Darjeeling is a destination full of natural wonders and beauty, as well as a place to relax with a cool breeze, beautiful hills, and friendly people. Even though it’s the most scenic place, the politics here are very confusing. Numerous people have entered domestic politics and attained leadership positions, but no one has been able to write history the way Subhash Ghising has. He ruled Darjeeling for about two decades. His supporters called him “appa,” meaning “father.”
Ghising was born on June 22, 1936, at Manju Tea Estate in Mirik. His mother was a housewife, and his father was a gardener. Subash Ghising was the sixth of his parents’ seven children. He had a rough upbringing because, when he was in class IX, his father passed away. As a result, he dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army in 1954.
While serving in the army, he finished his matriculation in 1959. He also learned about a very serious issue faced by the Indian Gorkhas. He came to know about the “identity crisis” the Indian Gorkhas were facing throughout the country. By “identity crisis,” we mean that Indian Gorkhas were questioned on their nationality and were treated as foreigners. This saddened and infuriated Ghising, resulting in his decision to leave the army. He came back to Darjeeling.
In 1961, he was employed as a teacher at the Tindharia Bangla Primary School. After teaching there for one year, he joined Junior BT College in Kalimpong in 1962 to complete his diploma in teaching. However, due to his short temper, he got into an argument with the college principal and left the college immediately.
Subhash enrolled in Darjeeling Government College in 1963 and graduated in Class XII with a major in arts. Later, he applied for an undergraduate course at the same college. This became the turning point in his life as he became interested in politics. He became the general secretary of a local youth organisation called Tarun Sangh. With his interest and involvement in politics increasing, he left college. He was later arrested at a political protest rally.
Subash finally established his first political organization in 1968, named “Nilo Jhanda,” which translates to “Blue Flag.” His main intention in coming to politics was to become a voice against the social injustice that the people of Darjeeling were facing. When we attempt to move in the right direction, numerous obstacles emerge, as is often said. The same thing happened to Subhash as well; the path he had taken was not at all easy. It took him years to create an impact with his name. It is said that no one in the Darjeeling Hills took Subhash Ghising seriously during the years 1968–1978. But Subhash was so ruthless in pursuing his goal that he didn’t look back.
To make people aware of his political intentions, Ghising carried a flag and a horn. Unfortunately, no one cared. Some called him mad; others got irritated with the loudness of the horn. No one bothered to understand what he was trying to say. Until one day, when he was blowing the horn on a hilltop near Rangbull Bazar, a local resident became irritated by his actions and chased Subhash with a Khukuri in his hands, and he of course ran to save his life.
After this incident, Ghising didn’t show up for a couple of days, but he came back to the same place and started giving a lecture saying “Asti malai khednu bhanda aghi maile bhandai thye….” meaning, “as I was saying the other day before I was chased…”
From the moment he joined Prant Parishad, people in Darjeeling began to take him seriously and pay attention to his views. Among his contemporaries was the well-known Nepali poet Late Indra Bahadur Rai. It was Ghising’s first move towards the demand for a separate state on April 22nd, 1979, for the Nepali-speaking people of the Darjeeling region. He started gaining attention, especially from the youth, after they learned about his ideologies and the issues he raised. After gaining a lot of support from the people, he soon established a political party known as the “Gorkha National Liberation Front” (Gorkha Rashtriya Mukti Morcha).
But why was the new party established?
This refers to the period between 1970 and 1980, when the Indian Gorkhas of Darjeeling and the North East were labelled as foreigners. There were questions about their nationality.
Hence, in order to resolve the issue, an Akhil Bharatiya Nepali Bhasa Samiti delegation met with then-Prime Minister Morarji Desai in 1977 to discuss a solution that would make Nepali one of the official languages of India under the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
Also read : Nepali Bhasha Diwas: The Extensive Background of the Recognition Struggle
The proposal was explicitly rejected by Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who also further humiliated the delegates by asking, “Why are you giving me this petition? I believe your King should receive this petition. Not the Indian Prime Minister.” By King, he meant the King of Nepal. It is stated that, when the delegation told him about the contributions of the Gorkha in the country, Morarji Desai said, “You people come to join the army from outside and start to live in different regions of India.” He further said, “Should I halt Gorkha’s recruitment in the Indian Army? We gave you a place to live, but you are demanding everything.”
