#110 6 - 12 September 2002 16 pages Rs 20

Weekly Internet Poll # 49

Q. Has the CIAA done enough, or should itgo after the big fish?

Q. Does it really matter who gets the treesymbol?

Weekly Internet Poll # 50. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.com

Total votes: 1335

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

RAMYATA LIMBUears of pre-poll violence, the emergency, an international slump inair travel post-September 11 and fears of India-Pakistan tensionscontinue to keep tourists away from Nepal. Bookings for the

autumn season are down, and cancellations are coming in.Although it is picking up again in southeast Asia, tourism shows no

signs of recovery here. Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has tried to put on abrave face by saying that arrivals are up 35 percent this July comparedto July 2001. But that is misleading because last July saw a seriouspost-royal massacre slump.

Saskia is a Dutch tourist who was all set to travel to India and Nepalthis autumn. But on advice of the Dutch government, she’s decided topostpone her plans to visit the region. Lina is a Swede, but she hasdecided to defy her government’s travel alert for Nepal and is coming fora trek in October. On Thursday, the US embassy upgraded its traveladvisory for Nepal in lieu of the 16 September Maoist strike sayingAmericans and other tourists could be at risk.

“Traffic to Nepal has been affected by travel advisories issued bythe US, Britain and many European countries deterring travel to India,”NTB says. Still, the promotional body says Indian arrivals are double lastyear’s figures, and there have been dramatic increases from Australiaand Japan. But the downturn for the main markets—Britain, the US,Germany and France—continues.

“The unrest in Afghanistan, India-Pakistan tension and Nepal’s owninternal problems have impactedheavily on tourism. Things don’tlook too encouraging,” saysSuman Pandey, President of theTrekking Agents Association ofNepal (TAAN).

Nepal was voted the second“top travel destination” in Maythis year, ranking after NewZealand in a survey by theGuardian newspaper in London.The accolade came six monthsafter Nepal was voted second inthe Top Country Category out of180 countries in the WanderlustTravel Awards 2001. But suchdistinction does not show inarrival figures.

One year after September 11, tourism hasn’t picked up.

OOOOOne year laterne year laterne year laterne year laterne year later by Daniel Lakby Daniel Lakby Daniel Lakby Daniel Lakby Daniel Lak p4OUROUROUROUROURDOUBLEDOUBLEDOUBLEDOUBLEDOUBLETRIANGLETRIANGLETRIANGLETRIANGLETRIANGLEp8-9

see p6

RO

BIN

SAYA

MI

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

ANALYSIS by RAJENDRA DAHALhe two protagonists in the presentcrisis—the extreme right and theextreme left—want the same thing: an

extension of the emergency, and neither sidecares too much for elections. The constitutionhas provided polls as a way out of thisstalemate, but they are not going to let thepeople vote.

That is the paradox of Nepal’s politics:the enemies seem to want the same result. Andthey are pitted against parliamentary partiesand Nepalis who haven’t given up ondemocracy. There are signs the extremeright is now more royal than the king, andthe resignation Thursday of the king’snominee to the upper house, Dipta PrakashShah, is an indication that his views weretoo hardline to digest.

Shah told us: “I resigned because I sensedthat certain forces didn’t like what I had saidabout the role of the constitutionalmonarchy.” In an interview with Rajdhani,Shah had said Tuesday that the king can

use Article 127 to amend the constitution andtake necessary powers. The resignation showsthat political regression may not be as easy asthe rightists want.

Given this undercurrent, it doesn’t seem tomatter anymore which faction of the Congressgets the tree symbol. Or if the emergency isextended or not. In fact, even without aformal emergency, the country is in a stateof emergency.

Since the emergency went into force inNovember, no one won. Everyone lost.Parliamentary parties have been emasculated, theMaoists are weakened, the strength of the armyhas been dragged into public debate, the office of

T No one won, everyone lost

F

prime minister is even lesspowerful than it was, and themonarchy’s public image isquiescent. Who benefited from all this?Certainly not the Nepali people.

They have been the biggest losers. Theeconomy has been battered, investments are

zero, unemployment is rife. They have lostpurchasing power, markets, food supply, healthservices, education, and personal security.Caught between the ruthlessness of theMaoists and counter-attacks from securityforces, Nepalis have never before faced suchdeprivation and insecurity.

An alternative to elections would bepostponed elections. The Maoists have

squandered popularsupport, and it would bepossible for the govern-ment to keep them at bayand hold some form ofelections. But will it be

able to convince the army, the palace and certainforeign governments that it can?

The defence establishment is fairly clear that

military might alone is not going to be enoughto finish off the Maoists. The idea is to putsufficient pressure on them to bolster thebargaining position in future talks. And this isalso the intention of the Maoists who havealready begun their senseless mayhem in therun-up to the 16 September strike.

On the political front, Deuba has playedout all his cards, and his cabinet is self-destructing. The media-led campaign againstDeuba loyalist Chiranjibi Wagle this week isorchestrated by his own cabinet colleagues overconstruction contracts. “Deuba’s left hand isdestroying his right hand,” is how a politicalinsider put it. Given this scenario, and arumoured meeting between Girija Koirala andthe king on Friday, don’t be surprised if theNepali Congress begins reunification.

Waiting for breezeWaiting for breeze

Nepalis have never before faced suchdeprivation and insecurity.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

STATE OF THE STATE by CK LAL

22222 EDITORIALNepali Times is published by Himalmedia Pvt Ltd,Chief Editor: Kunda Dixit Editor: Anagha NeelakantanDesign: Kiran Maharjaneditors@nepalitimes.com, www.nepalitimes.comAdvertising: Sunaina Shah advertising@himalmedia.comSubscription: Anil Karki subscription@himalmedia.comSales: Sudan Bista sales@himalmedia.comSanchaya Kosh Building, Block A-4th Floor, LalitpurGPO Box 7251, Kathmandu, NepalTel: 01-543333-7, Fax: 01-521013Printed at Jagadamba Press: 01-521393

333336 - 12 SEPTEMBER 2002 NEPALI TIMESNATION6 - 12 SEPTEMBER 2002 NEPALI TIMES

Who will we take lessons from in forging a new, updatedrelationship with India: Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, or Sikkim?

Distant neighbours

selves among their sisters intheir own and neighboringvillages, often stitching upthe bindings of their literacyand banking handbooks topass them on to others. Thesegroups carry on, even in theheart of Maoist territory, in aremarkable non-partisanmanner bringing togetherwomen from all castes,

BANGKOK - If distance gives perspective,then there is no better place to reflect overNepal-India relations than while flying overthis vast subcontinent and watching theHimalaya recede over the northern horizon.The necessity of rethinking the bases cameout of a chance meeting with an Indiandiplomat at Bangkok transit.

South Asia’s hub these days is Bangkok.Even Prime Minister Deuba passes throughDon Muang on his way to and fromEurope. There are no flights betweenKathmandu to Colombo, or New Delhi toIslamabad, but one can go between theseplaces by flying all the way to Bangkok. Soit isn’t unusual to bump into South Asiansin the cavernous shopping mall that is thedeparture concourse of Bangkok Interna-tional Airport.

The dip in question was in a relaxedmood and began by praising the realisticgeo-politics of Nepali Maoists. Never sinceRana rule, he said, has a political force inKathmandu been as friendly towards theDelhi darbar as the Maoists. He may havebeen over-playing it for effect, but it is afact that Maoists hiding in India are notunduly worried about the Interpol RedCorner notice. Once in a while, some lowlevel Maoists are apprehended by the UttarPradesh Police and handed over to Nepal,but the big fish continue to swim back andforth across the border.

The Indian diplomat—let’s call him“ID”—urged me to think like an Indian fora moment and ask why India must remainfriendlier to Nepal than is absolutelynecessary. According to ID, Nepal hasceased to be the buffer that once cushionedthe clash of geo-political plates betweenIndia and China. Beijing is wary aboutTibetan activity in Nepal, and there is noreason why India should depend anymoreon Nepal to protect its strategic interests inthe Himalaya. ID was warming up to hisline of thinking, and added meaningfully:“In fact, Nepal magnifies problems forIndia.”

It is clear that the new breed of SouthBlock strategists see Nepal as a peskypebble in the rice bowl. There is a messagein there for us in Nepal. We can’t countanymore on the rhetoric of “age old ties ofamity and friendship” anymore. Ourrelationship has to be based on something

more tangible. If we want favours, we mustfirst know what they really want.

Back in the “buffer” days, Nepal’sindependence saved the Indian army thecost of patrolling the high, hostile frontierwith China. With Indo-Chinese detentethis buffer is less important. Meanwhile, oursouthern border now has to be guarded byan Indian border patrol that is an army byanother name. So the budgetary advantageof having Nepal as buffer has vanished.

Nepal has friendly relations withPakistan. It can’t cut off ties simply becauseNew Delhi doesn’t like it. An independentNepal cannot be an extension of Indianforeign policy even if China recognises thearea south of the Himalaya as Delhi’ssphere of influence.

We therefore have to decide what kindof relationship we want with India. We canfollow the belligerency model often adoptedby Bangladesh and brace ourselves for theconsequences. Or we can go to the otherextreme, and do the Thimpu model to winmaterial advantages by sacrificing certainemotional ones. One can’t have it bothways: Shital Niwas cannot treat SouthBlock like a distant neighbour and thenexpect geopolitical advantages that arenever unconditional. Then there is theoption of maintaining a balance: the SriLankan way.

When Sikkimese Chief Minister PawanChamling told this paper last year that itwas not Sikkim that merged into India butthe other way round, we found it a cuteremark. But it is a fact that the Sikkimesehave benefited immensely from Indianlargesse. If Nepal doesn’t adopt realistic

L E T T E R SL E T T E R SL E T T E R SL E T T E R SL E T T E R S

economic levels, and politicalpersuasions to work togetherto solve real problems throughharmonious dialogue andcollective action. There ismuch that our leaders anddevelopment agencies canlearn from them abouthealing wounds, buildingpeace, making a difference,and being “part of the

solution” instead of a “part ofthe problem”.

Malcolm Odell, Tangal

HANSAI usually like CK Lal’s col-umns, they are original andinsightful analyses of thepresent social phenomena inNepal. But I had fundamentaldifferences with the part of hiscolumn “Disadvantagedabroad” (#108) where he putsforward the theory that"HANSA" (Hindu, Aryan,Nepali-speaking Administra-tors) are the sole cause of themisery faced by our forex-earning brothers and sisters.Although the article made mefeel sorry for their plight, it alsomade me uneasy that myfavourite columnist was takingsuch a reductionist stand. Iexpected CK Lal to be morecareful in paying attention toother facets of the issue.

HOT SPOTwo world leaders most conspicuous by their absence at the Earth Summit inJohannesburg this week—as far as we were concerned—were the president of theworld’s richest country and the prime minister of one of its poorest.

The fact that Sher Bahadur Deuba didn’t attend just went to show that he knowswhich side his toast is butered: getting a Belgian gun deal unstuck. George W, for hispart, was too busy trying to carry on where daddy left off to bomb Iraq into smithereenson or before 11 September. Bush and Deuba were symbolic absentees: they sent themessage that threats to the earth’s ecosphere come from both prosperity and poverty.

Ten years ago, the senior Bush told the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro thatAmerica's lifestyle was “not up for negotiation”. His son went a step further and killed theKyoto Protocol last year, destroying even the consensus on reducing carbon emissionsthat was reached in Rio. This is proof, if proof is still needed in an age of corporatecorruption, that oil lubricates American politics.

So, four percent of the world’s population keeps burning up 25 percent of its fossilfuel. The Bush administration sees nothing wrong with its citizens emitting six tons ofcarbon dioxide per head into the atmosphere every year, when an average Europeanwith a similar lifestyle emits one third that, and an average Japanese, a quarter. (It takesnearly 300 Nepalis to burn off as much carbon dioxide as an average American.)

The resulting climate change and sea-level rise may soon wipe the Maldives off themap. There is no such thing as “my back yard” anymore, and global warming is alreadymaking a measurable impact on our mountains. Last spring, the inhabitants of Pokharafor the first time in living memory caught the apocalyptic sight of Machhapuchare as astark black pyramid devoid of any snow. The Khumbu Glacier has retreated 5 km sincethe first ascent of Mt Everest 50 years ago. Glacial lakes in Nepal and Bhutan arebrimming with melted snow, several are in danger of bursting through their morainebarriers. Malaria is climbing up the valleys, and epidemics have been reported even inKavre district. This year’s erratic monsoon is probably nature’s way of telling us that weare tampering with the equilibrium.

Johannesburg was supposed to be a historic opportunity to address the develop-ment roots of environmental problems: to see that the ecology and the economy aretwo sides of the same coin. Indeed, as we have seen in Europe, Japan and someAmerican states, eco-friendly policies actually help the economy.

But we also see governments of the South using the argument of Northern over-consumption to carry on with business as usual. Per capita carbon emission levels incountries like China and India may be small, but China is already the third largestsource of atmospheric carbon, with 12 percent of the total. In the next 15 years, Chinaand India will account for 40 percent of new carbon in the atmosphere.

China and India also provide a vivid example of the dangers of biodiversity loss.Increased affluence in China is pushing the illicit trade in tiger parts, leading to thedecimation of India’s tiger population. The tiger is a metaphor for the rest of theecosystem. The battle to save the planet through sustainable development will be wonor lost in Asia: if Asia follows the western model of economic growth the planet isdoomed.

So let’s stop this kneejerk west-bashing and start putting our own houses in order.

policies towards India, then there arechances of an action replay of the Kazi-Chogyal showdown here. The Maoists willbe only too happy to dance to that tune.

The days of dictatorial vanity couchedin the terminology of nationalism andpatriotism are long over. The disadvantagedof Nepal are no longer ready to endurenationalism on an empty stomach. Nepalistoiling in the Gulf and Malaysia now knowthat there is no particular advantageattached to a passport of one of the poorestcountries of the world that is now alsostrife-torn. When they return, as they oneday will, they will want a say in how Nepalis run. And the governing elite will then nolonger be able to fool them with thesupposed advantages of never having been acolony.

Like every other emotional Nepali, Itold ID that an independent Nepal is amoral issue, not a balance sheet. As we gotup to board our respective flights, I had toadd that an independent and prosperousNepal is still in India’s best interest.

It is clear, however, that we continue toignore the hard realities of geopolitics in thisregion at our own peril. The economicreasons are compelling enough, but now it'sclear that we need more than show-casesupport from India to control the Maoistinsurgency.

Prime Minister Deuba can re-imposethe state of emergency in the country byundermining the spirit of the constitution,but he cannot stop them from roaming freeover Indian territory.

It’s a difficult decision, but one wewill have to take sooner or later. A laterdecision may be too late if the Maoistsare indeed as friendly to their handlers asID claimed they are.

Kapil Dahal, Gorkha

“Disadvantaged abroad”by CK Lal was one of the bestreads in recent times. Espe-cially his depiction of HANSAswho make people of Mongo-lian origin miserable when youhave to obtain a passport. Ihave seen it with my own eyeswhen my uncle tried to obtaina passport, and it took nearlythree months. It would havetaken longer but my father wasfed up with the officer on dutyand paid him some money toexpedite the process. Some ofmy relatives have had prob-lems with employers inMalaysia and Kuwait, but noneof the Nepali labour officialsanywhere are the least bitinterested in helping them.There are hundreds of similarstories if you want to publishthem. If the poor and theuneducated don’t get justice

and assistance from thegovernment when they try to goabroad to work, then you willhave the unwanted conse-quences of Maoism.

