Gorkhaland: Signs of meltdown in the hills

Factionalism is nothing new in Darjeeling as demand for a separate state was first raised in 1907

Factionalism, both within the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), the largest party in the Darjeeling region, and other like-minded organisations, is taking the sting out of the movement for a separate state of Gorkhaland.

In June, after the West Bengal government attempted to make Bengali compulsory in the state’s schools, implying the decision would apply to schools in Darjeeling also, the GJM and other Gorkha parties opposed this on the grounds that the government was trying to “Bengalise” the region. The upshot of this was the renewal of the movement for Gorkhaland, on which the state government and the Gorkha parties had