Paper short abstract:

This paper investigates the political effects of the globalized banding of Darjeeling (across heritage tourism, tea certification and popular culture) on the contemporary movement for a Gorkhaland state.

Paper long abstract:

Is Darjeeling merely a label? What becomes of Darjeeling as a place when its commodified avatars take over the global imagination of the area? How does such processes of 'non-place-making', prevalent with reference to many locations across the world, condition local politics of place? This paper investigates the political effects of the globalized banding of Darjeeling on the contemporary movement for a Gorkhaland state. From homesick colonial longings for the helaty, calm and orderly hills to the contemporary tourism fantasies of Darjeeling as an 'Asian Switzerland', from Santyajit Ray's Kanchanjangha to Anurag Basu's Barfi! the paper documents the prevalent imagination of Darjeeling as a tranquil hills station. On this basis, the paper discusses tensions and alliances between this imagination and the imagination of a Gorkhaland state.