The Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) on Thursday observed ‘Martyrs Day’ in Sipchu in Kalimpong, where police opened fire at Gorkhaland supporters and killed three of them on 8 February 2011. The agitation for a separate state was then led by Morcha chief Bimal Gurung.
Bimla Rai, Neeta Khawas and Bikki Lama lost their lives during the shootout at the place that falls on the Jalpaiguri-Kalimpong border, while the party had started observing the day as Martyrs Day ever since. While until last year it was Mr Gurung who marked the occasion and recalled the three martyrs’ contribution to the demand, it was the Binoy Tamang faction of the GJMM that paid tributes to the people who had lost their lives in the agitation since 2011.
“The Morcha made many mistakes in the past, but with new leaders now, we are going to work with new concepts, and we will focus on the basic problems of the poor people and want to unite to solve the national identity crisis altogether,” the advisor to the GJMM central committee, LM Lama, later said. The day’s event was organized by the No 44 constituency of the GJMM.