#389 29 February - 6 March 2008 16 pages Rs 30

Weekly Internet Poll # 390. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.comQ. The Madhesi movement issupported by:

Weekly Internet Poll # 389

Q. Given the crisis in the Madhes shouldthe elections be:

Total votes: 4,802

s the sun sets, the russetbricks of the GorkhaDurbar are suffused in

golden light and a conch shelltrumpets the end of prayers.

It was from this mountain-top fort that the Shah dynastybegan its conquests nearly 240years ago to shape what is nowNepal. But Gorkha is preparingfor elections that may soonconsign Nepal’s monarchy to thehistory books.

Another Gorkha native,Baburam Bhattarai, was here thisweek to file nomination papers

A priest prepares for eveningprayers on Monday at the Gorakhnathtemple, the patron deity of the Shahdynasty in Gorkha.

for an election in which his mainrival is his maternal uncle of theNC. “This election will see thebirth of a federal democraticrepublic of Nepal,” Bhattarai tolda rally on Monday in Gorkha’smain square.

The Maoist ideologue climbedup to the Gorakhnath temple onTuesday and was blessed by highpriest, Tek Prasad Ghimire. Noteveryone here is happy aboutgetting rid of an institution thathas historically been part ofGorkha’s identity.

“Even if the monarchy is

gone, we will keep praying toGorakh Baba to protect this nationthat Prithibi Narayan Shahfounded,” the head priest said.Bhattarai replied: “Now you mustbless us for our victory.”

The Shah dynasty actuallystarted in Lamjung where PrithibiNarayan’s ancestor YasobramhaShah established a kingdom inthe 16th century after escaping theMoghul invasion of north India.

“History forgot this place, thekings neglected us, so there won’tbe too many people here who willmiss the monarchy,” says HariDulal, who lives in Gaunsahar inLamjung.

Prithibi Narayan was born atGorkha Durbar and became theninth Shah king at age 20. Heimmediately embarked on hisconquests to first captureNuwakot and then KathmanduValley in 1768. Gorkha wasabandoned for centuries afterKathmandu became the capital.

It was King Birendra whorebuilt Gorkha’s fort and itspalaces in the 1980s. Themasterplan for the restoration of

one palace was designed by noneother than urban planner-turned-revolutionary, BaburamBhattarai.

The museum took 22 years tofinish at a cost of Rs 180 million,but its inauguration by kingGyanendra in April 2006 had tobe postponed because of thepeople’s movement. Now, UMLand Maoist representatives herehaven’t allowed it to be openedbecause the displays “glorify themonarchy”.

The Department ofArchaeology has been instructedto look for exhibits depicting theindigenous Ghale and Gurungcultures of Gorkha. Museumcurator, Ganesh Bhattarai, sayswistfully: “History is history. Ithas meaning only when it is inthe past. We may start valuingthe monarchy only after it isgone.”

Twilight

Lamjung andGorkha adjustto a fadingmonarchy

KUNDA DIXIT in GORKHA

EDITORIALThe king castles p2Election roundup p10-11

A

MC Dowell

SAM KANG LI

2 29 FEBRUARY - 6 MARCH 2008 #389EDITORIAL

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TARAI EYEPrashant Jha

THE KING CASTLESSome countries are cursed with geostrategic importance or havehuge oil reserves. This make them pawns in the turf wars of thebig powers.

Happily, Nepal is not worth fighting over. The British in Indiaand the Sino-Tibetans who invaded us separately in the 18th and19th centuries realised that as soon as they caught a glimpse ofthis cantankerous and craggy country. Unlike Iraq, we don’t haveoil, and unlike Afghanistan our location is not that strategicallypivotal.

The Nepali language media never tires of trying to get Indiaand China to fight over us. But it has been clear for decades thatNew Delhi and Beijing have demarcated their spheres ofinfluence. Both are still suspicious of the Americans rompingaround in their backyard, but the US ambassador in Kathmandunow gets briefed by Indian officials in New Delhi. And theChinese seem happy enough to let India handle the Americans.

Although there may be no real territorial rivalry between thepowers, what complicates matters is that Nepal has become adomestic political issue in India. Nepal may not have oil, but wehave lots of water that India wants. Nepal’s peace process is ajoint project of India’s ruling Congress-Left alliance, and theopposition Hindu right is keen to prove it a failure.

Hence, recent statements from BJP stalwarts and their VHP-RSS mentors supporting the revival of Nepal’s Hindu monarchy.Bihar’s anti-secular royalist bands are also on the rampagesouth of the border. The fact that these groups are operating indirect support of conservative Madhesis is all the proof we needabout who is pulling the strings in the Tarai crisis.

This calls for better vigilance by India’s Intelligence Bureauin the borderlands of Bihar and UP and increased coordinationwith the establishment in Delhi.

It goes without saying that the Madhesi people have genuinegrievances against the Nepalistate. And the Indians wouldnot be playing games if ourrulers were united and had abetter sense of nationalmission.

But it looks increasinglylike the solution to thestandoff in the Madhes lies inNew Delhi and in the hiddenlinks between Kathmandu’sroyals and their Hindu rightsupporters and in-laws inIndia.

Nepal’s kingship mustn’tbe a pawn in the religiouschess game that Indianpoliticians play at electiontime. Here in Nepal, the rulingalliance thought they had theking cornered. But he iscastling his rook.

he pain of violence, its psychologicalimpact and its effect on societypersist for a long time after a war is

over.Today, ‘terrorists’ and the ‘class

enemies’ are both in government and weare headed for elections after which theyhave agreed to turn Nepal into a federaldemocratic republic. They share seats in

an interim parliament and in the cabinet.Yet, despite this and the crisis in theMadhes, their level of mutual mistrust ishigh.

The uncertainty about elections and theinstability of this extended politicaltransition has prolonged the agony of thosefamilies whose relatives suffered brutalkillings and disappearances. The result isthat nearly two years after the People’s

The war isn’t over for the families brutalised by conflictMovement and after two postponements,elections are still uncertain.

In this period, we who were bereavedduring the conflict have neither gotjustice, nor have we been told aboutwhether our near and dear ones are deador alive. The internally displaced are stilluprooted. The wounds of those who werehurt may have healed, but many are stilldisabled and the psychological trauma ofthe war persist.

These feelings bubbled to the surfaceas I looked at the photographs in thephoto exhibition, A People War, inBesisahar this week. My personalmemories became intertwined with whatmy family and society had to go through. Ibecame worried that our country hasn’tlearnt its lesson from this war.

Others in my town looked at thephotographs with a combination ofmemory, grief and outrage. I shared mytears with those who suffered. In Lamjungalone, there are at least 26 families ofdisappeared.

My father, Tej Bahadur Bhandari, wastaken away from the street in broaddaylight six years ago. He was severelytortured in detention by the army, and hasnot been seen since. The localadministration is mute, the political partiesdon’t understand. The activists move inhigh circles in Kathmandu. It is clear thatfor the victims of conflict, and families ofthe disappeared, the lonely struggle forjustice goes on.

The question from the pictures to thestate and the former rebels is that theyshould engage in some self-analysis aboutthe effect of all that brutality. The answermust necessarily be that the use ofviolence was counterproductive and wasnot worth it in terms of the cost to humanlife and the damage to the country. It is inthe Nepali character to try to forget thepast and move on. But if we forget whathappened to us, there is a danger theatrocities will be repeated.

The photographs make us realise thatthe cruelty we see in them should never be

t was a week of dangerouspolitical brinksmanship.Deals looked tantalisingly

close, but both sides took turnsto push the envelope. The Nepalipeople were treated as cannonfodder, and more lives were lostin the Tarai towns.

A compromise was workedout last Friday when second-rungleaders carved out flexiblelanguage on an autonomousMadhes province. But then theNC developed cold feet. The leftparties, suspicious of meetings

between the NC and Madhesigroups at the Indian Embassy,were not too keen.

The Madhesis ratcheted uppressure, with belligerentstatements from MJF leader JayPrakash Gupta. The primeminister attended thenegotiations for only tenminutes. The government talksteam was not even present in fullstrength. And Madhab Nepaldiscussed everything except the

formal demandswith Madhesileaders. Themomentumdissipated andagitation intensified.

On Sundaynight, the text of theagreement wasalmost finalisedwhen Upendra Yadavdemanded a firmconstitutionalguarantee that wouldensureimplementation, andsaid if that needed apostponement inpolls, so be it. Hecame out lookinglike a spoiler because

The Madhes StreetAfter a week of brinkmanship, we near a deal

other Madhesi groups would havebeen satisfied with an address tothe nation by the prime minister.

For once, the governmentcould pretend to be sincere.Upendra may have wanted to actmore radical and increasepressure, or he could have beendriven by some other powercentre. But with some Indian tail-twisting, the MJF came around.

Tuesday’s failure of talkswould have been farcical if itwasn’t true. There was anagreement to set up a committeeto monitor implementation andextend the nomination cycle bythree days. The Madhesi groupswanted Koirala to sign the deal inreturn for having given up thedemand for an amendment. Buthe refused, saying KrishnaSitaula or Ram Chandra Poudelwould sign, leaders who have nocredibility in the Madhes. Sayinghe would need the approval ofthe cabinet and seven parties, theprime minister went off to sleep.The Madhesi leaders were furiousand walked out. The next day,Sitaula came over to theSadbhabana Party office to makeup and hammer a compromiseon new differences that hadcropped up.

The government has beenpetty. But the real problem iswith Madhesi groups whichdon’t know how to get out of themess so that they don’t lose facein the plains. There is alsoinsecurity about poll prospects,and the presence of forces on allsides that would be happy toderail the process.

