After 74 years of Partition, which led to one of the largest migrations in human history, there is talk of another breakdown in Bengal, with political leaders mainly from the Bharatiya Janata Party forming North Bengal as a separate union territory. and demanded the creation of Junglemahal as a separate Union Territory. a new state. The state’s ruling Trinamool Congress has alleged that the BJP is trying to create trouble in the state after its defeat in the April-May assembly elections.
On June 13, John Barla, the BJP MP from Alipurduar, demanded a separate union territory of North Bengal, while Soumitra Khan, the party’s Lok Sabha MP from Bishnupur, said on June 21 that the Jangalmahal region should be a separate state.
They argued that their demand is based on the lack of development in the areas for several decades and the poor law and order situation in the state under the present TMC government.
While there have been mixed reactions to his statements, Trinamool leaders have filed a police complaint against him and condemned the “conspiracy to divide Bengal”.
‘political move’
Influential BJP leader and Alipurduar district president Ganga Prasad Sharma, who joined TMC on June 21, said the remarks made by John Barla were irrelevant and a bid to remain in Bengal politics.
Sharma’s move to the Trinamool comes as a major setback for the BJP, as analysts say it was largely due to his organizational skills that the saffron party won all five assembly seats in the region in the assembly polls.
“He should do something constructive for the people instead of fanning the fires of division,” he said of his former party colleagues.
Observers say that the BJP’s central and state leadership, for example, have never been in favor of a separate Gorkhaland state. And this time too, almost all senior party leaders have distanced themselves from the statements of Barla and Khan.
But what prompted the demand for the partition of Bengal?
Political expert and Jadavpur University (JU) professor Partha Pratim Biswas said, “If we look at his statements from the other side, things will become clear. Suppose, if he gets majority in the assembly elections, what will be the stand of those leaders Has talked of bifurcation or dividing into three parts, can it be the same? I have serious doubts. Interestingly, none of the senior BJP leaders is supporting their demands. I personally believe That such leaders are making these statements and playing with it to stay alive in politics. The sentiments of the people of North Bengal and other parts of the state who have been demanding separate states for decades. They are anti-incumbency for electoral gains. Trying to keep the wave alive; otherwise, no region including Gorkhaland is meeting the criteria of a separate state in terms of economy, geographical factors, cultural and linguistic reasons. Nothing seems to match the criteria. have an account.”
Another political expert Kapil Thakur said that through such statements BJP leaders are trying to instigate people, especially those demanding a separate state in North Bengal. “I think it is dangerous for a democratic society like India,” he said.
A BJP leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the remark, which attracted severe political criticism, was made by someone else in the party. “They are trying to justify their demand to make North Bengal a separate state citing national security issues as the region shares borders with Bangladesh, China, Nepal and Bhutan. Also, it includes Murshidabad and Malda where terror activities were very evident in the past,” he said.
State BJP president Dilip Ghosh rubbished any claim of the party to bifurcate Bengal and said some MPs are making such statements out of desperation as North Bengal is lagging behind in development.
Gorkhaland Movement
The demand for partition in Bengal is not new. The first major movement after independence was the Gorkhaland movement under the leadership of Subhash Ghisingh with a violent movement in the 1980s.
However, his movement suffered a setback after his most trusted ally Bimal Gurung rebelled and formed his own party, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, on 7 October 2007. Gurung forced Ghisingh to leave the hills to spend the rest of his life in exile. in Jalpaiguri.
Over the years, Bimal Gurung, to maintain his prominence in the hills, switched political camps from the Trinamool Congress to the BJP and came back to support Mamata Banerjee in this year’s assembly elections.
The demand for Gorkhaland began in the 1980s when hill people alleged that they were deprived of basic amenities. Lack of proper school, employment, electricity, health care unit, water, sanitation etc created a platform for the movement and it gradually gained momentum for a separate state.
The first demand for Gorkhaland was actually presented during the British rule to the Morley-Minto Reforms Panel in 1907. Then, in 1952, the All India Gorkha League submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for a separate state.
The Gorkhaland movement reached its peak between 1985 and 1986. Finally, on August 22, 1988, the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) under the leadership of Subhash Gheesingh signed the Darjeeling Hill Accord (DHA). Later, the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) was formed with an agreement that Ghisingh would drop his demand for a separate Gorkhaland.
