Burden of a troubled border

As soon as word was out earlier this month that the ruling coalition had decided on Telangana, the Bodos in Assam and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha in Darjeeling district began agitating for the separate states they have been demanding for years now.

The first unsuspecting victims of the situation have been several hundred Bhutanese students in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district, who were asked to return home last week, before the start of an indefinite strike  in the neighbouring hills.

Many Bhutanese parents are not sure what to do because, if things get worse politically, their children could lose a year waiting for the situation to sort itself out.

While those in private boarding schools can perhaps continue their education within Bhutan or elsewhere, those attending colleges in the Indian hills, because they could not qualify for admissions within the country, will be most affected.

Although the Indian security forces have been sent into the hills to keep the situation calm and ensure that government offices are at least functioning, there have been disruptive incidents on the highways, like the burning of vehicles. This makes travelling into the hills risky.

Meanwhile, in Assam, the situation has been unpredictable for quite some time, and the security escort provided by the government of India, now lifted, has allowed Bhutanese people to travel through the state to reach southern, central and eastern parts of the country.

Now the Bodo region has all the more reason to agitate even more aggressively for separation. Some of the biggest losers of the unrest have been in the bordering districts of Sarpang and Samdrupjongkhar, where development has been hindered. The district towns have barely changed in the past two and a half decades, and those with money and ideas have long since moved elsewhere to invest and start businesses.

In recent years, the regular strikes have significantly delayed the completion of the Dungsam cement project in Nganglam by more than a year, and led to a huge cost overrun.

The disruptive situation in the border areas has once again raised the need to have an internal southern highway as soon as possible. Work on building such a highway has already started in sections. The Gelephu-Tsirang highway is being widened and strengthened, so that heavy hydropower equipment can be transported quickly from the nearest railway stations in Assam. This could also be affected.

Besides the significant impact on business and economy, since India is our largest trading partner, a disruptive border also raises concerns regarding internal security.