‘Land’ as a site of contestation: Empire, identity, and belonging in the Darjeeling Himalayas

As the dominant narratives of ethnicity have been centered on the issues of ethnic identity and nationalism as a form of pre-given category, the invocation of ‘land’ remains marginal to ethnic politics. Many studies on the politics of ethnic homelands in South Asia has further marginalized the notion of ‘land’ in the study of ethnicity and nationalism and overemphasized ethnic identity as a dominant approach to understand the relationship between state and society. However, land is fundamental to ethnic claims for belongingness in a previously colonized society where indigenous land policy has been reconfigured by the intrusion of British colonialism—took away native land for private interest and subsequently remodified land and citizenship criteria. This article examines an ethnic demand for a homeland in the Darjeeling Hills by bringing to the fore the discussion on land contestation, linguistic politics, and regional aspiration for belongingness. The movement for Gorkhaland in Darjeeling Hills has been articulated as a demand for recognition of Gorkha as Indian citizenship and reflects a distinct attachment of Gorkha to land. Although there has been very little discussion on the issue of land in the demand for Gorkhaland and focused solely on ethnic identity and the development of the Nepali language, we argue in this article that the ethnic movement in Darjeeling has its genesis in the contention of ethnic differences in control over land, resources, and identity, and it is land that has historically framed the politics of ethnicity in the region. Therefore, ‘land is identity’ and must be viewed as a fundamental unit of analysis in ethnic politics.