Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday, 22 August announced the formation of a new committee led by former Border Security Force (BSF) Director General Pankaj Kumar Singh to chart a path toward a permanent political solution for the hills of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Kurseong in northern West Bengal. The decision emerged from a pivotal tripartite meeting held at Sukna near Siliguri in Darjeeling district.

Key Developments at the Sukna Meeting

The tripartite meeting, chaired by Shah, brought together a broad cross-section of political stakeholders. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha member from Darjeeling Raju Bista, and the three BJP legislators from the hill Assembly constituencies — Noman Rai (Darjeeling), Bharat Kumar Chhetri (Kalimpong), and Sonam Lama (Kurseong) — were all present.

Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) President Bimal Gurung and General Secretary Roshan Giri attended alongside Man Ghisingh, current President of the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) and son of GNLF founder Subash Ghisingh.

What the New Committee Will Do

The committee, with Pankaj Kumar Singh serving as interlocutor, is mandated to visit the hills, Terai, and Dooars regions before submitting a report to the Union Home Ministry. According to sources familiar with the proceedings, the proposal was accepted by representatives of both GJM and GNLF.

Notably, Singh's name had already been announced as interlocutor ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections; Saturday's development formalises a full committee structure under his leadership.

BJP's Manifesto Commitment and Scope of the Solution

The BJP's Sankalp Patra for the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly polls had pledged a permanent political solution for the hills — crucially, without separating the hills or the adjacent plains of the Terai and Dooars from West Bengal. The new committee is expected to work within that framework.

This is a significant constraint: past demands from hill groups have at various points included calls for a separate state of Gorkhaland, a demand that successive central governments have declined to entertain. The current exercise appears aimed at resolving long-standing political grievances through an administrative and political settlement short of statehood.

What Political Leaders Said

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, BJP MP Raju Bista said the Gorkha community had been pressing its demands for a long time. 'The leadership of various political parties today expressed their views before the Union Home Minister. Our Chief Minister has also presented his statement. After listening to everything, our Union Home Minister Amit Shah has given the solution. A new committee had been formed by the Union Home Minister with the former BSF DG leading it as the interlocutor. Our Gorkha brothers will now get more than they had been hoping,' Bista said.

What Comes Next

The committee is expected to begin field visits to the hills, Terai, and Dooars shortly, gathering inputs from local stakeholders before presenting its recommendations to the Home Ministry. The timeline for the final report has not been made public. How the Centre translates those recommendations into a durable political arrangement — and whether it satisfies the aspirations of hill communities — will be closely watched.