ABSTRACT
The growing concept of ethnic consciousness in Northeast India is not a new phenomenon. In the northern part of West Bengal, an ethnic movement has erupted revolving around the issue of the assertion of identity on a certain set of social problems, historical–cultural legacies and political exigencies by way of organising the Gorkha population into an ethnic body to concretize their identity. Subsequently, they raised a demand for a separate administrative unit comprising the area where distinct ethno-cultural groups form a majority and later demanded a separate statehood with the union of India. This essay traces the struggle for political autonomy and the administrative arrangement in Darjeeling from Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) to Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and its failure to fulfil the aspirations of the people of the region. The essay also attempts to analyse the trajectory of the identity crisis that has resulted in the autonomy movement with special reference to the transition period from DGHC to GTA.
