Volume-XI, Issue-IV, July 2025 |
Politics in the Mist: Ethnicity, Identity and Power Struggles in Darjeeling Hills Anjana Tamang, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Fakir Chand College, Diamond Harbour, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India |
Received: 23.07.2025 | Accepted: 30.07.2025 | Published Online: 31.07.2025 | Page No: | ||||
DOI: 10.29032/ijhsss.vol.11.issue.04W.120 | |||||||
ABSTRACT | ||
Darjeeling is located in the eastern foothills of the Himalayas and it has long been plagued by issues of ethnicity, identity politics, and power dynamics. The article attempts a perspective on the intricate political landscape of Darjeeling as mediated through ethnic identities—primarily Gorkhas—that reframe political objectives, mobilize autonomy movements, and challenging existing political authorities. . It tries to take a look at how ethno-consciousness evolved when talking about aspirations for both territorial and administrative control right from colonial plantation politics to the post-independence demand for Gorkhaland and the emergence of regional political parties like GNLF, GJMM, BGPM, and Hamro Party. This paper also attempts to discuss how varying party support among different political factions and interventionism on the part of West Bengal served to fragment the movement while still keeping the very core desire for autonomy alive. Keywords: Darjeeling, Ethnicity, Gorkhaland, Gorkha identity, Regional politics, Hill politics |