#405 20 - 26 June 2008 16 pages Rs 30

Weekly Internet Poll # 406. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.comQ . W hat do you predict w ill happen if theparties keep squabbling like this?

Weekly Internet Poll # 405

Q . H ow do you think the governm enthandled the king’s departure fromN arayanhiti?

Total votes: 3,943

UNJUST: Students protesting the hike in busfares vandalised Chief Justice Kedar Prasad

Giri’s car. Giri was unhurt, and protesters saidthey thought it was a minister’s car.

ultiple protests shutdown much of thecapital on Thursday as

students demonstrated about thesteep increase in bus fares, civilservants went on the war pathover Forestry Minister MatrikaYadav’s imprisonment of a staffmember in a toilet, and Tibetansprotested outside the Chineseembassy.

The protesters blocked thestreets and set governmentvehicles on fire, and suddenlythe new Nepal looked nodifferent from the old.

But over at Baluwatar, for achange, there were signs that thethree parties were finally inching

closer to a deal. Three weeks afterthe country was declared arepublic, the brinkmanship of theNC, UML and Maoists appeared tobe entering its endgame after yetmore negotiations.

Progress of sorts came afterPrime Minister Koirala reportedlyassured the Maoists he was readyto step down to make way for theformation of a Maoist-ledgovernment. But he quicklyqualified that by saying hewanted it to coincide with adecision on the presidency.

“We are trying to make sure weget the process right,” explainedthe NC’s Minendra Rijal. “The PMwill resign if the seven parties ask

him to, otherwise who should hesubmit his resignation to?”

A formula is to be worked outin the next three months for thepartial integration of the PLAinto the national army,opposition parties will havemembership of the constitutionalcouncil, a task force will monitorthe return of confiscated propertyand a 15-daytimeframe has beengiven to demilitarizethe YCL. There hasalready been an amendment tothe constitution allowing asimple majority to form and sackgovernments.

“Getting Koirala to resign isnot the solution,” says lawyerBishwakant Mainali. “The sevenparties should reach a politicalconsensus on the president andprime minister.”

However, by press time onThursday there was still no

agreement on who would bepresident. That decision hasnow been pushed back, to bediscussed as part of a power-sharing package that willinclude the vice-presidency, thechair of the constituentassembly and ministerial posts.

By going for at least a partialagreement, the big three parties

are trying tocalm therestless smallerparties and

also give the impatientConstituent Assembly memberssomething to keep themoccupied until the newgovernment is formed.

And until this happens andsomeone takes charge, mostanalysts agree, the country’stowns and highways willcontinue to be blocked byanyone with a grievance. Dewan Rai

EDITORIALPrime Minister Dahal p2

Sam e old N epalUnrest nationw ide highlights urgency of form ing new governm ent

M

NARENDRA SHRESTHA

2 20 - 26 JUNE 2008 #405EDITORIAL

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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

TARAI EYEPrashant Jha

T

SAME TO SAMESeems like Kunda Dixit is pretty surethat things are certain to go wrong(‘Same to same’, #404). Why thepessimism? Let’s stop worrying aboutwho’s to be blamed. Obviously thosewho let us down will be blamed andsidelined just like Gyanandra hasbeen. Best wishes to the next leader ofmy nation.

Anil, New Delhi

Communists are stuck in time.Never understood why they worshipmass murderers like Stalin and Mao soshamelessly. Illiterate buffoons. Yourpage 1 photo morph (#404) is interestingin one thing though: it tell us what painsthey go through for a personality cult.But I won’t be surprised if ten years fromnow, a mob of the Maoists’ own makingwill put a garland of shoes around theleader’s neck. Hopefully, a newgeneration will rise that will put them intheir right place: the circus.

Keshab, Putalisadak

are presently addressing.Samarjit Thapa, email

The first president of Nepal isgoing to be the commander-in-chief ofone of the strongest forces in nation—100,000 plus men and women. Weneed someone who has a vision andcan put the nation’s interest above his/her own interests. If you elect anincompetent fellow just because s/he isa madhesi, pahadi, janajati, widow,apolitical—the list could go on and onwith such stupid eligibility criteria—then you pave the way for NewPakistan or Bangladesh.

Raj, Toronto

EX-KINGPretty strange, if it’s true what the Asssays, for the ex-king to be still relyingon the advice of his priests andastrologers (‘Friday the 13th’, #404),especially as things have not gone wellfor him despite following their advice?

Champa, email

he current stalemate isdistressing. Are the presentnegotiations meant only to

work out a power-sharing deal?Or are they the basis for the nextphase in the peace process? Arethey a bit of both?

The NC publicly comes upwith seven preconditions,demanding the Maoists changetheir attitude and actions.

Privately, Congress leaders admitthat all points are bargainingchips to make Koirala president.The UML demands a new peaceagreement, but drops that as soonas the names of Madhab Nepal orSubash Nembang are floated forthe presidency. The party’s flip-flop is just another symptom ofits severe existential crisis.

While confusion reigns in theother parties, the Maoists remainfocussed. This peace agreementhas served them well and theywould be happy to make similarcommitments again, knowingthere is no mechanism to holdthem to account. They are alsorelaxed about a degree of top-levelpower sharing—if necessary—because it would have little

impact on their control onthe ground.

Throughout the negotiations,critical aspects of the peaceprocess have been used by oneside or another for tacticalpurposes or else completelyignored.

For instance, the NC hasinsisted on an immediateagreement on the integration ofthe PLA soldiers into the NepalArmy. They have a point, for theMaoists cannot head two armies.(In fact, all parties should havepaid attention to security sectorreform before allowing theMaoists to go into the electionsas a politico-military structure.)

The integration issue is notintractable. The Maoists know alltheir soldiers will never be takeninto the NA—and they don’tparticularly want to get everyonein anyway. Likewise, the armyknows it will have to take in asegment of the PLA.

Whether this happens enmasse or on an individual basis;whether they will constitute abattalion or be fragmented;whether there will be places fortop-level PLA generals; and whatwill be the fate of the theremainder: these are thecontentious issues needingpreparatory work. This shouldhave been done by the committeeset up under Article 146 of theinterim constitution, but it hasnot met since July.

Integration is ultimately apolitical decision, but one withfar-reaching consequences. NC isplaying a dangerous game if itthinks it can use the issue toensure Girija’s position as headof state. Linked to it is the newmilitary-civilian relationship:the army has a right to expressits opinion, but only in privatewhen asked by the government.General Katuwal has no businessmaking public statements,nor should he have a veto onthe issue.

