THE BRITAIN-NEPAL SOCIETY

THE BRITAIN-NEPAL SOCIETY

J o u r n a l

Number 30

2006

49231 Britain Nepal 30 COV:49231 Britain Nepal 30 COV 20/10/11 09:23 Page 2

ACORN Nepal Trust(Aid for Children of Rural Nepal

and Educational Trust)

Charitable Society Regd. No. 701/1999

Main OfficeProf. Dr. Bharat B. KarkiBalkhu, Ring Road, Kathmandu - 14Tel: 279762, Post Box: 3046Fax: 977-1-282688

Founder PresidentU.K. ContactRtn. H.B. Karki21 Victoria Road, AldershotHampshire GU11 1TQTel/Fax: 01252 316058

PresidentRtn. Hari Bivor Karki

Vice-PresidentProf. Dr. Bharat B. Karki

SecretaryAnjela Nepal Karki

TreasurerMrs. Bimala Katuwal

Executive MembersDr. Yagya B. KarkiMrs. Shova SubediMrs. Sushila Khadka

Hon. MembersLady Morris of KenwoodRtn. Gerald HughesMr. Brian MayhewMs. Diana Reason

Dr Abhiram Bahadur Singh

PLEASE WRITE TO: The Gurkha Welfare Trust, PO Box 18215, 2nd Floor,

1 Old Street, London EC1V 9XB, telephone us on 020 7251 5234

or e-mail [email protected] Registered charity No. 1103669

49231 Britain Nepal 30 COV:49231 Britain Nepal 30 COV 20/10/11 09:23 Page 4

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JournalNumber 30

2006

CONTENTS

2 Editorial

4 The Ochterlony Monument or the Saheed Minar

6 The Society’s News

12 Changes at 12a Kensington Palace Gardens

14 Vultures in Decline – a need to react before it is too late

20 Swapping Identities – Borderland exchanges along the NepalTAR frontier

25 Wild frontier: Valmiki – Chitwan – Parsa

32 HE Mr Prabal Rana and Party visit Whipsnade Wild Animal Park

33 Khukuri to Cookery

37 Disaster in the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area

41 Book Review

43 Obituaries

48 Yeti Nepali House Update

50 Useful Addresses

51 Notes on the Britain – Nepal Society

52 Officers and Committee of the Society

49231 Britain Nepal 30 TEX6:49231 Britain Nepal 30 TEX 20/10/11 09:24 Page 1

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I selected the frontis piece photographfollowing a return to Calcutta (Kolkata inthe modern idiom) which I made earlierin the year as it chimed well with two ofthe lectures that Society received in 2006,namely Major Gordon Corrigan’s lectureon the Anglo-Nepal War of 1814 – 1816and the update on the Brigade of Gurkhasby Colonel David Hayes. It was war thatdrew England and Nepal together, in thefirst place as adversaries and thereafter asfriends and allies. Following the politicalevents in Nepal during the year I havewritten a short piece on how thosechanges have affected 12a KensingtonPalace Gardens. I am grateful to NickLindsay of the Zoological Society ofLondon, Chris Bowden and Dr RichardCuthbert of the Royal Society for theProtection of Birds, for their update onthe vulture situation in Nepal. This is aserious environmental problem that isaffecting the whole sub-continent. In thesearch for articles of interest I haveturned to the Kathmandu-basedperiodical Himal Southasian. As Imentioned in the last edition of thejournal, Himal Southasian has become aregional publication, and with the kindcooperation and permission of the editorI have reproduced two pieces that Iconsidered would be of interest tomembers of the Society. SaraShneiderman has written about crossborder exchanges of trade and culture inthe border area close to the FriendshipBridge and the Kodari Road. When theroad was being constructed in the early1960s it attracted considerable adversecriticism from India, in Nehru’s words:“a dagger into the heart of India”.Shneiderman is an anthropologist andcontributed to Himalayan People’s War

edited by Dr Michael Hutt and reviewedin Journal Number 29. I am sure thatmany members have travelled along theKodari Road and crossed over theFriendship Bridge either to say that theyhave stepped into Tibet or moreadventurously whilst travelling by road toor from Lhasa. I was in the formercategory and was technically notpermitted to enter China. However Imingled with one of the ubiquitousGerman groups and strolled over to thesmall kiosk that sold food, drink andsouvenirs. One of the Germans wasoverwhelmed to find Tsingtao beer forsale and in a paroxysm of delight dancedup and down shouting: “Ein Deutcherecept, ein Deutche recept!” Lager beerwas introduced by the Germans whentrading with China in the foreignenclaves established on the Chinese coastin the late nineteenth century.Samir Kumar Sinha has written about

the wildlife reserves of Chitwan, Valmikiand Parsa and current problems of tigerconservation in this border area. Thecurrent insurgency has meant thatwildlife protection has not had thepriority it should receive from thesecurity forces who have been engagedelsewhere. There are disturbing reports ofincreased poaching that have madesignificant reductions in populations oftiger and rhino. The cause ofconservation in Nepal suffered a severeblow as a result of the tragic helicoptercrash in the Kanchenjunga ConservationArea in September.Mention of this was made at the

October meeting of the Society and Ihave included a piece about this tragedyas many members will either have knownor be aware off those who lost their lives

EDITORIAL


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and the contribution they made toconservation in Nepal.Jane Loveless tells us about the visit

she arranged for HE Mr Prabal Rana toWhipsnade Wild Animal Park before heleft UK. Harish Karki has written aboutthe early days when the Nepalese beganto become interested in the restaurantbusiness and how he started to learn thetrade in Kathmandu before he and otherscame to UK.The journal, as ever, records the

passing of members and obituaries areincluded where possible and appropriate.The generation that went through WorldWar II is fading and that is reflected inthe obituaries included in this edition.Norman Points’ interest in Nepal sprangfrom his war service in Italy where heserved alongside the Gurkhas. JimmyMarley saw service with the 4th GurkhaRifles, serving in Malaya, Java andSumatra before returning to civil life. He

recently made a return visit to India withthe 4 GR Association in the autumn of2005 for their regimental reunion. DudleySpain spent a large part of his life in thesub-continent; he joined the 9th Gurkhasand served in Burma and India,transferring to the 2nd Goorkhas in 1947.Most of the rest of his service, bothmilitary and civil centred around Nepal.Those of my generation when travellingalmost anywhere in Nepal, wereinvariably asked: “Do you know SpainSahib?” If you did, you wereimmediately accepted as a friend ofNepal as undoubtedly Dudley was.I must thank, once again, Mr Peter

Donaldson who is the ‘staffphotographer’ at our events for the goodsupply of photographs. As ever I amgrateful to all the contributors and theadvertisers for their continuing support ofthe journal.

STOP PRESSHONOURS AND AWARDSMr Keith Bloomfield has been awarded the CMG in the newYear’s Honours list for hisrecent service as Ambassador in Kathmandu.One British officer and four Gurkha soldiers (one warrant officer, one corporal and

two riflemen) of D Company 2 RGR received Mentions in Despatches in the Decemberlist of operational gallantry awards for their brave conduct in Afghanistan. This showsthe high level of combat that these troops endured during their recent operations.

Mrs. Celia Brown has agreed to take onthe task of collecting archival material andin obtaining where possible, briefmemoirs. She would like to hear fromanyone who may wish to contribute.However, in the first instance she wouldappreciate it if members could let herknow what they have available. The editorof the journal and the committee are

planning to produce a short history of theSociety over the period 1960 to 2010 tocommemorate the Society’s fiftiethanniversary in 2010. Archival material willplay an important part in the production ofthis publication.Her address is : 1 Allen Mansions,

Allen Street, London W8 6UY andemail:[email protected]

THE ARCHIVIST


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THE OCHTERLONY MONUMENT, CALCUTTAOR THE SAHEED MINAR


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The Ochterlony Monument or the SaheedMinar as it is known today in modernKolkata, (Calcutta) was originally built tohonour General Sir David Ochterlony’s‘victory’ in the Nepal War of 1814 -16.The monument was re-titled and dedicatedto ‘the martyred freedom fighters’following Indian independence in1947.The column, 165 feet in height, is aninteresting mix of architectural styles,combining a Grecian pillar on an Egyptianplinth capped by a Turkish cupola. Theguide books state that, from the top of themonument excellent views of the city andthe maidan can be seen, howeverpermission to ascend must first be soughtfrom the police. On our visit in January2006 the monument firmly closed. It waswired off and no explanatory plaquesconcerning the history of either of its twodedications were in place.

GDBMr RF Rosner, a member of the Societywho lives in NewYork, explains theAmerican connection:Sir David Ochterlony (1758 - 1825),

Knight of the Bath and Baronet (the firstofficer of the Honourable East IndiaCompany’s Army, as opposed to theBritish Army, to be so honoured) was bornand educated in Massachusetts. In 1776,after moving to England with his widowedmother he obtained an East India

Company military cadetship in India.Ochterlony had an extremely successfulmilitary career being credited with theBritish victory in the war with theGurkhas of Nepal. Before that conflictwas over Ochterlony began therecruitment of Gurkhas into the BritishIndian Army, a practice that continues tothis day in both the British and Indianarmies. Upon becoming the Company’sResident in Delhi he adopted the lifestyle of a Mogul prince, including anextensive harem. There is an oft-repeated,but probably apocryphal story of the dailyparade of his 13 “wives”, each on her ownelephant. Almost fifty years after he firstarrived in India Ochterlony was still beingreferred to in a contemporary account asan American. After Ochterlony’s death amonument was erected to his memory inCalcutta. Mark Twain in Following theEquator admired this monument.However, it is obvious from his commentsthat Twain had not read the inscription onthe monument which refers toOchterlony’s New England birth andeducation, as well as his militaryaccomplishments, since Twain makes apoint of asking, without supplying ananswer, who Ochterlony was and what hedid to deserve his monument.

RF Rosner

ADVERTISEMENTS IN THE JOURNALWhy not adver t i se i n t he Br i t ai n- Nepal Soci et y

Jour nal

Ther e i s a member shi p wi t h a l ar ge r ange ofi nt er est s

r el at ed t o Nepal

You never know who may be i nt er est ed!


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We were all saddened by thewithdrawal of HE Mr Prabal SJB Ranain June this year. He has been a greatfriend of the Britain –Nepal Society aswell as a founder member of theSociety, and has very willingly hostedmany of our events at the NepaleseEmbassy. Some of us were able to saygoodbye to him at a small party duringwhich he was presented with a silverpicture frame.At the time of writing, Mr Dipendra

Pratap Bista who is an ex officiomember of the Britain-Nepal SocietyExecutive Committee has beenappointed Charge d’Affaires at theembassy. Shortly before the departure ofHis Excellency, Mrs Nilia Ranamagarannounced that she wished to retire fromher post as secretary to the Ambassador,a post she had held for a period of some27 years. We are all extremely gratefulto her for being such an accessible andfriendly person. She has now started asmall business close to her husband’srestaurant and I am sure will continue totake a lively interest in the activities ofthe Britain-Nepal Society.To reflect her long association with

the Society, she has been made anHonorary Life Member.

LECTURESOur new venture of holding the lecturesat the Medical Society of London hasproved to be a great success. Thesurroundings are more intimate and wehave been made most welcome. As anexperiment our June meeting wasfollowed by a Nepalese supper provided

by the Munal Restaurant. This was muchappreciated and will be repeated nextyear. Most important of all, our HonoraryTreasurer is happier that these events arenot as expensive as before. The lecturesgiven were:31 January 2006Sandra Noel: ‘Captain John Noel –Everest Pioneer’.15 March 2006Major Gordon Corrigan: ‘How it allstarted, the Anglo-Nepal War 1814-1816’.8 June 2006Col. David Hayes: ‘Today’s Brigade ofGurkhas’.19 October 2006Nick Lindsay: ‘Vultures – new speciesat risk in Nepal’.

