2 OF 002


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KOLKATA 000215

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/INSB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ASEC CASC IN
SUBJECT: GORKHAS PURSUE POLITICAL STRATEGY TO FURTHER STATEHOOD
MOVEMENT

REF: A. A) KOLKATA 130

B. B) 08 KOLKATA 179

C. C) 08 KOLKATA 177

D. D) 08 KOLKATA 66

KOLKATA 00000215 001.2 OF 002



1. (SBU) Summary: For the past two years, the new political
party Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) has increased its efforts
to carve out a new Indian state - Gorkhaland - from the existing
state of West Bengal. Like other political parties in West
Bengal, GJMM uses force and intimidation but it is not an armed
insurgency. To further its cause, the GJMM has boycotted the
now-defunct local governance body, organized strikes, and
encouraged residents to withhold revenue and utility payments to
the state government. The GJMM decision to support Jaswant
Singh, a senior politician from the national opposition party
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),rather than field its own
candidate in the recent 2009 parliamentary polls, has increased
public awareness of the Gorkhaland cause, but is unlikely to
result in any national legislative action. Local sentiment in
the affected area revolves not around if, but rather when and
with what boundaries, a new state will arise. However, the West
Bengal state government and most political parties, with the
exception of the BJP, remain steadfastly opposed. While the
GJMM has been able to get the central and state governments to
agree to tripartite talks, the realization of its goal of a new
Gorkhaland state by 2010 is difficult to imagine. This cable
replaces Reftel A.


Darjeeling - Queen of the Hills and "Capital of Gorkhaland?"


2. (SBU) Darjeeling is the name of an administrative district
and a city in the northern portion of West Bengal bordering
Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. There is a large Indian army
presence in this strategically important area, which connects
the remote northeastern states with mainland India. Darjeeling
is best known for its premium tea and as a destination for local
and foreign, including American tourists. It is affectionately
referred to as the Queen of the Hills, as the most beautiful and
charming of all of the Indian hill stations. The district can
be roughly divided into two areas: the Darjeeling Hills and the
Dooars Plains. While the city of Darjeeling, also the
district's administrative seat, lies in the Hills, the largest

city in the district is the important trade and transit town of
Siliguri in the Plains. The GJMM has demanded roughly 7,000
square kilometers for a separate state which it calls Gorkhaland
with approximately 2.6 million inhabitants spread across the
Hills, where they represent an overwhelming majority, and the
contiguous Plains, where they are a minority among tribals and
other ethnicities.



The Birth of Bimal Gurung's GJMM


3. (SBU) In 2007 Bimal Gurung established the GJMM to further
the cause of statehood (Reftel D). Gurung exiled his former
boss, Subash Ghising, who had led the local administrative body,
the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC),after prevailing in a
power struggle. The DGHC had been formed as a result of the
1988 tripartite agreement involving the Government of India, the
Government of West Bengal and the Gorkha National Liberation
Front, which had ended the violent 1986-1988 agitation that had
claimed 1,200 lives. The DGHC is now effectively defunct as its
members have resigned and a non-elected administrator is
currently overseeing the basic delivery of municipal and
development services. Ghising remains exiled from the
Darjeeling Hills, and widely unpopular within the Gorkha
community due to his alleged corruption and administrative
incompetency.


Tactics of a Political Movement: Withholding Payment and Striking


4. (SBU) During a meeting with PolOFF on May 6, GJMM central
committee member Amar Lama explained the current Gorkhaland
movement's democratic, political nature. He asserted that they
are using non-cooperation and strikes as tactics to force the
state government to agree to a Gorkhaland state. For example,
since April 2008 residents of the Hills have not paid municipal
taxes or electrical or telephone bills (services which continue
to be provided despite non-payment). He acknowledged the
disruptive and inconvenient nature of the strikes targeting
commerce and transportation, but indicated that the GJMM found
them a useful tactic to generate awareness for their cause and
force the state government to sit and talk. The most recent
two-week strike in July was widely observed by shops and offices
and there were no reported incidents of violence, in contrast

KOLKATA 00000215 002.2 OF 002


with last year's strike (See Reftels B, C). The strike was
successful in forcing the government to agree to a third round
of tripartite talks scheduled to take place on August 11. The
GJMM has also formed a several thousand member strong community
policing force known as Gorkhaland Personnel. They generally
wear uniforms and carry batons. There have been no recent
reports of the GJMM or its youth wing taking part in any lethal
arms training or collaborating with any of the banned armed
insurgent groups operating in West Bengal or the Northeast.


