The implementation of NRC has been met with many irregularities and there are some genuine Indians that have been left out. Seeing an opportune moment to score some brownie points over the Centre, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has hit out at the Centre after Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh claimed that one lakh Gorkhas have been left out of the final list of NRC.
Mamata took a shot at the Centre and tweeted, “Earlier I was not aware of the full NRC fiasco. As more and more information is coming in, we are shocked to see that names of more than 1 lakh Gorkha people have been excluded from the list.” She went on to describe NRC as a “botched up exercise” and the exercise was guided by “ulterior motive rather than the good of society and larger interest of the nation”. This stance by Mamata surprised many as she used to be deaf to the concerns of the Gorkhas and now has tried to hit two birds with one arrow.
Earlier I was not aware of the full NRC fiasco. As more and more information is coming in, we are shocked to see that names of more than 1 lakh Gorkha people have been excluded from the list. (1/3)
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) September 1, 2019
The BJP entered West Bengal politics through Darjeeling, the hub of the Gorkha uprising in 2017. Gurung led Gorkha Janmukti March (GJM) supported the BJP candidate in Darjeeling in 2009, 2014 and 2019 elections and the BJP won convincingly. In 2017, the GJM led a 104-day agitation over the demand for a separate Gorkhaland, which resulted in 13 deaths and there was simmering anger at the Mamata led TMC for the violent crackdown on Gorkhas.
The 2017 protest was basically out of Mamata’s control and the Centre had to step in by sending the paramilitary forces to restore normalcy. Mamata then engineered a split in GJM with Gurung’s former aide Binay Tamang supporting TMC on the status of Gorkhaland and also the recently concluded 2019 LS elections but despite their best efforts, BJP’s Raju Bista went on to win the Darjeeling seat, a sign of the party’s popularity in the hills.
While Raju Bista has moved to swiftly quell the rumours of one lakh Gorkhas being left out of the NRC and blamed it on “vested interests” aiming to get political mileage out of NRC, the BJP must act quickly to placate the Gorkhas as Mamata strives to paint the BJP as a communal and divisive force who not only divides the people based on their religion but also as a casteist party which segregates Hindus into different casts and communities.
It also seems that Mamata is offering an olive branch to the Gorkhas as she has realised that BJP has already made major inroads in Bengal politics and with the support of Gorkhas it will be next to impossible to stop BJP from coming to power in the next Assembly polls. However, a closer look at her policies also reveals a different story. Mamata has practised the policy of ‘Divide and Rule’ by creating different development boards for almost every community residing in the hills. Mamata got a taste of the Gorkha unity back in 2017 and is trying to expose the caste fault lines in the Gorkha community which is evident from the fact that she has created three separate development boards for the Kamis, Damais and Sarkis numbering close to 80,000.
While her softening stance for the Gorkhas might seem like a sign of Mamata attempting to break the ice with the Gorkhas but it might be a double-edged sword and history is a witness. Be it slapping UAPA charges against Gurung which meant he will never be able to appear in public and address his supporters which saw the rise of Tamang and ultimately split the GJM and now Tamang’s faction is backed by TMC. While Mamata will continue to expose the caste fault lines within the community, the BJP has to be cautious in its approach in dealing with such a sensitive issue and ensure that the identity of Gorkhas is protected at all costs.