#185 27 February - 6 March 2004 24 pages Rs 25

Subscriber’s copy

Weekly Internet Poll # 126. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.comQ. How would you describe the status ofhuman rights in Nepal?

Total votes:991

Weekly Internet Poll # 125Q. Do you agree the extradition of two seniorMaoists indicates New Delhi’s policy shift?

n the end, it is always ordinaryNepalis who suffer when food isused as a weapon.When the Maoists looted food

destined for the mid and far-westerndistricts two months ago, the UN’sWorld Food Programme (WFP)suspended its aid which was alifeline in this traditionally fooddeficit area of Nepal. The conflicthas made the situation much moreprecarious and the people of Bajuraand other districts are on the movein search of food and work.

Many families from remote areasof Bajura have descended to thedistrict headquarter in Martadi. Oneof them is Dal Bahadur Biswakarma,who says, “After the food-for-workprogram pulled out, we had no morehope. We had to come here.” He saysmany of the younger men from hisvillage and adjoining areas have goneto India. The ones who end up inMartadi are the poorest of the poor:they don’t even have money for thebus fare to the south.

The WFP aid was the last hopefor about 10,000 people in thisdistrict who, for the past threeyears,worked in road and bridgeconstruction in return for foodgrains. But when the Maoists looted6,500kg of rice being taken onmountain goats from Sanfebagar toBajura on 22 December, WFPsuspended its program.

Besides Bajura, the UN has

UMID BAGCHAND in BAJURA

suspended food aid in Dailekhbecause of the security situation.Kailali and Kanchanpur of thewestern tarai have also been hit.However, the WFP’s sub-regionalchief here, Padam Bahadur Singh,said food for aid is due to restart inRukum and Rolpa later this year and400,000kg of grain has beenearmarked. The other food aiddonor, the German group GTZ,works in 30 districts and also pulledout of Dailekh in December. “Butwe have received assurances from theMaoists, there is more security now,and we will restart the aid soon,” saidDietrich Stotz from GTZ.

However, locals are alreadyrunning low on food. This is usuallythe time of year adult men fromevery family from these partsmigrated in search of jobs, but thisyear entire families are moving out.

At last week’s Bajura DistrictDevelopment Committee meeting,the contractor transporting the grainto Bajura was blamed for beinghand-in-glove with the Maoists.Committee members hope suppliescould restart if the WFP can beconvinced it was a security breach.

Local Development OfficerSurya Nath Koirala told us manyBajura families are on the verge ofstarvation. “We are lookingat unimaginable suffering if thefood-for-work program does notresume.”

Rizal’s fastBhutani human rights leader in exileTeknath Rizal says he will soon goon a hunger strike outside the SAARCSecretariat in Kathmandu if Bhutandoes not begin repatriating refugees.Rizal is sending a letter to theBhutani king asking him to starttaking back the 100,000 Bhutanirefugees in Nepal and 30,000 inIndia who were evicted 13 years ago.“If the king does not respond,” Rizalsaid, “I will begin my fast-unto-death.”Rizal spent 12 years in jail in Bhutanafter being extradited by Nepal’sPanchayat government and wasreleased after an internationalcampaign by Amnesty International.

ADULT FRANCHISE: A student casts her ballot in elections for the PadmaKanya Campus student union on Thursday. Turnout was about 25 percent atvalley colleges despite threats and a five-day strike by the Maoists. Analyststook this as an indication that it may also be possible to hold national andlocal elections if there is political will.

KIRAN PANDAY

Ballot lesson

IUPHILL

2 4

ww

w.ne

palit

imes

.com

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

27 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185

very four years, in his infinite wisdom, God gives humankind abonus day. This Leap Year it falls on Sunday, 29 February—areward from the Almighty for living our daily lives fulfilling Lord

Bishnu’s wishes, and an extra 24-hour period in which we can do gooddeeds like eradicate polio and punish the corrupt.

And what a windfall it has been for our subterranean comrades whosmartly seized the opportunity to incorporate the extra day in theirmarathon five-day banda and bring the country to another grinding halt.Using the Gregarious Calendar to convert a four-day strike into a five-day strike without actually adding a day is a stroke of genius.

Physicists and social scientists are fascinated by how Nepal has defiedNewton’s Law by proving that abody in a state of rest can actuallybe brought to a state of even greaterrest by the application of an

external force. From the scientific point of view, it is a discovery of thesame magnitude as being able to attain a temperature even colder thanabsolute zero.

Most Nepalis now realise that things can’t go on like this any longer:we can’t wait another four years for another Leap Day. We must be morecreative, even more resourceful and inspired in inventing new ways ofdoing nothing. As usual, His Majesty’s Government lacks the politicalwill to do nothing. It must standardise and streamline the applicationprocedure for declaring general strikes and hartals so that they don’t fallon weekends and national holidays, so that the banda calls by variousfactions don’t clash and to coordinate the timetable for strikes bybringing out a shutdown calendar for 2061.

The government must immediately set up a Department ofBandobast under the Ministry of Home and Hearth so people can stayhome and relax. If the government doesn’t fulfil these demands withimmediate effect, we will declare a general strike as soon as the currentgeneral strike is over, that is if someone else hasn’t already declared ageneral strike on those days, in which case we will strike at the nextopportunistic moment.

There are many ways we, as citizens, can exercise our rights in ademocracy as we have seen in recent weeks: Lightning Strike: Work stoppage without warning, doesn’t strike the

same place twice Lucky Strike: A strike which achieves its result as a result of a fluke and

not because of the force of its logic General Strike: Work-to-rule by top army brass Three Strikes: Means you’re out Transport Entrepreneurs Strike: Nepali entrepreneurship at its shiny

best under which passengers are required to ride on the roof and not sitin reclining seats in air conditioned comfort, because that would beagainst the national interest, and we need to protect domestic industry,don’t we? Gas Station Strike: If the government doesn’t let us rob people in

broad daylight hours and expose them to carcinogens, we will close downour pumps indefinitely Pre-emptive Strike: Announcing your banda before someone else

announces his banda, also known as ‘The Early Worm Ends Up in theBird’s Gizzard’ Ramp Bus Strike: Airlines care so much about passenger safety they are

willing to lose Rs 3 million a day to keep forcing domesticated passengersto ride ramp buses built in the early Malla period out of discarded tincans Hunger Strike:: This is what most Nepalis have been doing for

the past few decades Pen-down Strike: This column will be terminated with immediate

effect in defiance of the Essential Services Act unless the governmentensures the uninterrupted supply of taxfree hats at a subsidised rate, andbans the imports of cheap Indian hats

Strike whilethe iron is hot

UNDER MY HATKunda Dixit

E

Published by Himalmedia Pvt Ltd, Chief Editor: Kunda DixitDesk Editors: Trishna Gurung, Jemima SherpaDesign: Kiran Maharjan Web: Bhushan ShilpakarAdvertising: Sunaina Shah advertising@himalmedia.comSubscription: Anil Karki, subscription@himalmedia.comSanchaya Kosh Building, Block A-4th Floor, LalitpurGPO Box 7251, Kathmandu, NepalTel: 01-5543333-6, Fax: 01-5521013Printed at Jagadamba Press, Hatiban: 01-5547018

2 27 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185EDITORIAL 327 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185

editors@nepalitimes.com, www.nepalitimes.com

I

OP-ED

LLLLL E T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R S

TEARING OURSELVES APARTf all that is transpiring around us wasn’t so serious, we would have fallenoff our chairs laughing at just how daft we have shown ourselves to be oflate. The establishment has a care-a-hang attitude, the civil service

couldn’t be bothered, the private sector hasn’t shown itself able to overcomeits own greed and the revolutionaries don’t seem to mind they are on a pathto self-destruction.

If everything was going well and the country was steaming full-speedahead to a bright future, this complacency would have been excusable. Butat a time of multiple crises when salvation lies in pulling ourselves up byour bootstraps, this fatalism isn’t just idiotic— it shows a lemming-likesuicide instinct.

When it comes to bargaining and compromise, Nepalis can’t even showenlightened self-interest, we excel in shooting ourselves in the foot. In fact,we excel in not learning from mistakenly shooting our toes off and proceedto shoot ourselves in the foot again and again.

The name of the game these days seems to be: everyone for himself.So, petroleum dealers, domestic airlines, transport unions, two-stroke three-wheeler owners, teachers, students, everyone is striking for something orother. Strike and you shall receive, is their credo. There can be no bettertime than now to bring things to a standstill and gain concessions from agovernment that is on its knees.

Gas stations shut down for four days and the government gives in byallowing them another six months to keep on mixing kerosene with dieseland petrol. Domestic airlines are told to get rid of decrepit ramp buses thatlook like vintages from the Old Bus Park, so they stop all flights for two dayscausing enormous losses to themselves. CAAN, which has quite a few stinkyskeletons rattling in its own closet, buckles and allows the buses to stay in anapron. Now, transporters are due to stop all buses and trucks to protest anagreement for Indian and Nepali transporters better access across theborder.

The Maoist revolutionary students, in what they think is a show ofstrength, decide to go ahead with their on-again-off-again five-dayshutdown. When it looked like the people were fed up and were not going togo along with forced closure, the comrades in an act of extreme braveryblew up a Safa Tempo. Once again, it is the shopkeepers, the tea shopowners, the daily wage earners, the school children who suffered. Childrenare punished again for the inability of adults to get along, penalised forsomeone else’s greed and lack of foresight.

The choice is up to us citizens: take all this lying down and stay home,or go out into the streets in whatever wheels we like, open shops, take ourdestiny in our own hands and together muster the courage to overcome fear.

here may be many reasonsfor Nepal’s slow progress.But the main one is our fear

of success itself.Politicians fear that national

problems may soon be solved.Ifthat happens they will lose their

power to manipulate. Whether itis the Maoists or the five-partyalliance, all fear that a resolution ofthe crisis will mean they will haveto share power. The Maoistswould lose their reasonfor being if thecountry prospered andif everyone got a goodeducation. Even‘progressive’ communistsdo not want things to gowell because that would meantheir ideology is inferior.For those who thrive onpoverty, prosperity isundesirable. Likebacteria, they thrive ondecay.

Dictatorships, too,flourish in times of politicalinstability and upheaval.Violence is their pal.Whenever there is peace, peoplehave time to think about other

Afraid of braveryNo wonder we never get ahead: we fear success

things besides keeping alive: likehaving a free and independentvoice. All around, we see themanifestaion of timid minds thatfear success.

The security apparatus in thiscountry has now got a taste ofpower, their budgets have bloated.Total strength has grown from45,000 to 70,000, and they arebetter equipped. An end toconflict now would mean goingback to peacetime status.

Media, too, fears success. Newsis always about the negative, theout of the ordinary. Success is not

news, failure is. Politicalturmoil is good for

circulation. In the business ofnews, bad news is good news. Andof course the pseudo-intellectualswho live like parasites off themedia would also lose their chanceto pontificate if things are sortedout. In fact, if they are notinvolved in sorting things out,then they are against anyone elsewho is.

Ditto for the student unionleaders who fear success becausethey would have to actually goback to their classrooms and study.They would have to stop takingorders from their political mentorsand actually use their brainsindependently. Today’s politicalleaders all rose up from studentpolitics. The university is thecradle of their intellectualdevelopment, where the empty

foundations of their careers began.They can’t help behaving the waythey do.

Non-government bodies thriveon mediocrity and the fear ofsuccess. Nepal needs to remainpoor, badly-governed,mismanaged, corrupt andinefficient otherwise they wouldlose their raison-d’etre. Taxofficials don’t want to streamlinecollection procedures and fearanyone who tries to inject somehonesty into the system. How elsewould they be able to squeeze thetaxpayer for personal benefits?Taxpayers don’t want to pay tax?Ridiculous. It is the tax-collectorwho doesn’t want the people topay tax.

All of us in our little cocoonsbehind high walls are afraid ofsuccess. The enemy is within us:the confidence and self-esteem wedo not have, the insecurity we feedon. Let’s individually overcomethis fear of success and sacrificeshort-term comfort for something

permanent and true.

THE POINTWhat’s the point? your editorialasks (#184). I say, the point is:

Rise up, rise upyou farmer, you worker,you warrior, you preachertell your leadersthat we matter.

Wake up, wake upyou dalit, you women,you children, you parentstell the moabadis, the khaobadis,the political parties, the monarchywe will not be ignored

Open up, Open upyou janjatis, you paharis,you madhesis, you bhoteysdon’t you seewe are the power

Get up, Get upyou Nepali, you Gorkhaliraise your handsto show them the strength

Stand up, Stand upyou city dweller, you villagerfightfor your rights

Come out, Come outyou from the mountains,you from the hills, you from theteraishow themyour force

Link up, Link upyou Hindus, you Buddhists,you Muslimshand in handcome out into the streets

Shout up, Shout upyou rich, you poorno more, no moreof this

Roar up, Roar upyou lower class, you middle class,you upper classthunderingwe have had enough

WEare the peopleWe areby the people

T

We arefor the people

SN Singh, email

KINGDOM OF STRIKESFrom the perspective of distance, itlooks like Nepal has become thekingdom of strikes. Last week,there was an indefinite strike bypetroleum dealers which wasresolved in two days (Tuesdayand Wednesday). Early this weekthere was another indefinite strikeby airline operators which ended

within two days (Monday andTuesday). Starting Wednesday, theMaoists have called a five-daygeneral strike. Another strike calledby the transport entrepreneurspromises to be a grand event.Initially, it appeared that many ofthe problems in our countrystemmed from the insurgency andthe tussle between the king andthe palace. Now, it appearseveryone has a problem witheverything. If Nepal was acomputer, we could just defrag thewhole thing, reinstall the hard discand everything would startfunctioning again. Why don’t peoplelike Prachanda, Baburam, Koirala,Madhab Nepal and all the infectedviruses in our nation go onindefinite strike and stopbreathing? That would solve all theissues.

Pravesh Saria, email

TRAFFIC GURUI have jotted down my own NepalTraffic Rule Book to add to thesuggestions provided by DavidCloud in ‘Trafficking in Kathmandu’(#176) to assist drivers who mayneed guidance in attempting thisextreme sport:

1 Whoever occupies the spacefirst, wins.2 Avoid driving into a pothole evenif the alternative is a head-oncollision.3 If you want to make a right turnthen signal right.4 If you want someone to passyou on the right, then signal right.5 Try to drive as far on the wrongside of the road as possible to

GUEST COLUMNRajeeb L Satyal

marginalise the expansive plans ofoncoming traffic. Otherwise you’llnever make it across town.6 Give an angry look to otherdrivers when they cut you off.7 Give an angry look to the otherdrivers when you cut them off.8 Its OK to kill someone just makesure you don’t injure them. That isfar too expensive.9 It is preferable to drive a pick-uptruck for a few reasons: you haveautomatic right of way overeveryone else no matter what(except for the large trucks whichare gods)10 If you must get home on time...walk.11 Traffic lights are only asuggestion of what to do, so makeup your own mind!12 If you are a recent migrant tothe city, make sure to cover youreyes when walking across thestreet. If you cannot see it, itcannot hurt you.13 Insurance for bicycle riders ischeap and lucrative. That’s whycyclers seem as if they are tryinghard to get themselves hurt .14 If you drive a motorcycle andyou can create a three-hour longtraffic jam by sliding up along theslow traffic and filling all the gaps,please do it.15 NEVER, EVER, back your carto free up a jam.

PS: Always carry a printed versionof these rules so when you getpulled over by police you canshow this to them and they will letyou go.

Adam Friedensohn, email

NEW DELHI — The alma mater ofBaburam Bhattarai is the epicenterof Indian Marxism in all its hues.Named after an illustrious Fabian,the Jawarharlal Nehru University(JNU) continues to offer safesinecures to all shades of crimson.Limo liberals and champagne

socialists grace its faculties, seminarrooms resound with echoes ofLenin. Mao is masticated in themess halls.

Students gather in hostelcanteens after a state-subsidiseddinner and discuss the revolutionthat is just around the corner.They have been doing so for thepast 40 years. But as soon as theygraduate, the students go on torule the country, they dominatethe powerful bureaucracy,including South Block’s babudom.

The guru of many of them isProfessor SD Muni and they stillconsult him on South Asian affairs,especially Nepal and Pakistan.

1985 in Kathmandu is now a spentforce in Nepal.

The other two Nepal ‘experts’ ofIndian academia are ProfDharmadasani of Banaras HinduUniversity and Prof Parmananda ofDelhi University. Both have littlehope for the future of democracy inthe country that they have spenttheir lives studying. The contrastbetween the despondency of theseroyalist professors and the upbeatmood of the republican Muni ismystifying.

Even so, the royalists seem to bemore representative of the popularpessimism about Nepal in theIndian capital these days. Indianbusinessmen, politicians and touristsare all in deep gloom about Nepal.A telecom executive who hadambitious investment plans inNepal commented ruefully:“Granted that the Maoists are in atime-warp, but what are otherpolitical parties doing? What is theking doing?” India is shining andNepal seems to be turning intoSomalia.

It is another marriage season inIndia, but honeymooners are notflocking to Kathmandu andPokhara these days, and there are notakers for $10 a night suites. Thejust marrieds are off to the Maldivesand Mauritius, paying 10 timesmore.

New Delhi has a largepopulation of Nepalis and it isincreasing. Most have been driveninto exile by the excesses ofMaobadi militia and the monarchistmilitary. If political parties could gettheir act together, this is a largeconstituency waiting to be built. AtJNU itself, there are 25 Nepalistudents. They have dreams for aNew Nepal, but the lack ofleadership to transform thosedreams into hopes is felt acutely.

For the present, the Indianestablishment under US tutelage issolidly behind a constructivemonarchy. Academics who want toturn Nepal into a political sciencelaboratory to test their utopiantheories are supporting the Maoistexperiment. But the commonpeople of north India whoremember Indira Gandhi’semergency empathise with what theNepalis are going through. Theythemselves are victims of thePeople’s War Group and feel thepain of the relatives of GaneshChiluwal.

The challenge for the NepaliCongress and the UML is tochannel this tacit support of thesilent majority to resurrectdemocracy. But the message fromIndia after the Shashank visit is:stability in Nepal at all cost, even ifdemocracy has to be postponed.

Nepal from JNUIndians are turning pessimistic about Nepal

STATE OF THE STATECK Lal

MIN BAJRACHARYA

The campus rumour is that hebriefed Indian Foreign SecretaryShashank on the eve of hisdeparture for Kathmandu. Muni isa cordon bleu republican anddoesn’t hide his fascination foranother JNU almunus, BaburamBhattarai. Muni feels the atrocitiesattributed to Maobadis in Nepalare government propaganda. Nosurprise, then, that Bhattaraihimself still believes the KhmerRouge’s genocide was exaggerated.

Bhattarai never studied underMuni, but their views about theNepal monarchy are identical. At a

meetingon 15 February inNew Delhi to

introduce a newavatar of the

Maobadi frontproscribed by the Indian

government, Muni was one ofthe speakers. He is all praise for

Ram Raja Prasad Singh, blissfullyunaware that the former terroristwho sabotaged the NepaliCongress’ Satygraha Movement byrandom bombings of soft targets in

COLOMBIAThanks to Karin Eichelkraut fordrawing parallels between hermotherland and Nepal (‘Colombia andNepal’, #184). It is becoming moreand more clear with every passingday that Nepali society is becomingmore and more militarised. Thepeople, who were traumatised anddisgusted with the politics ofviolence practiced by the Maoistsare now falling victim to theatrocities of the security forces.Why the soldiers and policemenhave to behave so recklessly whenthey know their action just breedsmore terrorists is beyondcomprehension. It must be clear tothe senior army generals what ishappening on the ground, but it istime to come clean with it and admitthat crimes have been committed andpublicly punish those culpable.Otherwise the army’s reputation is indanger of being permanently tainted.The generals’ argument that thiswould hurt the morale of the soldiersis facetious. Isn’t letting abductions,torture and rape going unpunishedgoing to be even worse for theirmorale if the people turn againstthem? The Royal Nepali Army mustclean up its act, not because thedonors are putting pressure on themor the human rights organisationsare criticising them, but because ifthey don’t the Nepali people will havelost trust in them. If not, then I’mafraid, we are headed in the samedirection as Colombia and KarinEichelkraut’s descriptions will soonapply equally to Nepal as it does toher country.

Name withheld on request, email

Nepal has a long way to gobefore it becomes Colombia orGuatemala, but Karin Eichelkrautis right that if present trendscontinue we could be headed inthat direction. The emergence ofdeathsquads and the growingnumbers of disappearancesshows a disturbing trend, which,unless curbed, will inevitablylead to a complete breakdown oflaw and order and a rise in pettycrime. It is important to heed oneparticular warning fromColombia: most of the peoplewho are being killed there todayare victims of gangland crimeand not conflict.

Jens Nordberg, Kathmandu

HEROJIGThanks for sharing with us theart of The Adventures of Herojigby Jiggy Gaton. Some of thestrip’s culture shock shook meinto grinning. Is he making a livingfrom this? Let’s see some moreHerojig.

Ian Powell, San Francisco

Who is this Herojig? The guyis insane.

Ganesh Malla, Kathmandu

Published by Himalmedia Pvt Ltd, Chief Editor: Kunda DixitDesk Editors: Trishna Gurung, Jemima SherpaDesign: Kiran Maharjan Web: Bhushan ShilpakarAdvertising: Sunaina Shah advertising@himalmedia.comSubscription: Anil Karki, subscription@himalmedia.comSanchaya Kosh Building, Block A-4th Floor, LalitpurGPO Box 7251, Kathmandu, NepalTel: 01-5543333-6, Fax: 01-5521013Printed at Jagadamba Press, Hatiban: 01-5547018

2 27 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185EDITORIAL 327 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185

editors@nepalitimes.com, www.nepalitimes.com

I

OP-ED

LLLLL E T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R S

TEARING OURSELVES APARTf all that is transpiring around us wasn’t so serious, we would have fallenoff our chairs laughing at just how daft we have shown ourselves to be oflate. The establishment has a care-a-hang attitude, the civil service

couldn’t be bothered, the private sector hasn’t shown itself able to overcomeits own greed and the revolutionaries don’t seem to mind they are on a pathto self-destruction.

If everything was going well and the country was steaming full-speedahead to a bright future, this complacency would have been excusable. Butat a time of multiple crises when salvation lies in pulling ourselves up byour bootstraps, this fatalism isn’t just idiotic— it shows a lemming-likesuicide instinct.

When it comes to bargaining and compromise, Nepalis can’t even showenlightened self-interest, we excel in shooting ourselves in the foot. In fact,we excel in not learning from mistakenly shooting our toes off and proceedto shoot ourselves in the foot again and again.

The name of the game these days seems to be: everyone for himself.So, petroleum dealers, domestic airlines, transport unions, two-stroke three-wheeler owners, teachers, students, everyone is striking for something orother. Strike and you shall receive, is their credo. There can be no bettertime than now to bring things to a standstill and gain concessions from agovernment that is on its knees.

Gas stations shut down for four days and the government gives in byallowing them another six months to keep on mixing kerosene with dieseland petrol. Domestic airlines are told to get rid of decrepit ramp buses thatlook like vintages from the Old Bus Park, so they stop all flights for two dayscausing enormous losses to themselves. CAAN, which has quite a few stinkyskeletons rattling in its own closet, buckles and allows the buses to stay in anapron. Now, transporters are due to stop all buses and trucks to protest anagreement for Indian and Nepali transporters better access across theborder.

The Maoist revolutionary students, in what they think is a show ofstrength, decide to go ahead with their on-again-off-again five-dayshutdown. When it looked like the people were fed up and were not going togo along with forced closure, the comrades in an act of extreme braveryblew up a Safa Tempo. Once again, it is the shopkeepers, the tea shopowners, the daily wage earners, the school children who suffered. Childrenare punished again for the inability of adults to get along, penalised forsomeone else’s greed and lack of foresight.

The choice is up to us citizens: take all this lying down and stay home,or go out into the streets in whatever wheels we like, open shops, take ourdestiny in our own hands and together muster the courage to overcome fear.

here may be many reasonsfor Nepal’s slow progress.But the main one is our fear

of success itself.Politicians fear that national

problems may soon be solved.Ifthat happens they will lose their

power to manipulate. Whether itis the Maoists or the five-partyalliance, all fear that a resolution ofthe crisis will mean they will haveto share power. The Maoistswould lose their reasonfor being if thecountry prospered andif everyone got a goodeducation. Even‘progressive’ communistsdo not want things to gowell because that would meantheir ideology is inferior.For those who thrive onpoverty, prosperity isundesirable. Likebacteria, they thrive ondecay.

Dictatorships, too,flourish in times of politicalinstability and upheaval.Violence is their pal.Whenever there is peace, peoplehave time to think about other

Afraid of braveryNo wonder we never get ahead: we fear success

things besides keeping alive: likehaving a free and independentvoice. All around, we see themanifestaion of timid minds thatfear success.

The security apparatus in thiscountry has now got a taste ofpower, their budgets have bloated.Total strength has grown from45,000 to 70,000, and they arebetter equipped. An end toconflict now would mean goingback to peacetime status.

Media, too, fears success. Newsis always about the negative, theout of the ordinary. Success is not

news, failure is. Politicalturmoil is good for

circulation. In the business ofnews, bad news is good news. Andof course the pseudo-intellectualswho live like parasites off themedia would also lose their chanceto pontificate if things are sortedout. In fact, if they are notinvolved in sorting things out,then they are against anyone elsewho is.

Ditto for the student unionleaders who fear success becausethey would have to actually goback to their classrooms and study.They would have to stop takingorders from their political mentorsand actually use their brainsindependently. Today’s politicalleaders all rose up from studentpolitics. The university is thecradle of their intellectualdevelopment, where the empty

foundations of their careers began.They can’t help behaving the waythey do.

Non-government bodies thriveon mediocrity and the fear ofsuccess. Nepal needs to remainpoor, badly-governed,mismanaged, corrupt andinefficient otherwise they wouldlose their raison-d’etre. Taxofficials don’t want to streamlinecollection procedures and fearanyone who tries to inject somehonesty into the system. How elsewould they be able to squeeze thetaxpayer for personal benefits?Taxpayers don’t want to pay tax?Ridiculous. It is the tax-collectorwho doesn’t want the people topay tax.

All of us in our little cocoonsbehind high walls are afraid ofsuccess. The enemy is within us:the confidence and self-esteem wedo not have, the insecurity we feedon. Let’s individually overcomethis fear of success and sacrificeshort-term comfort for something

permanent and true.

THE POINTWhat’s the point? your editorialasks (#184). I say, the point is:

Rise up, rise upyou farmer, you worker,you warrior, you preachertell your leadersthat we matter.

Wake up, wake upyou dalit, you women,you children, you parentstell the moabadis, the khaobadis,the political parties, the monarchywe will not be ignored

Open up, Open upyou janjatis, you paharis,you madhesis, you bhoteysdon’t you seewe are the power

Get up, Get upyou Nepali, you Gorkhaliraise your handsto show them the strength

Stand up, Stand upyou city dweller, you villagerfightfor your rights

Come out, Come outyou from the mountains,you from the hills, you from theteraishow themyour force

Link up, Link upyou Hindus, you Buddhists,you Muslimshand in handcome out into the streets

Shout up, Shout upyou rich, you poorno more, no moreof this

Roar up, Roar upyou lower class, you middle class,you upper classthunderingwe have had enough

WEare the peopleWe areby the people

T

We arefor the people

SN Singh, email

KINGDOM OF STRIKESFrom the perspective of distance, itlooks like Nepal has become thekingdom of strikes. Last week,there was an indefinite strike bypetroleum dealers which wasresolved in two days (Tuesdayand Wednesday). Early this weekthere was another indefinite strikeby airline operators which ended

within two days (Monday andTuesday). Starting Wednesday, theMaoists have called a five-daygeneral strike. Another strike calledby the transport entrepreneurspromises to be a grand event.Initially, it appeared that many ofthe problems in our countrystemmed from the insurgency andthe tussle between the king andthe palace. Now, it appearseveryone has a problem witheverything. If Nepal was acomputer, we could just defrag thewhole thing, reinstall the hard discand everything would startfunctioning again. Why don’t peoplelike Prachanda, Baburam, Koirala,Madhab Nepal and all the infectedviruses in our nation go onindefinite strike and stopbreathing? That would solve all theissues.

Pravesh Saria, email

TRAFFIC GURUI have jotted down my own NepalTraffic Rule Book to add to thesuggestions provided by DavidCloud in ‘Trafficking in Kathmandu’(#176) to assist drivers who mayneed guidance in attempting thisextreme sport:

1 Whoever occupies the spacefirst, wins.2 Avoid driving into a pothole evenif the alternative is a head-oncollision.3 If you want to make a right turnthen signal right.4 If you want someone to passyou on the right, then signal right.5 Try to drive as far on the wrongside of the road as possible to

GUEST COLUMNRajeeb L Satyal

marginalise the expansive plans ofoncoming traffic. Otherwise you’llnever make it across town.6 Give an angry look to otherdrivers when they cut you off.7 Give an angry look to the otherdrivers when you cut them off.8 Its OK to kill someone just makesure you don’t injure them. That isfar too expensive.9 It is preferable to drive a pick-uptruck for a few reasons: you haveautomatic right of way overeveryone else no matter what(except for the large trucks whichare gods)10 If you must get home on time...walk.11 Traffic lights are only asuggestion of what to do, so makeup your own mind!12 If you are a recent migrant tothe city, make sure to cover youreyes when walking across thestreet. If you cannot see it, itcannot hurt you.13 Insurance for bicycle riders ischeap and lucrative. That’s whycyclers seem as if they are tryinghard to get themselves hurt .14 If you drive a motorcycle andyou can create a three-hour longtraffic jam by sliding up along theslow traffic and filling all the gaps,please do it.15 NEVER, EVER, back your carto free up a jam.