Notable by its absence fromthe present discussions is talk ofMadhesis’ integration into thearmy, as promised by the eight-point agreement. Katuwal,openly opposed to the clause,has claimed the army is alreadyinclusive. But with just 800Madhesis—in low-levelpositions—out of almost100,000 soldiers, that is anoutright lie.

Madhesi parties know thiscould strike a chord with theunemployed youth in the Taraiand help broaden their politicalsupport while provoking aconfrontation with Kathmanduand giving them grounds to workwith the armed groups. Ideally,they want to arouse popularpassions by the year’s end.The fair inclusion of Madhesisinto the state security apparatusis essential in preventing furtherconflict.

The third issue—and the oneof greatest concern—is thestatelessness and rampantimpunity that exists across theTarai, where even a fringe groupcan engineer killings at will.There is a real danger of anarchyor hegemony at the local level.

The Maoists had a vestedinterest in weakening the stateuntil now. But now that they arethe state, they will try to build apartisan institutional frameworkto do their bidding. In manyTarai districts they have alreadystarted putting pressure onthe police to release activistsfrom armed groups who promiseto defect.

The negotiations should havebeen about how to share power atthe local level, how to encourageeffective peace-buildinginitiatives in VDCs, and howto strengthen an inclusive,independent bureaucracyand judiciary.

Unfortunately, we have justmissed out on carving a newpeace deal.

Veering off courseMyopic politicians are missing the bigger picture

PRIME MINISTER DAHALEnough is enough. If it takes two months after an election verdict toform a government and three weeks after the declaration of arepublic to replace the head of state, we wonder how long it will taketo agree on a cabinet. And after that, how much longer for 601assembly members to draft a new constitution?

Every time we bring up the subject of this endless obsessionwith politics at the expense of development, our leaders keep tellingus to be patient. Once the politics falls into place, they say,everything will be sorted out. Well, we’ve waited 15 years. Removethe feudal monarchy, we are told, and there will be a golden future.

We understand that bloodless, political evolution in a democracytakes longer than a quick, violent revolution. And it’s a blessing thatour two-year transition to a republic hasn’t been messier and morebrutal. But our leaders are so busy running in circles round trees,they can’t see the forest.

It’s a given that all politics is selfish. But mature politiciansknow there is a certain point beyond which self-centredness iscounterproductive. Their narrow-minded and short-sighted pursuit ofpolitical power at the expense of the country’s long-term nationalinterest benefits no one, and will come back to haunt those veryleaders when they take office in future.

The inability of Nepal’s leaders to fathom the level of publicdisillusionment and the people’s overwhelming desire fordevelopment and jobs shows a breathtaking lack of accountability.And there is no understanding that only if the pie gets bigger willtheir share also expand.

As we go to press on Thursday afternoon, talks are still stalledon the question of the presidency. Unless the leaders at Baluwatarexhibit uncommon wisdom and flexibility there will be so much badblood it will poison relations between the incumbent and theopposition even before the new government starts its work.

It is time for a reality check: the NC and UML lost, and theMaoists didn’t win a landslide. That is the people’s mandate and theparties have no option but to respect it. They will reach a midnightdeal, as they always do, but precious time has been lost.

Time to turn our Magna Carta into a Marshall Plan. The Maoist-led government is rushing headlong into multiple crises: food, fuel,jobs. This country is looking at a hunger pandemic (see p 4).Soaring food prices will double the number of Nepalis living belowthe poverty line.

The fuel emergency is here to stay, so there must be a strategyto switch our transportation economy to renewables and immediatelyannounce tax rebates andsubsidies for electricbuses and cars,recharging stations andcable-cars.

The upcoming budgetcan be a blueprint for thisnew paradigm. It mustfocus on jobs, jobs andmore jobs. Not by turningministries into recruitmentcentres for the partyfaithful, but by creatingwork through investment-friendly policies.

Good luck, PrimeMinister Dahal, we hopeyou can pull it off.

If political parties that lost continue tofight for posts and don’t let the countrymove forward, theywill be completelyrouted in the nextgeneral elections.What will they thenfight for and how dothey propose tocheck the Maoiststhen. Let theMaoists run thegovernment andcritique them if theylet down the Nepalipeople. And if youtame the Maoiststhat way, may be thepeople will start totrust the NC andUML again.

Sandeep Dhungana, UK

ENERGY BLUESWith the price-hike in India andinternational markets, the government of

Nepal hiked the price of petroleumproducts, which has largely affected

Nepalis (‘Those energyblues’, #404). Petroleumproducts used in India andNepal are the same but percapita incomes of the twocountries are different. Indiahas also hiked the prices inpetroleum products butconsumers over there canbuy subsidised kerosenebecause the Indiangovernment is responsibletowards its citizens.

Praveen Kumar Yadav,email

FIRST PRESIDENTMr Lal, please do not loweryour stature with such a

diatribe (‘The priest and the warrior,’ #404) .Don’t encourage disintegration of thenation. Please desist from all writings thatare sectarian. Try to understand the gravityand the sensitivity of the issues that you

320 - 26 JUNE 2008 #405

STATE OF THE STATEC K Lal

O n 20 June, 1985 a series of bombs inKathmandu killed at least sevenand injured many others. Alarmed

by the sudden eruption of violence, the NCwithdrew a civic disobedience movementit had launched. The resulting politicalvacuum was filled by leftwing extremism.

Energised by the legitimacy of the 1980plebiscite on the monarchy, the Panchayatsystem appeared unassailable. Through thethird amendment to the constitutiongranted by his father, King Birendra

marginally loosened control over politicalactivity. The dreaded Back to the VillageNational Committee was replaced with atechnocratic Panchayat Policy andEvaluation Committee.

The 1982 Rastriya Panchayat electionsproved that it was possible to be acommunist and a Pancha at the same time,but a kangresi had to renounce his faith tobe admitted into the political mainstreamrun by the royal-military elite. BP Koiralawas such an important figure that when hedied in 1983 there was nobody in the partyto replace him. The troika of GaneshmanSingh, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai and GirijaPrasad Koirala tried, but this was aprescription for factionalism

Political confusion had createdconditions for the criminalisation of theadministration, royal princes dealt openlyin contraband, ministers shelteredcriminals and police officers looked theother way as organised crime began to useKathmandu as a safe haven.

This was the roaring eighties, and itwas possible to breakfast with Afghanfighters in Jhonchhe, lunch with a

Begin at the beginning

Khalistan activist at Durbar Marg and dinewith Tamil dissidents in Putali Sadak.Fugitives from all over South Asia usedKathmandu for R&R.

