DARJEELING, Jan 9 - Following strong protests by the Nepali-speaking Indians and others demanding separate "Gorkhaland State", the Indian government has decided to form a state restructuring commission to look into the matter.
The agitating people in Darjeeling and other areas are jubilant after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's
statement Monday that a state restructuring commission would be formed soon.
"The three-month long agitation is now heading toward the right direction," said Bimal Gurung, chairman of Gorkha Janamukti Morcha, which is spearheading the movement, before leaving for Delhi on Tuesday. "Now the need is to fight at an intellectual level for establishing a separate Gorkhaland state."
The Indian prime minister had said in New Delhi that the commission might "re-demarcate the states" so as to fulfill the demands by agitators.
In 1950, the Indian government following similar protests had formed a commission after which over half-a-dozen new states were formed.