Gurkha-folket vil selv – og får nu (lidt mere) lov til det
The most important Gorkha ethnic group in the Indian state of West Bengal has signed an agreement for greater autonomy with the government, BBC online reports Tuesday.
The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) party has long campaigned for a separate state for Nepali-speaking Gorkhas in the tea-producing Darjeeling hills.
The GJM signed the deal with the Indian government and the government of West Bengal state. Some other local ethnic groups, however, have opposed the deal.
The hardline groups – including Amra Bangali, Jana Jagaran and Jana Chetana – say they will settle for nothing less than a separate state carved out of West Bengal.
Monday’s deal paves the way for the setting up of a Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), an elected body for the Darjeeling hills. Elections for the 50-member body, which will have powers to set up industries and create government jobs, will be held this year.
The Gorkha campaign for a separate state started in the early 1980s.