The military was the mainstay of themonarchy, but as king Tribhuban hadcorrectly intuited, the NC was its politicalinsurance policy. Unlike the presidentialform of government favoured by thecommunists, kangresis were wedded to the

Westminster model with monarchy. Yet,every king since Mahendra did more toweaken the NC than devise ways ofcountering leftwing extremism.

In 1985, the NC had initiated theSatyagraha movement to check theinfluence of Jhapali Naxalites. Marxistslike Tulsi Lal Amatya and Man MohanAdhikari were backing the NC’s civicdisobedience movement. Alarmed by this,

The disappearances, impunity and terror started 23 years agothe government used the bombs as anexcuse to crack down.

Even though Ram Raja Prasad Singh ofthe Nepal Janabadi Morcha (and currentMaoist presidential candidate) owned upto the terrorist attacks, thousands of NCactivists were rounded up all over thecountry. The few that had remained freeduring the movement were arrestedimmediately after the blasts.

The Maoist insurgency since 1996 hasinured Nepalis to news of violence,terrorism and disappearances. After thesuffering of survivors in Jogimara, and thetragedy of the Madi bus bomb, reports ofcivilian casualties have ceased to shock thenation’s conscience. But the 1985 bombsestablished the efficacy of terrorism andexposed the weaknesses of an autocraticregime demoralised by self-doubt, internaldissent and lack of electoral legitimacy.

Disappearances first appeared in thepolice lexicon. Laxmi Narayan Jha,Iswar Lama, Padam Lama, MaheswarChaulagain and Saket Mishra weredisappeared while in police custody. Yearslater, when we approached Prime MinisterK P Bhattarai to trace them, his laconicanswer was: “They may have been killed”.Jha was a renowned physician and theNepal Medical Association unsuccessfullypursued his case until the mid-nineties.

Thousands have been missing since theMaoist insurgency began. We have acomprehensive peace process, but thequestion of people who disappeared incaptivity remains unresolved—from thiswar and from previous regimes.

We must start from the beginning.Today, 23 years after they were pickedup at random, the families of thedisappeared of 1985 deserve an answerfrom the first republican government ofthe country.

KIRAN PANDAY

NATION

4 20 - 26 JUNE 2008 #405NATION

he biggest challenge for thenew Maoist-led governmentwill not be who gets to be

president or who gets whichministry. It won’t even be thedrafting of a new constitution.The greatest and most immediatetest for Prime Minister Dahal will

be the country’s food emergency.Unlike high-profile sub-

Saharan famines, this is anexisting food shortage made muchworse by rising prices, and it willbe the first national emergencythat the new republicangovernment will have to dealwith.

A joint study by the UN’sWorld Food Program and theNational Development ResearchInstitute (NDRI) warns bluntly:“There is a clear risk that rising

food prices may undermine thepeace process if not takenseriously by all involved.”

Nepal already had a nutritionemergency: 41 per cent of thepopulation didn’t get enough toeat and half of Nepali childrenwere underweight because of thechronic lack of food. But theglobal increase in food and fuel

prices, Nepal’s population growthand falling farm productivityhave made an already precarioussituation worse.

The figures are staggering: 2.5 million people in rural

Nepal need emergency food aid 3.9 million people will also

need help if food prices increasefurther

19.2 million people will beaffected by shortages and priceincreases

Some farmers who growsurplus grain will benefit, butthe biggest winners will be themiddlemen. Most Nepalis haveto buy cooking oil, coarse riceand kerosene from the marketand these are precisely the threeitems that have seen thesharpest price increases in thepast six months.

In Nepal, food prices have adirect correlation withtransportation costs. The 25-35per cent increase in freight costsannounced this week means thatthe WFP will have to revise itsestimates of the food securitycrisis. A third of Nepaliscurrently live below the povertyline, and this could now rise tohalf the population as familyincomes are undercut. RuralNepalis spend up to 73 per centof their income on buying food.

“The food price crisis has sofar received very littleattention,” the WFP’s Nepalrepresentative, Richard RagantoldNepali Times. “Forexample, during a fuel crisispeople can make the choice notto drive, but when they can’tafford the cost of food theydon’t have the choice of noteating.”

The crisis will have politicalramifications, too. Publicfrustration could boil over on tothe streets, and groups with avested interest could try toexploit the unrest, leading tofurther instability.

“We can no longer afford tobe blasé about the effects of foodinsecurity,” adds Ragan. “Howeffectively it is dealt with willhave a tremendous impact onthe viability of Nepal’s newlyelected government.”

Although the food crisis isnationwide, the shortages aremost serious in midwesterndistricts like Jajarkot, Bajura andDailekh, hard hit by more thantwo years of drought, blizzardsand floods. WFP says 50,000people in these districts have nofood and no money to buyfood. The midwestern hillshave always been a food-deficitarea, and people have coped bymigrating to India to find work.The next three months beforethe next harvest will be critical,and there is an urgent need todeliver emergency rice.

WFP’s own operational costshave increased by 26 per centbecause of the rising cost of foodand fuel. Nepal also competeswith more high-profile hungerhot spots and recent naturalcalamities like in Burma. TheUN says the first priority forfood assistance should be the 13per cent of the population whoare very poor and landless andtherefore at risk from theincreased food prices. Another35 per cent of the populationgrow some of their own food,but are poor and will need helpto cope with rising prices.

hen the road to the Jajarkot district capital Khalangawas finally completed last year, the first jeep to arrivewas garlanded and sprinkled with vermilion.

The road, it was thought, would mean cheaper rice an end tochronic food shortages. A year on, that euphoria has turned tomisery and hunger. The highway is in such poor shape that nopick-ups can use it.

Jajarkot and neighbouring Achham and Dailekh are thedistricts worst affected by Nepal’s nationwide food crisis. Thesemidwestern districts had sufferedfive seasons of drought only to behammered by hailstorms andblizzards this spring.

Within Jajarkot, it is the sixVDCs in the north of the districtthat are worst hit. Ram ChandraJyoti of Rami Danda points to theempty Nepal Food Corporation(NFC) godown and says: “The ricewas finished in a week and thedepot has been closed ever since.”Jyoti and other villagers simplycannot afford the Rs 50 per kg therice in the market costs.

The people of western Nepalhave only one way to cope whenthey run out of food: they go toseek work in India. And that iswhat they are doing now,out-migration has turned intoan exodus.

