Centre Constitutes High-Level Committee on Gorkha Issue

The government has constituted a high-level committee after a meeting in Siliguri involving Gorkha leaders, the Union Home Minister, and West Bengal government representatives. The committee prepares a framework for a “permanent political solution” to the Gorkha issue, within the framework of the Indian Constitution.

The High-Level Committee:

Dimension	Key Details
Constitutional scope	The committee examination applies to all dimensions of the Gorkha issue within the framework of the Indian Constitution.
Additional scope	The committee mandate comprises assessment of financial assistance for the region and review of a roadmap to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Quantitative detail	The roadmap under review applies to ST status for 11 key Gorkha communities.
Geographic coverage cited	The demand applies to Darjeeling and adjoining areas: Kalimpong, Kurseong, the Terai, and the Dooars.
Language composition cited	The region population comprises predominantly Nepali speakers.
Identity-related issues cited	The issue comprises frequent racial profiling and mistaken identification of residents as citizens of Nepal or China.
1907 petition	In 1907, the Darjeeling Hillmen’s Association, led by Sonam Wangel Laden La, submits a petition to the Minto-Morley Reforms Committee seeking separation of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri from Bengal.
Key bodies mentioned	Administrative arrangements comprise the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), created in 1988 as a semi-autonomous body that provides for governance of the hills for 23 years, and the Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA), established in 2011.
2017 unrest	The 2017 unrest applies to a trigger comprising a West Bengal government decision that mandates Bengali as a mandatory language in state-run schools across the region, and it comprises 104 days of agitation, 11 protestor deaths, bomb blasts in Darjeeling and Kalimpong, and a civic volunteer death.