Quietly but surely, the newly elected West Bengal Government under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamol Congress has in record time taken the welcome political initiative in helping resolve, at least for the short to medium term, the decades old Darjeeling problem. Since taking charge as the new Chief Minister, Mamata was able to reach out to the people of Darjeeling and gain their trust to come up with a mutually acceptable and workable solution. This was achieved in a smooth and effective manner without the trappings of officialdom or security agencies coming in the way of the political process. Hopefully the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, who was present at the signing of the historic agreement, creating the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, will take to Delhi some of the key lessons learned in the run up to the latest accord signed with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). Chidambaram will be well aware about the list of unresolved issues, which the Government of India has been unable to successfully deal with other than keeping negotiating parties or groups under various mechanisms, such as ceasefire, talks, commissions etc. Off course one cannot blame the Government of India alone as even those who are negotiating with Delhi will also have to be willing to take the forward looking approach of give and take. Then there is the Telangana agitation demanding the creation of a separate State. Off course the Naga peace process has been going on for the last more than ten years without any resolution till date. So Delhi has its hands full and maybe what Mamata Banerjee could deliver on Darjeeling, not to forget that the restive Gorkha agitation is also over 30 years and they too wanted a separate State, the Prime Minister and his government should also apply its mind towards resolving old problems through new approaches.
What are the lessons that negotiating parties to a conflict can learn from the latest Darjeeling experience? This is an important question that needs proper understanding of leaders and people who are themselves looking for solutions to old problems whether it is Telangana or even the Naga issue. The first component of a successful negotiation seems to be adopting a policy of give and take by both sides. If parties take intractable positions and refuse to budge it will mean a deadlock and if this persists chances are the negotiating process will breakdown. Then the other vital lesson we can take from the tripartite pact signed between the Government of India, the West Bengal State government and the GJM is the amount of autonomy that has been agreed upon. The GJM it is obvious had to scale down its own demand from a full fledged Statehood to what was politically feasible at this current juncture. Full marks to the GJM for adopting, what this column observes is a step by step approach, towards eventual Statehood in the medium to long term. The important thing now is to make the best use of the latest offer which is an upgradation of the earlier Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) formed in the late 1980s. The subjects under the GTA will include, among other things, agriculture, irrigation, food, industry, education, women and child development, water resources, land and land revenue, municipalities, panchayats, urban development, public health and tourism. This is definitely lesser than Statehood but nevertheless substantive for the Gorkhas to prepare themselves for greater responsibility in the future. More sensitive issues have been left out most notably the demarcation of the boundaries of the GTA. The demand of the GJM is to include the Gorkha-dominated areas of the Dooars and Terai under the GTA. A panel has already been formed to explore this demand. Indeed the approach and spirit of the Darjeeling accord needs to be emulated.
What are the lessons that negotiating parties to a conflict can learn from the latest Darjeeling experience? This is an important question that needs proper understanding of leaders and people who are themselves looking for solutions to old problems whether it is Telangana or even the Naga issue. The first component of a successful negotiation seems to be adopting a policy of give and take by both sides. If parties take intractable positions and refuse to budge it will mean a deadlock and if this persists chances are the negotiating process will breakdown. Then the other vital lesson we can take from the tripartite pact signed between the Government of India, the West Bengal State government and the GJM is the amount of autonomy that has been agreed upon. The GJM it is obvious had to scale down its own demand from a full fledged Statehood to what was politically feasible at this current juncture. Full marks to the GJM for adopting, what this column observes is a step by step approach, towards eventual Statehood in the medium to long term. The important thing now is to make the best use of the latest offer which is an upgradation of the earlier Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) formed in the late 1980s. The subjects under the GTA will include, among other things, agriculture, irrigation, food, industry, education, women and child development, water resources, land and land revenue, municipalities, panchayats, urban development, public health and tourism. This is definitely lesser than Statehood but nevertheless substantive for the Gorkhas to prepare themselves for greater responsibility in the future. More sensitive issues have been left out most notably the demarcation of the boundaries of the GTA. The demand of the GJM is to include the Gorkha-dominated areas of the Dooars and Terai under the GTA. A panel has already been formed to explore this demand. Indeed the approach and spirit of the Darjeeling accord needs to be emulated.
