📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Ministry of Cooperation
Politics
Home Minister Amit Shah meets Gorkha leaders, Sikkim controversy over new proposal
✍️ Ratopati
🗓 28 Sep 2026, 11:01 AM
👁 14
Home Minister Amit Shah held talks with Gorkha representatives about their demands, and a proposal raised during the meeting has sparked controversy in Sikkim.
New Delhi: Home Minister Amit Shah met senior leaders of the Gorkha community to review a set of long‑standing demands that include greater political representation and cultural safeguards. The discussions, held in the capital, focused on how the central government could address the community's concerns while maintaining constitutional balance.
During the meeting, Shah referenced a proposal that would alter administrative arrangements in the neighboring state of Sikkim, a move intended to accommodate Gorkha interests. The suggestion immediately drew sharp criticism from Sikkimese political parties and civil society groups, who argue that any change to the state's status must be debated locally.
State officials in Sikkim have called for a detailed clarification from the centre, emphasizing that the proposal could affect the delicate ethnic composition of the state. The Home Ministry has not yet released a formal statement on the specifics of the plan, but sources say the issue will be taken up in upcoming inter‑governmental talks.
The Gorkha delegation welcomed the minister's willingness to listen, while also urging swift action on pending demands such as the creation of a separate administrative unit. Observers note that the episode underscores the complex interplay between regional aspirations and national policy.
The controversy is expected to shape political discourse in both the Gorkha‑dominant hills of West Bengal and the hill state of Sikkim as elections approach later this year.
During the meeting, Shah referenced a proposal that would alter administrative arrangements in the neighboring state of Sikkim, a move intended to accommodate Gorkha interests. The suggestion immediately drew sharp criticism from Sikkimese political parties and civil society groups, who argue that any change to the state's status must be debated locally.
State officials in Sikkim have called for a detailed clarification from the centre, emphasizing that the proposal could affect the delicate ethnic composition of the state. The Home Ministry has not yet released a formal statement on the specifics of the plan, but sources say the issue will be taken up in upcoming inter‑governmental talks.
The Gorkha delegation welcomed the minister's willingness to listen, while also urging swift action on pending demands such as the creation of a separate administrative unit. Observers note that the episode underscores the complex interplay between regional aspirations and national policy.
The controversy is expected to shape political discourse in both the Gorkha‑dominant hills of West Bengal and the hill state of Sikkim as elections approach later this year.