THE Centre on Saturday constituted a committee to draft an agreement and finalise modalities for a “permanent political solution” within the constitutional framework to the Gorkha identity issue in the Darjeeling hills and adjoining areas, officials tripartite meeting involving Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Gorkha leaders and the West Bengal Government. The development comes amid the longstanding demand for greater political recognition, autonomy and protection of the distinct linguistic, cultural and ethnic identity of the region’s predominantly Gorkha population. “All issues relating to the hill population of West Bengal were discussed in detail. Their demands pertaining to a distinct identity, a permanent political solution and recognition under the Constitution of India were taken up. The Union Home Minister promised a permanent political solution soon under the umbrella of the Constitution,” a statement issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said.

 

“To finalise modalities, it was decided to form a committee under Shri Pankaj Kumar Singh, former deputy national security advisor and current interlocutor, to finalise the details regarding the final agreement that will be drafted towards a permanent political solution for the people of the hill areas of West Bengal under the Constitution of India,” the statement added. Shah, the release said, also promised to sympathetically look into all other demands of the community. “He said adequate funding from the Centre will ensure all pending issues are taken care of,” the communication added. The meeting, held at a hotel in Sukna in the Darjeeling foothills on the third and final day of Shah’s visit to the State, was chaired by the

 

Union Home Minister and attended by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and leaders of various political parties of the hills and other stakeholders of the region. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung, and the party’s senior leader Roshan Giri, Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) chief Mann Ghisingh, several state ministers and BJP MLAs from the hills, besides senior officials of the state government, were among those present at the meeting. Also present were BJP MPs Raju Bista and Harshvardhan Singla, MoS, Hill Affairs Bishal Lama, MLAs Bharat Chettri, Sonam Lama and Noman Rai, among others. In October 2025, the MHA appointed Pankaj Kumar Singh, a retired IPS officer and former BSF director general who served as deputy national security adviser from 2023 to 2025, as the Government’s interlocutor for issues relating to the Darjeeling hills, Dooars and Terai. His role focuses on leading political dialogue and addressing long-standing demands of the Gorkha community.