ABSTRACT
This essay explores the use of websites and blogs by the Lepcha Community in two geo-physical spaces, the Darjeeling Hills of West Bengal, and Sikkim, in their struggle for recognition as a Primitive Tribal Group (PTG). A prominent aspect of the discussion on the virtualization of the politics of identity inevitably involves a reference to the transforming nature of the public sphere. For instance, the Government of Sikkim, after recognizing the Lepchas as PTG in the state in 2006, has been making appeals at the centre for similar recognition of the Lepchas at the national level. The Lepchas in Darjeeling Hills have neither been recognized as PTGs in the state by the Government of West Bengal, nor does the state vouch for their cause to the union government for such recognition. Further, the Lepchas in Sikkim are afraid that their support of their Darjeeling counterparts may jeopardize their own state-sponsored struggle for recognition as a PTG.