R Subba, Kuwait

SELF-EMPOWERMENTAfter reading “Trading power”(#108) by Binod Bhattarai, itstruck me that Nepalis mustget over the mindset that wealways need to dance to thetune of the Indians (even iftheir cronies in this countrywould like us to believe thatwe must). Have we notlearned enough lessons bymaking deals such as Kosiand others with the Indians?We have always been anindependent country and let uscontinue to exercise ourindependence. We must usethe surplus electric power andmuch more that we cangenerate for our own use, if

AN

I R

UD

RA

SIL

WA

L

Laxmi Chaudhari of Debauli in Chitwan bought the cow with a loanfrom her village bank.

T

by KANAK MANI DIXITOPINION

he monsoon is about to end, andtogether with it may come arenewed bout of bloodletting that

the people can ill afford. The Maoists haveclearly used the period to regroup andrecruit. There are ample opportunities upahead for them to exploit the multi-layered political confusion that is about.

The Royal Nepalese Army hasestablished itself firmly in the centre-stageof Nepali polity even though till recentlythe soldiers had a strictly secondary role,demanded by the primacy of the royalpalace. Since November, the RNA hasbecome an active player in its own right.In addition to the duty towards maintain-ing the country’s integrity at this time ofextreme stress, the generals now also havea responsibility to take maximum carewhile tackling the insurgency.

The short-term tactical goals ofdefeating the Maoists must be seen by thearmy against the larger strategic goal ofmaintaining national unity within anevolving democracy. The Maoists areexploiting failures of democracy to ripsociety apart by destroying horizontallinkages among the people. The militarysurely has higher ideals than those who arecompletely lawless.

Since November, the army has had toovercome its logistical and equipmentshortfalls to fight a battle-hardened andruthless Maobadi force. The army enteredthe fray after the guerrillas had alreadygained significant momentum.

The army’s strategy is clearly to try andbreak the back of the Maobadi, and force itinto submission. But the experience so farsuggests that it is too thinly spread and as hasnot yet mustered the required striking power.The army also seems to be addressing theexpectations of the Kathmandu classes tohave the war over with quickly.

All this has resulted in an unacceptablyhigh level of civilian deaths, a fact welldocumented by the National Human RightsCommission, international watchdog groups,as well as the very diplomatic communitythat is keen to provide the army with supportin the fight against ‘terror’. As one diplomatsays, “The army is breaking too many ruleswhen it should be taking the high ground andharder road against the cruelty and mayhembeing wrought by the Maoists.”

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’sgovernment has neither the stature nor ability

General Pyar Jung Thapa takes over as Chief of Army Staffnext week. He faces the challenge of fighting the Maoistswithout sullying the image of the army.

Fighting by the rules

to exercise civilian control over the military.And with civil society largely cowed down,the army is left to set its own standards in thevacuum that exists.

In a country where there are a largenumber of grey and accidental Maoists, it hasbeen difficult for the soldiers to draw thedistinction. The bulk of the hardcoreseems to have evaded the dragnet thus far.There have been many instances ofmultiple killings in “encounters”, andmistakes have not been acknowledged.The Defence Ministry reports list thedead, but no wounded and too fewprisoners. This will ultimately createa backlash.

The volume of the army’s operationsare necessarily at a quantum level higherthan those carried out by the police duringthe 1997 Kilo Sierra Two in the midwest.The fallout of mistakes made today,unfortunately, will also be on a different

scale, and last far into the future. Theresulting militancy at that time may noteven be Maoist, for fundamentalists of anyhue can capitalise on the grievances.

There is no doubt, of course, that thearmy was called in to pick up the piecesafter the politicians and Kathmandu’spowerbrokers had already managed towreck democracy. But the army does notfunction in a vacuum either. It must look atwhat kind of victory is achievable, andshould not countenance a total victory inisolation from political parties that will stillbe there tomorrow as representatives of thepeople. Also, thus far, the soldiers have triedto go it alone, forgetting that there aremany civilian sectors that have equal if notmore enmity with the Maobadi.

Some abuse will happen in the conductof war, but a professional army needs toinvestigate and prosecute the guilty. A humanrights cell has been created recently within the

RNA. Can one hope it will be more activethan its counterparts in civil society?

Many foreign governments havewillingly supported the government andarmy to fight ‘terrorism’. They have nohopes from the Maobadi, but are nowincreasingly concerned over seriousviolations of civilian rights by the army.International human rights groups are onhigh alert, and are beginning to stir.

The RNA must respond to these earlysigns before the rapacious ‘parachute media’discovers and descends on the ‘story’.Articles like the recent one in The Times ofLondon on the June Thulo Sirubariincident will become more common. If thearmy’s image is tarnished, supportivegovernments will begin to distance them-selves.

Because Nepal has been a populartourist destination (at least until ComradePrachanda ruined it), there is more

international interest focussed here thanin another similarly-placed country.There are therefore activists about, andthey will raise a stink which otherwisesupportive governments cannot ignore.

To begin with, this will result incancellation of weapons deliveries and ashift towards providing non-lethalsupport for the army. The high-profiledrama in Brussels last week with thenear-collapse of the Belgian governmentwill surely make other governments thinktwice over selling arms to Nepal. Thearmy does need to upgrade its weapons,but how is it going to do it if its conductin war is questioned?

The RNA and its individual officersand sipahis also have their own post-Maoist future to consider. By remainingstrictly apolitical and fighting a relativelyclean war, the Nepali military cancontinue to be a valued member ofinternational peacekeeping fraternity and(having seen action) a sought-after forcefor the Blue Helmets. Indeed, it was evenonce suggested that the RNA organise apermanent peacekeeping force for theUnited Nations. But if (rightly orwrongly) the image is created of a forcethat does not follow the rules, then boththe army and the national economy standto lose a great deal.

As in days of old, the army brasscontinues to react with petulance tocriticism. But such criticism is even morenatural (and necessary) now that theRNA is no longer a ceremonial presencebut a fighting force. Rather than simplis-tically label all commentators as “antiarmy”, the generals should try to get tothe content of the analysis vis-a-vis thefuture of the country and the RNA.

General Pyar Jung Thapa faces thechallenge of fighting the Maobadi, maintain-ing the image of the army, as well aspreparing for the demanding task of policingthe slated elections. He will be a politicalplayer in a position that is required to beapolitical.

There is an opportunity during thischange of guard to adjust course and jettisonthe predecessor's political and tacticalbaggage. The challenge before CoAS Thapais to try and bring peace to the land withminimum innocent civilian victims. Thepublic expects the army to deliver peace, butnot the peace of the cemetery.

T

RA

M H

UM

AG

AIN

/NE

PA

LNE

WS

.CO

M

General Thapa greets Prime Minister Deuba on his return from Brussels on Tuesday.

needed, by subsidisingelectricity while removingsubsidy on imported fossil fuel.

Let us use electricity fortransport, industry andhousehold needs. Let us goahead and light our villagesand towns while the villagesand towns on the other side ofthe border remain in the dark.When this happens, thepressure from our neighboursbeyond our borders will beenough to force their politi-cians to purchase power fromus—which we know will bebeneficial for everybody (themand us).

R Khadga, Kathmandu

CORRECTIONMichung Gurung in “AnotherManang” (#109) should havebeen identified as the formerDDC chairman of Manangdistrict.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

literacy- and savings-ledmicro finance that is attractingglobal attention, having wonfive international awards/citations. One of the mostamazing things about WEP isthat everything that Silwalreports on is taking place overone year after the donor andPact wound up their corefunding and technical support.The women really are incharge—and they are busy, ontheir own, forming moreVillage Banks.

A recent external evaluationestimated that perhaps asmany as 1,000 new economicgroups—with some 20,000members—have beenformed by the women them

ment activities, his onlyconcern is the possiblekickbacks involved in thoseactivities. He is always staringat the half empty part of theglass. He is convinced thatforeign aid is no good for thecountry, as it may involvecommissions to businesshouses and business housescan only make money byillegal means. He thinks thatRoyal Nepal Airlines shouldnot buy or hire any aircraft, asit will involve big money andhence big under-the-tabledealings. A negative mind-sethas become rampant insociety and the main drivingforce for this state of the affairsis undoubtedly the newsmedia.

Even CIAA Chief SuryaNath Upadhyaya once com-plained that media is beingunnecessarily euphoric overcorruption issues, thereby,

THE MESSENGERAlthough your editorial“Bloody Well Right” (#109)tried to portray certain weakspots in the Nepali media, itfailed to highlight a more

prompting the entirepopulation to believe that thereis absolutely no hope for ourcountry. The people are nevertold that we have many officialslike Upadhyaya, that there aremany incorruptible politicianswith sincerity and dedication,that there are many journalistswho cannot be bought, thatthere are many industrialistsand businessmen who do fairbusiness and sincerely paytaxes, and that we have manystudents who can excel atHarvard and Oxford.

But, alas, it will take yearsto de-brainwash our society tomake them proud of theirmotherland, our society, ourglorious history, our richculture, our bravery, our hard-working farmers, and above allour tradition of “tolerance andsacrifice”.

Sugat Ratna Kansakar, byemail

Kudos on your superbeditorial, “Bloody well right” aswell as for Ani Rudra Silwal’sexcellent report, “Giving microcredit where it’s due” (#110)on Pact’s remarkable Wom-en’s Empowerment Programin the tarai. Thanks, too, notonly for avoiding “body-bag”journalism but also focusingNepali Times articles on howNepal can heal the woundsand find solutions rather thanglorify the violence, as othermedia tend to do as a matterof course.

Silwal’s article does justthat by highlighting the powerand successes of some130,000 rural Nepali womenin creating a new model for

serious issue, often ignoredby the Fourth Estate as well asby our intellectuals. The printmedia is one of the mostpowerful agents to influence asociety. Nepali media, know-ingly or unknowingly, issystematically brainwashingthe vast majority of poorlyeducated population, includingthe tender brains of theyounger generation, and hassucceeded to convince themthat Nepal is a country full ofpolitical thugs, corrupt govern-ment servants, smugglerbusinessmen, teachers withfake certificates and what not.The majority of teenagersalready have the feeling thattheir motherland is not worthliving in.

The man-on-the-street,who obviously has to dependon print media for all kinds ofnational news and views, isnot bothered about develop-

44444 6 - 12 SEPTEMBER 2002 NEPALI TIMES 555556 - 12 SEPTEMBER 2002 NEPALI TIMESNATIONNATION

by DANIEL LAKHERE AND THERE

DOMESTIC BRIEFS

MADHUSUDHAN

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

GURAGAIN in KAVRE

apta Man, like hundreds ofthousands of Nepalifarmers, has been using

hydropower for centuries. Theknow-how to design, build,maintain and run traditionalghattas for grinding grain isprobably as old as humansettlements in the Himalaya. ButSapta Man is rare among Nepalifarmers because he has adaptedthe traditional waterwheel of hisancestors, installed more efficientpaddles and ball-bearings so thatwith the same amount of fallingwater he can grind corn, wheatand millet three times moreefficiently.

“The improvement inefficiency and power generation isamazing,” Satya Man told uswhile showing us his “generationroom” in Ladku village. His millequipped with spoon-shapedmetal blades in the turbine cangenerate up to 3 kW of powerand grind as much as 15 pathis ofgrain in an hour—three timesmore efficient than his originalwooden ghatta.

The traditional design is awooden cross-flow turbine thatturns a stone disc on top of astationery disc and grinds corn orwheat that feeds into a hole on

the upper stone through avibrating metal contraption calleda “bird” that can regulate theflow of grain. There are anestimated 30,000 traditionalwater mills still in operation allover Nepal, but these numbersare decreasing as ghatta ownersnear highways and in the taraiturn to diesel mills.

Efforts to improve on thetraditional ghattas were startednearly 35 years ago by Swissengineer Andreas Bachmannworking with Nepali small-hydropioneer, Akal Man Nakarmi. In a1983 monograph, Bachmann andNakarmi list the options forupgrading ghattas, depending onthe head and flow. They putforward the design of a multi-purpose power unit (MPPU) kitthat came in three easy-to-assemble modules and can beinstalled on the site of ghattaswith minimum expense andexpertise. MPPUs not just grindcorn, but generate electricity, runthreshing machines, looms andeven belt-driven lathes. Nepali-

This ingenious design uses the energy of falling water channeledthrough a hollowed out tree-trunk falling on water wheel made of awooden hub fitted with obliquely-set paddles and a stone pin at thebottom. A wooden shaft turns the top grinding stone as the bottomstone stays stationery. Grain in the hopper trickles into the feedingcanal on the top stone through a vibrator called “bird”.

Improved GhattaThe turbine runner is made of spoon-shaped blades encased in awooden case. The chute is replaced with a metal pipe, and the shaftturns the grinding stones. The upper part with the hopper andvibrator are the same as the traditional ghatta. The power can betaken with a belt to a dynamo or a rice huller when the ghatta is notrunning.

Multi-Purpose Power UnitThe unit is made of metal and comprises of three detachablesegments to make it easy to carry to remote locations. The MMPU cansimultaenously grind grain, generate electricity and hull rice. Theincrease in speed and power is due to the greater efficiency of theblade design, and the improved design of the penstock and bearings.The MPPU is versatile and can run either as a turbine only togenerate electricity, or mill only or do all the work simultaneously.

(Courtesy: Mini Technology by BR Saubolle and AndreasBachmann, 1978 Sahayogi Press and New Himalayan WaterWheels by Andreas Bachmann and Akal Man Nakarmi, 1983)

Improved water mills improve lives

know, I know. We media airheads do love an anniversary. It’s the easiest“peg” on which to hang a story. And a news item that looks back andtracks a well-known event is easy to prepare, far easier than an inquiry into

something previously unknown. But surely as 11 September 2002 heavesinto sight, we can be forgiven for a good long look back, if only to see ifthere’s anything to learn from history. Are we forever destined to repeat ourmistakes? I hope not.

Twelve months of living dangerously, and reporting the unthinkable,began innocuously enough for me. I was in Delhi to edit television storiesabout the Maoists and an interview with Prime Minister Deuba. We hadspent an entire day at television’s equivalent of the coalface and it was teatime.I was sitting in the tiny closet that passes for a kitchen at the Delhi bureau ofBritain’s proudest institution, as some of us are moved to call the BBC fromtime to time—especially when a short-sighted government cuts funding tothe World Service. As the BBC tea brewed, a Scottish video editor on loan tothe bureau burst through the door. He was laughing—I remember thisdistinctly, unaware at this early stage of what was unfolding. “All yur woork’sgawn fer naught,” he said in thickest Glaswegian, “Soom booger’s just flownhis wee plane intae the World Trade Center.”

I wandered—none too urgently, I admit—out to the newsroom to watchthe horror unfold; the impact of the second plane, live on television, thenews of other hijacks, other crashes, the riveting and heart stopping implo-sion of the gleaming towers, the unforgettable look on the face of GeorgeBush Jr as he was told the news. From Delhi to Dubai, Washington toBeijing, the world switched on its televisions and surfed the dreadful imagesof “Nine Eleven”. We heard the endless speculation of clueless commentators(myself soon to join their ranks) and were shown disgusting canards like theinfamous video of one or two Palestinians celebrating America’s pain, presentedby inference—at the time—as the Muslim world’s reaction to events.

In fact, people from every one of Samuel Huntington’s ‘civilisations’—

One year laterFor a time, we were all Americans. Not any more.

Hindus, Christians, Chinese—felt very mixed emotions at seeing the Superpowerhumbled so. Everyone was horrified, saddened, filled with fear. Yet any numberof times, even in the immediate aftermath of the tragedies of New York, Washing-ton and Pennsylvania, the phrases “serves them right” or “now they know what wego through” crept into discussions, along with expressions of shock and grief. Thejustifiably angry rhetoric from Washington went on, unaware of the world’sconflicting yet equally sincerely held views. Musharaff, Chirac, Vajpayee andBlair, all—properly—extended the hand of friendship to America. Dissentingvoices aside, we were all Americans for a while.

