DARJEELING, SEPTEMBER 22: All India Tamang Boudha Association in a meeting held at Sukna has decided to wear their own traditional costumes during the one month ‘Cultural Revolution’ declared by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. The association’s International President M. S. Bomzan said, “The decision is taken keeping in mind that we will have to wear our own traditional costumes and stick with our own customs. We must protect our own customs and our own traditions.”
Readers might be reminded that Gorkha Janmukti Morcha had requested everyone to wear ‘Daura Suruwal and Choubandi Cholo’ from 7th of October to 7 of November to mark the ‘Cultural Revolution’ in the Hills and to offer to visitors and tourists the ethnicity of the people of the Hills. So far Tamang community have become the first community to imply that they will not accept Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s verdict and wear ‘Daura Suruwal’.
Yesterday’s national level meeting held at Sukna was presided over by the assoication’s working President Y. D. Lama.
M. S. Bomzan, the association’s International President said, “Every individual in our community has decided to wear our own traditional customes and not Daura Suruwal or Choubandi Cholo. This decision has been taken by the entire 1.6 Million Tamangs from all over the nation. We are however, also ready to give our life in the pursuit of Gorkhaland.”
Reiterating on the issue of Gorkhaland Bomzan said, “We were the first one to demand for Gorkhaland before the Parliamentary Standing Commitee for Home Affairs. We are going to met the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha President tomorrow and petition him that we are a distinct committee even recognised by the Indian Government as a scheduled tribe with our own culture, religion and language. We were given the Schedule Tribe status in 1993. It is since then we are celebrating Lochar. There are more than 1 lakh and 50 thousand Tamangs in the four sub-divisions of Darjeeling District and Dooars Terai. Today, representatives from Darjeeling Hills, Dooars Terai and Sikkim participated in the deliberations.”