Darjeeling

This article is about the municipality in West Bengal, India. For the district, see Darjeeling district. For the tea, see Darjeeling tea. For other uses, see Darjeeling (disambiguation).

Darjeeling
Town
Left to right from top: Darjeeling with Kangchenjunga, the world's third-highest mountain, rising behind it; a Darjeeling Himalayan Railway train en route to the main train station; a tea garden, or tea plantation
Map
Interactive map of Darjeeling
Coordinates: 27°02′15″N 88°15′47″E / 27.03750°N 88.26306°E / 27.03750; 88.26306
CountryIndia
StateWest Bengal
DistrictDarjeeling
SettledLeased in 1835 from Tsugphud Namgyal, the Chogyal of the Kingdom of Sikkim, and annexed in 1849.[1][2][3] Municipality, 1 July 1850.[4][5]
Founded byBritish East India Company, during Company rule in India[6][7]
Government
 • TypeMunicipality
 • BodyDarjeeling Municipality
 • ChairmanDipen Thakuri[8]
Area
[a]
 • Total7.43 km2 (2.87 sq mi)
Elevation
[b]
2,045 m (6,709 ft)
Population
 (2011)[c][d][e]
 • Total118,805
 • Density15,990/km2 (41,400/sq mi)
Languages
 • OfficialBengali and Nepali[13]
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)

Darjeeling (/dɑːrˈdʒiːlɪŋ/,[14] Nepali: [ˈdard͡ziliŋ], Bengali: [ˈdarˌdʒiliŋ]) is a city in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of 2,045 metres (6,709 ft).[10] To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, to the east the Kingdom of Bhutan, to the north the Indian state of Sikkim, and farther north the Tibet Autonomous Region region of China. Bangladesh lies to the south and southeast, and most of the state of West Bengal lies to the south and southwest, connected to the Darjeeling region by a narrow tract. Kangchenjunga, the world's third-highest mountain, rises to the north and is prominently visible on clear days.[f][16]

In the early 19th century, during East India Company rule in India, Darjeeling was identified as a potential summer retreat for British officials, soldiers and their families. The narrow mountain ridge was leased from the Kingdom of Sikkim, and eventually annexed to British India. Experimentation with growing tea on the slopes below Darjeeling was highly successful. Thousands of labourers were recruited chiefly from Nepal to clear the forests, build European-style cottages and work in the tea plantations. The widespread deforestation displaced the indigenous peoples. Residential schools were established in and around Darjeeling for the education of children of the domiciled British in India. By the late-19th century, a novel narrow-gauge mountain railway, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, was bringing summer residents into the town and carrying a freight of tea out for export to the world. After India's independence in 1947, as the British left Darjeeling, its cottages were purchased by wealthy Indians from the plains and its tea plantations by out-of-town Indian business owners and conglomerates.

Darjeeling's population today is constituted largely of the descendants of the indigenous and immigrant labourers that were employed in the original development of the town. Although their common language, the Nepali language, has been given official recognition at the state and federal levels in India, the recognition has created little meaningful employment for the language's speakers nor has it increased their ability to have a significantly greater say in their political affairs. The tea industry and tourism are the mainstays of the town's economy. Deforestation in the region after India's independence has caused environmental damage, affecting the perennial springs that supply the town's water. The population of Darjeeling meanwhile has exploded over the years, and unregulated construction, traffic congestion and water shortages are common. Many young locals, educated in government schools, have taken to migrating out for the lack of jobs matching their skills. Like out-migrants from other regions of northeastern India, they have been subjected to discrimination and racism in some Indian cities.

Darjeeling's culture is highly cosmopolitan—a result of diverse ethnic groups intermixing and evolving away from their historical roots. The region's indigenous cuisine is rich in fermented foods and beverages. Tourists have flocked to Darjeeling since the mid-19th century. In 1999, after an international campaign for its support, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. In 2005, Darjeeling tea was given geographical indication by the World Trade Organization as much for the protection of the brand as for the development of the region that produces it.

  1. ^ Shneiderman & Middleton 2018, p. 6.
  2. ^ Dasgupta 1999, pp. 47–48.
  3. ^ Middleton 2021, pp. 85–86.
  4. ^ Mondal & Roychowdhury 2018, p. 368.
  5. ^ Lamb 1986, p. 71.
  6. ^ Bhattacharya 2022, pp. 319–320.
  7. ^ Bhattacharya 2022, pp. 325–326.
  8. ^ "TMC props BGPM at civic helm". The Telegraph. 17 January 2023. Archived from the original on 26 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  9. ^ a b Chhetri & Lepcha 2021, p. 319.
  10. ^ a b Rahamtulla, Roy & Khasim 2020, p. 157.
  11. ^ Mandal, Dilip (13 May 2022). "Decade without data – Why India is delaying Census when US, UK, China went ahead during Covid". The Print. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022. In all likelihood, India will not have its decadal census any time soon. The logjam is such that it may lead to a situation where a whole decade goes by without any official data on India and Indians. 2021 was a Census year and the Narendra Modi government decided not to conduct it due to the Covid pandemic. Now, Home Minister Amit Shah has said that the next Census will be an e-survey and carried out by 2024—it will be India's first 'digital Census'.
  12. ^ Mondal & Roychowdhury 2018, p. 367.
  13. ^ "Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India: 50th report (delivered to the Lokh Sabha in 2014)" (PDF). National Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. p. 95. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  14. ^ "Darjeeling". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 17 August 2022. Pronunciation: Brit. Eng. /dɑːˈdʒiːlɪŋ/, U.S. Eng /dɑrˈdʒilɪŋ/ (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  15. ^ Spate & Learmonth 2017, p. 476.
  16. ^ Bernbaum 2022, p. 32.


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