THE FUTURE OF DARJEELING HILLS

By and large, most of us have internalised the over all situation prevailing in Darjeeling Hills since the past 20 years (approximately). However, we all have internalised the prevailing paradigm in Darjeeling in our own ways and thus have different understanding on the varied aspects concerning Darjeeling. The following note reflects some of my understanding of the present situation of Darjeeling Hills and a general projection on the future of the region given the fact that the present socio-political trend continues.

People

Majority of the educated and people with vision will leave the region as there will be no career scope/options, economic avenues and socio-political environment to sustain them. They will be down in their mouth with increasing hypocrisy in the system of the region, politics without logic, increasing human insecurities, death of sustainable development, and advent of animism. The region will hence witness a massive drain-away of human resource which would have otherwise contributed to the development of economy, society and polity of Darjeeling Hills had there been affable human security conditions. Only the semiliterate, illiterate, and few educated section of the people, a major chunk of which will consist of the agriculturists, business class, and inept government servants, will inhabit the area. A group of youth with largely anti-social orientation will be, however, maintained by the system. Its strength and influence will increase manifold than what it has today.

Institutions

The importance and relevance of cultural and legal institutions will severely deteriorate resulting into the large scale degradation of socio-political, economic and environmental structure of the region. Such a situation will put the region into a mess and there will be virtually a reign of terror prevalent in the area. The constitutional rights of the people including the freedom of speech and expression will be severely tested. Corruption, violence, antisocial activities and such other vices will be an order of the day turning the once ‘queen of hills’ into an unsuitable place to live in for the ordinary souls. The increasing rate at which the once dynamic and diverse hill society has been fracturing in recent times clearly indicates us that in less than two decades down the line the cleavage of the fracture will be wide open. Such a state of affair will encourage wide spread rivalry among various smaller social/ethnic groups and as a consequence our historical, cultural and emotional bondage will breathe its last. And that may further lead to violence, instability and atrocities in the region. The already shaky and thinkable identity of the larger Nepali speakers in the region as a result will further walk down the ladder with every an unknown ethnic group asserting its own identity. In the whole process, excluding few vested interests, the people of Darjeeling will gain nothing but revive their long leftover animism. The world will move towards the north and Darjeeling Hills towards south.

Environment

Environment will degrade to its nadir. Forest will be the major environmental resource that will be severely depleted, both in terms of its density and percentage cover. The degree of prevailing timber smuggling and illegal felling and supply of trees from across the interior of the region will increase geometrically. Majority of the natural springs and small streams that have been behaving abnormally at present times will dry up putting the human security of the region at great stress. Already, places like Lower Bong Busty, East Main Road, Solak Busty and Suruk in Kalimpong are experiencing severe water crisis. In Lower Bong Busty water has long become an economic commodity, from its traditional identity as a Common Property Resource (CPR), where the owners of the sources of natural springs charge certain amount every month to the households for providing drinking and domestic water supply. The number of such locations will increase at an increasing pace. Urban locations like Darjeeling Town will be an example of one of the worst victims of water crisis in the planet. Land resource will be one of the prime resources to face the onslaughts of reckless anthropogenic activities. Unplanned, unscientific and lopsided development ventures will inflict havoc on the land and associated resource base. Some of such ventures may be listed as rampant road construction without properly considering geologic and geographic attributes, building of residential houses in urban and semi urban locations without adequate planning and neglecting building norms relevant to the hills and mountains, expansion of agricultural land to marginal locations, faulty agricultural practices, and unscientific population growth. Consequently, the degree and frequency of natural disasters like land slides, soil erosion, and flash floods will heighten at much higher levels than they are at present times. Additionally, the production, productivity and yield of agriculture will severely suffer.

The Way Forward

The people of Darjeeling need to resist or at the least try to defy the ongoing socio-political and development trends if they do not expect them or their younger generations to witness the status of Darjeeling hills as highlighted above, not many years from now. They need to come out on the open ground and ponder upon the prevailing situation collectively. They need to revisit and re-examine their history, society, and more importantly polity. There is a necessity to raise several questions in the context of their past and present paradigm and attempt to locate the answers. This becomes important for Darjeeling because philosophers have long pointed out that the past is a root of the present while the future is its fruit. The future of Darjeeling hills will depend to a large extent on how the people of Darjeeling execute things today.

*Published by Sikkim Express, November 28, 2007*