Zeitgeist

The working class in particular and the rest of Darjeeling populace have forever challenged the authority not because they were fond to do so but the harsh bite of colonialism in pre-independence days, subsequent political turmoil in free India led to their perpetual poverty, and the sense of their alienation have always posited them in sharp contrast with the ruling class. The collaborators with the British tea plantation owners are nowhere to be seen today. The feudal elites too have vaporised with age. Today the class that is antagonistic to the working class is the newfound collaborators with the fascist power in an increasingly tribal, mixed and cosmopolitan society of Darjeeling. The very glue that binds the regional faces with the power like BJP is a sleazy quid pro quo where the candidates, heard quoting ‘party bhanda jaati thulo’ so on and so forth are ready to lay that very party in tatters for an assembly ticket. 

The election though doesn’t bring any substantial or radical change, which is why the vast majority do not see it important to speak or place any hope in elections but what they miss out is that when a regressive force comes into power, it gets every avenue to spread its venomous tentacles. The damage it wrecks upon is humongous. The working class are anyway vast in number and in every perilous situation their strength can make any authority stoop, it is the middle class and elites who shall suffocate in the air of unfreedom. 

The pride that an ordinary  Darjeelingey carries is that of its relatively progressive ethos though the issues of casteism, elitism, parochialism, homophobia and patriarchy have always existed and also the voices against it have been raised but what definitely was unique to Darjeeling was its rich history of acculturation and assimilation. The intermarriages, interdining and communal harmony has been practiced widely and though miffed sometimes in private, the orthodoxy couldn’t come out in the open and dare to challenge this new synthesis of cultures. 

What is different this time? The bloodiest of violence at the height of political turmoil also had been limited among the political workers rather than the neighbour keeping an eye over the other indoctrinated by the progaganda which was never so widespread as it is now. The regime of governance that seems immanent with BJP is its absolute intolerance of dissent not just of its political adversaries but also the artists, poets, writers, students and the list goes on. This regime of censorship and silencing, to repeat again has moved from traditional political opposition to any single voice of difference. 

The oppressive regime of work that is on the cards in the new labour code, the rising unemployment and privatisation though impacts us all but not a word against it figures in the political debates which shows how emaciated the politics has become, and the force that single handedly pushed these concerns outside the political realm to replace it with rather strong and vicious appeals to majoritarianism is obvious to all. The majority has an immutable responsibility to prevent its strength from threatening the minority. But all these ethical considerations are kept at bay to pounce upon the perceived enemy. 

Those naive ones who believe that this force on the ascent shall be instrumental to bring about a change or here in Darjeeling to effectuate any kind of solution to the demand of Gorkhaland must realise that the very philosophical framework of this force is that of unrelenting centralism, racial suspicion on the ability of Gorkhas to govern themselves, and even ignorance as Kailash Vijayvargiya’s comment amply proves. The record  which this force is infamous for is in the area of women safety, sheer insensitivity on the question of gender and their homophobic credentials are established beyond doubt. 

Darjeeling or any corner of India has to take on this challenge to assert what it stands for, what is its role at this moment of history else nothing shall happen to us immediately but our posterity shall bear the brunt of our short-sighted folly. Hope we act wisely before things erode beyond repair. 

Subham Sherpa