At least 100 people have been arrested after holding protests in India Darjeeling West Bengal .
Those held are members of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) party who are campaigning for a separate state for Nepali-speaking Gorkhas in the region.
The GJM says thousands of its members have been arrested this year. Police say most are quickly released.
Correspondents say that tensions are escalating ahead of state elections.
The West Bengal government is still awaiting a response from Delhi
It has issued warrants for the arrests of 15 top Gorkha leaders.
The BBC's Uma Kanta Khanal on the border between Nepal India
The Gorkha campaign for a separate state started in the early 1980s but a settlement that gave them considerable autonomy brought the movement to an end in 1988.
However, three years ago, the movement was resumed by Gorkha hardliners who believe the autonomy arrangement has not worked.
By Chris Morris
BBC News, Darjeeling
Driving up into the Darjeeling
The green, white and yellow of Gorkhaland is everywhere - painted on walls, on curb stones, on banners and posters.
"Welcome to Gorkhaland", they boldly declare. "Gorkhaland is our birthright."
The central government's apparent willingness to create a new state in south India
If they can do it, the Gorkhas ask, why can't we?
'Ready to fight'
At 94 years old and now profoundly deaf, PB Tamang has seen it all before.
He is a Gurkha veteran who fought for the British in Burma Malaya .
Sitting in his garden, sipping a cup of tea, he listened patiently as members of his family shouted questions in his ear.
"I'm ready to fight again," he declared, punching the air for emphasis, "this time for Gorkhaland."
While most Gurkhas who served in the British army are from Nepal
Mr Tamang still receives a British pension of £470 per month.
His brother-in-law, IB Tamang, another British veteran, says things are peaceful at the moment.
But resentment is simmering just beneath the surface.
"If the demand is not conceded by the government," he warned, "it might bring a great upheaval, and it might bring bloodshed."
Back in the 1980s more than 1,000 people were killed in a violent uprising in these hills, but for now the battle lines have been re-drawn.
Hunger strike
The focus is on peaceful protest and passive resistance, following in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi.
There have been a series of hunger strikes across the region.
On one bitterly cold morning recently I watched as 21 men lay in a makeshift tent opposite the district magistrate's office in Darjeeling
None of them had taken food or fluids for several days.
One man was screaming out in pain as severe dehydration began to take its toll. Doctors tried in vain to comfort him.
"We just want Gorkhaland for our identity," said another of the hunger strikers, David Rai, a 54-year-old teacher huddled beneath several blankets.
Speaking in a voice weak with exhaustion, he told me that the Gorkhas didn't belong in the state of West Bengal .
"We are Indians. But when we go elsewhere in India
So Darjeeling
The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), the movement at the forefront of the Gorkhaland campaign, has even sought to ban alcohol to avoid anyone paying excise duty.
But there are also whispers of coercion, and suggestions that dissent isn't really tolerated.
"No, it isn't true," replied Bimal Gurung, the GJM leader.
"Our movement is trying to appeal to everyone in the hills, including minority groups. We're not out to isolate anyone and we're not out to intimidate anyone."
Money matters
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A 94 years old PB Tamang says he is ready to fight again |
On Darjeeling
Almost 70% of the local population rely on the estates in some way for their livelihood.
So what effect would a declaration of Gorkhaland actually have on the local economy? In the end, it all comes down to money.
"I think the tea industry would stand to gain," says Sandeep Mukherjee, the Secretary of the Darjeeling Tea Association.
"My personal view is that with more funds being allocated, the infrastructure of this region is likely to come up and the industry would benefit."
On Darjeeling
On the surface, it is an impressive display of local patriotism and support for the cause.
'Do not split'
And similar demands for statehood are springing up right across this vast country.
"We're an ancient civilisation but a young nation," said Ram Guha, one of India
"I think we're still finding the best political forms to meet the aspirations of our people - how big our states should be, and what the respective powers of the centre, the state and local municipalities should be."
Current state governments are understandably cautious. They don't want their powers diluted.
Chief Minister of West Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has already rejected the Gorkhaland demand and warned that the situation will become "complicated" if the GJM refuses to be flexible.
"I'm once again telling them," he told a recent public rally, "not to think about splitting from us."
But Ram Guha is one of those who argue that it could be time to have another look at how the Indian political system is organised.
"I don't think we should be unduly worried about these demands, and I don't think they threaten the unity of India
"They are manifestations of a certain discontent with the present arrangements."
The trouble is that India
But the Gorkhas have always been a proud, martial race.
And they seem determined to fight for this cause - for their own cause - for as long as it takes.
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