from news.outlookindia.com
The demand for Gorkhaland preceded that for Telangana, going back to 1917 when the Hillmen's Association came into existence which petitioned for the administrative separation of Darjeeling and made the same demand again in 1930 and 1934.
But it was GNLF supremo Subhas Ghising who took up a violent movement for the first time for creation of Gorkhaland in 1986 comprising the three hill subdivisions of Darjeeling district -- Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong.
The Siliguri subdivision in the plains besides the adjoining Dooars and Terai in Jalpaiguri district in North Bengal were to be part of the proposed state.
The movement culminated in the Darjeeling Accord of 1988 and the formation of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council after which the move for a separate state was shelved by Ghising.
"Their's (Telengana) was a bloody movement, but ours is Gandhian. Our movement will never be through armed struggle. Our agitation will be confined to bandhs, dharnas and hunger strikes," GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri said.
"If the demand for Telengana is five decades old, then we Gorkhas have been demanding a separate Gorkhaland state for over a century," GJM central committee member Harkabhadur Chetri told PTI over telephone from Darjeeling.
The main reason for demanding a separate state, he said, was that the identity and culture of the people in the hills was separate from those living in the plains of North Bengal.
Soon after the Gorkhaland stir came to an end in August 1988, the current president of the GJM, Bimal Gurung, who was a close aide of Ghising, parted ways with him.
After he left the GNLF, Gurung was hunted by the police in a murder case and for possession of illegal weapons.
Gurung surrendered to the police three years later. He subsequently floated the Pabatiya Bekari Sangathan to work for the unemployed youth.
Following a rapprochement with Ghishing, Gurung returned to GNLF, but had differences with the GNLF chief again after his nomination in a by-election to the post of a councillor to DGHC was refused. He was later expelled.
Gurung's came to the fore again when he successfully mobilised the hills in favour of Indian Idol III contestant Parshant Tamang, whom Ghishing refused to support initially. He set up branches of the Prashant Fan Club across Darjeeling. MORE
Riding the Prashant wave, Gurung floated the GJM on October 7, 2007.
Gurung took revenge on Ghising soon after and drove him out of Darjeeeling hills, which the GNLF supremo has been unable to enter again. He now lives at Pintail village close to Siliguri in the plains.
The GJM president also rejected Ghising's proposal for 6th Schedule for the hills which would give enhanced powers and revived the demand for Gorkhaland.
Gurung has vowed to create a separate state by 2010 through non-violent form of protests by refusing to pay taxes to the government including electricity and phone bills and had the number plates of vehicles running in the hills to GL (Gorkhaland). The GJM has also raised its own militia.
The West Bengal government has consistently opposed the creation of Gorkhaland. A tripartite meeting is scheduled on December 21 in Darjeeling.
But it was GNLF supremo Subhas Ghising who took up a violent movement for the first time for creation of Gorkhaland in 1986 comprising the three hill subdivisions of Darjeeling district -- Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong.
The Siliguri subdivision in the plains besides the adjoining Dooars and Terai in Jalpaiguri district in North Bengal were to be part of the proposed state.
The movement culminated in the Darjeeling Accord of 1988 and the formation of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council after which the move for a separate state was shelved by Ghising.
"Their's (Telengana) was a bloody movement, but ours is Gandhian. Our movement will never be through armed struggle. Our agitation will be confined to bandhs, dharnas and hunger strikes," GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri said.
"If the demand for Telengana is five decades old, then we Gorkhas have been demanding a separate Gorkhaland state for over a century," GJM central committee member Harkabhadur Chetri told PTI over telephone from Darjeeling.
The main reason for demanding a separate state, he said, was that the identity and culture of the people in the hills was separate from those living in the plains of North Bengal.
Soon after the Gorkhaland stir came to an end in August 1988, the current president of the GJM, Bimal Gurung, who was a close aide of Ghising, parted ways with him.
After he left the GNLF, Gurung was hunted by the police in a murder case and for possession of illegal weapons.
Gurung surrendered to the police three years later. He subsequently floated the Pabatiya Bekari Sangathan to work for the unemployed youth.
Following a rapprochement with Ghishing, Gurung returned to GNLF, but had differences with the GNLF chief again after his nomination in a by-election to the post of a councillor to DGHC was refused. He was later expelled.
Gurung's came to the fore again when he successfully mobilised the hills in favour of Indian Idol III contestant Parshant Tamang, whom Ghishing refused to support initially. He set up branches of the Prashant Fan Club across Darjeeling. MORE
Riding the Prashant wave, Gurung floated the GJM on October 7, 2007.
Gurung took revenge on Ghising soon after and drove him out of Darjeeeling hills, which the GNLF supremo has been unable to enter again. He now lives at Pintail village close to Siliguri in the plains.
The GJM president also rejected Ghising's proposal for 6th Schedule for the hills which would give enhanced powers and revived the demand for Gorkhaland.
Gurung has vowed to create a separate state by 2010 through non-violent form of protests by refusing to pay taxes to the government including electricity and phone bills and had the number plates of vehicles running in the hills to GL (Gorkhaland). The GJM has also raised its own militia.
The West Bengal government has consistently opposed the creation of Gorkhaland. A tripartite meeting is scheduled on December 21 in Darjeeling.
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