New Delhi - The Indian army was called out to help keep
peace in the country's troubled eastern Darjeeling region on Thursday
amid reports of fresh violence sparked by an agitation for greater
autonomy.
A regional party representing Gorkha people, who are ethnic
Nepalis, had called for an indefinite strike in the Darjeeling
district of eastern West Bengal state from Tuesday in support of its
demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland within India.
The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (Gorkha People's Liberation Front -
GJM) announced Wednesday that it would relax the strike for three
days to allow tourists to leave the area.
But violence broke out Thursday with anti-Gorkhaland protestors
indulging in brickbatting and beating up ethnic Nepalis in some
areas, IANS news agency and NDTV television channel reported.
A regional group opposed to Gorkhaland had called for a two-day
strike in Siliguri, the district's main commercial centre, beginning
Thursday.
Meanwhile, GJM activists attacked a tourist vehicle injuring eight
passengers, the police said.
Darjeeling is a popular summer destination for tourists. Most had
left since the GJM gave its strike call, but those who remained were
having a tough time with no transport and scarcity of foodstuffs.
Thousands of tourists were stranded in neighbouring Sikkim state
with the highway linking the state with the nearest railhead and
airport in Siliguri in the Darjeeling foothills cut off by a blockade
by protestors.
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya had asked the
army to stage flag marches in Siliguri and adjacent areas, IANS
reported.
Bhattacharjee has also called for a meeting of all political
parties in state capital Kolkata on June 17 to discuss the demand for
a separate Gorkhaland state.
Darjeeling used to be the summer capital of British-ruled India
when Kolkata was the capital. The colonial rulers shifted their
headquarters to Delhi in 1911.
More than 1000 people died in an earlier campaign for Gorkhaland
in the 1980s which was settled after Darjeeling district was given a
special governing council with more autonomy, but it remained part of
West Bengal state.
The movement has resurfaced again with the larger demand of a
separate state.
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