WIP · World in Pocket

Gorkhaland

Darjeeling, Italy

Gorkhaland

The Gorkhaland movement is a political movement seeking the creation of a separate state within India, comprising the Nepali-speaking-majority areas of northern West Bengal. The proposed state would include the hill regions of Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts, as well as parts of the Dooars and Te

rai regions, including areas of Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, and Cooch Behar districts. The demand for a separate administrative unit in Darjeeling dates back to 1909, when the Hillmen's Association submitted a memorandum to the Minto–Morley Reforms seeking a separate administrative arrangement. Gorkhaland, as the new state will be called, is expected to have a total land mass covering more than 7,500 km². This makes Gorkhaland bigger than the states of Goa and Sikkim in India. Population wise, the state is expected to be inhabited by more than 4 million people which can be compared to Manipur and Tripura. According to demographic calculations, the state is not expected to be majority Nepali-speaking. This is because the most spoken language in the hills will be Nepali accounting for 40% of the population in Darjeeling district while 51% of Kalimpong district speaks Nepali. In Dooars and Terai...

Listen to the audio guide for Gorkhaland Free on WIP — starts by itself when you arrive, even with the screen off

Nearby