This was one incident; now let’s talk about the other one: the Indian Gorkhas living in the Northeast region were tagged as foreigners, and soon they were thrown out of their own homes. Indian Gorkhas living in the northeastern states of Mizoram, Manipur, Assam, and Meghalaya were forced to vacate their ancestral land and were made homeless. They were referred to as “foreigners” and were asked to “prove their citizenship” or “leave the land,” despite the fact that Nepalese had lived in North East India for generations. They were forced to leave their ancestral lands because the majority of Nepalese living in remote areas failed to obtain citizenship certificates or other formal documentation. This movement was named the “Bhumiputra” movement.
According to the reports, almost 45,000 Indian Gorkhas had to leave their homes in total. Almost 8 thousand people were forced out of Mizoram, 20 thousand from Assam, 17 thousand Gorkhas from Meghalaya, and 2 thousand from Manipur. These were the people who had to settle themselves in different parts of the country as refugees.
Therefore, these two incidents left a strong impact on the people of Darjeeling, developing in them a sense of unity and anger. Such crimes against humanity led Ghising to create the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) on April 5, 1980, and invent the term “Gorkhaland.” In the year 1980, the Prant Parishad made the demand for a separate state for Indian Gorkhas. However, on September 7, 1981, the two Prant Parishad leaders, Artist Krishna Subba and Deoraj Sharma, were slain by the police, and as a result, everything fell apart. As a result, the voice went unheard. Subhash Ghising was also affected more severely by this incident, witnessing the deaths of the two leaders was no laughing matter.
Now let’s talk about the flag of the GNLF. Ghising’s political courage is evident from the fact that the party’s flag conveyed the ideology, goals, and objectives he set out to accomplish. As per the flag, khukuri is the ethnic symbol, the three stars denote the mission, the green colour of the flag is self-confidence, and the four golden lines are: Equality, Liberty, Fraternity, and Opportunity.
Ghising requested a separate state for Gorkhaland in a letter to Indira Gandhi in 1981, but nothing happened. Three years later, in 1984, Ghising sent another letter, this time to Rajiv Gandhi, with the same request and questioning the 1950 Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship that allowed Indians and Nepalese free movement into each others’ countries.
He was very honest about the movement turning into violence in his telegram to Rajiv Gandhi. He claimed that India’s central government “has always encouraged the use of force by the people and has always been against the democratic movement.” After boycotting Article 7 of the treaty, Subhash Ghising delivered a political speech in Kurseong on June 2nd, 1985. The speech was then recorded and distributed as a cassette around Darjeeling. The Campaign for Gorkhaland was started from the Teesta Valley, Darjeeling, on September 22, 1985.
Coming to 1986, which is regarded as the most significant year for Indian Gorkhas, the campaign for a separate state was initiated under the direction of Subhash Ghising and his political organisation, the GNLF. Bandhs, boycotts of elections, and, in the worst-case scenario, a “do or die” struggle were all encouraged by Ghising’s Gorkha National Liberation Front. He also requested that ex-army men train his volunteers. The West Bengal government didn’t initially take the agitation seriously, but after Ghising’s speech, every Gorkha felt its influence. Violent speeches caused the agitation to grow into violence.
Following it, an anti-terrorist act was implemented in Darjeeling by West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu, and the protesters were labelled as anti-nationals. It is crucial to be aware that India honours those who sacrificed their lives in the Kargil War on July 26th as Martyrs Day. But did you know that for the Gorkha people, July 27 is also honoured as Martyrs’ Day?
On July 27, 1986, a protest was held at Kalimpong to burn the 1950 Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship. However, as the procession approached the police station, gunshots were heard, and the police opened fire without warning. The Communist Party led by Jyoti Basu was responsible for this. Thirteen people were killed, including women and children. Pratima Pradhan, a 14-year-old girl, was also killed in the massacre. Due to this, Kalimpong is also called the “Jallianwala Bagh” of the Gorkhaland agitation, and IG R.K. Handa, who led the gunshots, is termed General Dyer.
The Gorkhas claim that during the movement, the CRPF not only killed people but also burned down their homes, sexually assaulted young girls, and shot anyone speaking out against the government. More than 1200 protesters were killed according to the reported data, we do not know how many went unreported.
