Gorkhas and their Land

Reclaiming Land Through Ethnicity in Darjeeling Himalayas

Abstract

Among the various crises that have fuelled multiple ethnic movements in India, the crisis of ‘land’ is one of the most fundamental yet understudied domains in the study of ethnicity and nationalism. This article examines the intricate relationship between land and ethnicity through the case study of Gorkha’s demand for ‘Gorkhaland’ in Darjeeling Hills, India. The scholarship on the ethnic study has largely failed to understand the significance of land as identity and belongingness among many indigenous communities and this has created a distorted understanding of the place, community, and identity. In this article, I argue that land claims have been one of the fundamental elements of ethnic politics among Gorkhas in Darjeeling Hills and their movement for homeland articulates a distinct attachment of Gorkha struggle for land in Darjeeling Hills. Through ethnographic fieldwork conducted in various parts of Darjeeling Hills, this article examines the complexity surrounding the notion of land and identity that has created fear and anxiety of not having land ownership. This article argues that the lack of landownership perpetuates ethnic politics in the Eastern Himalaya, but it has not yet gained attention in academia. Therefore, this article is an attempt to establish the centrality of land in a region like Darjeeling Hills where ethnicity has overshadowed other phenomena. It also shows how the state uses such material discourse of land ownership to manipulate not only ethnic politics for the homeland but also the implementation of various beneficiary schemes.