Kathmandu l 9-15 Apr 2007 l # 11 l Price Rs. 25

ä nf correspondent

Prime Minister G P Koirala may have manyvirtues, but propriety is not one of them. Backfrom India after attending 14th SAARC summit,he is now accused of having breached simplenorms of a leader and of having committedimpropriety. The list of such acts is long, but thegravest of them was asking journalists onforeign soil not to address Gyanendra as “King.”“It might make some people including Maoists

happy. But it was an act of treachery andimpropriety,” a Supreme Court advocate fumed.

The language that Koirala spoke has notbeen appreciated even in his own party circle,but King Gyanendra’s unpopularity and anti-democratic credentials, apparently makes manypeople reluctant to criticise Koirala.

But no one supports the PM either. He isridiculed even in the bureaucratic circles wherehis criticism until a few days ago was almosttaboo. A source in Shital Niwas said, "His

actions give enough space for suspicion. Heasked his own foreign secretary; his advisorsand others to get out of the room when a seniordignitary from India visited Kathmandu afterKoirala became the Prime Minister."

Koirala’s Delhi visits in the past have alsobrought him into controversy, beginning with himsigning the Tanakpur agreement, and latermisleading parliament by saying he only signeda ‘Memorandum of Understanding.’

Apart from what he said about the King, andhis conscious efforts at keeping his own ForeignMinister, Sahana Pradhan, away from allimportant business, especially during the meetingwith Indian dignitaries is also being taken as lackof minimum courtesy. In all his meetings withIndian leaders, Prime Minister chose thecompany of his daughter Sujata. Sahana was tobe seen nowhere. After returning, she is believed

to have lodged a strong protest with Koirala aswell as CPN-UML provoking UML GeneralSecretary Madhav Kumar Nepal to suspect‘Congress—Maoist’ secret deal against his party.

Some of the think-tanks in India includingSouth Asia security expert, Prof S D Muni who isclose to Nepali Congress and Maoists believethat UML does not want the monarchyscrapped. “And Koirala probably wanted to givehis anti-monarchy image from India, under theinfluence of those quarters,” a UML leader said.He added, “We will be publicly speaking aboutthe humiliating treatment meted out to ourleader Sahana Pradhan by Koirala once wediscuss the issue in the party.”

Koirala was not happy with the nomination ofSahana Pradhan as Foreign Minister by theUML, but had to give in as the ministry fell in theUML quota. ä

Impropriety

April uprising: Janajati protestors being stoppedby police in front of Singhadurbar on Sunday

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9-15 Apr, 20072 News

AmbassadorialTug O’ War

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ä nf correspondent

The tussle between Prime MinisterG P Koirala and Speaker SubhashNembwang over the appointmentof Ambassadors to more than adozen countries appears headedfor a major show-down.

The Prime Minister seems to bekeen on by-passing the provision ofthe interim constitution which makesit mandatory for the SpecialCommittee of the House headed bythe Speaker to confirm (or reject)the Government nominees for theAmbassadorial appointment.

“Violation of the constitutionalprovision may not send the rightsignal,” Speaker Nembwang isbelieved to have told the PM recently.That amounted to the Speaker notendorsing PM’s suggestion to bypassthe hearing and confirmation by theHouse Committee. “The emergingtussle is likely take the form of aconfrontation between the executiveand the legislature if Koirala insistsupon skipping parliamentary hearing,”a Joint Secretary in Foreign Ministrytold newsfront.

Koirala seems to have alreadychanged the earlier list of Ambassa-dorial nominees with MurariSharma replacing that of BhagirathBasnyat for the United Kingdom.Similarly, the Government is alsocontemplating sending Surya KiranGurung who holds the status ofspecial class officer in his capacityas the Secretary General inparliamentary secretariat asAmbassador to Moscow, wherenormally a Joint Secretary rankofficer is posted.

Shital Niwas sources claim that PMis now in favour of invoking parlia-mentary hearing only for filling-up theconstitutional posts, and sinceambassadors do not fall in thatcategory the House hearing can bedone away with. The Speaker,

despite his reservations, did notchallenge the Government whenKoirala appointed Arjun Prasad Singhas Chairman of the Commission fordelimitation of parliament constituen-cies in Terai with the rank of aSupreme Court Judge. “As the issuewas urgent and the commission’stenure was only two weeks, theSpeaker did not object. But nowKoirala seems to use that asprecedence for other appointments,”parliament secretariat source said.

In fact, the provision of themandatory hearing and confirma-tion by the House Committee camein the way of appointing Chief of theNational Human Rights Commis-sion. Former Chief Justice of theSupreme Court, Bishwa NathUpadhyay, is believed to haveagreed to head the commission onrequest of the PM, but he refusedto appear before the Housecommittee, according to thesources in the PM’s office. “I am not

going to appear before the Housecommittee and tell members that Iam qualified for the post of NHRCChief, and therefore please confirmme,” Upadhyay is said to have toldKoirala.

The ongoing row betweenKoirala and the Speaker, however,is likely to delay all pendingappointments especially in thediplomatic services as well as theconstitutional bodies.

A Shital Niwas source divulgedthat the confusion regarding as towhom the envoys coming to Nepalshould submit their credentials hasbeen sorted out, only after a coupleof ambassador designates had togo back disappointed. Canada’sambassador designate was onesuch victim of confusion. “Now it willbe submitted to the PM in hiscapacity as the Head of the State.And the first to do that will be newChinese Ambassador who is due toarrive here on April 11.

ä nf correspondent

They may not be strange bedfellows; but if what Dr. ShekharKoirala, Prime Minister G PKoirala’s powerful nephew said,can be trusted, the NepaliCongress and Congress (D) willbe united in a month’s time.

That would mean G P Koiralaand Sher Bahadur Deuba comingtogether, with the latter either asthe Working President or as thefirst Vice President. The possiblehierarchy in the united Congresswill also ensure that Sushil Koiralawill be third in the line of succes-sion to the elder Koirala.

“Yes, Prime Minister is veryserious about it and wants toexpedite the process,” Dr ShekharKoirala told newsfront. There is,however, neither any formalcommittee nor proposal moved bythe two political parties for theunification. The Nepali Congresshad split in May 2002 at the heightof Koirala-Deuba tussle.

But there are basic differencesin the approach of the two parties.The Nepali Congress (D) wantscertain issues like “JAMADAMA”(Janajati, Madheshi, Dalit andMahila) empowerment under acommon formula; and NepaliCongress is keener to formalisethe merger and settle the issues

FamiliarBed-Fellows

later. “We were one party beforeand the split was triggered moreby personality differences thandifferences on issues,” said aCongress Working CommitteeMember.

“We have discussed the issuefew times but we have notreached any conclusion so far.Let’s see how things move,”Deuba told newsfront. Whilethere seems to be an under-standing in principle that the twoparties should unite ahead of theelection to the constituentassembly, the division among therank and file and existence of thecommittees of the two parties atthe district and committee levelshave made things difficult.Pending serious mergerinitiatives, the two parties willseparately approach the ElectionCommission for their registrationwith different symbols and partyprogrammes.

Royalty watchä nf correspondent

Will King Gyanendra come out withthe customary address to the nationon Nepali New Year day on April 14?Breaking or continuing with thetradition will be viewed as politicallysignificant.

There are intense speculationsabout different possible scenarios -the King might declare, almost incontinuity with the core message hedelivered on Democracy Day on Feb19, that he owns moral responsibilityfor everything good or bad thathappened during his direct rule, butthat was a sequel to the failure on the

part of the political parties. No one thinks that he would

declare abdication, but what many stilldesire to hear is that he could at leastadmit to the nation now, that thetakeover was wrong and that he waswaiting for the people’s verdict on thefate of the monarchy.

In the event of any speech that thepolitical parties might find offending, aresolution to remove him might bemoved in the parliament. Maoistshave already given enough hints thatthey would not tolerate any politickingby the king. There are speculationsthat the palace is weighing the costand benefit of ‘total silence’ as well.

Beauty andMahara

ä nf correspondent

Being in the Government calls formany compromises, it seems. No onewould have realised it more than thenew Information and CommunicationMinister, K B Mahara. From day one,he was clear about one thing and thatwas, beauty contest should not takeplace and the television and radiounder him should not give thecoverage even if it was held.