We are grateful to all the speakers fortheir time, enthusiasm and excellentillustrations. As is the custom we shalllook forward to receiving them as ourguests at the Annual Nepalese Supper onThursday 22 February 2007. The datesfor the 2007 meetings are:Tuesday 30 JanuaryProfessor Michael Hutt from SOASWednesday 28 MarchColonel William Shuttlewood from theGurkha Welfare TrustTuesday 22 MayThe Britain – Nepal Otology ServiceTuesday 16 OctoberColour Slides of a 1948 AmericanExpedition to Nepal

All will be held at the Medical Society ofLondon, 11 Chandos Street starting at6.15pm with a wine reception. The talkswill commence at 6.45pm.

THE SOCIETY’S NEWSBy Dr Neil WeirHonorary Secretary


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ANNUAL NEPALI SUPPERThe supper, attended by 110 membersand guests, was held on 23 February2006 at St. Columba’s Church ofScotland Hall in Pont Street. HE TheRoyal Nepalese Ambassador was theprincipal guest. He updated us on thecurrent situation in Nepal.

HE Mr Prabal SJB Rana at the Supper.

Dr & Mrs Dhital with Mrs Jenifer Evansat the Supper.

Mr & Mrs Bista with Mrs HimalayaThapa and Mr Ron Rosner at the Supper.

Mrs Sneha Rana, Mr Timothy Georgeand Mrs D Grahame with the late MajorDudley Spain.

Sir John Chapple and the Chairman withHE Mr Prabal SJB Rana at his farewell.

Sir John Chapple with the Queen’sGurkha Orderly Officers at the Supper.

The Ambassador with the Chairman andLady Thorne at the Supper.


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SUMMER OUTINGEltham Palace, in southeast London, wasthe venue for this year’s outing onSunday 25 June 2006. It proved to be afascinating place which was a mix of the

medieval and the art-deco periods. Wewere joined by a good contingent fromthe Yeti Association and enjoyed anexcellent curry lunch, once againprovided by the Munal Restaurant.

WEBSITE -www.britain-nepal-society.org.ukThe website is up in skeleton form andwe are presently working with Mr DerekMarsh of Crystal Consultants (UK) Ltdat filling in the gaps. We are verygrateful to him for his enthusiasm andskill. We are very keen to hear of anyorganisations that have existing websitesor email addresses and which might liketo be linked to the Society website. Theaim is for the BNS website to provide acomprehensive list of organisationsundertaking work in Nepal as we oftenhear of organisations interested in the

The Secretary, Dr Neil Weir withMr Dipendra Pratap Bista, ChargeD’Affaires at the summer outing.

Elements of the committee at the summerouting enjoying their picnic.

Dr Dhital and Mr Harish Karki andfriends at the summer outing.

Mrs Marion Donaldson, Mrs SheilaBirch, Mrs Sneha Rana, the Chairmanwith the Ambassador at his farewell.

Gen Shridhar Rana with Dr Dhital andMr Harish Karki at the Ambassador’sfarewell.


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same subject but working quiteindependently without knowledge ofeach other.

SOCIETY TIES, SCARVES ANDLAPEL BADGESMr David Jefford kindly looks after thesale of the Society ties which cost£10.00 each including postage. They areobtainable from him at: 20 Longmead,Fleet, Hampshire GU13 9TR or at AGMor one of our major functions.Miss Jane Loveless has supervised the

production of a very attractive lapelbadge which will be available for salefor £3.00 (cash only!) at the AGM andother major functions.

DEATHSIt is with great sadness that we report thedeath during 2006 of the followingmembers:Lt Col CN FraserMajor MJ FullerMrs Beryl HodgkinsonCapt JM MarleyMr NE PointsMaj DA Spain


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I suspect that most members of theSociety will have visited 12a KensingtonPalace Gardens at some time. By kindpermission of the ambassador, theSociety has held its AGM there for manyyears and other functions have oftentaken place there. ‘Country’ members,even if they have not been able to cometo meetings, may well have dropped byto obtain their visas before making theirexpedition or trek to Nepal.Why 12a? Well Number12a was built

in the grounds of Number 12; nothingnew there as this is a common ploy thesedays! It has been the site for the embassysince the first Nepalese legation arrivedin London in 1934. The first ambassadorwas General Bahadur SJB Rana, his titleat that time was ‘minister’, and he was inpost for the period 1934 – 36. Over theyears terminology and status haschanged, leading to the title of ‘RoyalNepalese Ambassador’. Following thepolitical changes in Nepal during thesummer when HM King Gyanendrastepped back and handed power back tothe government, royal titles have beendropped. For example the RoyalNepalese Government, the RoyalNepalese Embassy, the Royal NepaleseAmbassador, the Royal Nepal Army andthe Royal Nepal Airlines Corporationwere re-titled, the Nepalese Government,the Nepalese Embassy, the NepaleseAmbassador, the Nepal Army and theNepal Airlines Corporation.Personalities were also affected. The

new government withdrew some twelve

ambassadors in their most importantmissions abroad. They were given 45days to move. This did allow the Societyto arrange a hasty farewell for HE MrPrabal Rana and small party was heldand a suitable presentation was made tomark his tenure and friendship with theSociety. Prabal was no stranger to UK.He was a student at University CollegeLondon 1958 – 61. He was also afounder member of both the Society andthe Yetis. He followed in his father’sfootsteps, General Kiran SJB Rana whohad been ambassador 1974-78. DuringWorld War II the General hadcommanded the Mahendradhal Battalionin the Burma campaign. Prabal wasdeputy head of mission 1982 – 87. Hewas made a Commander of the RoyalVictorian Order (CVO) by Her Majestythe Queen for the detailed planning andthe arrangements that he made for thevisit of Their late Majesties KingBirendra and Queen Aishwarya that tookplace in November 1980. He was broughtout of retirement to take up his lastappointment in 2003. He had alwaysbeen very supportive of the Society andkeen to foster goodwill in UK and he willbe much missed for his consistent helpand interest in Society affairs. At the timeof drafting, Mr Dipendra Pratap Bista,formerly the deputy head of mission (andex officio member of the Society’scommittee) is now Charge d’Affaires andcontinues to support the Society in everyway.

CHANGES AT 12A KENSINGTON PALACE GARDENSBy Lt Col Gerry Birch


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Nick Lindsay, Head of International ZooProgrammes, Zoological Society ofLondonChris Bowden, Director of VultureProgramme, Royal Society for theProtection of BirdsDr Richard Cuthbert, Vulture ProgrammeResearch Director, Royal Society for theProtection of Birds

SummaryTens of millions of vultures used to bepresent across India, Pakistan and Nepalbut since the early 1990s three vulturespecies have undergone catastrophicdeclines. Populations have decreased byat least 97% in India over the last 12years and 92% in just five years inPakistan. Vulture numbers continue todecline at around 40% a year, placingthese three critically endangered specieson the brink of extinction.Extensive research has identified the

main cause of the declines to bediclofenac, an anti-inflammatory drugroutinely administered to livestock inAsia. Vultures are exposed to the drugwhen they consume carcasses of animalshave been treated with diclofenac a fewdays before their death. Diclofenac ishighly toxic to vultures, causing them todie of kidney failure.The potential loss of these vulture

species has profound ecological and socialconsequences in Asia. Vultures play a vitalecosystem service by rapidly disposing ofcarcasses that would otherwise pose a riskof disease. With the decline of vulturesthere has been a dramatic increase in feraldog numbers, which pose a real risk tohuman health and safety.

The South Asia Vulture Recovery Planaims to halt the vulture declines and tominimise the ecological and social costsof the decline in the three species.Through an active program of research,captive breeding and advocacy it is hopedthat the survival of vultures in Asia canbe assured.

History of DeclinesVulture declines in India were firstrecorded in Keoladeo National Park,Rajasthan, by Dr Vibhu Prakash,principal scientist of the Bombay NaturalHistory Society (BNHS). Between 1985 -1986 and 1996-1997 the population oforiental white-backed vultures in the parkdeclined by an estimated 97% and thecolony was extinct by 2003. Since theinitial surveys, BNHS has now confirmedthat these levels of declines have beenseen in all regions of India and have alsobeen reported in Nepal and Pakistan.A number of hypotheses were put

forward for the cause of the declineincluding contaminants, infectiousdisease, and food shortage. Thegeographical pattern, extent and spread ofthe declines along with results fromanalyses of blood from sick birds and thetissues from dead vultures in India,initially suggested infectious disease asthe likely cause. However research by thePeregrine Fund (TPF) in Pakistandiscovered that the major cause of thedecline was a veterinary drug calleddiclofenac. This is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used widelyin the veterinary industry across SouthAsia.

VULTURES IN DECLINE – A NEED TO REACT BEFORE IT IS TOO LATEBy Nick Lindsay, Chris Bowden and Dr Richard Cuthbert


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The problem of diclofenacMost cattle in India are kept by peoplefor work and for the dairy products ratherthan for the meat. Therefore they areoften left to die naturally, with noattempt to recover the carcasses asvultures can reduce the carcass of a cowto a pile of bones in less than an hour.However, the farmers do not want thecattle to suffer if they are old and infirmso give them pain-killers to ease theircondition. Diclofenac is the cheapest andmost widely available treatmentparticularly for rural communities.Vultures usually feed in groups so

large numbers of vultures can be killedby just one contaminated carcass.Population modelling has shown that lessthan 1% of carcasses need to contain alethal quantity of diclofenac to accountfor the rate of decline seen.The effects of diclofenac on birds of

prey remind us of the devastating impactof DDT on birds worldwide. It took yearsfor governments to remove DDT andassociated chemicals from use.

SpeciesGyps vultures are obligate scavengersand perform an important ecologicalfunction by stripping the soft tissue fromcarcasses. They used to be widespreadand abundant, accounting for themajority of vulture sightings in bothAfrica and Asia. Their abundance inIndia and Nepal, where Hindu religioustaboos restrict the consumption of meat,is explained by the role Gyps specieshave in consuming the large number ofcattle carcasses in this region. In mostparts of Africa, vultures primarily feedon dead wild ungulates. All Gypsspecies are wide-ranging in theirforaging behaviour and juveniles

disperse more widely than adults.Satellite tracking of Eurasian andHimalayan griffon vultures fromNorthern India reveals that spend theirsummers in Mongolia and north-westChina, returning to India for the winter.Three vulture species in Asia

belonging to the Gyps genus are nowcritically endangered. These species arethe Oriental white-backed vulture, Gypsbengalensis, the long-billed vulture, G.indicus, and the slender-billed vulture, G.tenuirostris. Other vulture species,including other Gyps species, occur inthe region but it is as yet unclear if thesehave been affected in the same way butthere is a genuine concern that manyother species could be hit by diclofenac.Less than 1% of the Indian population

of the oriental white-backed vulture andless than 3% of long-billed vulturesremain. Numbers continue to fall bybetween 20 and 50% each year. Therarest of the three species, the slender-billed vulture, is also declining at asimilar rate.

Andrew Routh (ZSL senior vet), DevojitDas (BNHS vet) and Jackie (BNHS)checking an injury to a long-billedvulture.