No longer I’m afraid. Iraq is not al-Qaeda, Saddam Hussein is no BinLaden. The world may have changed forever on 11 September, 2001 but theability of imperial powers to be seen to be very, very wrong has not. So, ayear on, as we all take stock and ask whether the war on terror is being won.Other, more qualified commentators can trade insights on that question, butI have one observation. Never mind 15,000 lb bunker-buster bombs, hightech laser guidance systems and vast invasion flotilla. America was humbled;thousands of innocents died; a symbol of might and prosperity was destroyed onlive television by a hoard of quiet, intense fanatics armed only with box cuttersand the willingness to sacrifice their own lives for a cause, however insane or evil.We will never erase that from the history books. Their twisted “achievement”stands as a singular example of both evil and triumph, admittedly only by theirinsane definition.

We can agonise for decades—and we will—over why they felt alienated, whatfuels hatred against a nation that responds with generosity far more often than itmakes war. This is for those well-qualified commentators to reflect upon, as wellas the rest of us. But one starkly frightening face remains, however you respondemotionally to al-Qaeda or the hijackers of last 11 September. They will strike again.

Count on it.

am known as Saila Baajey in the village. My registered name is LalBahadur Majhi. I must be between 60-65 years old. I have a family ofnine. My son, daughter-in-law, my brother and his wife stay at home. I

look after this ghatta [watermill].This watermill was registered in 1952. As a child I enjoyed following my

father here. I am now old and long for the comforts of home. This place iscold and I have no bed.

Earlier, on some days, up to 20-25 people came here. This number hasgone down a lot after many motor-driven mills were installed in the area.These mills are ten times faster. Obviously they would be, a machine is amachine, after all; ours is a stone mill. And last night the water canal gotdamaged. One cannot do repairs at night, so water was diverted to the millonly this morning.

My father and uncle both worked in this mill; there were three shares init then. With a son and grandson, there were more divisions, and now themill is shared among five. We charge one pathi for every muri we grind.This is shared among five. That is enough for here, but it is not enough forthe home. People at home work on the farm. There is little land. That’s howit is; it’s not like in the tarai here. You farm two to four terraces. You start offfrom one end harvesting maize but there isn’t even a basketful when youget to the other end. Working on the farm is tough. It is very hard work, butthere is very little crop to harvest. Running the watermill is not easy either.It is only done because it is said that a son must follow in the footsteps ofthe father. That’s all. I lived here at the mill, now my son and grandson willstay here. What to do, there’s nowhere else to go.

Everyone, not just Majhis, operates watermills. Now, if they know how,just about anybody runs them. Even Bhotes, Danwars, Chhetris and Bahunsoperate them. In the old days, since Majhis lived near rivers, it seemed as

Sapta Man Shrestha (above, right) with his improved ghatta. The woodenpaddles were replaced with this metal turbine to triple his mill’s efficiency.

“After my time, Idon’t know if my son

will run the mill orsell it off.”

if it was only their vocation. The mills are operated by whoever sets themup in these streams and rivulets.

Earnings depend on the amount of work. If we get customers, if the millis full functional and if things are done quickly, we can earn as much as 5-6pathis a day. Otherwise we cannot even make 1-2 pathis.

This mill grinds other grain besides maize and wheat. It grinds millet,beans and soya beans. If there are insects around, it grinds them too! Itcannot husk rice, though.

As far as I can remember, there were many watermills here: up there, upthere, on the other side, this side near the stream, behind the village. Butmost have ben abandoned. In our case, we just can’t afford to leave.

Now people earn Rs 100-150 if they do some other work, whereas whenyou stay at the mill, you get two manas of flour [valued at about Rs 10] andthe rest of the day is dry. Some have, therefore, sought permission from thedepartment to close the mill down, and others are doing something else.Yet others are still paying taxes. We are somehow bumbling andstumbling along.

Taxes have to be paid on this water mill. During father’s time it waseither Rs 1 or Rs 5. now we have to pay Rs 40 annually. They do not cometo collect it. Once they did not come for four or eight years and when theycame after four years, we had to pay 16 twenties [Rs 320]. It is difficult topay large sums at one time. For poor people like us, instead of such hugeamounts we would be paying only Rs 40 if they came every year.

During my time, with great hardship, I managed this two manas’ chore. Idon’t know if my son will run the mill or sell it off. There are many shares inthis mill. He could decide to sell it, or he might even keep it after realisingthat he would lose his livelihood. After I am gone, he can do as hepleases. (From Water Wisdom, Panos Institute, South Asia, 2000.)

made MPPUs have been ex-ported to Bhutan, Ladakh andSri Lanka.

Organisations like the Centrefor Rural Technology, Nepal(CRT/N) and others are promot-ing similar upgrading. CRT/Nwhich trained farmers like SaptaMan in upgrading ghattas, hasdeclared Ladku an “EnergyVillage”. All 26 traditionalghattas along a two km stretch ofLadku stream now run onimproved turbines, and thesedays their high-pitch whinemerge with one another as onewalks down through the village.

“This is probably one of mostintensive uses of improvedghattas anywhere in Nepal,” saysCRT/N’s Puspakar Lamichhanewho has conducted a “ghattacensus” in Kavre and found thatthere are 415 in 63 rivers andstreams in the district. So far,70 have been upgraded with newturbines.

One of them is Sabitri Nepaliin Kunekharka who is happy withthe way her family’s ghatta has

improved both the quality andquantity of flour that comes outof the machine. We ask her if it istrue what some villagers say thatthe flour from the improvedghattas are not as tasty. “I don’tthink so,” she replies. “There isno difference in taste, and I havefound that the flour even haslonger storage life.”

Sapta Man, for his part, sayshe is carrying out his family’straditional business. He learnt hisskills from his father who didfrom his father. Now, Sapta Manis running his three improvedghattas as a village developmententerprise with his businesspartners. He will couple one ofthem for paddy de-husking when

the harvest season comes around.This has saved a lot of time

for women who usually had toqueue up and spend the wholeday waiting for their flour at thetraditional ghatta. Others, whoused to do backbreaking work atthe dhikki to de-husk grain can nowdo it quickly and be home early.

For his part, Sapta Man has

raised his family’s income level,plans to invest on biggerhydropower-driven schemes, andis looking for opportunities. Andhe has also volunteered hisservices as a consultant to otherVDCs in Kavre to advise thosewho want to make the move toimproved ghattas on the econom-ics of it.

Traditional Horizontal Water Mill

S I

In the September Himal

The Great Game of

TibetFACING CHINESE FACTS • RELIGIOUS REVIVAL

• INTERVIEW WITH SAMDHONG RINPOCHE •ROADS TO THE HEART OF TIBET

• LIVING IN THE RUBBLE • PHOTO GALLERY •FREE POSTER OF HISTORIC LHASA INCLUDED

PlusSimon Mollison:Assessingdevelopment failure

ShastriRamachandaran:Travelling in andabove Jomosom

An Asian newsnetwork?

on ne

wsstan

ds

now!

SU

BH

AS

RA

I

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Speaking in tonguesDespite the agreement to grant convertibility to the Yuan twomonths ago, a language barrier prevents Nepali traders fromdealing in the Chinese currency. Traders who travel between thetwo countries continue to depend on US dollars or the age-oldbarter system. Nepal’s Bank of Kathmandu, the Nepal BangladeshBank and the Himalayan Bank all initiated the procedure to openYuan accounts, but had to backtrack when their Chinese counter-parts could not communicate in English. The 17 June agreementallows Nepali banks to buy Yuan from Chinese tourists coming toNepal and deposit their earnings in accounts with the Central Bankof China. This facility is expected to increase the Chinese touristinflow to Nepal and narrow the trade gap between the twocountries. In the last fiscal year Nepal imported Chinese goodsworth of Rs 5.29 billion, though exports only totalled Rs 525 million.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Health to the peopleA new Health Sector Strategy identifies safe motherhood andfamily planning, child heath, the control of communicable diseasesand strengthening outpatient services as the four areas that needto be prioritised in the delivery of health services. The way to dothis, says the strategy paper, is to decentralise resources andservice institutions. In the first phase of the plan, 15 districtswould have full essential health care within three years. Thestrategy would also work towards increasing the per capitalhealth sector expenditure. Presently, Nepal’s per capital healthexpenditure is $10, of which $7 is spent on pharmaceuticals.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

High-flying defaultersIt is old news that the Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation is in thered. But it looks like the corporation won’t take more than its fairshare of the blame. RNAC last week submitted a four-page list ofdefaulters to the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse ofAuthority. Adding to its endless problems of mismanagement,commissions, kickbacks, and every other kind of graft, thecorporation is also owed close to Rs 240.5 million by the PrimeMinister’s Office, numerous ministries, embassies and internationalorganisations. This is more than just whistleblowing. Do the math:what RNAC is owed would be enough to pay off its pressingforeign debts (totalling about Rs 220 million), including the $5 millionit owes China Southwest for a jet lease deal. The payment hasbeen overdue for over a year and the airline is threatening legalaction.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Ill-gotten gainsYet another list has been made public. The Judicial InvestigationCommission on Property has put out the names of people whohave yet to complete their declaration forms. The list includes anumber of former ministers and high-ranking government officials.Wonder how much they have? If reports are to be believed,Chiranjibi Wagle has a lot more wealth than he’s declared. Apartfrom what he had before his political star went on the ascend-ant—Rs 600,00 in his bank account and 65 ropanis of land—Wagle, who was Minister of Physical Planning and Works beforethe dissolution of parliament, and his immediate family alsoown property in Thamel and Chitwan, facts missing from hisdeclaration form.

I

66666 NATION 6 - 12 SEPTEMBER 2002 NEPALI TIMES

SOMEWHERE IN NEPAL by PUSKAR BHUSAL

ill the elections be held onschedule? It sounds likepoliticians, journalists and

civil libertarians are the ones askingthat question the most, doesn’t it?We have good reason. Our jobs willbe on the line first if democracy wereto disappear on a technicality. Butwe aren’t being entirely selfish.There is a lag time before the peoplestart suffocating. Once they do,they’ll start blaming the parties,papers and pressure groups for notproperly warning the rest of thecountry.

It’s hard defending democracy whenthose who want polls aren’t nearlyas fired up as those who don’t.

Poll vault

The security situation acrossswathes of the countryside is notstable. In most insurgency-tornareas, the government barely has apresence beyond the districtheadquarters. (You’re forced towonder, though, what officialswould actually be doing in the midstof ridges, crevasses, rivers andforests, anyway.) But the omensaren’t that bad. Under the latestdelimitation of constituencies, thedistrict-wise breakdown of House ofRepresentatives seats goes againstthe Maoists. The places sendingmost of the MPs have terraininhospitable to hit-and-run raids.Security officials believe polls can goahead in about 155 of the country’s205 constituencies. That’s almostthree-quarters of the Housemembership. It would be akin tohaving a third of the 155 MPselected from two constituencies. By-

elections can be held in any numberof phases.

If some consider coming out tovote too high a price to save thesystem, they’re entitled to theiropinion. For those who swear bythe sanctity of the ballot, PrimeMinister Sher Bahadur Deuba’sbluster about his brigade winning amajority on an 80 percent turnoutraises a red flag. The confidencewith which the UML is predictingits own majority unfairly influencesvoters who haven’t made up theirminds. From the conflictingstatements of top bureaucrats of thehome and defence ministries, itlooks like our choice may bebetween having a flawed election ornone at all. A Deuba-led all-partyelection government could help usout of the dilemma. The UMLcould get the deputy premiershipcomplete with the home ministry,with finance going to the RPP. Theother parties in the dissolved housecould work out the rest of thepower-sharing deal. The partiesoutside parliament could berepresented based on the number ofstatements they put out on vitalnational issues since the lastelections. As a gesture of goodwillto the Maoists, the two facilitatorsduring last year’s peace talks couldbe asked to join. Getting repre-sentatives from the shadowyreactionary right on board mightprove a little more difficult. Theyseem to hate elections more thanthe Maoists do, anyway.

As for fairness, let’s not pretendthat irregularities never existed. Weprobably can work out an accept-able margin by averaging themalpractices of the last three pollsand doubling it in deference to theexigencies of the national crisis. Apledge to accept an outcome fallingwithin that range would burnish

our all-party commitment to savethe gains of 1990. Specifically, wemust resolve not to blame theMaoists for holding back peoplewho weren’t planning to vote inthe first place. Subject to all-partyconsensus, the new parliamentcould serve for a two-year transi-tional period, extendable by a year.Once we agree that the situationhas become propitious for a freerpoll, we can go back to the people.Even in the best of times, trendanalysis suggests, this would be thetime the lower house would be ripefor dissolution.

The overriding considerationof beginning the elections onKartik 27 is to avoid activatingArticle 127 of the constitution andopening another can of worms.Putting up at least one unopposedcandidate could facilitate things incase meeting the deadline were toprove impossible. With the firsttest having been met, it wouldbecome easier to accept minorviolations of democratic practice aspart of an effort to save it.

Contrary to belief, Deuba’strip to Belgium wasn’t entirely afiasco. He persuaded the Belgianprime minister and most legislatorsthat guns were an importantinstrument to save Nepalidemocracy.

Where he really excelled was intrying to get European Unionmonitors for the polls. Deubashould have spent an extraafternoon in Brussels to make surethose EU representatives camefrom countries that are alsomembers of NATO. That way, wecould brandish both carrots andsticks, draw in all those against orindifferent to elections. Right now,those who want the polls aren’tnearly as fired up as those whodon’t. But we still have time.

Tel: 375280, 375279 Fax: 371656, Email: pvh@wlink.com.np

Nestle in the foothills of Shivapuri, world’s only

National Park close to the capital & intl. airport.

For homely hospitality blend in Pure Nature

5 MEETING HALLS 6 ACRES OF JUNGLE 48 SUITE ROOMS

AMPHITHEATER AND AMPLE OF “TAGORE’S SHANTI NIKETAN” STYLE OPEN MEETING PLACES

Banyan Convention Center at

Hotel & ResortBuddhanilkantha

One year afterSeptember 11, thestory is still the same

from p1

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

W

EASY TIMESEASY TIMESEASY TIMESEASY TIMESEASY TIMESIt’s never been easier to subscribe to

Nepali Times.Just dial this number and leave

your address.

5433

33

Trekking agencies members in Kathmandu say there have been a lotof cancellations, and this seems to be related to fears of violencepreceding the November polls. “We have tried to tell our clients that theMaoists are not targeting trekkers, but there is a perception of insecurityfor the coming season,” said another trekking agent who had cancella-tions by three groups one morning this week.

Hotel Association of Nepal president, Narendra Bajracharya, is justback from a promotion trip to Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.“Southeast Asia is seeing a revival, but we are looking at an average ofonly 20 percent occupancy,” he told us.

For S P Koirala, at the Ministry of Culture Tourism and Civil Aviation,it is clear what needs to be done: “We first need to put our house inorder.” Koirala is optimistic that the government’s recent decisions toopen up new trekking areas and climbing peaks, streamlined mountain-eering rules, lowering of visa fees and the addition of the Chinese

market will ensure a swiftrecovery once a tourism turna-round takes place. The problem is,there is no sign of a turnaround.

One sector of tourism thatremains relatively unaffected ismountaineering. “Going by thetrends this spring, the numbershave remained more or lessconstant. While there were afew teams on the newlyopened peaks, we’ve hadmany enquires,” Ganesh RajKarki at the Tourism Depart-ment’s Climbing Section toldus.

More than 20 expeditionsare expected to scale Mt

Everest from the Nepali side next springto mark the 50th anniversary of the first ascent. Tourism entrepreneurssay they don’t have their hands folded. Says Pandey: “We’ve got tokeep Nepal alive in the market, we’ve got to remind people that we’restill in the running, that we’ve started a recovery process.”