But just the opposite happened.Beauty contest sponsored by Daburtook place. The Government policeeven applied force to chase awaythose, mostly Maoists, who hadgathered around Birendra Interna-tional Convention Centre atBaneshwar, the venue of the contest.Mahara even had to pacify his partyworkers who were wounded whenthe police used force. And he quietlyignored his party colleague, led byMinister Hishila Yami who went publicsaying beauty contest is nothing moreor less than body-show and itscommercialisation.

Minister Mahara’s dilemma beganwhen he was shown the long termcontract between Dabur Vatika, thesponsor and Nepal Television. Anybreach of contract, by any side wouldmean incurring huge penalty. Maharachose to let Nepal Television telecastthe contest live in deference to the

contract rather than having Govern-ment or his Ministry to pay the penaltyas a defaulter.

Prime Minister Koirala and Speaker NembwangMinister Mahara

Shekhar

Shital Niwas sources claim that PM is now in favour of invokingparliamentary hearing only for filling-up the constitutional posts.

39-15 Apr, 2007 News

Still not enoughOccupying nearly one fourth of theparliament and cabinet berths will notqualify Maoists to avail training andorientation course conducted by theUnited States or any of the state fundedagencies.

To qualify, the Communist Party ofNepal-Maoists (CPN-M) needs to betaken off the terrorist list by the U SGovernment. As a result, the Nepal Chapter of the National DemocraticInitiative (NDI), a U S Foundation, will not be inviting Maoist parliamen-tarians for any of the programmes it conducts. NDI has run a series ofprogrammes for training Nepali parliamentarians on parliamentary rules,business, conduct and conventions.

At loggerheadsWhat has come to be known as CivilSociety, especially in the context of theApril uprising, seems to have suffered avertical split. Two of its stalwarts, DrDevendra Raj Pandey and KrishnaPahadi, have parted company.

Pandey and his followers within thesociety have long been accused of sidingwith the Maoists and the Home Minister, while the other group insistedthat over-identification with one group will be suicidal for the vibrant civilsociety. For the last two months, Dr Pandey has avoided participating inthe meetings conducted by the Human Rights and Peace Society(HURPES).

Political grapevines suggest that two leaders clearly had divergentviews on the question of joining the Interim Government. “As a civilsociety, we will continue to go to the people, we are for peace andhuman rights and we are opposed to anarchy,” Pahadi told newsfront,adding “if one does not participate in the routine civil society activities, it isescaping responsibility.”

All pervasiveconspiracyMaoist Chief Prachanda’s list ofconspirators is ever expanding. Thelatest addition to his list seems to be IanMartin, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General.

Hours after his meeting with Martin onSaturday, Prachanda announced publiclythat the U S and Western countries, andnow U N want to postpone the Juneelections saying an early election would lack credibility. "This is aconspiracy, and all should unite to defeat it", he said.

ä nf correspondent

The National Federation of IndigenousNationalities (NFIN) will dissolve its negotiatingteam which means its withdrawal from thedialogue with the Government.

"This Government is not sincere about thedialogue, and there is no point retaining thenegotiation team we formed," NFIN PresidentPasang Sherpa told newsfront. "And if theGovernment holds elections in June withoutensuring our representation in the Constitu-ent Assembly, we will boycott that election.That would just be one more election like theone which took place during the Royalregime."

The NFIN which has 59 affiliateorganisations across the country was also miffedwith the civil society for cold-shouldering thedemands of the federation. "Instead ofsupporting us, top leaders of the civil societycame to us on behalf of the Government. Andthey are all sold out...We will expose suchelements," Pasang said. He however, refused todivulge the names of the leaders who had

approached him on behalf of the Home Ministerto stop the movement.

NFIN which at one point of time wasconsidering going for a joint movement with theMadheshi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) for morepolitical rights and representation in theconstituent assembly under a federal set-up ishowever, not keen to do so. "It is not possiblenow as the Gaur massacre showed they do notbelieve in peaceful movement."

Pasang however, said the NFIN will continueto lobby with the political parties to include intheir agenda the representation of Adivasis,Jananatis, Dalits and other marginalised groupsin the power structure.

NFIN is opposed to convert the body whichhas been registered as a NGO into a politicaloutfit. "We will continue to work for socio-economic and political awareness besides rightbased issues. But the money we get fromdonors for this will not be used for politicalactivities like Bandhs and other activities,"Pasang said. "That has to take place entirely onthe strength and support of our people, and noton donors' money." ä

NFIN MiffedThe NFIN which has 59 affiliate organisations across thecountry miffed with civil society.

News Brief

Not together any more

news

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news

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NFIN on street

Editor & Publisher : Yubaraj GhimireAssociate Editor : Sushma AmatyaDesign: Sunil Khadgi, Kishor Raj Panta & Ramkrishna RanaAddress : PO Box: 8830, Lazimpat, Kathmandu, NepalTel : 4443888, Fax : 4421147 (Edt.), 4411912 (Mkt.)Email: newsfront@bhrikuti.com, marketing@bhrikuti.com (Mkt.)Printed by: Express Color, Buddhanagar, Tel.: 4783007, Distribution: Kasthamandap, Tel.: 2010821

9-15 Apr, 20074 Editorial

Letters

Want sportsI have been following newsfront from the very first issue and Ifind it really promising. I liked the idea of Spiritual Corner.Kudos to Sushma Amatya for her thoughtful article on MPs. Ithas really helped us to scrutinise the present MPs. Thevariety of the article has been increasing and it is always goodnews for the readers like us. It would be better if fewcontributors can be from different regions (nationally andinternationally). I was happy to find 2 April- 8 April issue withmore literature compared to previous ones. Can't we havesomething on sports?

Rajesh AdhikariCoordinator, Chelsea International Academy

Space for environmentI found newsfront very analytical and the most contemporary

among the few English newspapers in the market. I amimpressed by its coverage of current affairs. But there is lesscoverage on environment. I'd like to request newsfront toprovide more space to environmental issues regarding globalwarming, decline of rhinos and effective methods forconservation of wildlife.

Angfuri SherpaCritical ecosystem partnership fund, WWF Nepal

Globalised beauty contestsThe annual beauty pageant held at the Birendra InternationalConvention Centre Saturday evening, went off peacefullydespite much heated debate that surrounded it.

After waging a battle to abolish the throne, Nepal's Maoistsare now fighting to scrap the crown as well, the crown that isearned after a tough competition. Nepal's best-known andoldest beauty pageant, the Miss Nepal contest, is now underblockade from the Maoists' women's organisation that isseeking to have the program axed on grounds that it treats

women as sex objects.At present, Maoists are in the mainstream and participated

in the interim government by accepting the phenomenon ofglobalisation. Beauty pageants, very much a part ofglobalisation should not thus be made an object of theircensure. I see no harm in something that develops youngtalents. But the whole competition definitely needs to be mademore systematic and transparent.

Sharmila Pant, Kathmandu

Brawn contest demandBeauty and brains or beauty minus brains might work equally wellfor males to ogle at and applaud. But in this democratic country,where equal representation is being sought after in all spheres oflife, there exists stark disparity in such contests. Only women areput on stage. When do we get to see Mr. Handsomes on stageflexing muscles and brains if they have any?

Zarina Shakya, Kathmandu

Stop fat kids advertsThanks for your wide coverage with different issues andsubjects. I like your analytical write ups and news. Keep up thespirit. One of the news even though it was downloaded fromthe Internet caught my attention - TV ads make kids fat.

In my opinion, the news is the eye opener for Nepaleseparents. Obesity is considered one of the serious problems inthe world today and it is getting to be a problem in Nepalisociety too.

Bipin Adhikari, Kathmandu

Capital crimeAn efficient law and order system is the basic necessity of anysociety to grow. In a country where people feel insecure, wherecrime becomes the rule of the day rather than an exception, itsgrowth potential will be badly hindered.

Any Government or machinery of State, like the police endsup becoming abhorred when they cannot fulfill the coreresponsibility entrusted to them. Nepal Police that bore itsshare of lives lost in the years of conflict, was simply nottrained well enough to combat what many constituents of thepresent Government called, 'the terrorists'; appears stillineffective when faced with the current security crisis beingfaced by the people.

In a modern democratic State, the police, that is run by thetax payers money is expected to play an effective role bypreventing crimes, investigating the ones that take place,ferreting out criminals and persecuting them under the rule oflaw. In Kathmandu, in the past 11 months, the crime rate hasshot up and the police have failed miserably to apprehend thecriminals and to check the crime rate. The police force appearsto have turned into a pocket-borough of the Home Ministerwhere the decision makers appear busy politicking than payingattention to their duties.

