The Rowdies of Darjeeling

‘Rowdies or rowdy’ refers to a person who fits somewhere between a gangster and a goon, not a criminal per se but prone to crime and violence, usually at the behest of political leaders. ‘Rowdies’ are the face of political movements, an integral and ubiquitous feature of Darjeeling politics. Their centrality to popular movements indicates a form of hill politics that challenges accepted notions of political participation, democracy, and mobilization. The essay engages in an assessment of the political culture of Darjeeling through the perspective of the ‘rowdies’ who are a product of the social, political, and material circumstances of postcolonial Darjeeling. It examines the vital role that ‘rowdies’ play in shaping the political terrain of the region and how their lives provide a context through which to understand contemporary state and society in Darjeeling.