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The impact of no vulturesThe potential loss of these vulture specieshas profound ecological and socialconsequences in Asia. Vultures play avital ecosystem service by rapidlydisposing of carcasses that wouldotherwise pose a risk of disease. Rottingcarcasses can pollute water courses andattract vermin such as rats that carrydisease. There has been a dramaticincrease in feral dog numbers, whichpose a real risk to human health andsafety. These dogs can and do carryrabies and are often in close proximity tohuman communities and the consequentrisk to humans is clear.In some areas bones stripped bare by

vultures are collected and used infertiliser manufacture but withoutvultures to clean the bones so thoroughlythis business could be dying out.To reduce the problems, local

communities have to find alternativeways to dispose of carcasses which arenot only time consuming but also costly.Burning or burying the bodies is notnecessarily the perfect solution either,and will ultimately lead to a reduction inthe food available for vultures.

South Asia Vulture Recovery PlanIn February 2004 a group of internationalvulture experts and research scientistsmet in India to discuss the vulture declineand to develop an action plan to try andsave the species rapidly heading towardsextinction. The South Asia VultureRecovery Plan was the result of themeeting.

The plan recommends 3 major actions:• The removal of diclofenac from thesystem in India, Nepal and Pakistan.

• The identification of a safe and

effective alternative NSAID to replacediclofenac.

• The establishment of a conservationbreeding programme for all threespecies.

By the time of the meeting there wasalready a very strong consortium oforganisations working on the vulturecrisis from India, Nepal, Pakistan, theUK and the US. Until then the effort hadbeen put into research into the decline sothis was quickly redirected in line withthe action plan.

Vulture Conservation BreedingCentresBecause of the unprecedented scale andspeed of the decline it is necessary tobring all three species of vultures intocaptivity away from the risk of diclofenacand thus to ensure their survival. Oncediclofenac has been removed from thesystem these birds and their offspring canbe released back into the former ranges.It will take a considerable time before wecan be confident that there is nodiclofenac left so a long term captiveprogramme is being planned.The Royal Society for the Protection of

Birds (RSPB), the Zoological Society ofLondon (ZSL), and the National Bird ofPrey Trust have been working with theBombay Natural History Society (BNHS)and national and state governments inIndia to establish captive breedingcentres. With significant support from theUK government’s Darwin Initiative thefirst vulture conservation breeding centrewas established in 2003 as the researchcentre when the cause was still unknown.The centre is expanding to accommodateviable populations of all three species. Asecond centre is now ready for use in the


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Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal. It isproposed that another 4 centres will berequired in the region to ensure sufficientbirds are in a safe environment to re-establish good population of each speciesin the future.The aim is for each breeding centre to

hold 25 pairs and to establish breedingcolonies of each of the three species.With the limited availability of wildvultures this is already a challengingtarget. If successful, however, thesecentres could be holding up to 200 birdsor more which, in itself, puts hugedemands on resources to staff and run thecentres. This has not been done before tosuch a scale. The Eurasian griffon vultureand the Californian condor programmesdid not work with numbers anywherenear these targets but these numbers arerequired because of the scale of declinesin South Asia.

NepalThe scale of the problem in Nepal doesnot match that of India, however thelikelihood of the extinction of the 2

species found in Nepal is as real.Traditionally there have not been thesame size of populations of vultures asin India but the decline has been asnoticeable with declines of over 90% insome areas. Resident vulture populationsare now extinct in the eastern areas ofNepal. There are a few remnantpopulations of the oriental white-backedvulture which could still be crucial inthe recovery of the species in Nepal butthe slender-bill vulture may well be lostto the country already. BirdConservation Nepal (BCN) has beenworking on the decline, monitoring wildvulture colonies for some years,supported by ZSL and RSPB. In 2005the King Mahendra Trust for NatureConservation (KMTNC) joined thegroup with the aim of developing abreeding centre near the Royal ChitwanNational Park. It may be impossible tocatch the sort of numbers beingproposed in Nepal but it is still crucialto bring some vultures into a safeenvironment while work in the wildcontinues. An awareness campaign hasstarted to alert communities, especiallythose near existing vulture colonies, tothe risks of diclofenac and to encouragea change to meloxicam. It is alsoimportant to let these same communitiesknow of the importance of vultures andto work with them to protect vultures.The government agencies involved in

veterinary drug use (the Department ofDrug Administration, the VeterinaryServices, the Livestock Services, etc)have proved to be extremely supportivebut there is a long way to go before wecan be confident that these vultures willnot be lost to Nepal altogether.

Meloxicam

Inside the colony aviary.


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To combat diclofenac’s devastatingeffects on vulture populations, the Indiangovernment announced, in March 2005,its intention to phase out the use of thedrug. However, progress has beenhampered by the lack of an alternativedrug that is known to be safe for vulturesyet effective for treating livestock. Suchan alternative has now been found anddetails have now been published,summarising the research by a team ofscientists from South Africa, Namibia,India and the UK.The team, led by Gerry Swan of the

University of Pretoria, found that thedrug meloxicam was safe to vultures atthe likely range of levels they would beexposed to in the wild. Meloxicam,which is similar to diclofenac in itseffectiveness for treating livestock, hasrecently become available for veterinaryuse in India and Nepal and can easily beused in place of diclofenac.Publication of these results coincided

with a two-day international meeting,convened by the government of India inDelhi in January 2006, to decide how tosave the endangered vultures. Removal ofdiclofenac from their food supply is avital step so having identified a safealternative at that time was veryimportant. The meeting was able toincorporate the new information into theresulting action plan for India and withrepresentatives from other countries inthe region there, it presented an idealopportunity to inform all concernedparties about the new drug.In May 2006 the Indian government

directed that all licences for themanufacture and importation ofveterinary diclofenac in India arewithdrawn within three months, and itappears that this has been successfully

carried out. The government in Nepalwithdrew import licences for diclofenacand the main manufacturer in Nepal(Medivet) ceased production voluntarily,switching production to the safealternative, meloxicam. Veterinarymeloxicam was registered for use inNepal in December 2005 and it has nowbeen launched onto the market. Althoughit may take time to remove the residualstocks of diclofenac this is a major steptowards ensuring there is a saferenvironment for the remaining vultures.An important example has been set byMedivet, keeping the alternative drug atthe same retail price for the farmers.

The futureDespite the progress made over the past 2years or so, the scale of the challengefaced cannot be under-estimated. India,Nepal and Pakistan make up a huge area,the majority of which had vultures untilrelatively recently. To ensure those areaswith remnant populations are free ofdiclofenac is almost impossible in a shorttime frame so the only real option in theshort term is to bring the birds intocaptivity and safety. This is a costlyoperation but if it can be done to thescale recommended the future of thesespecies of vulture can be assured.Remember this is not just a project tosave a few birds, it is a huge programme

Constructing the aviary.


19

aimed at ensuring species that haveplayed a key role in the ecosystem in theregion have a future and can once againcontribute to a complex balance of bothdomestic and wild species.If you would like further information

or want to follow the programme pleasevisit the vulture programme web-site:www.vulturerescue.orgIf you would like to support the project

through a financial contribution pleasecontact Nick Lindsay by e-mail at:[email protected] or by phone on01582 871302 and b mail to: NickLindsay, Whipsnade Wild Animal Park,Dunstable, Beds., LU6 2LF

NOTE:Vultures are nature’s scavengers,quickly disposing of rotting animalcarcasses.Their absence has allowed feral dogs,

jackals and rats to thrive, leading tofears of the spread of rabies and otherdisease.The Parsi community relied onvultures to consume the bodies of theirdead, but this has now becomeimpractical.Captive breeding and release of arelated species, the griffon vulture, ledto a thriving wild population being re-established in the Cevennes region ofFrance.

(During recent visits to Nepal in 2005 Inoted only two vultures and in 2006whilst in Calcutta I spotted one smallcolony of around 10 birds on the edge ofthe wetlands surrounding Calcutta andone group of 12-15 in the KazirangaNational Park, Assam. Ed.)

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(Sara Shniederman contributed to‘Himalayan ‘People’s’War’ edited byMichael Hutt which was reviewed in the2005 edition of the journal. She has beencarrying out research work for a PhD atCornell University concerned with ethniccommunities that inhabit the Himalayanborderlands of Nepal, Tibet and India. Iam grateful to the editor of ‘HimalSouthasian’ (www.himalmag.com ) forpermission to reproduce this article fromthe November-December 2005 edition.Ed.)

For most Nepalis, the Chinese bordertown of Khasa is synonymous with cheapclothes and electronics that eventuallymake their way down the ArnikoHighway to Kathmandu. But for agrowing number of people from theNepali villages adjacent to the TibetAutonomous Region (TAR), Khasa is thegateway to a set of opportunities that takeadvantage of China’s positivediscrimination policies towards minoritygroups and borderland populations. Whilenorthward migration has increased inrecent years in response to Nepal’sinternal conflict, the Nepali, Tibetan andChinese inhabitants of the area are alsobound together by a rich history of cross-border economic and social relationships.The town’s three names – Khasa in

Nepali, Dram in Tibetan and Zhangmu inChinese attest to its multiple personalities.Located at the mouth of the steep gorgewhere the Bhote Kosi exits the Tibetanplateau and enters the Himalayan mid-hills, the original settlement of Dram wasa customs outpost where Tibetan officialsregistered Nepali traders en route to thetrading centre of Nyalam, 30 km furthernorth. Before the Chinese army

established Dram as the official crossingon their newly built road in 1960, thenow-thriving town consisted of little morethan a cluster of shacks. More importantsettlements in the area were the villagesof Gosa, Lishing and Syolbugang.

Until 1960, the residents of Lishing andSyolbugang considered themselves Nepalicitizens, an assumption reinforced by thevisits of tax collectors representing theNepali state. When Chinese officialsarrived, they asked local leaders to showthem where the border was. One Lishingelder now in his 80s recalls: “We did notknow what a border was or where itshould be. We could not understand thelanguage of the Chinese officials. Theymade us walk and walk and we juststopped when we got tired. That is wherethe border is now.” Whether by accidentor design, the villages of Lishing andSyolbugang ended up inside the TAR; in

SWAPPING IDENTITIES – BORDERLAND EXCHANGES ALONGTHE NEPAL - TIBET AUTONOMOUS REGION FRONTIER

By Sara Shneiderman

Friendship Bridge looking northwards toKhasa/Dram/Zhangmu. (GDB)


exchange, China granted Nepal thepreviously Tibetan villages of Lapchi andLamabagar.

The XiaerbaThe residents of all four border villageswere given the choice: either stay put andaccept Chinese or Nepali citizenship byvirtue of location, or move across the newborder in order to maintain previouslyexisting citizenship. Families often mademixed decisions and many are now splitacross the border, with some familymembers possessing Nepali nagarikta(citizenship) certificates and othersChinese identity cards. This situationproved traumatic during the CulturalRevolution in the late 1960s and early1970s, when the border remained closed.With the liberalisation of the Chineseeconomy in the late 1980s, conditionshave improved. The 1992 implementationof a Sino-Nepalese treaty, which allowscitizens of either country who residewithin 30 km of the border to cross freelywithout a passport or visa, has allowedmany families to reunite. The provisionhas also proven an advantage to somefamilies, who have been able to establishjoint-venture businesses.

Despite the very real politicalboundary, most people in the area havecomplex identities shaped by the cross-border flows of language and culture. The

term ‘Sherpa’, for example, used today bythe inhabitants of Lishing and Syolbugangto describe themselves, has differingimplications in Nepal to those in the TAR.The Chinese government classifies theSherpa (or Xiaerba) as a dzu, or ‘less-developed ethnic people’. Thisclassification falls short of the full statusof minzu, or ‘ethnic nationality’, whichdefines larger Chinese minority groupssuch as Tibetans and Mongolians. TheSherpa do not qualify for minzu status,first, because their population is so small(approximately 1600, according to themost recent Chinese census); and second,because they have neither a distinctivewriting script nor other cultural practicesnotably different from those ofmainstream Tibetans.

