Playing The Peace Card

The state government engineers a split in the Gorkhaland movement, pitting the peace faction against the agitation lobby.

- Romita Datta

The West Bengal government is using the old colonial tactic of divide and rule to split the Gorkha land agitation, which has held the two hill districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong town in its violent grip for the past three months.

Till last week, Bimal Gurung, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) president who called the indefinite strike on June 9, in response to a bid to force Bengali into school syllabuses (swiftly withdrawn by the state government), and Binay Tamang, till recently GJM chief coordinator, were comrades in arms. They had sat together on dharnas for Gorkhaland, and jointly taken out rallies. Today, they are sworn enemies: Gurung alleges Tamang is out to usurp his place while Tamang says Gurung is out to kill him.