Less than a decade ago, Nepal Police had declared thatNepal would be the safest capital in South Asia but todayburglary, murder, crimes on women and children are rampant.The recent case of burglary in a diplomat's house in broaddaylight exemplifies how weak the hands of the keepers of lawand order have become. About the same time, there was anannouncement of the capture of a few allegedly local agents ofan international crime syndicate. It is but obvious that theyshould be taken to court with enough evidence and prosecuted.

The alarming growth of crimes seems to indicate not onlypolitical interference but also points to a political, police andcriminal nexus. Politically speaking, this may have a directbearing on the elections to the constituent assembly. Account-ability to this situation has to be borne by those holding theresponsible positions. The Prime Minister owes an explanationto the people on this and needs to take firm decisions on how tocheck the deterioration, before the whole system fails com-pletely.

Readers, your reactions, criticisms,comments, suggestions are most welcome.Please address it to:

newsfront@bhrikuti.com

The ill person may be a Sufi master,And your kindness will be repaid in

wisdom.Even if the sick person is your enemy,You will still benefit,For kindness has the power to transformSworn enemies into firm friends.And if there is healing of bad feeling,There certainly will be less ill will,Because kindness is the greatest of all

balms.

Love is the cureLove is the cure,for your pain will keep giving birth to more

painuntil your eyes constantly exhale loveas effortlessly as your body yields its scent.

Nothing is more destructive of respect for the governmentand the law of the land than passing laws which cannotbe enforced. Albert Einstein

Point to Ponder

Mowlana Jalaluddin Rumi was born in1207 in Balkh, Afghanistan. He was abrilliant theologian, one of Persia'sgreatest poets and a Sufi master. A vastbody of his works was transcribed andsurvives today. Extracts from his poems:

Bad dreamsOne day you will look back and laugh at

yourself.You’ll say, “I can’t believe I was so asleep!How did I ever forget the truth?How ridiculous to believe that sadness and

sickness Are anything other than baddreams.”

Find shortcomingIf ten men want to enter a house, and only

nine find their way in, the tenth must not say:'This is what God ordained'. He must find outwhat his own shortcoming was.

Beloved livesDeafened by the voice of desire you are

unaware the Beloved lives in the core of yourheart. Stop the noise and you will hear His voicein the silence.

The Intellectual QuestThe intellectual quest is exquisite like pearls and

coral, But it is not the same as the spiritual quest.The spiritual quest is on another level

altogether, Spiritual wine has a subtler taste.The intellect and the senses investigate cause

and effect.The spiritual seeker surrenders to the wonder.

Spiritual Corner

Visit the Sick Visit the sick, and you will heal yourself.

59-15 Apr, 2007 Debating Development

The People’s Republic of China has success-fully established institutional linkages withvirtually all regional organisations around theworld encompassing ASEAN, the EuropeanUnion, MERCOSUR, the Africa Union, APEC,the Arab League and Pacific Island nations.The truly global span of China’s attention toregional structures is further manifested in theenvirons of Nepal itself, with China havingobtained observer status at the 14th SAARCSummit meeting in New Delhi. The impor-tance of the South Asian region to Chineseforeign policy, in addition to its economic andtrading interests, cannot be underestimated.

South Asia is not only the world’s fastestgrowing region (with more than 7.5% GDPgrowth over the decade), but is also home toone third of humanity and a burgeoning middleclass, and five nations of the region share acommon border with China (Bangladesh wouldappear to be sort of the sixth with its access toChina via India and Myanmar). Migration hasoccurred across these borders for hundreds ofyears which seem to further substantiate theneed for a larger China-South Asia ambit incontemporary times.

Unfortunately, China-South Asia relationshave lagged considerably in comparison toChina’s embrace of essentially all of distantAfrica in one sweep (in the China-AfricaSummit) and similarly with seven Pacific Islandcountries in 2006 (at the China-Pacific IslandCountries Economic Development andCooperation Forum), not to mention China’snow robust engagement with ASEAN. AsChina’s cooperation with South Asia acceler-ates in what appears inevitable, it may be anopportune time to reflect on what role Nepalmay play in this process and how it maysimultaneously advance its own bilateralrelations with Beijing.

The geographic position of Nepal lends hera great capability to serve as a sort of

‘window’ or ‘conduit’ for both the larger SouthAsian region and China to conduct substan-tive exchange and interaction for mutuallybeneficial purposes. Nepal shares anapproximately 1, 440 kilometer border withChina and nearly 1, 700 kilometers with India.Nepal can be traversed north-south as thecrow flies in merely a 150 kilometers, aspectacular range that touches on the ‘Hindiheartland’ on the south to a colossal Chinesestate which includes a distinct Central Asiancharacter represented by the Tibet Autono-mous Region on the north, with a diversemedley in between.

Moreover, Nepal is separated fromBangladesh by only 15 kilometers of Indian(West Bengal) territory, and similarly fromBhutan by only 88 kilometers of Sikkim, whichrenders Nepal second only to India perhaps inits ability to straddle a significant portion of SouthAsia at one end and Central and East Asia inthe form of China at the other end. Nepaltherefore finds itself in an enviable position tonot only advance overall China-South Asiarelations but to serve as a key player in helpingto further ‘globalise’ the South Asian landscape.

The about-turn taken by Nepal in recentmonths towards a peaceful and inclusivefuture by way of a largely internally-drivenpeace process, plus Nepal’s generallyundisturbed religious and communal harmonycombined with the country’s universallyexcellent relations with all its South Asiancompatriots and with China, is reason enoughfor Nepal to assume active leadership inpromotion of a dialogue that is bound toacquire increasing relevance over time.

The success of China’s engagementstrategy with African and Pacific Islandregions illustrates the ‘win-win’ and non-zerosum equations that have emerged, in additionto furthering mutual understanding andarguably producing intricate linkages that are

SAARC-China dynamics

vitally important to staving off conflict betweenstates and allowing for a ‘give and take’mechanism to address tensions when they dosurface.

The recently held China-Africa Summit inBeijing was a reminder of this: China hadunveiled US$5 billion in preferential loans andcredits, doubled aid to Africa by 2009,revealed ambitious targets of raising Sino-Africa trade to US$100 billion by 2010, signedcommercial contracts and agreements worthUS$1.9 billion with the continent coveringnatural resources, infrastructure, finance,technology and communications.

An important passage of the declaration atthe conclusion of the Summit indicated that“We propose to enhance South-Southcooperation and North-South dialogue topromote balanced, coordinated and sustain-able development of the global economy.”The Summit also allowed China and Africa toexpress their stance on important interna-tional and regional issues, and to supporteach other and closely coordinate in interna-tional affairs to safeguard the interest ofdeveloping countries.

It may be argued that larger than the sumtotal of the various critiques leveled againstthe Summit is the underlying spirit that Chinaand African nations seemed to embrace as asort of affirmation of Article 52 of the UnitedNations Charter which states that “Nothing inthe Charter precludes the existence ofregional arrangements or agencies fordealing with such matters relating to themaintenance of international peace andsecurity as are appropriate…provided thatsuch arrangements or agencies and theiractivities are consistent with the Purposes andPrinciples of the United Nations.” ä

(to be continued)Koirala is a member of the China Study Center

Nepal.

Nepal finds itselfin an enviable

position to notonly advance over-

all China-SouthAsia relations butto serve as a key

player in helping tofurther ‘globalise’

the South Asianlandscape.

ä Bhaskar Koirala

China-South Asiarelations have

lagged consider-ably in comparisonto China’s embraceof essentially all of

distant Africa inone sweep and

similarly with sevenPacific Island coun-tries in 2006, not to

mention China’snow robust engage-

ment with ASEAN.

6 9-15 Apr, 2007 Current Affairs

ä Chhatra Karki

"A world class education with internationalcurriculum," Ullens School, in Kathmandu,promises in its brochure. "We are trying toassimilate our values and western technol-ogy in teaching methodology," Sudhir KumarJha, Principal of Chelsea international schooladvocates. “Our school is technicallysupported by Dr. Thomas Wittwar, Universityof Jena, Germany," said Birendra Karki, thefounder of St. Paul School.

In the past one-year, at least half a dozenschools promising global quality have comeup in the country. Some have even startedattracting students from some othercountries. This might even reverse the trendof a large number of Nepalis students goingabroad for schooling each year if thepromises of international standard educationare delivered here.