In the south, the two-weekMadhes protests have intensified.The movement may not be asbroad-based as the one last year,but the appetite for a fight goesdeep. The Kathmandu mediaunderplayed it, but the day ofnominations saw protests, firing,lathi charges, and killings. Each

time Madhesi leaders went in fornegotiations, there were phonecalls from activists andsympathisers from the Taraiasking them not to give in.

Madhesi leaders will have tosound radical if they want tosurvive in chauvinistic identitypolitics. The three parties maynot be representative of thepeople, but they do symbolisethe mood and sentiment ofthe plains.

A deal looks imminent. Butsigning it will only be half thebattle won. There are otherchallenges ahead. To start with,all Madhesi leaders will have tosimultaneously work out theirelectoral alliance as well as sellthe agreement on the MadhesiStreet. They need to translate themomentum of the movement intocampaigning, hammer out seat-sharing arrangements and figureout the proportionalrepresentation system, given theseare three different parties in analliance.

Militant groups feel that theyare responsible for the success ofthe strikes but mainstreamMadhesi leaders have hogged thelimelight. Jwala Singh sources saythat they will intensify theagitation from next week,irrespective of a deal inKathmandu, to show who exertsreal power. Jwala needs to be givenincentives (withdrawal of cases,cash, post election assurances) aswell as put under pressure inBihar to keep him quiet.

The 10 April elections areimportant. What is even moreimportant is that they be credibleso the results and legitimacy arewidely accepted. That is whyMadhesi forces and people need tobe brought on board in a sensitivemanner with assurances andvisible sincerity in Kathmandu.Doing it any other way will onlylead to more bloodshed.

How can we forget?repeated. For that, we must remember ourhistory, and we must seek justice for thosewho suffered loss. Only then will thecountry be saved from further violence,counter-violence and revenge.

But if we continue with our currentpolitical drift and ignore the sacrifices ofthose who laid down their lives, not onlywill the peace process be fragile, but thereis a real danger that the victims of war willrise up again. Their war is not over.

Ramkumar Bhandari is the station managerof Marsyangdi FM in Besisahar, and alsothe convener of the Committee for SocialJustice in Lamjung which brings togetherthe families of 26 disappeared people inLamjung.

A People War photo exhibitionconcludes its 30-district tour with a finalshow on 29 February and 1 March at the ArtCouncil Hall in Babar Mahal. The exhibitionincludes an extended section withcomments from people all over Nepal.

GUEST COLUMNRamkumar Bhandari

T

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

329 FEBRUARY - 6 MARCH 2008 #389

MADHESWhen he analyses the Tarai movement, Prashant Jha shouldn’t forget the handbehind the it. As a resident of the Tarai, I don’t really oppose the movement but Ithink that any demands to divide the country are unacceptable to myself andmost people.

Suman Pathak, email

I wish you would recognise that many Madhesi activist outfits are linkedwith organised crime, Hindutva fundamentalists (and therefore, the Palace), andcaste-based groups with roots in Bihar and UP. Madhesis are not the onlycommunity with low representation in Nepal’s government and upper echelons: agood half of Pahadis are in a similar situation. The casteist aspect of themovement is obvious when you see the names of the leaders of groups with aclearly expressed agenda of ethnic cleansing, and that the Tharus (who have astronger claim to being ‘Madhesi’ than many of those agitating) are now stronglyopposing the movement. The real goals of the movement, though unstated, are1) to scupper elections again, and 2) to create a Madhesi-dominated Nepal, witha Hindu Samrat at the head. The result will be the splitting of Nepal, after whichmany Pahadis will turn to China for protection. This will leave India with a weakcontrol of a mafia-ridden Tarai (a mere extension of Bihar). China’s influence willfor the first time be effective south of the Himalayan divide, a strategic disasterfor India.

Marceau Reda, email

The Maoist leadership has been playing short-sighted ethnic politics in orderto get its ultimate goal of controlling the nation. Now the rug has been pulled outfrom under its feet (and the rest of the SPA) are scrambling to battle/save theMadhes. I commend the brethren in the Madhes, for they have realised howdependent Kathmandu and the hills are on them. They don’t even have to go tothe capital to get their demands met: all they have to do is shut down Birgunj. Inthis disunity, I fear that another unifier will rise in the form of a dictator or militaryjunta. If they can provide security and stability people may consider liberty to bea dispensable ideal.

SN Singh, email

Nepal must be in thetopmost rank in the world forequal opportunities. Wecurrently have three heads ofthe state. We have a king whostill believes that he is the kingeven though our so-calledconstitution says that he is notanymore. We have the self-declared first president ofmodern republican Nepal. Andwe have the current embattledprime minister, who is notprepared to give up the positionseemingly at any cost. Moderndemocratic Nepal also boaststwo governments: an officialand an unofficial one. The first

president of Nepal is in charge of both of these. Weshould be proud to be citizens of such a democratic nation.

Manab, email

DARK AGESThank you Nepali Times for carrying out the photo feature ‘Dark Ages’ (#388).The pictures have exposed the uselessness of Nepali leaders, who claimed theywould improve Nepal’s social and economic lives after the ‘feudal monarch’ isgone. What real improvements have there been in people’s daily lives?

Bhuwaneshor Sharma, Adelaide

DADELDHURA HOSPITALI am very saddened to hear that TEAM hospital in Dadeldhura has closed down(‘In god’s hands’, #387). I visited the hospital in spring 2007 and I truly admiredthe high quality services delivered by the hospital in such a remote area ofNepal. I am also sad that medical professionals and societies seem to be quietlywatching the show. It’s high time that health care practionioners should takeresponsible leadership in issues like this and put pressure on the government andother parties to negotiate a way to reopen the hospital. Letting this hospital shutdown is denying people basic rights and is a regression of earlier development. Icommend Nepali Times for covering this issue when everybody is focussing onlyon the upcoming constituent assembly elections and the protests in the Madhes.

Anil Pandit, Maryland General Hosptial, Baltimore, USA

Your article about Dadeldhura Hospial was excellent, but one statement maynot be correct. I am sure that much more than four percent of women in theregion are suffering from a prolapsed uterus.

Aruna Upreti, email

Dadeldhura Hospital was reopened this week, after an agreement was reachedbetween the government and HDCS.

– Editor

FLIGHT CANCELLEDI would like to congratulate the team who built Danfe for their hard work anddedication to construct an aeroplane in Nepal. The domestic aircraft industrywould benefit in many ways, and it is a shame that the Nepali bureaucracy hasnot given permission to test flight this plane. This is a good example of whyNepal is Nepal, and not America, Australia or New Zealand.

Sanat Dhungel, Auckland

The cancellation of Danfe’s test flight reminded me of the similarly sadcancellation of the test flight of Nirmal DC’s aircraft in Nepalgunj a few yearsago. It’s a real shame the government can’t encourage such ventures.

Surendra Malla, email

PRACHANDA BONAPARTEMaybe it’s not so apt, but another ‘time-honoured Nepali tradition’ like the one thedonkey refers to (Ass, #388) is: ‘beating up one’s daughter in order to intimidateone’s daughter-in-law’. There’s no question about who the daughter is, it’s thepublic. As to who is the beater and who’s the daughter-in-law, well, that’ssomething that only time will tell.

Subodh, email

4 NATION 29 FEBRUARY - 6 MARCH 2008 #389

artmut Bauder, thevisionary, German-bornentrepreneur who started

Nepal’s first olive plantation, ison his way to his farm inChitlang. His driver has hadto give up the steering wheeland is now dozing off in theback seat.

“I love driving in Nepal,believe it or not, it’s a lot saferthan driving back home inGermany,” he says with acunning smile. “There aresimply too many rules to followthere.”

Bauder’s love affair withNepal and with olive treesstarted during his childhood inProvence, in southern France.Later, while working as amanager with the Germanchemical giant BASF in Bombay,

he kept wondering why Indiansdid not grow olives despite thesuitable climate.

He finally learned that a largeItalian-led project was just beinglaunched in Himachal Pradesh.Keen to follow the experimentclose-up, he started visiting thesite and talking to the experts ona regular basis.

His idea of going into early

Bauder’s Himalayan Plantationsas its Company of the Month forMarch 2008, he was thrilled. Theman has teutonic tenacity, butafter 13 years even he was on theverge of dumping the project,mainly because of a pesky fungusthat affects olive trees, thepolitical uncertainty and ofcourse, rife extortion.

When he set up HimalayaPlantations in 1995, Bauder wasmet with scepticism from thosewho maintained that olivesrequire a Mediterranean climateto grow. Bauder remainedunfazed. He imported the firsttrees and started growing them ina nursery. Then he selected thetwo five-hectare sites in Chitlang(named Tuscany and Vinci) forits microclimate and soil andalso proximity to Kathmandu.

A committed Rotarian who isbehind several charitable projectsin Nepal, Bauder acknowledgesthat initially he did not reallyknow whether Chitlang wouldprove to be suitable.

“A couple of Nepali friendshave a few shares in thecompany. Maybe I should nottell them that I accepted the factthat I might never recover mymoney,” he concedes. His realaim was not to make money, butrather to prove that olive oilcould be produced in Nepal.

Indeed, HimalayaPlantations’ oil has been foundnot only to be extra virgin, but ofexcellent quality for taste andother parameters by theInternational Olive Oil Council’stesting labs in Australia, Italyand Germany.

Extra virgin in Nepal

retirement and setting up asimilar project in Nepal, hiswife’s country, was shaping upand gaining strength.

