BGP Files RTI on Tribal Status for 11 Gorkhali Communities

Darjeeling : The Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh president Dr. Enos Das Pradhan has written separate letters to the concerned union ministers on two key issues related to the Gorkha community. Speaking to reporters here today, the BGP spokesperson R Moktan said the two letters include issues related to the suggested review of the Indo-Nepal Friendship Treaty of 1950 and the demand to provide scheduled tribe status to 11 different Gorkha communities from the hills. Mentioning the suggested review into the treaty by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Nepal, the BGP has urged the central government to make sure it protects the national identity, political security and cultural diversity of the Gorkha people. Moktan said the BGP president has written the letter concerning the Indo-Nepal Treaty to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. “Dr. Pradhan has also requested the minister to include a representative from the Gorkha community in the panel formed to review the treaty,” he added.

The BGP is particularly concerned about the section 7 and 8 of the treaty, which deals with the political presence and citizenship of Gorkha people in India. “We have always been tagged as people from Nepal despite being proper India citizens and this is exactly why we are demanding for a separate state. We are demanding Gorkhaland for our security,” Moktan explained. “The important issue here is if the treaty is reviewed, the government should make sure Nepali-speaking people of the country should be protected, whether it is within the treaty or outside it,” he further stressed. Meanwhile, the BGP through an RTI appeal has also demanded the Tribal Affair Ministry, Government of India to provide information about the issue related to scheduled tribe status for 11 different Gorkha.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has been demanding for the tribal status for these communities for a long time, while the TMC government in the state has claimed it has already sent a recommendation to the central government on the issue. The BGP’s RTI appeal to the concerned ministry has demanded for information on the status and progress of the demand. “Has the central government been focusing on this demand? Has the state government forwarded the recommendation to the central government or not? If the recommendation has been sent, what is the current status of the demand? What is the central government’s stand on the issue? These are the questions we are seeking answers for and eagerly waiting for,” the BGP spokesperson stated.

[An ECOI report, File pic of Rev. Dr. Enos Das Pradhan]