Each year, on an average, six thousandstudents go to Darjeeling, Dehradun,Nainital, or even down to South Chennaiand other parts of India in search of qualityeducation. Many others go abroad, mainlythe United States, Australia and Nether-lands. The amount of money spent on

exploring education trips is enormous; someestimate it to be around two billion Rupees ayear. There is, however, no exact data availablefor this. Nepal’s conflict had its own impact oneducation and the continued exodus. But withpeace back and hopefully here to stay, initiativesare on to check that trend.

BN Sharma, Vice president of PABSON said,"We are working out to establish SAARC modelschool, here in Kathmandu." Around 10thousands students go to India every year andat least 80 Crore Rupees goes out from thecountry. Altogether, 125 students left for Indiathis year alone from a single school, LRI Schoolin Kathmandu. The school principal and founder,Shivaraj Panta said, “We can check this if weestablish global quality institution here.”

Private Sector has brought drastic changes inthe standard and quality of education, althoughthey continue to face the accusation that theirmain motive is ‘profit.’ But there are hardly anyeffective initiatives to get these private schools tocontribute towards creating a good environmentacross the country. “As time and situationdemands, private schools are spending a lot oncreating better physical infrastructure andacademic activities,” said Thakin Kumar Gurung,Principal of Greenland School, Kathmandu.

Education tourism is another concept that isno more alien to Nepali education entrepre-neurs. Not only America, Canada, Australia, UK,New Zealand, but even China has invitedforeign investor in the education sector. That issomething, which has created hope that Maoistsjoining Government in Nepal will not discouragethe private sector already in the educationsector.

There has been a vast change in teachingmethods with many adopting the Montessoripattern. More practical and project works, yoga,meditation and brain storming activities are partof it so that learning becomes fun.

With suitable climate, quality and competitiverates promised, attracting foreign students maynot be that difficult. “But for that we need hasslefree policy from the Government,” said PrincipalKarki of St. Paul school. Chelsea Principal Jhagoes a step further, “in collaboration withrenowned international educational institutes,world class academic programmes can start thismoment, but the Government has to create anenvironment for foreign investment."

And an effective law and order environment,a policy of no-interference in schools by theGovernment and political parties is the key todelivering the promise in the education sector. ä

Acute water shortage in the city of Kathmandufor the past several years has been primarilyblamed for corruption and indifference in thestate run utility agency. A decision by theGovernment two months ago to hire a privatecontractor for dealing with the problem met withhostility from the employees. The charge wasobvious—there was corruption involved in thedeal. Angry employees of the agency who,besides mounting the protests, cut off watersupply to important places including theministers’ residence.

In their view, hiring a private agency wouldincrease the cost of water to general public.Within days of formation of the interim Govern-ment, the minister in charge of water supply,who represents CPN-Maoists announced thatshe would not give in to privatisation of Nepal’swater supply management. Let us not forgetthat the previous Government had all thepresent constituents except the Maoists whenthe decision to hire the private contractor wastaken.

This is not a simple matter and needs adetailed analysis. Was the minister trying to

project the independence of her party by takinga different stand than the other seven politicalparties? Was she simply trying to earn thesupport of the protesting employees by accedingto their demands? Does she have a betterknowledge about the water supply agency thanothers? Can she ensure that the agency underthe Government would produce a betteroutcome than a private contractor? Is sheopposed to the principle of privatisation or is shetrying to earn a pro-employee image with aneye on the coming election to the ConstituentAssembly?

Considering the present state of affairs, andthe fact that the Government is formed undercommon Minimum Programme, it is imperativefor every Nepali official, especially the minister,to make clear and unambiguous statements. It isthe inherent duty of all coalition partners toinform the people, in the best possible manner,of their plan of action for carrying out theconstituent assembly elections. After all, Nepalisas well as the international community would liketo reassure themselves that the conduct ofconstituent assembly elections would be freeand fair.

Although the preferred state in this regardwould be to conduct elections without thepresence of any regional or internationalelection monitoring groups, similar to whatSouth Africa achieved from just three generalelections since the dismantling of apartheid, thepresent state of mistrust between politicalparties and weak bureaucracy in Nepal does not

instill enough confidence yet. Nevertheless, it isof utmost priority and importance that theupcoming elections be conducted in a free andfair atmosphere for the permanent resolution ofmajor issues facing the nation today. It’stherefore expected that Ministers refrain fromplaying politics on vital issues like supply ofdrinking water.

Let us give benefit of doubt to the minister.May be in all probability, she made thatannouncement with a view of resolving theproblem of water supply, without which it couldhave only added to the existing issues hinderingthe successful conduct of CA elections. But,regardless of the ideological and operationaldifferences between the coalition partners, thepresent government must try to act as a unifiedunit guided by the basic common programsagreed between them. The minister’s individualapproach like in the water deal case, only goagainst that spirit.

Although timely preparations are required to

get along with development agendas in thepolitical, economic as well as social fields, itmight be too hasty to come up with developmentplans at this stage except taking up of the urgentissue of rehabilitation of the internally displacedpeople and construction of basic infrastructuredamaged in the conflict. Even there, lack of firmcommitment on the part of the CPN-Maoists tofollow the norms of civil political party. For thatMaoists need to denounce violence and stop allillegal activities.

General state of peace and security all overthe country is a prerequisite for the conduct ofany election. The credibility of the governmentalone, a unified stance of coalition partners onpolicy approach is one fundamental requirementthat can ensure the success of the CA elections.Encouraging all political parties and voters totake part in the mother of all elections in Nepalwill be another important task. ä

(Bista is a development economist, works withBoao Forum for Asia in China.)

Troubling

waterIs the minister opposed to the principle of privatisation oris she trying to earn a pro-employee image with an eye onthe coming election..?

Promising the moonPrivate Sector has brought drastic changes in the standard and quality of education

ä Binod P. Bista

Minister Hisila Yami

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79-15 Apr, 2007 Profile

ä Yubaraj Ghimire

"Are you crazy?" was Guy Ullens'simple poser when Mimi, his wife toldhim about her mission then. Mimiwanted to get into non-profitactivities in Nepal where she foundpeople simple, happy and deserving.Ullens who had a stake in a largefamily company with its outfits indifferent parts of Europe and China,realised soon after that Mimi wasvery much in her senses and thatphilanthropy was a much morefulfilling and satisfying vocation.Beginning 1992, the journeycontinues.

At 72, Ullens now visits Nepal twoto three times in a year. Havingkeen interest in education sectorand children's home, he is nowexploring how quality education canbe made more accessible to bothwho can and cannot pay for it. He ispublicity shy, refuses to talk aboutfamily matters, and gives most ofthe credit to what has beenachieved to Mimi and the Nepaliteam involved in those activities. Helikes to be called just ‘Guy’, not Mr.Ullens or Baron Ullens as he wouldbe called in the part of the world hebelongs to.

Mimi first heard about Nepal andthe plight of economically weakerchildren through Agnes Jacquemin, aBelgian who has been living here fordecades now. She had a different

way of helping Nepali children. Shewould spend most of her savingsfrom her micro-projects on childrensheltered in an orphanage. Mimi’sfirst visit and stay in Nepal broughther to close proximity with anAmerican lady, Olga who has helpedmany Nepalis, mostly socio-educa-tionally and economically deprivedgirls from western Nepal. The joy ofhelping has brought the three of themtogether as a team.

“Education is very important for the

development of this country with somuch potential”, said Guy. In SureshRaj Sharma, Founder Vice Chancel-lor of Kathmandu University, he foundan ideal partner. Guy now fundsUniversity’s Engineering Departmentand is very happy with the progress ithas made. “Education is the key tofreedom and empowerment”, hesaid.

It was again through Olga that hemet in 1997 two young Nepalis, SomPaneru and Medini Lamichhane, whohe calls future leaders in theeducation sector. He arranged tosend and finance some bright youngpeople as future teachers to BankStreet College in New York, so thatthey would came back and apply thatphilosophy of education in the schoolhere.

“Medini did so well. Almost everyone talked about him as anexample in Bank Street," saidUllens. Ullens have now startedUllens School at Sat Dobato withSom Paneru as the Chairman andMedini as the Principal. This, hehopes will one day be a model ofexcellence in learning. Ullens nowplans to set up a center for trainingteachers with the quality of BankStreet; and recycle the teachers inpublic and private schools so thatno area in Nepal is deprived ofquality teachers.

