Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) flags are placed on blocked roads
On the fourth day of the indefinite bandh in Darjeeling, called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha which is demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland, the Morcha is claiming a breakthrough in Delhi.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram has given a Morcha delegation an appointment at 3.30 pm, according to Morcha leader Roshan Giri. Union minister Jairam Ramesh has given them time at 12.30 pm.
The Morcha team has been camping in Delhi since Friday. Immediately after Telangana was given the nod by the UPA, the Morcha has stepped up its own demand for Gorkhaland, a demand, they say, is older than Telangana.
This 'breakthrough', as they are calling, comes on a day when the West Bengal Home Secretary Basudev Banerjee is arriving in Darjeeling to take stock of the situation.
The last three days of the bandh have been without any major untoward incident, barring the death on Saturday of 40-year-old Mangal Singh Rajput, who had set himself on fire last Tuesday at Kalimpong to press his demand for Gorkhaland.
Yesterday, Darjeeling said its final farewell to Mr Singh, who is being seen as the first martyr of the Gorkhaland cause in this latest round of agitation.
Bimal Gurung, the Gorkha Janmukti Morch chief, who went to Kalimpong for the funeral, said, "The time for dialogue or any sort of compromise is over. We have to be prepared to lay down our lives for Gorkhaland."
Today, the Gorkha Janmukti Minority Front, comprising 18 minorities, held protests outside the district magistrate's office. Heading the rally were two young girls not more than five years old.
"It is for their futures that we have to get Gorkhaland," said Tshering Dorji, president of the Minority Front. "First the British ruled us for 200 years, and then Bengal."
The secretary of the Minority Front, Ali Akhtar said, "We will hold very low key Eid celebrations on August 9. We will celebrate Eid properly only after we get Gorkhaland."
Clearly, passions are running very high in the hills of Darjeeling.