Writes Anmol Mukhia for IG The mass public attitudes lack ideological structure, whereas those of leaders are characterized by far greater coherence. During the 1980s leaders have easily manipulated the mass by showing that power lies in the edge of khukri – encouraging them to resist against the state for demanding separate statehood. Later during […]

Writes: Vivek Chhetri The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-backed transport union in the middle of the tourist season today threatened a vehicle strike in the hills after Diwali in support of voluntary teachers demanding job regularisation. The All Transport Joint Action Committee that has 56 taxi syndicates as members has said it would wait till November 9 […]

Comparing demand for Gorkhaland with that of Telangana – We should call them demerger not separation.. A brilliant piece by Prof. Bivek Tamang and Prof. Sangmu Thendup of Sikkim University, Gangtok. One knows so little about India political system that it is shameful really. Thanks to the focus of most history textbooks on North and Central […]

Mamata Banerjee today lay the foundation for the hill campus of Presidency University, which was not attended by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha but saw the presence of various hill development boards the chief minister had formed. Yesterday, Kurseong MLA Rohit Sharma had said he was not invited to the event. Morcha chief Bimal Gurung had […]

Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung on Thursday fired  a fresh salvo at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee when he asserted her government had failed to usher in development in the hills as promised and of the state government taking taking undue credit for centrally funded schemes. Gurung is keen to implement Model School projects across […]

Writes Vivek Chhetri Darjeeling, Sept. 20: Bimal Gurung today tried to outdo Mamata Banerjee in her game by announcing development boards for all hill communities, but his speech betrayed his worry about the apparent public acceptance the chief minister has garnered in some parts of the hills. “Enough is enough,” said the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha […]

Writes: Sangay Tamang You don’t need to go anywhere to ask who you are. Take a minute to look yourself and analyses how do you know about your “self” then define yourself. I am pretty sure enough that you can’t define your identity as a “self” in context of the space where you are living […]

1915-2015: 100 years of Tindharia Works, A UNESCO World Heritage Area Article by: DHR Sano Rail This year celebrates 100 years of Tindharia Works. It has always been considered a location relatively safe from landslips but this was to change in 2011. The only background information I have of Tindharia is to be found in […]

HOW AND FROM WHEN DID WE STARTED IDENTIFYING OURSELVES AS “NEPALI” IN SIKKIM ? Shared by Passang Sherpa on the VOS FB fan page. ANSWER: The majority Sikkimese people share cultural heritage with peoples of Darjeeling hills in West Bengal, Southern Bhutan, Assam, and Dehradun as well as People living in the sovereign state of […]

Vivek Chhetri Darjeeling, July 9: The GTA ( Gorkhaland Territorial Administration ) has decided to rehabilitate landslides victims in three phases in what is expected to be one of the biggest rehabilitation processes in the hills in recent times. Arun Sigchi, the elected GTA Sabha member from Soureni, today said: “On July 6, we held […]

A geophysicist has said the state government failed to implement norms prescribed by an expert committee for construction of buildings in the landslide-prone Darjeeling hills. “Darjeeling’s mountain rock is quite fragile and its compactness is low. Besides, the area receives very high rainfall and its soil has extremely low water retention ability. Under these circumstances, […]

Vivek Chhetri Darjeeling, June 19: The Centre has decided to convene a tripartite meeting on the functioning of the GTA ( Gorkhaland Territorial Administration) in Darjeeling on June 23, said sources in the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). Bimal Gurung’s Oath ceremony as the Chief Executive of the GTA Sabha  – file photo The tripartite meeting involving […]

Televangelist Baba Ramdev today batted for Gorkhaland to the delight of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. Baba Ramdev today held a yoga camp for hill residents at Chowrasta, which was jointly organised by the GTA and Hamro Swabhiman – a cultural unit of Patanjali Yogpeeth of Ramdev. Later in the morning, at an interactive session between […]

Ashis Chakrabarti So he died as he knew he would – in exile, far away from the kingdom that had once been his and that he had lost to a onetime vassal. But in death, he may be luckier than his wife, who was denied the privilege of having her last rites performed back at […]

Writes: Vivek Chhetri The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) Sabha today passed a resolution to write to the Centre and the state to empower the chief executive of the GTA to issue Gorkha certificates not only to the residents of the Darjeeling hills but also to Gorkhas residing in the rest of the country. GTA resolves […]

The next time you head to the Darjeeling hills you can also pack your fishing kit. The GTA (Gorkhaland Territorial Administration) has taken up an initiative to promote angling tourism along the Rangit and Teesta rivers that flow through the region. Foreign tourists prepare for angling near Kalijhora in the Darjeeling hills on the banks […]

The premises of the Gorkha Jaatiya Vhibhuti Udhyan, earlier known as the Jaatiya Kavi Udhyan and the Bhanu Udhan, at Acharya Path in Kurseong was abuzz with activity as prominent litterateurs of Darjeeling Hills gathered there and laid the foundation stone for the statue of eminent Nepali literary figure and social worker, the late Shiva Kumar Rai. […]

Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh (BGP) has demanded Tribal status for all the Darjeeling hills communities except Schedule Caste. West Bengal government and GTA have been claiming their efforts to include 10 communities of Darjeeling hills into Tribal status for long time back. BGP has received a copy of RTI (Right to Information) reply from the central […]