BackGorkhaland agitation casts shadow over Eid celebrations in Darjeeling
The Muslims of Darjeeling have shown solidarity with the Gorkhaland movement, but deep within they question the leadership at the helm of the ongoing agitation
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Darjeeling: Muslim traders started to settle in Darjeeling centuries ago—perhaps even before the Nepali-speaking tribes came to the hills of West Bengal under the patronage of the British—but most elders in the community are still not comfortable with being described as “Gorkha-Muslims".
The Muslims of Darjeeling—a community of around 13,000 people—have shown solidarity with the movement to secure a separate state of Gorkhaland, but deep within they question the leadership at the helm of the ongoing agitation, said people who gathered at Darjeeling’s Anjum-e-Islamia mosque for Eid prayers on Monday. Their celebrations were marred by an indefinite strike, and though the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) on Monday lifted the bandh for 12 hours to allow Muslims to celebrate Eid, the community is upset with the disruption. Most Muslims in Darjeeling are traders and businessmen, who are among the worst affected by the strike.
This is not the first time a strike in Darjeeling has coincided with the holy month of Ramzan and Eid, said Mohammed Ismail, a cloth merchant, emerging from the Anjum-e-Islamia. But in 2013, the community got time to brace for the disruption.
The disruption this time has been of a much greater magnitude, said Ahmed Ali Qadri, the Imam of Anjum-e-Islamia mosque. Only about 1,500 turned up on Monday whereas normally 5,000-odd Muslims would offer prayer at the mosque on Eid.
Because of the strike, a lot of people have moved to their native places to celebrate Eid with their extended families, said Qadri.
The Anjum-e-Islamia mosque, one of the five mosques in the district, dates back to 1909, but according to Qadri, Muslims started to settle in Darjeeling centuries ago to establish trade with China. Muslims, who migrated from various parts of India such as Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, have always been close to the Gorkhas—many have even intermarried—but have not given up their own identity, according to the religious leader.
“There was no option but to support the movement for Gorkhaland," said a construction worker, who came to the Anjum-e-Islamia mosque from 20km away. “But we are sceptical about the leadership: they have not been able to run the GTA efficiently; how will they run a state?" he asked referring to the Gorkha Territorial Administration, a semi-autonomous body formed in 2012. Echoing his views, a fourth generation settler in Darjeeling, said the strike which started with aim of paralysing the administration has created a cash crunch because banks and automated teller machines were shut. “The strike took its toll on business ahead of Eid, which is bad enough, but worse still, we are not being paid by our customers—people just don’t have any cash," said this person who works as a tailor. He and the construction worker asked not to be named.
Amid muted Eid celebrations, a group of ex-servicemen took out a rally in Darjeeling, bringing together some 5,000 people—a much bigger turnout than at the mosque—a day before the GJM is to ceremoniously set fire to the tripartite agreement that led to the formation of the GTA.
Meanwhile, unidentified miscreants set ablaze the home of Rajen Bhetwal, chairperson of the welfare board for the Khas tribe in Kalimpong. Bhetwal fled his home when it was attacked, eyewitnesses said. A GJM spokesperson said, condemning the attack, that miscreants were trying to discredit the movement for Gorkhaland and that the Trinamool Congress was behind the attack. Initially, the Gorkhas had believed in chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s promise of development in the hills, said Vijay Rai, a retired havildar. But she has only tried to create rifts within the larger Gorkha unity for political gains, Rai said, adding the community has not taken kindly to her attempt to turn tribes against each other.
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