Lepchas of Darjeeling district of West Bengal are presently on road under the banner of Lepcha Rights Movement to protect their ethnic tribal identity and to restore dignity. This ethnic tribal group is the only indigenous person of Darjeeling district of West Bengal and Sikkim. In West Bengal they live mostly in three hill sub-divisions viz. Kalimpong, Kurseong and Darjeeling. Despite being the oldest tribal population of this region, they are presently the most vulnerable communities in the hills by means of dwindling population, and are continuously forced from different corners to destroy their ethnic identity and culture. In many cases they are categorised by the Government as just Sikkimese. This identity crisis makes them agitated and creates a ethno-socio mobilisation among this simple tribal people to maintain their ethnic originality.
The present paper deals with the crisis of tribal identity of Lepchas, and potentiality of their movement becoming ethno-political movement in the present socio-political situation of the Darjeeling hill region of West Bengal and its surrounding areas.
Lepchas, Tribal, Darjeeling, Ethno-political movement