“No one has come up with away to solve this crisis," saysfarmer Chandra Bahadur Khadka,who is walking down to thenearest road-head to take a busdown to the border at Nepalganj."There is no way to fill ourstomachs by staying here so weneed to go to other places."

Jyoti explains: "We had somewheat but it was destroyed byhail. Now we can’t even buy food because it’s too expensive.”

The only hope for farmers here is the maize crop that shouldbe ripe in a month’s time. Some well-off traders have been usinghorses and mules to bring in wheat, but the transport costs havealso risen and the flour is too expensive for most people here.

Even at the best of times, Jajarkot’s peasants could only growenough food to last them three months in a year. Rugged andinfertile land, a lack of irrigation and virtually no agriculturalextension have kept this district dependent on the outside.

Jajarkot relies on the government’s NFC to bring in rice, but thequota for the district has dwindled. After the civil servants gettheir share there is almost nothing left for ordinary people.Harihar Shrestha, head of the NFC office in Nepalganj, says thefood quota for the district has been met and is surprised to be toldthat there is a food crisis in Jajarkot.

“We have increased the food quota this year because ofincreased demand, it should be enough,” he told Nepali Times. Ofthe 3,400 quintals of rice allocated for Jajarkot, he says 1,300 arestocked in the district capital and the rest is on its way.

He suggested that the crisis could be a result of the difficultyin taking the food to remote VDCs. The NFC uses tractor trailers tobring food to the district headquarters, then mule trains distributeit to the villages. But even if the road was repaired and food couldbe trucked in, the 35 per cent increase in freight costs announcedthis week would make the rice more costly and beyond the reachof most people.

Reporting also by Rajendra Karki in Khalanga

Food crisisepicentre

Nepal’s silentfood emergency

RAMESWOR BOHARA

Jajarkot, Achham andDailekh are the worst hit bythe nationwide food crisis

W

KUNDA DIXIT

The soaring cost of food hasturned an already precarioussituation into a fullblown crisis

T

RAMESWOR BOHARA

Price rise in the last six months

HUNGER PANGS:A child satisfies herself

by gnawing on a piece ofwild yam while awaiting

rice distribution by theNepal Food Corporation

at a depot in Jajarkot.

520 - 26 JUNE 2008 #405BUSINESS

NEW PRODUCTS

T

STRICTLY BUSINESSAshutosh Tiwari

wo days ago, relatives andneighbours of Giri PrasadTimilsina, a civil servant,

set up roadblocks and stoppedtraffic for hours in front of theLalitpur Forest Office in Hattiban.Timilsina was accused ofsmuggling wood by ForestMinister Matrika Yadav. TheMaoist Minister took the law intohis own hands, detainedTimilsina and got his ministry to

throw him into a cell at Nakkhujail. Earlier, Minister Yadavlocked up LDO DandurajGhimire in his office toilet foralleged insubordination.

Last month, relatives andfriends of Ram Hari Shrestha, arestaurant owner and communityleader in Koteswor, called for aKathmandu-wide strike to protestagainst Shrestha’s abduction andmurder by Maoist cadres. Withfew vehicles plying the roads andfew firms open for business, thestrike turned what would havebeen an ordinary working dayinto New Nepal’s first day ofcomplete shutdown in this valleyof about four million people.

Similarly, last year,journalists were riled up whenone of their own, Birendra Sah,was killed in Bara by Maoistcadres, apparently on charges ofreporting stories on illegallogging. The ensuing protestswent on for days, only to taper offafter the government promised toprovide one million rupees toSah’s widow.

Drawn from the headlines,these three events give out twosignals. First, they continue toremind us of the shockingatrocities that Nepal’s Maoistparty is capable of committingtime and again, despite numeroussilver-tongued assurances to thecontrary. Second, they make clearthat when trouble occurs in somesections of our society, the courts,lawyers, and any notion of dueprocess and the rule of law alltake a distant backseat as thevictims' friends see no alternativepath to justice but to vent theirrage on the street for days on end,thereby affecting the day-to-daylives of many others.

To be sure, both are worryingsigns for the world’s youngestdemocratic republic. But thesecond in particular tells us thatunless we work hard to create andsustain institutions that run thehardware of democracy throughthe software of rule of law, no

matter who we elect to representus, ours will remain a regimemarked by arbitrary abuses ofpower. And when that’s the case,those in power are likely tocontinue to kill, kidnap andharass without ever beingchallenged to first adhere to thelegal norms that are there toprotect ordinary citizens againstthe excesses of others.

There are several reasons whyNepalis prefer the street to thecourts when their individualfreedoms are under attack.

Newspapers routinely reporthow corrupt the courts are. TheNepali judicial system is arguablythe least ethnically inclusivewing of the state. Until recently,any negative report about thejudicial system was treated as amatter of contempt, withreporters hauled up in front of ajudge to be fined and evenimprisoned. Almost 90 per centof the thousands of cases pendingin the courts involve multi-year

and multi-generational disputesover family and propertyownership. Nepal’s donor-savvyhuman rights communities aregood at raising generalplatitudinous awareness aboutrights through workshops andseminars, but remaininhospitable to iconoclasticlawyers who can pursue justiceon behalf of the wronged withbulldog-like persistence.

The best and brightest collegegraduates rarely think aboutattending law school in Nepal.And donor agencies offer short-term scholarships abroad onacademically wishy-washysubjects such as peace studies andconflict studies without firsthelping to upgrade Nepalilawyers’ skills on the nuts andbolts of contract, criminal, publicand constitutional law. After all,who can really work to promotepeace or reduce conflicts whenone is hard-pressed to use what’savailable within the Nepali legalsystem to fight and win forindividual rights under attack?

The result of all this is thatwe have a legal system, inheritedand pretty much unchanged fromthe Panchayat days, to whichhardly anyone turns for solutionswhen liberties are taken away. Isit any wonder that whenproblems arise, people either takematters into their own hands or

launch street protests by burningtyres, throwing stones at movingvehicles, forcing highways andshops to close down, and thencalling their shutdowns a success?

Recently, two Nepal-lovingAmerican lawyers successfullyfought a case in an American courtagainst their government. As aresult of their legal victory, the USgovernment was compelled toprovide compensation to the poorfamilies of murdered Nepalis whoworked for the Americans at thewrong time in the wrong place—in Iraq in 2004. Likewise, twoyears ago, a Nepali lawyer filedcharges against the Britishgovernment in London and wonoverdue compensation for ex-Gurkha soldiers. In both cases, thelawyers used the existing laws ofthe respective countries to arguefor the rights of those hurt orneglected by the actions of thosein power.