“The more you know aboutolive trees, the more you convinceyourself that this looks like anideal crop for Nepal: olives growon very poor soil, they don’t needwater,” Bauder explains.

When Nepali Times selected

The precious oil is alreadysold long before it is bottled, andis considered a real treat bywhoever has tasted it. Itsuniqueness makes it an exclusivegift: an Italian who owns a travelagency in Kathmandu presentshis top customers with a bottle,while a Chinese lady sells a fewlitres at auction in Hong Kong toraise money for a monastery.

“We are selling our oil here atRs 2,000 per litre, which even byEuropean standards is a fantasticprice, but production is verylimited,” Bauder explains.

Although the 2,000 trees onthe two plots grow strong andhealthy, a fungus is forcingHimalayan to harvest olivesahead of time, thus limiting oilproduction to 150 litres a year, fartoo little to make a profit.

Himalayan Plantations iscollaborating with theHorticulture Department as wellas the Agriculture ResearchCouncil to try to control thefungus. Bauder hopes Nepalifarmers will start buying a fewtrees to start their own oilproduction for personal use. Hebelieves olive oil candramatically improve the diet ofpoor people even if it isproduced on a very small scale.

For now, neighbouringfarmers in Chitlang are sitting onthe fence and watching. Theyhave seen how hard Bauder andhis farm hands have worked togrow healthy olives, and wonderwhy someone should bother somuch about those small, hardand bitter green fruits that lookpretty much like fodder.

It’s time for Bauder to headback to Kathmandu, and thistime he lets his driver drive totake in the spectacular scenery onthe Tribhuban Highway.

www.himalaya-plantations.com

Despite all odds, Himalayan Plantations sticks with olives

IRENE PERONI inMAKWANPUR

HPICS: IRENE PERONI

529 FEBRUARY - 6 MARCH 2008 #389BUSINESS

BERKELEY – Harvard professor DaniRodrik recently reported on his blog that acolleague has been declaring the past threedecades The Age of Milton Friedman.

According to this view, the coming topower of Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher,and Deng Xiaoping led to an enormousupward leap in human liberty andprosperity. Yes, and no.

Friedman adhered throughout hislife to five basic principles:1. Strongly anti-inflationary monetarypolicy.2. A government that understood that itwas the people’s agent and not a dispenserof favours and benefits.3. A government that kept its nose out ofpeople’s economic business.4. A government that kept its nose out ofpeople’s private lives.5. An enthusiastic and optimistic belief inwhat free discussion and politicaldemocracy could do to convince people toadopt principles (1) through (4).

Measured against these principles,Reagan failed on (2) and (4) and adopted(1) only by default – Paul Volcker’s anti-inflation policy in the 1980’s dismayedmany of Reagan’s close aides. Thatcherfailed on (4). And Deng – while a vastimprovement over his predecessors Lenin,Stalin, Khrushchev, and Mao – failed onall five, with the possible exception of (3).We do not know what Deng’s desired set ofeconomic arrangements for a system of“socialism with Chinese characteristics”was, and, in all likelihood, he did notknow, either.

But I say yes in part to the “Age ofFriedman” proposition, because onlyFriedman’s set of principles self-confidently proposed both to explain theworld and to tell us how to change it. Still,I would build up a counterbalancing set ofprinciples.

Market economies and free anddemocratic societies are built atop a veryold foundation of human sociability,

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Global standingDun and Bradstreet have issued animpact report and rating of 5A2 for NabilBank. This is the first time that a bank inNepal has received an internationalrating. Dun and Bradstreet’s 5A is areflection of the size of the bank and 2 is

the rating on a scale of 1 to 4, with 1being the best. D and B, established in1841, is a leading provider of businessinformation.

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TrackingEtihad Crystal Cargo, a division ofEtihad Airways, is introducing SMStracking for its customers. The trackingsystem will enable customers to followthe status of their freight shipments

worldwide via mobile phone. EtihadAirways is the national airline of theUnited Arab Emirates based in theUAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi.

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Beyond furnitureFusion Furniture Solutions has openedup a showroom in Thapathali. Theshowroom will provide high qualityfurniture, carpets, flooring material,designer linen, LCD televisions and highend computers. Fusion is a member ofthe Golchha Organisation.

PROTECTION: Nepal’sfirst female condom, theV’Amour has just beenintroduced. The VA is madeof latex and is lubricatedbut isn’t spermicidal. Thecondom is available atpharmaceutical stores at Rs 120 perbox.

communication, and interdependence.That foundation had a hard enough timefunctioning when human societies had60 members, eight orders of magnitude lessthan our current global society’s sixbillion.

My principles would be developedfrom Karl Polanyi’s old observation thatthe logic of market exchange putsconsiderable pressure on that underlyingfoundation. The market for labour compelspeople to move to where they can earn themost, at the price of potentially creatingstrangers in strange lands. The market forconsumer goods makes human statusrankings the product of responsiveness tomarket forces rather than the result ofsocial norms and views about justice.

This critique of the market is, of course,one-sided. After all, other arrangements forallocating labour appear to involve moredomination and alienation than the labourmarket, which offers people opportunities,not constraints. Similarly, “social norms”and “views about distributive justice”usually turn out to favour whoever has thebiggest spear or can convince others thatobedience to the powerful is obedience toGod. Market arrangements have a largermeritocratic component than thealternatives, and they encourage positive-sum entrepreneurship, making it easier todo well by doing good.

Nevertheless, the distribution of

economic welfare produced by the marketeconomy does not fit anyone’s conceptionof the just or the best. Rightly or wrongly,we have more confidence in the correctnessand appropriateness of political decisionsmade by democratically-electedrepresentatives than of decisionsimplicitly made as the unanticipatedconsequences of market processes.

We also believe that government shouldplay a powerful role in managing themarket to avoid large depressions,redistributing income to produce highersocial welfare, and preventing pointlessindustrial structuring produced by the fadsand fashions that sweep the minds offinanciers.

Friedman would respond that, giventhe state of the world in 1975, a move inthe direction of his principles was a bigimprovement. While movement inFriedman’s direction was by and largepositive over the past generation, the gainsto be had from further movement in thatdirection are far less certain. Project Syndicate

J Bradford DeLong is Professor ofEconomics at the University of Californiaat Berkeley.

Bye bye, FriedmanIt does matter whether the cat is black or white

Ashutosh Tiwari’s Strictly Business columnwill return to this space on 14 March.

MONEY MATTERSJ Braford DeLong

NEW PRODUCTS

6 29 FEBRUARY - 6 MARCH 2008 #389FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

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EmigrateLetter to the editor, Kantipur,27 February

My husband woke up onemorning and said to me “Kalpana,let’s immigrate. At least in aforeign country we will live theway we want. We have moneyhere, but life is so difficult.”

He was trained in Bangladeshin civil and environmentengineering. He worked for a goodreal estate agency there. When hecame home for a visit, hisrelatives encouraged him to staysaying he needs to do somethingfor his country. He startedworking for a good housingcompany. Although the pay wasnot very much, he was happy tobe with family, to have their loveand to live close to them. Henever regretted coming back, neverresented the fact that he couldhave earned a lot more abroadwith his qualification andexperience.

Today he is the projectmanager and also does somefreelance work in other housingprojects. Financially, we are quitecomfortable. I work at a bank andmy salary is enough to supportour small family. But these daysmy husband tells me that weshould just pack and leave.

Violence and scarcity havebecome a part of our everydaylives. Just the other day myhusband returned at midnightfrom the petrol station, tired anddisappointed that he could noteven get a drop of petrol. He had

Editorial in Abhiyan, 25 February-2 March

The crippling fuel crisis still continues. Theleadership makes cheap excuses to shift theblame. Why we don’t have fuel in the country:low supplies from India and the Tarai bandh. Whywe still have load-shedding: we aren’t producingenough electricity to meet with growing demands.Government officials dodge questions about thefuel shortage by pointing fingers and blamingextenuating circumstances. There is no effort tofind the actual causesbehind the crises. Noattempt at any solutions.Just blame everything andanyone else but yourself.

The political and civilleadership blame the Taraiclosure but everyone knowsthat it is not the real reason.The actual reason is thelack of any honesty ordecency. Whenever thetopic of stopping leakagescomes up, the NEA makesrandom excuses and claims that ‘just stoppingleakages will not solve the problem’. But isn’t itat least a start? NEA authorities themselvesclaim that 24 percent of electricity is leaked(although independent agencies claim that it is33 percent). It is true that there will always besome leakage but can’t we reduce the leakage tosay, 10 percent? It goes without saying howimportant the 10-15 percent actually is.

If a normal person doesn’t pay theirelectricity bill for two months, their line is cutimmediately but the homes of ministers, and thepalace never see a power cut. They threaten theNEA and use electricity however they want.Even the government doesn’t dare persecutethem for this. It is the same situation with the oilcorporation. And this is proof that this countrydoesn’t run on laws but on the whims of goondas.

been waiting since 3pm only to betold that the station had run out.Instead of getting people’s hopesup, couldn’t the government puta public notice out to informconsumers when they do havepetrol? In the morning today myhusband said to me: “Why don’tyou take a break from work andlet’s just move to some othercountry. If you like it we can stay,if you don’t we can always comeback.” I saw the sadness in hisface and there was nothing Icould say to convince him tochange his mind.

