March 20, 2020
Shanta Chhetri demands due recognition for Gorkha freedom fighters
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Sir, I would like to draw the kind attention of this august House to the fact that Indian Gorkha freedom fighters had also participated with Mahatma Gandhi in the famous Dandi March. These names are mentioned in the pedestal present at the Gandhi Smriti, which fills the heart of every Gorkha with pride. At the same time, it pains us when the names of our freedom fighters are misspelt and their nationality is wrongly mentioned. Therefore, I would like to bring it to the notice of this august House some of those mistakes.
Our honoured freedom fighter Mahadev Giri, who is actually from Darjeeling, has been declared as a Nepali national. Secondly, the pride of the Gorkha people, freedom fighter Harka Bahadur Bista, who hails from Dehradun, has also been declared as a Nepali national. His son’s name is mentioned as Singhgiri, which is supposed to be Bista.
The statue of Durga Malla in the parliamentary house complex is an acknowledgment of the Gorkha community’s contribution to the Indian freedom struggle. Yet at the same time Durga Malla’s name has been misspelt as Daragamal in the pedestal present at Shahid Marg at Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi.
I urge the minister of culture, through you Sir, that these mistakes must be immediately corrected. Such mistakes are not only a matter of insult to our Indian Gorkha freedom fighters, but also challenge the identity of the Gorkha community in general.
Hon’ble Sir, this, what seems to be a trivial mistake, can become a major subject of concern – that of identity distortion of the Indian Gorkhas. If this is urgently not corrected, the Indian Gorkha history may be diluted in the distant future, forever. That is unacceptable to the Indian Gorkha community.
Thank you, Sir.