PS: Always carry a printed versionof these rules so when you getpulled over by police you canshow this to them and they will letyou go.

Adam Friedensohn, email

NEW DELHI — The alma mater ofBaburam Bhattarai is the epicenterof Indian Marxism in all its hues.Named after an illustrious Fabian,the Jawarharlal Nehru University(JNU) continues to offer safesinecures to all shades of crimson.Limo liberals and champagne

socialists grace its faculties, seminarrooms resound with echoes ofLenin. Mao is masticated in themess halls.

Students gather in hostelcanteens after a state-subsidiseddinner and discuss the revolutionthat is just around the corner.They have been doing so for thepast 40 years. But as soon as theygraduate, the students go on torule the country, they dominatethe powerful bureaucracy,including South Block’s babudom.

The guru of many of them isProfessor SD Muni and they stillconsult him on South Asian affairs,especially Nepal and Pakistan.

1985 in Kathmandu is now a spentforce in Nepal.

The other two Nepal ‘experts’ ofIndian academia are ProfDharmadasani of Banaras HinduUniversity and Prof Parmananda ofDelhi University. Both have littlehope for the future of democracy inthe country that they have spenttheir lives studying. The contrastbetween the despondency of theseroyalist professors and the upbeatmood of the republican Muni ismystifying.

Even so, the royalists seem to bemore representative of the popularpessimism about Nepal in theIndian capital these days. Indianbusinessmen, politicians and touristsare all in deep gloom about Nepal.A telecom executive who hadambitious investment plans inNepal commented ruefully:“Granted that the Maoists are in atime-warp, but what are otherpolitical parties doing? What is theking doing?” India is shining andNepal seems to be turning intoSomalia.

It is another marriage season inIndia, but honeymooners are notflocking to Kathmandu andPokhara these days, and there are notakers for $10 a night suites. Thejust marrieds are off to the Maldivesand Mauritius, paying 10 timesmore.

New Delhi has a largepopulation of Nepalis and it isincreasing. Most have been driveninto exile by the excesses ofMaobadi militia and the monarchistmilitary. If political parties could gettheir act together, this is a largeconstituency waiting to be built. AtJNU itself, there are 25 Nepalistudents. They have dreams for aNew Nepal, but the lack ofleadership to transform thosedreams into hopes is felt acutely.

For the present, the Indianestablishment under US tutelage issolidly behind a constructivemonarchy. Academics who want toturn Nepal into a political sciencelaboratory to test their utopiantheories are supporting the Maoistexperiment. But the commonpeople of north India whoremember Indira Gandhi’semergency empathise with what theNepalis are going through. Theythemselves are victims of thePeople’s War Group and feel thepain of the relatives of GaneshChiluwal.

The challenge for the NepaliCongress and the UML is tochannel this tacit support of thesilent majority to resurrectdemocracy. But the message fromIndia after the Shashank visit is:stability in Nepal at all cost, even ifdemocracy has to be postponed.

Nepal from JNUIndians are turning pessimistic about Nepal

STATE OF THE STATECK Lal

MIN BAJRACHARYA

The campus rumour is that hebriefed Indian Foreign SecretaryShashank on the eve of hisdeparture for Kathmandu. Muni isa cordon bleu republican anddoesn’t hide his fascination foranother JNU almunus, BaburamBhattarai. Muni feels the atrocitiesattributed to Maobadis in Nepalare government propaganda. Nosurprise, then, that Bhattaraihimself still believes the KhmerRouge’s genocide was exaggerated.

Bhattarai never studied underMuni, but their views about theNepal monarchy are identical. At a

meetingon 15 February inNew Delhi to

introduce a newavatar of the

Maobadi frontproscribed by the Indian

government, Muni was one ofthe speakers. He is all praise for

Ram Raja Prasad Singh, blissfullyunaware that the former terroristwho sabotaged the NepaliCongress’ Satygraha Movement byrandom bombings of soft targets in

COLOMBIAThanks to Karin Eichelkraut fordrawing parallels between hermotherland and Nepal (‘Colombia andNepal’, #184). It is becoming moreand more clear with every passingday that Nepali society is becomingmore and more militarised. Thepeople, who were traumatised anddisgusted with the politics ofviolence practiced by the Maoistsare now falling victim to theatrocities of the security forces.Why the soldiers and policemenhave to behave so recklessly whenthey know their action just breedsmore terrorists is beyondcomprehension. It must be clear tothe senior army generals what ishappening on the ground, but it istime to come clean with it and admitthat crimes have been committed andpublicly punish those culpable.Otherwise the army’s reputation is indanger of being permanently tainted.The generals’ argument that thiswould hurt the morale of the soldiersis facetious. Isn’t letting abductions,torture and rape going unpunishedgoing to be even worse for theirmorale if the people turn againstthem? The Royal Nepali Army mustclean up its act, not because thedonors are putting pressure on themor the human rights organisationsare criticising them, but because ifthey don’t the Nepali people will havelost trust in them. If not, then I’mafraid, we are headed in the samedirection as Colombia and KarinEichelkraut’s descriptions will soonapply equally to Nepal as it does toher country.

Name withheld on request, email

Nepal has a long way to gobefore it becomes Colombia orGuatemala, but Karin Eichelkrautis right that if present trendscontinue we could be headed inthat direction. The emergence ofdeathsquads and the growingnumbers of disappearancesshows a disturbing trend, which,unless curbed, will inevitablylead to a complete breakdown oflaw and order and a rise in pettycrime. It is important to heed oneparticular warning fromColombia: most of the peoplewho are being killed there todayare victims of gangland crimeand not conflict.

Jens Nordberg, Kathmandu

HEROJIGThanks for sharing with us theart of The Adventures of Herojigby Jiggy Gaton. Some of thestrip’s culture shock shook meinto grinning. Is he making a livingfrom this? Let’s see some moreHerojig.

Ian Powell, San Francisco

Who is this Herojig? The guyis insane.

Ganesh Malla, Kathmandu

DOMESTIC BRIEFS

4 27 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185NATION 527 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185NATION

HERE AND THEREDaniel Lak

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

Brussels group denounces DelhiA pro-Maoist group of Nepalis in Brussels has strongly condemned theIndian government for the extradition of Matrika Yadav and Suresh AleMagar on 8 February, and says: “This despicable act has stunned andshocked the democratic and revolutionary people and ignited furyamong Nepali people the world over.”

Besides flaying the government, king and army, the communiquésigned by Surendra Bhusan, also blames “US imperialism” forsupporting the counter-insurgency war. It said successivegovernments in Kathmandu have broken previous ceasefires eventhough the Maoists had pushed the agenda for a “forward-lookingpolitical settlement”.

But the group singled out India for special condemnation, saying:“This act of Indian regime is a blatant support to the unjust war of royalregime against the Nepali people…we are extremely shocked by thisdespicable act of the Indian government and we strongly condemn thearrest of any leaders and any citizens who are handed over to themurderous regime of Nepal.”

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

Melamchi management biddersAlthough Melamchi construction has ground to a halt,five foreign companies have applied to manageKathmandu’s water supply. Two are British, twoFrench and one German, but officials at the MelamchiWater Supply Project would not name them. “We willgo through the letters and short list the names of thebidders,” Noor Tamarakar of the Kathmandu ValleyManagement Support Committee said. Themanagement contract will be for four years initially andwill be extended for another two if the performance ofthe operator is found successful. Two earlier biddingsended inconclusively after the French company,Vivendi, was the only final bidder. Melamchi’s donorshave said tunnel construction of the $464 millionproject must not begin unless the managementcontractor for distribution of the water is selected.

umans, I now believe, were meant to live at sea level.We are, after all, distant relatives of water creatures.Our ancestors crawled out of the primordial soup,

grew legs and lungs and eventually became us. That is, theystarted falling in love, making art and committing genocideon a regular basis.

I sit now by the Atlantic Ocean in Miami Beach, Florida,almost at the southwestern extremity of the United States.I’m in a concrete and steel building but I feel as if a onemetre wave could slop onto the beach and get my shoes wet.How else to explain my new propensity to stay up late(reading of course), in defiance of Kathmandu’s mandatory

bed before midnight rule?I don’t seem to get sotired here. And, errr,everyone gets to wear

shoes wet, even here at my desk and computer on thesecond floor.

But I have to say, the breathing is easy. Nothing like asea breeze to blast away the pollution. There’s plenty ofoxygen and fewer clothes here. Hindu orthodoxy is nowhereto be found. Not that there isn’t plenty that’s familiar to aNepal hand here. Miami politics is wild, weird, wacky andwicked, just as it is in the Himalayan Kingdom.

Famously, a somewhat colourful senior official of the law

department here was drummed out of office a few years agofor biting a woman dancer on her posterior. In public andvery hard. He’s now back in politics. Call him our KhumBahadur Khadka, with a few differences. Here our monarchis King Jeb Bush, of America’s great ruling dynasty. Theymay not have united the country in a heroic series of battlesa couple of hundred years ago, but they’re working atdisuniting it in the same manner.

Miami is home to a proud local populace with a deepculture that feels itself under lasting siege from incomers.

Our Newars are the native Floridians, descendants of theoriginal settlers and even the American Indians who’vebeen here as a people for thousands of years. The outsidersare from everywhere else in the world—cold bits of the USand Canada, the Caribbean, South America, Haiti andespecially Cuba. In fact, it’s the Cuban politicians thatmake this place seem as if it were run by the NepaliCongress Party in full grab. They’re colourful, lively andrather unashamed of how much they manage toaccumulate in their time in office. No wonder these guyswant nothing to do with Fidel Castro and his communists.

There’s a very relaxed attitude to life here. Like Nepalis,people take ‘sun baths’. They relax a lot. They drinkalcohol at lunchtime or early afternoon, they love food andfun and tell jokes about most things, especially politics.That is now disappearing in Nepal, I’m sorry to say,shattered at first by the growing Maoist rebellion, then theNarayanhiti massacre and finally by the failures of theNepali ruling elite to take the situation seriously. When Ifirst came to Kathmandu, I thought I’d arrived in SouthAsia’s version of the Caribbean. Now the country is dangerof turning into Haiti.

I suggest that our aid sector sponsor junkets to Florida,instead of Northern Ireland or Sri Lanka, so Nepalis can seethe road ahead more clearly.

Politics here is wild, weird, wackyand wicked, just as in NepalMiami’s vices

H

or the first time in Nepal’shistory, the government ismulling over a job quota for

women and marginalisedcommunities in the civil service.

Dalits, madhesis, other ethnicgroups and women will benefit fromthe scheme which is expected to beimplemented by April along the linesrecommended by the ReservationProvision-related AdvisoryCommittee led by Finance MinisterPrakash Chandra Lohani. The five-member task force has less than 45days to complete its work.

The reason for the government’srush to take the initiative onaffirmative action appears to beaimed at countering the Maoistmoves towards local autonomy andto defuse its demand for inclusionof ethnic communities in thenational mainstream.

During last year’s peace process,the government conceded to theMaoist demand to establish areservation policy which includedproposals for a five-year quota systemin the civil service: 20 percent forwomen, 10 percent for dalits and fivepercent for indigenous communities.Following protests, the governmentformed a committee to come up withnew recommendations. Time isrunning out and many wonder if thejob can be finished on time.

“This is a landmark for thegovernment,” says Dambar NarayanYadav, member of NepalSadbhabana Party and coordinatorof a sub-committee for reservation

Some reservations about reservationfor madhesi people. “The taraipopulation has been politicallydebarred from equal participationand left out of economic anddevelopment processes.”

The sub-committee looking atquotas for women is recommendingproportional representation basedon the national census. Womenhave only eight percent of civilservice jobs, only two percent ofjudges are female. “There are 525females working in government jobsand most are still not consideredpermanent staff even after workingthere for decades,” says DurgaPokhrel of the National WomenCommission. Pokhrel says there shouldbe at least one seat for a female joint-secretary in each ministry. “It’s time toact now and this is the right way. Justtalking about women’s problems willnot result in action,” she told us.

Figuring out a quota system formadhesi, janjati and dalitcommunities may be easier said thandone. There are over 100 ethnic andcaste groups in the country and thereis no agreement about which areeligible for reservation. Many fearquota percentages might be excessivein some cases and end up leavingothers out altogether.

While the reservation policysounds good in theory, many aresceptical about whether it will workin practice in reducing socialexclusion. There are also questions onwhy the government is in such arush to implement the policy byApril.

“There is immense pressure fromdonor agencies,” a janjati activist,

who has reservations aboutreservation, told us. Nepal’s donorsare convinced the root of thecountry’s inequities stem from socialexclusion and are pushing for aproactive government approach toredress the imbalance. They haveeven threatened to pull out fundingif the policy is not implementedsoon.

“The Netherlands has alreadytaken a strong stand,” a governmentsource, confirming the pressure, toldus. The UNDP is hiringinternational consultants to developits own plans for reservation in casethe government committee fails todeliver. This has angered officials,who say the UN is wasting money.“There is no need for the UNDP toduplicate the work of thegovernment and spend so much oninternational consultants,” said oneofficial, who requested anonymity.

Several janjati activists are askingthe government not to jump intothe reservation bandwagon withoutstudying the implications justbecause of donor pressure. They saythe policy may fail to achieve its goalof proportionate representation forall communities in the civil service,

and may even result in greaterdisparities and discord. “This policymight never be implemented,” saysanthropologist and researcher,Mukta Lama. “There are noassociated laws or a systematicapproach needed to make itsuccessful.”

The haste with which theMaoists started declaring ethnic-based autonomous regions, mostrecently Magarant and Tharuwan,appears to be an effort to stay onestep ahead of the government. Thismay explain the government’stearing hurry to get the job finished.

Some independent researchersadmit affirmative action elsewherein the world has met with mixedresults but do not doubt that a well-planned quota policy is necessarybecause of Nepal’s entrenchedexclusion. Says Bal Gopal Baidya,former member of the NationalPlanning Commission: “Obviously,this is a controversial issue, butaffirmation action is needed. Thingswill not change on their own.”

Bahuns, Chettris and Newarstogether make up 37 percent of thepopulation but dominate 82percent of politics, bureaucracy and

education. Twenty percent ofNepalis are dalits, but there hasn’tbeen a single dalit minister since1990.

Surprisingly, it is dalit andjanjati activists who are notconvinced about reservation. “Themain problem is a centralised andunitary governance system, so whatis more urgent is devolution to afederal democratic structure byestablishing ethno-linguisticautonomous regions withoutcompromising the unity ofour nation,” says activistand academician Bal KrishnaMahubang.

Buddhiman Tamang, adviser tothe National Federation ofIndigenous Communities, agrees:“What the government is doing isquite revolutionary and we reallyappreciate it, but this is somethingan elected government should bedoing. Right now, this might justbe a political gimmick.”

Activists doubt that thegovernment’s small task force onreservation can do justice to such anenormous problem. Why not startwith local self-governance, they say,that will lead automatically to greaterrepresentation of minorities and helppull the rug from under the Maoists.

The government is readying anew affirmative action policy,but will it work?

NARESH NEWAR

MIN BAJRACHARYA

MIN BAJRACHARYA

F

DOMESTIC BRIEFS

4 27 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185NATION 527 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185NATION

HERE AND THEREDaniel Lak

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

Brussels group denounces DelhiA pro-Maoist group of Nepalis in Brussels has strongly condemned theIndian government for the extradition of Matrika Yadav and Suresh AleMagar on 8 February, and says: “This despicable act has stunned andshocked the democratic and revolutionary people and ignited furyamong Nepali people the world over.”

Besides flaying the government, king and army, the communiquésigned by Surendra Bhusan, also blames “US imperialism” forsupporting the counter-insurgency war. It said successivegovernments in Kathmandu have broken previous ceasefires eventhough the Maoists had pushed the agenda for a “forward-lookingpolitical settlement”.

But the group singled out India for special condemnation, saying:“This act of Indian regime is a blatant support to the unjust war of royalregime against the Nepali people…we are extremely shocked by thisdespicable act of the Indian government and we strongly condemn thearrest of any leaders and any citizens who are handed over to themurderous regime of Nepal.”

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

Melamchi management biddersAlthough Melamchi construction has ground to a halt,five foreign companies have applied to manageKathmandu’s water supply. Two are British, twoFrench and one German, but officials at the MelamchiWater Supply Project would not name them. “We willgo through the letters and short list the names of thebidders,” Noor Tamarakar of the Kathmandu ValleyManagement Support Committee said. Themanagement contract will be for four years initially andwill be extended for another two if the performance ofthe operator is found successful. Two earlier biddingsended inconclusively after the French company,Vivendi, was the only final bidder. Melamchi’s donorshave said tunnel construction of the $464 millionproject must not begin unless the managementcontractor for distribution of the water is selected.

umans, I now believe, were meant to live at sea level.We are, after all, distant relatives of water creatures.Our ancestors crawled out of the primordial soup,

grew legs and lungs and eventually became us. That is, theystarted falling in love, making art and committing genocideon a regular basis.

I sit now by the Atlantic Ocean in Miami Beach, Florida,almost at the southwestern extremity of the United States.I’m in a concrete and steel building but I feel as if a onemetre wave could slop onto the beach and get my shoes wet.How else to explain my new propensity to stay up late(reading of course), in defiance of Kathmandu’s mandatory

bed before midnight rule?I don’t seem to get sotired here. And, errr,everyone gets to wear

shoes wet, even here at my desk and computer on thesecond floor.

But I have to say, the breathing is easy. Nothing like asea breeze to blast away the pollution. There’s plenty ofoxygen and fewer clothes here. Hindu orthodoxy is nowhereto be found. Not that there isn’t plenty that’s familiar to aNepal hand here. Miami politics is wild, weird, wacky andwicked, just as it is in the Himalayan Kingdom.

Famously, a somewhat colourful senior official of the law

department here was drummed out of office a few years agofor biting a woman dancer on her posterior. In public andvery hard. He’s now back in politics. Call him our KhumBahadur Khadka, with a few differences. Here our monarchis King Jeb Bush, of America’s great ruling dynasty. Theymay not have united the country in a heroic series of battlesa couple of hundred years ago, but they’re working atdisuniting it in the same manner.

Miami is home to a proud local populace with a deepculture that feels itself under lasting siege from incomers.

Our Newars are the native Floridians, descendants of theoriginal settlers and even the American Indians who’vebeen here as a people for thousands of years. The outsidersare from everywhere else in the world—cold bits of the USand Canada, the Caribbean, South America, Haiti andespecially Cuba. In fact, it’s the Cuban politicians thatmake this place seem as if it were run by the NepaliCongress Party in full grab. They’re colourful, lively andrather unashamed of how much they manage toaccumulate in their time in office. No wonder these guyswant nothing to do with Fidel Castro and his communists.

There’s a very relaxed attitude to life here. Like Nepalis,people take ‘sun baths’. They relax a lot. They drinkalcohol at lunchtime or early afternoon, they love food andfun and tell jokes about most things, especially politics.That is now disappearing in Nepal, I’m sorry to say,shattered at first by the growing Maoist rebellion, then theNarayanhiti massacre and finally by the failures of theNepali ruling elite to take the situation seriously. When Ifirst came to Kathmandu, I thought I’d arrived in SouthAsia’s version of the Caribbean. Now the country is dangerof turning into Haiti.

I suggest that our aid sector sponsor junkets to Florida,instead of Northern Ireland or Sri Lanka, so Nepalis can seethe road ahead more clearly.

Politics here is wild, weird, wackyand wicked, just as in NepalMiami’s vices

H

or the first time in Nepal’shistory, the government ismulling over a job quota for

women and marginalisedcommunities in the civil service.

Dalits, madhesis, other ethnicgroups and women will benefit fromthe scheme which is expected to beimplemented by April along the linesrecommended by the ReservationProvision-related AdvisoryCommittee led by Finance MinisterPrakash Chandra Lohani. The five-member task force has less than 45days to complete its work.

The reason for the government’srush to take the initiative onaffirmative action appears to beaimed at countering the Maoistmoves towards local autonomy andto defuse its demand for inclusionof ethnic communities in thenational mainstream.

During last year’s peace process,the government conceded to theMaoist demand to establish areservation policy which includedproposals for a five-year quota systemin the civil service: 20 percent forwomen, 10 percent for dalits and fivepercent for indigenous communities.Following protests, the governmentformed a committee to come up withnew recommendations. Time isrunning out and many wonder if thejob can be finished on time.

“This is a landmark for thegovernment,” says Dambar NarayanYadav, member of NepalSadbhabana Party and coordinatorof a sub-committee for reservation

Some reservations about reservationfor madhesi people. “The taraipopulation has been politicallydebarred from equal participationand left out of economic anddevelopment processes.”

The sub-committee looking atquotas for women is recommendingproportional representation basedon the national census. Womenhave only eight percent of civilservice jobs, only two percent ofjudges are female. “There are 525females working in government jobsand most are still not consideredpermanent staff even after workingthere for decades,” says DurgaPokhrel of the National WomenCommission. Pokhrel says there shouldbe at least one seat for a female joint-secretary in each ministry. “It’s time toact now and this is the right way. Justtalking about women’s problems willnot result in action,” she told us.

Figuring out a quota system formadhesi, janjati and dalitcommunities may be easier said thandone. There are over 100 ethnic andcaste groups in the country and thereis no agreement about which areeligible for reservation. Many fearquota percentages might be excessivein some cases and end up leavingothers out altogether.

While the reservation policysounds good in theory, many aresceptical about whether it will workin practice in reducing socialexclusion. There are also questions onwhy the government is in such arush to implement the policy byApril.

“There is immense pressure fromdonor agencies,” a janjati activist,

who has reservations aboutreservation, told us. Nepal’s donorsare convinced the root of thecountry’s inequities stem from socialexclusion and are pushing for aproactive government approach toredress the imbalance. They haveeven threatened to pull out fundingif the policy is not implementedsoon.

“The Netherlands has alreadytaken a strong stand,” a governmentsource, confirming the pressure, toldus. The UNDP is hiringinternational consultants to developits own plans for reservation in casethe government committee fails todeliver. This has angered officials,who say the UN is wasting money.“There is no need for the UNDP toduplicate the work of thegovernment and spend so much oninternational consultants,” said oneofficial, who requested anonymity.

Several janjati activists are askingthe government not to jump intothe reservation bandwagon withoutstudying the implications justbecause of donor pressure. They saythe policy may fail to achieve its goalof proportionate representation forall communities in the civil service,

and may even result in greaterdisparities and discord. “This policymight never be implemented,” saysanthropologist and researcher,Mukta Lama. “There are noassociated laws or a systematicapproach needed to make itsuccessful.”

The haste with which theMaoists started declaring ethnic-based autonomous regions, mostrecently Magarant and Tharuwan,appears to be an effort to stay onestep ahead of the government. Thismay explain the government’stearing hurry to get the job finished.

Some independent researchersadmit affirmative action elsewherein the world has met with mixedresults but do not doubt that a well-planned quota policy is necessarybecause of Nepal’s entrenchedexclusion. Says Bal Gopal Baidya,former member of the NationalPlanning Commission: “Obviously,this is a controversial issue, butaffirmation action is needed. Thingswill not change on their own.”

Bahuns, Chettris and Newarstogether make up 37 percent of thepopulation but dominate 82percent of politics, bureaucracy and

education. Twenty percent ofNepalis are dalits, but there hasn’tbeen a single dalit minister since1990.

Surprisingly, it is dalit andjanjati activists who are notconvinced about reservation. “Themain problem is a centralised andunitary governance system, so whatis more urgent is devolution to afederal democratic structure byestablishing ethno-linguisticautonomous regions withoutcompromising the unity ofour nation,” says activistand academician Bal KrishnaMahubang.

Buddhiman Tamang, adviser tothe National Federation ofIndigenous Communities, agrees:“What the government is doing isquite revolutionary and we reallyappreciate it, but this is somethingan elected government should bedoing. Right now, this might justbe a political gimmick.”

Activists doubt that thegovernment’s small task force onreservation can do justice to such anenormous problem. Why not startwith local self-governance, they say,that will lead automatically to greaterrepresentation of minorities and helppull the rug from under the Maoists.

The government is readying anew affirmative action policy,but will it work?

NARESH NEWAR

MIN BAJRACHARYA

MIN BAJRACHARYA

F

6 27 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185 727 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185NATIONNATION

Qualitech Scan

ndian Foreign SecretaryShashank’s visit to Nepal hastriggered the usual fallout of

suspicions and controversy inNepal. A periodic assessment ofbilateral issues of interest is anabsolute must. Successivegovernments in Kathmandu hadagreed to regularly review thewhole gamut with India,including the 1950 Treaty ofPeace and Friendship, at theforeign secretary level.

An analysis of these exercisesshould therefore be made in theproper context and perspective,not from rigid mindsets.

The absence of openness in theconduct of foreign policy, lack ofconsensus-building on issues ofbilateral and multilateralimportance, and dual postures ofthe government during thenegotiation and in public(especially on the Nepali side) havefavoured controversy in the past.

Shashank’s visit was noexception. However, his visit thisweek took place amidst a newcloseness between Nepal and Indiathat occured both by necessity andthe experience of past mistrust,especially on matters of security.Intelligence sharing on the borderand the effectiveness of the JointWorking Group, mainly towards

India-Nepal ties are on the mend, butis Big Brother taking undue advantage

of Kathmandu’s feeble state?

Daju Bhaicurbing ‘terrorism’ and majorcrimes, have yielded results. Thehandovers of Maoist leadersMatrika Yadav and Suresh AleMagar in the weeks prior to thevisit was meaningful.

Moving on from there, the twosides have agreed to open theirroads for public transport. Anylegitimate deal with India in a spiritof equality and good-will willdeliver opportunities, but failure tomanage them could invite biggerproblems as well. Kathmandu hasnot yet been able to explain orinform the people how the newtransport arrangements will benefitthe Nepali economy. This is vital asIndia has also shown its willingnessto extend its railway network intoNepali border towns at four points.

Nepal cannot, and should not,remain a landlocked island. Itshould explore connecting itssouthern and northern boundariesfor trade, commerce, tourism andeasier access for people. But a cost-benefit assessment of such moveshas to be worked out in advance,and explained to the people.

The move to amend or “enlargethe scope” of the half-a-century oldextradition treaty has not mademuch headway apparently, becausethe Indian insistence onrepatriation of third party nationalswas not to Kathmandu’s liking.

If true, this should dispelwidespread fears and allegationsthat the Thapa government is

willing to sell-out to India.Enlarging the scope of theextradition treaty should be seenin the context of an ongoing‘global war on terror’ and itsinternational ramifications.

It will be a major diplomaticfailure if Nepal fails to convince itssouthern neighbour that it is ascommitted as India in crackingdown on border crimes andterrorism, but we have to becareful the clause on third partyextradition will not take us too far.

Apart from these issues, themanagement and exploitation of

Nepal’s water resources willalways remain the most crucialcomponent of our bilateralrelationship. The demands madeby India’s vast economy and thesupply of Nepal’s untappedwater potential will no doubtbring the two together. But anydecision has to be in conformitywith the constitution of Nepal.An understanding between thetwo sides beginning with theUpper Karnali, especially duringthe absence of an electedparliament has the potential tocreate rancour. Article 126

requires ratification of any treatyinvolving natural resources wasinserted into the 1990Constitution on the basis ofperceived inequities in the Kosiand Gandak barrages.

The current understandingson different projects totaling1,700MW will raise the suspicionthat a democratic India has beentrying to derive undue benefitfrom a faltering regime inKathmandu. This may, in fact,make the transparency offuture bilateral deals even moredifficult.

CAPITAL LETTERYubaraj Ghimire

Indian Ambassador Shyam Saran exchanging agreement papers with Nepali Labour and TransportManagement Secretary Narayan Silwal on Monday, while Indian Foreign Secretary Shashank and hisNepali counterpart Madhuraman Acharya look on.

earing a Barbour andarmed with a trustybinocular and notepad,

London Eye went bird watchinglast week to try to catch a rareglimpse of that elusive species:‘CPN-M (London)’ and its flock.Sightings in its new migratory

habitat are rare because it has nodistinctive markings or features onits coat or head, even in itsfavourite hunting grounds ofSouth East London or sunnyRoyal Berkshire.

The bird sanctuary for thisparticular expedition was one ofcapitalism’s premier educationalinstitutions in central London, astone’s throw from the comrades’favourite broadcasting medium.Ironies abound.

Much to our disappointment,the CPN-M (London) did notmake its appearance. But like relicsfrom a bygone era, old Marxistswere spotted in abundance stilldreaming and harping on of acollective utopia. This breed seems

to have failed to see through itsblinkers post-1990 and 9/11.There is a new world order, UncleSam’s hegemony.

It was surreal: sitting in themiddle of London, 200 yards fromthe Thames, to hear stirring tiradesthat predicted Nepal would fall anyminute and become the beacon andthe inspiration for a glorious newtrend across the globe for people’srevolutions. The mouthpiece(probably an ex-PKK or an Iraniancommunist) was exhibiting traitsmore like his cousin from across theTigris, Comical Ali.

It was him and not the Nepalimedia who was deploying theweapons of mass deception. Thedays of cause celebre and trendyactivism like the pro-Sandinistapublic meetings of the 1980s arelong past in London, but it lookslike discussions on foreignrevolutions will never be completelypassé.

