The Death of a Dream

We are living in strange times today. Times where leaders come up piggy bagging on principles of Democracy, Gandhism and Non-violence, and as soon as they reach the podium, these very big words end up becoming advertisement symbols for the parties, their usp to motivate their masses, the tunes for the masses to hum, but something which ends up being discarded away into oblivion in real practice.

It was not long back in 2007 when a party was formed in Darjeeling. A party which, rode high on public sentiment for the creation of a separate state of “Gorkhaland”. The party did not create the name; neither did it create the public sentiment behind its rise to fame. On the contrary, they used the suppressed emotions of the people and pledged to raise the voices of the people in front of the Government. And today here, we have them dictating the people that they should no longer cry for “Gorkhaland” but instead an alien name of “Gorkha Adivasi Pradesh”. Indeed who gave them, the mandate to change the dreams of the millions of its followers? Was it the party that created the emotions or was it the other way round? To answer this we need to delve in some aspects from the past.

It all started with a local boy wanting to try his hand at a national singing competition. Although, talent and hard work should have dictated his fate, it was community aspirations and pride which ultimately took over. People flocked in and did their best to make sure that he was judged the winner, without anyone showing the slightest concern if talent and hard work were the criterion for this mass hysteria. This was only the beginning, this mass hysteria gave way to an organized institution which soon started dictating that people come forward and contribute to the local lad’s victory, and that no one dare say anything against him. Dissent was not tolerated, and anyone who spoke his mind was met with violent repercussions. No one bothered to introspect on this dictum, as no one could deny the inner happiness at a self attained community pride.

This mass hysteria now turned a different angle, community pride for a local boy, now turned into community aspirations for a long denied and suppressed goal of “Gorkhaland”, the statehood call which would be the “be all, end all” solution for all the problems being faced by the Gorkha people of India. So much so that problems and issues were dug up and highlighted to legitimize this cause. People who had been carrying on their lives for over two decades without complaining against the state suddenly rose up to demand “Gorkhaland”, the long cherished dream of the Gorkhas. Reasons were given, circumstances were shown and proven how this Gorkhaland was “economically feasible”, how it was “a hundred year old demand”, how it was absolutely necessary for the identity of over a crore Gorkhas, discounting the fact that over a crore Gorkhas have been living their lives in this country since before independence, and that the language of the Gorkhas was listed in the 8th schedule of our constitution, and all this while Gorkhaland was not even on the sight. This was all okay till, this aspiration turned into an agitation, led by the very same people behind the mass hysteria for community pride. Soon everything was tolerated in the name of the movement. Social orders were dictated, dress codes enforced, moral policing started, social boycotts called. All this in the name of “Gorkhaland”, the greatest dream for all the Gorkhas of India, or so as it was made out to be.
In the name of the movement, which was vowed as being Non-violent, Gandhism, and peaceful, violence was committed, principles of Gandhi was not even looked at seriously, peace was enforced forcefully, ofcourse by non-state actors, And like before, dissent was not tolerated. All this was fine until one day the people suddenly woke up to the news that their long cherished dream had now been bargained away for a more economically and politically viable arrangement which, also promised to end the woes of the people. Then came the ultimate test, as people or a few of the many started raising voices and objections, people started getting silenced all of a sudden All this, and more in the name of Gorkhaland, the Sanctum Sanctorum of all Gorkhas in India.

But the icing in the cake was when finally the leaders suddenly told the people that they should no longer ask for “Gorkhaland”, but a new place called “Gorkha Adivasi Pradesh”. All this in the name of “Gorkhaland” for which Social boycotts, dress codes, hunger strikes, Bandhs, moral policing was tolerated. The Gorkhaland for which sacrifices were made, the Gorkhaland which created the leaders and the very movement is today no more. The leaders who were created for Gorkhaland had now killed Gorkhaland and even held its funeral, and what is surprising is that the people were not even invited in it.

Perhaps, “Gorkhaland” died the day Late Shri Madan Tamang was killed, perhaps the funeral which was attended by thousands of people was not for Late Shri Madan Tamang alone, it was for Gorkhaland as well, why else would you explain a leader who was never taken seriously by his own people have so much attendance now that he had left them, maybe the funeral for Gorkhaland was what had caused so much compassion, so much respect and such a great turn around.

In the end, it must be worth mentioning, it isn’t the leaders that are to be blamed, it is the very people who could not differentiate between a game show and community pride, it is the people who encouraged social boycotts, dress codes, moral policing and who ridiculed and silenced dissenters who are responsible for it. And like every other dream, this dream also had to come to and end the day people woke up. The problem today is, the dream is silently getting over but the people are yet to wake up from their sleep. If they don’t, only they will be responsible for coming decades when they will be forced to sleep, like the two decades they just left behind.