-Kalpana Shrestha, Gatthaghar

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

PatriotismSambhu Shrestha in Dristi,25 February

When the Maoists abandonedclass politics and moved on toethnic politics they also plantedthe seeds of separatism. Thecommunal violence in Nepal is adirect result of that. Politics is ascience of principles and beliefs.Whenever politicians have triedto force it according to their will,they have failed. This leads todisappointment and some peoplebecome ascetics, and some rebels.Mahanta Thakur is a perfectexample of that.

Inside the NC, Thakur is aleader who is not only sincere butalso has strong principles. If aperson like Thakur, who devotedhis entire life to NC, wascompelled to move on to ethnicpolitics, there must be somethingseriously lacking in our political

Crises, solutionsThe oil and electricity authorities have created

a dozen committees to identify and solve theirproblems. Millions of rupees have been spent butall for what? It is well-known. The governmentcreates committees and commissions to analyseand solve the problems but nothing happens andall that we get is the ‘New Nepal.’ Every othergovernment body has already been privatised, sowhy not the NOC? It is clear that the NOC remainsunder government control for its strategic andeconomic value. But from Nepal’s currentsituation, it is clear that that is not the way to go.

Those in power, andthose who aspire to be inpower, know very well thatthe NOC is a golden goose.That is why none of theparties ever talk ofprivatising the NOC. Like itor not, the solution to the fuelcrisis remains: end therampant corruption within theelectricity and the oilauthorities, and have notparty-centric or minister-

centric but organisation-centric management.Unless this type of management is implemented,no number of committees will be able to solve thelong-term problems.

On another note, the government only looks atpetroleum and hydropower as sources of fuel andelectricity. There are other alternatives. Instead ofpetroleum, ethanol and jatropha-based biofuel, andusing battery-powered cars, at least in the capital,can be considered. Various other resources canbe researched, for instance briquettes, coal,sugarcane barks, and leftovers from wood mills tobe used for boilers at home. If alternatives likethese are not explored, the crises will never end.The government’s announcement that load-shedding will end in 2011-12 is based on thecurrent demand for electricity, by then, who knowshow big the demand will be?

SAM KANG LI

729 FEBRUARY - 6 MARCH 2008 #389FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Abin Shrestha in Samaya, 28 February

““

landscape. The politicians have tokeep that in mind, otherwise wemay end up like the former SovietUnion.

Ethnic politics began whenMadhesi leaders sat at the IndianEmbassy in Kathmandu andboldly talked about ‘one Madhesone region’. Nepali people hatethe fact that this happened. Thefact that they sat in a room insome embassy in Kathmandu andtalked so openly about this isagainst diplomatic decorum. Butwho will speak out against suchan act? We are so helpless that wehave no courage left to speakagainst such a naked interference.In Kathmandu KV Rajan isteaching us politics, while inRaxaul another Indian leadercalled Anil Kumar Singh is doingthe same. As if Nepal is a smallpart of India, where the Indianscan do what they like and getaway with anything. Theforeigners are taking advantage ofour helplessness and attackingour nationhood.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

True TharusExcerpts of the interview withFulmati Chaudhari, a centralcommittee member of TharuKalyankari Sangh in Sanghu, 18February

Why are the Tharus againstthe Madhes uprising?How can Tharus accept thedemand for one Madhes oneregion? Who are the originalinhabitants? And who are theMadhesis? There have beenattempts to confuse the peoplewith these questions. Thisuprising is led by thefeudals. Even the Muslims in theTarai are saying they are notMadhesis.

If the people that UpendraYadav, J P Gupta andMahanta Thakur claim tobe Madhesi are notMadhesis, then who isMadhesi?Madhesis are Aryans. Thecommunity came to the Tarai andkept a stronghold here because ofthe business prospects of theTarai. They then started rulingover the original inhabitants.Nepal has mountains, hills andthe Tarai. Trying to politicise theissue of a Madhes which does notexist is very dangerous. Nepal hasTarai, Madhesis but no Madhes.

Has a conflict begun betweenthe Tharus and Madhesis?We won’t pressurise anyone toleave like the Madhesis did to thePahadis. We do not believe inusing weapons to make our voicesheard. Talks about one Madhesone region are just meant to stirunrest in the Tarai.

Didn’t your demand for aTharuhat help the Taraibecome a separate region?We are saying that places withour historical background shouldbe Tharuhat. Our objective is notto divide Nepal by demanding anethnic state.

Ramchandra Jha in Himal Khabarpatrika, 28 February-13 March

After years of autocratic Shah rule, people in the Tarai are eager toset up their fortune and future through CA polls. They have beentrying to free themselves of the discrimination to which they havebeen subjected. However, the violence and ethnic intolerance thathas spread to divide the country is not acceptable to the people ofthe Tarai. If the CA polls cannot be held on time, the Madhesis will beresponsible for it.

Two of the demands made by the United Democratic MadhesiFront (UDMF) are impractical and objectionable. Asking to declare avast stretch of 800km from Mechi to Mahakali as one region isobjectionable. A region should be divided in terms of lingual, culturaland historical and developmental infrastructure. And if thegovernment consents to the demand for one region, the country willhave to face unimaginable rebellion.

In the Tarai there are different traditions and beliefs in terms ofhistory and culture. In the last 5000 years, the region has never beenunder a single rule. Even in terms of today’s situation, bothdevelopmental and socio-economical, the demand is not possible. Ifthe basis of ‘one Madhes one region’ is purely geographical, wecannot ignore the possibility that another, larger, plains area, mightcite similar geographical arguments for ‘one area, one region’ at alater time.

If the UDMF is not willing to give up its demand, it should let thepeople decide on it in the CA polls. The front can raise the oneregion as its main issue and resolve it through public polls.Similarly, it is politically harmful for a party to ask for an exclusiveprinciple. While the agitating parties are asking for greater inclusionfor themselves, at the same time they are trying to exclude otheroriginal inhabitants of the Tarai, janajatis, women and dalits.

Although some of the uprising in the Tarai is based on realissues, emotions and provocation are also involved. Certainquarters are trying to use the Madhesi uprising to imply that themonarchy is the only possible symbol of unity.

It is no secret that the Tarai has been looked down upon by thestate. Tarai people are deprived of self-rule and social justice. Theelection is the only way to iron out the differences. Anyone who isagainst the CA polls is undermining the attempt to resolve thediscrepancy.

No to one region

On Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s face: first president, first president...Dahal: gorgeous!

The NC is an old cow well past its productive age and which cannot be milkedanymore, whereas the UML is a young but sterile cow. The CPN-M is the only heiferthat can be entrusted with the future.

Senior Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai speaking at a Maoist rally in Gorkha.

SELECTED MATERIAL TRANSLATED EVERY WEEK FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

A quick guide

The Yin anKUPON

The main street of Kupondogood balance of boutique

TEXT AND IMAGES

THONG NA GA WA

BAREFOOT

SANA HASTAKALA

FIBRE WEAVE

Everyday, the display models at Gulmohar have their outfits changed accordingto colour. “I wanted the shop to be different,” says owner Sarita Gupta. Thosewho often pass by the Bagmati River try to guess what colours might adorn themodels the next day.

For eight years, Thong Na Ga Wa has been craftingcontemporary wrought-iron furnishings in Nepal.Increasingly, it has added fresh home accessories suchas clocks and wood furniture to its repertoire, whichhas been used to furnish several embassies.

It’s not hard to notice the futuristic Samsonite standingout, after all, it’s the only luggage company embeddedin heart of the street. With Hotel Himalayan nearby, itbegins to make sense. Every three to four months, thestore updates itself with new collections, and you canalso request to view their catalogue for a specificmodel.

The pioneer of conscience-driven handicraft stores inKupundole, Mahaguthi looms over 3-storeys high, witha wide range of handmade items from clothes tofurniture to children’s play items. Adhering to fair tradevalues, the organisation provides technical training forvillage artisans, while also developing their businessand design know-how.

Kipoo Handicraft is a hippie’s heaven. From itstraditional dhaka shawls to mini khukuri knives tocotton wear, there is nothing that the small abode doesnot carry. The six-year-old store also exports to Japan, where its colourfulwoollen wear makes big sales.

Small scale and home-based artisans get to exhibit their crafts atSana Hastakala. Allo (wild nettle fibre) garments are delicately stitched, whilewoollen and felt items make for creative gifts, ranging from winter wear toaccessories such as flower bouquets and neck adornments.

When Pooja Karki recalls her childhood memories ofliving in Kupondole, they mostly involve visiting meatand wrought-iron shops. Now, as the 20-year-old has

grown up, the street has burst into a flurry ofcolours in the form of boutiques and handicraft

stores. It’s even given her a job – Pooja now works as anassistant in a shop across her house.

At Kupondole, women take charge – a hint thatmodern notions of gender relations are coming inwith the rapid development. Anju Shresthastudied fashion in Kathmandu and interiordesign in India, and then started Saaranzboutique with her sister-in-law. Most boutiqueson the street, of which there are no less thanfifteen, are owned by women who have had justenough capital to get their plans off the ground.After her two children grew up, Sarita Gupta hada lot of time on her hands, and so she openedGulmohar at the mouth of Kupondole sellingready-made saris and kurtas. “I wanted to startsomething of my own,” she says, her cosmopolitanbackground apparent in her clear English diction andkeen eye for fashion detail.

Several of the shops supply outfits for beauty pageantssuch as Miss Nepal. At Meher, an 8-year-old family-runbusiness which pioneered the boutique boom in Kupondole, thewalls are adorned with certificates of accomplishment won by designerYagendra Meher for dressing the beauty queens of various contests. Meheracknowledges how much the area has developed and says, “It encouragescreative work.”

