Gorkhaland agitation: The Centre’s stance marks the end of the current phase of struggle

The BJP’s position seems to be dictated by the consideration that it is eyeing a big share of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 elections, and exploring a separate state may be politically suicidal in Bengal

Did Sunday’s meeting between Union home minister Rajnath Singh and the representatives of Gorkhaland Movement Coordination Committee signal the end of the road for a separate state of Gorkhaland, at least for now? Though politics is an art of the possible, it appears Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who has vowed not to allow a division of Bengal, is having her way.

Supporters of the Gorkhaland movement chant slogans during the 38th day of an indefinite strike at Milanmore village in Darjeeling district on the outskirts of Siliguri on July 22,2017. (AFP)

Mr Singh has told the agitators who have already set a record 62-day shutdown of the north Bengal hills to restore normalcy and go for talks with the state government. The Centre’s stand has put its ally, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, in a fix, and did not leave the agitators even a face-saving formula. While those campaigning for Gorkhaland were hoping for a tripartite meeting, the Centre washed its hands off by asking them to prepare for bipartite talks. The leaders of the hill parties have already withdrawn the fast-unto-death programme and are in extreme discomfort to announce the end of the indefinite bandh after the groundswell of opinion in support of their struggle. In short, it is an unqualified victory for Ms Banerjee, who has emerged as one of the bitterest critics for the BJP-led government at the Centre. She has denounced the agitators in strong words, alleging they cultivate links with insurgent groups of the Northeast and draw sustenance from foreign lands.

It is clear to anyone that her government will just not entertain any mention of a separate state. While the quest for a separate state is linked to the Gorkha identity and may not end here, the Centre’s stance seems to mark an end to the current phase of struggle. What Mr Singh conveyed to the agitators on Sunday may not have been very comfortable for the party itself that owes one of its two MPs in Bengal, SS Ahluwalia, to its alliance with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and the party’s declaration of a sympathetic consideration of the Gorkha aspiration.

But the BJP’s position seems to be dictated by the consideration that it is eyeing a big share of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 elections, and exploring a separate state may be politically suicidal in Bengal, where Ms Banerjee is already accusing the party of trying to divide the state. Bimal Gurung and his men will find it difficult, if not outright impossible, to raise the demand for a separate state in the near or medium-term future. There is no shoulder to cry on.