So where were they, the CPN-M leaders, the diaspora cadre,during this networkingopportunity? Why didn’t theyattend the very event organised toshow international solidarity to

their struggle? Do they only fly bynight to meet up in some darksmoke-filled room? Even here? Dothey have to be, or are theyunderground forming sleeper cellslike other ‘normal’ terrorists? Orwas the meeting too bourgeois?Maybe this just wasn’t the habitatfor our particular species of waders.

There is an unofficial estimatethat a quarter of the Nepalipopulation in London are ‘Maoist-affected people’. The so-calledMaoists therefore must have beenbusy: not with spreading the classstruggle, but with the struggle ofbasic human survival in this wetand miserable second city ofcapitalism. What a bittercontradiction for comrades here inthe metropolis where Marx isburied.

London, even more so than theDC belt area, is a microcosm ofNepali society. There are all here:Little Darjeeling, Little Na Tole,Little Dharan Camp, LittleDurbar, Little Kaski, Little Pahad,Little Thamel, Little Kanth andLittle Tibet. So there must be aLittle Rolpa somewhere, too. Butwhy don’t they even appear at an

international solidarity function tomark the eighth anniversary oftheir war?

One can only conclude that, aswith other Nepali migrants, it is adesire for a better livelihood ratherthan ideology that is themotivational driver. Britain,therefore, is a natural migratorydestination for this species. “Onceall struggle is grasped, miracles arepossible,” Mao Zedong once said.Yes, the struggle can be grasped,not by the barrel of the gun but bythe sweet incentives of globalcapitalism.

In all this, maybe there is a rolefor Britain. After all, we have stronghistorical links and an enduringawe and fascination of all thingsBritish by our Anglophile

establishment. All this must countfor something for London toleverage its position to broker adeal and rescue the country it didnot want to colonise.

To take the avian analogy a bitfurther, they could even kill twobirds with one stone: restore peacein Nepal and enhance Tony Blair’sstanding as a true internationalleader. Blair gave his deepconviction, Christian values andmorals, right over wrong, as one ofhis guiding principles in theheadlong dash to join Iraq’s ‘war ofliberation’. Fine principles indeed,but can these principles beextended to bring peace in Nepal?Miracles do happen. But Nepal’smisfortune perhaps is that itdoesn’t have Iraq’s strategic worth.

The London-based World People’s Resistance Movement and the Anti-Racism and Anti-Imperialism Organisation organised a public hearing tomark the eighth anniversary of the Maoist ‘People’s War’ in Nepal.

Seventy people gathered on 18 February in a dingy little room at theLondon School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), but there was agenuine sense of solidarity among participants during the three-hoursession. The program began with a video screening of a mass rally on 3April 2003 organised by the Maoists at Tundikhel during the ceasefireperiod. The video carried the now-famous speech by Baburam Bhattarai inwhich he said: “We have shed too much blood, suffered inhumane tortureand oppression. Now it is time for us to look forward to a brighter future, one

which is fil led with peace andfreedom.” The video was greeted withapplause.

An Iranian read a paper on thepeople’s war in Nepal and itsunderlying reasons, which he saidwere the inability of Nepal’s rulingclasses to meet the basic needs ofthe people, address inequities as wellas their failure to stand up to Nepal’s“hegemonistic, imperialist”neighbour, India. He also accused“imperialist powers” such as Britainand the United States of trying toundermine the Nepali revolution.

A discussion followed with aNepali student saying he didn’tbelieve in the Maoist ideology ofviolence. This provoked a longdiscussion on violence as a meansof revolution. (Bimbika Sijapati)

Gone bird watchingNo Nepali Maoists were sighted at a Maoist

solidarity meeting in London

Pro-Maoist meet in London

LONDON EYEJoti Giri

Karl Marx’s grave atHighgate Cemetary inLondon.

WI

KIRAN PANDAY

6 27 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185 727 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185NATIONNATION

Qualitech Scan

ndian Foreign SecretaryShashank’s visit to Nepal hastriggered the usual fallout of

suspicions and controversy inNepal. A periodic assessment ofbilateral issues of interest is anabsolute must. Successivegovernments in Kathmandu hadagreed to regularly review thewhole gamut with India,including the 1950 Treaty ofPeace and Friendship, at theforeign secretary level.

An analysis of these exercisesshould therefore be made in theproper context and perspective,not from rigid mindsets.

The absence of openness in theconduct of foreign policy, lack ofconsensus-building on issues ofbilateral and multilateralimportance, and dual postures ofthe government during thenegotiation and in public(especially on the Nepali side) havefavoured controversy in the past.

Shashank’s visit was noexception. However, his visit thisweek took place amidst a newcloseness between Nepal and Indiathat occured both by necessity andthe experience of past mistrust,especially on matters of security.Intelligence sharing on the borderand the effectiveness of the JointWorking Group, mainly towards

India-Nepal ties are on the mend, butis Big Brother taking undue advantage

of Kathmandu’s feeble state?

Daju Bhaicurbing ‘terrorism’ and majorcrimes, have yielded results. Thehandovers of Maoist leadersMatrika Yadav and Suresh AleMagar in the weeks prior to thevisit was meaningful.

Moving on from there, the twosides have agreed to open theirroads for public transport. Anylegitimate deal with India in a spiritof equality and good-will willdeliver opportunities, but failure tomanage them could invite biggerproblems as well. Kathmandu hasnot yet been able to explain orinform the people how the newtransport arrangements will benefitthe Nepali economy. This is vital asIndia has also shown its willingnessto extend its railway network intoNepali border towns at four points.

Nepal cannot, and should not,remain a landlocked island. Itshould explore connecting itssouthern and northern boundariesfor trade, commerce, tourism andeasier access for people. But a cost-benefit assessment of such moveshas to be worked out in advance,and explained to the people.

The move to amend or “enlargethe scope” of the half-a-century oldextradition treaty has not mademuch headway apparently, becausethe Indian insistence onrepatriation of third party nationalswas not to Kathmandu’s liking.

If true, this should dispelwidespread fears and allegationsthat the Thapa government is

willing to sell-out to India.Enlarging the scope of theextradition treaty should be seenin the context of an ongoing‘global war on terror’ and itsinternational ramifications.

It will be a major diplomaticfailure if Nepal fails to convince itssouthern neighbour that it is ascommitted as India in crackingdown on border crimes andterrorism, but we have to becareful the clause on third partyextradition will not take us too far.

Apart from these issues, themanagement and exploitation of

Nepal’s water resources willalways remain the most crucialcomponent of our bilateralrelationship. The demands madeby India’s vast economy and thesupply of Nepal’s untappedwater potential will no doubtbring the two together. But anydecision has to be in conformitywith the constitution of Nepal.An understanding between thetwo sides beginning with theUpper Karnali, especially duringthe absence of an electedparliament has the potential tocreate rancour. Article 126

requires ratification of any treatyinvolving natural resources wasinserted into the 1990Constitution on the basis ofperceived inequities in the Kosiand Gandak barrages.

The current understandingson different projects totaling1,700MW will raise the suspicionthat a democratic India has beentrying to derive undue benefitfrom a faltering regime inKathmandu. This may, in fact,make the transparency offuture bilateral deals even moredifficult.

CAPITAL LETTERYubaraj Ghimire

Indian Ambassador Shyam Saran exchanging agreement papers with Nepali Labour and TransportManagement Secretary Narayan Silwal on Monday, while Indian Foreign Secretary Shashank and hisNepali counterpart Madhuraman Acharya look on.

earing a Barbour andarmed with a trustybinocular and notepad,

London Eye went bird watchinglast week to try to catch a rareglimpse of that elusive species:‘CPN-M (London)’ and its flock.Sightings in its new migratory

habitat are rare because it has nodistinctive markings or features onits coat or head, even in itsfavourite hunting grounds ofSouth East London or sunnyRoyal Berkshire.

The bird sanctuary for thisparticular expedition was one ofcapitalism’s premier educationalinstitutions in central London, astone’s throw from the comrades’favourite broadcasting medium.Ironies abound.

Much to our disappointment,the CPN-M (London) did notmake its appearance. But like relicsfrom a bygone era, old Marxistswere spotted in abundance stilldreaming and harping on of acollective utopia. This breed seems

to have failed to see through itsblinkers post-1990 and 9/11.There is a new world order, UncleSam’s hegemony.

It was surreal: sitting in themiddle of London, 200 yards fromthe Thames, to hear stirring tiradesthat predicted Nepal would fall anyminute and become the beacon andthe inspiration for a glorious newtrend across the globe for people’srevolutions. The mouthpiece(probably an ex-PKK or an Iraniancommunist) was exhibiting traitsmore like his cousin from across theTigris, Comical Ali.

It was him and not the Nepalimedia who was deploying theweapons of mass deception. Thedays of cause celebre and trendyactivism like the pro-Sandinistapublic meetings of the 1980s arelong past in London, but it lookslike discussions on foreignrevolutions will never be completelypassé.

So where were they, the CPN-M leaders, the diaspora cadre,during this networkingopportunity? Why didn’t theyattend the very event organised toshow international solidarity to

their struggle? Do they only fly bynight to meet up in some darksmoke-filled room? Even here? Dothey have to be, or are theyunderground forming sleeper cellslike other ‘normal’ terrorists? Orwas the meeting too bourgeois?Maybe this just wasn’t the habitatfor our particular species of waders.

There is an unofficial estimatethat a quarter of the Nepalipopulation in London are ‘Maoist-affected people’. The so-calledMaoists therefore must have beenbusy: not with spreading the classstruggle, but with the struggle ofbasic human survival in this wetand miserable second city ofcapitalism. What a bittercontradiction for comrades here inthe metropolis where Marx isburied.

London, even more so than theDC belt area, is a microcosm ofNepali society. There are all here:Little Darjeeling, Little Na Tole,Little Dharan Camp, LittleDurbar, Little Kaski, Little Pahad,Little Thamel, Little Kanth andLittle Tibet. So there must be aLittle Rolpa somewhere, too. Butwhy don’t they even appear at an

international solidarity function tomark the eighth anniversary oftheir war?

One can only conclude that, aswith other Nepali migrants, it is adesire for a better livelihood ratherthan ideology that is themotivational driver. Britain,therefore, is a natural migratorydestination for this species. “Onceall struggle is grasped, miracles arepossible,” Mao Zedong once said.Yes, the struggle can be grasped,not by the barrel of the gun but bythe sweet incentives of globalcapitalism.

In all this, maybe there is a rolefor Britain. After all, we have stronghistorical links and an enduringawe and fascination of all thingsBritish by our Anglophile

establishment. All this must countfor something for London toleverage its position to broker adeal and rescue the country it didnot want to colonise.

To take the avian analogy a bitfurther, they could even kill twobirds with one stone: restore peacein Nepal and enhance Tony Blair’sstanding as a true internationalleader. Blair gave his deepconviction, Christian values andmorals, right over wrong, as one ofhis guiding principles in theheadlong dash to join Iraq’s ‘war ofliberation’. Fine principles indeed,but can these principles beextended to bring peace in Nepal?Miracles do happen. But Nepal’smisfortune perhaps is that itdoesn’t have Iraq’s strategic worth.

The London-based World People’s Resistance Movement and the Anti-Racism and Anti-Imperialism Organisation organised a public hearing tomark the eighth anniversary of the Maoist ‘People’s War’ in Nepal.

Seventy people gathered on 18 February in a dingy little room at theLondon School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), but there was agenuine sense of solidarity among participants during the three-hoursession. The program began with a video screening of a mass rally on 3April 2003 organised by the Maoists at Tundikhel during the ceasefireperiod. The video carried the now-famous speech by Baburam Bhattarai inwhich he said: “We have shed too much blood, suffered inhumane tortureand oppression. Now it is time for us to look forward to a brighter future, one

which is fil led with peace andfreedom.” The video was greeted withapplause.

An Iranian read a paper on thepeople’s war in Nepal and itsunderlying reasons, which he saidwere the inability of Nepal’s rulingclasses to meet the basic needs ofthe people, address inequities as wellas their failure to stand up to Nepal’s“hegemonistic, imperialist”neighbour, India. He also accused“imperialist powers” such as Britainand the United States of trying toundermine the Nepali revolution.

A discussion followed with aNepali student saying he didn’tbelieve in the Maoist ideology ofviolence. This provoked a longdiscussion on violence as a meansof revolution. (Bimbika Sijapati)

Gone bird watchingNo Nepali Maoists were sighted at a Maoist

solidarity meeting in London

Pro-Maoist meet in London

LONDON EYEJoti Giri

Karl Marx’s grave atHighgate Cemetary inLondon.

WI

KIRAN PANDAY

927 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185NATION

BIZ NEWS

Nepali Times: Given the mixed track record in Asia tomeet past targets, do you think the MillenniumDevelopment Goals are achievable?Kim Hak-Su: On average, our projection shows that it will beachieved. But there is great variation both across sub-regionsas well as individual countries. In particular, the leastdeveloped countries, land-locked developing countries andsome of the economies in transition may not be able toachieve the target. Moreover, due to growth in population, theabsolute number of poor living below $1 day will continue tobe a cause for concern.

Besides the sheer scale of population, how are ourproblems different from Africa?The Asian context is different from other regions. It remainsone of the most dynamic segments of the global economy.And that helps. But many countries will not be able toachieve the targets in areas such as hunger, child mortality,maternal mortality and environmental sustainability. In fact,although we may be able to address the issue of incomepoverty quite effectively, the challenge of human poverty willremain with us for quite some time unless drastic action istaken. We have gained a lot of experience in addressingthese challenges. Ultimately, it will depend on each countryhow it sees these challenges and what measures it ought toadopt. In my view, more target-oriented action, backed up bysufficient resources and the participation of all stakeholders,will be a key component of the responses countries might wishto follow.

Everyone agrees on concepts like ‘good governance’ and‘sustainable development’, but the problem has alwaysbeen in getting these things to work on the ground. Whatare the prerequisites that need to be in place?In fact, these are the prerequisites for achieving the goals.The Millennium Declaration spells out several values andnorms that must accompany efforts to achieve the MillenniumDevelopment Goals. As I said earlier, national commitment isan absolutely key determining factor. Along with that, severalthings need to be in place: growth and poverty reduction must

Kim Hak-Su is the executive secretary ofthe United Nations Economic and Social

Commision for the Asia and Pacific basedin Bangkok. He is in Kathmandu this

weekend to attend a regional conferenceon the UN’s Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs) to halve poverty by 2015.He answered questions from Nepali Times

on progress so far.

Halving absolute poverty by 2015

be sustained over time; increases in inequality need to beavoided; countries must invest in education and health of thepopulation; they must promote the rights of women; and a broadrange of partnerships need to be forged, both at home andinternationally, to achieve these goals.

There is an argument that the MDG targets are just is way forthe international aid community to show it’s doing something,and divert attention from the addressing the structural socio-economic roots of the governance dilemma within countries.The MDGs provide a framework for human development. It doesnot substitute for the necessity to have right policies andstrategies in place. Those have to be devised by the countriesconcerned in cooperation with their partners. Appropriatestrategies can then address the structural issues.

In the time since the goals were announced, what has beenthe trend? Are we on target?As I mentioned earlier, the situation differs from sub-region tosub-region, from country to country. On the whole, we seem to beon the way to reach the income poverty target. But other targetsmay prove to be quite difficult to achieve at the current trend.

Moreover, as we move towards our target year of 2015, weare likely to encounter the more hard-core poor who will need adifferent combination of policies and programmes than wefollowed in the past. Equally, non-income dimensions of povertyare likely to feature more prominently in national agenda as weapproach 2015.

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

Making the gradeiExplore, the world’s leading resource for off-the-beaten-path travel hasrecently published its top 10 routes for exploring a pié run the gamut fromday-tripper walks and hikes to multiweek treks in its website:www.iexplore.com. In its admittedly audacious picks for the world’s topadventures on foot, Nepal’s Hiking Annapurna Circuit ranks number one,described as a, “classic Himalayan trek is a classic for good reason: Itencapsulates the best of Nepal, wrapping around the stunning Annapurnarange to put you in the shadow of peaks that pierce 26,000ft. Yak herds,eagle-like Himalayan griffons, blue sheep, fluttering Buddhist prayerflags, and hot springs dot this central Nepal route, which starts in lushgreen foothills and climbs into high-altitude desert typical of the Tibetanplateau.” In the Whitewater Rafting category of iExplore, Nepal’s KarnaliRiver White Water Rafting has been given seventh place describing it as,“the Karnali’s source is Tibet’s sacred Mount Kailash, possibly the reasonthis Class V river is so divine.” The Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP)placed ninth in iExplore’s safari category.

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

Global SMSIn less than six months of launching its portal NepalOnline.com, ITNTIannounced its global access for short messaging service (SMS). Nowpeople can log onto NepalOnline and send SMS to almost 70 percent ofthe countries in the world. The service is limited to the website’ssubscribers but free SMS trials are available for Nepali mobiles.

GREENER FIELDS: Gilbey’s Green Label whiskey hasbeen launched in the Nepali market by TriumphDistillery. Touted as “rich and smooth”, the brand hasreportedly proved itself popular in the Asian market. Itcomes from the same company that distils JohnnieWalker and is available in three stylish packs starting at Rs 99.94 for180ml.

TV/PC: A television that functions like a personalcomputer, the fantasy of every Internet junkie whooccasionally watches the soaps, is now available atConstellation in Kathmandu. The Miyake TVPC 1588 isboth a powerful PC and an excellent entertainmentsystem—consider the DVD/CD player, MP3 player,internal modem, 15” LCD monitor and superb sound system. And yes, itcomes with a remote control.

KEEPING COOL: Voltas Coldcel, a Tata Enterprise, is amarket leader in commercial refrigeration andpreservationwith half a century of experience behind them.Their entire range of products, including commercial airconditioning units, will be available at competitive pricesthrough Electro Appliances in Nepal.

hings haven’t changed muchin the three years since thispaper started carrying

investigative reports on oil dealersand adulteration (‘Nepal oilcorruption’ #19). When thegovernment recently announcedthat it was going to removekerosene dealerships out of gasstations, the oil barons called for a

nationwide shutdown. As the gaslines grew, the government lost itsnerve and gave in.

The irony is that the oil sectoris controlled and owned by thestate. The end product is soldthrough distributors, most ofwhom have thoroughly greasedpalms for their dealerships. Theyadulterate the oil with subsidisedkerosene to plump up profits. Inthe past 15 years or so, new cars,models and makes have enteredthe Nepali market. But even if acar owner were willing to paypremium prices for good fuel,there is none available.

The only things we can admireNepali ingenuity for is usingkerosene as a complete substitutefor diesel. Nepal’s keroseneconsumption has increased two-fold in the past three years whileother oil imports remain stagnant.Kerosene was subsidised for thepoor till the fuel adulterationbarons figured it could work as

Mixing oil and moneyDeregulate, and end fuel adulteration

well in the automobile industry.The government does not have

any way to regulate kerosene. Itkeeps the prices of petrol high sothat a cross subsidy on kerosenecontinues. The only answer is thatthe government remove itself fromthe business of importing anddealing in oil. Next, it must doaway with subsidies and begin acoupon system for those whoreally need kerosene. This willmake it next to impossible forindustries or automobile owners togather enough coupons to fill theirtanks.

It’s a pity that successivegovernments in Nepal avoided thesubject of deregulation. It’s apolitical hot potato that couldcreate difficulties for theircampaigns. But, since the presentgovernment does not intend tohold an election any time soon,there is no better time toimplement some radical changes in

the fuel industry.We should learn from India.

Indian consumers today haveaccess to better products anddistribution. Nepali oil dealers, likemany other businesses, understandthat the government indirectlyprotects their interests. If the sectoris opened, they also realise theregional and international playerswho will jump in the game are notin the adulteration business.Surely, the answer is de-regulationof the sector and to treat theimport, storage, distribution andretailing of oil products separately.Allow private sector entry intothese businesses in a regulatedmanner and soon we’ll have betteroil and better air.

It is also important thatconsumer forums find better waysin dealing with the issue and reallypressure the government to endthe monopoly of a state player anda business cartel.

NEW PRODUCTS

ECONOMIC SENSEArtha Beed

T

KIRAN PANDAY

8 27 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185

he myriad commercial banksthat have started up in Nepalseem have done at least one

thing right: identify their clients.This target group trusts its cash

to their chosen bank and expectsmore services facilities and in return,like e-banking for instance. This latestservice may seem a distinct oddityin a country that lacks cyber laws,and where less than 0.1 percent ofthe population has access to acomputer, but for educated citydwellers and the Nepali uppermiddle class, e-banking is now amouse click away.

Bank account holders now haveall kinds of services at their fingertips such as checking their balancestatements by SMS. It is just aquestion of time before they can startpaying telephone, electricity andother bills online.

While this may be old hat indeveloped countries, these services areseen as a big stride in Nepal. Had therebeen proper cyber laws in place, ourbanks could have attempted moreadvanced transactions. In its absence,commercial banks are cautious aboutintroducing basic e-banking facilities,although they are encouraged that mostclients are educated enough tounderstand e-banking, and fortunateenough to access the Internet withease.

After the successful launch of itsInternet banking two years ago andmobile banking recently, KumariBank is at the forefront of theinnovation. Customers need nolonger stand in queues to pay bills orfees. All they have to do is log on tothe net, go to the bank website andenter their account number andpassword. The final click of themouse will transfer money from theiraccount to their service providers.

“This is possible for clients whoare authorised to make suchtransactions,” said Kumari Bank’sSurendra Bhandari. “For that,both the parties must haveaccounts with us.”

Other banks have not reachedas far. Some are planning tointroduce basic services likeallowing their clients to check theiraccounts through the Internet.“We have begun a pilot project forthis facility,” says HimalayanBank’s Suman Neupane. “We willgradually expand the periphery ofthis service.”

Can webank on the

Internet?KHADGA SINGH

Banks have yet to install a thirdparty payment system through theInternet. Even Kumari Bank’sarrangement works only amonggroup accounts. Banks can increasetheir transactions through e-bankingonly if they use the technology foractivities like shopping. In the recentCAN exhibition, the stall formuncha.com promoted Internetbrowsing of the outlet’s differentproducts and placing an onlineorder.

E-shopping would pick updramatically if consumers can usetheir bank accounts to makepayments to shopkeepers or serviceproviders through the Internet.Without this, the service is very basicand likely to remain static.

The banks are in no rush. Mostof them feel that bigger transactionsthrough the Internet means riskingfraud. Payments may not reach thedesired destination or false claimantscould result in heavy settlementexpenses. “Risks are always there inbusiness,” says Neupane. “And thereis no protection in the laws of theland.”

His view is shared by every banklooking into e-banking. “If we havecyber laws, then only digitalsignatures are recognised,” saysBhandari. “Right now, whatever

transactions we are doing throughthe Internet are just limited to one-to-one deals.” This means theunlimited reach of the Internet hasbeen limited to only few basicservices.

Bankers are aware that thegovernment has not been able todo anything about cybercrime, forexample when ISPs fall victim tohackers. “How can we operatebanking services when there is noway to nab criminals in the cyberworld?” asks Neupane.

ISPs say they have raised theissue with the government. “Itwasn’t any use,” said Binay Boharaof Vianet Communications. “Theydon’t even understand what we aretalking about.” Another ISPprovider says the last time a hackerwas taken to the police, the officerasked whether he had used a knifeor a khukuri. “The police had noidea what hacking was all about,”he said.

Officials at the Ministry ofScience and Technology say a draftcyber law is ready. “But we havenot been able to take further stepsbecause it needs to go throughparliament,” a senior official said.“The government has otherpriorities at the moment so we haveno choice but to wait.”

Till we have cyber laws in place,e-banking is likely to remain e-lusive

T

While Nepal reels under successive bandas, the erstwhile hartal capital ofthe world, Kolkata, has banned them.

“Bandhs belong to Kolkata’s regressive past,” writes noted Indiancolumnist Bachi Karkaria in the Times of India this week. “The only way todeal with them is to cripple them, bring them to a halt, indeed paralysethem with all thesubversive methodswith which they havestymied WestBengal’s progress fordecades.”

Last August, theSupreme Courtbanned strikes bygovernment officialsand hartals saying itrespected tradeunion rights, butcitizens had rights too. After hartals were banned, Kolkata sprung back.The economy has picked up and business is booming.

But last week there was another banda: a blast from the past. There isa lot of opposition from those who have benefited from the boom. WritesKarkaria: “Kolkatans are reveling in the new writing on the wall, theyshouldn’t let a bunch of has-beens sabotage a long-delayed future.” Is ittime for Nepal to think of not repeating Kolkata’s mistake and learningfrom India’s ban on bandas?

Kolkata bans bandas

ECONOMY

8 27 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185 927 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185NATION

BIZ NEWS

Nepali Times: Given the mixed track record in Asia tomeet past targets, do you think the MillenniumDevelopment Goals are achievable?Kim Hak-Su: On average, our projection shows that it will beachieved. But there is great variation both across sub-regionsas well as individual countries. In particular, the leastdeveloped countries, land-locked developing countries andsome of the economies in transition may not be able toachieve the target. Moreover, due to growth in population, theabsolute number of poor living below $1 day will continue tobe a cause for concern.

Besides the sheer scale of population, how are ourproblems different from Africa?The Asian context is different from other regions. It remainsone of the most dynamic segments of the global economy.And that helps. But many countries will not be able toachieve the targets in areas such as hunger, child mortality,maternal mortality and environmental sustainability. In fact,although we may be able to address the issue of incomepoverty quite effectively, the challenge of human poverty willremain with us for quite some time unless drastic action istaken. We have gained a lot of experience in addressingthese challenges. Ultimately, it will depend on each countryhow it sees these challenges and what measures it ought toadopt. In my view, more target-oriented action, backed up bysufficient resources and the participation of all stakeholders,will be a key component of the responses countries might wishto follow.

Everyone agrees on concepts like ‘good governance’ and‘sustainable development’, but the problem has alwaysbeen in getting these things to work on the ground. Whatare the prerequisites that need to be in place?In fact, these are the prerequisites for achieving the goals.The Millennium Declaration spells out several values andnorms that must accompany efforts to achieve the MillenniumDevelopment Goals. As I said earlier, national commitment isan absolutely key determining factor. Along with that, severalthings need to be in place: growth and poverty reduction must

Kim Hak-Su is the executive secretary ofthe United Nations Economic and Social

Commision for the Asia and Pacific basedin Bangkok. He is in Kathmandu this

weekend to attend a regional conferenceon the UN’s Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs) to halve poverty by 2015.He answered questions from Nepali Times

on progress so far.

Halving absolute poverty by 2015

be sustained over time; increases in inequality need to beavoided; countries must invest in education and health of thepopulation; they must promote the rights of women; and a broadrange of partnerships need to be forged, both at home andinternationally, to achieve these goals.

There is an argument that the MDG targets are just is way forthe international aid community to show it’s doing something,and divert attention from the addressing the structural socio-economic roots of the governance dilemma within countries.The MDGs provide a framework for human development. It doesnot substitute for the necessity to have right policies andstrategies in place. Those have to be devised by the countriesconcerned in cooperation with their partners. Appropriatestrategies can then address the structural issues.

In the time since the goals were announced, what has beenthe trend? Are we on target?As I mentioned earlier, the situation differs from sub-region tosub-region, from country to country. On the whole, we seem to beon the way to reach the income poverty target. But other targetsmay prove to be quite difficult to achieve at the current trend.

Moreover, as we move towards our target year of 2015, weare likely to encounter the more hard-core poor who will need adifferent combination of policies and programmes than wefollowed in the past. Equally, non-income dimensions of povertyare likely to feature more prominently in national agenda as weapproach 2015.

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Making the gradeiExplore, the world’s leading resource for off-the-beaten-path travel hasrecently published its top 10 routes for exploring a pié run the gamut fromday-tripper walks and hikes to multiweek treks in its website:www.iexplore.com. In its admittedly audacious picks for the world’s topadventures on foot, Nepal’s Hiking Annapurna Circuit ranks number one,described as a, “classic Himalayan trek is a classic for good reason: Itencapsulates the best of Nepal, wrapping around the stunning Annapurnarange to put you in the shadow of peaks that pierce 26,000ft. Yak herds,eagle-like Himalayan griffons, blue sheep, fluttering Buddhist prayerflags, and hot springs dot this central Nepal route, which starts in lushgreen foothills and climbs into high-altitude desert typical of the Tibetanplateau.” In the Whitewater Rafting category of iExplore, Nepal’s KarnaliRiver White Water Rafting has been given seventh place describing it as,“the Karnali’s source is Tibet’s sacred Mount Kailash, possibly the reasonthis Class V river is so divine.” The Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP)placed ninth in iExplore’s safari category.

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Global SMSIn less than six months of launching its portal NepalOnline.com, ITNTIannounced its global access for short messaging service (SMS). Nowpeople can log onto NepalOnline and send SMS to almost 70 percent ofthe countries in the world. The service is limited to the website’ssubscribers but free SMS trials are available for Nepali mobiles.

GREENER FIELDS: Gilbey’s Green Label whiskey hasbeen launched in the Nepali market by TriumphDistillery. Touted as “rich and smooth”, the brand hasreportedly proved itself popular in the Asian market. Itcomes from the same company that distils JohnnieWalker and is available in three stylish packs starting at Rs 99.94 for180ml.

TV/PC: A television that functions like a personalcomputer, the fantasy of every Internet junkie whooccasionally watches the soaps, is now available atConstellation in Kathmandu. The Miyake TVPC 1588 isboth a powerful PC and an excellent entertainmentsystem—consider the DVD/CD player, MP3 player,internal modem, 15” LCD monitor and superb sound system. And yes, itcomes with a remote control.