Go down the bustling street and you will come across pockets ofhandicraft shops. “It’s a second Thamel here,” says store assistant AnitaMaharjan of knick-knack store Smile Wear, though the atmosphere is

nd Yang ofNDOLE

ole has blossomed with aes and handicraft storesS WONG SHU YUN

MAHAGUTHI

SAMSONITE

SMILE WEAR

SAARANZ BOUTIQUE

Contemporary meets traditional at Akarshan Interiors, where the Indianmarriage dijo set and the kasauti dining set sit alongside urbanely-craftedbarbecue grills, office desk systems and intricate garden ensembles. Besidesthe wrought-iron furnishings, the rattan dining sets and wood beds are also

eye-catchers.

At Saaranz, custom-make your own intricate saris andkurtas with the advice of designer Anju Shrestha. Ablending of east and west gives her designs a cutting-edge, and she counts many high profile figures amongher clientele.

Customised wood furniture takes centre stage atHimalayan Wood Carving & Himalayan Interiors, whereyou can bring your own designs to be made on site.Otherwise, check out the range of Chinese woodcarvings inspired by the Ming Dynasty, as well asNepali, Tibetan and European furnishings.

Lokta is a natural fibre made from the bark of forests inthe hills of Nepal, also used by Tibetan monks for theirmanuscripts. At Barefoot, the fibre comes in the form ofpaper bags, photo-frames, wrappers and diaries. Whilethe material is traditional, the designs have funkycolours and prints.

It’s not Christmastime, but if you walk into Fibre Weave,you can see a darling scene of angels and bells in thestore. Hand-crafted by Limbu, Gurung and Tharuwomen, the woven accessories – which include

baskets, carpets and couches – are resistant to fungus and humidity, makingfor easy maintenance especially in warm season.

At the entrance of Smile Wear, silver and brass jewelry greet you with rusticcharm. But go to the corners of the shop to uncover hidden gems, such as one-of-a-kind Mithila bags and extra comfortable hemp slippers, all which arehandmade in Nepal.

certainly more relaxed.Most of these handicraft stores have a strong belief in

ethical shopping. It all started with Mahaguthi, the 23-year-old bohemian mega-store that was founded with the

mission of alleviating poverty of female villagers in 17 districtsof Nepal, spearheading fair trade in the country. Many shops

though, export their goods. This has become important, aspolitical instability in Nepal has rendered local salesan unpredictable affair.

At paper boutique Barefoot, owner Lotika Chadhanotes that business has slowed down in the lastfive years due to the ongoing chaos. “We rely moreon regular clients than new ones,” she says. OmRaj Shilpakar of Patan Kalatmak Wood Carvingand Furniture says that the frequent strikessometimes prevent him from opening his store.

Still, the international repute of Nepal’shandicrafts means that foreign traders keepcoming back for more, such as Tibetan Khonchok

Gyamtso who visits Kupondole every year to scoutnew products for his store in the United States.

Go back a decade and few would have thoughtthat the street would evolve to what it is today –

Kupondole is teeming with indulgent boutiques andorganic stores. No one planned it this way, nor did anyone ask

for it, yet everyone wants a piece of it – rent prices have increased by upto 50 percent over the past five years, with average rental costs at Rs 15,000for a space of around 7m by length and breadth. Yet increasing costs havenot deterred contemporary furnishing store Thong Na Ga Wa from relocatingfrom Babarmahal last November because it wanted more prominence.

With its modest days long gone, materialism and conscience now co-exist mutually in Kupondole. It is a rags-to-riches tale, and one can onlyhope it gets to earn its own happily-ever-after.

10 NATION 29 FEBRUARY - 6 MARCH 2008 #389

Trouble across

What election?n the crisp morning air inDeuda, a group of younghealth workers are sipping tea

near the village health post. Deudais on the 110km road to theBajhang capital of Chainpur whichhas been under construction forthe last five years. In thebackground, a local FM stationannounces that only 48 days areleft until the constituent assemblyelections.

Here in remote northwesternNepal, there is no fresh electiongraffiti. Not even Maoist slogansproclaiming Pushpa Kamal Dahalas Nepal’s first president.

The party offices are quiet, andpoliticians from Kathmanduhaven’t shown up yet. “No one hascome to ask for our votes,” saysUttam Upadhya, a health workerfrom the adjoining district of Doti.

“Perhaps Bajhang is not apriority area, or perhaps theythemselves are confused about theprocess,” says Dipendra Mishra.

In Chainpur, Tej BahadurKhadka of the Maoists sits outsidehis office basking in the lateafternoon sun. “Who says we arenot campaigning? We are holdinginteractions, meeting locals. Wewill take it up more actively fromnext week on,” he says.

Khadka says Bajhangis may notknow the intricacies of the

elections, but they know who theywant to vote for: his party. Askedabout the YCL, he confirmed theywould be present at the pollingbooths. “They’re not there tothreaten anyone, but to help the

old and disabled vote,” saysKhadka.

But as he gets up to leave,Khadka adds: “History will notlet the CPN-M lose this election.”

Local people say they really

want elections but aredisappointed that the politicalparties are once more letting themdown. Karna Bahadur Kathayatruns a tea shop on the banks ofthe Seti River, he says: “If the

TARAI TURMOIL: Policeescort oil tankers carrying

fuel from Raxaul on theirway to Kathmandu.

LEFTOVERS: Political parties haven’t started campaigning yet in Deuda or the rest of Bajhang. Unlike other regions around the country, there is nofresh election graffiti here.

MALLIKA ARYAL in BAJHANG

same leaders win again how willthings be any different?”

Min Bahadur Singh of theUML remembers the hardshipspeople suffered during the war.There were over 50 checkpoints

SAM KANG LI

I

SUMIT DAYAL

1129 FEBRUARY - 6 MARCH 2008 #389NATION

ith the Tarai dealdone, the Madhes mayget back to normal, but

it is not going to be easy.The United Democratic

Madhes Front (UDMF) took itsstruggle for autonomy to thestreets and shut down the plainsof Nepal for two weeks. Whilethey had genuine demands, thereis evidence that royalist relicsfrom within the country andacross the border used themovement to spread anarchy sothat elections can’t be held.

Most people in the plainsagree that elections are notpossible in the present state. Butthey are also curious about how,now that a deal has been reachedin Kathmandu, the three-partyUDMF alliance prepares forelections in the limited timethere is.

Till press time on Thursday,people in the Tarai were tunedinto their radios waiting for wordfrom Kathmandu. The entireeastern Tarai, parts of Kapilbastuand Nawalparasi, Bhairahawa andNepalganj have been affected bystrikes, street protests andprolonged curfews. People arerunning out of fuel and food, andfrustration levels are high.

While the UDMF has tried tokeep things under control,children and youth have oftenblocked roads, stoned buses,looted hotels and set fire to

In the last few days, election fever has grippedGorkha. Candidates from seven different partieshave registered for the elections, but the talk of thetown was the appearance of Baburam Bhattarai.People thronged the CPN-Maoist rally to hear whatthe son of their soil had to say.

On Tuesday, all the parties set off around thevillages for election campaigns. The highattendance at the meetings of all parties shows thatpeople in Gorkha are looking forward to theelections. “Gorkha has always stood up fordemocracy in the past three elections and this onewill be no different,” says the NC candidate fromward no. 2, Chandra Prasad Neupane who isrelated to Bhattarai.

Amidst the excitement about the election thereare also some doubts and fears, Lumnath Neupane,headmaster of a local school cautions that the

government offices. Evenambulances, schools and themedia have not been spared.Unrest along highway lifelineshas triggered crippling shortagesof fuel all over the country.

The police have retaliatedwith live fire and killed at leastfour people in the past twoweeks. Nearly a hundred peoplehave been injured.Manufacturing units in theBiratnagar area have closeddown, and this has had thepositive impact of reduced load-shedding.

There used to be 1,700 busesplying the eastern section of theMahendra Highway every day,but this has slowed down to atrickle with Rs 50 million dailylosses to transporters. Even airlinks were hit, with Janakpursuspending flights after threats.

Some 100 factories haveclosed down in the Birganj-Simara industrial corridor,throwing thousands out ofwork. Hundreds of thousands ofschool students across the Taraihaven’t been able to attendschools, and many have movedto India or to the hill towns.

There have been deliberateattempts to provoke communalviolence in hot spots likeKapilbastu, Bhairahawa andNepalganj, but quick reaction bycivil society and politicalparties have stopped unrest

from spreading.In Nepalganj, agent

provocateurs used SMS to spreadfalse rumours about a 10-year-oldMadhesi boy killed by police.Known personalities with pastroyal connections, local hooligansand criminal elements have beenseen with faces covered at theforefront of communally-motivated attacks.

UDMF officials admit therehas been some infiltration, butrefuse to take responsibility for it.There has also been a show ofsupport for the Madhesmovement by extremist groupswho want a Hindu monarchyreinstated in Nepal. In Raxaul, thegroups managed to block trafficon the border road to Nepal lastweek. In Nepalganj, UDMFmembers went across the borderto seek protection and broughtback a rally the next day shoutinganti-Nepal government slogans.

Most political analysts acrossthe Tarai believe elements of theUDMF are trying to prolong theagitation, sabotage talks with thegovernment and convert themovement into violence andanarchy so elections can’tbe held.

Reporting by Manoj Shrestha inBiratnagar, Shrawankumar Deb inRajbiraj, Ajit Tiwari in Janakpur,Rabi Dahal in Birganj and MukeshPokhrel in Bhairahawa.

the Tarai

Gorkha is on trackelection staff will have to watch out for boothcapture. “Unless people get to vote withoutintimidation for the candidates of their choice, theelections will not be a success,” he adds.