In Nepal, one would expect the Sherpato establish an ethno-political organisationto agitate for incorporation into the higherstatus minzu group, but the Chinese statedoes not allow for such organisations.Anyway as one Sherpa who teachesChinese at the local middle schoolexplains, “We are happy to remain in thedzu category because we get morepositive attention from the government.”

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The Nepalese Customs post. (GDB)

Friendship Bridge. (GDB)


Such attention includes educational andcivil service quotas for dzu citizens; withsuch a small population the competition isminimal. Dzu students also receiveextended time to complete theirexaminations and are graded on a moreforgiving scale.

Perhaps more importantly,categorisation as dzu qualifies Lishingand Syolbugang’s Sherpa community toreceive support from Beijing’s new fundfor development of borderlandpopulations. According to a Lishingofficial, over the past two years the areahas received over three-and-half millionyuan (about USD 371,000) earmarked forinfrastructure development, livestockimprovement and income generation. Thevillages have been fully electrified andnow have access to both reliable drinkingwater facilities and mobile phoneservices. When compared with theinferior living conditions of Sherpa andother ethnic groups immediately acrossthe border in Nepal’s Sindhupalchowkand Dolakha districts, it is little surprisethat most ‘Chinese Sherpa’ feel certainthat they or their parents made the rightchoice by accepting Chinese citizenshipin 1960.

The big prizeNonetheless, many Nepali citizens whowere never presented with that decisionhave still been able to adopt alternativestrategies to take advantage of China’srapid economic development and ethnicpolicies. After the 1992 Nepal-Chinatreaty opened the border for locals, manyNepalis from the nearby villages ofMarming and Tatopani relocated toKhasa. They opened businesses to importNepali goods – mostly grain and ghee –into the TAR. “When I started, Tibetansdepended on Nepali rice, flour andbutter,” explained Namkang, one of thefirst Nepali Sherpa to establish asuccessful business in Khasa. “Themarket was all ours and we profitedenormously. But in the last decade, Chinahas grown so much that now they cantransport goods more cheaply from themainland to Lhasa, so we are suffering.”Nowadays, the more lucrative businessgoes in the other direction, forcing savvybusinessmen like Namkang to reorienttheir trade and serve as middlemen in thetransport of cheap Chinese goods toKathmandu’s markets.Despite the diminishing profits, many

Nepali border citizens still believe that thequality of life is better on the TAR side.Nepalis from the border areas can workfor up to one month in Dram or Nyalamwithout any formal registration, but forlonger periods they need to register for aforeign resident permit. With arecommendation from a Chineseemployer or landlord, this process can bequick. Authorities in Nyalam estimate thatthere are almost 400 Nepalis with foreignstatus in the county, and thousands morewho come to work for less than a monthat a time.The biggest prize of all is to become a

Chinese citizen, although the only sureway to do so is by marrying one. Many

22

The Kodari Road after a monsoonlandslide. (GDB)


23

Nepalis, both male and female, havetaken this route. There is another, back-door option, however: changing one’sname to ‘Sherpa’ upon crossing theborder and hoping to be mistaken for aXiaerba. This is why members of otherregional Nepali ethnic groups (such as theThami and Tamang, found across theborder in Nepal) are difficult to locate inKhasa – most introduce themselves as‘Sherpa’. Some go further by dressing ina ‘traditional’ style that few Sherpathemselves do, or by pretending that theydo not understand Nepali.

But there are also those who seek tocapitalise on their Nepali heritage. InKhasa and Nyalam, Nepali food isperceived to be cheap and healthy. Toemphasise their Nepali-ness and drawcustomers, many Nepali eateries displayphotos of the royal family or play Nepalipop music. Ironically, these are preciselythe symbols of dominant culture fromwhich ethno-politically active Sherpa orTamang inside Nepal seek to distancethemselves.

Historically, links between frontiercitizens were found not only in the Khasaarea, but also along the full length of theTibetan-Nepali border from east to west.For instance the most the most travelledtrade route between the 12th and 17thcenturies did not follow the modern road,but rather ran through Kyirong – what isnow Rasuwa District on the Nepal side andKyirong County in the TAR. Only recentlyhave cross-border relationships becomecentred around the road crossing. For now,the adaptations made by Nepal’sborderland citizens – as the highwayconnects them to the TAR, the Chinesemarket and Beijing’s economic and ethnicpolicies – are most evident in and aroundKhasa-Dram-Zhangmu. However, withseveral new road links under developmentbetween Nepal’s northern regions and theTAR (notably through Rasuwa andMustang districts) it is likely that oldfrontier relationships will be rejuvenatedand similar adaptations will occur in theseborder regions as well. For now though,Khasa-Dram-Zhangmu remains the bestdeveloped site for the give-and-takebetween contemporary Nepali-Tibetan-Chinese identities. There are as many waysto define identity along this route as thereare people crossing the border every day.

Constructing the ‘dagger’ in 1964. (GDB)

Constructing the approach to theIndrawati River Bridge 1964. (GDB)


24


cl>

+

cl>

Esther Benjamins

+

(Sinha is an environmental scientistcurrently working at the Valmiki TigerReserve in Bihar. I am grateful to theeditor of ‘Himal Southasian’(www.himalmag.com) for permission toreproduce this article from theNovember-December 2005 edition. Ed.)

“Shouldn’t the tigers of a trans-boundaryNepal-Bihar forest area be given dualcitizenship, so that they are protected onboth sides of the border?”

Flying northeast into Kathmandu fromthe direction of New Delhi, just as theaircraft begins its descent adjacent to theNepali terai, a wide stretch of junglesuddenly appears beneath. This is anunexpected swath of green, given thatwhole stretches of the terai region havebeen deforested over the past half centuryby logging and human encroachment.This expanse of low wooded valleys andriverine jungle is unique as the fineststretch of wild lands west of Assam –also a vibrant reminder of the greatjungles of the Ganga plains thatdisappeared long ago. Today, thisexpanse is habitat to several Southasian‘climax species’, most importantly, theone-horned rhinoceros, the tiger and thegharial and marsh mugger crocodiles.Perhaps just as distinctive is that this

area of jungle falls under three wildlifeunits in two different countries. TheRoyal Chitwan National Park and theParsa Wildlife Reserve are protectedareas within Nepal; the Valmiki TigerReserve is part of Bihar State in India.This cross-border region thus offers

unique possibilities for cooperativeprotection of one of the few unique,surviving natural habitats in the region.Unfortunately due to recent politicalconfusion in Nepal and a general lack ofinterest all around, the possibilities forcooperation are, for the moment, inabeyance.The Valmiki reserve is named after the

sage Valmiki, who is said to have writtenhis epic Ramayan in a retreat located inthese rolling hills. Located in WestChamparan District, the reserve extendswestward from the town of Valmikinagar,by the Gandaki River, to Bhiknathori, arailhead settlement on the ancient traderoute from the plains to Nepal’s centralhills. In the middle is the Someswarrange, part of which is known as theShiwalik range in India and the Churia inNepal. On both sides of the Someswarundulation, in Chitwan District of Nepaland West Champaran of India, are foundthe indigenous forest-dwelling Tharupeople.What is today the Royal Chitwan

National Park was once part of a muchwider area populated only by the Tharuin forest pockets, extending all the wayacross this ‘doon’ valley of Chitwan tothe Himalayan foothills. After most of thevalley was cleared through lumberextraction and settled by hill folk startingin the early 1960s, it was decided toconvert the southernmost region, as yetuncleared, into first a protected area andlater a national park. The Parsa WildlifeReserve extends eastward from thenational park and is part of the ParsaDistrict, otherwise highly populated by

25

WILD FRONTIER: VALMIKI-CHITWAN-PARSABy Samir Kumar Sinha


26

the Bhojpuri-speaking Madeshicommunity and containing the entrepottown of Birgunj.The contiguous forests of Chitwan-

Parsa-Valmiki (CPV) support a healthypopulation of what can be described asthe Subcontinent’s flagship wildlifespecies, the Royal Bengal Tiger(Panthera tigris). In the colonial era andearlier, this wildlife-rich area attractedrajas, nawabs and zamindars who camefor extended hunting expeditions. Later,colonial royalty such as King George Vand King Edward VIII (Prince of Wales)also came to hunt big game – whichwould be conducted spectacularly onelephant-back with sometimes hundredsof additional pachyderms providingsupport, driving prey towards the hunter.This area was once continuous

woodland stretching from the Dehradunregion of present-day Uttaranchal, 1800km east to Assam, past the Nepal teraiand the Bhutan duars. Today, it is visiblein satellite imagery only in patches. Thisfragmentation of habitat has presented acrisis for the Subcontinent’s tigerpopulation, which make up about half ofthe world’s total. Of the estimated 6000tigers that survive in the wild today, asmany as 200 of them survive in thealluvial grasslands and moist deciduousforests along the Nepal-India border – inthe Bardia and Shukla Phanta reserves ofNepal’s western terai and Chitwan-Parsa-Valmiki at the centre. Besides being thelarger, the CPV region also has thelargest area under forest cover, whichaffords a more ideal tiger habitat. Anestimated 80 tigers reside in the trans-border region, with about 35 thought tobe normally resident in Valmiki in Indiaand the rest in Nepal.

The CPV region has become so vitalfor tiger conservation that the US WorldWildlife Fund has identified it as a TigerConservation Unit (TCU) that shouldreceive top international priority. A TCUis defined as an area of habitat that eitheralready contains or has the potential tohost an ‘interacting population’ of tigers.CPV is a priority because of whatscientist call ‘habitat integrity’, asituation of low poaching pressure and arelatively abundant tiger population.Scientists assume that such anenvironment offers the maximumpossibility of long-term survival for tigersin the wild.

World heritageBecause of the three regimes and twocountries under which Chitwan-Parsa-Valmiki is located, the full extent of thesize and scope of this conservation area isnot fully appreciated by theadministrators on the two sides of theborder, nor by the public at large. Takingthe TCU as a whole, this is a protectedwildlife area of 2311 sq km, whichincludes 932 sq km of Chitwan, 499 sqkm of Parsa and 880 sq km of Valmiki.Including buffer zones and other areasoutside the core wildlife reserves, thetotal conservation area covers an area aslarge as 3549 sq km.Chitwan was declared a national park

in 1973, while the Parsa Wildlife Reservewas announced in 1984. Wild elephantsare actually the star attraction of the latterreserve; Chitwan is known for the tigersin its sal and other forests, and therhinoceroses in its riverine grasslands.The habitat had been well protected as aroyal hunting reserve from 1846 to 1951during the Rana regime. In 1963, an area


27

south of the Rapti River was demarcatedas a rhinoceros sanctuary, which waslater converted to the national park. In1984, recognising the wealth of itsnatural habitat, Chitwan was added to theWorld Heritage List by UNESCO.Prior to Indian independence in 1947,

the Valmiki forest was owned by theBettiah Raj and the Ramnagar Raj.Interestingly, the rulers of Ramnagarwere descended from a raja said to benamed Burangi Singh, a satrap of the“mountains of Telhoni or Telahu” inNepal, according to a historical source.Owing to oppression by the king ofNepal, he is said to have taken refuge inthe low hills around Tribeni Ghat, whichis the point where the Narayani River(Gandak in Bihar) flows into the plains.The fleeing raja established himself atRamnagar, which today falls in asubdivision of West Champaran.Both Bettiah and Ramnagar states took

advantage of the income that the jungleoffered. The Valmiki forests weresubsequently leased out to companiessuch as M/ s Dearr & Co and NepalTimber Co, which led to years ofexploitation and degradation of thewoodlands. The government took overthe tracts after Independence in 1947,later establishing the Valmiki WildlifeSantuary in two stages, in 1978 and1990. Between 1974 and 1994, however,Valmiki was heavily exploited by theBihar State Forest DevelopmentCorporation until the area was declared aTiger Reserve under the Project TigerProgramme, originally started by IndiraGandhi as prime minister. Finally, therewas a complete ban on the extraction ofall forest products. Though not fullyimplemented, this new policy led to a

healthy recovery of the Valmiki forest. Infact a recent study of the entire terairegion in India found Valmiki’s forestcover and species wealth to be far betterthan elsewhere.