KEEPING COOL: Voltas Coldcel, a Tata Enterprise, is amarket leader in commercial refrigeration andpreservationwith half a century of experience behind them.Their entire range of products, including commercial airconditioning units, will be available at competitive pricesthrough Electro Appliances in Nepal.

he myriad commercial banksthat have started up in Nepalseem have done at least one

thing right: identify their clients.This target group trusts its cash

to their chosen bank and expectsmore services facilities and in return,like e-banking for instance. This latestservice may seem a distinct oddityin a country that lacks cyber laws,and where less than 0.1 percent ofthe population has access to acomputer, but for educated citydwellers and the Nepali uppermiddle class, e-banking is now amouse click away.

Bank account holders now haveall kinds of services at their fingertips such as checking their balancestatements by SMS. It is just aquestion of time before they can startpaying telephone, electricity andother bills online.

While this may be old hat indeveloped countries, these services areseen as a big stride in Nepal. Had therebeen proper cyber laws in place, ourbanks could have attempted moreadvanced transactions. In its absence,commercial banks are cautious aboutintroducing basic e-banking facilities,although they are encouraged that mostclients are educated enough tounderstand e-banking, and fortunateenough to access the Internet withease.

After the successful launch of itsInternet banking two years ago andmobile banking recently, KumariBank is at the forefront of theinnovation. Customers need nolonger stand in queues to pay bills orfees. All they have to do is log on tothe net, go to the bank website andenter their account number andpassword. The final click of themouse will transfer money from theiraccount to their service providers.

“This is possible for clients whoare authorised to make suchtransactions,” said Kumari Bank’sSurendra Bhandari. “For that,both the parties must haveaccounts with us.”

Other banks have not reachedas far. Some are planning tointroduce basic services likeallowing their clients to check theiraccounts through the Internet.“We have begun a pilot project forthis facility,” says HimalayanBank’s Suman Neupane. “We willgradually expand the periphery ofthis service.”

Can webank on the

Internet?KHADGA SINGH

hings haven’t changed muchin the three years since thispaper started carrying

investigative reports on oil dealersand adulteration (‘Nepal oilcorruption’ #19). When thegovernment recently announcedthat it was going to removekerosene dealerships out of gasstations, the oil barons called for a

nationwide shutdown. As the gaslines grew, the government lost itsnerve and gave in.

The irony is that the oil sectoris controlled and owned by thestate. The end product is soldthrough distributors, most ofwhom have thoroughly greasedpalms for their dealerships. Theyadulterate the oil with subsidisedkerosene to plump up profits. Inthe past 15 years or so, new cars,models and makes have enteredthe Nepali market. But even if acar owner were willing to paypremium prices for good fuel,there is none available.

The only things we can admireNepali ingenuity for is usingkerosene as a complete substitutefor diesel. Nepal’s keroseneconsumption has increased two-fold in the past three years whileother oil imports remain stagnant.Kerosene was subsidised for thepoor till the fuel adulterationbarons figured it could work as

Mixing oil and moneyDeregulate, and end fuel adulteration

well in the automobile industry.The government does not have

any way to regulate kerosene. Itkeeps the prices of petrol high sothat a cross subsidy on kerosenecontinues. The only answer is thatthe government remove itself fromthe business of importing anddealing in oil. Next, it must doaway with subsidies and begin acoupon system for those whoreally need kerosene. This willmake it next to impossible forindustries or automobile owners togather enough coupons to fill theirtanks.

It’s a pity that successivegovernments in Nepal avoided thesubject of deregulation. It’s apolitical hot potato that couldcreate difficulties for theircampaigns. But, since the presentgovernment does not intend tohold an election any time soon,there is no better time toimplement some radical changes in

the fuel industry.We should learn from India.

Indian consumers today haveaccess to better products anddistribution. Nepali oil dealers, likemany other businesses, understandthat the government indirectlyprotects their interests. If the sectoris opened, they also realise theregional and international playerswho will jump in the game are notin the adulteration business.Surely, the answer is de-regulationof the sector and to treat theimport, storage, distribution andretailing of oil products separately.Allow private sector entry intothese businesses in a regulatedmanner and soon we’ll have betteroil and better air.

It is also important thatconsumer forums find better waysin dealing with the issue and reallypressure the government to endthe monopoly of a state player anda business cartel.

NEW PRODUCTS

ECONOMIC SENSEArtha Beed

T

KIRAN PANDAY

Banks have yet to install a thirdparty payment system through theInternet. Even Kumari Bank’sarrangement works only amonggroup accounts. Banks can increasetheir transactions through e-bankingonly if they use the technology foractivities like shopping. In the recentCAN exhibition, the stall formuncha.com promoted Internetbrowsing of the outlet’s differentproducts and placing an onlineorder.

E-shopping would pick updramatically if consumers can usetheir bank accounts to makepayments to shopkeepers or serviceproviders through the Internet.Without this, the service is very basicand likely to remain static.

The banks are in no rush. Mostof them feel that bigger transactionsthrough the Internet means riskingfraud. Payments may not reach thedesired destination or false claimantscould result in heavy settlementexpenses. “Risks are always there inbusiness,” says Neupane. “And thereis no protection in the laws of theland.”

His view is shared by every banklooking into e-banking. “If we havecyber laws, then only digitalsignatures are recognised,” saysBhandari. “Right now, whatever

transactions we are doing throughthe Internet are just limited to one-to-one deals.” This means theunlimited reach of the Internet hasbeen limited to only few basicservices.

Bankers are aware that thegovernment has not been able todo anything about cybercrime, forexample when ISPs fall victim tohackers. “How can we operatebanking services when there is noway to nab criminals in the cyberworld?” asks Neupane.

ISPs say they have raised theissue with the government. “Itwasn’t any use,” said Binay Boharaof Vianet Communications. “Theydon’t even understand what we aretalking about.” Another ISPprovider says the last time a hackerwas taken to the police, the officerasked whether he had used a knifeor a khukuri. “The police had noidea what hacking was all about,”he said.

Officials at the Ministry ofScience and Technology say a draftcyber law is ready. “But we havenot been able to take further stepsbecause it needs to go throughparliament,” a senior official said.“The government has otherpriorities at the moment so we haveno choice but to wait.”

Till we have cyber laws in place,e-banking is likely to remain e-lusive

T

While Nepal reels under successive bandas, the erstwhile hartal capital ofthe world, Kolkata, has banned them.

“Bandhs belong to Kolkata’s regressive past,” writes noted Indiancolumnist Bachi Karkaria in the Times of India this week. “The only way todeal with them is to cripple them, bring them to a halt, indeed paralysethem with all thesubversive methodswith which they havestymied WestBengal’s progress fordecades.”

Last August, theSupreme Courtbanned strikes bygovernment officialsand hartals saying itrespected tradeunion rights, butcitizens had rights too. After hartals were banned, Kolkata sprung back.The economy has picked up and business is booming.

But last week there was another banda: a blast from the past. There isa lot of opposition from those who have benefited from the boom. WritesKarkaria: “Kolkatans are reveling in the new writing on the wall, theyshouldn’t let a bunch of has-beens sabotage a long-delayed future.” Is ittime for Nepal to think of not repeating Kolkata’s mistake and learningfrom India’s ban on bandas?

Kolkata bans bandas

ECONOMY

10 27 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185DEVELOPMENT

he Americans are heading for elections in November as a deeplyfractured nation. They are divided over the war in Iraq, overdomestic health policies, tax cuts, education spending, budget

deficits, trade agreements, gay marriages, environmental issues,immigration policies, jobs losses and the foreign policy.

The Nepali people also have never been as divided as they aretoday. But unlike the Americans who let elections decide which sidewins, in Nepal the electoral process set by the 1990 constitution lies intatters.

That constitution was expected to herald a new Nepal byinstitutionalising a representative, democratic and inclusive polity thatwould begin efforts to deliver basic services to citizens. In the first

election, the Nepali Congress, aparty committed to socialdemocracy won with the UML inopposition to provide a power

balance, while the monarchy remained constitutional. But things soonstarted to go terribly wrong and the new institutions could not respondto the new challenges.

The US has faced serious challenges. But, over the years, theAmericans have overcome them and, in the process, built their politicalinstitution. Closer to home, the Indians have managed to sustain ademocratic process too. They elected new chief ministers in four statesin December 2003 and soon will begin the process of electing theirnew prime minister. Though imperfect and ridden with limitations,both the American and Indian forms of electoral processes have worked.

One of the reasons for the derailment of the electoral process inNepal is because of faults in the practice of implementation of theconstitution. The American and Indian constitutions were incompletewhen they were first drafted but both have space for amendments. Asnew challenges have emerged, both constitutions have been amended.In Nepal, however, the new constitution was projected to be the ‘best’in the world, with suggestions from its crafters and implementers that itneeded no amending.

It became clear, as the framework began to be implemented, thatthe constitution’s provisions alone would not be able to address Nepal’sproblems. Clearly, adjustments were necessary and amendments had tobe introduced. The 1990 Constitution has provisions for amendmentsthat require any amendment be passed by a two-thirds majority of theparliamentary members. Between them, the NC and the UML enjoyeda comfortable majority in successive parliaments, but amendments werenever considered though limitations had already been highlighted.Instead, successive governments and parliaments allowed only a few tocorner all the power, resources and opportunities thus making thegovernmental business exclusionist but rudderless. The only timeNepali lawmakers came together to muster a two-thirds majority in theparliament was when the treaty on the Mahakali River was ratified onthe night of 20 September 1996.

How and when will a participatory electoral process emerge inNepal through which the Nepali people can express their differencesthrough a ballot and not by killing each other? These questionshaunted me as I observed American Democrats going through theprimaries of electing their nominee to take on George W Bush. Peaceand elections in Nepal seemed so far away.

“Thinkers prepare the revolution; bandits carry it out,” wroteMariano Azuela, referring to Mexico of a century ago. Azuela’sstatement also became true in Nepal of the 1990s as the country’sthinkers allowed banditry of malfeasance, ideological bankruptcy andloss of community with the people corrupt the gains of the 1990revolution.

Nepalis must, however, begin rebuilding on the foundations laidby the 1990 ‘People’s Movement’. The good news is that everyoneremains beholden to its spirit. King Gyanendra keeps reiterating hiscommitment to multiparty democracy, the main political parties arefaithful to the parliamentary process and the latest statement by Maoistleader Comrade Prachanda mentioned, “achievements of the popularmovement of 1990”. So, where is the problem? Given this reference tothe spirit of the people’s movement a consensual way forward shouldbe achievable, hopefully to begin the electoral processes. Cultivatingtolerance and engaging in creative dialogues will help build trust toarrive at such a consensus.

Water Analyst Ajaya Dixit wrote this piece while in

Boulder, Colorado on a month long writing assignment.

aps are static. They showthe world flat, as it is. Butwhat if you wanted to see

Nepal’s progress in development, orlack thereof? And suppose youwanted that segregated by district?Information in both time and space.

That is exactly what the recentlypublished Mapping Nepal CensusIndicators 2001 and Trends hasdone. Brought out by ICIMOD, theCentral Bureau of Statistics (CBS)and the Dutch aid group, SNV, thebook plots census data from 1971,1981, 1991 and 2001, and dividesthem by district. The maps meanmore than just which districts areahead in schooling for girls, infanthealth, fertility rate, etc. They alsoshow how much progress eachdistrict has made and which onesare lagging behind.

The beauty of it is that you canmake these trends out at a glance,without having to pore throughpages and pages of figures. Andbecause the districts are colour-coded, the achievements and failuresof development at the grassroots over

Maps that let us quickly find out which districts havemade progress since 1971, and which haven’t

A time atlas of Nepal

the past 30 years leap out of thepage. The problem then, is to figureout what to do about them.

The book was released recentlywithout much fanfare, but deservesmuch more attention than it hashitherto been given. The study teamwas lead by ICIMOD’s BasantaShrestha and Rabi Prasad Kayasthaof CBS, and used geographicalinformation system techniques toproduce the thematic maps thatrepresent trends to enable rapid andvisual grasp of the implications forthe country of individualdevelopment parameters. The bookwill soon be followed by a CD-ROMthat will enable planners and local

development officials to segregatethe data by thematic areas, districtsand timeline.

Starting from relativelystraightforward mapping ofdistrict-wise trends in populationdensity, the atlas shows us how fastthe tarai is being filled. The easterntarai, for instance, used to have apopulation density of 200-400 persq km. By 2001, that figure hadjumped to 400-800 per sq km.Kathmandu Valley’s density hasnow crossed the 800 per sq kmmark.

The average population growthrate used to be above 4 percent inthe eastern tarai in the 1970s. Todayit is at an average of 2.5 percentdespite migration-related growth.Ilam even shows less than 2 percentpopulation growth and, correlatingthis with the trends in progress infemale literacy, it becomes clear whythis is so.

Sex ratio (the number of malesfor every 100 females) is animportant indicator of the status ofwomen within a society. This atlasshows a clear correlation betweengender equity and other parameterssuch as girl’s literacy, maternalmortality and fertility rates. It is clearthat the worst sex ratio is in the east-central tarai districts of Rautahat,Sarlahi and Mahottari where thenumber of males for every 100females has remained above 105since 1971. The second worst arethe Midwestern districts ofAchham, Bajura, Bajhang andDailekh.

The mean age of marriage ofwomen shows that in the easternhills, Mustang and Manang are farahead of the rest of the country with22 years or above. But girls are stillgetting married at ages between 16-18 in the east-central tarai and themidwestern hills and this mean agehasn’t improved much.

Female literacy rates show themost sluggish progress in themidwestern and far-western hillsand east-central tarai in the past 30years, and hint at the neglect ofdevelopment that has contributedto the rise of the insurgency.Similarly, the midwestern hills showthe least progress in enrollment inschools.

(Kunda Dixit)

distri@icimod.org.np

www.icimod.org, www.cbs.gov.np

MT

NEPALI PANAjaya Dixit

Letter from America

1127 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185NATURE

Wild about bambooNepali bamboo is good enough to eatSRADDHA BASNYAT

I

When Himalayan Bamboo and Wood Products went into

business two years ago, the Nepali owned company didn’t

know it would grow so fast. Roshan G Shrestha looked after

sales, and says: “Nepali bamboo has good hardness, yet is

flexible. It has better in quality than many Chinese bamboos so

we can compete quality wise.” The company sources bamboo

from local farmers in Ilam and Dhankuta. Up to 50,000 pieces

a month are transported to the factory in Hetauda where

Himalayan Bamboo employs 150 Nepali workers, exclusive of

the indirect employment created through cultivation, harvest,

primary processing and transport. But it faces challenges: “Cost

of production is still very high: factor in transportation from

Ilam to Hetauda and the Rs 4,000 per truck in arbitrary ‘local

development tax’.”

The business enjoys no government subsidies, incentives or

technical support. The miracle is that the company has managed

to turn this miracle crop into a great export for the country.

A case in point

which can be up to 25 times more than timber when well managedmakes bamboo an environmentally sound choice. Bamboo homes,light and elastic, are also earthquake resistant.

GreenIn a country as vertical as Nepal, bamboo is also great for soilconservation. Growing in mixed cultures, it is naturally less likelyto cause soil erosion than monocultural farming. “Bamboo createsa mat-like structure underground, effectively stitching the soiltogether, it is perfect for fragile river banks, deforested areas,earthquake zones and preventing mud slides,” says Das.

PaperBamboo has been used for making paper since the 2nd century. Atone point, this renewable resource was used to make 70 per centof India’s paper.

MedicineAncient Ayurvedic and Chinese healing traditions have used themedicinal properties of bamboo. In acupuncture, bamboosecretion is powdered and hardened and used internally to treatasthma, coughs and as an aphrodisiac. Black bamboo root is usedto treat kidney disease. In Ayurveda, bamboo manna is arejuvenating herb for sore throats.

The 7th World Bamboo Congress will be held

27 February-4 March, 2004 at New Delhi

www.worldbamboocongress.com

t is said Nepali culture demands bamboo from birth to deathand everything in between. We use bamboo as scaffoldingmaterial, as food, for music, to carry things and to write with.

Nepal has over 50 species of bamboo. Another 10 species are inthe process of being classified. Most Nepali bamboo types arefound in the wetter middle and eastern regions of Nepal from50m-4,000m, with Ilam, Dhankuta, Bhojpur and Taplejunghaving the sturdiest stems.

This is great diversity for country our size, says our foremostexpert on this woody grass, Annapurna Das. “Nepal has up to fivepercent of the world’s bamboo population, within only 0.1 percentof the world’s land area,” says Das, who is the only Nepali with aPhD in bamboo.

Another of Nepal’s foremost experts on the plant is Shyam KPaudel, who is based in Beijing with the International Networkfor Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR). A forester by training, Paudelhas been in China since 2002, looking at bamboo’s potential forrural enterprise and poverty alleviation. One hectare of bamboocan earn a farmer up to Rs 400,000 annually, says Paudel, adding:“Bamboo is a natural tool that encourages sustainable, integratedfarming systems and is an excellent resource for income andemployment generation.” The beauty of bamboo is that it is fast-growing, needs little maintenance, can grow on forest marginsand requires only modest investment.

Some communities in Nepal, like the Dom Dalits in the taraiwho number only 20,000, are completely dependant on thebamboo, making their living from weaving mats from nigalo. ManyRai and Limbu communities in the east also rely on bamboo, andare expert weavers of doko and dalo for the local market.

Bamboo has finally been recognised as an ‘internationalcommodity’ and is now under the purview of the InternationalCommodity Body. And international conference in New Delhinext week will be looking at expanding bamboo trade. “Nepal canbe a key player in the international bamboo and cane trade whichaverages $6 billion annually,” Paudel says.

In terms of quality, Nepali bamboo is as good as, if not betterthan most. And we are still finding new uses for this versatileplant. For instance, bamboo is the best ‘carbon sink’ for greenhousegases putting out 35 percent more oxygen than other trees andevery hectare of bamboo soaks up 12 tons of carbon dioxide everyyear. “We should all consider living in a bamboo jungle,” Das says,and he doesn’t seem to be joking.

FoodFor the Japanese, Taiwanese, Chinese, Thai, and Nepalis bambooshoots are a staple diet. Nepal produces 102 tons of tama and eachhousehold consumes about 46 stems a year. It is a good source offibre, carbohydrate, vegetable fat, protein and vitamin B.

TimberStrong but flexible and incredibly versatile, bamboo is an excellentalternative to wood. With a tensile strength of 28,000 per squareinch, it’s even a stronger building material than steel. “Harvestablein three years for building, bamboo homes only need an eighth ofthe energy concrete requires to create building material with thesame capacity,” marvels Paudel. To top it off, it is also the quickestgrowing plant in the world, growing 30 percent quicker than thefastest growing tree. This capacity to regenerate and its yields,

12 CONSERVATION 1327 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185

he trouble with a scavenger species isthat even when it is on the verge ofextinction no one wants to save it.

Vultures have this problem.Four years ago, vultures suddenly started

disappearing over the subcontinent. No oneknew why: some suspected pesticides, othersthought the birds were running out of food.Whatever it was, three species of vultures werevanishing. Other kinds of vultures andsecondary scavengers did not seem to beaffected.

Even as researchers investigated themystery in India, Pakistan and Nepal, theynoticed a catastrophic decrease in vulturenumbers. Populations of the Oriental White-backed Vulture, Slender-billed Vulture andLong-billed Vulture in the three countriesdropped by between 95-97 percent.Considering that the Oriental White-backedVulture had been considered one of the mostabundant large raptors in the world, suchpopulation declines had never been seen since

the extinction of the Great Auk or thePassenger Pigeon in the 19th century.

Soon, researchers zeroed in on the cause.Analysing the remains of dead vultures in Punjaband Nepal, scientists from the US-based PeregrineFund found that the vultures were dying becauseof the presence of diclofenac in livestockcarcasses, an anti-inflammatory drug usedwidely in human and veterinary medicine inSouth Asia. Lindsay Oaks of Washington StateUniversity said he and other researchers werepuzzled by the fact that the vultures were dyingof kidney failure, and soon they narrowed itto residual diclofenac. Three species of vulturesare hypersensitive to the drug that they ingestfrom dead animals leading to renal failure,avian visceral gout and death.

Oaks and his fellow researchers met withgovernment officials and conservationists fromIndia, Pakistan and Nepal at a ‘vulture summit’in Kathmandu last month to present thefindings and decide what to do. They agreedon a ‘Kathmandu Declaration’ under which

the delegations of the three countries agreedthat immediate steps were necessary. NarayanPoudel of Nepal’s Department of NationalParks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) hassaid the government will assist captive breedingefforts and seek a ban on the use of the drug inNepal. The conservation group, BirdConservation Nepal (BCN), is currentlynegotiating with the government for land nearChitwan to build the centre. Two other rangecountries, Bangladesh and Bhutan, were notpresent at the meeting but have expressed theirwillingness to act upon the recommendations.

In Nepal, the Oriental White-backedVulture and the Slender-billed Vulture arefound mostly in the tarai, churia and lower reachesof the mid-mountains. Nepal also hosts theHimalayan Griffon, the Eurasian Griffon, theLammergeier, the Egyptian Vulture and theCinerous Vulture. The Nepal Vulture Study,a partnership of The Peregrine Fund andBCN, is now looking into whether the declinesare also affecting the Himalayan GriffonVultures.

In Koshi Tappu, the decline in the last fewyears has been catastrophic. In 2000, there were67 breeding pairs of nesting vultures. This numberdropped to three breeding pairs this year,according to BCN. Villagers living near MilkeDanda in eastern Nepal say the Lammergeierhas all but disappeared from cliffs that wereregular dwelling sites. An IUCN staff memberfrom Pokhara recalls: “As children we’d seelarge flocks of vultures feeding on the carcassesof mules from the Jomsom trail. The birds

would get so fat, they could hardly fly. Theplace is still the same but the vultures aren’tthere any more.”

Because of the country’s other pressingconcerns, conservation is taking a backseat,making the job of launching a campaign tosave vultures difficult. Conservationists sayofficials need to understand the importanceof these birds to ecosystem integrity, livelihoodsand public health. Vultures have long beenthe most effective natural scavengers in ourenvironment. They quickly dispose of theremains of diseased and old animals. They

No morecirclingA widely-usedveterinary drug is

driving our vulturesto extinction

SAMUEL THOMAS

remain unaffected and prevent catastrophicanimal and human disease epidemics fromspreading. Bone pickers depended on thesebirds for other reasons: after the hide collectorswere done with skinning the dead animals,they waited for vultures to pick the animals tothe bone (a flock can clean a carcass in a fewminutes).

In India, this is reportedly affecting thelivelihoods of Dalit families who dependedon these birds to clean the carcasses before theycollected the bones to make bone meal andglue. The concern, then, lies with the loss ofbiodiversity (the extinction crisis) and also thepotential impact on ecosystem integrity,livelihood security and public health (humanand ecosystem well-being).

T

Himalayan Griffon

White-backed Vulture

BIRDS OF NEPAL

Slender-billed Vulture

PEREGRINE FUND

BIRD CONSERVATION NEPAL

Dr Lindsay Oaks examines a dead vulture

In Kosi Tappu the drop in breeding pairsof the White-backed Vulture means potentialdisaster. The reserve’s ungulate population,including of the last remnant population ofAsiatic Wild Water Buffalo (arna) and a largedomestic livestock population would be felledby contagion if it weren’t for effectivescavenging.

At the Kathmandu vulture summit,everyone agreed that banning or severelyrestricting the use of diclofenac should be thefirst step. This should go hand-in-hand witha captive breeding programme for release andrelocation of the Oriental White-backedVulture, Slender-billed Vulture and Long-billed Vulture.

It is hard to tell people to save the vulture.They are unglamorous birds that people speakfor only at the risk of being accused of havinga taste for the bizarre. Surely they do not inspireconservation efforts like charismatic mammals.That is the cruelty of beauty. But for as longas humans have been around vultures werethere to clean up, in life and in death.

Says Hem Baral of BCN: “Time is runningout for the vultures, and if we are to save thesemagnificent jewels of our skies we must actsoon. We have only months, not years.”

Bird Conservation Nepal is seeking help withmonitoring nesting sites and information on vulture

declines. Call: 01-4439296, 01-4417805.

12 CONSERVATION 1327 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185

he trouble with a scavenger species isthat even when it is on the verge ofextinction no one wants to save it.

Vultures have this problem.Four years ago, vultures suddenly started

disappearing over the subcontinent. No oneknew why: some suspected pesticides, othersthought the birds were running out of food.Whatever it was, three species of vultures werevanishing. Other kinds of vultures andsecondary scavengers did not seem to beaffected.

Even as researchers investigated themystery in India, Pakistan and Nepal, theynoticed a catastrophic decrease in vulturenumbers. Populations of the Oriental White-backed Vulture, Slender-billed Vulture andLong-billed Vulture in the three countriesdropped by between 95-97 percent.Considering that the Oriental White-backedVulture had been considered one of the mostabundant large raptors in the world, suchpopulation declines had never been seen since

the extinction of the Great Auk or thePassenger Pigeon in the 19th century.

Soon, researchers zeroed in on the cause.Analysing the remains of dead vultures in Punjaband Nepal, scientists from the US-based PeregrineFund found that the vultures were dying becauseof the presence of diclofenac in livestockcarcasses, an anti-inflammatory drug usedwidely in human and veterinary medicine inSouth Asia. Lindsay Oaks of Washington StateUniversity said he and other researchers werepuzzled by the fact that the vultures were dyingof kidney failure, and soon they narrowed itto residual diclofenac. Three species of vulturesare hypersensitive to the drug that they ingestfrom dead animals leading to renal failure,avian visceral gout and death.

Oaks and his fellow researchers met withgovernment officials and conservationists fromIndia, Pakistan and Nepal at a ‘vulture summit’in Kathmandu last month to present thefindings and decide what to do. They agreedon a ‘Kathmandu Declaration’ under which

the delegations of the three countries agreedthat immediate steps were necessary. NarayanPoudel of Nepal’s Department of NationalParks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) hassaid the government will assist captive breedingefforts and seek a ban on the use of the drug inNepal. The conservation group, BirdConservation Nepal (BCN), is currentlynegotiating with the government for land nearChitwan to build the centre. Two other rangecountries, Bangladesh and Bhutan, were notpresent at the meeting but have expressed theirwillingness to act upon the recommendations.

In Nepal, the Oriental White-backedVulture and the Slender-billed Vulture arefound mostly in the tarai, churia and lower reachesof the mid-mountains. Nepal also hosts theHimalayan Griffon, the Eurasian Griffon, theLammergeier, the Egyptian Vulture and theCinerous Vulture. The Nepal Vulture Study,a partnership of The Peregrine Fund andBCN, is now looking into whether the declinesare also affecting the Himalayan GriffonVultures.

In Koshi Tappu, the decline in the last fewyears has been catastrophic. In 2000, there were67 breeding pairs of nesting vultures. This numberdropped to three breeding pairs this year,according to BCN. Villagers living near MilkeDanda in eastern Nepal say the Lammergeierhas all but disappeared from cliffs that wereregular dwelling sites. An IUCN staff memberfrom Pokhara recalls: “As children we’d seelarge flocks of vultures feeding on the carcassesof mules from the Jomsom trail. The birds

would get so fat, they could hardly fly. Theplace is still the same but the vultures aren’tthere any more.”

Because of the country’s other pressingconcerns, conservation is taking a backseat,making the job of launching a campaign tosave vultures difficult. Conservationists sayofficials need to understand the importanceof these birds to ecosystem integrity, livelihoodsand public health. Vultures have long beenthe most effective natural scavengers in ourenvironment. They quickly dispose of theremains of diseased and old animals. They

No morecirclingA widely-usedveterinary drug is

driving our vulturesto extinction

SAMUEL THOMAS

remain unaffected and prevent catastrophicanimal and human disease epidemics fromspreading. Bone pickers depended on thesebirds for other reasons: after the hide collectorswere done with skinning the dead animals,they waited for vultures to pick the animals tothe bone (a flock can clean a carcass in a fewminutes).

In India, this is reportedly affecting thelivelihoods of Dalit families who dependedon these birds to clean the carcasses before theycollected the bones to make bone meal andglue. The concern, then, lies with the loss ofbiodiversity (the extinction crisis) and also thepotential impact on ecosystem integrity,livelihood security and public health (humanand ecosystem well-being).

T

Himalayan Griffon

White-backed Vulture

BIRDS OF NEPAL

Slender-billed Vulture

PEREGRINE FUND

BIRD CONSERVATION NEPAL

Dr Lindsay Oaks examines a dead vulture

In Kosi Tappu the drop in breeding pairsof the White-backed Vulture means potentialdisaster. The reserve’s ungulate population,including of the last remnant population ofAsiatic Wild Water Buffalo (arna) and a largedomestic livestock population would be felledby contagion if it weren’t for effectivescavenging.

At the Kathmandu vulture summit,everyone agreed that banning or severelyrestricting the use of diclofenac should be thefirst step. This should go hand-in-hand witha captive breeding programme for release andrelocation of the Oriental White-backedVulture, Slender-billed Vulture and Long-billed Vulture.

It is hard to tell people to save the vulture.They are unglamorous birds that people speakfor only at the risk of being accused of havinga taste for the bizarre. Surely they do not inspireconservation efforts like charismatic mammals.That is the cruelty of beauty. But for as longas humans have been around vultures werethere to clean up, in life and in death.

