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| Wall graffiti in Darjeeling. Source: Wildvanilla(Flickr) |
Darjeeling is that
proverbial place where the soul recuperates, the mind constantly
nourishes itself with the awe-inspiring nature. The blue hills
of Darjeeling with snow-capped mountains like cones of ice cream
cannot but command reverence. But beneath those lovely mountains the
poverty is heart wrenching. Like an outcast the worker with deep
wrinkles and torn rubber boots still walks in silence. His skin
tanned, his eyes sharp like a comet looks at things, contemplates in
silence and then moves on. “Life is lived elsewhere”, he thinks.
It is his torn shoes that reminds him of his own misery.
It is this grief
and disgust that today find itself released when government
property is destroyed, tyres burnt, slogans chanted. If today
communal cries are being heard over the death of martyrs then surely
the grief must be deep. But whether these cries arise from the hills
of Darjeeling or Kashmir, none of it will ever reach our ears. But
finally it seems that the sleeping elephant has awakened; the great
collective of people now want justice. But like all collective
movement it too has its own share of demagogues.
Nothing is more lethal
than nationalism fed by rhetoric: our own time has given enough
clowns. It is a class of neurotics who lives on violence and abject
misery of people. The bourgeoisie leadership of the Gorkhaland
movement is clearly manipulating the sentiments of the great mass of
people. The total revenue earned from tea alone in the year 2011-12
stood at 690.14 million US $. (See
the figures have been given by the Ministry of Commerce,
Government of India). There are substantial numbers of private
boarding schools in the region; if the wealth taken from these and
tourism is redistributed, then it could bring genuine relief to
the people. (The total population of the region is 1609172, as per
the 2001 census).
Although it must be added
that given the current pro-privatisation stance of the courts such
attempts to nationalise resources may not survive the test of
its constitutional validity. In such cases one has to rethink on
the whole strategy. “It must be decided on the streets of
Darjeeling whether they want to use their resources in an
egalitarian way or not”. If this is not done then a mere creation
of a state will mean nothing for the working class in the
region. The biggest threat today the hills faces is that of
natural disasters. These so-called natural disaster owes it origin to
illegal construction activity. Will the new state fight for
reforms in law and redistribution of wealth? Is a state that
functions within a larger capitalist framework legally capable of
doing these things?
The people of Darjeeling
are not merely alienated from “India” but also from their own
society. Centuries of deprivation has taken a toll on their
bodies and soul. Away from the centres of power the bourgeoisie
leadership has now successfully exploited this angst. They do
not demand that people be given the power but quite frankly “we
be the simulacra of Delhi-based power hacks”. A young man called
Mangal Singh Rajput had to self-immolate himself in order to
protest. His death is now providing the fodder to these so-called
messiahs of poor and the sub-altern. His martyrdom sadly
precedes tyranny. Under these strenuous circumstances the state is
blessed to have a Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee who on the slightest
criticism damns people as leftists. ( It is after all our own doings
that we are paying for: as you sow so shall you reap says the
Bible). The government now threatens the people of region with dire
consequences if the ongoing historic indefinite strike is not
withdrawn within 72 hours. The state does not seem averse to
using tear gas, bullets, baton and bayonets: on this front our
country never forgets to act with swiftness and it does so under
the respectable cloak of legality. Mass murders can quite easily be
sanctioned under the existing laws and the perpetrator can also
be forgiven. The whole country has become a prison-factory-mental
asylum complex. Barring islands of prosperity, the whole country
is reeling under intense poverty.
Much of the media has once
again displayed how pliant and obedient it can be. This was the time
when the media should have introspected on what generates this
alienation among the people. During shows on food such news as death
of a man appears as a running footnote. While the media
multiplies the faces of dictators it turns a blind eye toward the
people. If the health of economy goes bad the Prime Minister
turns his back to consult the “respectable” corporate leaders.
This in itself is an indication of whose government is it.
In the context of rising
wave of sub-nationalism one cannot ignore the influence of the
communist movement in Nepal where the people led by the armed Maoist
guerrillas overthrew the centuries old monarchy led by Gyanendra in
2006. The people of these region form an extended community:
they share language, food, gods and culture. While the people’s
movement in Nepal has brought about a significant change in the
politically passive hills but whether the people of Darjeeling will
demand the redistribution of wealth as is happening in Nepal is
however unlikely. Far from formulating any such demand the leaders
are busy in ensuring who will get what after the victory.
Jean Jacques Rousseau in
his influential (but highly tedious) autobiography Confessions (1781)
writes about an incident. On his way back from Geneva, one night he
was forced to take shelter under the roof of a poor peasant. The
peasant out of humility offered a bit of cheese and wine to
Rousseau. This left the peasant with nothing. The incident provoked
intense resentment and anger in Rousseau. Perhaps it was
incidences such as these that must have forced him to contemplate
on the meaning of equality and social justice. But if Rousseau
or anybody were to visit a peasant’s hut in Darjeeling today,
one is tempted to write that “you shall sleep without food”.
It is high time the state
stops its annoying panegyrics of power and sit with the people. If
possible a referendum be held and if people decide to form a separate
state by whatever name they choose, it seems that state has but
little option than follow it. And the intellectual of Darjeeling
must turn the debate toward issues of jobs, housing and flooding and
other basis amenities. It is high time to deck the blue hills.
This is a guest post by Imtiaz Akhtar and was originally posted on the kandarihushiar blog here. Imtiaz is an alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University.
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