However, hopes of lasting peace proved to be deceptive. The trouble started when the Left Front government in West Bengal decided not to hold the DGHC elections, which were due in 2004, and empowered Gheesingh to look after the council. This caused outrage among the activists and Bimal Gurung, who broke all ties with the GNLF. Chatre Subba, who was the head of the militant wing of the GNLF, broke ties with Gheesingh over some differences and formed a new organisation, the Gorkha Liberation Organization (GLO). Ghising’s differences with Bimal and Chatre cost him dearly and his party lost all support in the hills.
Ghisingh’s loss was Bimal’s loss. Coming to the defense of Indian Idol contestant Prashant Tamang, who was humiliated by a radio jockey, Bimal soon found massive public support in the hills. The GNLF lost public support as most of its supporters joined Bimal’s party – Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) and Ghising shifted his residence to Jalpaiguri.
Over the years, analysts say, a weak political vacuum in North Bengal was exploited by all political parties on various tribal issues, including the demand for Gorkhaland, and since 2009 the BJP has been in the region with the support of tribal people, Dalits and Gorkhas. has grown rapidly. .
Of North Bengal’s 54 assembly seats (the state has a total of 294), Bimal Gurung’s support to the BJP since 2009 was a big factor in at least 17, in addition to eight of Bengal’s 42 Lok Sabha seats.
However, Gurung failed in his attempts to seize a separate kingdom and gradually lost his clout in the hills as people began to question his real intentions behind changing political camps.
Demands of Kamtapur and Cooch Behar
Observers say that the other two movements for separate state Kamtapur in 1995 and Greater Cooch Behar in 1998 also hindered the development of Bengal, but neither of them succeeded.
All the three movements were demanding a separate state or union territory in North Bengal, but they were involved in various ‘caste-based’ (with more focus on Rajbongshi and Kamtapuri) development packages/development packages launched by the Left and Mamata over the years. Failed with boards. Banerjee recently
The Greater Cooch Behar movement was started by Bangshi Badan Burman, general secretary of the Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association (GCPA).
Since 1998, the GCPA has demanded a state comprising the Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon and Dhubri districts of Assam as well as seven districts of North Bengal.
Burman has claimed during several media interactions that Cooch Behar state was annexed by the British rulers through various treaties from 1773 to 1901. Later, the state was returned to the royal family of Cooch Behar.
On 12 September 1949, the state of Cooch Behar was merged with India as a C-class state through three treaties. However, after the Center divided the state by applying old British laws and an old map (bone of contention), it made Cooch Behar part of West Bengal and Assam on January 1, 1950.
Similarly, the Kamtapur movement was started by the Kamtapur Liberation Organization (KLO) which came into existence on December 28, 1995. Several members of the Koch-Rajbongshi community belonging to the All Kamtapur Students’ Union (AKSU) organized an armed struggle for liberation and demanded a separate Kamatapur state from the mainland of India.
The KLO was formed to address the problems of the Koch-Rajbongshi people, including unemployment, poverty, land segregation, non-recognition of the Kamtapuri language, fighting for cultural identity and economic deprivation.
The movement was led by Tamir Das alias Jibon Singha, who was the president of KLO. He was arrested in October 1999, but once again took control of the organization after being released by the Assam Police. The other prominent leader of the movement was Milton Burman alias Mihir Das. He was the second-in-command of the organization.
The KLO demanded that six districts of West Bengal (Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, North Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda), four districts of Assam (Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri and Goalpara), one district of Bihar (Kishanganj) and Nepal The district of Jhapa should be included in Kamtapur.
Observers say that all mainstream political parties in Bengal are against the bifurcation of the state. TMC, BJP, Congress and Left Front may be ideologically at odds with each other, but they stand united when it comes to fighting against forces that are intermittently retreating with the separate state movement .
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already ordered a probe into the new demands and asked the CID to investigate.
Political expert Kapil Thakur feels that such agitations will not succeed in Bengal as no one wants to see partition in the state except a few minor elements.
Taking cognizance of the situation, the Chief Minister is likely to visit North Bengal on June 26 to hold series of meetings with party leaders.
She recently said, “After losing the election, BJP leaders are frustrated and trying to divide and rule. But I would like to tell them that they have to face the consequences as per the law. We will not accept any attempt. Which will disrupt the peace and development of Bengal. Their claim that North Bengal has been neglected is false and concocted.”
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