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IS LIMBU A VANISHED TRIBE IN DARJEELING DISTRICT?
A few decades back Mr A.R.Foning had stirred the imagination of the people of Darjeeling and Sikkim in general and Lepchas in particular by pondering whether Lepchas are a vanishing tribe in his book ‘Lepchas My Vanishing Tribe’ published by Sterling Publisher 1987. According to him Lepchas, a peace loving, traditional tribe living simple life close to nature in the sub-Himalayan region comprising of the present state of Sikkim and Darjeeling District of West Bengal have been subsumed in the vortex of modernity and cultural synthesis of different communities living in their ancient land. Lepchas have not only been outnumbered physically but they have very little in them what they were before influx of waves of people from outside which slowly but certainly obliterated their culture and tradition which otherwise could have distinguished them as a distinct tribe.
Mr. Foning’s fear is just the process in which Lepchas are on the verge of extinction. But if we go by the list of candidates that GJM leadership has given tickets for election to the Gorkhaland Territorial Authority (GTA) to be held on 29th July 2012, Limbus appear to be already a vanished tribe. Because, not a single Limbu candidate has been given ticket by the GJM despite the fact that Limbus are important and integral part of so called Gorkha community. Limbus have sizable number in the so called GTA demarcated area. Limbus too have played important role and shed blood and martyred in the agitation for Gorkhaland be that of 1986-88 period or under the present dispensation. Yet Limbus have gone unrepresented in the present GTA set up whereas most of the major and minor tribes / castes / sub-castes of Gorkha-Tribal Community have been given representation through GJM tickets. It is the most cruel joke heaped on the Limbu community by the GJM leadership. Perhaps no Limbu had ever imagined or even dreamt of such an insult would beheaped on their community.
The failure to give even a single ticket to a Limbu candidate is more surprising given that the present agitation is led by much hyped intellectuals (Buddhijiwis) who are giving all the good advices to the GJM leadership so that he is guided by the best of the brains of the Gorkha community. Alas, here too they have failed miserably by not suggesting the GJM leadership that failing to give ticket to one of the important Gorkha community would amount to treachery on the people of that particular community who have given tan, man and dhan for achieving their cherished dream of Gorkhaland. GJM leadership, particularly the so called intellectuals must remember that Barrister Ari Bahadur Gurung, a member of a minority Gorkha community out of vast multitude of different caste and creeds and community of then Independent India, had been nominated as a member of the Constituent Assembly that wrote the Constitution of India. The mother India remembered a Gorkha to make an inclusive society.
Another alarming feature of this whole episode in the distribution of tickets is the stunned silence of the Limbu intellectuals and the Limbu cultural bodies of district of Darjeeling. Not a single voice has been heard in the local print and audio-visual media regarding non-representation of this community in the scheme of things that is coming up in the shape of GTA. Perhaps the leaders of Limbu community themselves might have made up their mind not to get represented.
So when the political party whose writ runs in the Darjeeling Hills is suffering from amnesia that one of the important and integral part of the Gorkha community for whom it is fighting political battles and the Limbu community itself who have been forgotten by their brethren / siblings and love to be forgotten and remain in abysmal bliss of non-existence, it will not be an over statement to say that ‘Limbus are a vanished tribe’.
Comments
I have not talked about reservations. What I have tried to drive my point is that when a ticket is given to the candidates, political parties scan through the different sections of the people so that most of the important constituents are represented. Since, I think Limbus are one of the important member of the Gorkha community they should not have been forgotten. When one thinks of Gorkha / Nepali then automactically, Limbus, Rais, Yakhas, Gurung, Mangar, Tamang, Chhetri, Bahun, Newar, Kami, Damai comes to one's mind besides other castes.
Anyway, instead of having some empathy to the cause of the intentional / accidental missing of nomination of Limbu community, you seem bent on supporting the decision as right one, I am left with no alterntive but to stop trying to reason with hardened conscience. May God bless you.
Bidisha, read my lines carefully, do you you find anything that suggests puncuring the unity of Gorkha community? Limbus as integral part of Gorkha community means it is one among many caste, sub-caste and race that have made a mosaic of composite Gorkha community. Mosaic as you know is not a sin[censored]r colour or pattern, but of different colour, types, kinds, sizes which gives representation to these different elements that make up the composite colour. The individual parts / colour of the constituents do not lose their colour and that gives the beauty to mosaic. If raising a genuine issue of identity of Limbus within the larger Gorkha community is given casteist colour and labelled as fissiparous then with same logic is it not fissiparous on part of Gorkhas to ask for Gorkhaland although Indian Constitution has not differentiated a Gorkha from other Indian citizens. Why do we need Grkhaland at all in order to 'puncture unity of Indian citizens'?
Dear Mr. Subba... Thankyou so much for kindly taking my comment in a positive light... I totally agree with your observations that "the very basis of movement for Gorkhaland itself is to make the people of this community seen, heard and given represntation in the national scene." Indeed the Limbus are not merely an integral part of the Gorkha community or the Gorkhaland movement but they are also indigenous to the geographical area that makes up the Darjeeling and Doors region.
Missing out on nominating any Limbu candidate for the GTA is indeed a grave error... hopefully what the GJMM has failed to do will be undone by the state government when they nominate people from the minority community for GTA.
Till then let us stand united... for a free state... be it Gorkhaland or the State of Darjeeling
TB Subba
What is more alarming is that desitpe many protestations people from minority communities (non-Nepalis) have not been given a single ticket... did they not sacrifice as much as we all?
I do not expect much from GJMM or their so called intellects... but given the fact that some of the GJMM leaders are out and out ultra-right Gorkhacentric fanatics, I do worry that the omission may have been more of a deliberate attempt at marginalizing the minorities.
GOD BLESS GORKHALAND
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