“Of course, the Governmentschools should not be paying for this

kind oftraining,"opined Ullens.The job hasbeen entrustedto the UllensSchool team toset up theteacher’straining schoolsoon. “Nepaland New York

are so physically away from eachother, but there are so manysimilarities.” He added that educa-tional potentiality is one commonfactor and admitted that thoughthere are uncertainties given politicaland other factors, the need foreducation transcends every barrier.

Ullens have moved to Switzerlandnow, but their interest in Nepal, aswell as China where he representedhis company for years until early 2000has not diminished. He stayed on in

Beijing to promote Chinese arts.“Chinese contemporary art is as goodas anywhere in the world.” Heorganised exhibition of these artscalled Paris-Beijing in different partsof France beginning with Paris in2002 that gave a huge exposure toChinese Arts and attracted a lot ofinterest.

He has now bought a formerarmament factory in Beijing with a

"Education is the key to freedom and empowerment”

Channelising riches

sprawling compound, which he isplanning to convert into a WorldClass Arts Centre. “I have gotexcellent cooperation from theChinese authorities,” said Ullensexcited about the centre whereexhibition of top Chinese and world-class arts would be a regularphenomenon. Apart from otherthings, he also plans to set up aschool for curators there. “It is

really meant for students, archi-tects, museum managers andcollectors.”

Ullen's interest in Nepal ishowever only philanthropic. To himbeing rich provides an opportunity toface challenges and fulfilling needsbesides delivering wide range ofservices to the more deservingpeople. And Nepal fits in thatcategory. ä

At 72, Ullens now visits Nepaltwo to three times in a year.Having keen interest in educa-tion sector and children'shome, he is now exploringhow quality education can bemade more accessible to bothwho can and cannot pay for it.

Ullens have moved to Switzer-land now, but their interest inNepal, as well as China where herepresented his company foryears until early 2000 has notdiminished.

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8 9-15 Apr, 2007 Perspective

ä Rajen Wasti

Well functioning and competent civilpolice is the backbone of democracywhich guarantees efficient enforcementof law of the land. Building well trainedand professionally functioning police iscrucial for any nation.

Nepal Police has been the victim ofbad politics for over a decade and half.The police force has been exploited alot by the governing political partiesignoring the basic values of policing.They were forced to fight the Maoistsinsurgency without proper training andresources. Police managers werecoerced to serve the interests ofpolitical parties and leaders instead offocusing on strengthening theorganisation to provide services to thecommunity.

Police institution was used toinfluence the elections, to bring downthe Government and to collectdonations from business communitiesfor election purposes. Political partyactivists were recruited into the servicethat tarnished the discipline and chainof command of the organisation. As aresult, many police officers ended uphaving no qualms taking favors frompolitical parties for their careerdevelopment; and the professional andhonest officers suffered as a result.The successive Government neverthought about reforming the policeforce. Because of total mismanage-ment Nepal Police was not successful

ä Tara Dahal

At a time when globalisation and sub-national forces are challeng-ing the key functions of the state Anthony D. Smith brings a veryinfluential book on nationalism. This book has analysed differentspectrum of nation-state by introducing central concepts, such asmeaning of nationalism, ethnicity and nation, national state andnational identity. The book under review primarily focuses onnationalism as ideologies, social movement and symbolic language.

Nation and nationalism unite the native people with the people ofthe world under the pressure of modern, rational scientific develop-ment. The author elaborates nationalism as an ideology in whichpatriotism is a central social value. It fosters loyalty to one’s nation asa conscious emotion, common destiny, common goal and commonresponsibility for all citizens of the nation while nation is an autono-mous territory and delimited political grouping with national character.

The author has critically analysed the ideology, social and politicalmovement, symbolism with its proposition and structures. Nationalideology incorporates territorial unification, cultural identity andcollective self-rule. He brings the distinction between “organic andvoluntarist,” ethnic/civic approaches and delineates instrumentalistcritic which regard nationalism as an argument to articulate, seize andretain sub-elites’ interest, a distinct vision, strategies and enhanceone’s power in the modern state. Anthony analyses the histories ofnations of rival paradigms and exposes the theoretical debate aboutthe hybridisation of nations within globalisation process. The coretheoretical arguments come from industrialism, reason and emotion,politics and culture and construction and reinterpretation.

He has also focused how rational choice and ideology haveconstructed the nation and its ideological current--nationalism. Theauthor also brings theoretical and empirical prospects on national-ism and ethnicity relating them with four paradigms and theproblem of nationalism in the last three decades of the 20th century.

The author has also related modern, medieval and ancienthistories of the nation with theories and master paradigms andconnects micro and macro variables that gave rise or lead to thedecline of nations. He also establishes the relationship betweenmodernisation and pre-modern nation-state through symbols,memory, myth, vernacular language, culture, value and tradition.

Anthony sees the possibility of the revival of nation and national-ism in postmodern era and envisages that ethnic reemergence hashybridised identity within globalisation epoch. The book compilesseveral case histories of nations. For him, one crucial challenge ofnationalism is to preserve virtue of nation which overrides all othervirtues by internalisation of national characteristics of nation andbuilding up national pattern of personality.

The emergence of new states indicates that the world is movingtowards more pluralism and there is possibility to enlarge thedomain of nationalism making it more egalitarian in the distributionof goods, inclusive of multicultural values and even orient towardsthe redressing past injustice for the people. To him, so long asnation-state persists its core values—nationalism, political ideology,public culture and political religion will be destined to flourish andconstitute the architecture of world order.

The contesting arguments of the book are innovative, broad,comparative and contentious. The book is also interdisciplinaryinsight. The author has used insight from social sciences like politicalscience, sociology, history, anthropology, etc and combined themwith his own ethno-symbolic approach. ä

Spectrum ofnationalismAnthony D. Smith,Nationalism: Theory,Ideology and History(Cambridge: PolityPress, 2005), Page182, Rs. 375.

The author has related modern, medievaland ancient histories of the nation withtheories and master paradigms and con-nects micro and macro variables thatgave rise or lead to the decline of nations.

in delivering the community servicewhich resulted in them becomingunpopular in the eyes of the public.

The leaders in the service never paidattention to the organisationaldevelopment but concentrated on theirpersonal interests only. The seven-party Government that came to powerlast May politicised Nepal Policebeyond any limits, increasing lowmorale and frustration in the entirepolice workforce. The internalmismanagement and political interfer-ence of the past one and half decadehas brought the Nepal Police force onthe verge of collapse. Absolute chaosand confusion reigns supreme.

Promotions, transfers, trainingopportunities are based on therecommendations of the governmentministers and politicians. The chain of

command,internaldiscipline andcode ofconduct ofservice hasbecomeabsolutely

ineffective. When the current Chief ofPolice tried to take up these issues withthe Home Minister, he was forced tokeep shut with a one liner, “You wouldnot have made it to the top if merit andseniority counted.”

Internal oversight and investigationsystem has become almost nonexistent. Officers committing crimes arenot reprimanded. Once a very efficientinternal disciplinary unit, Nepal Policeinspectorate professional standardsystem is now almost unproductive.Just to cite an example, an inspectorwho tortured to death a detainee inKathmandu Police station has not beenbrought to justice because of his

connection with the politicians.In the past one week seven

businessmen from the Kathmanduwere kidnapped by criminal gangs andthat was not reported to the police.Business men compromised and paidransom to free their associates, simplybecause the people have lost their faithin the police and see no point inseeking their help.

Now the eight party Governmentshould rethink and commit to do awaywith the past malpractices of massivepolitical interference in Nepal Police forthe larger interest of the nation. Theupper rank managers of thisorganisation have been renderedabsolutely useless as they arehandicapped due to interference fromtop political levels. This organisationneeds to be overhauled and restruc-tured.

The servile and corrupt upperstratum of this force, those who aresycophants of their political patrons -who continue to resist changes withinthe organisation should be retired forthe good of the country. Suchregressive forces are blocking thenormal career development of amajority of young officers and hinderingthe development of emerging leadersof the future. It is high time the younggeneration is given a chance to salvagethe institution that is at the verge oftotal collapse.

