Dehradun: Thousands of people from the Gorkha community and different Gorkha organisations of Uttarakhand came together to be a part of a ‘solidarity rally’ held in support of the demand for Gorkhaland in Dehradun on Sunday. Terming their demand as a ‘just and legitimate one’, the Gorkhas who assembled under the aegis of the Gorkhali Sudhar Sabha said that it was time that the hills of Darjeeling — where the largest numbers of Gorkhas in the country reside — should be de-merged from West Bengal on linguistic and cultural grounds to form the new state of Gorkhaland.“The Gorkha community has contributed a great deal to nation building and over the years, has gained laurels for its courage, discipline and bravery across the world. In fact, currently, around 50,000 Gorkha soldiers are dedicatedly manning the borders of the country as part of the Indian Army. The call for Gorkhaland has spread all across the country, primarily because our identity is always questioned. Unless you have a land of your own which you can call home, your being a citizen of India will always be questioned, which is why we want our own home state”, said Lt Gen (retd) Shakti Gurung, spokesperson of the rally.Amidst slogans of ‘Jai Gorkhali’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, the rallyists which included a number of students walked from Parade Ground till Gandhi Park in the afternoon. Usha Chettri, a 21 year old girl studying in the city said, “We are from India but since we speak Nepali, we are often asked if we have come from Nepal. That is why we need a separate state. For Punjabis, there is Punjab, for Gujaratis Gujarat and for Bengalis, there is Bengal. Isn't it fair that for Gorkhas, there should be a Gorkhaland?”Another student Sandeep Chettri said, “We have all been asked at some point if we are refugees. We want a state we can call our own home so that we do not have to answer these absurd questions ever.”Prabha Shah, media in-charge of the Gorkhali Sudhar Sabha told TOI, “Our demand of a state we can call our own is very legitimate and over 100 years old. It is high time something is done in this regard soon so that our dream of Gorkhaland is realised.”

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