Parts of Siliguri were put under a curfew and the Army called out to stage a flag march on Friday after supporters of the Prashant Tamang Fan Club, fuming for the past two days over a derogatory remark made by a radio jockey about their Indian Idol hero, refused to let an ambulance cross their procession. Members of the fan club were taking a procession to the Siliguri SDO’s office to submit a memorandum against the offending FM channel, when some people taking a patient in an ambulance to the Siliguri Zilla Parishad Hospital sought right of way. The tussle turned into a full-fledged battle with cars being burnt, and police had to fire tear gas shells to disperse the warring groups. Over a 100 people including 50 policemen were injured. Darjeeling District Magistrate Rajesh Pandey said the police had to fire blanks in the air to stop the violence.Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said he had ordered the Home Department, which he heads, to take action against the radio channel which aired the item. “There is still tension there. I have called out the army. I have also talked to the Union Home Ministry on this issue,” Bhattacharjee told reporters at the CPI(M)’s headquarters at Alimuddin Street. Meanwhile, Delhi’s Gorkha community has also approached I&B Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi and Home Minister Shivraj Patil to intervene. “The management of the FM channel has refused to give a written apology after the RJ’s remarks hurt the sentiments of the community,” said Dr Enos Das Pradhan, vice-president of the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh in Delhi.Following Tamang’s victory in the Indian Idol contest, RJ Nitin’s casual remark the next morning that with a Gorkha’s victory all the mall owners and shopkeepers in Delhi should now be prepared to do the “chowkidaari” of their shops themselves, sparked off protests in the Darjeeling hills. Representatives of the community say the RJ’s remarks perpetuate the stereotype of every Gorkha being a chowkidaar or a security guard which hurt the sentiments of fans and the community. “The Gorkha or the Indian Nepalese community came together and voted for Tamang. Everyone can put two and two together and the RJ’s comment implies that all Gorkhas are chowkidaars and sell momos on the streets of Delhi,” said Dr YK Shrestha, Delhi-based businessman who immediately called up the RJ after hearing his comment.“I told him that his comments were offensive and asked him to apologise but he didn’t. Though he tried to clarify his remarks by saying that Prashant was a policeman and with even the cops celebrating his victory, Delhi’s security was under danger,” he added.Kurseong and Kalimpong towns went on strike two days ago. Friday’s protest in Siliguri turned violent and led to clashes between the Nepalis and the non-Nepali groups.“The media is generally responsible for perpetuating this image particularly in films where a chowkidaar is usually shown to be a Gorkha. We forget that Gorkhas are soldiers and that there is a regiment called the Gorkha Regiment in the Army,” said Pradhan, adding that a similar incident had taken place last year when another FM channel had defined Gorkhas as night watchmen.