NTB has launched a “Destination Nepal Campaign 2002-2003” butfor that to show results, everyone agrees there has to be a change inthe ground situation at home. Tourism entrepreneurs in Manang havegot together with the Annapurna Conservation Area Project to promoteDestination Manang 2004 in the hope of boosting the local economy. Ifthings work out, and Nepal’s security situation improves, the predictionby the Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA) of a revival in traveltrends in the region may well come true. Fingers crossed.

77777ECONOMY 6 - 12 SEPTEMBER 2002 NEPALI TIMES

BIZ NEWS

INTERVIEW

Gaurab Upadhaya: In layman’s terms, what is an Internet Exchange?Internet Exchanges are the “factories” that create Internet bandwidth. ISPs(Internet Service Providers) deliver that bandwidth to consumers. IXes arewhere ISPs communicate with each other handling customers’ traffic withone another. Customers are interested in reaching other ISPs customers sothe value of the Internet is created at Internet Exchanges. The job of theISP is to transmit this bandwidth to the customers. Hauling traffic to andfrom an IX outside the country is very slow and expensive. Building a localIX like the Nepal Internet Exchange (NPIX) within the country solves thisproblem by reducing the cost and distance between consumers. This is themarket driver for the deployment of broadband Internet access.

And what is the Packet Clearing House?PCH is a US-based not-for-profit research institute, originally formed in1993. At that time, 70 percent of the Internet was located in California, butthe only IX was located in DC. So 70 percent of Internet traffic originated inCalifornia and 70 percent was destined for California. Seventy percent of70 percent is 49 percent of all Internet traffic, and this 49 percent wastravelling an extra 9,000 km round-trip, completely unnecessarily.

Today, about half the PCH’s efforts focus on developing nations. Inaddition to building IXes, PCH also helps to find technological, policy andfinancial solutions for IXes that have encountered difficulties. PCH alsoengages in research initiatives like archiving topological changes to theInternet, building economic models and working to improve the scalability androbustness of ISP communications. We are supported by the same communitythat we work in especially by equipment manufacturers and ISPs.

Why the inertia to start IXes in developing countries?Really, there is equal need for IXes throughout the world, regardless of thedegree of development of any country. However, we’ve seen a general trendtoward stagnation of Internet development in countries that don’t have acompetitive market environment for telecommunications services. In manydeveloping countries, an incumbent telephone company is in a positionwhich does not encourage Internet market growth, and an IX is a way ofreinvigorating that growth. Market reforms which encourage competition canalso help bring new ISPs into the mix, bringing consumer costs down andvariety of services up.

How has the world progressed on the Nepal Internet Exchange?NPIX participants have cooperated with remarkable efficiency. They’vegone from being competitors to collaborators in the interest of Internet

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Silver liningThe economy may be a shambles, industry may be struggling, butNepal Lever Limited weathered the turbulence of the past year byachieving 25 percent growth, taking its domestic turnover to Rs 882million. But not all is well there, exports have shrunk by more than half.The annual turnover of NLL reached Rs 1.24 billion, netting the firmafter tax profit of Rs 43 million. NLL is the market leader in toothpaste(60 percent) and controls 50 percent market share in toilet soaps, 80percent in detergents and 45 percent in fairness creams. Its shampoos,introduced two years ago, now claim 30 percent of the market.

In the meantime, NLL exports tumbled by over 50 percent, down toRs 355 million from Rs 837 million the previous year. Exports were hitmainly by fiscal measures in both Nepal and India, which the companysays are unlikely to change over time, and will probably cause sales inIndia to shrink further.

The company says that Indian Countervailing Duty based onManufacturer’s Retail Price (MRP), which became effective in February2001, and Nepali taxes on exports have cut into its margins and madecertain products totally uncompetitive. NLL has already stoppedexporting toothpaste, and the sale of Liril soaps in India—at one stagealmost every unit sold there was made in Nepal—has also shrunk.“There may be no point retaining investments made for export,” saysGurdeep Singh, co-chairman of NLL.

The domestic business environment has also been far from perfect.Besides increased costs of transportation and the difficulties of doingbusiness in the hinterlands, NLL has still been unable to recover Rs 120million (now down from Rs 420 million) that the government owes it as“duty drawback.”

NLL is also seeing a change of leadership. Rakesh Mohan (thirdfrom right above) replaces Sandip Ghose (standing, above) as the newmanaging director.

deployment in an impressively short amount of time. Nepal’s ISPs have aremarkably clear vision of both the economic reality they face and the bestpath toward improving their situation. Today, (28 August), we turned on theIX switch for the first time, and there will be three ISPs using the IX toexchange production traffic by this Friday. Within a month, we believe allISPs in Nepal will be participating in the IX.

Are IXes only meant for Internet service providers?This was a common misconception for quite a few years, due mostly to ISPsbeing afraid that customers who come to an IX will want service for free orchange ISPs frequently, but what we have discovered in the last few years isthat IXes are an excellent place to buy and sell services. Rather then letcustomers change ISPs more frequently, it allows them to get additionalservices more easily and also lets ISPs provide services to customers withfewer local provisioning problems.

How can the Nepal government and regulators help?There are actually a number of critical market reforms needed in Nepalbefore the Internet will really become available to the majority of thepublic. Foremost among these are the removal of the constraints whichartificially preclude market competition to install fibre infrastructure. Oneimportant thing to remember is that the current infrastructure were installedat public expense, it should by all rights be equally available to allmembers of public.

In fact, however, it is currently being used to exert a monopolisticstranglehold on the local loop delivery of telecommunications services.Three remedies exist. First, the government could ensure that all partieshave access to unbundled local loop, while permitting the actual physicalfacilities to remain under the NTC management. Second, the governmentcould at public expense initiate development of new telecommunicationsinfrastructure and the government could operate in a free and impartial

manner making it available to all service providers. Third, the governmentcan simply allow market forces to solve the problems, by deregulating andpermitting all competitors to install new infrastructure wherever it is needed.In reality, a combination of the first and third options is probably the mostefficient solution.

Globally, where is the Internet headed?I see a general trend toward mobility and prevalence of small and portableInternet devices like laptops, pagers, cell phones and personal digitalassistants. The fact of the matter is that the consumers simply don’t wish tobe tied to a wired phone, or worry about where to plug-in. This trend towardsmobility will be combined with the convergence of voice and data servicesas we have already seen in hand-held devices that combine e-mail, webbrowsing and telephony. ISPs will begin to look more and more like cellulartelephone providers as their deployment expands to include both wirelineservice and micro-cellular wireless data service. A prevalence of localInternet Exchanges would guarantee that local communications will beboth inexpensive and very high speed.

• PREVIOUSLY NEPAL INDOSUEZ BANK

The GLOBAL CONNECTIONS remainSo do the TRAINED STAFF

• NIB IS NOW A 100% NEPALI BANK

Supported by leading business housesand financial institutions

• VERY SUBSTANTIAL CAPITAL

Providing the basis for GROWTH

• FULL RANGE OFCOMMERCIAL BANKING SERVICES

NEPAL INVESTMENT BANK

THE NEPALI BANKwith

GLOBAL CONNECTIONS

Durbar Marg, Post Box 3412, Kathmandu, NEPALTel: 228229, 242530, Fax: 977-1-226349,228927, E-mail : info@nibl.com.np

hat makes the Internet work? Ask Bill Woodcock, one ofthose who work behind the scenes to make this globalbrain tick. Woodcock has been involved with the Packet

Clearing House, a non-profit institute providing research andoperational support for the Internet with routing policy, multi-service transport and economic modelling. Bill is currently inKathmandu, helping establish the first Internet Exchange Pointfor Nepal. Gaurab Raj Upadhaya spoke to him about the technicalaspects of information technology development in Nepal.

W

MIN

BA

JRA

CH

AR

YA

88888 6 - 12 SEPTEMBER 2002 NEPALI TIMESNEPALI TIMESNEPALI TIMESNEPALI TIMESNEPALI TIMES 99999HERITAGE 6 - 12 SEPTEMBER 2002 NEPALI TIMESNEPALI TIMESNEPALI TIMESNEPALI TIMESNEPALI TIMES

know what to do with the Nepalflag and put it in a background whiterectangle so it “fits” with the rest. Back home in Nepal, the flag isnot accorded the respect it deserves.The US prohibits the burning of theflag. The UK is known for itsdistinctive Union Jack-patternedboxer shorts. In Nepal, well, no onereally knows what to do withthe flag or even whether to do

even by institutions that ought toknow better. The singha on top ofSingha Darbar holds a flag proudly,but the crimson is often faded toan off-pink.

Sarisiddhi’s Shahid SmarakSchool hoists a tattered, discol-oured national flag in its front yardevery day. Principal Badri PrasadKhanal, like so many other peoplein the capital and outside, does not

According to the 1992 policy:

Members of the general public can hoist the national flag intheir private homes and offices to celebrate the coronation of a kingand his birthday, and to mark national unity day and democracy day.

The prime minister, chief justice, speaker of the House ofRepresentatives, chairs of the upper house and the Royal Council, andchiefs of diplomatic missions maydisplay a flag on their officialresidence, vehicle and office.

A 1959 government directiveallows the ministers to hoist the flagon their official vehicles whilecommuting to and from officialceremonies.

In 1992, the deputy primeminister, deputy speaker of theHouse of Representatives, assistantministers and the deputy chair of theUpper House were given permissionto affix the flag to their officialvehicles for official ceremonies.

know that there are strict, specificrules in Nepal on flag etiquette(see box).

Schools, for instance are notallowed to raise the rato ra chandrasurya. The Education Act doesallow them to hoist it if celebratinga national event, but the flag mustbe taken down when the ceremonyis over. so the national anthemis sung sans flag in school all

over Nepal.Then there are those who are

officially allowed to carry the flag:ministers, high officials, royalNepali ambassadors abroad, theNepali merchant marine has evenmade it a “flag of convenience” eventhough we are landlocked. RoyalNepal Airlines flew the flag on thetail fins of its aircraft, but dumpedit for the generic German-designed

red and blue stripe. Necon Air tookthe innovative step to stick awaving Nepali flag on its fuselage,and got into trouble in the begin-ning because it wasn’t the “official”flag carrier.

Professor Daya Ram Shrestha,who won the Madan Puraskar in1997 for his research on the Nepalinational flag, doesn’t think thesituation is so dire. “Sure, there aresmall signs of neglect here andthere, but by and large we Nepalipeople respect our flag.”

In his book Nepal ko RastriyaJhanda , Professor Shrestha tracksthe development of the Nepali flagfrom when it was first used byLichchhavi king Mandev some1,500 years ago. King Mandev andothers who followed him chose the

Vedic emblem as their flag, and thatis the origin of the unique doubletriangle.

The one we use now dates fromthe unification of Nepal by PrithviNarayan Shah, though the border atthat time was green, rather thanblue. Of course, it was much later,in the 1963 constitution, that theflag was officially declared thenational emblem, though thedouble triangle had already beenhoisted at the United Nationsheadquarters in New York whenNepal acquired membership inDecember 1955.

According to Shrestha, thecrimson is supposed to signify theblood shed by brave Nepalis of yorewho safeguarded our independence.The sun is a symbol of the Nepali

Does our banner yet wave?

Flying with the flag on Fulpati.

flag, it isgenerally agood idea to

follow them. Forexample, flags raised on

office buildings should behoisted within five minutes

of sunrise and folded beforesunset. On occasions when the

flags are required to be hoisted aftersunset, it should be hoisted underspotlight. The same goes with theflags on vehicles. In US the nationalflags are folded even during cloudydays. And the Swiss need no greaterexcuse than a bright sunny day tofly the flag from every restaurant,inn, or cheese factory in theconfederation.

Drive through Maitighar toPutali Sadak, and there shines theHealth Ministry’s flag under thelight of the full moon. It’s a sign ofthe times that flags on ministrybuildings look tatty and discolouredeven though the flag policy requiresthat the minute a flag shows anysigns of damage, it needs to bereplaced. Ke garne? Yo Nepal ho.

It might just help if Nepali flagswere made out of the strongbunting fabric used in other parts ofthe world rather than the delicateand/ or flimsy silks, cottons andpolyesters.

Damaged or not, flags hoistedon government buildings need to be

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

HEMLATA RAI

anything with it. Sure, tourists in Thamel, buythem for their exotic value, andhave them sewn onto backpacks andcaps. Santa Bahadur Tamang, ashopkeeper in Thamel, fondlyremembers the 1999 SAARCfootball final when young Nepalisbought out his stock of flags, butthat’s about it.

The flag is largely ignored here,

Their Majesties fly the banner.

For sale in Thamel. Standing apart from the rest at the United Nations in New York.The singha holding it high at Singha Darbar.

changed every Dasain and ChaiteDasain, by law. It makes sense, andnot just because they are soconveniently six months apart—these festivals are fundamentally forthe worship of shakti (power), theconcept symbolised by the trianglesin the Nepali flags. That’s evenmore argument for treating the flag

with respect—it actually speaks toan integral part of Nepali nationalidentity, unlike the nationalsymbols of a number of othercountries that were simply inventedbecause ‘everyone has one, so bringon the trite colours of valour andhonesty’ and let’s just stack thematop each other’.

Nepali marathoner Baikuntha Manandhar displays it proudly on hischest, and flying above the Lower House (top).

ight up there withMt Everest, there isone thing that makesNepal stand out inthe community ofnations, and that is

our unique national flag. While everyone else is a blandrectangle, we have a triangle—andtwo of them! In many an interna-tional conference, organisers don’t

soul, the moon signifies the Nepalimind. The blue border is theHimalayan sky and portays theimmensity of the universe of whichwe are a part.

Oddly enough, given itsuniqueness and its symbolism, the1958 constitution totally over-looked the need to recognise thebanner as the national flag.

We might not actively carry outacts of violence or disrespect, butlook around any time you’re outand about, and you’ll see anynumber of limp, sad looking flagswhere they shouldn’t be. Thegeneral post office in Sundhara isnot constitutionally entitled tohoist a national flag, but askinsiders about its odd practice offlying one all the time and you get aresigned shrug and explanations of“tradition”. Is it tradition to flya flag that look like a hurricanejust hit it?

Even government offices thatcan legally raise the flag do it insuch a manner as to nullify anyuplifting effects the sight of thenational emblem is supposed tohave. The important thing aboutthe flag is that it is a deeplysymbolic object, not just anidentifying sticker in the longparade of nations. The otherimportant thing about the flag isthat, no matter how much of a messthe rest of the country might looklike, a good flag is at the very least asign of striving, an indication that atleast we aspire to better things.

So if the flag policy, whichNepal enacted in April 1992,strictly outlines the procedures tobe followed during hoisting of a

ALL

PIC

S:M

IN B

AJR

AC

HA

RYA

1010101010 6 - 12 SEPTEMBER 2002 NEPALI TIMESWORLD

by JOHN GRAYOPINION

hroughout modern timesliberal states have always co-existed alongside varieties of

tyranny. Similarly, the modernworld has always contained manyvarieties of capitalism, planned andguided economies, and a host ofhybrid economic systems not easilyclassified.

Diplomacy and internationallaw developed to cope with the factof diverse regimes, but in the 20th

century global politics was shapedby the project of unifying the worldwithin a single regime. Committedto Marxist ideology, the Sovietregime’s long-term goal was worldcommunism, the world a singlesocialist economy, administered byuniform forms of governance.

The disappearance of the MArxistproject as a force in world politics hasnot been accompanied by an accept-ance of a diversity of political systems.Francis Fukuyama said that withcommunism’s fall we were at the “endof history”, when western governmentscould attempt to unify the interna-tional system into a single regimebased on free markets and democraticgovernment. This project, as utopian

Bread lines in the Soviet Union andriots in Argentina both expose thefallacy of economic determinism.

as Marxism once was, promises to beeven more short-lived than theSoviet Union.