According to Binod Dhakal, a local journalist,people in remote villages have tired of talk aboutthe polls. He cites the constant postponement ofelections and the absence of the parties at timeswhen the villagers wanted their voices heard asreasons for their indifference.

While the political parties might have takentheir time to reach out to the villagers, everyone,and especially those directly affected by the war,wants elections. Ram Bahadur Shrestha'sdaughter was kidnapped by the Maoists for threemonths, he says: “The country can move forward ifthere are elections.” Srishti Adhikari in Gorkha

n Thawang, where the Maoist war began 12 years ago, thereis peace, and it is hard to tell there is an election around thecorner.

The men folk are all either in the UN-supervised cantonmentsor have gone abroad to work. In village after village, there areonly women, children and the elderly. Every household has atleast one person in the Maoist army.

Thawang VDC is run like a commune and probably comesclosest to what the Maoists wanted to establish in Nepal. There iscollective agriculture, many villagers share what little they have.Most people say they believe in the Maoist path, and they don’tlook like they are saying so out of fear.

But everyone here is glad the war is over. Anera Roka Magar,remembers the horrors of conflict. “We used to be terrified of thehelicopters, we would all run and hide, even schools wereattacked from the air,” she recalls.

However, there is no election fever here because there is nocompetition. Few leaders from other political parties haveventured out to Rolpa’s hinterland.

“The elections would have been interesting if there were otherparties,” Roka Magar admits, “but they haven’t dared return.”

A police post has finally been re-established, but the force ishated so much because of atrocities during Operation Kilo SierraTwo of 1997-99 that it had to be located in neighbouring UwaVDC.

Longsuffering Rolpalis are like Nepalis elsewhere, they arewaiting for the peace dividend. They want better roads,telephones, health care, electricity and education. They think theelection will help them get these services.

“With elections, we have a chance to make our lives better,”says Mahesh Buda Magar. Many full-time Maoists are now turningto social work and development.

With two years of peace, people are also speaking out moreopenly in the tea shops. They are apprehensive that the Maoistleaders have sold out. People in Thawang were planning to do thetwo day walk to Libang to hear Puspha Kamal Dahal speak thisweek.

Shrish runs a cooperative eatery in Thawang and remembersthe struggle of the war years and the hope everyone had forgenuine change. She says: “I wonder whether our leaders havealso forgotten Rolpa.”

The king of TalkotBAJHANG: Narayan Singh (pictured)is the king of Talkot one of the ancientprincipalities that was fused into aunited Nepal 200 years ago.

Every morning, he takes hishorse out of the stable for food andexercise. He made a four-day journeyacross the border to Tibet to buy thehorse five years ago. He lives withhis wife and three children in hisancestral palace on a hilltop.Villagers still affectionately call himRaja Sahib.

Trained in Ayurveda in India,Singh spends his days studyingherbs found in the forests. In theevenings he goes down to the villageto talk with his former subjects.

“People have voted in elections before, they know voting will notmake their lives easier and they have little expectation from theseelections,” says Singh, sipping tea.

Singh says the controversy over the monarchy is just anothertactic to delay the elections. Singh says in these modern times, it isunreasonable for king Gyanendra to expect to be a traditionalmonarch.

“I don’t think we should get rid of the monarchy completely,especially because people’s religious feelings are attached to it,” heexplains, “but we should take away all his powers, keep him as afigurehead and get rid of him slowly.”

along the way to Deuda, andpeople couldn’t move aroundfreely. “Things are betternow, and we are ready to vote,”he says.

In Talkot, a group of villagersare gathered on a hilltop near thelocal health post. Three smallbuildings stand nearby, but theyare all in ruins. “Look at whatthe war did to this place,” saysLalit Joshi, teacher at a localschool, “the Maoists didn’t have

WRolpa is waitingKISHOR RIMAL in ROLPA

I

BLESS THEE: The high priest ofthe Gorakhnath temple blessesMaoist ideologue BaburamBhattarai in Gorkha on Tuesday.

SAM KANG LI

to bomb this place, they createdso much fear that no one wantedto stay here.”

Years of neglect by successivegovernments and the politicalleaders have convinced peoplehere they have no say in theirown destiny. Asks Joshi: “Howcan you have elections withoutcampaigning, without convincingpeople that their lives will bebetter if they vote for a NewNepal?”

SAM KANG LI

12 29 FEBRUARY - 6 MARCH 2008 #389INTERNATIONAL

uberculosis, one of themost deadly infectiousdiseases, is back with a

vengeance, because patients havedeveloped a resistance to standardantibiotics used to treat it.

Extensively drug-resistanttuberculosis (XDR-TB) is adifficult to treat strain of TBwhich attacks where healthsystems are historically weak,especially in areas of high HIVprevalence. Failure to containlocal outbreaks, develop tools andstrategies for identifying andtreating XDR-TB, and invest inlonger-term improvements in TBcontrol could transform ourpharmacological magic bullets forTB into blanks.

TB treatment has beenshadowed by the spectre of drugresistance since the dawn of theantibiotic era. The World HealthOrganization estimates that therewere 425,000 new multi-drugresistant TB (MDR-TB) cases in2004, with China, India, andRussia accounting for just over 60percent.

But it was an outbreak of TBin HIV-infected people inKwaZulu-Natal, that turned theglobal spotlight on issues ofextensively drug-resistantorganisms. Of 535 patients whohad confirmed tuberculosis, 221had MDR-TB, a level 10 timesgreater than in the province as awhole. More alarmingly, 53 of the221 had a strain that was alsoresistant to the two mostclinically useful classes ofsecond-line TB drugs. Fifty-twoof the 53 died in just 16 days.

How did this localisedoutbreak of XDR-TB emerge? Aresimilar localised outbreaks goingunrecognised elsewhere? Moreimportantly, can XDR-TB becontrolled? Resistance to anti-TBdrugs arises from selection ofnaturally occurring mutants with

ellow stargazers! I remember when I was a young boy, mygrandmother used to show me one of the most brilliantconstellations in the sky – Orion the Hunter (known as Tin-

Tare in Nepali). In March, it is right overhead just after sunset. Ifyou have children or grandchildren, there is no greater gift you cangive them than to pass on the love of the starry sky. Take the littleones out to look for Night Lights and show them this greatconstellation. Around Orion, you can see the brightest stars of thesky – the stars of the so-called ‘Winter Hexagon’. To beginlearning about our universe, all you have to do is look up at the

night sky. After all, that’s howastronomy began!

During March, you can alsoenjoy another brilliantconstellation in the northernsky–Saptarshi (The Great

Bear). One of the basic skills in stargazing is to locate the NorthStar (Polaris) with the help of the pointers of Saptarshi. If you wantto, you can easily download finder charts for the North Star fromthe internet.

Planet observers can enjoy Mercury in the predawn sky as itreaches its greatest western elongation on 3 March. It will be in agood position for viewing about an hour before sunrise.Afterwards, it will change direction and start to head towards theeast.

Venus is the bright body near Mercury and on the morning of5 March the crescent Moon passes very close by both the planets.This promises to be a beautiful sight, as the thin sliver of moonwill pass in front of the two planets. Throughout the rest of March,Venus and Mercury race towards the Sun, with Mercury overtakingVenus in the last week of the month.

Mars begins March on the eastern edge of Taurus but over themonth it moves eastwards and into Gemini, becoming dimmeralong the way. Jupiter is in Sagittarius and easy to spot because itis slightly brighter than Venus. Jupiter rises about three hoursbefore the sun.

Are you ready to take a closer look at the real ‘Lord of theRings’? Then say hello to Saturn as it rises in the east at sunset,climbing the sky dome until it is overhead around midnight. Now isthe time for observers and astro-photographers to enjoy Saturn themost!

Also, the Spring Equinox occurs on 20 March at 5.50 PMuniversal time. On that day the Sun will appear to move from southto north across the equator, and day and night will be exactly thesame length. This event signals the start of spring in the NorthernHemisphere, which is how it gets its name.

As the nights are getting warmer, I suggest that you enjoy astargazing session with your children. If you don’t have electricityin the evening due to load-shedding, it’s a great opportunity tocome out and enjoy the treasures of the heavens, as anyhow thesky looks much clearer without city light pollution.

kedarbadu(at)gmail.com

March skyOrion the Hunter

F

innate resistance to drugs. Pooradherence to the therapeuticregimen and improper prescribingby clinicians can result inemergence of resistant organisms,treatment is compromised andresistant organisms can betransmitted to other people.

Effective treatment and curerequires prolonged use of acombination of drugs. For thepast six years, a global effort(called DOTS-Plus) to treatpeople with MDR-TB under strictconditions has been underway,reaching thousands withpreviously untreatable TB. Anunfortunate consequence oftreating MDR-TB with second-line drugs, however, is theinevitable emergence of furtherdrug resistance. If the same factorsthat produce MDR-TB remain inplay, then MDR-TB becomes XDR-TB.

Addressing drug-resistant TBcannot be divorced from overallTB control efforts. Moreover, TBcontrol strategies targeted atpopulations with high HIVburdens are critically important.

Enhanced surveillance also isneeded. Priorities for XDR-TBsurveillance include testing tosecond-line drugs andincorporating this, together withinformation about HIV testing,

into existing TB surveillanceactivities.

Effective advocacy for a morevigorous response to the global TBepidemic cannot be overstated.New drugs are not enough. On thecontrary, introducing them intosettings where treatmentcompliance is not assured andwhere drug susceptibility testingis not available would likelycontribute to even more resistantorganisms.

