The Sixth Schedule proposal put up by Subash Ghising after a tripartite meeting on December 6, 2005 between Government of West Bengal and Union Home Secretary and the subsequent Union Cabinet approval to process the same into a bill is being opposed vehemently by all the opposition parties and the general public of Darjeeling hills for various reasons.
For betraying the hopes and aspirations of the people he represented, Subash Ghising no longer holds the mandate and confidence of the people. After his gross failure to serve the cause of the hill people as the Chairman and Chief Executive Councillor of Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), the people view him as a looter and a dictator and a killer of democracy, political and social values in the hill region.
He, acting in league with the CPI(M) of West Bengal, became highly successful not in strengthening but in weakening the hill people politically, economically, socially and even morally. In order to hide the sins of corruption and misappropriation of crores of rupees meant for development of the hill people, the Sixth Schedule proposal is viewed as another conspiracy to dupe the innocent hill people and continue to remain in power indefinitely. The CPI(M) of West Bengal has been giving full support to Ghising and even providing guidance to his anti-people moves and conceptions.
It may be recalled that the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) was formed on August 22, 1988 after much bloodshed and suffering by the people aimed at achieving a 100-year-old demand for a separate Gorkha state in India in terms of the Indian Constitutional provisions. The area for the Gorkha state included the district of Darjeeling and contiguous Dooars of Jalpaiguri district where the Nepalis (Gorkhas) are largely concentrated. The statehood agitation (1984-88) left 1200 people dead and thousands homeless and suffering. However, without consulting the people and leaders of other political parties, Subash Ghising signed the DGHC Accord in 1988, Ghising having become an easy bait to political and economic fishing net carefully laid by West Bengal politicians. At the moment of signing the ?Accord? itself, Ghising had betrayed the people but people did not take the issue as seriously as it deserved in the hope that the Council would certainly stand for them. The people waited until the Sixth Schedule proposal put an end to all their humble expectations.
The 20 years of DGHC under Ghising'sgross misrule (1988-2007) have proved to be disastrous for the hill region. More than ever before, this period has witnessed increasing environmental degradation, depletion of valuable natural resources, rampant deforestation, mounting unemployment even among educated youths, drug addiction and HIV/AIDS threat, drastic fall in agricultural production and productivity, awful lack of developmental infrastructure including human resource development, generally poor health of the people and children due to low level of nutrition, rising poverty and economic recession and increasing socio-economic conflict in the society. Although the hill region is blessed with rich natural resources, this fact contrasts sharply with the staggering poverty and the lack of relevant and income-oriented education system. The magnitude of the political, social, economic, educational and environmental problems of Darjeeling hills has assumed a dimension which is far beyond the reach and capacity of Sixth Schedule and that too under the control of West Bengal. Ghising'shighly undemocratic and dictatorial style of functioning never paid any heed to any of the above issues. He misappropriated and wasted crores of rupees on non-priority activities and did so without observance of financial rules and public works procedures. This also served to breed corruption among Councillors and bureaucrats and others attached to the DGHC instead of serving the cause of the people. This apart, Ghising evolved a new culture of terrorising and threatening the intellectuals and general people who opposed his anti-people behaviour. Differences of opinion within his own group led to the murder of three of his Councillors besides a few other opposition workers in search of justice.
The institution of Sixth Schedule is another blow to the hill people to weaken them further and create chaos and confusion under Ghising and CPI(M) of West Bengal. While the Sixth Schedule is meant exclusively for the welfare of the tribal people, the population of tribal people is hardly 31.4 per cent against the majority rest as non-tribals. The tribals are again living in scattered patches mixed with non-tribals. Hence, the imposition of Sixth Schedule will only serve to divide and break the existing communal harmony between these two communities who have been living as brothers and sisters of the same family for ages together. The Sixth Schedule proposal framed by Ghising under the guidance of West Bengal government also reveals that Siliguri sub-division of Darjeeling District and Nepali (Gorkha) speaking Dooars areas of Jalpaiguri district have been alienated. Siliguri and Dooars are a part and parcel of Darjeeling Parliamentary constituency which cannot be separated from the mainstream.
The Nepalis were the first to inhabit Siliguri sub-division. Now, they have been reduced to a minority owing to unrestrained influx of Bangladeshis who control judicial, administrative and financial policies and powers.
The election to the DGHC fell due in 2004. Ghising signed the tripartite agreement on December 6, 2005 when he was not the elected representative of the people. He was a caretaker of DGHC appointed by the West Bengal government. The moot question is how could a tripartite agreement signed between an employer and employee (Subash Ghising) be imposed on the people against their consent? It is highly ridiculous. Where is democracy and where has the will of the people gone?
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