The country should pay properattention to ensure that her lawenforcement agency is competent,impartial and diligent. Only byrebuilding the institution can theGovernment reassure its people thatthey are indeed in safe hands. Thepeople need to be convinced that thepolice will deal with any challengesthat may arise. ä

Overhaul NepalPolice forceThe people have lost their faith in the police and see nopoint in seeking their help

The eight party Government shouldrethink and commit to do away withthe past malpractices of massivepolitical interference in Nepal Policefor the larger interest of the nation.

Book Review

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99-15 Apr, 2007 From the Region

ä Chandani Kirinde

Indian film idol Shah Ruk Khan and cricketinghero Sachin Tendulkar made it to the headlinenews in India in the two days that leaders fromeight South Asian nations were gathered in thecapital New Delhi to discuss better co-operationamong the nations in this impoverished region.

Hour after hour 24/7 Indian news channelsflashed news of Shah Ruk’s Khans wax dollbeing unveiled at Madame Tussauds museum inLondon and the raging conflict between SachinTendulkar and his team mates and their coachGreg Chappell while the dignitaries attendingthe SAARC summit managed to get a fewminutes of airtime in between. The print mediatoo adopted a similarly step motherly treatmenttowards the summit pushing it out of the frontpages in many publications.

One reason that SAARC leaders whorepresent more than one fifth of the world’spopulation get a lukewarm reception from themedia and fail to attract the attention that theyshould is the grouping’s past record of beingonly a “talk shop’. “Will this be just anothergabfest, all atmospherics and no substance, ashas been the pattern with past meets?’, aneditorial in The Hindustan Times queried onApril 3, the second day of the summit.

The answer to that wont’ be known immedi-ately but it as evident by listening to the leaders ofthe SAARC nations that they too are well awareof what ails the association. Its past record oftalking the talk but failing to walk the talk is whatthe present torchbearers of SAARC want to seechanged from now on. In their joint declarationissued at the end of the of the Summit onWednesday, the Heads of State or Governmentsemphasised that in its third decade of existence,

China should give Tibetans responsibility forall their administrative affairs except foreignrelations and defence, the Dalai Lama said.

Opposition to Beijing's control over theHimalayan region would not vanish with hisdeath, the exiled 71-year-old spiritual leadersaid in an interview with an Indian TV newschannel, and it did not matter if he nevergot to return home.

"As long as the Tibetan people remain,this issue, unless you solve it properly,realistically, will remain," he said.

The Dalai Lama said there was growingfrustration among Tibetans, particularly theyouth in and outside Tibet, while thestalemate over their homeland continued.

China and the Dalai Lama's envoys havebeen engaged in a slow-motion dialoguesince 2002 which analysts say is partlydriven by the fear that if the spiritual leaderdies in exile, it could lead to trouble in Tibet.

Visitors to Tibet, including many Chinese,felt "Tibet is actually ruled by terror", theDalai Lama said in the interview with CNN-IBN, which is due to be broadcast onSunday.

"At present, on paper there's autonomy

but in reality every key position is occupied byChinese who have no idea of past events, ofTibetan culture or Tibetan habits or mentality," astatement from the channel quoted him assaying.

"The Tibetans should have the final authority,except foreign affairs and defence."

The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in 1959after a failed uprising against Communist rule,nine years after the Chinese army marched intoTibet.

He says he has accepted Chinese sover-eignty over Tibet but wants greater autonomy,not independence, for his predominantlyBuddhist homeland. Beijing considers him aseparatist and accuses him of continuing topromote Tibetan independence.

In the interview, the 1989 Nobel Peace Prizewinner said he was an optimist and hoped tosee Tibet again.

Asked if he would die an unhappy man if hedidn't, he replied: "No problem at all. I am aBuddhist monk. I am over 71 years old. Theseseven decades I have trained my mindaccording to Buddha's teachings. It doesn'tmatter." ä

(Agencies)

there was an urgent need to move SAARC fromdeclaratory to the implementation phase.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his openingaddress to the summit emphasised the matter.“While endorsing and fully subscribing to thevalues of SAARC, we badly need to be actionorientated rather than dependent on rhetoric.Merely saying good things about each other andignoring the reality will take it nowhere,” has said.

Indian Prime minister Manmohan Singh toounderscored the need to translate words in actionstating in his opening address that after severalyears of effort, the time has come to moveSAARC from a declaratory phase to action andimplementation while the Pakistan Prime MinisterShaukat Aziz said the time was right for aparadigm change in thinking and attitude amongleaders in South Asia if the aspirations of thepeople of the region were to be met.

Terrorism was on top of the agenda for manyof the South Asian leaders and on this allmember nations agreed that terrorism was athreat to peace and security in the region andcalled for the implementation of internationalconventions relating to combating terrorism aswell as the SAARC Convention on the Suppres-sion of terrorism and for urgent conclusion of acomprehensive convention on internationalterrorism.

Another issue the leaders addressed wascorruption which was viewed with seriousconcern and the leaders agreed to exchangeinformation on national experience in combatingcorruption to effectively address the problem.This was included in the final declaration alongwith several ambitious pledges meant toovercome the challenges of poverty, disease,natural disasters and terrorism , bettereconomic co-operation and a better life for the

people of the region.The problems are very real but do the

leaders of these countries have the political willto act on the pledges. While there is unprec-edented economic growth in the regions, thereis also growing turmoil.

The India-Pakistan rift over Kashmir was thehighlight on the sidelines of the summit withPakistan once again stating that it as the keyissue for better relations between the twoneighbours. The induction of Afghanistan intoSAARC was welcomed by all members but theopening remarks by Afghan president HamidKarzai calling for a ban on extremism andterrorism in all forms and sources, includingpolitical sponsorship and financing, was anobvious veiled reference to the role of Pakistanwhom the Afghan leader has accused of helpingthe Taliban to destabilise his government, an

issue which received much media converge inIndia. Grappling among these countries, smallernations like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, theMaldives and Bhutan had to work hard to gettheir grievances heard.

The founding fathers of SAARC envisagedco-operation among the countries to worktogether towards finding solutions towards theircommon problems in a spirit of friendship, trustand mutual understanding and to the creation ofan order based on mutual respect, equity andshared benefits. It is time to make a concertedand genuine effort to build on these principals ifco-operation among the South Asian nations isto reach the levels to which organisations suchas the European Union (EU) and ASEAN haveclimbed and have in turn reaped immensebenefits to their people. ä

(Sunday Times, Sri Lanka)

SAARC needs to walk the talkTerrorism was on top of the agenda for many of the South Asian leaders

Dalai Lama seeks moreautonomy for TibetThe Dalai Lama said there was growing frustration amongTibetans, particularly the youth in and outside Tibet,while the stalemate over their homeland continued.

South Asian leaders on the forum of SAARC

10 9-15 Apr, 2007 Opinion

Despite the fiery rhetoric, why is there a suddenpause in the certitude of republican passion?The ambivalence amongst the leadership now iscausing perturbation among even the mostardent constituencies which had answered thecall to overthrow the regime last April. At theend of December, the Janajatis, Madhesis,various oppressed and exploited groups, andelements of civil society were in one way or theother accusing the political parties of stalling oreven deviating from the promises made duringthe height of the April uprising.

The perceived betrayal of the great expecta-tions - republic and autonomy - cultivated duringthe Janaandolan, people’s uprising, has alreadymanifested itself as unprecedented riots with acommunal edge in the Terai while Janajatirumblings have just become audible deep in thehills. Politicians in a hurry to get to the top oughtto beware of what they pledge; the people mightjust be plucky enough to want to check it out forthemselves.

As if the economic front was too daunting tocontemplate, the politicians - with due promptingfrom interested foreign parties have shifted theirfull attention to the state as an object of reform.Under the somewhat vague rubric of “restruc-turing the state”, various designs for 'de-Hinduising' the nation, federalising the unitarystate, and allocating different groups into thestate structures or its resources have beenoffered.

Interestingly, the only hurdle in this projectmight be the nature of the political partiesthemselves that have been championing theMantras of republicanism, federalism, propor-tionate representation to entice the variousconstituencies.

Most of the political parties now in power arehighly centralised organisations monopolised byhigh caste male elites, it is not clear why they willwant to compete or share power with localentities that might turn out to have differentethnic or ideological composition. The Terai is aburning example that just exposed this hypoc-risy: when some folks actually wanted therepublican autonomy, the parties dominated byhill elites were loathe to grant it!