Nationality of the tigerThe Chitwan-Parsa-Valmiki foreststogether form the territorial area of manytigers. The cross-border movements bythe animals increase during the breedingseason. During the summer there is ageneral move north into Chitwan by thebeasts inhabiting the northern side ofValmiki. The Indian paramilitary forcesdeployed along the border in response tothe Maoist rebellion in Nepal have alsonoticed these movements – they filereports, for example of a ‘Nepali tiger’entering the Valmiki or an ‘Indian tiger’moving north into Chitwan. Of course theinternational frontier has no meaning forthe big cats. They have no citizenship:they simply traverse the habitat thatevolution has ordained as their own.

During the 2003 monsoon, a tigercorpse remained trapped for two days inthe sluice gate of the Gandak Barrage atValmikinagar. The Indian press reportedthat a dead “Nepali tiger” was stuck inthe barrage, as if the deceased creature

Royal Bengal Tiger. (Alex Sliwa)


28

had a passport or identity card. In realityno one can guess the origin of a tiger inthese trans-boundary habitats unless it isradio-collared or in some way marked.Even then, because of the animals’shifting bases, it is impossible to locatethe points of origin of borderland tigers.In essence, a tiger can move through theforests of either country, and in any ofthe three protected areas. Theresponsibility for its care and protectionsubsequently rests with the forestwardens and policymakers of bothcountries.In the Madi Valley of Chitwan, which

hosts a cloistered settlement of Tharusand hill migrants surrounded by jungle,one hears similar references to thenationality of tigers. Between 1980 and2000, nearly 50 people were said to havebeen killed in Chitwan; 24 of thesedeaths took place in the four years priorto 2001 in the Madi region. Most of the‘suspect’ tigers were said to have been‘Indian’, entering from some degradedtracts on the other side of the border.Conversely, when a tiger killed twovillagers at Rhagia in India, it wasassumed by the Indian authorities that theculprit was ‘Nepali’. The real cause ofthe deaths, of course, was the increasingencroachment into the protected forestsby the villagers of either nationality –this is the habitat of the tigers, after all,for which the only citizenship is thejungle.

Eco-regional cooperationAs yet, no thorough study has been doneon habitat status, land use and thepopulation and movements of tigers inthe area south of the Madi Valley withinChitwan, where the Nepali and Indian

forests meet. It is assumed that this is animportant corridor for tiger movementbetween the eastern part of Valmikireserve and the Chitwan-Parsa forest.During a May 2005 tiger census inValmiki, several tigers were reported inthis eastern sector. Evidence of tigers hasalso been found near the Someswar Fort,on a summit of the range by the samename, south of Madi. Boulder mining hasrecently been banned from Valmiki’seasternmost edge, which is furtherexpected to improve tiger habitat, withless human disturbance.As it cuts through the Churia/Shiwalik

hills, the meandering Narayani River(‘Gandak as it flows into India) providesa direct link between Chitwan andValmiki. This corridor sees thedownstream movements of tigers, rhinosand ungulates from Chitwan into Valmikiduring the monsoon floods. In August afield assistant with the Wildlife Trust ofIndia even saw a tiger cub floating downriver near the barrage. In 2000, a ‘Nepali’rhino was located in the Pandai riverbedof eastern Valmiki. A herd of elephantswas also recorded having entered Valmikifrom Chitwan and moving southwardtowards human settlements before beingdriven back.A clear protocol has still not been

agreed upon as to how to deal with theseanimals of the contiguous forests of CPV.The across-the-border arrangements havegenerally been ad hoc. If this TPU is tobe maintained in the relatively highquality of its habitat and wildlife, there isa need for the two countries to beginsustained cooperative efforts. Thisincludes control of illegal logging andpoaching, and ensuring that theencroachment of human inhabitants in


29

the surrounding villages does not degradethe quality of habitat required for thetigers and other animals.For their parts, poachers and loggers

currently use this wild frontier to theiradvantage, quickly hopping the borderafter committing forest or wildlife-related offences. Nepal’s Maobaadireportedly use the Someswar forest tractfrom the Bhikna Thori railhead into theMadi Valley as an arms and materialsupply route into the hills of centralNepal. While it is unclear whether thishas impacted Nepal’s conservationefforts, a sharp increase in the number ofrhinos killed by poachers is clearlyproblematic. The national park’sprotection has always been thejurisdiction of the Royal Nepalese Armywhich is currently preoccupied with anti-insurgency operations throughout thecountry and is said to have lean presencein Chitwan.

The national park has long been thepride of the Nepali conservation effortand it has a far better protection systemthan does its Indian counterpart. Butreports of a sharp rise in rhinos killedhere in the last year bespeaks thedeteriorating situation in Chitwan, whichresults in a degradation of the status ofthe whole cross-border region. Poachersand contraband runners come from bothsides of the frontier. Last year, Nepaliauthorities arrested Indian villagers withleopard skins and tiger bones at TribeniGhat on the Gandak; earlier, a Nepali wasalso caught red-handed with leopardskins by Valmiki authorities. Surveillanceof the region by wildlife authorities fromboth sides – rather than just by theparamilitary forces of one side – wouldhelp tremendously in tackling poachingand contraband trafficking.A meeting of Indian and Nepali

wildlife officials on trans-boundary


30

conservation was held between Nepal andIndia in January 1997. Far-reachingresolutions were adopted to promote theestablishment of trans-borderconservation areas in appropriate regions,maintain appropriate data bases and sharerelevant information for biodiversityconservation. It was also decided tocreate anti-poaching mechanisms,conduct joint training and to exchangeresearch information on wildlife matters.At a follow-up meeting in New Delhi in1999, the two sides agreed to developcommunication systems in Nepal-Indiatrans-border conservation areas, as wellas to protect corridors for the seasonalmovements of wildlife. In particular therewere expressed commitments to developeco-regional cooperation in the CPVarea.

Unfortunately these laudable decisionshave yet to be implemented on theground, particularly in Chiwan-Parsa-Valmiki. Here trans-boundarycooperation is still in its embryonic stage.Admittedly Valmiki is on the road torecovery after being included in theProject Tiger scheme, added to the banon forest resource exploitation. Butbecause the ecological integrity of theentire CPV region is vital, it is importantto maintain the high standards ofmanagement in the Royal ChitwanNational park, as well as to enhance the‘integrity’ of the Parsa Wildlife Reserve.All in all, focus in all three units shouldbe on protection, containing wildlifetrade, regular habitat monitoring andpaying attention to the needs of the largecarnivores, especially the tiger.

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On a hot Sunday morning in June,Whipsnade Wild Animal Park (theZoological Society of London’s sister zooto London Zoo) had great pleasure inintroducing some of its wonderfulanimals to His Excellency Mr PrabalRana and his party of twelve friends. Onarrival they were immediately taken bystaff to the Asian Rhino Section. The twofemale rhinos, Beluki and Behani(presented to the Zoological Society ofLondon in 1997 by the late King and hisgovernment) were half-submerged in acool mud bath quite some distance awayin the paddock, so were not clearlyvisible. However Jaffna, the large male,was ready and waiting in his indoorenclosure for a few treats! The keepingstaff was on hand with buckets ofbananas, apples and vegetables that soondisappeared down Jaffna’s throat. TheAmbassador and friends had great funfeeding him his unexpected picnic, takingcare to avoid contact with his huge,razor-sharp teeth!Next the party visited the Elephant

Section. Here they were greeted by LeeSambrook, Team Leader, who showed usthe indoor facility, and explained how theelephants are managed within it, and howthey are trained to raise their feet for apedicure. Currently, Whipsnade has fouradult females, two young elephants, and

the huge male Emmett who was in musthand therefore separated from the rest ofthe group. We were asked not to walk tooclose to his enclosure as we made ourway to meet Emilia, a two-year oldfemale who was out for a walk with hermother and aunt with tails and trunkslinked. Again, bananas were to hand andthe party enjoyed feeding this veryendearing, greedy animal.

All in all a wonderful time was had,and the Ambassador and his partyenjoyed a unique close-up with some ofWhipsnade’s residents. I personallywould like to thank Les Radford andMick Shillingford for the time they spentorganising the section visits, and forshowing us around, and of course all thekeeping staff. It was much appreciated.

HE Mr Prabal SJB Rana visits theNepalese rhinos at Whipsnade

HE MR PRABAL RANAAND PARTYVISITWHIPSNADEWILDANIMALPARK

By Jane Loveless


(Harish Karki is a long-standing member ofthe Society, and until his recent retirement,was the owner of the ‘Johnny Gurkha’restaurant in Aldershot. He served for sixyears in the Brigade of Gurkhas 1960-66 inthe Gurkha Engineers. He returned toKathmandu and whilst working theredeveloped an interest in the hotel andcatering industry. He is a prominentmember of the Yeti organization, havingvariously held the appointments oftreasurer, vice president and president. Ed.)

“Imagine an exodus of experiencedcatering people wanting to make the dreama reality. Now imagine managers, waitersand chefs gaining access to come over tothe United Kingdom on a work permitscheme; the rest is history.”

