The lost leader

The lost leader

The fact that the CPI(M) took out a massive protest march on February 11 in Siliguri condemning the ambush on Subash Ghising, the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) chairman, even before Gorkha National Liberation Front could do so spoke volumes about the political implications of the incident. Ever since the CPM-led Left Front government signed an accord with the GNLF in 1988, Ghising has been the Marxists' best bait in Darjeeling Hills. The attack and Ghising’s miraculous escape was yet another opportunity for the CPI(M) to warm up to the DGHC chairman and particularly so with the state assembly elections round the corner.

Darjeeling has been one of the success stories of the Left Front in Bengal. A feat, frequently referred by the former chief minister Jyoti Basu to the rest of the country as an example of how militancy and secessionist movements could be tackled.

To give the CPM its due, the state government under its leadership gave a wide berth to Ghising to ensure that the DGHC functions effectively. Be it forced or otherwise, the sincerity of the government’s will in making DGHC an autonomous, self-propelled body has been displayed on more counts than one. From the 15-odd departments that were initially handed over to the DGHC, the state government has conceded as many as 26 departments till recently, the latest being the panchayats.

Panchayats had always been uneasy turf for Ghising primarily because of CPM’s ability to make inroads in grassroots politics. During the last panchayat elections he opposed it but agreed only when he was assured that the administrative and financial control would be directly in the hands of the DGHC and not in Writers Buildings.

It was agreed that the block development officers in the hills subdivisions would be called as council development officers and all panchayat funds would be routed through the DGHC and not disbursed by the state government as was being done earlier.

Yet another feather in the DGHC cap was the addition of the word ‘‘autonomous’’ to the body. As of now, the hill body is reframed as the Darjeeling Gorkha Autonomous Hill Council. More are in the pipeline like a constitutional guarantee for the DGHC, transfer of land and transport departments and additional areas to be brought under its jurisdiction.

Another demand for which Ghising has been driving a hard bargain and for which the attack on his life has lent a great degree of legitimacy is the power and functions of the home department.

Even as he was recovering at the hospital, he said he would like to take up the issue with the state chief minister as early as possible. ‘‘One has to view the attack in the proper perspective. You may be the target next time around,’’ he argues.

Even though touted as the ‘‘success model’’ in autonomy, the DGHC has not been free from the ills that affect virtually all such bodies rampant corruption, nepotism and lack of development.

Money is systematically siphoned off, a practice to which Ghising himself is a signatory. Instances galore in which the chairman has used his ‘‘emergency’’ powers in total disregard to financial forms and discipline. CAG reports of the last few years cite many instances of favours blatantly doled out to contractors.While the ‘‘contractor raj’’ has flourished, the basic amenities for the people in Darjeeling have remained stagnant.

Water scarcity is acute that even in Darjeeling town, residents are said to harvest water from dew and snow during winter. For the youth in the hills, driving tourist jeeps is still the only means of earning a livelihood. A couple of roads have been built in the past 13 years but these are far from what the people had expected from the DGHC which was the result of many bloody battles in the hills in the ’80s.

(To be continued)