The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) has decided to institute an award in memory of Subash Ghisingh, arguably one of the tallest politicians in the Darjeeling hills, whose brand of identity politics still controls the narrative in the region.
GTA chief executive Anit Thapa made the announcement on Saturday while addressing a programme to mark the birth anniversary of Nepali poet Bhanubhakta Acharya.
“We cannot deny the contributions of Subash Ghisingh.... We have to establish a culture of appreciating and respecting the contributions of past leaders. The GTA will institute an award in memory of Subash Ghisingh to respect and appreciate his contributions,” said Thapa.
The award will be presented to a prominent citizen for his contribution to the region on Ghisingh’s birth date from next year.
Ghisingh was born on June 22, 1936, in Manju tea garden and died on January 29, 2015.
GTA chief Thapa acknowledged that even the hill body that he was heading had its genesis in Ghisingh.
Ghisingh formed the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) on April 5, 1980, and raised the demand for Gorkhaland and thus brought identity politics to the fore in the hills.
Following a violent 28-month-long agitation that started in 1986, the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) was formed in 1988. This was the first such administrative body in India.
In 2001, Ghisingh started demanding the upgrade of the DGHC to a body under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. But his protégé Bimal Gurung opposed Ghisingh and the Sixth Schedule status. Ghisingh resigned from the DGHC in 2008.