In 1967 the first handful of promising,hard working and ambitious Nepalesewould-be skilled workers and restaurateursarrived in London. This was no accidentbut a vision and idea held by a man whowent to Nepal and stayed in and aroundthe hotels and restaurants in Kathmandu,sampling and noting down the cookingmethods, spices and basic kitchen utensilsused to create some of the most originalfresh-tasting ethnic cuisine in the world.He managed to spread the word throughvisiting the sparse hotels and restaurants inKathmandu trying to recruitchefs/assistants, cooks, waiters, managers,bar staff and to bring them over to Englandto start what he would successfully call his‘Kwality Empire’. The man was Mr. RijuBhagwanani. He has since passed awaybut some of his family reside in Dorset.Mr. Bhagwanani set up a company by thename of KWALITY London Limited,opening his first restaurant at 145Whitfield Street, London W1 and then

‘Volga Tandoori’ on the corner of ConwayStreet. This was followed not long after by‘Volga II’ on the Edgware Road, W2.Mr. Bhagwanani introduced and

influenced the tandoori cooking delicacyin London as until then there was only asmall number of Indian restaurants butnone of them seemed to specialise intandoori dishes. There was the‘Viraswamy’ restaurant in Piccadilly, andthe ‘Agara’ but the late Riju Bhagwani ledthe way for restaurant wallahs everywhere.Prior to this, basic curries only were to

be

found on an Indian menu, but Mr.Bhagwanani imported a clay tandoori ovenfrom Bombay, and within a year or so theidea had caught on like wildfire andtandoori ovens became a basic yetessential part of every Asian restaurant inLondon and the Home Counties.The very first Nepalese restaurant that I

had known belonged to the late KrishnaBahadur Thapa. Mr Thapa opened his firstrestaurant in Ealing and was able to providejobs for newly arrived Nepalis, althoughthis is not forgetting another Nepali alreadyworking here, Ram Prasad Sharma.Mr. Sharma came originally from the

Gorkha district in the west Nepal. He hassince retired from the restaurant trade, butis still in good health and prosperous. It

‘KHUKURI TO COOKERY’By Harish Karki

33


34

has been reported and widelyacknowledged that late Rup Bahadur Karkiarrived in the UK in 1967 under the workpermit scheme. It is very saddening as hehas recently demised.Shyam Das Maharjan was the second

and most experienced to the chef whoarrived in 1967. The third group broughtfour more work permit holders into the UK,Kalu Ram Tamang, me (Hari-Bivor Karki),Ram Das Maharjan and finally MohammedAli. Mr. Mohammed Ali was retired andwent back to his home is Kathmandu.As my service with the British Army

came to a close I returned to Kathmandu,and I was then employed in two differentjobs. The first by day, I was employed as aboxing instructor under the NepaleseMinistry of Defence where I was involvedwith the Nepalese Cadet Corps, and thenby night I worked in the Hotel Soaltee.During this period in Nepal, jobs in thehotel catering field were few and highlysought after. My ambition was to becomea manager within the hotel and cateringindustry.When I arrived in the UK I had no idea

what civilian life would hold for me. Istayed in London for about five monthsand Mr. Bhagwanani asked me to go toNepal and hold interviews for morecatering-experienced workers. I selectedfour people and they were Dhan BahadurMali, Ishwor Prasad Manandhar, PunnyaDas Madhikami and Ram BahadurGurung. As a result many Nepaleseworked very hard and found their own wayup through the hotel and catering systemand through their honest reputation, savedsufficient funds and gained enoughexperience and knowledge to start up theirown businesses.When I came to England my

employment with KWALITY London Ltdceased, as the restaurant was burnt down,and not wanting to wait until the restauranthad been refurbished and re-opened, I

conferred with Mr. Bhagwanani and askedwhether or not there would be anyvacancies opening for me at the ‘Volga’.So, I started again and relocated to

Edgware Road W2, and after working fora few months I came across anadvertisement in the paper offering avariety of posts at the PortmanIntercontinental Hotel, Marble Arch. Iapplied and was successful, securing atrainee restaurant manager post. At thattime part of the advantages of working fornew and highly recognised hotel was theinclusion of a qualification in hotel andcatering work, recognised in the entireworld. The Westminster Technical College,Victoria, was where the day release coursewas held and to make up the time spent atcollege my weekends were also to besacrificed. After I successfully passed thecourse I felt bitterly disappointed as thepromotion I thought I had readily deservedwas given to my German colleague. Nowfeeling a little humiliated and disillusionedI began looking for other work. I wanderedaround taking up a variety of jobs until Ihad enough and decided to open my ownrestaurant. It was the very first Nepaleserestaurant to open in Aldershot called‘Johnnie Gurkha’s’. I tried to ensure thatwhen customers walked in they wouldimmediately feel at ease and as theywaited for friends, family or colleaguesthat they could be immersed in all thingsNepali style.From my own observation and through

talking to the first generation Nepalesewho entered the restaurant profession, itwas agreed it was a golden age. The tradethat fed us, provided us with money andwork and also provided us with a roof overour heads. The children of thoserestaurateurs who did not wish to follow intheir parents’ footsteps, witnessed at firsthand the hard work and the unsocial hourswe all had to work, and how it affected ourlives with our families and at the end of


35

the day we all want something bigger andbetter for our children do we not?It was our background that provided us

with strength and showed us and howmuch we had achieved and how far we hadall come. The trade that made us allpromise ourselves that we would workhard for 10 years or so, then head backhome with the hard earned money, or whatmoney we thought we might have beenable to salvage after years of contributingfor our stay in the United Kingdom,seemed to have been made a lifetime ago.We became tied with families then

children and then properties werepurchased. In time children needed to besent to schools. The more and more wesearched for the path to take us back toNepal the more we found ourselves noteven knowing what direction we shouldtake. In honesty in my younger days Iyearned to have money and lots of it too,but I soon learnt the value of money andwhat it looked like but money as a

characteristic I would say is fickle.Since these humble and early

beginnings in the restaurant trade, the foodindustry has surged forward in keepingwith modern times, and nowadaysNepalese restaurants can be found all overthe United Kingdom. The menus of thesenew eateries are becoming more diverseand are imaginatively titled but the heart ofit all is essentially and typically a productof Nepal.I simply wish to salute my fellow

restaurant colleagues and supporters ofNepal and its cuisine.

(Members will doubtless remember MrManadhar’s restaurant, the ‘Natraj’, inCharlotte St, London, one of the very earlyNepalese restaurants. Nepaleserestauranteurs have now achieved justabout full coverage of all UK now that the‘Gurkha Kitchen’ has opened in Lerwick,Shetland! Ed.)


36


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Website : www.tigermountain.com "Io -'" cNcIuog "'" 7' ('7 ('" • .,.. , ,,, _ ...... "" ~

37

On the morning of 23 September ahelicopter carrying a crew of four withtwenty passengers crashed into amountainside near the village of Ghunsain a remote part of the KanchenjungaConservation Area in northeast Nepal.There were no survivors. There was,apparently, bad weather in this part ofAsia at the time. On board were seniorNepalese government and World WildlifeFund (WWF) officials, both from Nepaland the West and officials from foreignmissions in Kathmandu. This tragedyreceived little coverage in the UK media.The Kanchenjunga Conservation Area

Project was launched in March 1998 withthe aim of conserving globally threatenedwildlife species such as the SnowLeopard. The area is well known for itsrich biodiversity. Combined with aspectsof conservation were programmes to aidthe local community in areas of healthpromotion, education and incomegeneration. The project had finallyreached the stage to be handed over tothe local community to manage, and onthe previous day the formal handoverceremony had taken place. Hence seniorofficials involved had been flown fromKathmandu for the occasion. At theceremony Dr Chandra Gurung said, “Weare very proud to be part of this effort.The handover will be held up around theworld as a positive example of peoplemanaging their own natural resources andenable learning on how to makeconservation more equitable andsustainable.”It would appear that the party were

travelling to view other parts of the areathe next day when tragedy struck.Amongst those killed were:

Mr Gopal Rai, Minister for Forests andSoil Conservation and his senior civilservant, Dr DP Parajuli.Mr Paul Mustonen, Finnish Charged’Affaires.Margaret Alexander, Deputy DirectorUSAIDDr Jill Bowling, Conservation DirectorWWF UKJennifer Headley, regional coordinator,Eastern Himalayas WWF UKMr N Poudel, Director General,Department of National Parks andWildlife Conservation.Mr Sarad Rai, Director GeneralDepartment of Forests.

However members are likely to haveknown or met:Dr Chandru Prasad Gurung whooriginated from Sikles, and wasDirector of the AnnapurnaConservation Area Project (ACAP) forsome years. He was also MemberSecretary of the King Mahendra Trustfor Nature Conservation, and wasextremely well qualified with aninternational reputation amongconservationists. He was the currenthead of the WWF Nepal Programme.

DISASTER IN THE KANCHENJUNGA CONSERVATION AREABy Gerry Birch

The late Dr Chandra Gurung.


38

Dr Harka Gurung who was the firstMinister of Tourism. He was wellknown for his contribution in the fieldsof mountain tourism, conservation andenvironment. He was the author of oneof the early books on Nepal, Vignettesof Nepal. He studied in Patna and tookhis Ph D at Edinburgh University. Hehad been a research fellow at SOAS andheld other academic appointments.Mingma Norbu Sherpa was working inWashington as Director of ConservationWWF Programmes. He originated inKhunde and attended the Hillary Schoolin Khumjung. He obtained a degreefrom Canterbury University, NewZealand and a further degree fromManitoba University.He worked as park warden in theSagarmatha National Park, the firstSherpa to hold that appointment. Hewas the designer of ACAP and carriedout the feasibility study, becomingDirector for three years. In the WWF,

which he joined afterwards, he becamethe country representative of WWF’sBhutan and Nepal programmes beforemoving to the USA as Director ofConservation Programmes.Dr Tirtha Man Maskey was the formerDirector General of the Department ofNational Parks and WildlifeConservation. He started his career in1972 as a warden of Chitwan NationalPark. Later he studied in the USAgaining degrees at the Universities ofMichigan and Florida. He had acquireda great deal of practical experience inwildlife park management.

The loss to Nepal of all these eminentpeople with all their practical knowledgeand experience of wildlife conservation isincalculable, especially at this time. I wasable to send the Society’s condolenceselectronically to the site opened for thatpurpose and HE Dr Hall undertook to passthe Society’s condolences in person to

HIMAL SOUTHASIANHimal Southasian is a monthly news and current affairs magazinewhich is published in Kathmandu. Originally it dealt only withNepal but due to its increasing success it now covers the SAARC /South Asian region. The editors consider this to be a ‘reviewmagazine’ that contains longer and more analytical articles, two ofwhich are reproduced in this edition of the Britain – Nepal SocietyJournal by kind permission of the editor.

www.himalmag.com

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Mailing address: GPO Box 24393, Kathmandu, NepalTel: + 977 1 5547279 Fax: + 977 1 5552141


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Important Bird Areas in Nepal: key sitesfor conservation. By Hem Sagar Baral andCarol Inskipp. Bird Conservation Nepaland BirdLife International, Kathmandu andCambridge. 2005. Pp 242. Photos. Maps.Tables. Pb. £25. ISBN 99933-792-2-0.Distributed by NHBS EnvironmentBookstore www.nhbs.com

The Maoist insurgency in Nepal has largelyended the extraordinary appeal of the countryfor foreign birdwatchers, whose expeditionsin the 1970s and 1980s contributed richly toNepali ornithology. This publication is atestament both to their work and to that of ayoung cohort of skilled Nepali scientists andbird guides, who are now at the cutting edgeof study into the country’s threatened birdsand habitats. Fittingly, the two lead authors,Hem Sagar Baral and Carol Inskipp, are twoof the outstanding representatives of thesehome-grown and foreign generations ofornithologists.The book’s layout is similar to that of

other national IBA publications. The smallsize of Nepal is reflected in the inclusion ofjust 27 IBAs. This, together with theattractive layout, makes the bookparticularly easy to get to grips with. Theintroductory sections on birds, habitats andselection of IBAs bring out well the terrificbird and habitat diversity in relation togeographical area, including the remarkablefact that six biomes are represented inNepal, only two fewer than India.These biomes are well featured in the

IBA list and, in terms of area, about 81% ofNepal’s IBA network is included in theprotected areas that cover an impressive18% of the country. Of more concern is that12 IBAs (44%) have no statutory protectionand that the average size of these IBAs isjust 35,000 ha, compared to 150,000 ha forprotected areas. The IBAs include suchfavourites as Chitwan National Park and theAnnapurna Conservation Area. But manyother sites are little known to foreign

birdwatchers and several have been poorlystudied (the same is true for the fivepotential IBAs that are included). There aretherefore great opportunities for visitingbirdwatchers and Nepali workers to startfilling in these gaps in our knowledge. Thecurrent security situation is clearly an issueand potential visitors should liaise closelywith their embassies and localornithologists to assess risks.It will come as no surprise that Nepal’s

birds face a range of threats familiar in otherAsian countries, such as loss of forests,wetland degradation, conversion ordegradation of grasslands and hunting andfishing. The book also highlights thecatastrophic reduction in numbers of Gypsvultures as a result of diclofenac poisoning,the spread of exotic and invasive plants andthe threat posed by climate change. Theauthors make a range of recommendationsfor action, including building on Nepal’sremarkable success in allowing communitiesto manage forests, which has led tophenomenal local increases in forest cover.This book is the most important

publication to date on bird conservation inNepal. Let us hope that peace will soonreturn and allow a rapid increase ineffective conservation work in thisspectacular country.