Says Hem Baral of BCN: “Time is runningout for the vultures, and if we are to save thesemagnificent jewels of our skies we must actsoon. We have only months, not years.”

Bird Conservation Nepal is seeking help withmonitoring nesting sites and information on vulture

declines. Call: 01-4439296, 01-4417805.

1527 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #18514 27 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185TRAVEL

s another Season begins, bringing with it gabbyyoung debutantes repeating the same grizzledconversations echoing older travellers, many of us are

terribly aware of the irony of these Journeys as Discoveries.In fact, they are ritualised pilgrimages on well-troddenpaths. These trips widen the trails they follow, making theplaces along the way a little more in this fetishised imagethat combines fear and revelation, paranoia and deja vu. To

these travellers who arenevertheless wanted, tothose old hands whonevertheless give advice

and to those natives who nevertheless roll their eyes andmutter, I say “lighten up” and offer Joesph Brodsky.

An AdmonitionITrekking in Asia, spending nights in odd dwellings, ingranaries, cabins, shacks—timber abodes whose thinsquined windowpanes harness the world—sleep

dressed,wrapped in your sheepskin and do your bestalways to tuck your head into the corner, asin the corner it’s harder—and in darkness at that—to swingan axe over your heavy, booze-laden gourdand to chop it off nicely. Square the circle, in short.

IIFear broad cheekbones (including the moon’s), pockmarked

skin, and prefer blue eyes to brown eyes. Search hardfor the blue ones, especially when the road takes you into

the wood,into its heart. On the whole, as for eyes, one shouldwatch for their cut. For at last instant it’sbetter to stare at that which, though cold, permitsseeing through: ice may crack, yet wallowing in an icehole is far better than in honey-like, viscous lies.

IIIAlways pick a house with baby clothes hanging outin the yard. Deal only with the over-fifty crowd:a hick at that age knows too much about fate to gainanything by attempting to bust your brain;same thing, a squaw. Hide the money in your fur coat’scollar or, if you are travelling light, in your brown culottesunder the knee—but not in your boots since they’ll find

the dougheasily there. In Asia, boots are the first to go.

IVIn the mountains, move slowly. If you must creep, then

creep.Magnificent in the distance, meaningless closer up,mountains are but a surface standing on end. The snail-like and, it seems, horizontal meandering trailis, in fact, vertical. Lying flat in the mountains, youstand. Standing up, you lie flat. Which suggests your truefreedom’s in falling down. That’s the way, it appears,

SCIENCE AND HEALTH

round the world, social security andhealth care are today’s hottesteconomic issues due to the rising

dependency ratio: the proportion of elderlypeople relative to younger, economicallyactive, workers. According to the PopulationResource Center, this ratio will double in theworld’s more developed regions and triple inless developed regions by 2050. With so

Travel advice to thosemaking ritualised

pilgrimages on well-trodden paths

We think we’re getting richer though we save lessDon’t retire poor

many more old people in coming decades,governments will be hard pressed to raiseenough money to pay for their needs bytaxing the young.

Why aren’t people saving more for theirfuture retirement? Why are they actuallydoing the opposite by saving less? Accordingto a recent study by the Organisation forEconomic Cooperation and Development

(OECD), household saving rates declinedbetween 1984 and 2001 in Australia,Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Italy,Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Portugal,Spain, the United Kingdom and theUnited States.

One might think that, with decliningbirthrates in rich countries in recentdecades, it should be easy to save more.Fewer children mean fewer expenses andadults can work longer to earn extra incomebeyond their immediate needs. So whyhave so many different countriesexperienced a decline in savings? The

answermustbethat

people do not decide whether to increasetheir savings on the basis of carefulcalculations about their future needs.

A study in 2000 of saving rates in 150countries, headed by Norman Loayza atthe World Bank, found that some basiceconomic factors explained much of thevariation in national saving rates, withoutany reference to cultural differences.Surprisingly, the study found that savingrates tend to be high when inflation ishigh, and to decline when inflationdeclines. Since inflation has been decliningin most countries of the world over the last20 years or so, this could help explain theglobal decline in saving rates.

Loayza and his colleagues thought thatinflation encourages saving because itcreates an atmosphere of uncertainty.When people see high inflation, theyconclude that the economy is precarious, soperhaps they should tighten their belts.Thus, inflation serves as a visceral reminderto save, while old age seems too far away formost people to think about.

There is another reason why the high

inflation of the past encouraged saving: thehigh interest rates that tend to accompanyrapid price growth. Borrowers may beforced to “save” more by paying highermortgage rates. Consider the US in 1980,when the personal saving rate was 11percent. The inflation rate was 12 percentand 30-year fixed-rate home mortgageswere over 15 percent. This effectivelyforced some households to reduce theirconsumption expenditures drastically,contributing to the high saving rate of thetime. When inflation fell, peopleeventually refinanced their mortgages atlower rates, breathed a sigh of relief andstarted spending more.

Finally, declining saving rates aroundthe world reflect strong growth in assetmarkets—namely, stocks and real estate—over the last 20 years. We value our assetsmore because we imagine that they will bein great demand in the future. For mostpeople, the troubles caused by the old-agecrisis seem remote, while booming share orhousing prices look concrete in brokeragestatements or on the business pages ofnewspapers. People feel richer and save less.

The problem is that these increases invalue create the impression that our lack ofsaving for the last decade has had noserious consequences. We think we’re stillgetting richer even though we save less.But since speculative prices are ultimatelydetermined by psychology, they can alsosuddenly be deflated by psychology.Unless we come to terms with the lethalcombination of declining saving rates andfalling birthrates, many more people mayretire poor than we ever imagined. (© Project Syndicate)

Robert J Shiller is Professor of Economics atYale University, and author of Irrational

Exuberance and The New Financial Order: Risk inthe 21st Century.

ANALYSISRobert J Shiller

A

Eastern Europe is seeing the fastest growing AIDS epidemic inthe world, studies by UN agencies show. Across eastern Europeand the central Asian republics, the number of AIDS cases hasgrown from 30,000 in 1995 to 1.5 million, according to the WorldHealth Organisation (WHO)—a 50-fold increase in eight years.

The WHO and other UN agencies like UNAIDS and theUnited Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) highlighted thespread of AIDS in Europe at a two-day conference in Dublin,Ireland. “In western Europe the incidence has risen to betweenhalf a million and 600,000 cases,” says Gudjon Magnusson ofthe WHO. The numbers are stil l small compared to theworldwide incidence of an estimated 40 million cases, withabout 27 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa. But easternEurope and the central Asian republics are of major concernbecause the number of cases rising so rapidly. Eighty percentof infected people in this region are below 30 years of age.Seventy percent are believed to have contracted AIDS throughinfecting needles while taking drugs.

Across western Europe two-thirds of all infections are throughheterosexual sex. The Dublin conference sought to get politicalleadership in these countries to take strong action to stop thespread of infection and to treat infected people. “Of all the socialand political challenges facing an expanded European Union,AIDS is one of the greatest, requiring determined and sustainedaction now,” said UNAIDS executive director Peter Piot . Theconference statement warns that a large portion of the youth ineastern European and the central Asian republics countriesengage in unsafe sex. The percentage of people reportingpremarital sexual relations more than doubled between 1993and 1999, from 9 percent to 22 percent.

In addition to increased AIDS funding from nationalgovernments, the World Bank and European Union, the GlobalFund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has approved morethan $400 million over five years for 22 programs in 16 countriesin eastern Europe and central Asia. (IPS)

(Sanjay Suri)

AIDS in the fastest growingepidemic in eastern Europe

Grim reaper

to conquer, once in mountains, vertigo, raptures, fears.

VIf somebody yells “Hey, stranger!” don’t answer. Play deaf

and dumb.Even though you may know it, don’t speak the tongue.Try not to stand out—either in profile orfull face; simply don’t wash your face at times. What’s

more,when they rip a cur’s throat with a swa, don’t cringe.Smoking, douse your butts with spittle. And besides,

arrangeto wear gray—the hue of the earth—especially

underclothes,to reduce the temptation to blend with your flesh the earth.

VIWhen you halt in the desert, make an arrow from pebbles,

so,if suddenly woken up, you’ll fathom which way to goin the darkness. At nights, demons in deserts trytravellers’ hearts. He who heeds their crygets easily disoriented: one step sideways and—well, c’est

tout.Ghosts, specters, demons, are at home in the desert. Youtoo will discover that’s true when, sand creaking under your

sole,all that remains of you is your soul.

VIINobody ever knows anything for a fact.Gazing ahead at your stooping guide’s sturdy back,think that you gaze at the future and keep your distance (ifthat is possible) from him. Since, in principle, lifeis itself but a distance between here and there, andquickening the pace only pays when you discern the soundbehind of those running after you down the pathwith lowered heads—be they murderers, thieves, the past.

VIIIIn the sour whiff of rugs, in the burnt dung’s fume,prize the indifference of things to being regarded fromafar, and in turn lose your own silhouette, turning, thus,unattainable to binoculars, gendarmes, mass.Coughing in a cloud of dust, wading through mud, muck,

map—What difference does it make how you would look close

up?It’s even better if some character with a bladefigures out you are a stranger a bit too late.

IXRivers in Asia are longer than elsewhere, more richin alluvium—that is, murkier. As you reachfor a mouthful, your cupped fingers ladle silt,and one who has drunk this water would prefer it spilt.Never trust its reflection. Crossing it, cross it ona raft built with no other hands but the pair you own.Know that the gleam of a campfire, your nightly bliss,will, by sliding downstream, betray you to enemies.

XIn your letter from these parts, don’t divulge whom andwhat you’ve seen on your way. If anything should be

penned,use your varying feelings, musings, regrets, et al.:a letter can be intercepted. And after all,the movement of a pen across paper is,in itself, the worsening of the break between you and thosewith whom you won’t any longer sit or lie down—with

whom,unlike the letter, you won’t share—who cares why—a

home.

XIWhen you stand on an empty stony plateau aloneunder the fathomless dome of Asia in whose blueness an

airplaneor an angel sometimes whips up its starch or star—when you shudder at how infinitesimally small you are,remember: space that appears to need nothing doescrave, as a matter of fact, an outside gaze,a criterion of emptiness—of its depth and scope.And it’s only you who can do the job.

Also published as ‘Advice to a Traveller’.Translated by the author and George L Klein.

Lighten up

A

NEITHER HERENOR THERE

Anagha Neelakantan

he European Space Agency(ESA) has announced plans tosend the first manned mission

to Mars by 2033. It faces three decadesof hard work in creating crucial life-support technologies to meet thatgoal. The agency has a detailedtimeline that must be followed if it isto send a human crew to “red planet”,said Dietrich Vennemann, ESAresearch director in charge of mannedmissions. The agency’s Mars researchforms part of the Aurora program,introduced in 2001 by the EuropeanUnion for exploration of the SolarSystem. The calendar for sending

EU mission to Marshumans to Mars begins in 2007, witha mission aimed at testing technologyfor a spaceship’s high-speed re-entryinto the Earth’s atmosphere.

In 2009, if ESA is able to achievesatisfactory velocities, it will send afirst ship to Mars for biologicalresearch, to collect mineral and gassamples in order to determine thepresence of life, past or present.Those samples would return toEarth between 2011 and 2014. By2014, ESA plans to testtechnologies to support mannedmissions, such as respiratory systemsfor the astronauts and protection

against solar radiation. From 2014to 2018 it will test solar energypropulsion, controlled landingsand orbits. Vennemann noted thatthe atmosphere of Mars is mainlycarbon dioxide, which humanscannot breathe, and that solarradiation is much greater on the redplanet than it is on Earth.Furthermore, the manned spacemissions in the past 40 years havelasted no more than 400 days. “Amanned mission to Mars wouldprobably last a thousand days. Thatmeans we have to work hard tocreate technical supports” forsurvival in outer space, he said.

As for the cost of a manned Marsmission, Franco Ongaro, director ofthe Aurora program, said it wouldbe a good investment for Europe,representing less than a dollar a yearper person. He assures that theEuropean space research is not formilitary purposes. “I can’t think ofany military uses for this research.On the contrary, the experience ofthe past 30 years proves thatstudying the universe has created afeeling of gregariousness inhumanity, an inclination towardspeace,” he said. He also ruled outthat Europe is competing with theUS, which announced its ownmanned mission to Mars, to takeplace sometime after 2020. ( IPS )

TKUNDA DIXIT

1527 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #18514 27 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185TRAVEL

s another Season begins, bringing with it gabbyyoung debutantes repeating the same grizzledconversations echoing older travellers, many of us are

terribly aware of the irony of these Journeys as Discoveries.In fact, they are ritualised pilgrimages on well-troddenpaths. These trips widen the trails they follow, making theplaces along the way a little more in this fetishised imagethat combines fear and revelation, paranoia and deja vu. To

these travellers who arenevertheless wanted, tothose old hands whonevertheless give advice

and to those natives who nevertheless roll their eyes andmutter, I say “lighten up” and offer Joesph Brodsky.

An AdmonitionITrekking in Asia, spending nights in odd dwellings, ingranaries, cabins, shacks—timber abodes whose thinsquined windowpanes harness the world—sleep

dressed,wrapped in your sheepskin and do your bestalways to tuck your head into the corner, asin the corner it’s harder—and in darkness at that—to swingan axe over your heavy, booze-laden gourdand to chop it off nicely. Square the circle, in short.

IIFear broad cheekbones (including the moon’s), pockmarked

skin, and prefer blue eyes to brown eyes. Search hardfor the blue ones, especially when the road takes you into

the wood,into its heart. On the whole, as for eyes, one shouldwatch for their cut. For at last instant it’sbetter to stare at that which, though cold, permitsseeing through: ice may crack, yet wallowing in an icehole is far better than in honey-like, viscous lies.

IIIAlways pick a house with baby clothes hanging outin the yard. Deal only with the over-fifty crowd:a hick at that age knows too much about fate to gainanything by attempting to bust your brain;same thing, a squaw. Hide the money in your fur coat’scollar or, if you are travelling light, in your brown culottesunder the knee—but not in your boots since they’ll find

the dougheasily there. In Asia, boots are the first to go.

IVIn the mountains, move slowly. If you must creep, then

creep.Magnificent in the distance, meaningless closer up,mountains are but a surface standing on end. The snail-like and, it seems, horizontal meandering trailis, in fact, vertical. Lying flat in the mountains, youstand. Standing up, you lie flat. Which suggests your truefreedom’s in falling down. That’s the way, it appears,

SCIENCE AND HEALTH

round the world, social security andhealth care are today’s hottesteconomic issues due to the rising

dependency ratio: the proportion of elderlypeople relative to younger, economicallyactive, workers. According to the PopulationResource Center, this ratio will double in theworld’s more developed regions and triple inless developed regions by 2050. With so

Travel advice to thosemaking ritualised

pilgrimages on well-trodden paths

We think we’re getting richer though we save lessDon’t retire poor

many more old people in coming decades,governments will be hard pressed to raiseenough money to pay for their needs bytaxing the young.

Why aren’t people saving more for theirfuture retirement? Why are they actuallydoing the opposite by saving less? Accordingto a recent study by the Organisation forEconomic Cooperation and Development

(OECD), household saving rates declinedbetween 1984 and 2001 in Australia,Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Italy,Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Portugal,Spain, the United Kingdom and theUnited States.

One might think that, with decliningbirthrates in rich countries in recentdecades, it should be easy to save more.Fewer children mean fewer expenses andadults can work longer to earn extra incomebeyond their immediate needs. So whyhave so many different countriesexperienced a decline in savings? The

answermustbethat

people do not decide whether to increasetheir savings on the basis of carefulcalculations about their future needs.

A study in 2000 of saving rates in 150countries, headed by Norman Loayza atthe World Bank, found that some basiceconomic factors explained much of thevariation in national saving rates, withoutany reference to cultural differences.Surprisingly, the study found that savingrates tend to be high when inflation ishigh, and to decline when inflationdeclines. Since inflation has been decliningin most countries of the world over the last20 years or so, this could help explain theglobal decline in saving rates.

Loayza and his colleagues thought thatinflation encourages saving because itcreates an atmosphere of uncertainty.When people see high inflation, theyconclude that the economy is precarious, soperhaps they should tighten their belts.Thus, inflation serves as a visceral reminderto save, while old age seems too far away formost people to think about.

There is another reason why the high

inflation of the past encouraged saving: thehigh interest rates that tend to accompanyrapid price growth. Borrowers may beforced to “save” more by paying highermortgage rates. Consider the US in 1980,when the personal saving rate was 11percent. The inflation rate was 12 percentand 30-year fixed-rate home mortgageswere over 15 percent. This effectivelyforced some households to reduce theirconsumption expenditures drastically,contributing to the high saving rate of thetime. When inflation fell, peopleeventually refinanced their mortgages atlower rates, breathed a sigh of relief andstarted spending more.

Finally, declining saving rates aroundthe world reflect strong growth in assetmarkets—namely, stocks and real estate—over the last 20 years. We value our assetsmore because we imagine that they will bein great demand in the future. For mostpeople, the troubles caused by the old-agecrisis seem remote, while booming share orhousing prices look concrete in brokeragestatements or on the business pages ofnewspapers. People feel richer and save less.

The problem is that these increases invalue create the impression that our lack ofsaving for the last decade has had noserious consequences. We think we’re stillgetting richer even though we save less.But since speculative prices are ultimatelydetermined by psychology, they can alsosuddenly be deflated by psychology.Unless we come to terms with the lethalcombination of declining saving rates andfalling birthrates, many more people mayretire poor than we ever imagined. (© Project Syndicate)

Robert J Shiller is Professor of Economics atYale University, and author of Irrational

Exuberance and The New Financial Order: Risk inthe 21st Century.

ANALYSISRobert J Shiller

A

Eastern Europe is seeing the fastest growing AIDS epidemic inthe world, studies by UN agencies show. Across eastern Europeand the central Asian republics, the number of AIDS cases hasgrown from 30,000 in 1995 to 1.5 million, according to the WorldHealth Organisation (WHO)—a 50-fold increase in eight years.

The WHO and other UN agencies like UNAIDS and theUnited Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) highlighted thespread of AIDS in Europe at a two-day conference in Dublin,Ireland. “In western Europe the incidence has risen to betweenhalf a million and 600,000 cases,” says Gudjon Magnusson ofthe WHO. The numbers are stil l small compared to theworldwide incidence of an estimated 40 million cases, withabout 27 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa. But easternEurope and the central Asian republics are of major concernbecause the number of cases rising so rapidly. Eighty percentof infected people in this region are below 30 years of age.Seventy percent are believed to have contracted AIDS throughinfecting needles while taking drugs.

Across western Europe two-thirds of all infections are throughheterosexual sex. The Dublin conference sought to get politicalleadership in these countries to take strong action to stop thespread of infection and to treat infected people. “Of all the socialand political challenges facing an expanded European Union,AIDS is one of the greatest, requiring determined and sustainedaction now,” said UNAIDS executive director Peter Piot . Theconference statement warns that a large portion of the youth ineastern European and the central Asian republics countriesengage in unsafe sex. The percentage of people reportingpremarital sexual relations more than doubled between 1993and 1999, from 9 percent to 22 percent.

In addition to increased AIDS funding from nationalgovernments, the World Bank and European Union, the GlobalFund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has approved morethan $400 million over five years for 22 programs in 16 countriesin eastern Europe and central Asia. (IPS)

(Sanjay Suri)

AIDS in the fastest growingepidemic in eastern Europe

Grim reaper

to conquer, once in mountains, vertigo, raptures, fears.

VIf somebody yells “Hey, stranger!” don’t answer. Play deaf

and dumb.Even though you may know it, don’t speak the tongue.Try not to stand out—either in profile orfull face; simply don’t wash your face at times. What’s

more,when they rip a cur’s throat with a swa, don’t cringe.Smoking, douse your butts with spittle. And besides,

arrangeto wear gray—the hue of the earth—especially

underclothes,to reduce the temptation to blend with your flesh the earth.

VIWhen you halt in the desert, make an arrow from pebbles,

so,if suddenly woken up, you’ll fathom which way to goin the darkness. At nights, demons in deserts trytravellers’ hearts. He who heeds their crygets easily disoriented: one step sideways and—well, c’est

tout.Ghosts, specters, demons, are at home in the desert. Youtoo will discover that’s true when, sand creaking under your

sole,all that remains of you is your soul.

VIINobody ever knows anything for a fact.Gazing ahead at your stooping guide’s sturdy back,think that you gaze at the future and keep your distance (ifthat is possible) from him. Since, in principle, lifeis itself but a distance between here and there, andquickening the pace only pays when you discern the soundbehind of those running after you down the pathwith lowered heads—be they murderers, thieves, the past.

VIIIIn the sour whiff of rugs, in the burnt dung’s fume,prize the indifference of things to being regarded fromafar, and in turn lose your own silhouette, turning, thus,unattainable to binoculars, gendarmes, mass.Coughing in a cloud of dust, wading through mud, muck,

map—What difference does it make how you would look close

up?It’s even better if some character with a bladefigures out you are a stranger a bit too late.

IXRivers in Asia are longer than elsewhere, more richin alluvium—that is, murkier. As you reachfor a mouthful, your cupped fingers ladle silt,and one who has drunk this water would prefer it spilt.Never trust its reflection. Crossing it, cross it ona raft built with no other hands but the pair you own.Know that the gleam of a campfire, your nightly bliss,will, by sliding downstream, betray you to enemies.

XIn your letter from these parts, don’t divulge whom andwhat you’ve seen on your way. If anything should be

penned,use your varying feelings, musings, regrets, et al.:a letter can be intercepted. And after all,the movement of a pen across paper is,in itself, the worsening of the break between you and thosewith whom you won’t any longer sit or lie down—with

whom,unlike the letter, you won’t share—who cares why—a

home.

XIWhen you stand on an empty stony plateau aloneunder the fathomless dome of Asia in whose blueness an

airplaneor an angel sometimes whips up its starch or star—when you shudder at how infinitesimally small you are,remember: space that appears to need nothing doescrave, as a matter of fact, an outside gaze,a criterion of emptiness—of its depth and scope.And it’s only you who can do the job.

Also published as ‘Advice to a Traveller’.Translated by the author and George L Klein.

Lighten up

A

NEITHER HERENOR THERE

Anagha Neelakantan

he European Space Agency(ESA) has announced plans tosend the first manned mission

to Mars by 2033. It faces three decadesof hard work in creating crucial life-support technologies to meet thatgoal. The agency has a detailedtimeline that must be followed if it isto send a human crew to “red planet”,said Dietrich Vennemann, ESAresearch director in charge of mannedmissions. The agency’s Mars researchforms part of the Aurora program,introduced in 2001 by the EuropeanUnion for exploration of the SolarSystem. The calendar for sending

EU mission to Marshumans to Mars begins in 2007, witha mission aimed at testing technologyfor a spaceship’s high-speed re-entryinto the Earth’s atmosphere.

In 2009, if ESA is able to achievesatisfactory velocities, it will send afirst ship to Mars for biologicalresearch, to collect mineral and gassamples in order to determine thepresence of life, past or present.Those samples would return toEarth between 2011 and 2014. By2014, ESA plans to testtechnologies to support mannedmissions, such as respiratory systemsfor the astronauts and protection

against solar radiation. From 2014to 2018 it will test solar energypropulsion, controlled landingsand orbits. Vennemann noted thatthe atmosphere of Mars is mainlycarbon dioxide, which humanscannot breathe, and that solarradiation is much greater on the redplanet than it is on Earth.Furthermore, the manned spacemissions in the past 40 years havelasted no more than 400 days. “Amanned mission to Mars wouldprobably last a thousand days. Thatmeans we have to work hard tocreate technical supports” forsurvival in outer space, he said.

As for the cost of a manned Marsmission, Franco Ongaro, director ofthe Aurora program, said it wouldbe a good investment for Europe,representing less than a dollar a yearper person. He assures that theEuropean space research is not formilitary purposes. “I can’t think ofany military uses for this research.On the contrary, the experience ofthe past 30 years proves thatstudying the universe has created afeeling of gregariousness inhumanity, an inclination towardspeace,” he said. He also ruled outthat Europe is competing with theUS, which announced its ownmanned mission to Mars, to takeplace sometime after 2020. ( IPS )

TKUNDA DIXIT

16 27 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185 1727 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185INTERNATIONALASIA

As the violence in Thailand’s south threatens to spiral out of control, thegovernment has cracked down on Islamic schools in the region. This actionagainst ‘pondoks’, the Islamic schools, stems from a theory that they are a“breeding ground for Islamic militants” and hence the only solution is to eitherreform them by having them join the education mainstream or close them.Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is among those pushing for the latter.And the Thai army also agrees. A military source was quoted in the BangkokPost saying: “Southern insurgents and their allies commanded more than3,000 mostly teenage followers who were given weapons and guerrilla warfaretraining in the past two years.”

Currently there are some 550 ‘pondoks’, 300 of which offer an Islamiceducation while the rest use the dual curriculum of religious and secular lessons.But this clampdown on the religious schools has given rise to a tide of concern,particularly in the wake of the confusing messages from the government aboutwho the actual perpetrators of the violence are. Since the 4 January attack byassailants on a major military camp in the south where four soldiers were killedand over 300 weapons were stolen, senior military officials and governmentministers have been floating a number of theories to explain the attacks. Thelist of new suspects appeared to keep pace with the increasing frequency of theviolence, which has resulted in 42 deaths. This spurt of unrest has also resultedin injuries to 23 people and the torching of public buildings and schools. Thedeath toll over the past seven weeks in the Muslim south is much higher thanthe estimated 50 deaths of government and security officials over the pastthree years. (IPS)

n 1977, when I served inPresident Jimmy Carter’s StateDepartment, I was sent to India

to dissuade that country’s leadersfrom developing a nuclear bomb. Myhosts replied that they needed tokeep up with China. I said that

Pakistan would inevitably follow suitand the world would become lesssafe.

India promised that it would notexport its weapons technology. Sofar as we know, its leaders have kepttheir word. But revelations about thenuclear weapons smuggling networkorganised by AQ Khan, the father ofPakistan’s bomb, confirm the danger

Drop the bombI predicted back then. Some callKhan’s network an effort to spreadan “Islamic bomb”, but given thatNorth Korea was on the list ofrecipients along with Libya and Iran,it might better be termed a corruptbomb.

As events in Pakistan illustrate,the spread of nuclear technologydoes not extend the stability thatcomes with mutual deterrence.Rather, it increases the prospects ofcorrupt leakage that may allowterrorist groups access to nuclearweapons. That makes everyone lesssafe. Any pathological group ofextremists could destroy New Delhi,Tokyo, Paris or any city they chose.

Now the world’s attention isfocussed on Iran, one recipient ofPakistani technology, as the country

seemingly keenest to create its ownnuclear arsenal. According to theInternational Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA), Iran began enrichinguranium at a pilot centrifuge plantlast August and is constructing largerunderground enrichment facilities.

Iran proclaims that its programsare for peaceful generation of nuclearenergy, but inspectors have alreadyfound traces of highly enrichedweapons-grade uranium. LastOctober, Mohamed El Baradei, thehead of the IAEA, announced thatIran had accepted enhancedinspection procedures. In addition,after visits by the French, British andGerman foreign ministers, Iranannounced a temporary suspensionof its enrichment program. Now ithints that it may resume enrichment,

and recent press reports about theimports from Pakistan suggest Iranfailed to disclose everything to theIAEA.

Iran claims that as a party to theNon-Proliferation Treaty, it has theright to enrich uranium for peacefulpurposes. Correct, because the NPTwas born with a loophole. Even if acountry agrees to broad ranging IAEAinspections, it can legally accumulateenriched uranium (or reprocessedplutonium) under the guise of apeaceful energy program, and thensuddenly declare that circumstanceshave changed and withdraw from thetreaty—with the ability to producenuclear weapons on short notice.

If Iran did this, it would not onlyadd to the dangers in an unstableregion, but would likely begin aprocess of unravelling the non-proliferation regime worldwide. Iranmay ask what right others have todemand that it forego nuclearweapons. The answer lies both in thefact that it promised not to do sowhen it signed the NPT and in theconsequences that it would impose onothers.

For these reasons, President Bushdeclared an Iranian nuclear weaponunacceptable. However, America’sunilateral options are limited. Notonly is the US military busy trying inIraq, but the way the US went intoIraq—which proved to have fewernuclear capabilities than Iran—undermined American credibility,making it difficult to recruit allies tocontain Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Fortunately, there is a multilateraloption and an existing precedent. Inthe mid-1970s, many parties to theNPT planned to import and developenrichment and reprocessing facilities.Realising the threat to the non-proliferation regime, countries asdiverse as the Soviet Union, France,Germany and Japan formed a“Nuclear Suppliers Group” that

restrained the export of enrichmentand reprocessing facilities. Thatplugged part of the loophole in thetreaty without amending it.

Today, such countries shouldjoin together to offer Iran (andothers) a deal. Countries that wishto develop nuclear energy but notnuclear bombs should be giveninternational guarantees of fuelsupply and disposal of spent fuel. Forexample, Russia, which is helpingIran construct a nuclear reactor atBushehr, should offer Iran aguarantee of low enriched uraniumfuel and reprocessing of the reactor’sspent fuel by sending it back toRussia if Iran agrees to foregoenrichment and reprocessing. Thisdeal could then be given teeth by theUN Security Council.

The Council would declare thatfurther proliferation of nuclearweapons is a threat to peace and thatany country moving in that directionis subject to sanctions. Such aresolution would also include acarrot by guaranteeing Iran access tothe non-dangerous parts of thenuclear energy fuel cycle. The potcould be further sweetened by offersto relax existing sanctions andprovide a security guarantee if Iranremains non-nuclear.