A system of quota and reservation for thedisadvantaged sections and regions in educa-tion, employment, welfare and representation

has also been raised as part of the new staterestructuring agenda. If the affirmative action isdesigned as an enabling opportunity and not asa self perpetuating categoric entitlement, it canbe the basis of a just society. One caution herewill be to avoid using the state restructuringagenda as a tool for creating permanentelectoral constituencies on the basis of faith andprimordial identities, imagined or otherwise.

While our rich ethnic heritage and culturaldiversity is to be celebrated, it is civic democracythat needs to be cultivated in Nepal, not a tribalone. It is rather paradoxical that while thenation-state has been ‘secularised,’ it is thecommunal and ethnic currency that has begunto dominate the political marketplace.

Tinkering with the state form - while notundermining its decorative value - is always asecond best if the goal is to create a prosperousand just nation. The state, pace Marx, is a meresuperstructural reflection of the underlyingeconomic relations in society. Even with divineintervention, one can stretch the given loavesand fishes only so far.

To restate the obvious, the problem in Nepaltoday is stability and growth and withoutaddressing this central problematique, the polityhere will not exit the vicious cycle of selfconsuming competition and incapacitating

disorder. Although much is made about theaffluence of the West and the poverty of therest, what actually distinguishes the First Worldfrom the Third World condition is not economicwealth but the relative degree of order andpurposive coherence they enjoy.

While the nature of the economy gives formto the state, it is also equally true that thesubstantive character of the state guideseconomic development, social form, andcollective values. Some have even gone as faras to argue that a strong and competent state isa sine quo non for material advancement andsocial progress. A cursory glance at theEuropean past and the Asian tigers todayvindicates this relationship.

Thanks to a sustained campaign of externalsubversion, Nepal has never been allowed tomature into a stable and competent nation-statethat can carve out its path to peace, progress,and dignity. Whenever a possibility for internalunity and harmony seemed imminent, a FifthColumn has been raised to scuttle our besthopes. It happened in 1960, 1990, and toborrow Yogi Barra’s unique expression, it is de'javu all over again. ä

(Trilogy – 2)(Harvard anthropology Ph.D. Shah

teaches at TU.)

April sizzleand February chill

A system of quota and reservation for the disadvantagedsections and regions in education, employment, welfareand representation has been raised.

ä Saubhagya Shah

Just before boarding my flight for the UnitedStates from Nepal, an airport security officerasked me when I would be coming homeagain. Frankly, I had no idea, so I just said "Idon't know." He then looked straight at meand said "Remember no matter where yougo in the world there is no other place likeyour country." Curious, I asked him, "Haveyou lived in a foreign country for a long time?"

He answered "No. I just want to serve myown nation and not somebody else's." Thepassion in his voice made me realise theintense patriotism he had for Nepal; thensuddenly, I found myself wondering howdifferent nations affect their citizens and theiridentities.

As author Samuel P. Huntington mentionsin his book, 'Who Are We?' a nation is basedon a political contract among individualslacking any other commonality. A nationconsists of diverse individuals from differentraces and ethnicities bound together in agiven territory because of their politicalcommitment with the group, which in turngives them their national identity as citizens.

This identity is indeed very special tohuman beings because it fulfills their innatedesire to connect themselves with their fellowhumans. A nation also allows its citizens to

connect to their history and culture through theirterritory. As citizens from the same nation,individuals also share similar cultures and values.It is because of this aspect of nations, that citizensfrom the same country find it easier to relate toeach other and, thus, form their own communityeven when they are living in a foreign land.Therefore, a nation definitely gives its citizens anopportunity to unite and relate to each otherbecause of their unique commonalities.

Nations also play a role in dividing humanbeings. In a sense, nations put an invisible wallbetween people from different countries interms of their ability to communicate andunderstand each other. Many times in history wehave encountered the concept of nation statebeing used as an instrument to create a feelingof "we" and "they" that emphasises differencesrather than commonalities.

When this trend is encouraged by the dualismof power and politics, we tend to forget our

common humanity and get caught in adverserelationships that can only lead to conflict andwar. This was the scenario when Nazis inGermany tried to differentiate themselves assuperior to their fellow human beings, whichresulted in mass destruction. Therefore, afterexploring the commonalities and divisiveness ofthe concept "nation", one can realize that intoday's modern heterogeneous society the useof our national identity is very circumstantial,largely depending on the interaction betweendifferent nations. This is where the much talkedabout globalisation comes into play.

Globalization has allowed citizens fromvarious nations to think beyond the boundariesof their nation. The phenomenon of globalisationhas made a huge impact on national identitysince it has a tendency of altering the set ofpeople with whom we interact.

It also forces us to evaluate our preconceivednotions about people from other countries otherthan our own and see the commonalities inhopes and aspiration of people from differentparts of the world. At the same timeglobalisation can be very unsettling, since it is allabout interaction with strange foreign culturesand values which may heighten our sense ofdifferences and even lead to a feeling ofsuperiority over other people.

Therefore, one can say that dividing theworld under different nations has its own prosand cons. The concept of nation which initiallyevolved to meet human desires for contacthas, over the years, developed a sense ofcompetition among the nations because ofwhich innovation, development,multiculturalism and globalisation has beenpossible. At the same time, it has causedconflicts between different national identitiescreating many problems for individuals. Todaya citizen from a particular nation might feel athreat to his life only because of his nationality.

Personally, I feel that even with my differentset of culture and beliefs, I am very muchsimilar to everyone else because underneathall these nationality labels all of us are unitedby similar emotions. But if we strictly limitourselves to our national identity for a sense ofsecurity and belonging, then in the process wemight lose our sensibility to the common bondsof humanity. This will in turn imply a distinctpossibility for our being an instrument forugliness, violence and war. Maybe next timewhen I run into the Nepali officer at theairport, I will let him know all my reasons forthinking beyond the boundaries of my nation.

(Pragya is a student at Southern MethodistUniversity, TX.)

Thinking beyond boundariesif we strictly limit ourselves to our national identity for a sense of security and belonging, then in the pro-cess we might lose our sensibility to the common bonds of humanity.

ä Pragya Lohani

news

front

119-15 Apr, 2007Art & Society

ä Sushma Amatya

Insight

An ascetic, Shyam Chaityanya Baba who used to live behindPashupatinath temple handed over a tin box full of money, collected overhis lifetime, to Dr. S.K. Pahadi, asking him to use it to start a medicalcollege. The money amounted to 106,000 Rupees. The doctor, spurredby the generosity and who wished to keep the promise he made to hisGuru who soon passed away, established Nepal Medical College inJorpati center.

The medical college is the result of the humble man's selflessaspiration. Though far removed from worldly affairs, he was veryconcerned about the welfare of the society and preferred to remainunacknowledged for any of his acts. Difficult though it may be to live likehim, it would be wonderful to learn and be motivated by from his life andothers like him, who owned little but were very rich.

Complaints about lack of money must be as old as gold, as ismankind's craving for riches. The common concept is that one can behappy if one has money. We need to hear it from the experienced, likeDavid Geffen, the billionaire American record executive to get a differentperspective. He said, "Anybody who thinks money will make you happyhas not got money."

Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India is oft quoted sayingthat money makes a good servant but a bad master. Money can be agood tool to fulfill your needs and made to work to benefit yourself andpeople around you or it can turn into a demon that rules you, creatinghatred and suffering all around. It depends upon how you approachmoney, and the whole economic dimension of our lives. To be able towield tools of self-awareness, responsibility, love and generosity is to bethe master of the money that comes our way.

In our society a majority tends to focus more on using money to impressothers. It is rare to see any affluent member using money to generatehappiness. The fact that happiness cannot be bought is realised by few.We need to learn to free ourselves from the concept of social status thatappears to hang over us perpetually like sharp swords over our lives. Theidea of being respected and admired by others by sheer dint of flauntingmoney ends up making fools of those who are fortunate to have deeppockets but unfortunately lacking any common sense.

Money minus wisdom and compassion ends up inflating one's ego todangerous proportions, harming themselves and others around them. Invain, such people grope in darkness; often falling victims to high-endbrand consumer items, striving to pursue television inspired exclusive lifestyle. In the rat race happiness eludes them even further. Any happinessgenerated from this drama would belong to the companies that sell theirideas and products under the guise of impressing others with one'sstatus, success, beauty etc., again misleading one to think that all thatwould make one happy.

Faster one learns to break free from the clutches of the invisibledemon called social status; sooner one can relish the fruits of living withinyour own means, creating your own standards. By thus being indepen-dent of the misconception of having to conform to materialistic expecta-tions of others, one also becomes safe from manipulation by those withill intent. Sooner we learn to share what we have in however small ways,the better chances we have of inviting happiness into our lives.