The violence continued afterwards, and Jyoti Basu and his government were now being questioned. Increase in the violence, affected the economy as well which prompted Rajiv Gandhi to intervene. The central government then chose to meet with Jyoti Basu and Subhash Ghising. Ghising agreed to proceed with peaceful negotiations when he met with Union Home Minister Buta Singh in January 1987.
Despite the violent protest and the loss of innocent lives, the demand of Gorkhaland was not fulfilled. It was replaced by a semi-autonomous body with the establishment of the DGHC (Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council) in the year 1988, and the treaty was signed on August 22, 1988, between Subash Ghising, Jyoti Basu, and Buta Singh. However, the Central and State governments wanted the name “Darjeeling” in the name of the body, but Subhash stressed the name “Gorkha” in it; hence, the treaty was signed as Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.
Subhash Ghising became the chairman of the DGHC. He was in power for more than two decades. Many people were unhappy with DGHC, but it was not expressed publicly. This can be seen in the book “Chinhari ko Khoj,” written by the late Ashit Rai, in which a character is shown saying, “Gorkhaland is the only option, and we raised our voice for Gorkhaland, and we were compelled to raise the khukuri in support of Gorkhaland alone.” “There is no alternative to Gorkhaland, and DGHC will never meet the demands of the Indian Gorkhas.” The 1986 violent agitation came to an end, however, when Gorkhaland was replaced and the GNLF was compelled to surrender their arms and ammunition.
Let’s go back to the GNLF party flag and discuss how its three stars represent Subhas’ political thought. He outlined the three essential elements that any society needs in order to live and flourish:
- Citizenship
- Identity
- Protection of their culture and traditions
Citizenship
When Ghising started the agitation, Indian Gorkhas were being questioned for their citizenship. Because of this, they were being driven out of the northeast. Subhash sought to preserve Indian Gorkhas from being driven out of all of India. This demonstrates that the Gorkhaland agitation was not only about the people of Darjeeling, but also about the security and safety of all Indian Gorkhas. He even stated that the DGHC and any other administrative structures were mere bonuses; his main goal was to guarantee that the Indian Gorkhas would have a constitutional guarantee.
On 23rd August 1988, a gazette notification gets issued by the Government of India, which clarifies the misconception behind the citizenship of Indian Gorkhas.
Identity
DGHC was the first administrative body of India, in which “Gorkha” term was mentioned. For which, Subhash Ghising was responsible. Ghising should be commended for being the first leader who took steps in uniting the scattered Gorkhas, making them realize the importance of their identity and also making them aware of the atrocities faced by majority of Indian Gorkhas around the country.
Protection of Culture and Traditions
In 1931, the British had once classified all the hill people as one group in the census and labelled them as “Hill Tribes.” And after independence, these hill tribes were divided among different classes, viz., ST, SC, OBC, and General. Ghising feared that such class divisions would compromise the unity of the Gorkhas. As said above, DGHC was a semi-autonomous body, but it had no legislative powers. This made Ghising believe that, to earn the legislative powers, it was necessary to bring Darjeeling and nearby regions into Schedule VI of the Indian Constitution. He believed that gaining legislative powers would reintegrate the people of Darjeeling into hill tribes, paving the way for the formation of a new state.
In the year 2005, the West Bengal government even accepted the proposal of including Darjeeling region under the schedule VI of the Indian constitution. However, to make it official an amendment bill was needed. But due to certain disagreements between the CPI(M) and the UPA central government, the Bill was never submitted in the Parliament.
After 20 years, a new political party with the name Gorkha Janamukti Morcha was formed in 2007, with Bimal Gurung as its leader. This resulted in a fresh round of agitation, and with this, Subhash Ghising’s reign in Darjeeling Hills came to an end.
Ghising passed away at Gangaram Hospital in New Delhi on January 29, 2015. The causes of death were listed as liver cancer and pneumonia, as reported by the hospital. After his death, Subhas Ghising’s son, Mohan Ghising took charge of the GNLF party.
In addition to being a successful leader, Ghising was also a painter and a writer; according to his own opinion, he was a leader second and a painter first. He claims that the sole reason he entered politics was because there were no effective leaders willing to take up the issue of the Indian Gorkhas. His name appears alongside more than 20 literary works. “Maney,” “Lungkhum Camp,” “Shubhakamana,” and “Nilo Choli” are a few of his well-known literary creations. All his writings are published under the pen name “Subhash.”
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