Nisha Chettri
Kalimpong, Feb 3:
As Subash Ghisingh, the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) supremo breathed his last, fissures about what the hill party (read GNLF) is upto in the coming days are doing rounds in the hill political spectrum.

Breaking the ice, the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh (BGP) – an apolitical body of intellectual Gorkhas has raised concern on the GNLF’s next step in hill politics in its bid to attain the Gorkha leader’s dream in the near future.

Ghisingh, 81 who died at a Delhi hospital last Friday was cremated at his native village of Manju tea estate near Mirik last Sunday with people and his well wishers thronging in massive crowds to pay the last tribute to the leader who is considered as the pioneer of Gorkhaland demand. The massive crowds making a beeline for Ghisingh ironically had come at a time when the people had rejected him since 2007 following diktat from the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). Interestingly, the Parisangh that had kept itself aloof on speaking its mind so far, Tuesday, remarked that the proposed sixth schedule status coined and demanded by Ghisingh is a stepping stone towards formation of Gorkhaland – a separate state to be carved out from Bengal.

“The sixth schedule status is a path that can pave the way for Gorkhaland which is the ultimate dream of the Indian Gorkhas. We are concerned about what would be the GNLF’s stance now and it is upto the people of the hills to decide on what they want,” R.Moktan, the BGP national spokesperson told a press conference here today. The BGP spokesperson asserted that if the GNLF decides to go forward with the sixth schedule demand, the BGP is ready to provide documents. “The GTA by far and large has no constitu- tional guarantee while the sixth schedule if achieved will have a constitutional status.
It is advantageous at this juncture to move forward with the sixth schedule status and the GNLF should opt for that,” added Moktan.

Ghisingh, who ruled the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) for 20 odd years, demanded the sixth schedule status in 2005. In December 2006, a memorandum, of settlement was signed between the centre, state and GNLF but could not be implemented and passed in the parliament because of the objection from the rising Gorkha Janmukti Morcha then. With Ghisingh being hounded out from the hills in 2008, the issue gathered dust as the GNLF weakened giving rise to the GJM which then took command of the hills, lead another round of Gorkhaland agitation and settled for Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA).

However, Ghisingh moved up to the hills just before the parliamentary elections and GNLF supporters expected a twist in hill politics but all turned futile. The GNLF supporters so far has been banking on the sixth schedule status for the hills as its last bid to make a comeback in hill politics. Though Ghisingh’s death is a major blow for the party, will GNLF rise from here is a million dollar question.