Bhutan Birding and Heritage Travels

14 July, 2009 - Bhutanese studying in neighbouring Darjeeling district, West Bengal, India, are caught up in a political turmoil again after a local political party, Gorkha janmukti morcha (GJM), decided to shut down the hills starting yesterday afternoon.

GJM called for a strike in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong, demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland in the northern part of West Bengal. They also want the inspector general of police (North Bengal) K L Tamta to be transferred for allegedly instigating people against GJM, according to media sources.

The president of the Bhutanese students association in Darjeeling, Tashi Tobgay, said that students and school authorities were “concerned over the little time given to evacuate the students and the university board examination starting this week”.

“There are about 500 Bhutanese students in my college,” said Tashi Tobgay, a second year student in north Bengal university. “We have no choice but to stay back for the examinations.”

There are about 400 students in Darjeeling and more than 500 students in Kalimpong.

In August 2008, the burning of a paying guest accommodation, where 19 Bhutanese college students were staying, caused widespread worry among most parents and relatives in Bhutan. But GJM leader Bimal Gurung had told Kuensel that they were committed to the safety of any student in the hills and no danger would come to them.

The Bhutanese association members, Tashi Tobgay said, had already sent cautionary notices to all Bhutanese students to refrain from moving until the strike was over. “Education ministry officials are guiding us, since most of us have to be here for the examinations,” he said.

GJM assistant general secretary Benoy Tamang told local media that the shutdown would be “total” from Tuesday July 14, and all government offices, schools, colleges, shops and commercial establishments would remain shut.

“My son, who is home for the summer holidays, was scheduled to leave for St Joseph’s school in Darjeeling on July 11 with 80 other students, when the principal called saying that we should keep them here until further notice,” said a parent in Thimphu, Tokey Dorji. “We received the information at the right time.”

Around 5,000 students in the Darjeeling hills are from the neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Thailand.

Final year business student in B B Pradhan management college, Chuki, said that most students were busy studying for the exams even in the midst of the political crossfire. “Some Bhutanese high school students have already left but we can’t do that,” she said, adding that the school authorities were appealing to the party to allow them to conduct the examinations. “We’re not worried about the strike but we still have to be careful,” she said.

GJM was formed in October 2007 and has been demanding a separate Gorkhaland state. Gorkhaland is the area around Darjeeling and the Dooars in north West Bengal, where residents are mostly Nepali.