• Anupama Tamang

Darjeeling Hills have invited much attention both at home and abroad not just for the natural beauty and tea but also because of the protracted ‘sometimes dormant, sometimes active’ Gorkhaland movement. The Gorkha in the region have been constantly challenged by contending communities to prove their authenticity as citizens, their loyalty to the Indian nation and prove their ‘Indianness’. Not surprisingly the Gorkha have projected their identity as ‘brave mercenaries’ (Bir Gorkha) to systematically overcome the large perceptions of Gorkha as ‘darwans (Gate Keepers/Security Persons)’, non-represented, stateless, ‘foreigners’, illegal migrant people etc. The colonial encounter and the masculinisation of the Gorkha as ‘brave mercenaries’ continue to mould and shape ‘everyday lived politics’. The Gorkhaland Movement has been ostensibly marked by symbolisms of sheer male chauvinism and celebration of the adrenal exhibition. The paper attempts to locate women in the second generation Gorkhaland movement and give some answers to the question: ‘Where are the women?’

Gorkha, Gorkhaland, Mercenaries, Women, Identity.

"An Overview of Women in the Gorkhaland Movement in Darjeeling (2007-2015)", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.5, Issue 10, page no.353-365, October-2018, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1810B04.pdf

"An Overview of Women in the Gorkhaland Movement in Darjeeling (2007-2015)", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.5, Issue 10, page no. pp353-365, October-2018, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1810B04.pdf