Politics of language

1961: Nepali language is recognised as one of the Official Languages of West Bengal.

1961-1962: The ethnic Gorkha population in Darjeeling opposes a move by the then West Bengal Government to introduce Bengali as a compulsory language in the hills. Government backtracks.

1971-1972: The demand to include the Nepali language in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution gains momentum.

1992: Nepali language is recognised as one of the official languages of India under the VIIIth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

2011: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee takes the initiative to have the Nepali language recognised as one of the six ‘Second Official Languages’ of the state. Despite the fact that almost 95 per cent of the ethnic population of Darjeeling, Dooars and Tarai, speak Nepali, this issue of language has been used time and again to stoke sentiments of the ethnic population in North Bengal. The Gorkha community has always had a stranglehold over hill politics by virtue of their so-called ‘elite’ status among the ethnic groups. From the Indian armed forces to the business community in the Darjeeling hills, the Gorkhas have always enjoyed a position of relative socio-economic superiority compared to the other tribes. Mamata tried to strike at this Gorkha hegemony by forming 19 tribal councils for the empowerment of marginalised tribes, such as Lepchas, Bhutias, Tamang’s etc.