Dividing Bengal a risky trial balloon

BJP has kept the pot boiling in Bengal, first with loud lamentation of post-poll violence, some true and others exaggerated or manufactured. The hounding of the just retired Chief Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay followed with the Governor’s almost daily lament that democracy in the state is in peril. What would he do as Governor of Uttar Pradesh?

The ploy to keep the chief minister Mamata Banerjee busy in fire-fighting reached another level when John Barla, BJP MP from North Bengal's Alipurduar, demanding a Union Territory of northern Bengal districts, the demand backed by BJP MP from Jalpaiguri Jayanta Roy.

While ruling Trinamool Congress has predictably rubbished the idea and vowed to never allow the state to be divided again, even state BJP President Dilip Ghosh has distanced the party, saying that it was false propaganda by the ruling party in the state.

Barla claims to have spoken for the three identity-based movements in the region. The demand has received traction among a significant section of the Rajbongshi population in the plains of North Bengal who have been sympathetic to demands for statehood for Greater Cooch Behar and Kamtapur. Whether they would back the UT status remains to be seen. The proponents of Gorkhaland, the oldest movement in the region, have rejected the idea outright.

While Kamtapur and the Greater Cooch Behar movements had petered out, Gorkhaland remains an emotive issue and the yearning to escape the hegemony of Bengal and Bengalis remains strong among the Nepali speaking population of the Hills and in adjoining Dooars and Terai.

The UT as envisaged by Barla is different in terms of geography and population mix. For the Gorkhas, it would mean moving from being under Kolkata to being under Siliguri. And the Hills’ antagonism towards Siliguri is as intense as that towards Kolkata, if not more.

The tea tribes or Adivasis, to which John Barla belongs, also form a sizeable section of the population in North Bengal. While their voting preference has shifted towards BJP in recent years, their reaction to Barla has been lukewarm. Birsa Tirkey, the State President of Adivasi Vikas Parishad, calls Barla’s proposal a non-starter. There is very little support for the demand among the Bengalis barring in areas bordering Assam in Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts. The mostly Hindi-speaking business community will weigh the benefits of being ruled from New Delhi compared to Kolkata.

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If the UT comes into being, BJP could be decimated in Central and South Bengal. There will therefore be no overt support to Barla by the BJP till the party altogether gives up on Bengal.

What the BJP also needs to be wary about is that any serious consideration for UT status for North Bengal could result in revival of identity-based demands in neighbouring Assam and rest of the North East, where BJP is the party in power.

The proposed states of Greater Cooch Behar and Kamtapur include five districts of Lower Assam. The Bodo outfits would in all likelihood renew their demand for a separate state of Bodoland. The movement for Dima Hasao in Karbi-Anglong district could also receive a boost. Would BJP be willing to risk so much for a misadventure?

John Barla is an astute political survivor who dabbled in Tea Trade Unions backed by RSP and the Congress in the early 90s. He was an important leader in the Adivasi Vikas Parishad till he decided to cosy up to Bimal Gurung’s Gorkha Janamukti Morcha. He has the tacit support of BJP bosses in Delhi, who are treating the demand for dividing Bengal as a trial balloon for future use, if required. The sole purpose seems to be to keep Bengal on the boil.

There are genuine grievances in North Bengal. Infrastructure of any kind is next to non-existent, be it health or education. Scope for employment is low and the region has suffered from criminal neglect by successive governments.

The answer lies beyond setting up a Ministry of North Bengal or having plush offices in Uttarkanya, the so-called secretariat for North Bengal districts. Kolkata will have to co-opt the local population in the process of development and ensure their representation in all spheres.

Traditional industries of the region, Tea and tourism are also in urgent need of re-invention. There has to be a lot more emphasis on developing small and medium enterprises. More than anything else, the ethnic and cultural diversity of North Bengal has to be celebrated. It has to go beyond being props in travel brochures and portals.

(The writer is an independent analyst)

Views are personal