It was not seminars and talkfests that helped restore the rights

and the dignity of the victims. Itwas the mundane but necessarilypatient process of studying therelevant laws, filing lawsuits, andthen doggedly following themthrough the processes of the legalsystem that helped.

How long do we have to waitin Nepal to see the day when wevalue the rule of law to such anextent that those whose rights aretrampled rush not to the streets toburn tyres but to the courts tofight to get what they are owed toas per the law?

Democracy is always anunfinished business. Thumpingour chests about how democraticwe are, or taking part in one streetprotest after another, hardlybuilds up the software fordemocracy.

Taking a hard look at Nepal’slegal regime, improving it byfiling cases that argue for theprotection of individual rights,and then patiently if doggedlypursuing the cases to the finishwould go a long way in restoringpeople’s confidence in thehardware of democracy.

In future, the families ofTimilsina, Shrestha and Sahshould not have to take mattersinto their own hands, but be ableto act in the belief that no one isabove the law in Nepal. In ourrepublic, let the rule of law be thenew king.

Work in progress

Let the rule of law be theking in the new republic

Mercantile expressMercantile has introduced a four-hourExpress Service for Acer notebookusers. Now Mercantile can have Acernotebooks serviced within four hours at Mercantile’s ServiceCenter, Darbar Marg.

Help from DragonairDragonair has raised HK$2 million from staffdonations to support the China earthquakerelief efforts. The airline also providedsupport to the Hong Kong government andvarious relief organisations by helping tosend relief teams and supplies to the affectedareas. It has provided more than 150 air

tickets free of charge and flown 51 tonnes of relief supplies to thestricken areas. The airline’s inflight charity programme, Changefor Conservation, has also collected over HK$530,000 for the HongKong Red Cross.

New SunriseSunrise Bank Limited has opened its fifth Kathmandu branch inTinkune. The new branch will provide services including SunriseBal Bachat Kosh, Normal Savings Account, Ghar Karja, SMELoan and Educational Institute Loan. The Tinkune branch willprovide banking services till 8PM.

Yamaha racerMorang Auto Works has launched theYamaha YZF–R1. The bike has a 1000cc,liquid cooled, in-line four cylinder engineand a slipper-type back torque-limitingclutch. With a wheel base of 1415mm anddry weight of 177 kg, the bike comes with an 18-litre fuel tank. Itwill be selling at Rs 1.55 million.

Peter England showroomPeter England has opened a new showroom atKhichapokhari. The brand has a wide range ofshirts, trousers, T-shirts, denims, jackets, suits,

blazers and accessories.

Spirits unitedUnited Spirits Nepal, formerly known as Mcdowells Nepal, hasacquired 100 per cent equity in Whyte and Mackay for £595m. It isthe sole authorised bottler and seller for United Spirits products inNepal.

Branch shiftHimalayan Bank’s BhaktapurBranch located at Suryabinayakhas been shifted to Sukuldhoka. The spacious outlay of the newbranch is expected to ensure the delivery of full fledged modernbanking services.

Rio: Rio has introduced Rio Alfonso drink whichcaptures the taste of Alfonso mangoes in a hygienic pack.The drink is available in all retail outlets across Nepal.

6 20 - 26 JUNE 2008 #405FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

Ghatana Ra Bichar, 16-24 June

Since moving to Nagarjun, the former kingGyanendra has been spending most of hisdays reading. A source close to the formerroyal family says the king is very quiet andspends much of his day roaming around theNagarjun Palace garden. He also takes timeout to listen to music and write poems. Theformer queen Komal spends most of herdays playing cards with relatives.

Those royal employees who used to goto Narayanhiti until last week, must now goall the way to the Nagarjun palace.

The former royal family wants toorganize their new residence better. Thepalace kitchen is especially small, andpreparations are being made to expand thekitchen area.

Despite many invitations fromneighbouring India, the former kingdecided to live in Nepal. Those in theworld closely watching the developmentsin Nepal were stunned by this news. Somesay he is trying to win the hearts of theinternational community by becoming theking who decided not to go into exilebecause of his love for his country.However, others say he is waiting for theparties to make mistakes so that the peoplerealise what they let go of and he will beeventually reinstated.

People in the palace discuss Cambodia’sformer king Norodom Sihanouk and say theonly way for the former king to make acomeback is by following Sihanouk’sexample and using his strategy of enteringmainstream politics.

Next president? Narayanhitito Nagarjun

Interview with Ram Raja Prasad Singh,Janadisha, 17 June

Your dream to see Nepal as a Republicanstate has now been realized. However, thedebates over the presidency andformation of the government have posedmajor hurdles to its implementation. Doyou think these obstructions can besuccessfully dealt with? How muchwill the Maoists’ proposal for you tobe president help solve the conflict?I don’t think this conflict will last long.Everyone is aware of who stands inwhat position. However, I do feel thatthe Maoists’ proposal will help guidethe discussion in a positive direction.

How far do you think you as presidentreflect the sentiments of the commonpeople of Nepal?It is not an easy question to answer.Even if the people had specificallynominated me, I could not be the judgeof that. I am a candidate for thepresidency and it is up to the people tochoose.

To what extent do you think the proposalof your name for the presidency will gainunanimous support?That will depend on national aspirations.If the people collectively wish for it, thenit is possible.

As a person who was born and brought upin the Tarai, what do you think of the ideaof ‘One Madhes, One State’?Right now, many such voices can beheard. Decisions regarding such issueswill be in the hands of the ConstituentAssembly.

be required to address the ConstituentAssembly. My central focus will be on theneed to devise a strong and effectiveconstitution through special dialoguesbetween the political parties and theMaoists.

I am well aware of the delicate natureof the relationship between thegovernment and the president. Myknowledge has been enhanced by myexperience with regard to Indian politics. Iunderstand that a president needs to havea lot of patience in order to preventconflict. A constitutional president will

need to work within the boundariesdrawn by the constitution. Theobjective is not to contradict thegovernment but to maintain a carefulbalance of co-operation.

What do you have to say about theview that federalism in Nepal will leadto disintegration?The country will not disintegrateunder any circumstances. It is theduty of the government, the president,the army and everybody else toensure that the national unity remainsintact.

So, will the new Nepal emerge as apowerful nation?Nepal will emerge as a great nation.Not a greatness measured bypopulation but on the basis ofhonour and pride. Nepal is a nationwith inherent greatness, and thus itwill rise.

