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@article{186043,
        author = {Edwin Rezon Aden},
        title = {Lepchas in Kalimpong District: An Ethno-methodological Analysis},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2025},
        volume = {12},
        number = {6},
        pages = {160-167},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=186043},
        abstract = {Lepchas are the original inhabitants of Sikkim and Darjeeling Hills and have an important place in the historical narrative of the region. Colonial discourses of British administrators have mostly typecast Lepchas as “quiet” and “shy”. Contemporary politics has however shed a different light on the community which has begun to assert its distinct identity without any apologies. In the wake of the Gorkhaland movement, dominant majority in Darjeeling hills comprising of Nepalis co-opted the Lepchas within larger Gorkha identity. This was done through a process of a liberal interpretation of Nepali identity consisting of various ethnic groups. Lepchas who did not openly resist the assimilation within the Nepali/Gorkha community are now beginning to assert their distinctness. In 2008 most of the minority communities like Lepchas, did not support separate state demand of Gorkhaland within the Indian Union. Despite being in numerical minority, Lepchas have started intervening effectively in the politics of Darjeeling hills. Ethnicity and identity issues have led to the establishment of organisations like Indigenous Lepcha Tribal Association and Mayel Lyang Lepcha Development Board which are leading to increase consciousness among Lepchas about their crisis of identity during the age of globalization. Mayel Lyang Lepcha Development Board was a huge milestone for Lepcha community hitherto perceived as docile and accommodating by colonial discourses. This paper proposes to investigate how ethnicity and identity have an important role to play in the political outlook and participation of the Lepchas in Darjeeling Hills. The question of how Lepcha identity as moulded by colonial discourses have been responded to, refuted, and revised by the community will also be looked into.},
        keywords = {Colonial Discourse, Ethnicity, Identity, Lepchas},
        month = {October},
        }