In September 2007, Prashant Tamang from Darjeeling in West Bengal won Indian Idol, a TV show much similar to its American and UK counterparts. The contest, in its final stages was a shock to many in India as both finalists were from the Northeast of the country (the runner up, Amit Paul hails from Shillong), away from the metropolitan cities of the plains, and while Prashant's win may not have had families in Chennai and Mumbai glued to their seats, his victory was hugely celebrated in Darjeeling, Sikkim and Nepal itself, where street parties lasted well into the night in the capital, as Nepalis and Nepali speakers celebrated the success of one of their own.
Musical Success and Politics In West Bengal
Tamang's musical success may have brought with it a political awakening to the Nepali speaking people of West Bengal, long seen as belonging to the periphery sections of Indian society: "the multi-racial Nepali community had united like never before to vote for Tamang, with the marginalized Indian-Nepali community seeing an opportunity to 'prove' to the rest of the country that it did count" (Himal Southasian, Apr '08). Indeed, a radio presenter in Delhi sparked riots in Siliguri in West Bengal after making derogatory comments on Tamang's ethnicity. With this new rise of Gorkhali (a name that loosely describes inhabitants of the hills of Nepal and parts of India) nationalism, the quest for a separate state of Gorkhaland, independent of West Bengal has definitely been given a fresh impetus.Read more: "Indian Idol And Gorkha Nationalism: Darjeeling Singer Prashant Tamang Inspires Calls For Gorkha State" .
Musical Success and Politics In West Bengal
Tamang's musical success may have brought with it a political awakening to the Nepali speaking people of West Bengal, long seen as belonging to the periphery sections of Indian society: "the multi-racial Nepali community had united like never before to vote for Tamang, with the marginalized Indian-Nepali community seeing an opportunity to 'prove' to the rest of the country that it did count" (Himal Southasian, Apr '08). Indeed, a radio presenter in Delhi sparked riots in Siliguri in West Bengal after making derogatory comments on Tamang's ethnicity. With this new rise of Gorkhali (a name that loosely describes inhabitants of the hills of Nepal and parts of India) nationalism, the quest for a separate state of Gorkhaland, independent of West Bengal has definitely been given a fresh impetus.Read more: "Indian Idol And Gorkha Nationalism: Darjeeling Singer Prashant Tamang Inspires Calls For Gorkha State" .
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