Ever since the Gorkhaland movement, its propagator Subhash Ghisingh had marked out a fine distinction between those he called the ‘Gorkhas’ of Darjeeling and the Nepalis of Nepal. The surge for a ‘Gorkha’ identity saw the emergence of the Gorkhaland movement of the mid-eighties. The ‘Indian Idol’ contest was probably the single biggest emotive factor that unified the people here after the struggle for Gorkhaland, and it evoked the earlier movement. At the same time, it is interesting to observe that on the Tamang issue, the Nepali-Gorkha distinction disappeared, and the two communities almost forged a single identity comprising Darjeeling-Sikkim-Nepal. This was almost a mirror image of the coalescing of the Khasis, Garos and Jaintias in Meghalaya in favour of the other contestant, Amit Paul. For example, in the final leg, jeep loads of Tamang supporters from Nepal with Nepalese flag fluttering atop their car bonnets would arrive in Darjeeling. They would campaign around the hills, enjoying the generous hospitality of the locals. There were even designated hotels in Darjeeling where they would camp for days together to whip up the ‘Idol’ frenzy. Tamang fan clubs sprouted in large numbers, many backed by political bigwigs.

In neighbouring Sikkim, Chief Minister Pawan Chamling could hardly ignore the signals as the madness spread to his state. Sikkim’s politics is largely under the control of the Nepalese so much so that even in constituencies reserved for ethnic Bhutias and Lepchas, almost 70 per cent of the electorate is Nepalese and even Bhutia or Lepcha nominees have to depend on the support of the Nepalese to win the polls.

... contd.