European foreign ministers havealready expressed their concernsabout Iran’s nuclear program. Russiaindicates that it is willing to providesuch fuel services. It is time for theSecurity Council to try tointernationalise the most dangerousparts of the nuclear fuel cycle. It isnot too late to learn the lessons ofthe misadventures of AQ Khan. (© Project Syndicate)

Joseph Nye, Dean of the KennedySchool of Government at Harvard and a

former US Assistant Secretary ofDefence, is author of the forthcoming

book, Soft Power: The Means toSuccess in World Politics.

A better way to reduce nuclear risks

ANALYSISJoseph S Nye

Target: Islamic schools

ommunity development groups are dismayedthat the Australian government will onlycontribute $6.6 million a year to a global fund

to combat HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. Many saythis poor commitment shows that Australia is shirkingfrom its responsibility to help counter the growinghealth crisis.

Oxfam/Community Aid Abroad and MedicinesSans Frontieres Australia calculated that Australia, basedon its GNP and position on the National DevelopmentIndex, should contribute $70 million over a three-year period. While countries such as France and theUnited States made major funding commitments tosupport the Swiss-based Global Fund to Fight AIDS,Tuberculosis and Malaria, Australia held back.Attempting to ensure the fund reaches its target $1.5billion this year, executive director Dr Richard Feachemvisited Australia last week and met with Minister forForeign Affairs Alexander Downer. Feachem hopes toraise $500 million for this year—one-third of its totalbudget—from Japan, Canada, Australia and the oil-rich countries.

However on 18 February, Downer announced thatthe Australian government would only commit $20million over a three-year period. Acknowledging thecontribution was relatively small, Downer pointed outAustralian aid funding of HIV programs within the regionof $160 million over six years.

Since its launch two years ago, the global fund hascommitted $1 billion to the Asia Pacific region,representing 20 percent of its resources, and has spent

Meagre contributions

more than double what the total Australiangovernment overseas aid development program onHIV in the region is in half the time.

Earlier in February while visiting Australia, WorldBank President James Wolfensohn complained of thestaggering inequities between spending on globalmilitary expenditure and development programs. TheAustralian Greens spokeswoman on health, KerryNettle agrees, saying “The global threat of AIDS,tuberculosis and malaria is impossible to overstate andyet a government that is willing to waste over $800million supporting an illegal invasion of Iraq can onlyfind $6.3 million a year to address (these diseases).” ( IPS )

(Bob Burton)

I

Buoyed by the highest oil prices in years, the six countries comprising theGulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are reaching some of the world’s highestgrowth records, but they might not be able to sustain the momentum. Theaverage growth estimate for 2003 in the GCC countries was 4.5 percent,much higher than the average in Europe or the United States of about 2.8percent, according to figures released by the various Arab and internationalsources. The figures were released before 2004 and actual figures, to bereleased in the coming months, may differ from the estimates.

Of the six countries—United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain,Kuwait and Saudi Arabia—Qatar showed a whopping growth rate of 8.4percent because of massive natural gas exploration projects. Much of theincrease in the GCC growth is due to spiking oil prices. With an averagebarrel of crude oil costing about $28 on the world market, the GCC countrieshave rarely been this rich.

According to figures released by the Centre for Global Energy Studies,the six GCC countries were expected to have earned $134 billion in oilrevenue last year, an increase of 30 percent just compared to the previousyear. The biggest earner among the GCC countries has traditionally beenSaudi Arabia, with the UAEand Kuwait running distantsecond and third. Buthigher oil prices are hardto sustain. Even Saudiofficials have said theybelieve that the OilPetroleum ExportingCountries (OPEC) shouldbring down its oil prices toat least $25 a barrel. Non-OPEC exporters will likely follow suit.

Aside from declining oil revenue, the GCC countries have other problemsthat, unless addressed, could have adverse effects on their economies. Oneis the continued overspending in defence. In 2002, the last year for whichofficial figures were readily available, GCC countries spent $37 billion onarms purchases and other military expenditures. For the past two years, thesix countries have on average spent 30 percent of their annual budget ondefence, the highest percentage in the world.

Combined with expected decline in the oil revenue and sustainingdefence spending, some GCC countries, most notably Saudi Arabia, arefinding it hard to cope with high rates of population growth. As a conservativeMuslim country that does not advocate population control, it has a populationgrowth rate of about 3.4 percent a year. Perhaps most relevant to whetherthe GCC countries can maintain their economic growth is whether they canforego the changes needed to diversify their economic infrastructure fromone solely based on oil.

Many economists argue that a couple of the GCC countries that havetried are shaping up to be the model for the rest. Although the UAE’s 2003economic growth is expected to have been around 4.5 percent, the non-oilsector’s growth for last year is estimated at 11 percent. Much of the UAE’snon-oil sector growth is due to construction and tourism. For the first time,the UAE last year earned more from tourism, about 20 percent of its overallrevenue, than it did from oil exports. Qatar and Bahrain have undertakenlarge-scale natural gas exploration projects that have suddenly addedbillions of dollars to their proven wealth, and as a result have allowed theirgovernments to increase public spending that in turn has contributed toeconomic growth. (IPS)

GCC boom

C

he microfinance revolutionstarted by rural women inBangladesh in the 1970s

proved we were wrong to believethat poverty and a lack of collateral

meant that poor people were notcreditworthy. When rural womenwere given the opportunity theyproved poor people were efficientusers of credit.

In Bangladesh, for example,women involved in microfinancenot only changed the way theymanaged household incomes, theyno longer believe they should bedependent or that they shouldremain confined to the home.

Giving microcredit its due

They are also more likely to sendtheir daughters to school.

Women’s status, both in theirhomes and communities improvewhen they are responsible forloans and for managing savings.When they generate and controltheir own income, women gain alevel of power that means theycan make decisionsindependently and commandmore respect.

Poor women often have thebest credit ratings. In Bangladesh,women default on loans less oftenthan men, and credit extended towomen has a much greaterimpact on householdconsumption and quality of lifefor children. But women acrossSouth Asia have been excluded

from the market economy.To be sure, the experience

with microfinance is notuniversally positive. Nor can it besuggested that microfinance aloneis responsible for change. InBangladesh, the rapid growth ofthe garment manufacturingindustry, which employs mainlywomen, and the activities ofwomen’s rights advocacy groupsand movements have also had animpact. Nevertheless,microfinance has drawn millionsof women into commercialeconomic activities for the firsttime, enabling them to takeadvantage of new opportunitiesand develop new roles as cashincome earners and economicallyactive members of the community.

In its early days, themicrofinance revolution focusedon lending. Loans were typicallysecured through the mutualguarantee of solidarity groups.The microcredit model pioneeredby the Grameen Bank ofBangladesh has now beenreplicated all over the world.While a minimum amount ofsavings was generally requiredbefore a loan was granted, initiallyless emphasis was placed oncreating flexible and voluntarysavings schemes that could bedirectly controlled by the groupmembers.

The MillenniumDevelopment Goal to promotegender equality is key to achievingthe target of halving extremepoverty and hunger by 2015.Women’s microfinance groups canand should also be strategic agentsfor achieving these goals.

The author is with the Rome-basedInternational Fund for Agricultural

Development, IFAD.

Last week’s microcredit summit in Dhakashowed how small loans to women can transform society

COMMENTPhrang Roy

TJOHAN MIKAELSSON

16 27 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185 1727 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185INTERNATIONALASIA

As the violence in Thailand’s south threatens to spiral out of control, thegovernment has cracked down on Islamic schools in the region. This actionagainst ‘pondoks’, the Islamic schools, stems from a theory that they are a“breeding ground for Islamic militants” and hence the only solution is to eitherreform them by having them join the education mainstream or close them.Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is among those pushing for the latter.And the Thai army also agrees. A military source was quoted in the BangkokPost saying: “Southern insurgents and their allies commanded more than3,000 mostly teenage followers who were given weapons and guerrilla warfaretraining in the past two years.”

Currently there are some 550 ‘pondoks’, 300 of which offer an Islamiceducation while the rest use the dual curriculum of religious and secular lessons.But this clampdown on the religious schools has given rise to a tide of concern,particularly in the wake of the confusing messages from the government aboutwho the actual perpetrators of the violence are. Since the 4 January attack byassailants on a major military camp in the south where four soldiers were killedand over 300 weapons were stolen, senior military officials and governmentministers have been floating a number of theories to explain the attacks. Thelist of new suspects appeared to keep pace with the increasing frequency of theviolence, which has resulted in 42 deaths. This spurt of unrest has also resultedin injuries to 23 people and the torching of public buildings and schools. Thedeath toll over the past seven weeks in the Muslim south is much higher thanthe estimated 50 deaths of government and security officials over the pastthree years. (IPS)

n 1977, when I served inPresident Jimmy Carter’s StateDepartment, I was sent to India

to dissuade that country’s leadersfrom developing a nuclear bomb. Myhosts replied that they needed tokeep up with China. I said that

Pakistan would inevitably follow suitand the world would become lesssafe.

India promised that it would notexport its weapons technology. Sofar as we know, its leaders have kepttheir word. But revelations about thenuclear weapons smuggling networkorganised by AQ Khan, the father ofPakistan’s bomb, confirm the danger

Drop the bombI predicted back then. Some callKhan’s network an effort to spreadan “Islamic bomb”, but given thatNorth Korea was on the list ofrecipients along with Libya and Iran,it might better be termed a corruptbomb.

As events in Pakistan illustrate,the spread of nuclear technologydoes not extend the stability thatcomes with mutual deterrence.Rather, it increases the prospects ofcorrupt leakage that may allowterrorist groups access to nuclearweapons. That makes everyone lesssafe. Any pathological group ofextremists could destroy New Delhi,Tokyo, Paris or any city they chose.

Now the world’s attention isfocussed on Iran, one recipient ofPakistani technology, as the country

seemingly keenest to create its ownnuclear arsenal. According to theInternational Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA), Iran began enrichinguranium at a pilot centrifuge plantlast August and is constructing largerunderground enrichment facilities.

Iran proclaims that its programsare for peaceful generation of nuclearenergy, but inspectors have alreadyfound traces of highly enrichedweapons-grade uranium. LastOctober, Mohamed El Baradei, thehead of the IAEA, announced thatIran had accepted enhancedinspection procedures. In addition,after visits by the French, British andGerman foreign ministers, Iranannounced a temporary suspensionof its enrichment program. Now ithints that it may resume enrichment,

and recent press reports about theimports from Pakistan suggest Iranfailed to disclose everything to theIAEA.

Iran claims that as a party to theNon-Proliferation Treaty, it has theright to enrich uranium for peacefulpurposes. Correct, because the NPTwas born with a loophole. Even if acountry agrees to broad ranging IAEAinspections, it can legally accumulateenriched uranium (or reprocessedplutonium) under the guise of apeaceful energy program, and thensuddenly declare that circumstanceshave changed and withdraw from thetreaty—with the ability to producenuclear weapons on short notice.

If Iran did this, it would not onlyadd to the dangers in an unstableregion, but would likely begin aprocess of unravelling the non-proliferation regime worldwide. Iranmay ask what right others have todemand that it forego nuclearweapons. The answer lies both in thefact that it promised not to do sowhen it signed the NPT and in theconsequences that it would impose onothers.

For these reasons, President Bushdeclared an Iranian nuclear weaponunacceptable. However, America’sunilateral options are limited. Notonly is the US military busy trying inIraq, but the way the US went intoIraq—which proved to have fewernuclear capabilities than Iran—undermined American credibility,making it difficult to recruit allies tocontain Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Fortunately, there is a multilateraloption and an existing precedent. Inthe mid-1970s, many parties to theNPT planned to import and developenrichment and reprocessing facilities.Realising the threat to the non-proliferation regime, countries asdiverse as the Soviet Union, France,Germany and Japan formed a“Nuclear Suppliers Group” that

restrained the export of enrichmentand reprocessing facilities. Thatplugged part of the loophole in thetreaty without amending it.

Today, such countries shouldjoin together to offer Iran (andothers) a deal. Countries that wishto develop nuclear energy but notnuclear bombs should be giveninternational guarantees of fuelsupply and disposal of spent fuel. Forexample, Russia, which is helpingIran construct a nuclear reactor atBushehr, should offer Iran aguarantee of low enriched uraniumfuel and reprocessing of the reactor’sspent fuel by sending it back toRussia if Iran agrees to foregoenrichment and reprocessing. Thisdeal could then be given teeth by theUN Security Council.

The Council would declare thatfurther proliferation of nuclearweapons is a threat to peace and thatany country moving in that directionis subject to sanctions. Such aresolution would also include acarrot by guaranteeing Iran access tothe non-dangerous parts of thenuclear energy fuel cycle. The potcould be further sweetened by offersto relax existing sanctions andprovide a security guarantee if Iranremains non-nuclear.

European foreign ministers havealready expressed their concernsabout Iran’s nuclear program. Russiaindicates that it is willing to providesuch fuel services. It is time for theSecurity Council to try tointernationalise the most dangerousparts of the nuclear fuel cycle. It isnot too late to learn the lessons ofthe misadventures of AQ Khan. (© Project Syndicate)

Joseph Nye, Dean of the KennedySchool of Government at Harvard and a

former US Assistant Secretary ofDefence, is author of the forthcoming

book, Soft Power: The Means toSuccess in World Politics.

A better way to reduce nuclear risks

ANALYSISJoseph S Nye

Target: Islamic schools

ommunity development groups are dismayedthat the Australian government will onlycontribute $6.6 million a year to a global fund

to combat HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. Many saythis poor commitment shows that Australia is shirkingfrom its responsibility to help counter the growinghealth crisis.

Oxfam/Community Aid Abroad and MedicinesSans Frontieres Australia calculated that Australia, basedon its GNP and position on the National DevelopmentIndex, should contribute $70 million over a three-year period. While countries such as France and theUnited States made major funding commitments tosupport the Swiss-based Global Fund to Fight AIDS,Tuberculosis and Malaria, Australia held back.Attempting to ensure the fund reaches its target $1.5billion this year, executive director Dr Richard Feachemvisited Australia last week and met with Minister forForeign Affairs Alexander Downer. Feachem hopes toraise $500 million for this year—one-third of its totalbudget—from Japan, Canada, Australia and the oil-rich countries.

However on 18 February, Downer announced thatthe Australian government would only commit $20million over a three-year period. Acknowledging thecontribution was relatively small, Downer pointed outAustralian aid funding of HIV programs within the regionof $160 million over six years.

Since its launch two years ago, the global fund hascommitted $1 billion to the Asia Pacific region,representing 20 percent of its resources, and has spent

Meagre contributions

more than double what the total Australiangovernment overseas aid development program onHIV in the region is in half the time.

Earlier in February while visiting Australia, WorldBank President James Wolfensohn complained of thestaggering inequities between spending on globalmilitary expenditure and development programs. TheAustralian Greens spokeswoman on health, KerryNettle agrees, saying “The global threat of AIDS,tuberculosis and malaria is impossible to overstate andyet a government that is willing to waste over $800million supporting an illegal invasion of Iraq can onlyfind $6.3 million a year to address (these diseases).” ( IPS )

(Bob Burton)

I

Buoyed by the highest oil prices in years, the six countries comprising theGulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are reaching some of the world’s highestgrowth records, but they might not be able to sustain the momentum. Theaverage growth estimate for 2003 in the GCC countries was 4.5 percent,much higher than the average in Europe or the United States of about 2.8percent, according to figures released by the various Arab and internationalsources. The figures were released before 2004 and actual figures, to bereleased in the coming months, may differ from the estimates.

Of the six countries—United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain,Kuwait and Saudi Arabia—Qatar showed a whopping growth rate of 8.4percent because of massive natural gas exploration projects. Much of theincrease in the GCC growth is due to spiking oil prices. With an averagebarrel of crude oil costing about $28 on the world market, the GCC countrieshave rarely been this rich.

According to figures released by the Centre for Global Energy Studies,the six GCC countries were expected to have earned $134 billion in oilrevenue last year, an increase of 30 percent just compared to the previousyear. The biggest earner among the GCC countries has traditionally beenSaudi Arabia, with the UAEand Kuwait running distantsecond and third. Buthigher oil prices are hardto sustain. Even Saudiofficials have said theybelieve that the OilPetroleum ExportingCountries (OPEC) shouldbring down its oil prices toat least $25 a barrel. Non-OPEC exporters will likely follow suit.

Aside from declining oil revenue, the GCC countries have other problemsthat, unless addressed, could have adverse effects on their economies. Oneis the continued overspending in defence. In 2002, the last year for whichofficial figures were readily available, GCC countries spent $37 billion onarms purchases and other military expenditures. For the past two years, thesix countries have on average spent 30 percent of their annual budget ondefence, the highest percentage in the world.

Combined with expected decline in the oil revenue and sustainingdefence spending, some GCC countries, most notably Saudi Arabia, arefinding it hard to cope with high rates of population growth. As a conservativeMuslim country that does not advocate population control, it has a populationgrowth rate of about 3.4 percent a year. Perhaps most relevant to whetherthe GCC countries can maintain their economic growth is whether they canforego the changes needed to diversify their economic infrastructure fromone solely based on oil.

Many economists argue that a couple of the GCC countries that havetried are shaping up to be the model for the rest. Although the UAE’s 2003economic growth is expected to have been around 4.5 percent, the non-oilsector’s growth for last year is estimated at 11 percent. Much of the UAE’snon-oil sector growth is due to construction and tourism. For the first time,the UAE last year earned more from tourism, about 20 percent of its overallrevenue, than it did from oil exports. Qatar and Bahrain have undertakenlarge-scale natural gas exploration projects that have suddenly addedbillions of dollars to their proven wealth, and as a result have allowed theirgovernments to increase public spending that in turn has contributed toeconomic growth. (IPS)

GCC boom

C

he microfinance revolutionstarted by rural women inBangladesh in the 1970s

proved we were wrong to believethat poverty and a lack of collateral

meant that poor people were notcreditworthy. When rural womenwere given the opportunity theyproved poor people were efficientusers of credit.

In Bangladesh, for example,women involved in microfinancenot only changed the way theymanaged household incomes, theyno longer believe they should bedependent or that they shouldremain confined to the home.

Giving microcredit its due

They are also more likely to sendtheir daughters to school.

Women’s status, both in theirhomes and communities improvewhen they are responsible forloans and for managing savings.When they generate and controltheir own income, women gain alevel of power that means theycan make decisionsindependently and commandmore respect.

Poor women often have thebest credit ratings. In Bangladesh,women default on loans less oftenthan men, and credit extended towomen has a much greaterimpact on householdconsumption and quality of lifefor children. But women acrossSouth Asia have been excluded

from the market economy.To be sure, the experience

with microfinance is notuniversally positive. Nor can it besuggested that microfinance aloneis responsible for change. InBangladesh, the rapid growth ofthe garment manufacturingindustry, which employs mainlywomen, and the activities ofwomen’s rights advocacy groupsand movements have also had animpact. Nevertheless,microfinance has drawn millionsof women into commercialeconomic activities for the firsttime, enabling them to takeadvantage of new opportunitiesand develop new roles as cashincome earners and economicallyactive members of the community.

In its early days, themicrofinance revolution focusedon lending. Loans were typicallysecured through the mutualguarantee of solidarity groups.The microcredit model pioneeredby the Grameen Bank ofBangladesh has now beenreplicated all over the world.While a minimum amount ofsavings was generally requiredbefore a loan was granted, initiallyless emphasis was placed oncreating flexible and voluntarysavings schemes that could bedirectly controlled by the groupmembers.

The MillenniumDevelopment Goal to promotegender equality is key to achievingthe target of halving extremepoverty and hunger by 2015.Women’s microfinance groups canand should also be strategic agentsfor achieving these goals.

The author is with the Rome-basedInternational Fund for Agricultural

Development, IFAD.

Last week’s microcredit summit in Dhakashowed how small loans to women can transform society

COMMENTPhrang Roy

TJOHAN MIKAELSSON

18 27 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185 1927 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185

SELECTED MATERIAL TRANSLATED EVERY WEEK FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“India cannot back off from the refugee issue,”

Tekhnath Rijal, Bhutanese refugee leader in Samacharpatra, February 24

Parents: Go carefully! The Maoists might take you!Children: Stay safe! The Maoists might come for you!

Rajdhani, 22 February

FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Child soldiersJhalak Gaire in NepalSamacharpatra, 23 February

The Maoists have intensifiedtheir campaign to train childsoldiers in their strongholds inmidwestern Nepal. A highlyplaced Maoist source saidsecondary and higher secondarystudents in many villages arebeing trained in secret camps. Inline with the decision of theirhigh command, the rebels’ targetis to have 50,000 child soldiersby April. A senior leader of theparty indicated that the latestabduction of students fromAchham and Rolpa was for thispurpose.

Called the Special Peoples’Military Campaign, it is beingrun in what the rebels call ‘modeldistricts’ in the remote Jumla andJajarkot, areas where state poweris almost non-existent. In the lastmonth, 15,000 recruits are saidto have completed basic training.The trainings have three phasesand are being conducted in‘base’, ‘model’ and ‘special’ areascontrolled by the Maoists.

While the core Maoists andtheir student members are all outto train more children, locals arefleeing their villages from fear ofhaving to join the Maoistrecruitment drive. Nim BahadurRawal left Dailekh and is now inGujarat. When he arrived inNepalganj, he reported that thatthe rebels were training all schoolstudents to use rifles. “TheMaoists said all school studentsneed to know how to use guns,or else the army will gun all of usdown,” he said. “We were luckybecause we could get away.There are hundreds of studentswho have had to walk for morethan a week to reach the trainingcamps.” The Bheri Karnaliregional branch of the All NepalNational Free Students’ Union(Revolutionary), the studentwing of the Maoists, says it has anew mission. According to Kamal

Shahi, regional coordinator, theMaoist student organisation isalready in the process ofstrengthening itself both militarilyand politically.

The multi-pronged approachcomes in the wake of the militaryoperation at Mudbhara in Dotidistrict where some traineestudents lost their lives. “That iswhy we have began this trainingcampaign under the campaign‘one educational institution, onereformed militia’,” says Shahi, whois also a member of the centralsecretariat of the ANNFSU (R).He claimed his organisation hasalready created a military forceequal to a battalion in a regulararmy. He said the Maoists wouldsoon have 50,000 militia and375,000 members.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Live through thisRajdhani, 21 February

Karnali is not only the mostaffected war zone in Nepal butalso has the worst record forwomen’s rights. In the villages ofJumla, Kalikot, Jajarkot, Rukumand Dailekh districts, womenspend most of their lives grazingcattle in the forests. They live intents and sleep on the wet ground

without much food to eat.“Our husbands beat us if we

don’t work hard,” says DarimaShahi from Jumla. “If we areunable to do hard labour, we willbe kicked out of the house andsociety will consider us a shame,”says the 22-year-old who hasworked as a shepherdess since shewas a child. Life was so hard thatshe even lost her child duringdelivery. “We live like animals,”says Jankala from Kalikot. Herparents forced her to spend all hertime in the forest and never senther to school, even though it wasnear her village. “My future isdestroyed because all I know ishow to graze cattle.” She walkswith her cattle and wanders fromone district to another through theforests. Security is a major concern,not from the Maoists or the armybut from wild animals. “Our onlyprotection are our dogs,” saysanother shepherdess.

More than 200,000 girls andwomen here have never seen theinside of a school building.Statistics show 70 percent ofwomen can’t count money or evendifferentiate between currencynotes. “They are worse off thaneven prisoners,” says Sita Singh, aschool teacher from Kalikot. Sheadds that besides grazing animals,the women also walk long stretcheswith heavy loads. There is anurgent need for developingincome generation programs forthese underprivileged women.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

InjusticeRajdhani, 21 February

BAGLUNG - Dalits from Syaulavillage were recently beaten upand tortured by a group ofJanmorcha party workers forallegedly supporting the Maoists.Among the victims were 50-year-old Dhan Bahadur BK, 14-year-old Sukmaya and one-year-oldChitmaya. According to a localresident who arrived at theBaglung district headquarters, twowomen, both above 50, were tied

up and locked up for more thansix days. The political party hasasked them to leave the village orsuffer more punishment. After theincident, many dalit families haveleft Syaula and taken refuge in aneighbouring village. Someapproached the Maoist activists forhelp and the rebels published astatement condemning theJanmorcha party for their unjusttreatment. The local Maoistcommander, Ashis Magar has saidhis group will take action againstthe activists and make themcompensate the loss of propertyand physical torture of the victims.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

No EnglishRajdhani, 24 February

LALITPUR – It was BhimkumariMagar’s most embarrassingmoment when other womenlaughed at her inability to speakEnglish properly at a workshop onwomen’s empowerment. It was aprogram for Nepalis, but everyonestarted introducing themselves inEnglish for the benefit of theirAmerican facilitator. As Magarstruggled to introduce herself inEnglish, the elegant ladies takingpart all burst into laughter. As ithappens, Magar is a grassrootspolitician. The program, jointlyorganised by the American Centreand Kathmandu College ofManagement, brought togetherwomen participants from bothurban areas and remote villages.

While the program presenter andfacilitators spoke in English, ruralwomen politicians with no Englishskills had to sit quietly through itall and try to figure out what washappening.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Army schoolDrishti, 24 February -1 March

BAJURA – In Martadi village,students are forced to attend theirclass in a hospital room since thearmy took over their school to setup a barrack. Their school has nowturned into a military campsurrounded by barbed wire. Theirplayground has trenches andlandmines. Five hundred studentsare now crammed into thehospital. There isn’t room enoughfor most of them so they sitoutside during classes. The chairs,desks and other materials havebeen scattered. At times, they haveto bear the insults and the rudebehaviour of doctors. There is notoilet, water, playground or schooloffice. The hospital morgue isadjacent to a classroom. Due tolack of sufficient space in thehospital, the school sends manystudents to another school two kmaway. The school was promisedcompensation of Rs 2.2 million bythe government through theHome Ministry. They haven’t seenany of it despite repeated visits toSingha Durbar by the teachers,CDO and school managementcommittee.

Maoist leader Hisila Yami in Kantipur, 23 February

Now that the royal army has decided to recruit femalesoldiers, the idea has become a matter for discussion. Themove came after the ‘People’s War’ became a national issueand a threat to the old regime. The first reason for the army’srecruitment is to arrest the increasing participation of womenin the people’s war. The second is to use the ladies as a lureto control committed Maoist fighters and to either distractthem from their mission or make them surrender. The third isto provide employment to women of the families who areagainst this and have been displaced from their villages. Thefourth is in line with the global practice of having women in thearmy.

Women are not forced into the People’s Liberation Army.They don’t join for any practical or short-term reasons. Thefact is the women make the biggest segment of thepopulation in downtrodden communities. They are found inevery family, house, community, region, religion and language.

Where there is oppression, there will be revolt. Sincewomen have suffered class and sexual oppression, they havedouble the capacity to revolt. This why the Communist Party ofNepal (Maoist) recruited them. After our third expandedmeeting nine years ago, we made it mandatory to have twowomen in each of our fighting, security and volunteer teams.Unlike the royal army’s scheme to attract females with money,position and facilities, our women are recruited on the basisprinciples and ideals.

They were introduced to reality: women are the mostdeprived in the existing feudal system, despite their vital rolein Nepal’s agroeconomy. They are denied parental propertyalthough they run their households on their own when theirhusbands are away earning money. When the men return,they marry other women and the wives are forced to leave.Under such circumstances, when these women marrysomeone else, they become outcasts. This is how the feudalsystem protects criminals and victimises those already madevictims. The CPN (Maoist) is reversing this feudal practicethrough its people’s war.

It is leading the new revolution to implement ideas likeequal rights for parental property and tillers as landowners.Women are fascinated with this change. The people’s warhas liberated women who otherwise had to spend their livessolely on domestic matters. Because of Hindu philosophy,girls are married off at an early age. They becomegrandmothers even before they reach menopause.

The people’s war has brought women out of that viciouscycle of living as a reproductive machine. The movement hastaken them to different parts of the country. Rural women, whowere once deprived of their rights, are now at the forefront ofthe people’s war, fighting as commanders. Now, women aredeciding not only when they live but also when they die.

Female participation is increasing in the People’sLiberation Army. Their numbers are growing also because ofrepression and the physical violations of the so-called ArmedPolice Force and the royal army. Women who join thepeople’s war are not only from the general mass but alsofrom other political parties. In such a situation, the condition ofwomen in the royal army will be counterproductive.

Political scientist Krishna Khanal inDeshantar, 15 February

An armed movement for a republic can neverbe successful. No matter how much theMaoists try, they will not be able to establisha republican state through violence. Even if itis established, there is no basis to believethat the system will be a people’s democracy.As long as the Maoistscontinue their armedrebellion, the monarchy willremain.

No present internationalpower will tolerate a changeof guard through arms inNepal’s state power. But, ifthe movement advancestoward republicanism throughpeaceful means, I seepossibilities for it to succeed.People may ask how arepublic can be ushered inpeacefully if the king does notabdicate but history hasexamples of kings giving up as peacefulpressure mounts.

The Shah of Iran is a recent example.American political pundits called him amodernising monarch who commanded astrong military. Yet, when the people’sdemand for change became overwhelming,he abandoned his throne and fled. The mainissue in Nepal is what percent of the peoplereally back republicanism. If the peoplegenuinely want a republic, I see no reasonfor bloodshed.