By setting examples for our children to follow, we can instill in them theknowledge of difference between economising and miserliness, betweensaving and stashing away dead treasures – that could be brought to lifeby sharing it with others who can use it. We are badly in need of livingexamples of the rich in mind – minds that are not tainted by pride, notbloated by self-importance. Once rich in mind, it is but inevitable that itattracts unbounded riches, be it material things, creativity or friendship.

A quote by Dalai Lama is relevant here, "A true friendship develops onthe basis of genuine human affection, not money or power. Of course,due to your power or wealth, more people may approach you with bigsmiles or gifts. But deep down these are not real friends of yours; theseare friends of your wealth or power."

If we approach money with an attitude polluted by greed, craving,hatred and other delusions, the resulting dark forces can blind you, driveyou insane and create cycles of suffering. It all boils down to masteringthe idea of money. Money like anything else has a tendency to elude youthe more you pursue it. When we decide not to be a slave to money,then no matter how much we have, we open ourselves to the unlimitedpotential of creativity, energy, self confidence that are inherent in eachand every one of us.

The end result of this inevitably is happiness, a sense of well-being, nomatter the external circumstances. Poverty may breed many vice butinsatiable greed and hunger for power and money is the ultimate sourceof all evils. No amount of money can resuscitate life into those suffocatedby sheer poverty that exists deep in their minds. Poverty ridden mindsremain impoverished no matter how great their façade may appear onthe outside. ä

Mindful treasuresä Neeraj Pradhan

Ever since the era of ecological responsibility began, theUnited States has historically dragged its feet in the pushto reform its energy usage. Over the past 25 years,compared with East Asian and Middle Eastern countries,the US has released nearly three to eight times as muchcarbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Even members of theEU—historically industrial countries—have scaled downtheir emissions leaving their numbers 75 percent lowerthan that of America's.

This is why the recent legal push in the US for ecologicalresponsibility has been welcomed, although unexpectedlyby many segments of American society. The US SupremeCourt, the highest judicial body in the United States,recently ruled that the federal government has the right toregulate emissions in the country in order to curb carbondioxide emissions.

The recent push by the Supreme Court does notabsolve the US from its past reticence on the issue, nordoes the fact that the US has one of the highest emissionrates excuse any of the world's other industrial nations.

The new century brings many new challenges to theglobal agenda. This is a century where all aspects of lifefrom politics to trade and now pollution are becomingglobal issues. Indeed, the topic of global warming is onethat all countries, developing and advanced, need toengage with.

Perhaps it is worthy to mention why the issue ofgreenhouse emissions has become such a vexing topic.The entire impetus for this issue from scientists andlobbyists has been the ongoing research and evidence thatgreenhouse gases and pollution arising from burning offossil fuels for energy purposes have been linked inextrica-bly to the phenomenon of global warming. Global warmingis simply, the gradual warming of the planet's temperature.

But the consequences are graver than just simply ahigher average temperature throughout the year. Thisecological change can distort weather patterns andbiological environments of plant and animal life throughoutthe world, ultimately altering our existence. It is not knownwith any degree of certainty what effects the changes inclimate will have on our standards of life or how severe they

might be, but what is known is that our lives will change.This is already becoming apparent in various parts of

the US. This past winter brought, simultaneously, some ofthe warmest and coldest days in recorded history, withrecord levels of snow in some parts of the Eastern andMidwestern United States. The hurricane season of lastyear brought unparalleled rains and destruction to the GulfCoast region. This trend in inexplicable and unprec-edented weather patterns is becoming common through-out various parts of the world.

Though, scientifically, it is readily accepted that globalwarming presents many problems for the earth and oursociety, there are social, political, and financial problemsthat serve as barriers from bringing forward a coherentand timely solution to the table.

In its simplest form, one can outline three main problemswith trying to phase out fossil fuel usage that stand in theway of policy makers and activists. The first obviousimpediment is that the world has become incrediblydependent on fossil fuels. Research and development fornew sources of energy is ongoing, but reliable sources ofclean, renewable energy are still not yet possible as apermanent solution in the immediate future. Anotherpressing problem is that the politics and money involved inthe energy sector has made it difficult for politicians tomake any meaningful progress on the issue of phasing outfossil fuel usage, at least in the United States.

The well documented power and influence of the oilindustry and lobby in America has made it impossible forlegislators to have any sort of meaningful progress on theissue in the recent past. The other, more pressing problemis the fact that so many developing countries cannot yetafford newer and experimental forms of energy.

As ecological and political organisations gather over thenext few years to try and set pollution standards, theinternational community should be especially concernedwith trying to coordinate efforts to make the consolidatedswitch to newer forms of energy. This drive should befueled by a desire to preserve the planet's ecosystems andalso by a desire act sooner rather than later. This newissue is one that cannot be underestimated.

(Neeraj is a student and currently lives in southernCalifornia.)

Nature striking backscientifically, it is readily accepted that global warming presentsmany problems for the earth and our society that serve as barriersfrom bringing forward a coherent and timely solution to the table.

What is Heroin?ä Bikash Thapa, Kathmandu

Heroin is a highly addictivenarcotic substance in powderedform. It is derived from poppyplant and was used as painkillerand sedative in the olden days.The word, heroin, is derived fromthe Greek word Hero because ofthe feeling of power and euphoriait creates. In Nepal we find heroinin white form which is its pureform and in brown form that isless potent.

Use and sale of heroin is illegaland punishable by Nepali law.Sold by drug peddlers, we findimpure forms of heroin that is amixture of starch, milk powder,cleaning powder, sometimes evenglass powder, coffee andstrychnine (a poisonous sub-stance). Dealers cheat theircustomers by mixing substanceslike Horlicks, Ghee in heroin toincrease its quantity.

The effects of heroin aredependant on the purity of thesubstance. Addicts use heroin byheating and sniffing it, termed'chasing the dragon' in theirlanguage. It is also used mixed

with water or by injecting. A heroinuser is highly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS,Hepatitis B and C and tetanus.Heroin users are prone to suddendrops in blood pressure and bouts offainting. Their respiratory systemweakens steadily and so they tend to'drift off', for minutes or hours. Theyare unable to concentrate onanything and become very slow inresponding. The pupils of their eyesbecome very small and they becomeincreasingly passive.

How can we stop someone from

taking drugs?ä Chanda Kafle, Mandikatar

The most important and effectivestep we can take is to spreadawareness, imparting correctinformation about impacts of druguse. It has been found that mostadolescents between age 12 - 18venture into drugs due to sheerignorance about its consequences. Asadolescents, they are full of curiosityand desire to experience new things,wish to be seen as adults or try toimitate those who they admire.

Taking awareness programs tostudents, parents and teachers wouldmake them understand the factors,

risks, associated with drug abuse.Subtle mass marketing cam-paigns through entertainmentprogrammes via TV and moviesthat encourages smoking anddrinking in young people, impacton vulnerable minds leading themto imitate what they see onscreen. Children must beeducated on these and otherways how drug mafias reach outto coax new victims.

Encouraging a child toparticipate in family activities andcontribute in their communities insmall ways would help them getbusy in constructive activities,leaving less time or opportunitiesto deviate. A child can be coaxedinto 'criminal behavior' when he/she is only receiving and notcontributing. Open lines ofcommunication with children andmonitoring their activities wouldhelp detect any early signs of oddbehaviour. If despite all this, achild does become a victim, ourduty is to help the child fight andovercome the habit or addiction.

Please address any queries youhave about drug addiction to:

newsfront@bhrikuti.com (Youridentity will be protected.)

Heroin user can't concentrate on anythingCounseling by drug therapist, Ragina Shah

In our society a majority tends tofocus more on using money to im-press others.

9-15 Apr, 200712 Event

Sitashma Chand, BandanaSharma and Sweta Shah won the

first, second and third placerespectively in the Miss Nepal

beauty pageant 07. The event tookplace amidst much hullabaloo

created by the protesting Maoistsled by Hisila Yami, who termed it

commercialisation of female bodies.Among the 19 participants on thestage, more than half were from

Kathmandu and ten were fromNewar community. Questions have

been raised regarding lack ofparticipation by women from outside

the capital, once again creatinganother forum for debate regarding

equal participation.

Beauty n' Brains

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by B

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