Church welcomes Darjeeling accord

(June 10, 2011) A new accord between eastern India’s West Bengal state government and a Gorkha group has given hope to the Darjeeling region, Church people say. “This is a positive move from the new chief minister and we hope she will end the problem of the hills,” said Father Alexander Gurung, public relations officer of Darjeeling diocese. West Bengal’s new Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday signed the accord with leaders of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM, platform for Gorkha people’s liberation). It formally ended the 15-year-old unrest in the Darjeeling region, once a famed tourist spot. The GJM party was campaigning for the creation of a separate Gorkhaland within India, out of districts in the north of West Bengal. Darjeeling district has some one million people, mostly Gorkha. Mamata Banerjee clinched the deal 17 days after assuming office. She had overthrown a Marxist-led government that ruled the state for 34 years. Father Gurung, who also looks after the diocesan pastoral centre, wants the government to resolve local people’s needs. “There should not be any political interference or vested interests playing spoil-sport in the developmental projects,” he said. The priest said the Church welcomes the chief minister’s proposal to set up educational institutions in the region. Since the chief minister also holds the health portfolio, she should improve facilities in the local government hospitals, he added. Jesuit Father Joseph Victor, who coordinates the social work of the Jesuits of Darjeeling province, also hailed the accord as praiseworthy.