Darjeeling braces for indefinite bandh as Gorkhaland movement intensifies

A police outpost and a forest bungalow were set on fire in Darjeeling as the first incidents of violence struck the district and the fight for a separate state of Gorkhaland intensified.

There were reports of sporadic violence throughout Darjeeling Hills in West Bengal on the intervening night of August 1 and 2 as the district moved towards an indefinite bandh starting on Saturday. The body of a GJM supporter was also recovered from a tea garden outside Darjeeling.

The agitation for a separate state has taken centre stage once again with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), which is spearheading the movement, renewing its demand after the UPA government decided to carve out Telangana from Andhra Pradesh.

The demand for a separate Gorkhaland - opposed by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee - is among the most prominent mass movements of similar nature in other states including Bodoland in Assam, Vidarbha in Maharashtra and Bundelkhand in Uttar Pradesh-Madhya Pradesh.

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