Can’t stay in Darjeeling,dont know how to leave

Hostel boarders have been served an ultimatum to leave,with the movement for a Gorkhaland

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Suphakd S Saehkhat stands glumly outside the principals room,wondering when his parents will arrive to take him home. Suphakd,of Norway,is in class XI at St Josephs School in North Point,Darjeeling,where he has studied since class VII. He has now been asked to leave.

Hostel boarders have been served an ultimatum to leave,with the movement for a Gorkhaland state freshly revived following the Centres decision on Telengana. There are an estimated 14,000 of them. Of 40 ICSE schools,the 30 with boarding facilities accommodate 12,000,says a member of the association for schools in the hills,while eight colleges account for 2,000.

A number of them are from abroad,the proportion varying from school to school. At St Josephs,school authorities say its 520 boarders include 350 from countries such as Hong Kong,Thailand,Bhutan,Indonesia,Germany,Nepal,Bangladesh and Norway.

How can our parents arrive so fast from another country? says Suphakd. He wonders what next: We have tests; I am preparing for the board exams in March. Courses here and in Norway are entirely different.

The decision may be harsh,but we dont want students to suffer for lack of rations during the ongoing bandh, says Bimal Gurung,chief of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha leading the movement. I will not relax the bandh even for an hour. Let the people suffer. And I want a total shutdown of educational institutes.

Most Indian boarders are from Sikkim and the Northeast and a few from the south and north. Abhishek Chhetri of Sikkim is going back. His father,B K Chhetri,says,My son is in class VIII. His studies will be affected but the primary issue is security.

Those preparing for board exams are the hardest hit. Returning home will ensure my safety but throw my academic plans in jeopardy. It will be impossible to get admission to any schools at this stage, says Patr V of Thailand,also at St Josephs,who has been trying to get in touch with his parents.

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Over the past two years,it had been relatively peaceful as the movements leaders had desisted from calling bandhs, he says. We were getting into a rhythm.

On earlier occasions,they used to allow us to keep students who found it tough to return home during closures. This time,they are insisting that we keep no students in the hostels, says Father Santy Mathew,rector and principal of St Josephs.

This is a time of crisis for us too, says Sister Rose,principal of St Helen School in Kurseong. We have more than 200 boarders. Some have left but we cannot send the rest until their parents come.