Mountain autocrat, still

Political leaders in the Darjeeling hills talk with conspiratorial relish about the Qinghai-Lhasa railway that China has recently finished constructing in Tibet, slated to open in July. The hushed tones do not necessarily reveal any immediate fear, as much as they underline a prevalent perception in this place tucked away in India's eastern Himalaya: that far-away forces are at work here, forces that the people understand little, over which they have even less control. Why this fear over the faraway railway? Much of the prevalent paranoia in Darjeeling about issues and events near and far has to do with the waywardness of the ruling satrap, Subash Ghisingh. And also the fact that the authorities – of a country that prides itself on being the world's largest democracy – have declined to conduct major local elections here for over two years.

The plot thickens as hill politics remain outside of most locals' comprehension – a confusion that is only compounded when local politics mesh with matters of culture and religion. During this year's Buddha Jayanti celebrations, for instance, the hill people witnessed the introduction of a 'Living Buddha' from Malaysia. The event was organised by the cultural department of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) after the political leadership declared that the Buddhists of the region – a significant chunk of the population – had thus far been worshipping a "dead Buddha".