There are many reasons for thecollapse of the Soviet bloc, but—contrary to conventional opinion—economic inefficiencies were not key.The Soviet bloc disintegratedbecause it could not cope withnationalist dissent in Poland and theBaltic states and because a singleeconomic and political system couldnot meet the needs of vastly differentsocieties and peoples. The Marxianinterpretation of history is based oneconomic determinism: differencesbetween societies, peoples, andforms of government narrow atsimilar levels of economicdevelopment.

Nationalism and religion haveno enduring political importance,Marxists believed. In the short run,they can be used to fuel anti-imperialist movements. Ultimately,they are obstacles to the constructionof socialism. Guided by thesebeliefs, the Soviet state waged anincessant war on the national andreligious traditions of the peoplesthey governed. The USSR fell apart

because its monolithic institutionscould not accommodate nations—Czechs and Uzbeks, Hungariansand Siberians, Poles and Mongols—whose histories, circumstances andaspirations were radically divergent.

Today, the global free marketconstructed in the aftermath of theSoviet collapse is also falling apart—and for similar reasons. LikeMarxists, neo-liberals are economicdeterminists. Nothing can preventthe world from becoming one vastfree market, and western govern-ments and transnational institutionscan be midwives for the new world.This ideology underlies institutionssuch as the IMF. Argentina andIndonesia have very differentproblems, but for the IMF thesolution is the same: they must bothbecome free-market economies. Russiaat the time of communism’s fall was amilitarised rust-belt, but the IMF wasconvinced that it could be trans-formed into a western-style marketeconomy. An idealised model ofAnglo-Saxon capitalism waspromoted everywhere.

Unsurprisingly, this highlyideological approach to economicpolicy has not succeeded. Indonesiais in ruins, while Argentina israpidly ceasing to be a first worldcountry. Russia has put the neo-liberal period behind it and is nowdeveloping on a path better suited toits history and circumstances.Countries that have best weatheredthe economic storms of the past fewyears are those—like India, China

The end of the end of historyand Japan—which took the IMFmodel with a large grain of salt. Likethe few remaining Marxists whodefend central economic planning,the ideologues of the IMF claim thattheir policies did not fail; they werenot fully implemented. But in bothcases, the policies were tried—andfailed at great human cost.

But if the global free market isunraveling, it is not because of thehuman costs of its policies incountries such as Argentina,Indonesia and Russia, but because itno longer suits the countries thatmost actively promote it. Under thepressure of a stock market down-turn, the US is abandoning policiesof global free trade in favor of moretraditional policies of protectionism.Throughout its history, America hasalways tried to insulate its marketsfrom foreign competition. Sohistory has once more triumphedover ideology. Mainstream politi-cians may still nod reverently whenthe global free market is invoked,but in practice the world is revertingto an older and more durablemodel, tacitly accepting that theworld will always contain a variety ofeconomic systems and regimes. (Project Syndicate)

(John Gray is professor ofEuropean thought at theLondon School of Economics,and author of Straw Thoughts onHumans and Other Animals,Granta Books, September2002.)

by ALI AHMADOPINION

ast week an Islamic court at Funtua, in northern Nigeria, rejected the appealof a woman convicted of having sex out of wedlock. Her lawyers will likelyappeal her conviction to a higher Sharia court, and if necessary, to Nigeria’s

Supreme Court, but if the judgment of the Funtua court stands, Amin Lawal willbe stoned to death the moment her daughter is weaned.

Muslim-Christian relations are tense the world over, but they are especiallyinflamed in Nigeria, the most populous country where Christians and Muslimsexist in roughly equal numbers. The flash point forMuslim-Christian tensions is Sharia, Muslimreligious law. Since late 1999 ten of the country’s 36states have adopted Sharia as their public law. Thespread of Islamic law in Nigeria has provoked asharp outcry against the severe punishments itlevies, including amputation for thieves and deathby stoning for woman convicted of adultery.

As a Muslim lawyer who practices in a Shariacourt in Kano, Nigeria’s second-largest city, thedemonisation of Islamic law by Christians andhuman rights activists in Europe and NorthAmerica angers me. Sharia is systematically distortedand misunderstood. But I was trained in Americanlaw and taught at an American law school, and amaware of the shortcomings in how it is applied,especially in its treatment of women.

Islamic law has long been an integral part ofsocial life in Nigeria, and will remain so. Sharialaw’s severe punishments fly in the face of westernlegal canons. I have mixed feelings about thesepenalties. In theory, I accept the death penalty andeven amputations, though in practice I believeimplementers of Sharia understand little that much crime stems from poverty anddesperation. I believe amputation for thieves should not be carried out unlesssociety’s poor are better provided for.

There are good reasons the process leading to the death penalties imposed bySharia courts has drawn rebuke. Sharia as applied in Nigeria today is insensitiveto the welfare of women. Why are only women sentenced to death for adultery,while men go free? Four witnesses are needed to catch a man in the act, or hecannot be convicted. This standard of proof is so difficult to meet that mensimply are not convicted. Until Sharia can handle adultery fairly, no penaltiesshould be imposed.

But attention to sensational cases, while justified, obscures the reality that the

bulk of Sharia cases involve family matters and ordinary commercial law. It maysurprise non-Muslims, but some Nigerian Christians prefer to file their cases inSharia courts because of their speed, fairness, and relative unconcern with legaltechnicalities. In Nigeria courts are poorly administered and move painfullyslowly. Recently, a Christian car buyer drew wide attention in Nigeria when hewas duped by a Muslim car seller and took his case to a Sharia court. In a fewweeks, he won—and paid no legal fees.

But too often Sharia law harms Christians. Inone Nigerian state, Christian bus operators arediscouraged and sometimes prohibited fromcarrying both men and women in a single trip.Christian businessmen have suffered because theban on the commercial sale of alcohol has led to thedestruction of their beverage stocks.

Why is Islamic law growing in importance? Theend of Nigeria’s military dictatorship and the returnto civilian, elected government created countlessbeneficial freedoms, but freedom of expressionresulted in more militant religious positions. Theclash of religions is exacerbated by the indecisivenessof President Olesegun Obasanjo. Muslim politiciansgain popularity by siding with Islamic conservativeswhile their Christian rivals score political points bycomplaining about Sharia’s extreme aspects. Islamiclaw might be justified if it targeted Nigeria’s biggestproblem: government corruption. Muslim politi-cians know corruption is killing our country, butSharia is not applied to the misdeeds of publicofficials. Only when the spotlight of Sharia shines ongovernment wrongdoing will we know that Nigeria

is on the road to prosperity.Sharia can also be reformed in ways that make the law more tolerant, open,

and acceptable to non-Muslims.In Islamic tradition, reform of Sharia results from an ijtijad, a creative and

intellectual effort to apply Islamic law to new circumstances. It is time for ijtijadagain if Muslims wish to maintain a central role for Sharia in Nigeria. (Project Syndicate)

(Ali Ahmad practices Sharia in Kano, Nigeria, where he alsoteaches law at Bayero University. He formerly taught law at EmoryUniversity in the US.)

In defence of Sharia

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Tariff squabblesGENEVA - The European Union may charge the United States up to$4.043 billion in additional tariffs in retaliation for the undue taxbreaks the latter gives its exporters, according to the biggest tradesanction approved by the WTO since its creation in 1995. The DisputeSettlement Body (DSB), the WTO’s tribunal, reckons the sum is areasonable estimate of the true value of the subsidies received by US-based companies that exported to Europe through subsidiaries locatedin tax havens. This regimen, a tax exemption scheme known as ForeignTrade Corporations, had already received the DSB’s condemnation lastyear. By setting up Foreign Trade Corporations, a mostly artificialforeign subsidiary, companies have been able to exempt 15 to 30percent of their export income from US taxes. The tax breaks granted inthe United States to certain exporters, which include Boeing, GeneralElectric and Microsoft, violate the rules of the multilateral trade system,according to the precedence the DSB has set in a series of rulings overthe last two years.

The largest sanction before Friday’s ruling came in response to aCanadian petition against Brazil in a dispute about subsidies to thelatter’s aeronautics industry. The WTO gave Canada the right toretaliate through slapping tariffs on Brazilian imports for a total of $220million. In the case of international banana trade, the WTO declaredthe EU’s import regimen for the fruit illegal and said that Ecuador—theworld’s leading banana exporter—could retaliate for $201.6million. (IPS)

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Don’t blame El NiñoGENEVA - The latest cycle of the climatic phenomenon known as ElNiño, which will last until 2003, probably has nothing to do with thefloods in Central Europe, nor with the severe drought in SouthernAfrica, but is indeed related to the heavy rainfalls in China, India andBangladesh, say leading meteorologists. El Niño, a warm PacificOcean current that flows eastward at latitudes near the Equator, tends tocause meteorological shifts worldwide. A new cycle has begun, but thistime will not reach the intensity of its last manifestation, in 1997-1998,says the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). Its influence couldbe seen in the unusual characteristics of the summer monsoon in theIndian sub-continent, particularly the scant rainfall in the southern andcentral regions. In contrast, the northeast suffered excessive rains.

The advent of El Niño—whose Spanish name refers to the babyJesus because it tends to appear in South America near Christmas—has been hinted at by unusual weather patterns since May. Thisprompted the WMO to advise preventive measures aimed at reducingthe impacts of the massive rainfalls or severe drought that are thehallmark of El Niño. WMO officials say the floods that have beenrecorded so far this year in more than 80 countries, which have affectedat least 17 million people and claimed the lives of 3,000. Floodingworldwide this year has covered an area of eight million sq km, almostthe size of Brazil. Material losses have reached $30 billion. WMOmeteorologists say the question should be: “Are countries making thecorrect long-term planning decisions?” and say that the internationalagency and national weather and hydrology services can help incalculating the risks of disaster. (IPS)

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Corruption perceptionBERLIN - Corruption is a malady afflicting not only the developingcountries, but also the developed world. It is an impediment tosustainable development, depriving the children of today of theresources they will need to survive tomorrow, says the CorruptionPerceptions Index 2002 (CPI) launched last week by TransparencyInternational (TI), the global coalition against corruption. The newindex, published by TI, scrutinises 102 countries. Seventy countries—including many of the world’s most poverty-stricken—score less than 5out of a clean score of 10. According to the index, corruption isperceived to be rampant in Indonesia, Kenya, Angola, Madagascar,Paraguay, Nigeria and Bangladesh, countries with a score of less than2. Countries that have secured a score of higher than 9, and evidencevery low levels of perceived corruption, are predominantly richcountries, such as Finland, Denmark, New Zealand, Iceland,Singapore and Sweden.

The CPI, first launched in 1995, is a poll of polls, reflecting theperceptions of business people and country analysts, both resident andnon-resident. This year’s CPI draws on 15 surveys from nine independ-ent institutions. A rolling survey of polls taken between 2000 and 2002,the CPI includes only those countries that feature in at least threesurveys. (IPS)

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

T

L

It is time to speak of acosmopolitan Sharia, and apply itto Nigeria’s corrupt politicians.

1111111111ASIA 6 - 12 SEPTEMBER 2002 NEPALI TIMES

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

ZHAO MIAOMIAO and

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

WEN CHIHUA in BEIJINGhina’s welfare system hasreached a crisis point afterdramatic changes to the

country’s economy left millions outof work. Attempts to repair thedamage have been too little too late,and ministers are concerned aboutsocial unrest.

When China opened up to therest of the world in the early 1980s itbegan its transition to a marketeconomy. Reforms to state enterprisesbegan in the late 1990s, and manyworkers found their skills were nolonger needed in the new-lookindustries. The impact has been huge:between 1998 and 2001, over 25.5million people were laid off by stateenterprises, says the InformationOffice of the State Council, China’scabinet. In April this year thegovernment predicted unemploymentwill triple in the next four years.

Before structural reforms, mostpeople worked for the state, either in astate-owned company, factory or

Holes in China’s social safety net

by HERSHEL I GROSSMANCOMMENT

n 1947 Palestinian Arabs and their allies rejected a UN proposal to partitionPalestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state, just as ten years before theyrejected a similar partitioning proposed by the Peel Commission. More

recently, at Camp David and at Taba in Egypt, Arab negotiators again rejectedproposals that would have led to the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

True, sometimes Arab negotiators discuss mundane issues that prospectiveneighbouring states would need to resolve, such as political boundaries, securityarrangements, and economic relations. American and European governments usethe carrot of economic aid to encourage this development, in the way the US paysEgypt and Jordan to acquiesce to Israel’s existence. But unless the Arabs under-stand the permanent reality of a Jewish state in Palestine, the creation of a Palestin-ian Arab state won’t provide more than a tenuous truce.

The Zionist project of creating a Jewish state in Palestine entails a return of theJewish people to their ancestral homeland. Whether or not this historical justifica-tion for Israel’s creation is convincing, it is important that the Palestinian Arabsand their allies don’t buy it. Arabs equate the Zionist project to the creation of acolony. For them, the conflict between Jews and Arabs replicates the conflictsbetween colonial settlers and indigenous peoples.

Even if no one else buys this, the lessons the Arabs glean from colonialexperiences become relevant. Over the years Israeli governments encouraged Arabs

Arabs need to stop equating theZionist project with colonialism.

to participate in Israel’s economy. This policy, which Israelis view asbenevolent, supposes that economic integration of Arabs and Jews is possiblewithout modifying the Zionist concept of Israel as a Jewish state. But, fromthe Arab perspective it reinforces their equating of Zionism with colonialism.

Arab rhetoric often takes the colonial experiences of Algeria and SouthAfrica as models for their conflict with Zionism. In both countries, colonial-ism failed. Descendants of the European settlers in Algeria fled back toEurope. In South Africa, blacks achieved political dominance over thedescendants of British and Afrikaner settlers, large numbers of whom remainas a tolerated minority. Arabs will have to become convinced that they canneither subjugate the Jews nor drive the Jews out of Palestine.

The negotiating formula of “land for peace” and “breakthroughs” like theOslo accords failed to dampen the conflict because the Arabs interpret Israeliconcessions as signs of weakness. The Israelis show the Arabs that they cannotdestroy Israel by enduring the violent war of attrition that the Arabs arepursuing. The only way to convince the Arabs that Israel is here to stay is tomake this war of attrition very costly.

But suppose a two-state solution were achieved in the not-too-remotefuture. Think of Ireland, where a two-state solution has worked. Havingsecured an independent Irish state, Catholics in the Republic of Ireland cameto accept the existence of a settler enclave in Northern Ireland. But, the Irishstory has not had a happy ending. The Catholic minority in NorthernIreland, whose position seems similar to that of the million Arabs who areIsraeli citizens, eventually revolted against the dominant Protestants, withdecades of violence resulting. (Project Syndicate)

(Herschel I Grossman is professor of social sciences andeconomics at Brown University.)

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Regulating the NGO businessDHAKA - Under pressure from business and opinion leadersand public forums, the government is considering imposingrestrictions on how NGOs do business. Activists say the moveis but a politically motivated witch-hunt. A cabinet sub-commit-tee headed by Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman, charged withinvestigating the matter, said in August that NGOs’ povertyreduction efforts would have to come with substantial regula-tion of the sector. Rahman said regulations being considered bythe committee include the mandatory registration of all NGOs,fixing a maximum ceiling of interest charged by NGOs on loans,and auditing the income, expenditure and sources of NGOs’income. Several thousand NGOs have been operating freely inBangladesh since 1972 without regulation, despite the repeatedstatements by governments throughout the years that it wouldbring financing and lending by non-profit organisations underclose scrutiny. Nearly 1,700 NGOs are registered with thegovernment’s NGO Affairs Bureau and of these, about 200received foreign grants and loans with the bureau’s knowl-edge. Over 3,000 NGOs are believed to be operating in Bangla-desh without official registration. (IPS)

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

No Googling in ChinaBEIJING – China has blocked access to the popular US Internetsearch engine Google amid government calls to tighten mediacontrols ahead of a major Communist Party congress where thenext generation of leaders is to be announced. Attempts toaccess the site through Chinese Internet services this weekwere rejected, saying it couldn’t be found. Users and technicalconsultants who monitor the Internet in China said the site hasbeen blocked for several days.

