With the Centre’s recent move to appoint former Deputy National Security Advisor Pankaj Kumar Singh as its interlocutor to address the long-pending demands of the Gorkha community in the Darjeeling Hills in West Bengal, the issue of Gorkhaland statehood has again picked up steam.
The Darjeeling interlocutor’s appointment has also become a new bone of contention between the Trinamool Congress (TMC)-led state government and the BJP-led central government, so much so that Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, called the appointment “inconsistent with the spirit of cooperative federalism” while seeking its revocation.
With the crucial Bengal Assembly polls due in April-May 2026, the issue of separate Gorkhaland state is expected to be in the limelight in the Darjeeling region.
What is Gorkhaland movement’s history?
Though the issue of a “separate” Darjeeling hill region is a century old, it came into spotlight during the 1980s. The then leader of Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), Subhas Ghising, coined the term Gorkhaland, denoting a separate state comprising the Darjeeling Hills and the adjoining Dooars and Terai regions, before initiating a strident agitation.
In 1988, the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) was formed as a semi-autonomous body to govern parts of the Darjeeling Hills. The DGHC ruled the Hills for 23 years.
But in 2004, when Bimal Gurung, a former aide of Ghising, and some other GNLF leaders decided to break away and form a separate party, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), the agitation for Gorkhaland state was reignited.
In 2011, the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), another semi-autonomous body, was formed to govern the Darjeeling Hills. However, repeated flare-ups over the demand for a separate state continued.
In 2013, after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) passed a resolution to carve the separate Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh, and sent its recommendation to the then Congress-led Centre, the GJM resumed its agitation in the Hills, calling for a bandh in the Hills, that led to the deployment of the central paramilitary forces there.
In 2017, when the TMC-led Bengal government announced Bengali as a compulsory language in government-run schools in the Hills, a fresh agitation erupted. The stir turned violent as 11 protesters were killed in clashes with the police, following which the GJM called for a bandh that lasted for 104 days.
What is TMC’s stance over the appointment?
TMC leaders have dubbed Pankaj Kumar Singh’s appointment a “political gimmick” ahead of the upcoming Bengal polls to woo Gorkha voters. Mamata has already shot off a stern letter to PM Modi to voice her dissent.
In her letter, Mamata said, “I am surprised and shocked to know that the Government of India has appointed Pankaj Kumar Singh, IPS (retd.), as an interlocutor to hold discussions on the issues relating to Gorkhas in Darjeeling Hills, Terai and Dooars regions of West Bengal. This appointment has been made without any consultation with the Government of West Bengal, even though the issues under reference directly relate to the governance, peace, and administrative stability of the area under Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), an autonomous body under Government of West Bengal.”
The CM also said that “Such unilateral action is inconsistent with the spirit of cooperative federalism that forms one of the foundational principles of our Constitution”.
Mamata urged Modi to “reconsider and revoke this appointment order issued without prior and due consultation with the Government of West Bengal”.
Minister for North Bengal Development Udayan Guha alleged that the appointment was the BJP’s attempt to garner votes. “It is clear that this is another attempt to woo votes of people of Darjeeling and surrounding areas before the Assembly polls. The BJP is behind the move. There had been talks earlier but nothing came out of it. Once again, the BJP is trying to incite tension and divide people by fanning the separate state issue in election time,” Guha told The Indian Express.
How have leaders of Hills reacted?
The BJP and most Hill parties, including the GJM and GNLF, have welcomed the appointment. However, Mamata’s position on the issue has upset a section of the Darjeeling leaders.
Roshan Giri, the GJM general secretary, told The Indian Express that his party has welcomed the interlocutor’s appointment as the GTA has “failed to live up to the aspirations of the people”. “We have welcomed the Centre’s move appointing an interlocutor to hear us out and find a permanent political solution for the Hills and adjoining region. Regarding the separate state issue, we are ready to hold talks. Also on the table, there is the issue of ST status for 11 Gorkha sub-groups… We want a constitutional body. The GTA is a mini-development agency that has failed,” Giri said.
“The CM writing to the PM to revoke the appointment of the interlocutor is ridiculous. In the tripartite meeting on October 12, 2021, the state government was absent. Again on April 4, 2025, during another tripartite meeting, the state government did not participate. The state government has always shown that it is not interested. So why now react and seek revocation?” Giri said.
The GNLF has also welcomed the appointment, with its president Mann Ghising hailing the PM and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for “appointing Pankaj Kumar Singh as the government’s representative to facilitate the process of finding a lasting political solution for the Gorkha community.”
The GNLF chief added that “We firmly believe that this inclusive and consultative process will pave the way for a concrete, just, and permanent solution to the long-standing political aspirations of the Gorkha community”.
The BJP’s Darjeeling MP Raju Bista told reporters Thursday: “The Centre has shown it is serious about the issues of Darjeeling Hills and Gorkhas by appointing the interlocutor… However Mamata Banerjee has written a letter to the PM against it. It shows the state government’s attitude.”
What is the Hills’ political situation?
In the 2021 Bengal Assembly polls, the BJP won two seats in the Hills, Darjeeling and Kurseong, with the third seat, Kalimpong, won by the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), whose chief Anit Thapa is known to be close to Mamata.
In the 2011 and 2016 Assembly polls, the GJM had won all these three seats.
In the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has been winning the Darjeeling constituency since 2009.
In the previous elections to the 45-member GTA in 2022, the BGPM won 27 seats, with Thapa becoming its chairman.