DIMAPUR/SHILLONG, July 30 - Extending moral support and solidarity to the suffering Gorkhas in Darjeeling, thousands of Gorkhas across Nagaland today joined the Global Gorkhaland Unity March in Kohima demanding creation of separate Gorkhaland in India.
The rally was organised by the Nagaland Gorkha Association (NGA) in collaboration with sister organisations in four districts of Kohima, Mokokchung, Kiphire and Wokha.
After the rally, the NGA submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through Nagaland Governor PB Acharya, explaining its position on the issue.
Pointing out that the Indian Gorkhas have been permanently settled in various parts of the country , the NGA, in the memorandum, said Darjeeling district and adjoining Dooars under Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal are home to about 35 lakh Gorkhas.
Recalling history, the NGA alleged that these Gorkha people have been ruled, administered and exploited by numerous rulers, administrators, agencies as well as dictators, but no authority was given to the Gorkha people there on the principle of democratic welfare State, till date.
According to the NGA, this act of the West Bengal Government was found to be inconsistent, as language, customs and ethnicity of the Gorkhas are completely different from that of the majority Bengali people.
Therefore, the Gorkhas from Nagaland urged the Prime Minister to give the Gorkhas justice by granting a full-fledged State of Gorkhaland under the Constitution of India.
In Kohima, around 10,000 young and old Gorkhas from Kohima, Tseminyu, Zubza, Lalmati, Medziphema and surrounding areas converged at GPPK Ground in Chandmari under the aegis of Gorkha Public Panchayat Kohima (GPPK).
Holding placards and banners supporting the demand for Gorkhaland, they rallied through the main streets and submitted the memorandum, a copy of which was also handed over to Governors, Chief Ministers and Members of Parliament from Nagaland, Sikkim and Assam.
On the other hand in Shillong today, thousands of men, women and children took out a massive rally here today for a separate Gorkhaland demand.
The march was organised by a number of NGOs affiliated to the Gorkha society here.
Most of the protesters carried placards and banners, demanding a separate Gorkhaland as they marched through the main streets of the State capital. The participants called upon the Central Government to immediately carve out a separate Gorkhaland by invoking Article 3 of the Indian Constitution. The participants in the march protested the brutal killings of innocent people in Darjeeling by the West Bengal Police.
�It is a genuine demand of the Gorkha people. These people have been demanding a separate State for over 100 years. If Telangana could be formed, why not Gorkhaland,� Sanbor Shulla, former Deputy Speaker and NCP legislator who took part in the march, said.
Before the start of the march, former education minister Manas Chaudhuri also spoke before the gathering and extended his support to the Gorkha community for the cause.