There was no immediate explanation and representativesfor Google, based in California, were not available for comment.China routinely tightens controls on news and informationaround politically sensitive dates, and state media quotedPresident Jiang Zemin in August as telling propaganda officialsto create a “sound atmosphere” for the meeting.

Google is hugely popular among China’s 45 million Internetusers because of its wide-ranging search capacity. A searchin English for Jiang’s name turns up links to 156,000 Web sitesmentioning him. By contrast, a search on Sina.com, anotherportal that is popular in China, turns up just 1,600 mentions ofJiang. The Chinese-language service of American searchengine Yahoo! turns up just 24 results. Nor does Google weedout material that the Chinese government blocks as subversive.

China promotes the Internet for economic use and to spreadthe communist government’s views. But it has worked hard tomuzzle the Internet as a forum for free information and discus-sion. Authorities apply blocks to prevent Internet users fromviewing sites run by Falun Gong, human rights groups andsome foreign news organizations. Police monitor chat roomsand personal e-mail and erase online content consideredundesirable. Internet portals have been warned they will beheld responsible for sites they host. But many users find waysto get around the blocks, often using “proxy servers” —websites abroad that let users reach blocked sites. Suchtechniques are routinely posted online in China or exchanged inchat rooms. (AP)

institute. Reforms ended the ‘cradle-to-grave’ system that made state-ownedenterprises responsible not only fortheir employees’ life-long employment,but also housing, medical expenses,pension, and even children’s schooling.

Now the social security services canmeet only about five per cent of thecountry’s new demand, says WangZhikun, chief of the Social ReliefDepartment at the Ministry of CivilAffairs - the department responsible forsocial services.

The system used to target theelderly, disabled, orphans and familiesof ‘revolutionary martyrs’, mostly ruraldwellers. “Urban workers wereguaranteed [security] through theiremployment, known as the ‘iron ricebowl’,” says Wang Zhikun. But thereforms have taken a lot of iron out ofthe bowl, and many urban workers nowface an uncertain future.

Recent government figures put theurban unemployment rate at 3.6 percent for end-2001, but State Councilestimates show the figure to be closer to10 per cent. The Council expects it toworsen in 2002 after China’s accession

to the World Trade Organisation inDecember 2001, which brings with itfurther restructuring.

Li Jigang is a 48-year-old engineerfrom the south-western city ofChongqing, a centre for heavy industrythat has suffered massive job cuts.

He was laid off in 1997 after thearmoury he used to work for shifted tocivil products. “All my skills becameoutdated,” he says. Li’s factory gave hima redundancy payment, but “the sumwas eaten up in two years, and my wifebecame jobless when her textile mill wasclosed.” To help families like Li’s, theChinese government launched aprogramme in 1997 to provide a basicliving allowance for urban residents wholost out in the reforms. By February2002, 13 million people depended onit for survival.

“The basic living allowance isdesigned to ensure that the urban poorand an unemployed family’s incomedoes not drop below the minimumliving standard of a locality,” says WangZhikun. This standard varies from cityto city. In Beijing the figure is about$34 a month, but the national average is

just over $18. Despite the extra injection of

cash, Wang says China’s socialsecurity system has lagged farbehind the country’s economic andsocial changes.

“Having worked well under theplanned economy for almost half acentury, this system is confrontedby a contradiction between an acuteshortage of money and the growingdemand for social welfare andpension services,” he says. In April,deputy minister of labour WangDongjin warned of seriousconsequences when he announcedthat rising unemployment “couldwell undermine our social stability”.

“The government has beentransferring back to society andfamily many of the welfare functionsit had previously undertaken,” saysSarah Cook, a British researcher atthe Institute of DevelopmentStudies, University of Sussex,currently on secondment to theBeijing office of the Ford Founda-tion. She has examined China’ssocial protection system in herpaper, ‘After the Iron Rice Bowl,Extending the safety net in China’.She says in urban areas, healthcarehas become a major concernamong laid-off workers. Undercurrent health insurance reforms,both the employee and the stateemployer have to make insurancecontributions.

Unemployed workers, whocannot pay their own medicalinsurance contributions, faceunaffordable health bills. Theincreasing costs of medical care andeducation means that families withchildren, the sick or elderly faceparticular difficulties. Failure toinvest in human resources, Cookwarns, will end in “long-term”social costs to society. Li fromChongqing shows how true this is.“I dare not see a doctor ever since Ilost my job. I’m afraid I can notafford even medicine if I get

seriously sick, since the bill isquite steep.” (Panos)

A two-state solution?

I

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Social security services meet only five percent ofChina’s new demand.

C

1212121212 6 - 12 SEPTEMBER 2002 NEPALI TIMESFROM THE NEPALI PRESS THIS PAGE CONTAINS MATERIAL SELECTED FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

It was just a bomb explosion. I thought it was something really bad!

Rajdhani, 4 September

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

It is extremely irresponsible of the prime minister to say that the king, the army, and the police are infavour of him. The prime minister’s deposit for the elections should be retained for this unconstitu-tional, undemocratic, and anti-public statement. Prime Minister Deuba and his group should bebarred from knocking on the doors of the people.

—Subash Nemwang, central member, CPN (UML), in Dristi, 3 September

Jana Aastha, 28 AugustExcerpts of an interview with JhalaknathSubedi, former assistant minister from Jajarkot

On the possibility of holding elections inhis districtThe situation is so grim that the first personwho steps out to vote will be targeted by theMaoists. Let me tell you what happened in the1997 elections. Jajarkot is one of thosedistricts where in 10 of 30 VDCs, electionshad to be held a year later. One of those 10was Jhapra VDC. A day before the electionsthe Maoists came to the village and said, “Let’ssee who will vote first. We will be watching.”The people went to the voting centre the nextday, but none stood in the line, no one wantedto be the first to vote so there were noelections. The situation has worsened since.

…The elections are to be held on 13November; it is now late August. There is noway for those of us who will contest theelections to go to the district. There are noflights there, and we do not have surfacetransport. The government has been unable toassure security, so the airport remains closed.

Telecommunications have been shut downfor the past 10-11 months. The Maoists have

attacked me twice, they may attack me again. How do you expect me to go there on foot? I might go ifsecurity is assured… otherwise, I am not interested.

On living in KathmanduI am not here because it is difficult for me to live in my village. I am here because it is impossible to even gothere. Tell me how I can go? People of the Baneswor Congress [Sher Bahadur Deuba’s faction] havebeen going in and out on police helicopters, I belong to the Teku Congress [the Girija Prasad Koiralafaction] and don’t have access to those facilities. I have heard that the prime minister has instructed thepolice not to allow people from the Teku Congress to go to the districts. So how can I go back? … It’sbeen 17-18 months since I have been back to my district. Earlier I used to travel between here and thedistrict, but it has also been eight or nine months since the airport closed.

…Little has changed in the security situation even after the emergency. The emergency has beeneffective only in Kathmandu; maybe you as journalists have also been affected. No one cares about theemergency in the districts. The curfews are the only new changes; apart from that, no one in my districtis even aware of the emergency. There we have been living through the emergency imposed by theMaoists. The Maoists let people travel to the district headquarters for only two days in a month. If there isno movement of people to and from the district headquarters, what elections will you have?

…I have been living on what I earned from selling my little ancestral property. I do not have cash tospend and have been managing by selling some gold ornaments we had. I know life cannot go on in thismanner. I hope there will come a day when I can return to the district and do agriculture.

On the tree disputeDo you think we will keep quiet if the Election Commission does not recognise us as the official CongressParty? How can we? What would happen to our party? Where can we go? How can we expressdissent? Maybe a similar situation to this one led the Samyukta Jana Morcha to begin revolting in early1996. Sher Bahadur Deuba was prime minister then, look at where we have come now because their 42demands were not given a fair hearing then.

…We also have a large number of supporters and party workers nationwide. If we are barred fromlegitimately contesting elections, what options would we have left, other than launching a movement? Buta movement does not have to be violent. We will join the type of movement the party decides to take up…

“We can also start a movement.” ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

RNAC’s debtorsDristi, 3 September

The Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation has sent a four-pagelist of its debtors to the Commission for the Investigation ofAbuse of Authority. The letter, signed by acting RNACchair Ramagya Chaturvedi, says that Singha Darbar owesclose to Rs 5.25 million, while the palace owes RNAC overRs 400,000. The list of debtors includes prominentembassies, and organisations such as USAID and the WorldBank. Meanwhile, RNAC has drawn a Rs 220 millionoverdraft by placing its jet as a deposit in order to service itsforeign debts.

Who owes what?Prime Minister’s Office: Over Rs 5.2 millionMinistry of Finance: Over Rs 12.4 millionMinistry of Commerce: Rs 945,464.05Ministry of Local Development: Rs 81,760.08Ministry of Transport: Rs 222,595.94Ministry of Defence: Rs 47,215Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Rs 119,292.07Home Ministry: Rs 81,343.25Department of Postal Services: Close to Rs 13 millionDepartment of Civil Aviation: Rs 144,344.75Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Over Rs 2.5 millionMinistry of Tourism: Over Rs 1.3 millionRoyal Nepal Army Air Service: Rs 205,200VVIP flights: Rs 313,176.05Deputy Prime Minister’s Office: Rs 13,572Ministry of Tourism Rs 361,292.34Ministry of Health: Rs 75,440Ministry of Water Resources: Rs 21,870

Embassies and OrganisationsAmerican Embassy, Delhi: Rs 97,215.86Canadian High Commission, Delhi: Rs 26,492.33Chinese Embassy, Kathmandu: Rs 208,756.46Egyptian Embassy: Rs 10,911.95Korean Embassy: Rs 13,259.82Pakistani Embassy: Rs 35,926.82Russian Embassy: Rs 13,044.91High Commission of Canada: Rs 39,052.97ICAO: Rs 23,541.60Indian Embassy, Rangoon: Rs 27,453.60K- bird Project: Rs 47,566.60Post Master General, Hong Kong: Rs 425,885.16Postal Department, Dhaka: Rs 124,333.50USAID: Rs 67,886.45World Bank: Rs 69,918.04Rastriya Banijya Bank, Kathmandu: Rs 16,971.70Rastriya Beema Sansthan, Kathmandu: Rs 11,114Department of Telecommunications: Rs 23,259.45Tribhuvan University: Rs 85,471.40National Trading Ltd: Rs 64,036.93US Embassy, Delhi: Rs 9,613.77British Embassy, Kathmandu: Rs 422,304.56Royal Mail London: Over Rs 1.4 millionAmerican Embassy, Delhi: Rs 179,344.20Indian Embassy: Rs 299,716.42Defence Ministry, UK: Rs 59,999.55Royal Palace: Rs 406,503.20Nepal Food Corporation: Over Rs 6 millionNepal Rastra Bank: Rs 334,776Nepali Congress: Rs 5,340PATA: Rs 85,249.36UNDP: Rs 195,425.86French Embassy: Rs 75,937.29Royal Nepalese Embassy, Delhi: Rs 112,249.60

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

FailureMulyankan, 15 August-14 September

Nepal is ruined economically. The political confusion hasencouraged forces waiting to emerge again and the activities offoreign powers. The Maoists have a stranglehold over half thecountry, and the government has not taken initiatives thatwould help end the insurgency. Analysts and academicsspeak out.

Krishna Hachhethu,political analystThe budget allocation for thepalace affairs has been increasedto Rs 380 million from Rs 110million last year, a goodindicator of the direction thecountry is taking. Second, thepalace and the army are gainingan upper hand in politics, aseven the prime minister has

admitted. Third, the interference of donor countries hasincreased as they monitor their investments, a sign that theyhave lost faith in Nepal.

The constitution and laws are misinterpreted and misused.The constitution allows the term of parliament to be extended bya year in extraordinary circumstances. A state of emergency isatypical, but parliament was dissolved. The constitution has alsobeen manipulated with regard to local bodies.

Political parties are the platform through which thepublic can collectively express its dissatisfaction. They areexpected to represent the people’s voice when democracy isin crisis, but political parties are losing strength. Civilsociety has turned out to be a disappointment—theyengage in self-censorship, and have failed to give voice tothe people’s concerns. It will likely take a couple of yearsfor the first protests to erupt even if the Panchayati systemwere imposed again.

Dr Mahesh Maskey,community health expertWe need to analyse what wehave achieved and where wefailed in the last 12 years.There aren’t many points onwhich we can be assured thatthis political system is betterfor the public than thePanchayat was. The present

constitution guarantees multiparty democracy and thesovereignty of the people, but has no provision thatguarantees the people’s right to hold a referendum for self-determination.

In the economic arena, the interim governmentformed following the restoration of the multiparty systemtried to reduce the royal family’s budget allocation a littlebit, but no other government since has tried anything likethat. This fiscal year Rs 380 million has been allocated forthe royal family, and an additional Rs 230 million hasbeen earmarked for the “development” of the royal palace.That puts the budget going to the royal family at Rs 610million.

The state is in a massive crisis. Its anti-peoplecharacteristics are being revealed, and it is trying to protectitself. The state is not being supported by the parties thatsay they have taken a firm stand against reactionary forces.The government now has a choice: keep misusing power,or try to gain people’s confidence through the elections.

Dr Krishna Khanal,political analystI would say that the presentcrisis is the by-product ofour failure. This crisis willleave no space for the kind ofparticipatory democracy wewant. The Maoists now seemto be in the mood tocompromise, the governmentis getting more militant, the

other progressive powers are heading towards compromise.We need to watch out for the kind of ‘progressiveness’ thisconflict is engendering.

The progressive powers that had the potential toimprove things are more feeble than they have been in thepast 50 years. The debates on democracy have weakened,and not just because of the emergency. The mindset of therulers, Nepali Congress or CPN-UML, has not changedafter 1990. That stagnation is the root cause of the presentcrisis, as is the failure to make changes.

People have started calling this constitution acompromise between the king, the Nepali Congress andthe left front—the prime minister says that the threepowers drafted the constitution, and it cannot be amendedwithout their agreement. The king and the NepaliCongress are there, but the left front does not existanymore. We do not have faith in the system we created,we failed in not developing ownership for it.

Dr Pitamber Sharma,geographerOur biggest failure has beenin not decentralising economicand administrative power,without which participatorydemocracy is not possible. Ittook 12 years for a decentrali-sation act to be enacted, and itwas bypassed the day it was

enacted, a sign of how insensitive our political system istowards development issues.

In poor countries such as ours, the government’smain objective should be to guide the rich and provideassistance to the poor. Instead, since the interim govern-ment was created, we adopted a market economy. Ourgovernments have displayed more faith in a marketeconomy than even The World Bank or the IMF. Thatcreated confusion about the role of the government indevelopment attempts. For instance, the governmenttotally neglected the public schools where 95 percent ofchildren study, and concentrated on privatising theeducation sector, which put the underprivilegedchildren at a disadvantage.

The government failed to be accountable to thepeople. The local bodies can play a vital role in makingthe government accountable to the people, but

political parties are not committed. Regardless oftheir ideologies, party manifestoes ignore the idea ofaccountability. Civil society can contribute a lot, butwe neglected the people, we failed to make commit-ments to empower them.

