On social media, all prominent hill leaders eulogised Damber Singh Gurung — one of the tallest Gorkha leaders — on his 121st birth anniversary but on ground zero, everyone was missing.

Damber Singh was the first representative of the Indian Gorkhas in the Constituent Assembly until his death on April 7, 1948. He was also the founder of the oldest political party of the Gorkhas, Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League.

The who’s who of hill politics, starting from Darjeeling BJP MP Raju Bista, president of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha Bimal Gurung, president of Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatrantik Morcha Anit Thapa to even Ajoy Edwards, president of the newly floated Hamro Party, issued statements praising Damber Singh’s contribution to Indian Gorkhas.

In Kalimpong, the birthplace of the lawyer-cum-politician, one of the most important landmarks is called Damber Chowk, where “a statue of Damber Singh” has been erected.
No senior leaders paid a visit to the memorial, while their representatives startled to trickle in after 4.45pm, which is an odd hour for such a programme in the hills.
This was after questions were raised on the crocodile tears that had allegedly been shed by the hill leaders.

The Telegraph contacted BGPM Kalimpong district president C.B. Gurung at 4.20pm and he said he was down with illness. “Our general secretary and other leaders are far away in the Jholung area and that is why we could not be at the memorial,” said C.B. Gurung.

Anil Lopchan, assistant general secretary of the Morcha, when contacted at 4. 14pm, said that he was on his way from the Dooars. “If I reach Kalimpong early, I will definitely be there to offer a khada. I cannot speak for others.”

Sources said Lopchan did reach the memorial around 4.50pm and lit up a candle. About five minutes earlier, Pranay Gurung, representing the civil society, had visited the place.

At 5pm, H. Lama, youth president of ABGL (Bharati group), paid his obeisance. The ABGL(Pratap Khati) group, however, flatly refused to pay their respect to the statue.

“The statue was erected by Bimal Gurung’s party after it was vandalised by the GNLF in 1986. Bimal Gurung hurriedly put up a statue to foil the ABGL’s plan but his statue does not resemble Damber Singh Gurung’s face but looks more like the poet Bhanu Bhakta,” said Pratap Khati, working president of his faction. “This is why we pay our respect at Damber Gurung’s tomb, which we did today,” said Khati.

Khati further said his party was ready with the statue before Bimal Gurung bulldozed with his plan. “We want to set up the statue we have come up with at Damber Chowk,” said Khati.