Do you have something to say to theNepali people and the political parties?It would not be appropriate for me to sayanything right now. This is not like theAmerican presidential election. I cannotask for votes. Other parties have theliberty to propose their own candidatesand will do so. The future will ultimatelydepend on what the Nepali people want.

There are some who allege that you are nota Madhesi. Why do you think such claimshave been made?I was born and raised in the Tarai. But Ihave spent most of my life in Kathmanduand India. I lived in several other countriesduring the period I was exiled from India.Maybe that is why such claims have beenmade.

On the day you are appointed president,how will you address the nation?My address as president will be in the nameof the common people. The priority of theconstituent assembly is to formulate thenew constitution. The president’s role willbe to advise the government in this regard.Among other things, the president will also

720 - 26 JUNE 2008 #405FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

Kiran Nepal inHimal Khabarpatrika, 15-29 June

The debates on the integrationand rehabilitation of the Maoistcombatants and their arms, thedisbandment of the paramilitaryYCL and the return of propertyconfiscated by the Maoists haveprolonged the finding of aconsensus among the parties anddelayed the formation of a newgovernment.

As the election results call fora consensus among parties, it isimpossible for the Maoists to holdboth the post of prime ministerwith executive powers and ofpresident, who will be thesupreme commander of the army.

The NC is steadfast in itsstance on making Koirala thepresident of the country. Theparty highly regards Koirala’scontribution in bringing the peaceprocess into this situation andwould rather like to stay inopposition if he is not given thepost of president.

A senior military officer saysthe army also has not acceptedthe proposal of Koirala as thesupreme commander-in-chief. Itseems they want a non-politicalperson as president, believingthat a politically neutral personwill not interfere in their affairs.

People had never expectedthat the chief of army staffRukmangud Katuwal, who hadclose relations with the deposedking, would accept thedeclaration of a republic. Thereason was the Indian messageto the king suggesting he make agraceful exit. It is believed thatGyanendra was well aware of thisfact, as a result of which therepublic was implemented withoutbloodshed.

A national security councilhas been formed which has not

Who controlsthe army?

met even once. The militaryapparatus has been run entirelyby the prime minister and thearmy chief for the last two years.“Earlier it was the palace thatwould control the army, but nowthere is nothing to control it,”said an officer on condition ofanonymity.

Senior army officers claimthe size of the Nepali army wasreduced drastically in the nameof restructuring, soon afterdemocracy was introduced in1951 under the leadership ofNepali Congress. It was donebecause India wanted it. Officersargue that India planed it as amilitary strategy to weaken theNepali army.

Maoist leader BarshamanPun (Ananta) says: “It is naturalthat foreign activities tend tothrive during the transition periodbut we must be able to utilisethem for the national interest.” Hesays Nepali politicians blameforeign hands if the situation isnot favourable or consider it animpact of globalisation if thesituation is favourable to them.

Military analysts argue thatbesides Indian influence, therehas been American influence onthe Nepali army quite recently,especially on counter-terrorismand staff training.

If the vacuum created by theending of royal patronage is notfilled, it could lead to disaster. Itis important to keep the militarystructure intact, otherwise thelong wait for a political decisionon military patronage could upsetthe army.

Political analyst Hari Sharmasays: “Today’s main challenge isthe lack of a constitutional civilmechanism to direct the militarycommand.” He argues that aclear national security policy isthe need of the hour.

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

t’s an ordinary morning inthe sleepy Maharashtra townof Akola. The big top of theRaj Mahal circus stands on

the town’s cricket ground, itsflags flapping in the breeze, anotice on the gate advertising theshow’s trapeze acts and elephantrides. Everything looks in order.

But at 7AM on 13 June, at apolice station down the road, 30police officers are preparing toraid the circus. They have beenalerted by the district magistrateand Nandita Rao, a lawyer forChildline India, a childprotection organisation.Colleagues at a Nepali NGO, theEsther Benjamins MemorialFoundation, have reliableinformation that the circusis illegally using young

Jugglingwith

younglives

Nepali child slavesface a brighter future

after rescue fromIndian circus abuse

Nepali children to performdangerous acts.

The police convoy races up tothe circus gate as a lone guardwatches in bewilderment. Theofficers fan out across the cricketground and within minutes havecordoned off the entire site.Inside, eight bamboo polessupport the enormous tent,which has clearly seen betterdays. Sunlight filters throughgaps in the canvas roof, whererickety iron trapeze bars hangfrom worn ropes. Three batteredmotorbikes lie in a steel "cage ofdeath" beside the main ring,where a dozen teenagers aremilling around, confused by thecommotion.

Activists from EBMF,Childline and Swamini VidhawaVikas Mandal, a local rightsgroup, search with the policethrough the half-dozen smaller

tents nearby, used by the circus asliving quarters. Within an hournearly 20 children have beenfound.

“We’ve come to get you out ofhere,” says EBMF’s Dilu Tamang.“We don’t want to leave,” thechildren chorus in return. “That’sthe standard response,” hercolleague Shailaja C M says,unfazed. She’s seen all thisbefore. “As long as they’re insidethe circus compound, they are soafraid of the owner they willsay anything.”

Shailaja says that girlsrescued in the past have told howsome circus owners stage mockpolice raids and pretend to freethe girls. If the children appearkeen to leave, they are thenbeaten.

“Did anyone come to help usin our villages when we didn’thave enough money for food?”

asks Sapana Rai, a 15-year-oldgirl from Siliguri. “Now that weare earning money, you want totake us away?” Sapana isadamant she doesn’t wantto leave.

A plump man arrives, clad inchecked shirt, cotton trousersand chappals, demanding toknow why the children are beingremoved. His voice falters as hetakes in the sight of the police.Rao, the Childline lawyer,promptly cites India’s laws onjuvenile justice, bonded labourand the minimum wage.

The man, Siraj Khan,produces contracts signed by thechildren’s often illiterateparents, who couldn’t resist thepromise of instant cash. Thedocuments state that thechildren, some as young as five,will work at the Raj Mahal circusfor periods up to 12 years in

return for a cash advance paid tothe parents. A clause states thatthe parents must pay anunspecified amount if they wishto take back their children.

Rao declares the contractsvoid, citing a 1933 law whichsays contracts signed by parentson behalf of their children forbonded labour are not legal. Thepolice load the wailing childrenonto the truck and drive to thetown's juvenile court. There, anamazing transformation takesplace as the children meet girlsrescued in earlier operations.Their miserable faces break intosmiles.