The bridge between Rukum and Jajarkot

SH

IVA

GA

UN

LE

13131313136 - 12 SEPTEMBER 2002 NEPALI TIMESCULTURE AND SOCIETY

Back at Sundarijal >18

“The ball is in the king’s court.”9 FeburarySundarijal: I am greatly disturbed since yesterday when we got theimpression from the captain that writing paper wouldn’t be available tous. I am anxious at the thought that we may be totally deprived ofintellectual activities. Even if there are no books I could write mybiography or the history of Nepal’s democratic struggle in which I havevery actively and at times centrally participated. Then I could jot downstray thoughts, take down notes from books (we have six second-ratebooks) write stories or even attempt a novel on contemporary socio-political developments in Nepal. If paper is not supplied to us, and if wecan’t contact our people for it or bring it ourselves—we had asked theofficer here to get writing paper from the market from our money, whenwhen we received that kind of information—then my life will really beextremely unbearable. It is most frustrating. I have started cutting outthe blank margins from the two daily newspapers (Gorkhapatra andRising Nepal) to save as writing material. Since I have to conservepaper, I have started writing small letters so that they may not takebigger space in the paper. I have three refills for my dot pen. I have asmall bottle of ink and this pen which I am writing with. I don’t knowhow long the ink will last. I brought this pen just fortuitously when I wassorting out my things at Patna on the eve of our departure to this place.Another cause of worry is that the doctor does not visit us althoughwe have been asking for him. I am not feeling all right with giddinessand heaviness in the head, buzzing sound and pulse in the ears andbleeding from the nose. Regular visits from a medical man would inspireconfidence that at least when we are ill we will be in safe hands.

Washed some clothes, didn’t bathe, with this mental state I couldn’t

read. The day is cold. It started with hopes of being sunny and warm,but towards evening the day was overcast with clouds and cold windblowing.

10 FebruaryMy mental tension continues, but it is not as high as it was yesterdaybecause the major told me that he had not understood me when I saidI wanted six quires of paper. He thought I wanted six sheets. But thatwas that, he said, indicating by implication that the misunderstandingwould be closed and 6 quires of paper would be supplied to us. I alsoleft it at that. But GM (Ganesh Man Singh) thinks that he made thatstatement just to be pleasant. And that he had referred our demandfor paper to a “higher authority” which had not yet sanctioned it. GMsays we should conserve paper and not be misled by expectation ofrelaxation in the matter. Today too they didn’t send us the doctor. Ibecame nervous and thought we would be deprived of medicalattention. My present worry is that I don’t get sound sleep and myhead is constantly heavy with a buzzing sound.

A carpenter came to repair some of our windows. They supplied abucket and mug for GM’s bathroom. Ever since our arrival in thiscamp, i.e. since last 40 days GM had been asking for a bucket for hisbathroom. It arrived only today.

During tea we talked about Nepal’s politics and the imperatives ofour return to Nepal. GM is firmly convinced that we have savedourselves, our party and, if the response from the other side isequally informed with statesmanship, then the country [too] by thisdecision to return to Nepal. Now the ball is in the king’s court.

The stress of incarceration is beginning to tellon BP Koirala in these pages from his diary.The fear of losing his supply of writing paper ismore worrying than not getting books to read.Compounded with this, BP is gettingincreasingly worried about his health andworries that the jailers have not sent a doctorto check him up. He discusses politics with jail-mate Ganesh Man Singh and concludes that itis now up to King Birendra to make his move.

Learning Nepali the Klingon wayA new CD-ROM teaches you to ask in Nepali where the beach is.onsumers learning European

languages are increasingly facedwith a choice of instructional

materials, ranging from traditionalpocket-sized Berlitz travel companionsto interactive CD-ROMs. The latterhave the advantage of being designedas personalisable linguistic resourcesthat hold the learner’s attention. Forthe most part, only commerciallyviable language learning courses havebeen made interactive (such asSpanish, German and Russian) whileminority languages materials, intowhich category Nepali certainly falls,offer at best an audio tape of sampleconversations alongside a printedcourse book.

It was thus with some surprisethat I came across EuroTalk Interac-tive’s Talk Now! series of CD-ROMs,offering multimedia instruction inlesser-known languages such asAssamese, Farsi, Kannada, Manxand…Nepali. I ordered the courseentitled ‘Learn Nepali: Essential wordsand phrases for absolute beginners’ andwas rather bemused by the contents.

After double-clicking the rainbowcoloured Talk-Now! icon on thedesktop, the user is taken to asecondary folder. While the naturalchoice would be to click the iconlabelled ‘Learn Nepali’, my eye wasdrawn instead to a folder underneathwhich reads, in rather small andblocky Devanâgarî, klingon siknuhos.This I can only interpret to mean‘learn Klingon’, the language spokenby the race immortalised in Star Trek.More surprising still, in ways that Iwill describe later, is that the Klingonleitmotif pervades the whole CD-ROM. Clicking on the icon labelledKlingon sadly leads nowhere and theuser is left with the feeling that aDevanagari-literate computerprogrammer is having a laugh atsomeone’s expense, in this caseprobably the company’s (EuroTalk).After all, it is likely that neither themanagerial staff of EuroTalk nor usersof the CD-ROM read Devanâgarîscript.

On double-clicking the morepromising ‘Learn Nepali’ icon, theuser is required to personalise theinterface by typing a name. A verypleasant (if uncommon) Nepali voicegreeting, subha din (Good Day), isthen heard followed by a loudAmerican shouting “Good Afternoon”.While the top left of the home screenis dominated by administrativefeatures, including purchasing otherEuroTalk CDs, the prominent graphicof a CD in the middle of the screenlabelled ‘Learn Nepali’ is strangelynot clickable. The user is insteadrequired to click a small start arrow,once again enter a name, and thenthe same enthusiastic American voicesays “Welcome to Euro-Talk”, theirony of which is all too apparentwhen starting to learn a South Asianlanguage.

The content of the CD-ROM ishoused within a subdivided roulettewheel of clickable segments, including‘First Words’, ‘Countries’, ‘Num-bers’, ‘Phrases’ and ‘Food’. Thesubdivisions are sensible and useful,and navigation through the differentsections is likewise intuitive. In eachsubsection, the user must choose anapproach fitting his or her needs: wordpractice, speaking practice, an easygame or a more challenging one. Theoverarching structure is heavilydependent on graphics rather thantext, and success is measured bypassing tests. This approach willappeal to younger learners, butuniversity students, researchers,healthcare or development profession-als who are hoping to learn Nepali aspart of their vocational preparationmay find the interface childish andfrustrating. Many educational CD-ROMs offer level or aptitude switch-ing: the lower level being visually richand structured around guided tours,tests and games, while the higher levelconcentrates more on in depthlanguage use and rich content. This

type of stratification, if well imple-mented, might enhance the EuroTalkCD-ROM and be less off-putting toadult learners.

Two features of the Learn NepaliCD-ROM warrant special praise.First, it is possible to study Nepalithrough the medium of a languageother than English. At any point in thecourse, the user may choose to alter the‘help’ language (the language ofinstruction) from American English(the default) to British English,Hindi, Icelandic, Tibetan or any of 70others. This is a powerful facility thatwill significantly increase the overalluser base of the package, and is afeature not readily incorporated intoother language learning tools. Thereare some limitations, as one wouldexpect: some languages offer voiceovertracks while others are strictly textual(for example, the written Zulu wordfor ‘blue’ is offered when listening tothe pronunciation of the Nepali wordnilo ‘blue’). Scrolling down the list, Inoted that Nepali is also available,meaning that Nepali could belearned through Nepali, a somewhatunconventional way of achievingmonolingual language instruction.Star Trek is ever present in themenu structure, however, as thelanguage listed as ‘Nepali’ in Romanscript is written as klingon inDevanâgarî.

A second useful feature is theoption of a female Nepali speakerinstead of, or alongside, a male one.The language course is presented bytwo animated guides, a Caucasianman and an equally white woman.On hearing a word, the user can optfor a Nepali woman’s voice insteadof a Nepali man’s simply byclicking on the relevant torso. Theimportance of this feature has less todo with sexual politics, sincewomen’s voices are just as oftenfeatured in language learning tools asmen’s, and rather more to do with

speech variation and linguisticchoice. Tapes which accompanyinstructional materials may containrole plays and vocabulary lists, butrarely can the user hear the samewords or phrases being repeated byspeakers of the opposite sex. Users ofthe EuroTalk CD-ROM stand abetter chance of understanding, andof being understood, if and whenthey finally communicate in Nepalisimply on account of having hearddifferent accents and idiolects fromthe outset.

While the linguistic content ofthis beginners’ CD-ROM isacceptable, it is marred by anoverarching cultural uniformity.EuroTalk Nepali is an exercise inunreconstructed ethnocentrism,underpinned by the assumption thateach and every culture (and thus byextension, its language) has similarpatterns of social, cultural andeconomic interaction. Sapir andWhorf would turn in their graves ifthey knew what was being peddledin the name of language pedagogy.

The lack of cultural tuning isbest illustrated with examples, andis particularly apparent in thesections First Words and Phrases.The list of First Words starts out,naturally enough, with ‘Yes’ and‘No’, but then, third in the list weare offered ‘telephone’ (pronouncedteliphon), soon thereafter ‘wine’(rendered as wain) and finally nearthe bottom, kredit kâr? (credit card).In their defence, these are all nowavailable in Nepal (though I’mpretty sure they weren’t when theCD-ROM was created), and visitorsto the country may indeed be inneed of wine, but including theseitems in a list of First Words seemsa little far-fetched. Likewise, thePhrases section is indicative of thisglobalised approach. The learner isencouraged to repeat and commit tomemory sentences such as ‘where is

the train station’ (rel steshan kahàcha?) and ‘where is the beach?’(samudrâ kinâr katâ cha?). While thelatter example is of little useanywhere in the Nepali-speakingworld, the former may at least be ofsome utility in Darjeeling orSikkim. Generally speaking, in fact,the content of the course is moresuited for use in the Nepali-speaking regions of India thananywhere in Nepal itself.

My suspicion is that every CD-ROM within the Talk Now! serieshas an identical database structurewhich includes exactly the samewords, phrases and examples. Theresult is a single product withvoiceovers in different languages,but marketed as 75 differentlanguage courses.

EuroTalk Interactive’s LearnNepali CD-ROM is a mixed bag.While the interface is effective, thegames and tasks engaging (ifchildish) and the choice of bothmale and female Nepali voicecommendable, the utility of the

course is compromised by theproblems outlined above. Theseamless integration and slickinteractivity of the CD-ROM,combined with the lack of culturalapplicability, make it a triumph ofform over content.

EuroTalk interactive’s Talk Now! LearnNepali CD-ROM: Essential wordsand phrases for absolute beginners.2000. London. ISBN 1-8662-21088-8. [System requirements:Windows 95/98/NT/2000 or MacOS 7 or above. Computer must havecolour display, sound, 16 MB of freememory, CD-ROM drive andpreferably a microphone]. price:£24.99. Can be ordered fromwww.eurotalk.co.uk

(Mark Turin is with theDepartment of SocialAnthropology, University ofCambridge. An earlier versionof this review was published involume 28 of the IIASNewsletter, Leiden, TheNetherlands.)

by MARK TURINCD REVIEW

C ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

DSES-04-09-2002 11:00 GMT

1414141414 CITY 6 - 12 SEPTEMBER 2002 NEPALI TIMES

ABOUT TOWN

For inclusion in the listing send information to editors@nepalitimes.com

KATHMANDU VALLEY

Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue

27-19 28-19 29-18 28-18 27-16

by NGAMINDRA DAHALNEPALI WEATHER

For insertions ring NT Marketing at 543333-36.

CLASSIFIED

○○

○○

○○

○○

○○

○○

○○

○○

○○

○○

○○

○○

○○

○○

○○

○

BOOKWORM

Courtesy: Mandala Book Point, Kantipath, 227711, mandala@ccsl.com.np

Short term house rent-Budhanilkantha Lovely,furnished three-bedroom house available fromSeptember for five months. 375820

House for rent in Thamel Four bedrooms each withattached bath, eat-in kitchen, living room, largeterrace, Rs 15,000. 9810-21981, 9692-3272.

Wanted -Sales manager-cum-designerKnowledge of western and eastern clothes design.French language a plus. Divine Group and Co. Tel:230369, fax: 229622. Email: divine@mail.com.np

Foot - Reflexology: stressed or tired? UPLIFT YOURSPIRIT FROM YOUR TOES UP.email: buddhasfeet@yahoo.com or ring 425931

Nagarkot Special at Naked Chef Bed and breakfast,three-course gourmet dinner, Rs 800 per person. RoomRs 300 only. For Nepalis and expatriates. 680006,969107153

House for rent Ground floor: living room, kitchen,

dining room, one bathroom. First floor: masterbedroom with attached bath, one bedroom, bath-room, pantry. Second floor: one bedroom withattached bath, store, lobby. Third floor: terrace andlaundry room. Location: Galfutar. Tel: 412094.

Stupa View and Restaurant & Terrace atBaudhanath Stupa. Well-appointed restaurant andterraces with views of stupa and Himalayas. Interna-tional vegetarian specialties, pizza from clay oven,ice cream, soft guitar tunes on Fridays, Saturdays,Sundays from 5PM on. Special events on full moon.Open daily 11AM-8.30PM. 480262.

K-Too! Beer and Steakhouse not the “longest”,“highest”, “first” or any other superlative. Just arelaxed, easy-going bar and restaurant with thecoldest beer and juiciest steaks this side of the moon.By the Kathmandu Guest House. 433043

Visit Ground Zero Fine wines, designer candles,cards, silver jewellery and more. Darbar Marg,opposite Hotel de l’Annapurna

FESTIVALFESTIVALFESTIVALFESTIVALFESTIVALTeej Women fast for their husbands’ longevity, wear bright red, and all day walk toPashupatinath singing along the way. 9 September, all day, Pashupati.

DISCUSSIONDISCUSSIONDISCUSSIONDISCUSSIONDISCUSSIONAABA KO RAJNITIK BATO/ The Political Road Ahead Presentation by Professor KrishnaKhanal, comments by Dipak Gyawali and Hari Roka. GAA Forum, Thamel 6 September,4-6 PM. Contact Sangita Prasai Mahat at 414785.

EXHIBITIONEXHIBITIONEXHIBITIONEXHIBITIONEXHIBITIONColorgraph prints by Ragini Upadhayay-Grela. 17 August-15 September, Siddhartha ArtGallery, 11AM-6PM, except Saturdays. 218048

MUSICMUSICMUSICMUSICMUSICSaturday Night Fever with Blind Faith, 8.30 PM on, The Rox Bar, Hyatt Regency Kathmandu.491234Jazz your blues away with The Jazz Commission, Fridays, 7PM on, Fusion, the bar atDwarika’s. 479488New music at the Nanglo Bakery Cafés Thursdays The Thunders at The Bakery Café, Teku,Fridays Strings at the Nanglo Café & Pub, Darbar Marg, Sundays The Thunders at the BakeryCafé, Baneswor.

DRINKDRINKDRINKDRINKDRINKLadies Night at the Rox Complimentary drink for women, Teesta plays 8PM onwards. TheRox Bar, Hyatt Regency Kathmandu. 491234

FOODFOODFOODFOODFOODFresh claws Fresh crabs all September, with lunch buffet, Cajuncrab cakes with mesclun, baked crab with mustard and fontina andmore. The Sunrise Café, Hotel Yak & Yeti. 248999Barbeque with live band Wednesdays and Fridays 6.30PM – 9.30 PM, Splash Bar and Grill, Radisson Hotel. 411818The greenest patch Weekend lunches in Nagarkot's oldest,largest garden at The Fort Resort, fort@mos.com.np. 226799Walter’s Bodega relocates opposite KC’s, Thamel. Mexican food promotion includingfajitas, enchiladas, burritos and more. Buy one entrée, get one free.Mexican Food Festival 7-15 September at Summit Hotel, 11.30 AM – 9.30 PM, PatanMuseum Café, 11.30 AM – 4.30 PM. 521810Salmon and rosé wine Norwegian salmon dishes for dinner only. The Rox Restaurant, HyattRegency Kathmandu. 491234

Specials for the busy executives Chef’s menu at discounted rates, Dwarika’s Hotel,Battisputali. 479488Autumn Special English premier football with steak, and Rs 55 glasses of draft, K-too! Beer& Steakhouse. 433043Mountain Madness Barbecue and two-for-one cocktails, Rs 250 each, Kilroy’s ofKathmandu. 250440.

