Six decades ago, a workers’ uprising changed Darjeeling’s tea gardens. It’s time for change again

On this day in 1955, workers of the Margaret’s Hope tea garden led a revolt against unfair management practices. Things are not very different today.

Anuradha Sharma

· Jun 25, 2018 · 11:30 am

A year after the Gorkhaland stir, the hills are gripped by a sense of betrayal – and football fever

June 8 marks the first anniversary of clashes with the police that resulted in a 104-day shutdown in the Darjeeling hills.

Anuradha Sharma

· Jun 08, 2018 · 09:00 am

An outspoken, social media-savvy lawyer has emerged as the face of the Gorkhaland stir in Delhi

Bandana Rai, 35, has been at the forefront of every pro-statehood rally in the Capital since June.

Anuradha Sharma

· Sep 16, 2017 · 06:30 am

For a month now, India’s only Nepali satellite news channel has been facing an unofficial ban

ABN Network, which is owned by the son of Sikkim’s chief minister, was raided by West Bengal police, following its coverage of the Gorkhaland protests.

Anuradha Sharma

· Aug 23, 2017 · 10:30 am

With no sign of strike ending, Darjeeling schools begin off-site classes to tutor board examinees

But can schools sustain these temporary arrangements for long?

Anuradha Sharma

· Aug 10, 2017 · 06:30 am

‘Are we also not Gorkhas?’ Trinamool supporters who fled Darjeeling hills want to return home

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has been accused of targeting supporters of West Bengal’s ruling party.

Anuradha Sharma

· Aug 02, 2017 · 06:30 am

Gorkhaland agitation: Weak leadership looms large over a strong mass movement

The people in the Darjeeling hills are disillusioned with the lack of progress and are keeping a wary eye on their leaders.

Anuradha Sharma

· Aug 01, 2017 · 09:00 am

Food shortages intensify in Darjeeling hills but the statehood movement remains strong

The people have taken the lead in organising demonstrations. This is putting pressure on the Gorkhaland leaders.

Anuradha Sharma

· Jul 31, 2017 · 09:00 am

Sorry, people, but it was for poetry and not lyrics that Tagore won the Nobel

The citation was very clear about its choice. But Tagore was so much more than a poet too.

Anuradha Sharma

· Oct 22, 2016 · 08:30 am

The target was Kanak Mani Dixit but the axe fell on 'Himal Southasian' in Nepal

Politics and a personal vendetta at play brought the axe down on the niche publication operating out of Kathmandu.

Anuradha Sharma

· Sep 25, 2016 · 06:30 pm

‘Because Sikkim is small, and its realities are graspable, it can behave like a character’

Chetan Shrestha explains how he is writing his home state Sikkim into fiction, one story at a time.

Anuradha Sharma

· Aug 13, 2016 · 07:30 am

Sikkim’s own independent bookstore is a hotspot for culture

At Rachna Stores in Gangtok, writers, musicians and bakers are as ubiquitous as books.

Anuradha Sharma

· May 07, 2016 · 11:30 am