Mark Mallalieu

(Mallalieu was formerly Director of DFIDin Kathmandu. This review appeared in theJune 2006 edition of BirdingAsia, thebulletin of the Oriental Bird Club. CarolInskipp lectured to the Society in June 2005on this topic and an outline of her lectureappeared in the last edition of the journal.Dr Hem Sagar Baral, Chief Executive ofBird Conservation Nepal, also won animportant UK award in 2005 whichprovided funding for the conservation of thePhulchowki IBA. He also wrote about theKoshi Tappu reserve in the 2005 edition ofthe journal. Ed.)

BOOK REVIEW


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43

Lieutenant Colonel CN FraserClive Neilson Fraser died suddenly at hishome on 21st August 2006. He was bornon 25th January 1944 and served in the2nd Goorkhas from 19th November 1965to 1st November 1993. At the time of hisdeath, he was Honorary Secretary of theSirmoor Club, the 2nd GoorkhasRegimental Association, a post to whichhe had been elected in September 2003.He came from a distinguished militaryfamily, the son of Colonel HV Fraser,CMG, OBE, TD, RTR and nephew ofColonel JN “Bumble” Fraser MBE, MC,2nd Goorkhas. Clive enlisted at MonsOfficer Cadet School, Aldershot on 28thFebruary 1963 and was commissionedinto the Royal Tank Regiment. He servedwith 1 RTR at Hohne in Germany untilbeing gazetted to a Regular Commissionin the 2nd Goorkhas. He joined the 2ndBattalion in February 1966 and sawoperational service in Borneo during the“Confrontation” with Indonesia. Variousappointments in the Battalion followedincluding that of Signals Officer. He wasposted to the British Gurkha TransitCamp in Barrackpore to the north ofCalcutta, as Adjutant for a short tour ofduty from September 1969 to January1970. Regimental appointments as aCompany Commander followed until1976 when he enjoyed a Loan Serviceappointment with HQ Staff of the Sultanof Oman’s Armed Forces. In 1978 heserved with the Training Depot Brigadeof Gurkhas in Hong Kong, then with theMOD in the UK and in 1980 returned tohis Battalion as Second-in-Command. Aseries of Staff appointments andpromotion to Lieutenant Colonelfollowed. His penultimate appointment asa Regular officer was as Liaison Officer

Brigade of Gurkhas at the MOD fromJanuary 1989 to September 1992. It wasduring this time that he became involvedwith the Britain – Nepal Society as an exofficio member of the Society’scommittee. He was always verysupportive of the Society’s aims andevents. He retired from the ActiveService list in September 1993 andbecame a Retired Officer (RO) gradeCivil Servant, working initially inAldershot. In 1998 he moved to HQBrigade of Gurkhas (HQBG) in ChurchCrookham as BrigadeSecretary/Regimental Secretary TheRoyal Gurkha Rifles. In this appointmenthe was again a member of the Society’scommittee. In May 2000, with theimpending move of HQBG toNetheravon he moved back to Aldershotto HQ 4 Division as Military Secretaryand was still serving when he died.In their tribute to him in the Sirmooree

(the 2nd Goorkhas regimental journal),Brigadier Peter Little wrote: “Of hisgeneration in the Regiment, Clive wasamongst the most committed to what theSirmoor Rifles stood for. He had anespecially strong sense of duty andbelieved passionately in the maintenanceof what some may now regard as old-fashioned standards, both personal andprofessional. He would go to endlesstrouble to ensure everything was in itscorrect place, whether for a military taskor for a carefully managed socialevent….. He was very much one of theregiment’s workhorses who had a hand inthe implementation of so many of thechanges to the Brigade of Gurkhas thattook place after Confrontation andleading up to the disbandment of the oldGurkha regiments…. Professionally it

OBITUARIES


44

was no surprise that he became BrigadeSecretary when he retired from the Armyand later Military Secretary in HQSouthern District, where his ability to bediscreet and his determination to ensurethat the careers of all officers, whatevertheir rank, were properly and fairlymanaged were put to good use”. Societymembers who either knew or workedwith Clive will fully endorse thesesentiments.(I am indebted to Brigadier Peter Little

and the editor of the ‘Sirmooree’, MajorJohn Burlison for their assistance withthis obituary. Ed.)

Capt Jimmy M MarleyJimmy Marley died at home on 4thFebruary. Jimmy was born inLittlehampton in 1922 where his fatherwas a schoolmaster at a prep school.Sadly his father died when Jimmy wasonly four years old. His aunt, thenmarried to the Deputy Governor ofBritish North Borneo (now Sabah), alsodied at about the same time leaving twochildren. As a result both families werebrought up together in their grandparents’house in Hook Heath, near Woking. Afterprep school he gained a scholarship toHaileybury, becoming head of his houseand captain of boxing. From there hewon an exhibition to Queens’ CollegeCambridge going up in 1941. During hisfirst year he read classics and won awartime half blue for Rugby Fives. Hevolunteered for the Cambridge UniversityOfficers’ Training Corps, joining the TankCorps section. There is still a letterbox inCambridge, somewhat askew, whichbears witness to his prowess at driving atank. After a short spell in the TankCorps, Jimmy was sent to the Officers’Training School at Mhow in India,subsequently gaining his commission in

the Indian Army in 4th Prince of Wales’sOwn Gurkha Rifles in November 1942.During the two month voyage from UKto India he had studied hard and passedthe mandatory Urdu languageexamination, one of only two cadets outof the 400 on the trip to do so. Initiallyhe found himself in HQ 115 Brigade nearDehra Dun. Many interesting peoplepassed through at that time, the mostmemorable for Jimmy being Jim Corbett,the famous hunter of man-eating tigers,and author of Man-eaters of Kumaon. Onone training exercise Jimmy wasresponsible for ensuring that people wereclear of an area to be used for liveartillery firing to accustom the infantry toadvancing under artillery cover. Jimmylater discovered that one of his father’sold pupils, a Gunner officer, wasresponsible for some rounds droppingshort! After a short spell in Colombowith 4/10 GR he was posted to 3/4 GR(Chindits).He served in Malaya, Java and

Sumatra as a company commander. Onhis release from war service he returnedto Queens’ College, Cambridge andcompleted a law degree, having changedfrom classics, in two years. This entaileda good deal of hard work in austerityBritain in 1946/47 (the hard winter). Ongoing down from Cambridge Jimmy wasarticled to a small family law firm andbecame a qualified solicitor in 1950. Heremained with this firm for a short timebefore joining an elderly acquaintancefrom Woking who had a practice in theStrand. On the death of his partner in1959 Jimmy continued there until 1970when he joined a City partnership fromwhich he retired in 1984. In retirement heused his knowledge of the law to help thelocal community with the usual problemsof development and was instrumental in


45

the formation of the Woking SquashClub. Jimmy was a great supporter of hisold regimental association, 4th (PWO)Gurkha Rifles. He made several trips toIndia to visit the Regiment including hislast in November 2005 after serioussurgery. He was a strong supporter of theSociety attending, with his second wifeJenny, many of the meetings in London.

(The picture shows Jimmy on his lasttrip to India at Jim Corbett’s bungalowin KalaDhungi. I am grateful to MrsJenny Marley for providing theinformation on which this piece is based.Ed.)

Mr Norman Eric PointsNorman Points died on 8th January 2006aged 83. As with so many of hisgeneration his interest in Nepal and theGurkhas stemmed from contact duringWorld War II. He joined the Army,under-age, and served with the EssexRegiment. It was in the final stages ofthe attacks on Monte Cassino in Italythat he fought alongside the Gurkhas andretained from that time a lastingadmiration for their courage and loyalty.He was seconded to SOE and parachutedinto the mountains of northern Italy andwas later involved in the pursuit andsearch for Mussolini. His next missionwas to be in Borneo but the war endedwhilst he was still in Singapore. After his

war service he followed a career in theCivil Service; much of this was devotedto welfare services for disabled ex-servicemen and their families. He hadexcellent powers of advocacy which heused to good effect in the resolution ofthe many problems he had to facethroughout his work in this field. Suchwas the level of respect in which he washeld that over two hundred guestsattended his retirement party in London.Retirement gave him the opportunity topursue his interest in military history,travel, clockmaking, hill walking, musicand writing. He researched andpublished a biography of hisdistinguished forbear Colonel GeneralSir Sydenham Points of considerablerenown in the Thirty Years War, the CivilWar and as a Governor of Antigua. Healso wrote many articles for local and in-house journals. In addition he was fortwelve years chairman of the North EastEssex Association of the National Trust.Sadly the last five years of his life weredogged by illness following a severestroke which greatly reduced his abilityto both write and speak. He found solacein his lifelong interest in music. Normanwas a life member of the Society but ageand illness prevented him from attendingthe Society’s functions in latter years.(I am grateful to Mrs Lillien Points for

providing the information on which thispiece is based. Mrs Points edited two ofthe earlier editions of the journal. Ed.)

Major Dudley Augustine Spain OBE,OStJ,Trisakti Patta, Gorkha Dakshina Bahu,Dudley Spain died peacefully at his homeat Bath during the night of the 18thNovember 2006 aged 88.Dudley Augustine Spain was born 18th

April 1918 amidst the strife of the Great


46

War (1914-1918) and was brought up byhis grandmother in South Norwood, thena rural area to the south of London. Itwas perhaps this ‘generation gap’ thatgave Dudley his quintessentially elegantmanners; those of an earlier generation.After education by governess and atprivate schools, he took the Indian CivilService Exam but just missed the gradein a strong intake. He opted to work inIndia nonetheless and joined theMidnapore Zamindari as a manger, alarge estate in north Bengal which, Ibelieve, grew jute and indigo. He was incharge of one of the sectors and wasresponsible for all aspects of life andmanagement of the staff. With the cloudsof another war gathering, Dudley wascommissioned into the 9th Gurkhas andserved in various theatres of the SecondWorld War, and with the regiment inIndia and beyond. Dudley’s first visit toNepal came in 1945. He met HHMaharaja Juddha S J B Rana, the PrimeMinister, in a formal Durbar. When thePrime Minister asked how he foundNepal, Dudley replied in court Nepali,“Your Highness, Nepal is a small countrybut like a diamond.” This appealed to thePrime Minister and led to friendshipswith his sons and grandsons. Dudleyknew every Prime Minister of Nepalfrom then on.

