Today marks the completion of two months of continuous Internet shutdown in Darjeeling, West Bengal. Two months back, on 19th June, 2017, mobile Internet services were blocked in the town following deaths of party supporters in violent clashes between the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and security forces after the former called for a complete strike in its agitation for a separate Gorkhaland.

The protests set off in the city after the house of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) president Bimal Gurung was raided by the police and security forces. The raids are believed to have been conducted following his party’s opposition over the State Government’s decision to make Bengali language mandatory in schools. A majority Gorkha population in Darjeeling and adjoining hills speaks Nepali language. An indefinite strike was called by GJM supporters after the raids, with the protest turning into a demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland.