GJM rallies Gorkha kids on Darjeeling streets, sporadic violence reported

TIL Desk/National/Darjeeling/ Amid reports of sporadic violence in the north Bengal hills, Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) on Wednesday took out a pro-Gorkhaland rally with Gorkha children in Darjeeling, even as state governor K.N. Tripathi urged all stakeholders to find a solution to the vexed issue through discussions.

On the 14th day of the GJM-sponsored indefinite shutdown, a large number of children were seen walking in the GJM rally. Many of them had pro-Gorkhaland slogans written on their body.

When asked why they were taking part in the rally, a teenager said: “We do not want to study Bengali. None of us know anything about that language. We want Gorkhaland.” The GJM activists gathered around the Darjeeling Police Station and protested against the detention of two of their leaders on their way to Patlebas in the city.

The two leaders were later released. “We were on way to Patlebas when the police personnel detained us, saying we cannot go there as a curfew-like situation has been imposed,” Samuel Gurung, Assistant Secretary of GJM’s central committee, alleged.