The Bharatiya Gorkha Parishad (BGP) has lauded Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma for supporting the demand for a separate Gorkhaland State.
Mr. Sangma had on September 4 written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah saying the Gorkhas deserve their “Bas Bhoomi” (homeland) and their “just and legitimate demand” should be considered.
“The BGP welcomes the support extended to the Gorkhaland demand by Mr. Sangma. In his letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, he has batted for a homeland of the Gorkhas and highlighted the contributions made by the Gorkhas in the nation-building process,” Assam-based BGP leader Nanda Kirati Dewan said.
The BHP is the highest body of the Gorkhas in India.
“About 10.5 million Gorkhas will now have a huge expectation from the Meghalaya CM and his National People’s Party regarding our homeland demand,” Mr. Dewan said.
Mr. Sangma’s letter to Mr. Shah read: “Sir, you are aware of the long-pending constitutional demand of the Gorkhas for a separate Gorkhaland state. The Gorkhas have made India their home for a very long period. The contributions of the Gorkhas towards India, their motherland, have been immeasurable and they have made supreme sacrifices in protecting this beloved country.”
Stating that the Gorkhas too are rightful Indian citizens, who deserve their own identity and “Bas Bhoomi”, he requested the Union Home Minister to consider the demand of the Gorkhas and work out a political solution that is both honourable and lasting.
The Gorkhaland movement has its roots in a memorandum that the Hillmen’s Association of Darjeeling had submitted to the Minto-Morley Reforms panel in 1909 for a separate administrative setup.
The proposed map of Gorkhaland includes the districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and parts of Cooch Behar — all in West Bengal. Much of the area overlaps the proposed map of the Kamatapur State that the Kock-Rajbongshi community wants to be carved out of parts of Assam and West Bengal.