But, the postponements of the tripartite talks, one after the other, have raised doubts and frustration among the people of Darjeeling and Dooars. “This is a ploy of the Bengal Government to prolong the talks, thereby weakening the statehood movement of GJMM. Besides, such unfruitful talk will bring frustration among the active rank and file of GJMM which will ultimately benefit the Bengal government,” says Mr. Udhyan Rai, Editor of Darjeeling Times. Mr. Rai also thinks that the Bengal government wants to force the GJMM against the wall by dragging out the talk so that the GJMM will be pressurized by their own cadre and public and it will be compelled to compromise with the West Bengal government.

However, in spite of these doubts, Mr. Giri is hopeful for the next tri-partite talk. “We are very hopeful as the Centre has not reacted harshly against our proposal so far. Except for 102 subjects, the Centre has agreed on the rest of our proposals,” Giri said.

Mr.Ashok Bhattacharya has also expressed a positive view on the interim set-up’s proposal of GJMM, “The positive thing that I see in the proposal is that the Morcha has redrawn its map and left out several areas that it had earlier demanded. However, there is no question of statehood and we all know that both sides have to give in a bit as well.”

From Bhattacharya’s statement, it can be summed up that the Bengal government is also looking for some consensus, a common ground.

On the other hand, the GJM has been successful in bringing around the Adivasis, the main hurdle in Dooars, who have a sizeable population in Dooars and were opposed to the demand for Gorkhaland to their fold. The GJM leadership had a number of talks with ABP in Dooars. Mr.Kiran Khalindi, an advisor to the Terai-Dooars regional unit of Adivasi Vikash Parishad, after meeting with the GJM central leadership at Chulsa, Dooars, said, “If this (the Morcha’s proposal) means that the Dooars will benefit in terms of development, we have no problems with the Morcha’s proposal.”

GJM’s interim set-up’s proposal has given the option to name the set-up either Gorkhaland Regional Authority or Dooars & Darjeeling Regional Authority. It is observed that the GJMM must have put up this option in view of the psychology of the Adivasi community on the name Gorkhaland.

“The option in nomenclature has been suggested in deference to the wishes of certain sections of the tribal community in the Dooars, who might have misgivings over the connotations of the term Gorkhaland,” Dr. Harka Bahadur Chettri, the spokesperson of GJMM, also agrees on this view

Mr. Kitab Sing Rai, an educationist and a member of Dooars study forum, on the GJM proposal, says that it is very acceptable to the Gorkhas of Dooars. “We are a minority in Dooars. Besides, we (Gorkhas and Adivasis) have been living together since time immemorial here. So, the option to name the interim set-up is very acceptable. If they are agreed, we would become a major force in Dooars to take on the Bengal government for our demands,” Mr. Rai says.

However, there are still miles to go to bring about a fruitful result from the tripartite talks. The Bengal government is looking for a chance to scuttle GJM’s ship. The major political parties are unanimous in opposition to Gorkhaland. At this juncture, GJM also should try to solidify its base by brining opposition parties, especially the CPRM, to their fold. “CPRM, the strong regional party of the Hills, next to GJMM, is playing a responsible role as the opposition party in Hills. It has never been opposing GJM’s programme for the sake of opposing only. So, the CPRM also needs to be taken into the GJM’s confidence to bring about a strong wave in favour of the Gorkhaland movement in the days to come, in case of failure of the talks.

Anoop Rai