Degrees of Separation

There's more to the attack on Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) chief Subhas Ghising than meets the eye. The immediate suspects were members of the militant Gorkha Liberation Organisation (GLO), led by a former gnlf man, Chattray Subba. Subba, who broke away from the gnlf about a decade ago, had issued warnings to Ghising and given him till December 31 to withdraw his counsellors from the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC).

Ghising may have had a miraculous escape but what strategy he adopts to ward off the challenge to his leadership remains to be seen.

Ghising had earlier dismissed Subba's threats saying "the likes of Chattray are of no consequence in Darjeeling politics". But Ghising wasn't taking the separate Gorkhaland demand lightly either. In fact, the gnlf chief was ambushed on the day he returned from Delhi, where he had attended a tripartite meeting between the gnlf, the West Bengal government and the Centre over the question of more powers to the dghc.

Ghising had apparently suggested two routes: create Gorkhaland, or two, the dghc be given more constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule, now applicable only in the northeast. Under its provisions, the northeast tribals get safeguards like control over land, forests, local administration and so on. The dghc, formed after an accord between the gnlf and the Union government in the late '80s, runs the administration in the North Bengal Hills. Ghising has been dghc chairman since inception. After over a decade of rule, rumblings against the provisions of the dghc have begun to resurface, a popular resentment Subba is trying to cash in on.

What's surprised all is the precision of the ambush on the Hill Cart Road between Siliguri and Darjeeling on February 10. The assailants had chosen a thickly forested spot. The attackers, say the police, were five mercenaries formerly of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (nscn), assisted by two glo members. They had tracked Ghising's movement from the moment he landed at Bagdogra airport. That they had inside information is what makes the episode more intriguing. According to intelligence officials, Ghising was initially supposed to have stayed back in Siliguri for the night but changed his travel plans at the last moment. And yet, the attackers were lying in wait.

Despite the planning that went into the attack, Ghising escaped with shrapnel injuries in his head although a commando attached to his security detail was killed and four others injured in the gun battle which lasted over 30 minutes. By February 14, Ghising had recovered enough to hold a press conference in Siliguri.

Following the attack, the Hills have been paralysed due to the indefinite bandh called by gnlf. Sensing a resurgence of support to him, Ghising is in no mood to call off the bandh that has also affected neighbouring Sikkim since the road connecting the tiny Himalayan state to the plains of north Bengal runs through dghc territory. Thousands of tourists have been stranded due to the bandh enforced by gnlf supporters.

More violence is expected. With state elections around the corner, the agitation for a separate Kamatapuri homeland is also likely to gather steam. And that's a separate cause for worry for the state government.