Ultimately health systemsmust be strengthened to enablehealth care providers to find TBthat is present in communitieswith more sensitive and specificdiagnostic tests, treat TBaccording to the class of theorganism with the latest and mostpotent drugs, and prevent TBamong those who are at risk. These steps may very well ensurethat XDR-TB does not engulf theadvances made in the pastcentury in the global fight againstTB. Project Syndicate

Susan Dorman is a professor ofmedicine at Johns HopkinsUniversity. Richard E Chaisson isprofessor of medicine,epidemiology and internationalhealth and Director of the Centerfor Tuberculosis Research at JohnsHopkins University, Baltimore.

TB or not TBCombined with HIV, antibiotic resistantTB can be a global pandemic

STARGAZINGKedar S Badu

Nepal’s ‘national disease’In Nepal, almost half of the over 25 million population are infectedwith TB, leading some doctors to call this Nepal’s ‘national disease’.Infected people carry the bacillus, but don’t have the symptoms.However, they can pass it on to other people.

Of these, up to 90,000 people have active TB and there are44,000 new cases of the disease every year. But Nepal is also one ofthe success stories in using DOTS to reduce TB mortality. Thenumber of people dying from TB has plummeted from 18,000 in 1994to about 11,000 today.

But multi-drug resistance is also growing. In 1999–2002, basedon 755 patients with no history of previous treatment resistance was5.4 percent for isoniazid, 8.9 percent to streptomycin and multi-drugresistance TB was 1.9 percent. These figures are estimated to havegone up in recent years.

SUSAN DORMAN andRICHARD E CHAISSON

T

29 FEBRUARY - 6 MARCH 2008 #389 13CULTURE

here are now barely sixweeks left until theconstituent assembly

election scheduled for 10 April,but barely 67 percent of peoplehave heard of it and only21 percent actually understandwhat it is and how it will work.(See ‘Pre-poll poll’, #386)

Despite the efforts of thepolitical parties, the media andinternational groups,understanding of the keypolitical issues facing thecountry is still low in manyareas.

Now, stage actors are trying toaddress this by organising anation-wide election awarenessraising campaign. Nepalis will bevoting for the first time since1999, and for millions of youngpeople it will be their firstchance to vote.

The campaign is beingspearheaded by the dramacollective Aarohan Gurukul,whose recent productionGhanachakkar has been regularlypacked in Kathmandu, and alsowent on tour to Delhi andKolkota.

They plan to raise awarenessabout the elections mainly indistricts where access to media islimited, and many people arestill illiterate and unable to readelection literature. To present theissues to these people they planto use the medium of streettheatre.

Over the last few weeks,members of Gurukul’s 14regional pods have been gatheredat Purano Baneswor. Each localgroup has sent tworepresentatives, and they have

Artistic duty

TOM OWEN-SMITH come from all parts of thecountry, from Humla to Jhapa.In the evening time the canteenwas rowdy, ringing with thetones of different accents fromall over Nepal.

The young actors are here toreceive special training for theinformation campaign. Thisincludes detailed instructionabout the election process, theconstituent assembly and itsworkings, and on participatorystreet theatre techniques.

The street plays will have noscript but will be a 45-minuteimprovisation, according to aplan based around the majorissues of how to vote and whatvoting means. They will beinteractive, allowing theaudience to even join in theplay in its later stages.

“Each performance will befollowed by a discussion aboutthe issues covered in a play,”says Sunil Pokharel, Gurukul’sartistic director, “thediscussions should be longerthan the play itself.

When the local groupmembers return home, usingthis plan as their starting pointthey will each develop a playwith their own group, tailoredto the environment of eachplace.The plays will feature locally-specific issues, use local props,and where appropriate locallanguages, including Maithili,Tharu, Bhojpuri, Awadhi,Tamang and Limbu. All of theseaspects are intended to make theplays as relevant and engagingas possible to the public ineach area.

Gurukul member PrabinKhatiwada explains: “We won’t

Actors all over Nepal aremobilising to spread theword on elections

T

just go to the district capitals,because people there are usuallyquite aware anyway. We will tourthe villages, as this is where thepeople really need thisinformation.”

Gurukul themselves plan toperform in Kathmandu, Lalitpur,Bhaktapur, Sindhupalchok,Kabhre, Nuwakot and Rasuwa,and together all the local groups

constituent assembly election andthe parliamentary election. Thepeople in the villages need tounderstand how the electionsactually work,” says Sunil.

When asked about what madehim take up this campaign, Sunilreplies: “This is an importantmoment for the new Nepal, and itis our duty as artists tocontribute.”

hope to cover 42 districts of thecountry. Still more districts willbe covered by two other dramagroups Sarwanam and Kusum,both partners of Gurukul. Intotal the three collectives andtheir regional groups hope toreach 73 out of 75 districts inNepal.

“Lots of people are confusedabout the difference between the

GURUKUL

KATHMANDU VALLEY

14 29 FEBRUARY - 6 MARCH 2008 #389CITY

ABOUT TOWN

WEEKEND WEATHER by NGAMINDRA DAHAL

The current satellite picture shows a very active anticyclonic movement overSiberia. The cold waves of this system are extending over Kazakhstan andAfghanistan, and affecting the western parts of India and Nepal. They are alsomoving eastward towards central Nepal, bringing chilly breezes. Since anotherhigh pressure system is also prominently visible over China, chances of anymore winter rainfall are small. A low pressure system is gradually developingover the Indian Ocean, and the tug of war between the cold waves from Siberiaand hot waves from the south east is likely to cause some turbulent weather.

KATHMANDU

EXHIB IT IONSphoto.circle xv at the Sundhara Bakery Café, 1 March, 9.45 AM.Superlatives through lens photographs by Sugat Ratna Shakya atThe Art Shop, Darbar Marg, 29 February-7 March, 11AM-9PM.4427840Double vision prints by Nan Mulder, Gea Karhof, Seema SharmaShah and Ragini Upadhyay, 2-15 March at the Siddhartha ArtGallery, Babar Mahal Revisited.Tibetan Lhosar photographs by Daniel Collins at the SaturdayCafé, Boudhanath stupa, until 31 March.

E V E N T SA People War photo exhibition tour,29 February and 1 March, 9AM-5PMat the Nepal Art Council, BabarMahal.School Bullying a talk program byNiti Rana, 29 Feb at The New Era,Battisputali. 9851023958Leaving Microsoft to change theworld a discussion lead by John Wood, Kanak Mani Dixit andKhagendra Sangraula, 1 March, 2.30 PM at the Yala MayaKendra, Patan Dhoka.Cine Sankipa showing of Kathmandu Odyssey and DecemberBlues, documentaries by Shekhar Kharel, 1 March, 3PM atGurukul, Old Baneswor. 4466956Opening food, fashion and jewellery in the New Orleans CoffeeShop, Patan, 5-7PM, 1 March. 5522708Weekly human rights film screenings with The Road toGuantanamo at the Sama Theatre, Gurukul, at 5PM on 2 March.4466956Managing Stress through Hypnotherapy a talk by Bina Gopal,6 March, 5.30-7.30 PM at the Shankar Hotel. Registration feesRs 200. 9841346202Toastmasters a communication and leadership program,organised by Kathmandu Toastmasters Club every Wednesday6PM at Industrial Enterprise Development Institute (IEDI)building, Tripureswor. 4288847

MUSICConcert series II of the Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory on1 March, 1PM at the Gyanodaya School, Kathmandu JazzConservatory. 5013554Anil Shahi every Wednesday and Rashmi Singh every Friday,live at the Absolute Bar, Hotel Narayani Complex, 8PM. 5521408

D I N I N GThe Kaiser Café open now at the Garden of Dreams, operated byDwarika’s Group of Hotels, open from 9AM-10PM. 4425341Steak escape with Kathmandu’s premier steaks available forlunch and dinner at the Olive Bar and Bistro, Hotel Radisson.4411818Continental and Chinese cuisine and complimentary freshbrewed coffee after every meal a Zest Restaurant and Bar,Pulchok.Illy espresso coffee at the Galleria cafe, every Friday espressococktails. International four course buffet at the Sunrise Café with a rangeof Boris’ signature dishes at The Chimney, Hotel Yak and Yeti.4248999Pan Asian evenings every Wednesday at The Café, HyattRegency with food from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.4491234Jazz in Patan with coffee, food, drinks and dessert at the NewOrleans Cafe, Jawalakhel. 11.30 AM-10PM. 5522708Saturday special barbeque, sekuwa, momos, dal-bhat at The TeaHouse Inn, Windy Hills, Nagarkot every Saturday. 9841250848.Dice-licious brunch at Kakori, Soaltee Crowne Plaza, roll thedice to the number of the day and get 50% discount on anindividual meal, Saturdays and Sundays, 12.30-3.30 PM.4273999Scrumptious wood fired pizzas, cocktails and specialty coffees atRoadhouse, Bhatbateni 4426587, Pulchok 5521755 and Thamel4260187.Cocktails and jazz with the JCS Quartet and a choice of cocktailsat Fusion – the Bar at Dwarika’s. 4479448Starry night barbecue at Hotel Shangri-la with Live performanceby Ciney Gurung, Rs. 666.00 nett. per person, at the ShambalaGarden, every Friday 6.30 PM onwards. 4412999Kebabs and curries at the Dhaba, Thapathali. 9841290619Calcutta’s rolls, biryani, kebabs Indian cuisine at Bawarchi,Bluebird Mall Food Court. 9741000735Lavazza coffee Italy’s favourite coffee at La Dolce Vita, Thamel.4700612Little Britain coffee shop fresh organic coffee, homemade cakes,WiFi internet, open all day, everyday. 4496207Pizza from the woodfired oven at Java, Thamel. 4422519

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Call 4442220 for show timings at Jai Nepalwww.jainepal.com

Jodhaa Akbar is a sixteenth century lovestory between the great Mughal emperor Akbar(Hritik Roshan) and a Rajput princess, Jodhaa(Aishwarya Rai Bachhan). Akbar marriesJodhaa to strengthen his relation with theRajputs but gets more than he bargained forwhen he starts to fall in love with her. Thedaughter of King Bharmal, Jodhaa is a fieryRajput and Akbar’s biggest challenge will nowbe winning her love.

