DARJEELING,: Gorkha National Liberation Front president Mann Ghisingh clarified today that his recent call to put up black flags in the hills was intended to express the Gorkha community's dissatisfaction with the Central government’s failure to meet their demands and emphasized that this gesture should not be misinterpreted as anything other than a peaceful expression of displeasure.
The GNLF leader also maintained that he was temporarily setting aside his party flag and affiliation to act solely as a Gorkha representative.
“The announcement that I made on Saheed Diwas was done without any discussion with our party. I did it as a Gorkha,” Ghisingh said today. He emphasized that the black flags were a symbol of the collective unhappiness of the Gorkha people and a message to the Indian government to provide justice.
Ghisingh's statement comes in response to various interpretations and reactions within the community. “Different meanings are being attributed to my call for black flags, but the reason is to show our displeasure and send a message to the Indian government. The Gorkhas are not happy,” he asserted.
Ghisingh maintained that his future statements and actions would be as a swabhiman Gorkha. He said the people in the hills should not be confused in regard to the announcement for putting up of black flags.
“In the hills, this type of politics has always been prevalent, with some claiming that that due to the Centre, this is being done to bring disturbance in the hills, while others believe that the State government is responsible. We should all not believe this. This is not about creating disturbance but about expressing our sadness and dissatisfaction. If we Gorkhas cannot do even that, the future looks grim for us," he said.
Although Ghisingh did not name anyone directly, his comments seemed to reference recent statements by Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha president Anit Thapa, who had accused some leaders of attempting to create unrest in the hills and stated that strikes would not be tolerated.
Ghisingh assured that his call for black flags was not intended to create hardship or incite conflict within the community. “The message is directed at the Central government,” he reiterated. “We have gone to the Centre multiple times to present our demands. They are well aware of our issues. Now, they must announce their decision from Delhi or come here and do so.”
He further announced plans for additional programmes with the same aim, stressing that these would be organized as a united Gorkha effort rather than under the GNLF banner. He urged all Gorkhas to unite and press for their demands before the ultimatum date of April 5, placing responsibility on Darjeeling MP Raju Bista as well.
When asked about potential actions if their demands were not met within the stipulated period, Ghisingh responded, “This depends on the mood of the Gorkhas. We will have to see what happens until then.”