Vegetarian specialties with membership discount for Nepalis and expats at the Stupa ViewRestaurant & Terrace, Boudha. 480262Authentic Thai food Everyday at Yin Yang Restaurant. 425510

GETAWAYSGETAWAYSGETAWAYSGETAWAYSGETAWAYSMonsoon mists Horseshoe Resort, Mude two-and-half hours from Kathmandu. Naturewalks, birdwatching, drizzle walks, Nepal’s best Finnish sauna.resort@horshoe.wlink.com.npMonsoon Madness Buy a two-night three-day package for Rs 5000 at Shangri-la Village,Pokhara, get Rs 5000 in coupons to spend at the Shangri-La in Pokhara or Kathmandu.412999Monsoon in Shivapuri For birdwatching, short hikes, writing. 20 minute drive and 10 minutewalk from Kathmandu, two acres 6,000 feet on the edge of the Shivapuri National Park. Rs1,850 per person with dinner and breakfast, Rs 925 per child 5-14 years, Shivapuri HeightsCottage. info@escape2nepal.comThe Great Godavari Getaway Special weekend packages including room with breakfast anddinner, 25 percent discount on health club facilities. Godavari Village Resort. 560675Writing Retreat Full board package. Aesthetic living, innovative thinking, creative writing andnature at Park Village Resort, Budhanilkantha. 375280

Late to arrive, late to go. That is how we wouldcharacterise this year’s monsoon. This one still hassome oomph left in it, as you can see in the satellitepicture taken on Wednesday afternoon: squall lines allthe way from the bay to Kashmir, with anothercirculation coming out of the Arabian Sea. That one willnot affect us much, but expected brief but heavylocalised showers in the later afternoon and night inthe coming week. Mornings will be cool, but hot andhumid noon before the clouds move in.

Radio SagarmathaP.O. Box 6958, Bakhundole, Lalitpur, NepalTel: ++977-1-545680, 545681 Fax: ++ 977-1- 530227E-mail: radio@radiosagarmatha.orgwww.radiosagarmatha.org

Mon-Fri 0615-0645 BBC World TodaySat 0615-0645 BBC Reporting ReligionSun 0615-0645 BBC AgendaDaily 2045-2115 BBC g]kfnL ;]jfg]kfnL ;]jfg]kfnL ;]jfg]kfnL ;]jfg]kfnL ;]jfDaily 2245-2300 BBC g]kfnL ;]jfg]kfnL ;]jfg]kfnL ;]jfg]kfnL ;]jfg]kfnL ;]jf

Sun-Fri 0740- 0800 ltg6f s'/fltg6f s'/fltg6f s'/fltg6f s'/fltg6f s'/fDaily 0800-0830 8jnL8jnL8jnL8jnL8jnLDaily 2000-2030 cfhsf s'/fcfhsf s'/fcfhsf s'/fcfhsf s'/fcfhsf s'/f

on FM 102.4

/]l8of] ;u/dfyf

Acclaimed director Gurinder Chadha’s third film,Bend It Like Beckham, has played to packed housesin the UK. Eighteen-year-old Jesse just wants toplay football, but her parents want her to be anice, conservative Indian girl. But when her friendJules invites her to join the local women’s footballclub, a new world is opened up to Jesse, and shegets to meet Joe, the team coach, whom she issmitten by. The trouble begins when an importantrecruiting match is scheduled the same day asJesse’s sister’s very Punjabi wedding. In the besttradition of Indians-in-the-UK comedy.

12 noon: Mujhse Dosti Karoge3PM< 6PM, Bend it Like BeckhamBooking 442220Online booking www.jainepal.com

Bend it Like BeckhamJAINEPAL CINEMAGHAR

Truth, Love and a Little Malice: An Autobiography Khushwant SinghRavi Dayal and Viking Penguin India, New Delhi, 2002Rs 720In a career spanning over five decades as writer, editor, journalist, lawyer, MP and diplomat, KhushwantSingh’s views have always been provocative and controversial, but also perceptive and profound. In hisautobiography he writes about Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, the Partition, the Emergency, painterAmrita Shergil and other important people and times. And, of course, about sex.

Power, Politics, and the People: Studies in British Imperialism and Indian Nationalism ParthaSarathi Gupta

Permanent Black, New Delhi, 2002Rs 1,240

Partha Sarathi Gupta was an outstanding scholar whose academic interests spanned modern British andIndian history—ranging from imperial policy to the patriotic songs of Bengali composers. This volumereflects his various interests with special reference to the army, federalism, tariff policy. Other essays deal

with the spread of broadcasting, labour history, cultural history, nationalism and identity formation.

Leadership and Power: Ethical Explorations SK Chakraborty, PradipBhattacharya, edsOxford University Press, New Delhi, 2002Rs 952The essays in this volume examine the increasing abuse of power in all spheres of life. They focus on themanner in which people have used power to manage the individual, social and environmental aspects oflife. The theme of power is explored in a philosophical and spiritual vein, but also from a corporateviewpoint of better human resource management to aid students of management and philosophy,practising managers and HRD professionals.

Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern India Nicholas B DirksPermanent Black, New Delhi, 2002

Dirks argues that caste is neither an unchanged survival of ancient India nor a single system reflecting acore culture, but that caste as we know it is a relatively modern phenomenon, the product of the

encounter between India and colonial British rule. Caste was not a British invention, but on account ofBritish domination, it became a single term capable of subsuming India’s diverse forms of social identity

and organisation.

15151515156 - 12 SEPTEMBER 2002 NEPALI TIMES

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

RAMYATA LIMBUAM, Thamel. Kim Hong-Sung and his wife JeongMyeong Kyeong are sipping

fragrant herbal tea at Picnic, thelittle Korean kitchen they help runwith a Nepali partner. It serves anassortment of mouthwateringKorean cuisine—bibimbap, kimchi,Korean-style sushi, and caters to aconstant stream of Korean expatri-ates, tourists, and Nepalis through-out the day.

The day’s first customer has yetto arrive and the two savour a fewquiet moments as they leaf througha stack of mountain magazines,mostly in Korean. Surrounded byframed pictures shot by Kim duringtravels in Ladakh, Sikkim andDarjeeling, the couple discusses themerits of running a Korean kitchen

in Kathmandu. “I just enjoycooking,” says Jeong. “And it’s asmall place. You get to know thestaff and the customers. There areso many interesting stories here.”

And stories are just what thewriter couple love. Thirty-fouryear-old Jeong, who publishesHimalaya News (a Korean journalabout Nepali culture and travel),with her husband, is keen tosomeday write a novel based on herexperiences in the kitchen. “I needto gather some more experience,first,” says Jeong. After all, thecouple aren’t just restauranteurs—Jeong is a former copywriter for LGAdvertisement Agency, and hasalready published an essay bookThe Japan Life Story about herexperience of living in Japan, whereshe graduated from Tokyo Commu-

In Thamel, a Korean couple makes a literaryand gastronomic connection between their

home country and Nepal.

nication Art College. “Believe me,Korea and Japan are very different.At first glance, things appearsimilar. But there are small, smallthings that are different,” she saysemphatically. “Nepal and India aremuch more similar in comparison,”says Kim, a writer, poet andphotographer, who is currentlyworking on a novel. “It’s a lovestory about a Korean coupletravelling in the Himalaya,” saysKim. He doesn’t look particularlyhappy, though. “I’ve rewritten ittwice. It’s partly fiction, partlyfact.”

The story could well be semi-autobiographical. Kim and Jeong,self-confessed mountain-loversspent four months travelling in theIndian Himalaya, in Ladakh,Darjeeling, Sikkim, Dharamsala andKathmandu in 1996. They fell inlove with the mountains, and evenmore with each other. No surprisethat they got married in Kathmanduin 2000.

Today, one of their aims in lifeis informing and educating Koreansabout Nepal, its people, its culture,its literature. As they spent moretime in Nepal, made more Nepalifriends and understood how thingswork here, Jeong and Kim realisedthat they could play a role inimproving the lives of Nepalis inKorea. They help Koreansunderstand the situation of migrant

Nepali workers in Korea througharticles in Himalaya News and ontheir webpage. A 1999 article wason the experiences of two Nepalimigrant workers affected by theeconomic recession in Korea. “Theresponse among the Korean publicwas amazing. It was one of embar-rassment and shame,” says Kim.“There were many people whowanted to meet the two, and otherseven raised funds to help them.”

Since he first visited Nepal in1991, trekking with two Koreanalpinists in the Langtang region,Kim says the travel bug has not lefthim. In 1992, he travelled toLadakh; the next year he went fromChina to Pakistan along theKarakoram highway; and in 1994 hetrekked around the Annapurna andrevisited Langtang. In 1996 hedecided to chuck his job as anoverworked editor back home andset up base in Nepal, spending ayear with Jeong at the Koreantemple in Lumbini and then movingto Kathmandu.

“The Himalaya touched mysoul,” says Kim a former editor ofThe Man and Mountain, one ofKorea’s popular mountain maga-zines. Today Kim lures even moreKoreans to Nepal and otherHimalayan destinations through hiswritings in emountain, still anotherKorean mountain magazine.

Nepal for Kim isn’t justmountains. He is fascinated by thepipal tree. “I’m a Buddhist, Ibelieve the pipal tree is Buddha’smind. While other trees grow in amanner that represses the growth of

HimalayaLove, books, and food in the

CULTURE

other beings, the peepal tree growsin such a way that it doesn’t chokeothers plants below, in fact thepipal sustains them.”

Kim is the son of a NorthKorean refugee. His father lost hishome during the Korean War. “Attimes, I still feel lost,” he says. Hehas now found refuge in themountains. The couple now spendtheir days writing, travelling whenthey can, but also cooking.

Kim and Jeong have another

literary connection to Nepal: theyhelped their friend Finjo Lamatranslate Kanak Mani Dixit’s TheAdventures of a Nepali Frog, a taleabout the travels of Bhakta PrasadBhyaguto from the rice fields ofKathmandu to Jomsom. “Koreanreaders really enjoyed it,” saysJeong.

Kim and Jeong with the head monk of Lumbini’s Korean temple attheir wedding in the Shangri-La Hotel, Kathmandu.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

7

Wetake

pride injobswell

done.JAGADAMBA PRESS

japray@mos.com.npPhone: (01) 521393, 543017, 547018

Fax: 977-1-536390

1616161616 6 - 12 SEPTEMBER 2002 NEPALI TIMES

CDO Regd No. 194/056/57 Lalitpur, Central Region Postal Regd. No. 04/058/59

by Kunda Dixit

Under My Hat NEPALI SOCIETY

n response to a specific request from the state lawand order restoration council and in the interest ofresponsible journalism, we are pleased to announce

that this week’s column will not go into any detailedanalysis of bodily functions. In the national interest, itwill also not make any gratuitous reference to theposterior region of a higher mammal, the name ofwhich rhymes with the word “farce”. And in view ofthe fact that many concerned parents may be readingthis in the presence of minors, we will refrain fromrevealing any more bank balances of members of thepartyless cabinet. And, finally, since many of youmay be having breakfast even as we speak, allmention of under-the-table deals involving thepurchase of weapons of mass desperation willhereinafter be expunged.

Having said that, we can now move right along tothe rest of the news:

Nepali women to go on hunger strikeKATHMANDU (RSS) – The All-Women’s Federationof Nepal (Reactionary) has defied the re-imposition ofthe state of national urgency to declare a nationwidehunger strike on Monday on the occasion of Teej to

History repeated as farcedemand a ten percent service charge for householdwork and higher overtime pay.

The organisation has announced a series ofescalating protests in the run-up to the strike, whichincludes wearing red saris and black armbands in thekitchen starting Friday, spiking hubby boy’s morningbed tea with a strong diuretic on Saturday morning,and a menacing forward deployment of pressurecookers into the conjugal bedroom on Sunday night.

“That should do the trick,” chairperson of theHunger Strike Preparatory Committee told journos in thecapital today. “We hope the menfolk take heed ofthe warning and agree to henceforth wash theirown underwear.”

But a spokesman for the Department of Livestockand Animal Husbandry said there could be nonegotiations until AWFON(R) agreed to an uncondi-tional ceasefire, and issued a counter-threat: “If theywon’t do our undies, we’ll refuse to wear them.”

Expats glad Nepal still existsBy a Staff ReporterKATHMANDU – After being away for most of thesummer, Nepal-based expatriates have started flockingback to their hardship posts, and say they can’t waitfor their Christmas breaks.

On returning from their annual migration, expatstold waiting newspersons at the airport that they werepleasantly surprised to find that Nepal still exists. “It’squite a relief,” said a visibly astonished AstridHintergrundsprachen as she alighted from her planeafter a two-month vacation. “But do you think it’s safeto drive to Jawalakhel?”

Another returnee, Bo Gunnarson, told CNN hewas mentally prepared for the worst, but the fact thatLa’ Soon had re-opened meant things were gettingback to normalcy. “For a moment there, we were quiteworried,” Gunnarson added. “Let’s hope the countrydoesn’t totally vanish before our next posting.”

hen we first went out,we had no idea snowleopards would

become our life’s work,” says writerDarla Hillard. But that changed in1981 when Darla and wildlifebiologist Rodney Jacksonundertook the first scientificexpedition to radio-collar andstudy the big cat, in westernNepal’s remote Kanjiroba Himal.The idea of studying snowleopards, one of the least-knownendangered species, seemed onlyslightly less kooky than putting outa search for a yeti.

The couple wasin Kathmandu thisweek to re-launchVanishing Tracks:Four Years Among

the Snow Leopards of Nepal, Darla’sseminal account of their workbetween 1981 and 1985. Armed witha research grant from the RolexAwards for Enterprise, Rodney andDarla put together a team and spentharsh winters and balmy springs inthe Langu Gorge that is now in SheyPhoksumdo National Park.

They captured, collared andreleased five cats, imaginativelynamed Ek, Dui, Teen, Char andPanch. They had up-close andpersonal photographs of all fiveleopards.

Vanishing Tracks is still themajor reference work on the speciesand reveals much about the elusivecreature’s life in the wild. The firstfruit of Darla and Rodney’s undertak-ing was a National Geographic coverstory on snow leopards that reached11 million readers. The secondedition of Vanishing Tracks,published with Mandala Book

Point, includes anupdated

bibliogra-phy and

foreword, and outlines thedevelopments in snow leopardconservation.

The two now run the groupSnow Leopard Conservancy andare engaged in grassrootsconservation activities in Tibet,Ladakh, Mongolia, and in theIndian and Nepal Himalaya.

Local people need to betrained as “community wildlifestewards” for conservation to besuccessful, says Rodney. “The onlyway to make this happen is byblending traditional knowledgewith science,” he adds.

In order to check retributivekillings by angry farmers whoselivestock snow leopards sometimesprey on, the Conservancy ishelping locals build predator-proofcorrals and pens in places likeUpper Mustang.

The group also helps educatelocals in improving animalhusbandry and developingalternative income-generatingactivities such as handicrafts,cheese-making and tourism. Laterthis year they will begin a programin Manang to use tourism as anincentive for conservation.

... andsnowleopards

Darla, Rodney ...I “W