Why Mamata’s reading of the Darjeeling unrest is wrong

After violence erupted in Darjeeling last month, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee dropped a bombshell by alleging that underground rebel outfits from the Northeast were involved in fomenting the unrest. The findings are part of a report sent by the state government to the Home Ministry. The agitation continued, but there was hardly anything more that could substantiate these claims.

Darjeeling was mentioned only twice during my interviews with over and underground rebels in the past several years. Many unsuspecting hill stations and towns in North Bengal and the adjacent region were the hideouts of many rebel leaders on the run from security forces. On 2 January 2003, vice president Dhiren Boro of the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) was apprehended in Gangtok. Three years later, commander of the dreaded 28 Battalion of ULFA Mrinal Hazarika was nabbed from Siliguri along with three associates when they were returning from Nepal.

But these locations were temporary since safer options were available in Nepal and Bhutan (and other neighbouring countries). In Bhutan, camps and training facilities existed for 12 years, though were these dismantled in 2003. Amid fluctuating political situations in Bangladesh, the country remained almost safe until 2009. Sojourns in Nepal were sporadic since it was far-off and less secured. Some hideouts and bases established in the neighbouring countries by these groups still exist today.

I checked with my sources again on Darjeeling but could add little to the pool of information except that some functionaries of the now defunct Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) had also taken refuge in these hill towns including Darjeeling for some time, but this was many years ago. KLO emerged in north Bengal and had been actively supported by ULFA, but the leaders lacked the resources and a support base for sustenance.

Currently, most rebel groups in the Northeast have signed ceasefire agreements and some are negotiating for autonomy within the framework of the Constitution. Their interests are unlikely to be served by forging links with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). The underground groups campaigning for independence operate mainly from their base in Myanmar. Many of these separatist outfits were reeling under a severe financial crunch which triggered their recent desperate attempts to tap sources of income. These difficulties would leave less scope for these groups to dabble in and add fuel to the agitation in Darjeeling.

These developments apart, efforts are also being made to unify all the separatist groups under a single umbrella. The deceased Naga rebel chief SS Khaplang was the chairman of the United National Liberation Front of Western South East Asia (UNLFWSEA), which was an alliance of four groups including the KLO. Attempts to rope in the groups from Manipur have so far not met with success due to internal differences. There are plans to reach out to organisations all over the country that share a similar agenda, but GJM is not a separatist outfit.   

The hills are culturally different from West Bengal. They would revolt if they felt Bengali was forced upon them. The list of such episodes is endless. At the root of the demand for Bodoland and other homelands in Assam is the feeling that Assamese has been imposed upon them which is true to a great extent. The Nagas and Kukis in Manipur share the same sentiment against the majority Meiteis in Imphal valley. Rallying support for a cause is now easier and faster with social media.    

Information in a disturbed zone is sometimes found to be blocked or tweaked for vested interests. The possibility of an exclusive report with Bengal Police cannot be ruled out, and could shed new light on the links between the Darjeeling unrest and underground Northeast rebels. In all likelihood, the story will be the stuff of a potboiler and most likely unverifiable. The killing fields of the Northeast are full of them that have remained hidden from the media.

Bhattacharyya is a senior journalist in Guwahati and author of Rendezvous With Rebels: Journey to Meet India’s Most Wanted Men