The army cannot be separated from thepeople. The lower ranks of the army, who are

Peace and disharmonythe actual fighters, come from poorbackgrounds. This could prompt them toparticipate in a peaceful movement. At thevery least, they will not favour suppressingsuch a movement if it were to gather strength.

Another important factor is the moral forceof an unarmed movement, which is vital. It isnatural to use force against someone whofights using arms. For instance, after the

Maoists resorted to arms, thegovernment also usedviolence to quell theinsurgency. Nobody viewedthe countermove asunnatural. Today, we hearabout Maoists dying almosteveryday. Except for simplehuman curiosity, the newsdoesn’t arouse undueconcern. This is becausepeople believe the rebelschose to kill, and get killedthemselves. But there is agreat deal of concern whennon-combatants and

unarmed people die at the hands of both thesecurity force and the Maoists.

When a movement is peaceful, no onewill be able to justify the use of arms againstit. If one side were to do that, it would add fuelto the fire. The Maoists are still far away fromtheir goal despite those who sacrificed theirlives for their armed struggle. This is why Iam convinced they will never be able to attaintheir goal through force. If the rebels give uptheir arms and join the peaceful movement, itwill be easy to advance the republican cause.Therefore, the Maoists are the biggestobstacle in attaining their own goal.

Girl power

Hisila Yami (r) with her husband,Baburam Bhattarai

18 27 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185 1927 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185

SELECTED MATERIAL TRANSLATED EVERY WEEK FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“India cannot back off from the refugee issue,”

Tekhnath Rijal, Bhutanese refugee leader in Samacharpatra, February 24

Parents: Go carefully! The Maoists might take you!Children: Stay safe! The Maoists might come for you!

Rajdhani, 22 February

FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Child soldiersJhalak Gaire in NepalSamacharpatra, 23 February

The Maoists have intensifiedtheir campaign to train childsoldiers in their strongholds inmidwestern Nepal. A highlyplaced Maoist source saidsecondary and higher secondarystudents in many villages arebeing trained in secret camps. Inline with the decision of theirhigh command, the rebels’ targetis to have 50,000 child soldiersby April. A senior leader of theparty indicated that the latestabduction of students fromAchham and Rolpa was for thispurpose.

Called the Special Peoples’Military Campaign, it is beingrun in what the rebels call ‘modeldistricts’ in the remote Jumla andJajarkot, areas where state poweris almost non-existent. In the lastmonth, 15,000 recruits are saidto have completed basic training.The trainings have three phasesand are being conducted in‘base’, ‘model’ and ‘special’ areascontrolled by the Maoists.

While the core Maoists andtheir student members are all outto train more children, locals arefleeing their villages from fear ofhaving to join the Maoistrecruitment drive. Nim BahadurRawal left Dailekh and is now inGujarat. When he arrived inNepalganj, he reported that thatthe rebels were training all schoolstudents to use rifles. “TheMaoists said all school studentsneed to know how to use guns,or else the army will gun all of usdown,” he said. “We were luckybecause we could get away.There are hundreds of studentswho have had to walk for morethan a week to reach the trainingcamps.” The Bheri Karnaliregional branch of the All NepalNational Free Students’ Union(Revolutionary), the studentwing of the Maoists, says it has anew mission. According to Kamal

Shahi, regional coordinator, theMaoist student organisation isalready in the process ofstrengthening itself both militarilyand politically.

The multi-pronged approachcomes in the wake of the militaryoperation at Mudbhara in Dotidistrict where some traineestudents lost their lives. “That iswhy we have began this trainingcampaign under the campaign‘one educational institution, onereformed militia’,” says Shahi, whois also a member of the centralsecretariat of the ANNFSU (R).He claimed his organisation hasalready created a military forceequal to a battalion in a regulararmy. He said the Maoists wouldsoon have 50,000 militia and375,000 members.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Live through thisRajdhani, 21 February

Karnali is not only the mostaffected war zone in Nepal butalso has the worst record forwomen’s rights. In the villages ofJumla, Kalikot, Jajarkot, Rukumand Dailekh districts, womenspend most of their lives grazingcattle in the forests. They live intents and sleep on the wet ground

without much food to eat.“Our husbands beat us if we

don’t work hard,” says DarimaShahi from Jumla. “If we areunable to do hard labour, we willbe kicked out of the house andsociety will consider us a shame,”says the 22-year-old who hasworked as a shepherdess since shewas a child. Life was so hard thatshe even lost her child duringdelivery. “We live like animals,”says Jankala from Kalikot. Herparents forced her to spend all hertime in the forest and never senther to school, even though it wasnear her village. “My future isdestroyed because all I know ishow to graze cattle.” She walkswith her cattle and wanders fromone district to another through theforests. Security is a major concern,not from the Maoists or the armybut from wild animals. “Our onlyprotection are our dogs,” saysanother shepherdess.

More than 200,000 girls andwomen here have never seen theinside of a school building.Statistics show 70 percent ofwomen can’t count money or evendifferentiate between currencynotes. “They are worse off thaneven prisoners,” says Sita Singh, aschool teacher from Kalikot. Sheadds that besides grazing animals,the women also walk long stretcheswith heavy loads. There is anurgent need for developingincome generation programs forthese underprivileged women.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

InjusticeRajdhani, 21 February

BAGLUNG - Dalits from Syaulavillage were recently beaten upand tortured by a group ofJanmorcha party workers forallegedly supporting the Maoists.Among the victims were 50-year-old Dhan Bahadur BK, 14-year-old Sukmaya and one-year-oldChitmaya. According to a localresident who arrived at theBaglung district headquarters, twowomen, both above 50, were tied

up and locked up for more thansix days. The political party hasasked them to leave the village orsuffer more punishment. After theincident, many dalit families haveleft Syaula and taken refuge in aneighbouring village. Someapproached the Maoist activists forhelp and the rebels published astatement condemning theJanmorcha party for their unjusttreatment. The local Maoistcommander, Ashis Magar has saidhis group will take action againstthe activists and make themcompensate the loss of propertyand physical torture of the victims.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

No EnglishRajdhani, 24 February

LALITPUR – It was BhimkumariMagar’s most embarrassingmoment when other womenlaughed at her inability to speakEnglish properly at a workshop onwomen’s empowerment. It was aprogram for Nepalis, but everyonestarted introducing themselves inEnglish for the benefit of theirAmerican facilitator. As Magarstruggled to introduce herself inEnglish, the elegant ladies takingpart all burst into laughter. As ithappens, Magar is a grassrootspolitician. The program, jointlyorganised by the American Centreand Kathmandu College ofManagement, brought togetherwomen participants from bothurban areas and remote villages.

While the program presenter andfacilitators spoke in English, ruralwomen politicians with no Englishskills had to sit quietly through itall and try to figure out what washappening.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Army schoolDrishti, 24 February -1 March

BAJURA – In Martadi village,students are forced to attend theirclass in a hospital room since thearmy took over their school to setup a barrack. Their school has nowturned into a military campsurrounded by barbed wire. Theirplayground has trenches andlandmines. Five hundred studentsare now crammed into thehospital. There isn’t room enoughfor most of them so they sitoutside during classes. The chairs,desks and other materials havebeen scattered. At times, they haveto bear the insults and the rudebehaviour of doctors. There is notoilet, water, playground or schooloffice. The hospital morgue isadjacent to a classroom. Due tolack of sufficient space in thehospital, the school sends manystudents to another school two kmaway. The school was promisedcompensation of Rs 2.2 million bythe government through theHome Ministry. They haven’t seenany of it despite repeated visits toSingha Durbar by the teachers,CDO and school managementcommittee.

Maoist leader Hisila Yami in Kantipur, 23 February

Now that the royal army has decided to recruit femalesoldiers, the idea has become a matter for discussion. Themove came after the ‘People’s War’ became a national issueand a threat to the old regime. The first reason for the army’srecruitment is to arrest the increasing participation of womenin the people’s war. The second is to use the ladies as a lureto control committed Maoist fighters and to either distractthem from their mission or make them surrender. The third isto provide employment to women of the families who areagainst this and have been displaced from their villages. Thefourth is in line with the global practice of having women in thearmy.

Women are not forced into the People’s Liberation Army.They don’t join for any practical or short-term reasons. Thefact is the women make the biggest segment of thepopulation in downtrodden communities. They are found inevery family, house, community, region, religion and language.

Where there is oppression, there will be revolt. Sincewomen have suffered class and sexual oppression, they havedouble the capacity to revolt. This why the Communist Party ofNepal (Maoist) recruited them. After our third expandedmeeting nine years ago, we made it mandatory to have twowomen in each of our fighting, security and volunteer teams.Unlike the royal army’s scheme to attract females with money,position and facilities, our women are recruited on the basisprinciples and ideals.

They were introduced to reality: women are the mostdeprived in the existing feudal system, despite their vital rolein Nepal’s agroeconomy. They are denied parental propertyalthough they run their households on their own when theirhusbands are away earning money. When the men return,they marry other women and the wives are forced to leave.Under such circumstances, when these women marrysomeone else, they become outcasts. This is how the feudalsystem protects criminals and victimises those already madevictims. The CPN (Maoist) is reversing this feudal practicethrough its people’s war.

It is leading the new revolution to implement ideas likeequal rights for parental property and tillers as landowners.Women are fascinated with this change. The people’s warhas liberated women who otherwise had to spend their livessolely on domestic matters. Because of Hindu philosophy,girls are married off at an early age. They becomegrandmothers even before they reach menopause.

The people’s war has brought women out of that viciouscycle of living as a reproductive machine. The movement hastaken them to different parts of the country. Rural women, whowere once deprived of their rights, are now at the forefront ofthe people’s war, fighting as commanders. Now, women aredeciding not only when they live but also when they die.

Female participation is increasing in the People’sLiberation Army. Their numbers are growing also because ofrepression and the physical violations of the so-called ArmedPolice Force and the royal army. Women who join thepeople’s war are not only from the general mass but alsofrom other political parties. In such a situation, the condition ofwomen in the royal army will be counterproductive.

Political scientist Krishna Khanal inDeshantar, 15 February

An armed movement for a republic can neverbe successful. No matter how much theMaoists try, they will not be able to establisha republican state through violence. Even if itis established, there is no basis to believethat the system will be a people’s democracy.As long as the Maoistscontinue their armedrebellion, the monarchy willremain.

No present internationalpower will tolerate a changeof guard through arms inNepal’s state power. But, ifthe movement advancestoward republicanism throughpeaceful means, I seepossibilities for it to succeed.People may ask how arepublic can be ushered inpeacefully if the king does notabdicate but history hasexamples of kings giving up as peacefulpressure mounts.

The Shah of Iran is a recent example.American political pundits called him amodernising monarch who commanded astrong military. Yet, when the people’sdemand for change became overwhelming,he abandoned his throne and fled. The mainissue in Nepal is what percent of the peoplereally back republicanism. If the peoplegenuinely want a republic, I see no reasonfor bloodshed.

The army cannot be separated from thepeople. The lower ranks of the army, who are

Peace and disharmonythe actual fighters, come from poorbackgrounds. This could prompt them toparticipate in a peaceful movement. At thevery least, they will not favour suppressingsuch a movement if it were to gather strength.

Another important factor is the moral forceof an unarmed movement, which is vital. It isnatural to use force against someone whofights using arms. For instance, after the

Maoists resorted to arms, thegovernment also usedviolence to quell theinsurgency. Nobody viewedthe countermove asunnatural. Today, we hearabout Maoists dying almosteveryday. Except for simplehuman curiosity, the newsdoesn’t arouse undueconcern. This is becausepeople believe the rebelschose to kill, and get killedthemselves. But there is agreat deal of concern whennon-combatants and

unarmed people die at the hands of both thesecurity force and the Maoists.

When a movement is peaceful, no onewill be able to justify the use of arms againstit. If one side were to do that, it would add fuelto the fire. The Maoists are still far away fromtheir goal despite those who sacrificed theirlives for their armed struggle. This is why Iam convinced they will never be able to attaintheir goal through force. If the rebels give uptheir arms and join the peaceful movement, itwill be easy to advance the republican cause.Therefore, the Maoists are the biggestobstacle in attaining their own goal.

Girl power

Hisila Yami (r) with her husband,Baburam Bhattarai

20 27 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185HISTORY AND CULTURE 2127 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185SPORTS

Cowmandos!

BIGBEN

14-12-77 [continued]After breakfast I want to read + write, I haven’t beenable to do it—total disinclination for any seriousmental work. I sit on the table all right + there isalways a book open before me on the table or writingmaterials—pen + paper. That is all that happens byway of my literary work. I just sit quietly at the tablewaiting for some moments of inspiration. I becometired of sitting and waiting very soon. Then I startrearranging things in the trunk and boxes in thealmirah, or the table + on the shelf. Then by 10AM,when the sun falls slantingly on the southern wall ofmy room from one of the eastern windows, I open thewindows and I ask for the chawki to be brought into mycampus on which I spread a bedsheet and try to baskin the sun. The presence of three sentries (there aretwo on the roof) looking down on me when I take thesun doesn’t encourage me to stay out. I go back to theroom and wait for the lunch. GM [Ganesh Man Singh]comes from his camp at about 10:30 + we take lunch.GM comes from his camp at about 10:30 + we takeour lunch together. GM’s lunch consists of rice, dalvegetables, + if there is meat, a portion of it. I take dal,vegetables, meat (optional). After lunch, which is overat about 11AM, GM goes back to his room + I go to mybed for some rest and sleep. I rest for an hour. Then Ido sunbath, massaging my body with mustard oil all

Back at Sundarijal >55

One day in BP’s life in jailBP Koirala, imprisoned at the Police TrainingCentre in Kathmandu, describes thetediousness of his near-solitary confinement.He describes in excruciating detail his dailyroutine from the time he gets up in his cell tothe time he goes to bed. It is a life he leadsfrom hour to hour, being able to pass 60minutes is itself an achievement. Life isslightly better than at Sundarijal, where hewas in solitary confinement and didn’t haveaccess to newspapers, radio and meetingswith relatives. BP also can’t find the energyto do anything that taxes the mind too much.

the time. It takes about ½ hour. About that time I getRising Nepal + Gorkhapatra + by 12:30 I finish readingthem. Again, I attempt to read till 2PM, when GMcomes to my room for an hour’s joint reading of avoluminous book ‘Mahakali dekhi Mechi samma’. It isa worthless book giving a very superficial informationabout the kingdom, but since it helps me to pass,however boringly, 60 minutes of the day I listen to thereading of the book by GM. Exactly at 3PM GM puts thekettle of water to boil for tea. In the meantime we takesome cheese + biscuits GM takes a glass of teafollowed by a glass of milk with coffee. At about 4PM,he returns to his room and I start pottering about in theroom to make it ready for the evening and the night, ie,I tidy the bed, pull down the mosquito net (there arestill a few mosquitoes in the room, more than theprotection, the net provides against them, it is aprotection against the severe cold of the night). Closethe curtains + draw the blinds and put on the roomheater with a pan of water for the evaporation andhumidity. Then I put on heavy clothes + go out for theevening constitutional, taking a brisk walk for ½ hour. Ireturn to my room + begin to spend the eveningwaiting for the dinner to be served. This is the time Iturn into various stations of radio for a goodprogramme. I don’t find them but the processoccupies me for more than an hour. Sometimes I get

good music. GM comes into my room from the kitchenwhere he goes straight from his room to announcethat dinner is about to be served. I go to the bathroom,wash my hands, peep into the kitchen + ask the boysis the dinner ready, and go to the table for the food.The dinner for me consists of some meat (optional)some dal, vegetables and some pop corn. GM takesdinner with a glass of milk with coffee. Then retires tohis room after listening to broadcasts from BBC + AllIndia. I try both books and radio to find out which ofthem would interest me. This keep me occupied foran hour. Sometimes I get good music, sometimes,not very frequently of course, a book excites interest. Ifinally go to bed at about 10PM, This has been ahealthy change in my daily routine, otherwise I used togo to bed immediately after dinner. The day ends. I putoff the heater, shut the radio, take off the heavyclothing and get into bed with the Times of India thathas just arrived. But the moment my head hits thepillow, I become drowsy. I throw out the paper put onthe night cap and put the table lamp out + go to sleep.Most of the time I get sleep promptly when I close myeyes. On some occasions I also seem to suffer, likeothers, from insomnia. When I feel that I wouldn’t getsleep, I debate in my mind whether I should takevalium or sedative—decide against it. How did Ispend the day?

he late Gopal Yonjan spentyears researching and studyingfolk and traditional as well as

classical Indian and Newari music.While remaining free from any rigidboundaries, his music captures a newNepali pan that is apparent in RituRanga. Yonjan’s compositionsreflect his deep and innate bondwith his art.

This 44 minute-long CD beginswith a flute piece before moving intothree short pieces: ‘Kathmandu’,‘Selo’ and ‘Sagarmatha’, followed bythe six seasonal suite of ‘Grishma’,‘Barsha’, ‘Sharad’, ‘Sishir’ and‘Basanta’ and ends with ‘Rhythms’.Yonjan composed Ritu Ranga in1992 and the rest in 1983.‘Kathmandu’ evokes the rhythmsheard in the Newari bahals and tolesin July and August as the locals maketheir way to Swayambhunath to payhomage to the Buddha during theGunla festival.

‘Selo’ has the trademark TamangDamphu beat interwoven with violin

and flute—a hybrid “highlandgroove”. ‘Ritu Ranga’, the six maincompositions, borrow from theNepal’s cultural identity that isstrongly interwoven with seasonalcycles. ‘Sharad’, for example, reflectsthe sound and verve of Indra Jatrawhile ‘Barsha’ captures theexuberance of the rains with theSantoor, Sitar and bells. The

concluding piece, ‘Rhythms’ is likethe united heartbeat of Nepal. It is apercussion medley that incorporateseverything from the Dholak of thetarai to the Damphu of the hillpeople.

Ritu Ranga is being launched on 3 Marchat the Garden of Six Seasons,

Keshar Mahal.

Songs for all seasonsGopal Yonjan’s compositions inRitu Ranga are a major milestoneT

s host to the European Cup2004, Portugal could shed itsimage as a sort of appendage

to Spain and consolidate a position asa tourist destination.

Portugal is hoping to reap the fruitsof a $745 million investment inbuilding 10 new stadiums for thechampionship that runs 14 June – 4July. No country hosting thisinternational football tournament hasever gone to such lengths.

The Euro Cup is expected toattract more than a half-millionvisitors, in addition to the 9.5 milliontourists arriving here annually, 61percent of whom are Spaniards, Torressaid. From the perspective of thetourism industry, the sector of thePortuguese economy that generatesmost cash, the governmentalcontribution of $132 million towardsthe construction of the 10 stadiums isa reasonable investment, especiallyconsidering the returns in years tocome.

The debate about whether it wasjustified to build 10 stadiums has beenleft behind, and now the focus is onattracting tourists, improving security,building new hotels, reinforcingtransportation, airports, highways,hospitals and public services—anddrawing the advertising dollars of thebig transnationals. President JorgeSampaio described Euro Cup 2004 as“a collective challenge for thecountry,” and Prime Minister JoséManuel Durao Barroso said it is “anunbeatable opportunity to consolidateour international image”. Both havebeen on the frontlines of the “battleto promote” Portugal around theworld.

The tournament premieres with amatch between Portugal and Greecein Oporto, Portugal’s second city, seton the coast 320km north of Lisbon.They will play at Dragao stadium,which holds 52,000 spectators andcost $124 million. Also in Oporto, theBoavista stadium was rebuilt at a costof $56 million and holds 30,000people. The national teams fromDenmark, Germany, Italy,Netherlands, Latvia, Spain and Swedenwill be playing in the Oporto stadiums.

In the southern region of Algarbe,Spain will take on Russia in a stadiumthat holds 30,000 belonging to thecities of Luolé and Faro. The $147million Estadio da Luz, of the Benficaclub in Lisbon, is considered one of

Portugal’sbig chance

the 20 best in the world. It has acapacity for 65,000 spectators and willhost the initial matches betweenCroatia, England, France, Portugal andRussia, as well as the final between thetwo teams that eliminate the other 14.

In Guimaraes, a city in the extremenorth, where Don Afonso Henriquesfounded Portugal in the 13th century,a $106 million stadium was built,bearing his name, and with the capacityfor 30,000 people. The stadiumbelongs to the Vitoria football cluband gained tragic notoriety on 25January when young Hungarian player,Miklos Feher, forward for the Benficaclub, died there of a heart attack. A100km away, in Braga, the nation’s“Catholic capital” according totradition, a $103 million stadium wasbuilt that has a capacity for 30,000.

The national teams of Bulgaria,Denmark, Netherlands, Italy andLatvia will be playing in the Guimaraesand Braga stadiums. Heading 120kmsouth, one runs into Coimbra and its$45 million stadium, which is to hostmatches played by France, England andSwitzerland. The Aveiro and Leiriastadiums, located 150km north of thecapital, were designed by thecontroversial architect Tomás Taveira.The total cost of the two stadiums was$114 million. They will host matchesbetween Croatia, France, England andSwitzerland. (IPS)

UEFA - Euro Cup 2004 (http://www.euro2004.com/competitions/euro/

index.html)

MARIO DE QUEIROZ in LISBON

A

Playing host toEuro 2004 haslots of benefits

golf course is built, golferscome and play and thosewho realise the benefits

and can afford to learn and takeup the sport, do so. Once thingsare running smoothly, somebegin to wonder how the sportcan grow and spread to thosethat find it difficult to even findout if they would be interested.

You have to give somethingto get a return. Be it education,self-improvement courses,setting up and stocking abusiness or industry, giving your

time to a cause and, yes, evenabandoning your principles as abureaucrat or politician–someinvestment or sacrifice has to bemade.

It often takes a person whohas both foresight and passionto see a vision through toimplementation. Many monthsago, when the Himalayan BankLimited (HBL) was planning onways of promoting itself, theidea of a golf tournament wasconsidered.

The Chairman of the Boardof Directors, Himalaya SJB Rana,felt that simply a tournament forpromotion without some furtherbenefit to society would not bein line with HBL’s commitmentto being a socially-responsibleand leading corporate body. Theboard of HBL heartilyconcurred.

When the Himalayan BankOpen Golf Championshipconcluded last Saturday,Chairman Rana announced thatall entry fees collected from thetournament would go towards aGolf Development Fund.

In these cynical times, itwould be easy to take a negativestance about this decision. Onecould say: “There are so manyworthy causes to support, sowhy golf?” The case rests onblending good business

Golf cooperation council

promotion with the developmentof a very popular and lucrativesport that opens up new horizonsfor making both a career and amark in the world.

The benefits can betremendous—learning to be ateaching professional, playingprofessional or even just beingable to play the sport well opensup many avenues of income andcontacts in the business world. Itoften signifies a degree ofsophistication and belonging to afraternity.

The thoughtful use of thisnew fund will be a major steptowards the development of thesport amongst those who wouldnormally not be able to affordaccess to equipment and training.With HBL’s track record ofprofessionalism and dedication, Iforesee exciting developments ofthe sport ahead.

At the award ceremony lastweek, Rana said: “The generalidea is to develop golf byproviding opportunities toyoungsters to start the game. Wehave started it and we want the

golfing community to givemomentum to achieve significantprogress.”

Highlights of the HBL OpenGolf Championship was a winby Tsenthok Dorjee, StationManager of Druk Air, in his firstappearance in a tournament. Hestarted playing golf only after hisposting in Kathmandu last year.

In this space in an earliercolumn I had mentioned howdifficult and rare it was to get a“hole in one”. This golfer’sdream came true for BinodShrestha who was given a specialprize for his incredible shot onprobably the most difficult Par 3hole in South Asia.

HBL has shown thatbusiness promotions withcontributions towards newopportunities can be successfullyimplemented, while Tsenthokproved that one can learn and beable to win a big tournament inless than a year’s time.

Deepak Acharya is a golf instructorand Head Golf Professional at

Gokarna Forest Golf Resort & Spa,Kathmandu. prodeepak@hotmail.com

The first-ever fund for developinggolf in Nepal has been set up. Fore!A

Tsenthok Dorjee, Station Manager of Druk Air, receiving the RunningTrophy from Himalaya SJB Rana of Himalayan Bank last week.

TEE BREAKDeepak Acharya

20 27 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185HISTORY AND CULTURE 2127 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185SPORTS

Cowmandos!

BIGBEN

14-12-77 [continued]After breakfast I want to read + write, I haven’t beenable to do it—total disinclination for any seriousmental work. I sit on the table all right + there isalways a book open before me on the table or writingmaterials—pen + paper. That is all that happens byway of my literary work. I just sit quietly at the tablewaiting for some moments of inspiration. I becometired of sitting and waiting very soon. Then I startrearranging things in the trunk and boxes in thealmirah, or the table + on the shelf. Then by 10AM,when the sun falls slantingly on the southern wall ofmy room from one of the eastern windows, I open thewindows and I ask for the chawki to be brought into mycampus on which I spread a bedsheet and try to baskin the sun. The presence of three sentries (there aretwo on the roof) looking down on me when I take thesun doesn’t encourage me to stay out. I go back to theroom and wait for the lunch. GM [Ganesh Man Singh]comes from his camp at about 10:30 + we take lunch.GM comes from his camp at about 10:30 + we takeour lunch together. GM’s lunch consists of rice, dalvegetables, + if there is meat, a portion of it. I take dal,vegetables, meat (optional). After lunch, which is overat about 11AM, GM goes back to his room + I go to mybed for some rest and sleep. I rest for an hour. Then Ido sunbath, massaging my body with mustard oil all

Back at Sundarijal >55

One day in BP’s life in jailBP Koirala, imprisoned at the Police TrainingCentre in Kathmandu, describes thetediousness of his near-solitary confinement.He describes in excruciating detail his dailyroutine from the time he gets up in his cell tothe time he goes to bed. It is a life he leadsfrom hour to hour, being able to pass 60minutes is itself an achievement. Life isslightly better than at Sundarijal, where hewas in solitary confinement and didn’t haveaccess to newspapers, radio and meetingswith relatives. BP also can’t find the energyto do anything that taxes the mind too much.

the time. It takes about ½ hour. About that time I getRising Nepal + Gorkhapatra + by 12:30 I finish readingthem. Again, I attempt to read till 2PM, when GMcomes to my room for an hour’s joint reading of avoluminous book ‘Mahakali dekhi Mechi samma’. It isa worthless book giving a very superficial informationabout the kingdom, but since it helps me to pass,however boringly, 60 minutes of the day I listen to thereading of the book by GM. Exactly at 3PM GM puts thekettle of water to boil for tea. In the meantime we takesome cheese + biscuits GM takes a glass of teafollowed by a glass of milk with coffee. At about 4PM,he returns to his room and I start pottering about in theroom to make it ready for the evening and the night, ie,I tidy the bed, pull down the mosquito net (there arestill a few mosquitoes in the room, more than theprotection, the net provides against them, it is aprotection against the severe cold of the night). Closethe curtains + draw the blinds and put on the roomheater with a pan of water for the evaporation andhumidity. Then I put on heavy clothes + go out for theevening constitutional, taking a brisk walk for ½ hour. Ireturn to my room + begin to spend the eveningwaiting for the dinner to be served. This is the time Iturn into various stations of radio for a goodprogramme. I don’t find them but the processoccupies me for more than an hour. Sometimes I get

good music. GM comes into my room from the kitchenwhere he goes straight from his room to announcethat dinner is about to be served. I go to the bathroom,wash my hands, peep into the kitchen + ask the boysis the dinner ready, and go to the table for the food.The dinner for me consists of some meat (optional)some dal, vegetables and some pop corn. GM takesdinner with a glass of milk with coffee. Then retires tohis room after listening to broadcasts from BBC + AllIndia. I try both books and radio to find out which ofthem would interest me. This keep me occupied foran hour. Sometimes I get good music, sometimes,not very frequently of course, a book excites interest. Ifinally go to bed at about 10PM, This has been ahealthy change in my daily routine, otherwise I used togo to bed immediately after dinner. The day ends. I putoff the heater, shut the radio, take off the heavyclothing and get into bed with the Times of India thathas just arrived. But the moment my head hits thepillow, I become drowsy. I throw out the paper put onthe night cap and put the table lamp out + go to sleep.Most of the time I get sleep promptly when I close myeyes. On some occasions I also seem to suffer, likeothers, from insomnia. When I feel that I wouldn’t getsleep, I debate in my mind whether I should takevalium or sedative—decide against it. How did Ispend the day?

he late Gopal Yonjan spentyears researching and studyingfolk and traditional as well as

classical Indian and Newari music.While remaining free from any rigidboundaries, his music captures a newNepali pan that is apparent in RituRanga. Yonjan’s compositionsreflect his deep and innate bondwith his art.

This 44 minute-long CD beginswith a flute piece before moving intothree short pieces: ‘Kathmandu’,‘Selo’ and ‘Sagarmatha’, followed bythe six seasonal suite of ‘Grishma’,‘Barsha’, ‘Sharad’, ‘Sishir’ and‘Basanta’ and ends with ‘Rhythms’.Yonjan composed Ritu Ranga in1992 and the rest in 1983.‘Kathmandu’ evokes the rhythmsheard in the Newari bahals and tolesin July and August as the locals maketheir way to Swayambhunath to payhomage to the Buddha during theGunla festival.

