In being non-negotiable conformists of cultural identities and rejecting the prerequisites to cope with the challenges of a globalised era, the hill community in Darjeeling is only doing a great disservice to itself in its response to the language issue (Editorial – “A shattered peace”, June 14). A working knowledge of the State’s principal language plays an important role in the process of integration with economic opportunities and avenues created across the State. Those in Darjeeling spearheading the agitation must realise that they are the chief architects of the future of the next generation who also have dreams and ambitions. This phenomenon of a concrete cultural fencing can be seen in Assam as well. A majority of the Bengali-speaking people face obstacles when engaging with their Assamese-speaking counterparts in areas of professional or personal outreach. While insecurity over cultural imperialism is valid, this must be tempered first by reposing a strong faith in constitutional safeguards of minority cultural rights and also by sustained engagement between various cultural communities so as to build an edifice of trust.

Bibhuti Das,

New Delhi

The demand for a separate administrative region of Gorkhaland has existed since 1907 when the Hillmen’s Association of Darjeeling submitted a memorandum to the Morley-Minto Reforms Committee. The movement for a separate state of Gorkhaland gained serious momentum during the 1980s. The perception now is that the fire has been relit over the issue of “language imposition”. If the West Bengal Chief Minister has made the assurance that Bengali is optional in the hills, why is the agitation still escalating? The answer perhaps lies in the BJP, the arch-rival of the TMC in West Bengal, fanning the flames of unrest. The peace in Darjeeling should not be shattered and the BJP should not try to fish in troubled waters; this is not an ordinary political issue. If West Bengal fails to quell this unrest and the BJP plays foul for the sake of politics, it could eventually ignite a whole set of demands for smaller territorial units.

H.M. Riajul Hoque,

Baranaldaha, Nadia, West Bengal