Click to play videoDarjeeling: Students and teachers of Darjeeling's boarding schools are praying a repeat of the violent 1986 movement does not happen this time around.
Principal Mount Hermon school, George Fernandez says, "If the Morcha says the town will open, it will open. When they say, the town will close, it will close. Gorkhaland is already here."
At Loreto Convent, Darjeeling's oldest school, everyone's concerned about the effect the GJM's demand would have on education.
"The level of tension higher than usual and we get up every morning wondering if things are going to be okay,” says Principal Loreto Convent, Sister Teresa.
With over 10,000 students in 40 residential schools in Darjeeling, the call for Gorkhaland brings with it a fear of student exodus.
"Last week, three of our Class XI students were withdrawn and they have gone to a school in Siliguri,” says Sister Teresa.
And it is not just boarding schools. The unrest spells trouble for Darjeeling's tea industry as well. Estimates suggest that consignments worth several crores are stuck in the hills.
President Tea Association of India, Shashank Prasad says, "There is a loss incurring everyday."
With exports hit, this fall in earnings will affect plantation workers who make up nearly half the hill population.
So what is the way ahead? The GJM knows the Gorkha cause remains stuck between with their leaders bargaining capabilities with the powers that be and a violent outburst of their sentiments.
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