‘Selo’ has the trademark TamangDamphu beat interwoven with violin

and flute—a hybrid “highlandgroove”. ‘Ritu Ranga’, the six maincompositions, borrow from theNepal’s cultural identity that isstrongly interwoven with seasonalcycles. ‘Sharad’, for example, reflectsthe sound and verve of Indra Jatrawhile ‘Barsha’ captures theexuberance of the rains with theSantoor, Sitar and bells. The

concluding piece, ‘Rhythms’ is likethe united heartbeat of Nepal. It is apercussion medley that incorporateseverything from the Dholak of thetarai to the Damphu of the hillpeople.

Ritu Ranga is being launched on 3 Marchat the Garden of Six Seasons,

Keshar Mahal.

Songs for all seasonsGopal Yonjan’s compositions inRitu Ranga are a major milestoneT

s host to the European Cup2004, Portugal could shed itsimage as a sort of appendage

to Spain and consolidate a position asa tourist destination.

Portugal is hoping to reap the fruitsof a $745 million investment inbuilding 10 new stadiums for thechampionship that runs 14 June – 4July. No country hosting thisinternational football tournament hasever gone to such lengths.

The Euro Cup is expected toattract more than a half-millionvisitors, in addition to the 9.5 milliontourists arriving here annually, 61percent of whom are Spaniards, Torressaid. From the perspective of thetourism industry, the sector of thePortuguese economy that generatesmost cash, the governmentalcontribution of $132 million towardsthe construction of the 10 stadiums isa reasonable investment, especiallyconsidering the returns in years tocome.

The debate about whether it wasjustified to build 10 stadiums has beenleft behind, and now the focus is onattracting tourists, improving security,building new hotels, reinforcingtransportation, airports, highways,hospitals and public services—anddrawing the advertising dollars of thebig transnationals. President JorgeSampaio described Euro Cup 2004 as“a collective challenge for thecountry,” and Prime Minister JoséManuel Durao Barroso said it is “anunbeatable opportunity to consolidateour international image”. Both havebeen on the frontlines of the “battleto promote” Portugal around theworld.

The tournament premieres with amatch between Portugal and Greecein Oporto, Portugal’s second city, seton the coast 320km north of Lisbon.They will play at Dragao stadium,which holds 52,000 spectators andcost $124 million. Also in Oporto, theBoavista stadium was rebuilt at a costof $56 million and holds 30,000people. The national teams fromDenmark, Germany, Italy,Netherlands, Latvia, Spain and Swedenwill be playing in the Oporto stadiums.

In the southern region of Algarbe,Spain will take on Russia in a stadiumthat holds 30,000 belonging to thecities of Luolé and Faro. The $147million Estadio da Luz, of the Benficaclub in Lisbon, is considered one of

Portugal’sbig chance

the 20 best in the world. It has acapacity for 65,000 spectators and willhost the initial matches betweenCroatia, England, France, Portugal andRussia, as well as the final between thetwo teams that eliminate the other 14.

In Guimaraes, a city in the extremenorth, where Don Afonso Henriquesfounded Portugal in the 13th century,a $106 million stadium was built,bearing his name, and with the capacityfor 30,000 people. The stadiumbelongs to the Vitoria football cluband gained tragic notoriety on 25January when young Hungarian player,Miklos Feher, forward for the Benficaclub, died there of a heart attack. A100km away, in Braga, the nation’s“Catholic capital” according totradition, a $103 million stadium wasbuilt that has a capacity for 30,000.

The national teams of Bulgaria,Denmark, Netherlands, Italy andLatvia will be playing in the Guimaraesand Braga stadiums. Heading 120kmsouth, one runs into Coimbra and its$45 million stadium, which is to hostmatches played by France, England andSwitzerland. The Aveiro and Leiriastadiums, located 150km north of thecapital, were designed by thecontroversial architect Tomás Taveira.The total cost of the two stadiums was$114 million. They will host matchesbetween Croatia, France, England andSwitzerland. (IPS)

UEFA - Euro Cup 2004 (http://www.euro2004.com/competitions/euro/

index.html)

MARIO DE QUEIROZ in LISBON

A

Playing host toEuro 2004 haslots of benefits

golf course is built, golferscome and play and thosewho realise the benefits

and can afford to learn and takeup the sport, do so. Once thingsare running smoothly, somebegin to wonder how the sportcan grow and spread to thosethat find it difficult to even findout if they would be interested.

You have to give somethingto get a return. Be it education,self-improvement courses,setting up and stocking abusiness or industry, giving your

time to a cause and, yes, evenabandoning your principles as abureaucrat or politician–someinvestment or sacrifice has to bemade.

It often takes a person whohas both foresight and passionto see a vision through toimplementation. Many monthsago, when the Himalayan BankLimited (HBL) was planning onways of promoting itself, theidea of a golf tournament wasconsidered.

The Chairman of the Boardof Directors, Himalaya SJB Rana,felt that simply a tournament forpromotion without some furtherbenefit to society would not bein line with HBL’s commitmentto being a socially-responsibleand leading corporate body. Theboard of HBL heartilyconcurred.

When the Himalayan BankOpen Golf Championshipconcluded last Saturday,Chairman Rana announced thatall entry fees collected from thetournament would go towards aGolf Development Fund.

In these cynical times, itwould be easy to take a negativestance about this decision. Onecould say: “There are so manyworthy causes to support, sowhy golf?” The case rests onblending good business

Golf cooperation council

promotion with the developmentof a very popular and lucrativesport that opens up new horizonsfor making both a career and amark in the world.

The benefits can betremendous—learning to be ateaching professional, playingprofessional or even just beingable to play the sport well opensup many avenues of income andcontacts in the business world. Itoften signifies a degree ofsophistication and belonging to afraternity.

The thoughtful use of thisnew fund will be a major steptowards the development of thesport amongst those who wouldnormally not be able to affordaccess to equipment and training.With HBL’s track record ofprofessionalism and dedication, Iforesee exciting developments ofthe sport ahead.

At the award ceremony lastweek, Rana said: “The generalidea is to develop golf byproviding opportunities toyoungsters to start the game. Wehave started it and we want the

golfing community to givemomentum to achieve significantprogress.”

Highlights of the HBL OpenGolf Championship was a winby Tsenthok Dorjee, StationManager of Druk Air, in his firstappearance in a tournament. Hestarted playing golf only after hisposting in Kathmandu last year.

In this space in an earliercolumn I had mentioned howdifficult and rare it was to get a“hole in one”. This golfer’sdream came true for BinodShrestha who was given a specialprize for his incredible shot onprobably the most difficult Par 3hole in South Asia.

HBL has shown thatbusiness promotions withcontributions towards newopportunities can be successfullyimplemented, while Tsenthokproved that one can learn and beable to win a big tournament inless than a year’s time.

Deepak Acharya is a golf instructorand Head Golf Professional at

Gokarna Forest Golf Resort & Spa,Kathmandu. prodeepak@hotmail.com

The first-ever fund for developinggolf in Nepal has been set up. Fore!A

Tsenthok Dorjee, Station Manager of Druk Air, receiving the RunningTrophy from Himalaya SJB Rana of Himalayan Bank last week.

TEE BREAKDeepak Acharya

ABOUT TOWN

FESTIVALS AND EXHIBITIONSSadhus: The Great Renouncers Photographs by Thomas Kelly till 29February at Indigo Gallery, Naxal.For the sake of love Sculpture, painting and print exhibition till 2March at Gallery Moksh, inside Club Hardic, Jhamsikhel. 5528703Reflection and Reality Paintings by Erina Tamrakar till 7 March atGallery Nine, Lazimpat. 4428694Dolpo Lives Paintings by Tenzin Norbu 6-20 March at Shangri-laHotel, Lazimpat 10AM – 4PM

EVENTSNepal Ride Daman, Sauraha andPokhara with Himalayan Enfielders andVW rally from 4-6 March. 4440462Aarohan Theatre Group presents HenrikIbsen’s A Dolls House at Sama natakghar, Gurukul, Old Baneshwar. Weekends till 14 March. Tickets: Rs 25(for students), Rs 50 and Rs 100. 4466956Introduction to Foot Reflexology 6-7:30 PM, 1 March. Above theEverest Bookstore at Babar Mahal Revisited. 4425931Dhokaima Saturday Haat from 10AM-1PM at Dhokaima Café, PatanDhoka. Organic vegetables, ceramics and more. 5522113

MUSICLifted Higher DJs St Yves, Baba and Crystal Zero from 7:30 PMonwards on 28 February, Via Via café, ThamelThe Trio Givone Gypsy Jazz band from France, every night from 7PMonwards at the Piano Lounge & Bar, Hotel Yak and Yeti. 4248999

FOODSunny Side Up BBQ lunch with live music at the Garden Terrace,Soaltee Crowne Plaza Kathmandu, every Saturday and Sunday. Rs650 per person. 4273999Café U in Sanepa, Patan, opposite British School is now servingdinner every Friday and Saturday night. 5523263Roadhouse Cafe for speciality coffees. Opp St Mary’s School,Pulchowk. 5521755

GETAWAYSEscape to Godavari on a special halfboard package for Nepalis andexpatriates at the Godavari Village Resort, Taukhel. 5560675Pure relaxation Award winning Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge. 014361500 TMPL Reservations or reservations@tigermountain.comShivapuri Cottage Dadagaon luxury package of gourmet meals,board and transport. Highland Travel & Tours. 4253352, 4253053Golf in the Valley’s last pristine forest. Gokarna Forest Golf Resort &Spa 4451212Weekend Special for Rs 3,000 per couple, Park Village Resort,Budhanilkantha. 4375280

In spite of the bandas on Tuesday, 17 February and the public holidays on18-19 February, average pollution levels last week in Kathmandu werestill higher than the previous week. On the banda day, the PM10 (particlesthat are small enough to enter the human body) concentration in PutaliSadak went down by 30 percent, but it jumped back to ‘normal’ pre-bandalevels on the following days. The banda did not have a major impact onthe air quality in outlying areas such as Kirtipur, Bhaktapur andMatsyagaun which is another proof that PM10 is linked mostly to vehicularemissions. Lord Shiva may be partly blamed for the high level of PM10last week as many Kathmanduites lit bonfires to celebrate Shivaratri.

Good < 60Ok 61 to 120Unhealthy 121 to 350Harmful 351 to 425Hazardous >425

What you burn iswhat you breathe.

Putalisadak Patan H Thamel TU Bhaktapu Matsyagaun

91.2

KATHMANDU AIR QUALITY

22 27 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185CITY 2327 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185

HAPPENINGS

BLESSED BE: Women make offerings on Wednesday at the Samyakfestival in Patan, which is held once every five years.

ACROSS BORDERS: Indian Foreign Secretary Shashank meets withNepal’s Ambassador-at-Large, Bheg Bahadur Thapa on Monday.

KATHMANDU VALLEY

The latest satellite images show cloudsscurrying over Nepal from the west. Awesterly jet propelling them all the way fromthe Mediterranean Sea has enough moistureto bring light rains to western and centralNepal early next week. The haze is growingthicker as the sand and dust from the plainsis blow into our hills. Temperatures will climbsteadily and this trend remains intact till abrisk southwesterly wind will makes a cleansweep of the skies. Other freaky featuresof this week’s weather was Dipayal hitting30 degrees Celsius and 6mm of rain inTaplejung.

by MAUSAM BEEDNEPALI WEATHERVIS -26-02-2004 05:00 GMT

BOOKWORM

Courtesy: Mandala Book Point, Kantipath, 4227711, mandala@ccsl.com.np

JAI NEPAL CINEMAFrom 20 February Call 4442220 for show timings. www.jainepal.com

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Get 10 % exclusive discount on the normalsubscription rate of Himalmedia’s publicationnamely; Himal Khabarpatrika, Nepali Timesand Wave magazine. Only at the GrihiniDepartment Store limited,Baluwatar, Phone: 4415186

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KIRAN PANDAY

KIRAN PANDAY

POSTER GIRL: Student activists cover walls with political posters onWednesday in preparation for the Thursday student elections.

KIRAN PANDAY

Against the Current Don Messerschmidt with Dina BangdelOrchid Press, 2004

Rs 850This is a biography of Nepali writer, painter and art historian Lain Singh Bangdel, the

“Renaissance man” of Nepal, chronicling his journey through the world of art toeventual national and international fame. Accompanied by photographs and color plates

of his paintings, Messerschmidt’s account of this unique figure in Nepali history is amust-read.

KIRAN PANDAY

BIRD’S VIEW: A policeman with a riot gun watches over the studentelections at Ratna Rajya Campus on Thursday.

It has been a while since Hollywood has produced a bonafideaction hero, but it appears that one has finally emerged. Lookout Vin Diesel, because the Rock appears ready to roll. He isthe Schwarzenegger of the 2000s with a comprehensibleaccent. In Welcome to the Jungle - The Rundown, directorPeter Berg has wisely kept computer animators on a shortleash. The story is simple: Beck (The Rock), a self-described“Retrieval Expert”, finds himself in Brazil on his latest job. Hismission is to locate Travis (Seann William Scott), his boss’sson, and bring him to California. Welcome offers everything agood movie of this sort should: plenty of suspenseful action, afew good laughs and a share of obligatory “reluctant buddy”bonding. If you’re in the mood for this sort of lightheartedentertainment, it’s right on the money.

Welcome to the jungleThe rundown

KIRAN PANDAY

NEPALI SOCIETY

ven before activists hadstarted struggling foraffirmative action to reserve

civil service jobs for women,Bindra Hada was already climbingup the career ladder with quietdetermination.

That is Bindra’s style: don’tmake a big fuss, just do your jobprofessionally. As the first everfemale director general of theDepartment of Commerce, Bindradoes not believe that thegovernment has everdiscriminated against assigningwomen to top senior posts. “Youhave to prove yourself withprofessionalism and hard workstarting from school,” she says.

After working seven years as ageochemist at the Department ofMines and Geology, Bindradecided it was time to move fromthe lab to administration. Her no-nonsense style and efficiencymeant she had nowhere togo but up. You can tellBindra is not a whiner.She has a positiveoutlook and firmlybelieves that hard workand integrity pay off inthe end. These valuesand her steelydetermination are anasset as she takes onthe combined might ofgas station dealers whooppose her campaign

Bindra’s beliefagainst fuel adulteration.

“You need a bit of ambition inlife,” she smiles, confiding that herreal ambition was to be an airlinepilot but she didn’t have enoughmoney to go abroad for training. “Ihave no regrets,” says Bindra now,satisfied that she has set standardsfor the bureaucracy and, in her ownsmall way, changed the public’sperception of how things are run.

“Traditionally, bureaucrats areseen as inefficient, dishonest andlazy. I want to change that,” she saysfirmly. “It can be done.” She isworking to turn the Department ofCommerce into one of thegovernment’s best departments.

Bindra believes Nepal’scivil service is improvingand that top bureaucrats

are younger, better educated,have more energy andcommitment. When Bindra first satat the director general’s desk, ittook some time to get used to therespect shown by her junior malestaff. Once she overheard themsay: “Wow, even a woman can dothis job!”

Asked about her two daughtersand husband who is a Bahun, andwhy she keeps her Newari maidenname, Bindra laughs it off. Shesteers the interview deftly back toher job: show she is in chargeof 42 staff. She’s a leader, not aboss.

(Naresh Newar)

E

EASY TARGET: Soldiers inspect the wreckage of an electric threewheelerwhich was blown apart by a bomb on Thursday afternoon near theRNAC Building.

MIN BAJRACHARYA

ABOUT TOWN

FESTIVALS AND EXHIBITIONSSadhus: The Great Renouncers Photographs by Thomas Kelly till 29February at Indigo Gallery, Naxal.For the sake of love Sculpture, painting and print exhibition till 2March at Gallery Moksh, inside Club Hardic, Jhamsikhel. 5528703Reflection and Reality Paintings by Erina Tamrakar till 7 March atGallery Nine, Lazimpat. 4428694Dolpo Lives Paintings by Tenzin Norbu 6-20 March at Shangri-laHotel, Lazimpat 10AM – 4PM

EVENTSNepal Ride Daman, Sauraha andPokhara with Himalayan Enfielders andVW rally from 4-6 March. 4440462Aarohan Theatre Group presents HenrikIbsen’s A Dolls House at Sama natakghar, Gurukul, Old Baneshwar. Weekends till 14 March. Tickets: Rs 25(for students), Rs 50 and Rs 100. 4466956Introduction to Foot Reflexology 6-7:30 PM, 1 March. Above theEverest Bookstore at Babar Mahal Revisited. 4425931Dhokaima Saturday Haat from 10AM-1PM at Dhokaima Café, PatanDhoka. Organic vegetables, ceramics and more. 5522113

MUSICLifted Higher DJs St Yves, Baba and Crystal Zero from 7:30 PMonwards on 28 February, Via Via café, ThamelThe Trio Givone Gypsy Jazz band from France, every night from 7PMonwards at the Piano Lounge & Bar, Hotel Yak and Yeti. 4248999

FOODSunny Side Up BBQ lunch with live music at the Garden Terrace,Soaltee Crowne Plaza Kathmandu, every Saturday and Sunday. Rs650 per person. 4273999Café U in Sanepa, Patan, opposite British School is now servingdinner every Friday and Saturday night. 5523263Roadhouse Cafe for speciality coffees. Opp St Mary’s School,Pulchowk. 5521755

GETAWAYSEscape to Godavari on a special halfboard package for Nepalis andexpatriates at the Godavari Village Resort, Taukhel. 5560675Pure relaxation Award winning Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge. 014361500 TMPL Reservations or reservations@tigermountain.comShivapuri Cottage Dadagaon luxury package of gourmet meals,board and transport. Highland Travel & Tours. 4253352, 4253053Golf in the Valley’s last pristine forest. Gokarna Forest Golf Resort &Spa 4451212Weekend Special for Rs 3,000 per couple, Park Village Resort,Budhanilkantha. 4375280

In spite of the bandas on Tuesday, 17 February and the public holidays on18-19 February, average pollution levels last week in Kathmandu werestill higher than the previous week. On the banda day, the PM10 (particlesthat are small enough to enter the human body) concentration in PutaliSadak went down by 30 percent, but it jumped back to ‘normal’ pre-bandalevels on the following days. The banda did not have a major impact onthe air quality in outlying areas such as Kirtipur, Bhaktapur andMatsyagaun which is another proof that PM10 is linked mostly to vehicularemissions. Lord Shiva may be partly blamed for the high level of PM10last week as many Kathmanduites lit bonfires to celebrate Shivaratri.

Good < 60Ok 61 to 120Unhealthy 121 to 350Harmful 351 to 425Hazardous >425

What you burn iswhat you breathe.

Putalisadak Patan H Thamel TU Bhaktapu Matsyagaun

91.2

KATHMANDU AIR QUALITY

22 27 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185CITY 2327 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185

HAPPENINGS

BLESSED BE: Women make offerings on Wednesday at the Samyakfestival in Patan, which is held once every five years.

ACROSS BORDERS: Indian Foreign Secretary Shashank meets withNepal’s Ambassador-at-Large, Bheg Bahadur Thapa on Monday.

KATHMANDU VALLEY

The latest satellite images show cloudsscurrying over Nepal from the west. Awesterly jet propelling them all the way fromthe Mediterranean Sea has enough moistureto bring light rains to western and centralNepal early next week. The haze is growingthicker as the sand and dust from the plainsis blow into our hills. Temperatures will climbsteadily and this trend remains intact till abrisk southwesterly wind will makes a cleansweep of the skies. Other freaky featuresof this week’s weather was Dipayal hitting30 degrees Celsius and 6mm of rain inTaplejung.

by MAUSAM BEEDNEPALI WEATHERVIS -26-02-2004 05:00 GMT

BOOKWORM

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KIRAN PANDAY

POSTER GIRL: Student activists cover walls with political posters onWednesday in preparation for the Thursday student elections.

KIRAN PANDAY

Against the Current Don Messerschmidt with Dina BangdelOrchid Press, 2004

Rs 850This is a biography of Nepali writer, painter and art historian Lain Singh Bangdel, the

“Renaissance man” of Nepal, chronicling his journey through the world of art toeventual national and international fame. Accompanied by photographs and color plates

of his paintings, Messerschmidt’s account of this unique figure in Nepali history is amust-read.

KIRAN PANDAY

BIRD’S VIEW: A policeman with a riot gun watches over the studentelections at Ratna Rajya Campus on Thursday.

It has been a while since Hollywood has produced a bonafideaction hero, but it appears that one has finally emerged. Lookout Vin Diesel, because the Rock appears ready to roll. He isthe Schwarzenegger of the 2000s with a comprehensibleaccent. In Welcome to the Jungle - The Rundown, directorPeter Berg has wisely kept computer animators on a shortleash. The story is simple: Beck (The Rock), a self-described“Retrieval Expert”, finds himself in Brazil on his latest job. Hismission is to locate Travis (Seann William Scott), his boss’sson, and bring him to California. Welcome offers everything agood movie of this sort should: plenty of suspenseful action, afew good laughs and a share of obligatory “reluctant buddy”bonding. If you’re in the mood for this sort of lightheartedentertainment, it’s right on the money.

Welcome to the jungleThe rundown

KIRAN PANDAY

NEPALI SOCIETY

ven before activists hadstarted struggling foraffirmative action to reserve

civil service jobs for women,Bindra Hada was already climbingup the career ladder with quietdetermination.

That is Bindra’s style: don’tmake a big fuss, just do your jobprofessionally. As the first everfemale director general of theDepartment of Commerce, Bindradoes not believe that thegovernment has everdiscriminated against assigningwomen to top senior posts. “Youhave to prove yourself withprofessionalism and hard workstarting from school,” she says.

After working seven years as ageochemist at the Department ofMines and Geology, Bindradecided it was time to move fromthe lab to administration. Her no-nonsense style and efficiencymeant she had nowhere togo but up. You can tellBindra is not a whiner.She has a positiveoutlook and firmlybelieves that hard workand integrity pay off inthe end. These valuesand her steelydetermination are anasset as she takes onthe combined might ofgas station dealers whooppose her campaign

Bindra’s beliefagainst fuel adulteration.

“You need a bit of ambition inlife,” she smiles, confiding that herreal ambition was to be an airlinepilot but she didn’t have enoughmoney to go abroad for training. “Ihave no regrets,” says Bindra now,satisfied that she has set standardsfor the bureaucracy and, in her ownsmall way, changed the public’sperception of how things are run.

“Traditionally, bureaucrats areseen as inefficient, dishonest andlazy. I want to change that,” she saysfirmly. “It can be done.” She isworking to turn the Department ofCommerce into one of thegovernment’s best departments.

Bindra believes Nepal’scivil service is improvingand that top bureaucrats

are younger, better educated,have more energy andcommitment. When Bindra first satat the director general’s desk, ittook some time to get used to therespect shown by her junior malestaff. Once she overheard themsay: “Wow, even a woman can dothis job!”

Asked about her two daughtersand husband who is a Bahun, andwhy she keeps her Newari maidenname, Bindra laughs it off. Shesteers the interview deftly back toher job: show she is in chargeof 42 staff. She’s a leader, not aboss.

(Naresh Newar)

E

EASY TARGET: Soldiers inspect the wreckage of an electric threewheelerwhich was blown apart by a bomb on Thursday afternoon near theRNAC Building.

MIN BAJRACHARYA

#185 27 February - 6 March 2004 24 pages Rs 25

Subscriber’s copy

Weekly Internet Poll # 126. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.comQ. How would you describe the status ofhuman rights in Nepal?

Total votes:991

Weekly Internet Poll # 125Q. Do you agree the extradition of two seniorMaoists indicates New Delhi’s policy shift?

n the end, it is always ordinaryNepalis who suffer when food isused as a weapon.When the Maoists looted food

destined for the mid and far-westerndistricts two months ago, the UN’sWorld Food Programme (WFP)suspended its aid which was alifeline in this traditionally fooddeficit area of Nepal. The conflicthas made the situation much moreprecarious and the people of Bajuraand other districts are on the movein search of food and work.

Many families from remote areasof Bajura have descended to thedistrict headquarter in Martadi. Oneof them is Dal Bahadur Biswakarma,who says, “After the food-for-workprogram pulled out, we had no morehope. We had to come here.” He saysmany of the younger men from hisvillage and adjoining areas have goneto India. The ones who end up inMartadi are the poorest of the poor:they don’t even have money for thebus fare to the south.

The WFP aid was the last hopefor about 10,000 people in thisdistrict who, for the past threeyears,worked in road and bridgeconstruction in return for foodgrains. But when the Maoists looted6,500kg of rice being taken onmountain goats from Sanfebagar toBajura on 22 December, WFPsuspended its program.

Besides Bajura, the UN has

UMID BAGCHAND in BAJURA

suspended food aid in Dailekhbecause of the security situation.Kailali and Kanchanpur of thewestern tarai have also been hit.However, the WFP’s sub-regionalchief here, Padam Bahadur Singh,said food for aid is due to restart inRukum and Rolpa later this year and400,000kg of grain has beenearmarked. The other food aiddonor, the German group GTZ,works in 30 districts and also pulledout of Dailekh in December. “Butwe have received assurances from theMaoists, there is more security now,and we will restart the aid soon,” saidDietrich Stotz from GTZ.

However, locals are alreadyrunning low on food. This is usuallythe time of year adult men fromevery family from these partsmigrated in search of jobs, but thisyear entire families are moving out.

At last week’s Bajura DistrictDevelopment Committee meeting,the contractor transporting the grainto Bajura was blamed for beinghand-in-glove with the Maoists.Committee members hope suppliescould restart if the WFP can beconvinced it was a security breach.

Local Development OfficerSurya Nath Koirala told us manyBajura families are on the verge ofstarvation. “We are lookingat unimaginable suffering if thefood-for-work program does notresume.”

Rizal’s fastBhutani human rights leader in exileTeknath Rizal says he will soon goon a hunger strike outside the SAARCSecretariat in Kathmandu if Bhutandoes not begin repatriating refugees.Rizal is sending a letter to theBhutani king asking him to starttaking back the 100,000 Bhutanirefugees in Nepal and 30,000 inIndia who were evicted 13 years ago.“If the king does not respond,” Rizalsaid, “I will begin my fast-unto-death.”Rizal spent 12 years in jail in Bhutanafter being extradited by Nepal’sPanchayat government and wasreleased after an internationalcampaign by Amnesty International.

ADULT FRANCHISE: A student casts her ballot in elections for the PadmaKanya Campus student union on Thursday. Turnout was about 25 percent atvalley colleges despite threats and a five-day strike by the Maoists. Analyststook this as an indication that it may also be possible to hold national andlocal elections if there is political will.

KIRAN PANDAY

Ballot lesson

IUPHILL

2 4

ww

w.ne

palit

imes

.com

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

27 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2004 #185

very four years, in his infinite wisdom, God gives humankind abonus day. This Leap Year it falls on Sunday, 29 February—areward from the Almighty for living our daily lives fulfilling Lord

Bishnu’s wishes, and an extra 24-hour period in which we can do gooddeeds like eradicate polio and punish the corrupt.

And what a windfall it has been for our subterranean comrades whosmartly seized the opportunity to incorporate the extra day in theirmarathon five-day banda and bring the country to another grinding halt.Using the Gregarious Calendar to convert a four-day strike into a five-day strike without actually adding a day is a stroke of genius.

Physicists and social scientists are fascinated by how Nepal has defiedNewton’s Law by proving that abody in a state of rest can actuallybe brought to a state of even greaterrest by the application of an

external force. From the scientific point of view, it is a discovery of thesame magnitude as being able to attain a temperature even colder thanabsolute zero.

Most Nepalis now realise that things can’t go on like this any longer:we can’t wait another four years for another Leap Day. We must be morecreative, even more resourceful and inspired in inventing new ways ofdoing nothing. As usual, His Majesty’s Government lacks the politicalwill to do nothing. It must standardise and streamline the applicationprocedure for declaring general strikes and hartals so that they don’t fallon weekends and national holidays, so that the banda calls by variousfactions don’t clash and to coordinate the timetable for strikes bybringing out a shutdown calendar for 2061.

The government must immediately set up a Department ofBandobast under the Ministry of Home and Hearth so people can stayhome and relax. If the government doesn’t fulfil these demands withimmediate effect, we will declare a general strike as soon as the currentgeneral strike is over, that is if someone else hasn’t already declared ageneral strike on those days, in which case we will strike at the nextopportunistic moment.

There are many ways we, as citizens, can exercise our rights in ademocracy as we have seen in recent weeks: Lightning Strike: Work stoppage without warning, doesn’t strike the

same place twice Lucky Strike: A strike which achieves its result as a result of a fluke and

not because of the force of its logic General Strike: Work-to-rule by top army brass Three Strikes: Means you’re out Transport Entrepreneurs Strike: Nepali entrepreneurship at its shiny

best under which passengers are required to ride on the roof and not sitin reclining seats in air conditioned comfort, because that would beagainst the national interest, and we need to protect domestic industry,don’t we? Gas Station Strike: If the government doesn’t let us rob people in

broad daylight hours and expose them to carcinogens, we will close downour pumps indefinitely Pre-emptive Strike: Announcing your banda before someone else

announces his banda, also known as ‘The Early Worm Ends Up in theBird’s Gizzard’ Ramp Bus Strike: Airlines care so much about passenger safety they are

willing to lose Rs 3 million a day to keep forcing domesticated passengersto ride ramp buses built in the early Malla period out of discarded tincans Hunger Strike:: This is what most Nepalis have been doing for

the past few decades Pen-down Strike: This column will be terminated with immediate

effect in defiance of the Essential Services Act unless the governmentensures the uninterrupted supply of taxfree hats at a subsidised rate, andbans the imports of cheap Indian hats

Strike whilethe iron is hot

UNDER MY HATKunda Dixit

E