Seeking Political Support for Gorkhaland


5. (SBU) According to Lama, the GJMM supported BJP after the
national party decided to "sympathetically consider" its demand
for statehood. Rather than field its own parliamentary
candidate, the GJMM believed having a Member of Parliament from
a national party would bring national attention to its quest for
a Gorkhaland state. It approached both the Congress and the BJP
for political support, but only the BJP was willing to include
consideration of their cause in its manifesto. The idea of a
separate Gorkhaland state, while popular among Gorkhas in
Darjeeling, remains unpopular throughout the rest of the state.
Since the BJP has an insignificant presence in West Bengal, it
has little to lose politically by supporting Gorkhaland.


Challenges to Statehood: Boundaries and Emotions


6. (SBU) In order to gain additional political support,
proponents of Gorkhaland will have to address Darjeeling's
tribal population's concerns about the proposed state's
boundaries and Bengali's emotional attachment to Darjeeling.
The GJMM has demanded both the ethnically homogenous Gorkha
Hills, where the majority of the population are Nepalese, and
the more heterogeneous Plains, where the tribals dominate. A
leader of the tribal organization Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas
Parisad told PolOFF that the tribals are not against the
Gorkhaland demand for statehood in the Hills, but that this
demand should not extend to the Plains. The more difficult
question may be the further partition of the state of West
Bengal, which has already been once attempted (1905-1911),and
once realized (1947). Bengalis are proud of their state
stretching from the Bay of Bengal to the Hills of Darjeeling and
are unlikely to willingly cede Darjeeling to Gorkhaland. Some
interlocutors, including private, unofficial comments from
Eastern Army Commander LTG Singh, have spoken about the
hypothetical possibility of a portion of Darjeeling becoming a
Union Territory within India, as opposed to a state, as this can
be created by an Act of Parliament without the consent of the
state assembly. However, the GJMM is resolute in its demand for
full statehood and furthermore believes that the consent of West
Bengal is not required. While Indian Constitutional law is
unclear on this point, precedent has been that the affected
states concur.


Comment


7. (SBU) Given the popular support among the Gorkhas in
Darjeeling, it is very likely that Gorkhas will eventually
achieve some form of political separation from West Bengal, the
only questions are when, in what form, and through which means.
The GJMM appears to have matured in its strategic thinking,
minimizing the use of violence and focusing on politically
acceptable forms of protest such as disruptive strikes,
withholding payment and addressing the issue in Parliament to
pressure the state and central government to negotiate. The
lack of violence during the recent July strike is an encouraging
sign as the current movement appears to be eschewing the violent
tactics of the 1980s in favor of dialogue. However, like other
political parties in West Bengal, the GJMM still appears to use
intimidation and the threat of force to gain political support
and enforce strikes. While Darjeeling's new parliamentary
representative Jaswant Singh may be able to accomplish little
legislatively given the weak position of the BJP, he has already
been able to highlight the quest for Gorkhaland in Parliament
and may be able to generate greater national awareness for
Gorkhaland. It is unlikely that any West Bengal politician,
from either the ruling or opposition parties, will support a
separate Gorkhaland state, given the emotional connection upper
class Bengalis have with the Darjeeling Hills and the painful
memories many Bengalis have of the 1947 partition of Bengal.
While the GJMM has been able to get the central and state
governments to agree to a new round of tripartite talks, the
realization of its goal of a new Gorkhaland state by 2010 is
difficult to imagine.
PAYNE