“Of course I want to leave,”says the now grinning Sapana. “Iwant to go to school and I want togo to Kathmandu to wor-k.” Somechildren start to talk of theirunpleasant experiences withthe circus.

PRANAYA SJB RANAin MAHARASTRA, INDIA

EYEWITNESS

l

Kumari Rumba Lama, 17, saysshe was beaten unconscious witha rope. One girl has a metal platein her thigh, the result of atrapeze fall. Another holds upher scarred hands: “When myhands bled from working a longtime on the trapeze, malikpoured molten candle wax ontothe wounds to stop thebleeding,” she says. All the girlsrefer to Khan as malik or "owner."They were in effect his slaves.

Rao files a First InformationReport with the police, the firststep in bringing charges againstSiraj Khan and his brother, thenotorious circus owner FatehKhan. “Fateh Khan is the MrNasty of these circuses,” saysPhilip Holmes, founder of theEsther Benjamins Trust, theinternational NGO to whichEBMF is affiliated. “Theunspoken goal of these raids is to

put him behind bars.”Thirteen children and seven

adult bonded workers have beenreleased, almost all of them girlsor women. Most are ethnicNepalis from Darjeeling, Assamand Siliguri, but seven comefrom Nepal itself.

“The circuses prefer Nepaligirls because they’re fairer andhave Mongolian features thatappeal to the audience,” saysHolmes. He estimates there areabout 30 large circuses and 300smaller ones across India.

But Fateh Khan is a wily,well-connected UP politicianwho probably has enoughpolitical influence to keephimself out of jail. Says Holmes:“The only thing we can do iskeep doing these raids and hopethat we put these bastardsbehind bars.”www.ebtrust.org.uk

PICS: MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

10 20 - 26 JUNE 2008 #405NATION

uring the war, theMaoists ran more than80 model people’s

schools in their strongholdsacross the country. Now, as theparty prepares to lead a newgovernment, the future of theseschools and their 5,500 pupilswho follow the ‘revolutionarycurriculum’ has been throwninto doubt.

From Achham to Bhojpur,the Maoists first opened theschools to educate children oftheir guerrillas and cadre killedby the state. The orphanagesgrew into so-called modelpeople’s schools as the childrengrew older, and the teacherswere also party cadre.

“It was difficult during thewar,” recalls Bihani Pun, whoruns one such school inRukum’s Kyangshi. “When weheard the army was approachingwe had to scatter and hide thechildren in people’s homes.”

The children had all beentaught a code language. If they

he pre-monsoon rains had created puddles on the muddyplayground of the Martyrs' Memorial Model People’s School inBibang.

Established four years ago during the height of the conflict, theschool is on a ridge overlooking Thawang, the cradle of the Maoistrevolution here in Rolpa. Most of the pupils lost one or both parentsin the war, and they still run to hide when they hear a helicopteroverhead.

“The old regime runs education like a factory for unemployment,”explained teacher Mohan Budathoki. “We emphasize practicaleducation that upholds the interests of the proletariat.” However,flipping through the text books that the children were learning from, it

was clear what the Maoistsmean by their "people’seducation."

The chapter headingsincluded: 'Our Party', 'The GreatMartyrs' and 'The Biography of

Comrade Chairman'. One page contained a graphic description ofthe Maoist attack on the army base at Ghorahi in 2001.

The English alphabet was taught with ‘A for army…G for gun…Rfor rifle….’ and the text was full of words like ‘enemy’, ‘bomb’ and‘weapon’. A section of the text book drew a distinction betweenmurder ('the act of killing') and execution ('the act of carrying outcapital punishment'). All this in a book for primary school children.

When the students were asked, two years ago, what they wouldlike to be in the future, they had replied that they wanted to join thePLA and kill their parents’ killers. Today, when asked the samequestion, eight-year-olds Aruna and Sapana said without hesitationthat they wanted to avenge the deaths of their parents.

With such a militaristic curriculum, a response like this is hardlysurprising. The books glorify war and violence even though theconflict ended two years ago. The ideological orientation is blatant,encouraging children to grow up with hatred instead of weaning themoff violence.

The teachers at the Bibang school said it was the war that hadcaused psychological trauma in the children, not the curriculum. Buthow can perpetuating a feeling for revenge and be justified whenthere should be peace and reconciliation? What effect will suchan education have on the personalities of the children when theygrow up?

Like all citizens, children have the right to adopt and practiceany political ideology deemed right by their conscience. But brain-washing them at such an early age through text books that are full ofparty slogans and jargon will hamper the free intellectualdevelopment of the children.

When Pushpa Kamal Dahal rails against the media andthreatens them for criticising his party, his attitude has resonancewith the kind of education system the party is propagating through itsrevolutionary curriculum. Such indoctrination can be counter-productive for the party that propagates it. When opposing views,ideas and criticism are not respected, and when free expression islimited to the one-sided utterances of the party, the only outcome canbe totalitarianism.

Teacher Budathoki said the curriculum could be modified, butadded: “We will never surrender to bourgeois education.” No doubtthe existing education system needs to change, but is this thealternative?

To be sure, there are positive elements to the school: it isprogressive, pragmatic and realistic compared to similargovernment schools. It acquaints students with social realities andinculcates a sense of duty. It includes agricultural science and otherlife skills. And the party was taking care of the orphans of its martyrswith free education.

But the war is over, there is a peace accord and the childrendeserve better. The new Maoist government must now try to channelthe fear, anger and violence of this war-affected generation intosomething positive for society and not use them as the party’spolitical weapon.

Rubeena Mahato is a student at Kathmandu University.

NEPALI PANRubeena Mahato

A cult of martyrdom persists ina Rolpa primary school

Children ofthe revolution

Reading, writing, The Maoists' model people's schools in Rukum andRolpa seem an anachronism in post-conflict NepalPRAKASH MAHATARAin RUKUM

GANESH CHAUDHARY

T

D

1120 - 26 JUNE 2008 #405NATION

heard the teachers say: “The foxis coming, hide the chickens,”everyone knew what to do.Bhabana Khadka, who runs apeople’s school in Sirke inJajarkot, remembers an armyoperation four years ago whenshe had to hide the children inthe forests, surviving on berriesand yams for a week.

The Maoist People’sEducation Department togetherwith the Bheri-Karnali regionaladministration has also broughtout a separate ‘revolutionarycurriculum’ for the modelpeople’s schools. “Thecurriculum is stronglyinfluenced by Marxism and hasa proletarian orientation, ithonours the dignity of labourand patriotism,” explains LalBahadur G C of the Maoist-affiliated teacher’s union. Theprimary school curriculum hassubjects like Nepali and thelocal mother tongue, art, socialstudies, military theory,arithmetic, politics,economics, history, culture andEnglish.

