Gorkhaland (Nepali: गोर्खाल्याण्ड) is the name of the proposed state in India demanded by the Nepali/Gorkhali-speaking Nepali/Gorkha ethnic group in Darjeeling and the Dooars in north West Bengal since 1907. Gorkhaland (Nepali: गोर्खाल्याण्ड) is the name of the proposed state in India demanded by the Nepali/Gorkhali-speaking Nepali/Gorkha ethnic group in Darjeeling and the Dooars in north West Bengal. The demand for a separate administrative unit in this region has existed since 1907, when the Hillmen's Association of Darjeeling submitted a memorandum to Minto-Morley Reforms demanding a separate administrative setup. View of Darjeeling, where the Gorkhaland movement is based
In Independent India, Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League (ABGL) was the first political party from the region to demand greater identity for the Gorkha ethnic group and economic freedom for the community. The movement for a separate state of Gorkhaland gained serious momentum during the 1980s, when a violent agitation was carried out by Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) led by Subhash Ghising. The agitation ultimately led to the establishment of a semiautonomous body in 1988 called the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) to govern certain areas of Darjeeling district. However, in 2008, a new party called the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) raised the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland once again. On 18 April 2011, GJM signed an agreement with the state and central governments for the formation of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, a semiautonomous body that would replace the DGHC in the Darjeeling hills.
