After two decades of armed struggle for a separate state, more than one million ethnic Nepalese Gurkhas in India’s northeast are hoping their new plain-speaking leader will deliver them the homeland they have long yearned for.

In the hilly tea-growing region of Darjeeling — where the Gurkhas constitute the majority — the demand for a new state within India dates back to almost a century, when the country was under British colonial rule.

This time, however, it is hard to find anyone, even among the non-Gurkhas who have lived in this scenic region for decades, who does not back and believe in the possibility of a "Gurkhaland".

One of the reasons for this new, quiet optimism is the emergence of a political leader who has been dubbed a local "Robin Hood" by many for raising money to help poor people learn new skills and get jobs.

"People say all that because they have seen my work. I have risen to this position from the bottom," Gurkha leader Bimal Gurung said, sitting in his tiny Darjeeling office full of posters and table-top statues of Hindu gods.

Gurung, 44, split last year from the Gurkha party that had led the earlier movement for a homeland to form his own political outfit.

Though the Bengal state in which Darjeeling is located has firmly rejected the Gurkha demand, Gurung says he will have a new state.

"I am confident that we will get Gurkhaland by 2010. Most leaders come forward for votes but I am not interested in being a minister," Gurung said. "I am just a conduit for people’s aspirations. The Gurkhaland is meant for today’s generation."

Gurkhas, most of whom were brought to the Darjeeling hills by the British when they started tea plantations in the region in the 1840s, say they deserve a homeland because of their ethnicity, different language and culture.

The question of identity is an emotional subject in the region, where violent protests broke out last year after a Gurkha man was mocked by a radio station after he won the popular Indian idol singing contest on television.

Gurung was quick to capitalize on the new wave of pride since he had earned a major share of credit for singer’s victory by raising money to encourage people to send phone messages to vote for him. The singer, Prashant Tamang, has since become a Darjeeling hero.

"He is my kid. Being a father, I had to take him under my wing, but I don’t want him to join politics," Gurung said. "He is a good singer and I want him to sing."

It is this ability to connect with people that has made Gurkhas throw their weight behind Gurung.

"He is sincere. He does not seem to be interested in wealth or power, that’s why people think he can get them Gurkhaland," said a local hotel owner.