On the heels of peace came IndianIndependence and Dudley transferred to2nd King Edward’s Own Goorkha Rifles.He served in Malaya, Singapore, andHong Kong. In 1953 he led the 2ndGoorkhas in the Coronation Processionof Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II whichhe described as “a very wet seven milemarch.” The following morning he led adetachment with the regiment’s NishaniMai (the Queen’s Truncheon) toBuckingham Palace to be presented to theQueen. Later, Dudley was posted toNepal as Embassy Liaison Officer duringthe construction of HQ Gurkha Lines ofCommunication in Dharan in easternNepal, and used to recall fondly theremoteness of the area in those dayswhen the ‘Char Kos Jhadhi’ really wasjungle and tiger were seen regularly.Spain Farm was a feature of DharanCamp until its closure in 1989. Dudleywas attached to the retinue of His lateMajesty King Mahendra on his state visitto the United Kingdom. Something of hisboyhood passion for trains reached itszenith with travels from London toGlasgow on the Royal Train and he usedto laugh about the asperity of anunknown telephone operator somewherearound Crewe (in the days before directdialling) who asked him to put money inthe slot only to be told by Dudley thatthere was no slot only a plate sayingHRH The Duke of Edinburgh.As a result of his travels with King

Mahendra, Lord Lansdowne, the Ministerof State at the FCO suggested Dudleymay wish to consider a career after thearmy in the Foreign Office; an offerDudley took up with alacrity and wasposted as Oriental Secretary to the BritishEmbassy in Kathmandu. This positionwas unusual, the officer remaining long-term, as a fixed point around which other


47

officials came and went. Dudley handledthe portfolio of Aid, Development &Commerce as First Secretary for somesixteen years. He developed deepfriendships with most of the leadingfigures of Nepal over those years andquipped, in 1990, as politics changed,“well, I’ll now have to dust down my oldfriendships with the Koiralas that havebeen under wraps for some time.” He metGirija Koirala when he was PrimeMinister in the 1990s on one of hisannual visits and they talked of the daysbefore 1960 when BP Koirala used tovisit the Dharan area.Living in Nepal, he employed Chet

Narayan Ranjitkar and his wife Jamunaand rented a flat from General Kiran SJBRana (Royal Nepalese Ambassador toGreat Britain 1974 – 79) at Kiran Bhavanin Sanepa. Chet and Jamuna became hisloyal staff serving him until he finallyretired. At the end of his Foreign Service,Dudley was appointed Country Directorfor Save the Children Fund UK in whichrole he was able to develop effective linkswith the Health Ministry and wasinstrumental in establishing MaternalHealth Centres in various districthospitals. A lasting friendship with thethen Health Minister, Mrs. Sushila Thapa,was able to facilitate the SCF UK longafter Dudley’s retirement. During histenure he hosted an official visit of HRHThe Princess Anne, Patron of SCF UK.Dudley married his darling Alma in

later life - whom he had not met for manyyears as a result of the exigencies ofservice in the Indian sub-continent. Theywere happily married living between Bathand Kathmandu until Dudley retired fromNepal after his final assignment, a studyon Aid and Development in Nepal for Hislate Majesty King Birendra in 1983. Almapredeceased him.

After retirement to England, Dudleymade almost annual visits to Nepallatterly as a trustee of King MahendraUK Trust, an international affiliate ofNepal’s King Mahendra Trust for NatureConservation. He was one of thefounders of the Nepal - Britain Societyand was, for many years, its Trustee. Hewas also a senior life member of theBritain – Nepal Society, and made astrong contribution to the Society’sactivities, attending many events, latterlydespite difficulties he experienced withincreasing age. His last appearance wasat the Society’s supper on 23rd February2006. With his long experience of Anglo– Nepali relations he was also a source ofinformation and advice, not only to theSociety’s committee but also to theNepalese ambassadors, many of whomwere either already or later became hisfriends.He was an Officer of the Order of the

British Empire, the Order of St. John andwas invested with Gorkha Dakshina Bahuand Trisakti Patta by Their late MajestiesKing Mahendra and King Birendra.Dudley represented the dedication,

quiet competence, and discreet servicethat were the hallmark of the Britishofficer and civil servant of his era. Hisknowledge of and travels through Nepalwere deep and wide-ranging and, perhapsas a result of service with 9th Gurkhas,traditionally recruited from the high casteThakuris of western Nepal, he couldspeak elegant Nepali with ease. Right upto his death, he was in constant touchwith friends in the country. He was astaunch conservative and delighted in thedevelopments of Nepal. We mourn hispassing but in Virgil’s words – meminissejuvabimus – we shall delight inremembering.

Marcus Cotton


48

For many years Nepalese living in theUnited Kingdom have dreamed of havinga Nepali centre in London; a place wherethey could meet and organise social andcultural events. A space that wouldencompass: a library of Nepali books andliterature; a class room to teach theNepali language to the youngergeneration and members of our hostcommunity, sports facilities, and possiblya place to worship.The Yeti London Welfare Foundation, a

registered UK charity, was established in1997 to create such a centre. So far, wehave raised over ninety seven thousandspounds mainly due to contribution by ourbenevolent members and friends of thecommunity which includes severalindividuals and firms contributing more

than one thousand pounds each. TheFoundation’s accounts are closelymonitored by its trustees and regularlysubmitted to the charity commission.Our initial aim is to purchase a

property, with a view to building thecentre at a later date, when we havesufficient funds.I would like to thank all benevolent

donors who have kindly contributedtowards the fund.

Dr Raghav P DhitalChairmanYeti London Welfare Foundation(UK Charity Commission Reg No:1061923)

YETI NEPALI HOUSE UPDATE

The Royal Society for Asian AffairsInterested in Asia? The Society’s aim is to promote greater knowledge andunderstanding of the countries of Asia, present and recent past, from the NearEast to the Pacific Rim. We are an active and friendly organisation withfortnightly lecture meetings in London, social functions, overseas tours at roughlyannual intervals, thrice-yearly publication of a much respected Journal AsianAffairs, a library of over 5000 books for members’ use and an archive collectionwhose catalogue is accessible via our website. There is a Junior Members’Section for under 25 year olds and the Society administers the annual Sir PeterHolmes Memorial Award to encourage young people aged 18-25 to travel withpurpose in Asia.

Membership enquiries are invited to:

The Secretary, RSAA, 2 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PJTelephone: +44(0)20-7235 5122 Fax: +44(0)20-7259 6771Email: [email protected] Website: www.rsaa.org.uk


49


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T,", wwU', !wv"'Od p"""u~" ,,~h /J<WI'WI i" IndH., Ba"8t..d"h. N'fXlI. K,",,,, ..,.kn; and s.,ul h -IIn-'.

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The King Mahendra UK Trust for NatureConservation6th FloorGracechurch House55 Gracechurch StreetLondon EC3V 0JPTel (020) 7550 3663

The Gurkha Welfare TrustPO Box 182152nd Floor, 1 Old StreetLondon EC1V 9XBTel (020) 7251 5234Fax (020) 7251 5248

School of Oriental and African StudiesUniversity of LondonThornhaugh Street, Russell SquareLondon WC1H 0XGTel (020) 7898 4034

The Britain Nepal Otology Service(BRINOS)2 West RoadGuildford GU1 2AUTel (01483) 569719Fax (01483) 306380

Yeti Association(Nepali Association in UK)66 Abbey AvenueWembleyMiddlesex HA0 1LLEmail:[email protected]

The Esther Benjamin’s TrustWandsworth Business Village3-9 Broomhill RoadLondon SW18 4JQTel (020) 8877 2519

The Britain-Nepal Medical Trust130 Vale RoadTonbridgeKent TN9 1SPTel (01732) 360284

The Gurkha MuseumPeninsula BarracksRomsey RoadWinchesterHampshire SO23 8TSTel (01962) 842832

Britain-Nepal Chamber of CommercePO Box BNCCc/o 12a Kensington Palace GardensLondon W8 4QUTel/Fax: 01483 304150/428668www.nepal-trade.org.uk

Student Partnership Worldwide17 Deans YardLondon SW1P 3PB

The Royal Society for Asian Affairs2 Belgrave SquareLondon SW1X 8PJTel: 0207 235 5122www.rsaa.org.uk

50

USEFUL ADDRESSES

If your address has not been included here or has changed please accept our apologies and request inclusion in the nextjournal. Ed.


51

The Britain-Nepal Society was foundedin 1960 to promote good relationsbetween the peoples of the UK andNepal. We especially wish to fosterfriendship between UK citizens with aparticular interest in Nepal and Nepalesecitizens resident – whether permanentlyor temporarily – in this country. A muchvalued feature of the Society is the easeand conviviality with which members ofevery background and all ages mingletogether.Members are drawn from all walks of

life including mountaineers, travellers,teachers, returned volunteers, aidworkers, doctors, business people,members of the Diplomatic Service andserving and retired officers of the Brigadeof Gurkhas. The bond they all share is anabiding interest in and affection for Nepaland the Nepalese people. Membership isopen to those of all ages over 18 and aparticular welcome goes to applicationsfrom those under 35.Ordinary members pay a subscription

of £15 (husband and wife members £25)per annum. Life membership is a singlepayment of £300, joint life membership,a payment of £500, and corporatebusiness members £50 and charities £25per annum. Concessionary rates areavailable at both ends of the age range.The annual journal includes a wide

range of articles about Nepal and is sentfree to all members.We keep in close touch with the Nepal-

Britain Society in Kathmandu, and theirmembers are welcome to attend all theBritain-Nepal Society’s functions.However we do not have reciprocal

membership.Members of the Yeti Association which

provides equally for Nepalese residentsor those staying in this country are alsowelcome to attend the Britain-NepalSociety’s functions, and can become fullmembers of the Britain-Nepal Society inthe usual way. The Yeti is a flourishingorganization and they publish their ownattractive journal.Throughout the year, the Society holds

a programme of evening lectures, whichare currently held at the Medical Societyof London, Chandos Street, offCavendish Square, where members areencouraged to meet each other over adrink beforehand.The Society holds an Annual Nepali

Supper, usually in February and aSummer Outing, which is often sharedwith the Yeti Association. In the autumnwe hold our AGM, which is followed bya curry supper which normally takesplace at the Royal Nepalese Embassy.The Society also holds receptions andhospitality for visiting senior Nepalese.Apart from the Summer Outing, events

normally take place in London.The Committee is actively seeking

suggestions from members for ways ofexpanding and developing theprogramme.Those interested in joining the Society

should write to the HonoraryMembership Secretary:Mrs Pat Mellor3 (c) Gunnersbury AvenueEaling CommonLondon W5 3NHTel: 020 8992 0173

NOTES ON THE BRITAIN-NEPAL SOCIETYPatron: HRH Princess Jotshana Rajya Laxmi Devi Basnyat

President: HRH The Duke of Gloucester KG GCVO


52


Patron: Her Royal Highness Princess Jotshana Rajya Laxmi Devi Basnyat

President: His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester KG, GCVO

Vice-PresidentsHis Excellency The Nepalese AmbassadorLieutenant Colonel CG Wylie OBE

Mr ARH Kellas CMGBrigadier AB Taggart MC

Lieutenant Colonel HCS Gregory OBE, KSGMrs Celia Brown#

Colonel JM Evans MCSir Neil Thorne OBE, TD, DLMr Peter A Leggatt MBE

Mrs Pat Mellor**

Committee (2005/06)Chairman: Lieutenant Colonel Gerry D Birch*

Vice-Chairman: Mr John L AckroydHonorary Secretary: Dr Neil Weir

Honorary Treasurer: Dr Peter A TrottMrs Liza CliftonMr Will Dodsworth

Miss Louisa HutchinsonMr Harish KarkiMiss Jane Loveless

Mrs Frances SpackmanMrs Joanna Thomas

Mr Dipendra Pratap Bista, Charge d’Affaires (Minister Counsellor), the NepaleseEmbassy (ex officio)

Mr Steve Askam, FCO (ex officio)Mr Simon L Lord ED, HQ Brigade of Gurkhas (ex officio)

Editor of the Journal: Lieutenant Colonel GD Birch*

Membership Secretary: Mrs Pat Mellor**

Archivist: Mrs Celia Brown #


Documents

THE BRITAIN-NEPAL SOCIETY