Strike in Indian tea-growing area

By Subir Bhaumik
BBC News, Calcutta

Darjeeling tea is famous around the world for its flavour

A 24-hour strike called by a regional political party has paralysed life in India's tea-producing Darjeeling area.

The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha has called the protest alleging attack on their supporters by activists of the state's ruling Marxists on Sunday.

The communists have denied the charge. Darjeeling is in the north of the eastern state of West Bengal.

The region is home to hundreds of tea gardens and produces Darjeeling tea which is coveted for its flavour.

The Gorkhas fought for a separate state through the 1980s but they later settled for regional autonomy.

The recently-formed Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) has revived the struggle for a separate state.

'Very tense'

All three districts in the region - Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong - are shut down by the strike.

"The situation is very tense in Darjeeling and its foothills," GJM secretary Roshan Giri said.

Mr Giri alleged that some party workers were attacked on Sunday by supporters of the ruling Marxists.

The GJM supporters were blocking a national highway leading to Darjeeling when they came under attack, Mr Giri said.

"The attack was unprovoked," he added.

The foothills are dominated by Bengali and Hindi speakers, while the Darjeeling hills are dominated by Nepali-speaking Gorkhas.

The Marxists denied they had any part in the attack.

"Shopkeepers fearing loss of business during the GJM blockades attacked them," Marxist leader and state minister Asok Bhattacharya said.

The Gorkhas fought for a separate state under the leadership of the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) in the 1980s.

But the GNLF leader Subhash Ghising later settled for regional autonomy.

Late last year, a large group of the Gorkhas, led by his former lieutenant Bimal Gurung, split from him and formed the GJM to renew the struggle for a separate state.