Fri Sat Sun

22-5 23-4 23-5

For inclusion in the listing send information to editors(at)nepalitimes.com

EXHIB IT IONSphoto.circle xv at the Sundhara Bakery Café, 1 March, 9.45 AM.Superlatives through lens photographs by Sugat Ratna Shakya atThe Art Shop, Darbar Marg, 29 February-7 March, 11AM-9PM.4427840Double vision prints by Nan Mulder, Gea Karhof, Seema SharmaShah and Ragini Upadhyay, 2-15 March at the Siddhartha ArtGallery, Babar Mahal Revisited.Tibetan Lhosar photographs by Daniel Collins at the SaturdayCafé, Boudhanath stupa, until 31 March.

E V E N T SA People War photo exhibition tour,29 February and 1 March, 9AM-5PMat the Nepal Art Council, BabarMahal.School Bullying a talk program byNiti Rana, 29 Feb at The New Era,Battisputali. 9851023958Leaving Microsoft to change theworld a discussion lead by John Wood, Kanak Mani Dixit andKhagendra Sangraula, 1 March, 2.30 PM at the Yala MayaKendra, Patan Dhoka.Cine Sankipa showing of Kathmandu Odyssey and DecemberBlues, documentaries by Shekhar Kharel, 1 March, 3PM atGurukul, Old Baneswor. 4466956Opening food, fashion and jewellery in the New Orleans CoffeeShop, Patan, 5-7PM, 1 March. 5522708Weekly human rights film screenings with The Road toGuantanamo at the Sama Theatre, Gurukul, at 5PM on 2 March.4466956Managing Stress through Hypnotherapy a talk by Bina Gopal,6 March, 5.30-7.30 PM at the Shankar Hotel. Registration feesRs 200. 9841346202Toastmasters a communication and leadership program,organised by Kathmandu Toastmasters Club every Wednesday6PM at Industrial Enterprise Development Institute (IEDI)building, Tripureswor. 4288847

MUSICConcert series II of the Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory on1 March, 1PM at the Gyanodaya School, Kathmandu JazzConservatory. 5013554Anil Shahi every Wednesday and Rashmi Singh every Friday,live at the Absolute Bar, Hotel Narayani Complex, 8PM. 5521408

D I N I N GThe Kaiser Café open now at the Garden of Dreams, operated byDwarika’s Group of Hotels, open from 9AM-10PM. 4425341Steak escape with Kathmandu’s premier steaks available forlunch and dinner at the Olive Bar and Bistro, Hotel Radisson.4411818Continental and Chinese cuisine and complimentary freshbrewed coffee after every meal a Zest Restaurant and Bar,Pulchok.Illy espresso coffee at the Galleria cafe, every Friday espressococktails. International four course buffet at the Sunrise Café with a rangeof Boris’ signature dishes at The Chimney, Hotel Yak and Yeti.4248999Pan Asian evenings every Wednesday at The Café, HyattRegency with food from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.4491234Jazz in Patan with coffee, food, drinks and dessert at the NewOrleans Cafe, Jawalakhel. 11.30 AM-10PM. 5522708Saturday special barbeque, sekuwa, momos, dal-bhat at The TeaHouse Inn, Windy Hills, Nagarkot every Saturday. 9841250848.Dice-licious brunch at Kakori, Soaltee Crowne Plaza, roll thedice to the number of the day and get 50% discount on anindividual meal, Saturdays and Sundays, 12.30-3.30 PM.4273999Scrumptious wood fired pizzas, cocktails and specialty coffees atRoadhouse, Bhatbateni 4426587, Pulchok 5521755 and Thamel4260187.Cocktails and jazz with the JCS Quartet and a choice of cocktailsat Fusion – the Bar at Dwarika’s. 4479448Starry night barbecue at Hotel Shangri-la with Live performanceby Ciney Gurung, Rs. 666.00 nett. per person, at the ShambalaGarden, every Friday 6.30 PM onwards. 4412999Kebabs and curries at the Dhaba, Thapathali. 9841290619Calcutta’s rolls, biryani, kebabs Indian cuisine at Bawarchi,Bluebird Mall Food Court. 9741000735Lavazza coffee Italy’s favourite coffee at La Dolce Vita, Thamel.4700612Little Britain coffee shop fresh organic coffee, homemade cakes,WiFi internet, open all day, everyday. 4496207Pizza from the woodfired oven at Java, Thamel. 4422519

29 FEBRUARY - 6 MARCH 2008 #389 15

HOLD THE LINE: Nepali Congress candidates pose for the camerasafter their nominations this week. Party faithful also turned out in force.

SUBEL BHANDARI

SAM KANG LI

KIRAN KRISHNA SHRESTHA

HAPPENINGS

TAXI STANDSTILLt a

UNDER EXPOSURE: Baburam Bhattarai pauses at the photograph ofLamjung teacher, Muktinath Adhikari, who was killed by Maoists in2001. The picture was part of the exhibition tour, 'A People War', whichvisited Gorkha this week.

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

WHAT'S SO FUNNY: UNMIN chief Ian Martin cracks up at somethingIndian Ambassador Shiv Shankar Mukherjee said at the receptionhosted by the Prime Minsiter at Shital Nibas on Democracy Day, 19February.

IN MEMORIAM: Villagers in Ghyampesal, Gorkha, commemorate the12th anniversary of the death of schoolboy Dil Bahadur Ramtel, who wasthe first casualty of the People’s War.

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29 FEBRUARY - 6 MARCH 2008 #38916 BACKSIDE

ass(at)nepalitimes.com

he less said about the ongoing shortages of everything, thebetter. But on last week’s Backside list of shortages, please addblood.

Yes, this bloody country has even run out of blood. The CentralBlood Bank’s refrigeration unit has packed up, and the Nepali peopleare in no mood to donate any more corpuscles.

There is no point complaining about shortages. It’s just not originalanymore. Let’s look at the bright side. Here is the Ass’ updated list ofwhy we should be upbeat:1. Because there is less fuel to burn, the air pollution level inKathmandu is down considerably2. The diesel at the pumps is pure because there is no kerosene toadulterate it with3. Nepal has met its commitments to contain greenhouse gases wayahead of the Kyoto timetable4. With motorcycles off the roads, there are fewer of them hitting Baba-san’s ingenious concrete dividers5. Children watch less tv because of load-shedding6. Parents are also enjoying the lack of tv, so expect a baby boom aroundDecember7. Amateur astronomy is enjoying a comeback because of the darkness

So Upendra Yadav finally got to ride a night-vision helicopter onSunday night, something he hadn’t been able to do when he was aMaoist and later when he defected to the royal camp. Anyway, the otherMadhesi leaders were already nearing a deal after midnight, butUpendrabhaiya got a call on his mobile and said the whole thing wasoff. Can we scramble Nepal Telecom to figure out where that call camefrom and whether it has a +91 prefix?

Wonder why all these Madhes talks are nocturnal? Are they hatchingdark plots? Why can’t they all meet at more civilized hours?

They say it’s easier to wake up someone who is asleep thansomeone who is just pretending to sleep. Girjau pretended to be asleepon Tuesday night while the Madhesi leaders were kept waitingdownstairs in Baluwatar from 3PM onwards. Sitaula and Shekhar keptgoing up and down, telling the UMDF leader to watch some moretelevision (there is no loadshedding in Baluwatar). By 9PM, they’d hadit, and stomped out, fuming. Unfortunately there were no soundbitesand no flashing cameras because the reporters waiting outside were sofed up they decided to boycott the news. Even when the home ministercame out to placate them, the reporters registered their protest by notasking him any questions and not taking any pictures.

The Ass wishes KP Bhattarai many happy returns of the day, but theman should just fhut the suck up unless he wants to spoil the chancesof his own party in polls by proclaiming the Nepali monarchy will bearound for three more centuries (why only three, why not five?).

Apparently there was a council of war at Bhaisepati the previousday to plan for the Himalaya Hotel bash which Kingji and Paras Sircaralso attended. At this rate, the kangresis are headed for another splitbetween the Royal Congress and the Republican Congress. WithGachhedar and Sharad Singh already defecting, there are enoughfrustrated kangresis out there who didn’t get tickets to opt out indisgust. Is that why The Sher is drowning his sorrows in OldSmuggler, or is the man celebrating?

Four thousand Nepali students go to Australia to study every year anda much larger number to Britain for studies and family visits. TheAustralians started it, now the British require Nepalis to apply for visasin Delhi.

If Shitall Nibas had any gonads, it would tell the Brits and theOzzies to stuff themselves for discontinuing visas inKathmandu. And in the spirit of reciprocity, we shouldcancel visa on arrival for nationals of these twocountries and ask Australians to apply for Nepali visasin Suva. And Britons can get theirs at our embassy inCairo.

BloodycountryT