No trade licences for shops without Nepali signboards: GTA chief
Times of India | 1 September 2025
Darjeeling: Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) chief Anit Thapa on Sunday directed Darjeeling municipality to cancel trade licences of shops that fail to display signboards in Nepali.
Speaking at the culmination of week-long Nepali Language Day celebrations, Thapa said, "Shops that fail to display signboards in Nepali should have their trade licenses cancelled."
He added: "The struggle to have our language recognised wasn't easy. In honour of that struggle, we must ensure Nepali finds its rightful place in public spaces. At the very least, in our own land, our language must be visible and respected."
He went on to say that the Nepali has often been used for political gain instead of it being used in everyday parlance. "We repeatedly requested that shop signboards in Darjeeling be written in Nepali and instructed that Nepali must be used in offices and other concerned departments in GTA areas, but this has not been implemented."
"While rules can be imposed by force, such compliance would be short-lived. If people adopt it out of their own will, the practice will last much longer," said Thapa at Gorkha Rangamanch Bhavan in Darjeeling.
The GTA chief announced that as a tribute to the long struggle for Nepali language, the administration will build a welcome gate at Simulbari near Rohini on the outskirts of Siliguri. The gate will feature replicas of khukuris on both sides serving as pillars, bearing the inscription ‘Bhasa Hamro Praan Ho'.