In their culture classes,children learn about Martyrs’Week, People’s War Day, Mao’sbirthday and otheranniversaries. Military theoryteaches primary school childrenabout sentry duty, securityprecautions during battles, rollcall, and the functioning of

arithmetic and revolution

guns, grenades and socket bombs.The politics class familiarizesyoung students with the lives ofMarx, Lenin, Mao and PushpaKamal Dahal, and also makesthem aware of victorious Maoistattacks on Beni, Ghorahi andMangalsen.

The model schools here inRukum have a strict barracks-styleroutine. Children wake up at 5AMand have an hour of exercises anddrills. They line up to eat at 9AM

and then sing the Internationalewhile parading to theirclassrooms.

The book for Grade One,Hamro Kitab, has a preface byPushpa Kamal Dahal and is notthat different from the ‘MahendraMala’ of the Panchayat era, which35 years ago had a similarlyexhortative preface about Nepalentering a ‘new modern age’written by king Mahendra.

The model people’s schoolshave never been registered withthe District Eduction Offices,even after the Maoists joined thegovernment. Districtadministrators know very littleabout these schools nominallyunder their jurisdiction.

“We have no idea how manythere are and where they are,”admits deputy secretary of theMinistry of Education inKathmandu, Hari Shrestha.

In Rukum, District EducationOfficer Badri Basnet sayspreparations have begun to bringthe Maoist revolutionary schoolsinto line with the nationalcurriculum, but adds that theEducation Ministry and theMaoist leadership in Kathmandumust first make a policydecision.

Senior Maoist Agni Sapkotasays the Maoists will announcetheir new education policy after agovernment is formed undertheir leadership and it will be

publicly debated before a strategypaper is issued. “Just like we haveagreed with the other parties onpolitical issues, we will discussthe new education policy withthem before implementing it,”he says.

Parents and guardians inRukum and Rolpa are worriedabout the future of theirchildren and whether theircertificates from the Maoistschools will be recognised. TheMaoist leadership, which hasbeen trying to overthrow Nepal’s‘bourgeois education’ for thepast 10 years, seems to haverealised that the alternative can’tbe their model people’s schoolsexperiment.

The fact that private English-language schools are opening upin the midwestern hills proveswhat kind of education mostpeople here prefer. But becausemost families can’t afford theseschools, parents say, the qualityof government schools must beimproved.

12 20 - 26 JUNE 2008 #405REVIEW

CHINDIAOXFORD—George W Bush may have messed up on the Middle East,but he leaves behind a better legacy in Asia. American relations withJapan and China remain strong, and he has greatly enhanced US tieswith India.

In 2005, Bush announced a major agreement on US-Indian civiliannuclear co-operation, as well as a variety of measures for commercialand defence co-operation. The CPI-M, a small (but important) member ofPrime Minister Manmohan Singh’s ruling coalition, has blocked theagreement. But, as one Indian friend explained to me, this is mainlysymbolic politics for India’s Left.

Even if the nuclear agreement fails, the improvement in US-Indiarelations is likely to continue. Some attribute this to the fact that India

and the US are the world’s twolargest democracies. But that wastrue for much of the Cold War, whenthey frequently talked past eachother.

As Evan Feigenbaum, the topState Department official for South Asia recently said: “The world of2008 is not the world of 1948. And so India really has the capacity, and,we think, the interest, to work with the United States and other partnerson a variety of issues of global and regional scope.” This change beganunder the Clinton administration and is likely to continue regardless ofwho is elected president in 2008.

Personal contacts have increased greatly. There are now more than80,000 Indian students studying in the US, and many have stayed toestablish successful companies. The Indian diaspora in the USconstitutes roughly three million people, many of whom activelyparticipate in politics. Trade between India and America is increasing,and reached $26 billion (11% of India’s total trade) in 2006.

The rise of China poses a strategic consideration. As Bill Emmott,the former editor of The Economist argues in his new book The Rivals,‘Where Nixon had used China to balance the Soviet Union, Bush wasusing India to balance China.’ And the concern is reciprocated on theIndian side. As a senior foreign ministry official told Emmott in 2007,“The thing you have to understand is that both India and China think thatthe future belongs to us. We can’t both be right.”

Official pronouncements stress friendly relations between India andChina, and some trade analysts argue that, given their rapid growth, thetwo giant markets will become an economic ‘Chindia’. When ChinesePremier Wen Jiabao visited India in 2005, he signed 11 agreements,including a comprehensive five-year strategic co-operation pact. Wenannounced that China would support India’s inclusion as a permanentmember of an expanded United Nations Security Council, and opposeJapan’s inclusion, which the US supports. As Singh put it during Wen’svisit: “India and China can together reshape the world order.”

The two countries’ recent rapprochement marks a considerablechange from the hostility that bedeviled their relations following their1962 war over the Himalaya. Nevertheless, strategic anxiety lurksbelow the surface, particularly in India. China’s GDP is three times thatof India, its growth rate is higher, and its defense budget increased bynearly 18 percent last year. The border dispute remains unsettled, andboth countries vie for influence in neighboring states such as Myanmar.

China’s rise has also created anxiety in Japan, despite professionsof good relations. Thus, Japan has increased its aid and trade with India.Last year, the US suggested quadrilateral defense exercises includingUS, Japanese, Indian, and Australian naval units, but the newly electedAustralian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has pulled his country out.

Rudd wisely believes that the right response to China’s rise is toincorporate it into international institutional arrangements. Or, as RobertZoellick, currently the president of the World Bank, put it when he was aState Department official, the US should invite China to become a“responsible stakeholder” in the international system.

Improved relations between India and the US can structure theinternational situation in a manner that encourages such an evolution inChinese policy, whereas trying to isolate China would be a mistake.Handled properly, the simultaneous rise of China and India could begood for all countries.Project Syndicate

Joseph S Nye is a professor at Harvard and author, most recently, ofThe Powers to Lead.

SOFT POWERJoseph S Nye

The simultaneous rise of Chinaand India is good for everyone

SUBHAS RAI

20 - 26 JUNE 2008 #405 13REVIEW

artin Chautari, theKathmandu-basedresearch and

discussion group, has recentlyrepublishedSuitably Modern:Making Middle-Class Culture inKathmandu by Mark Liechty.

Originally published by anAmerican academic publisher in2003, this anthropological studywas intended as a case study ofthe formation of a modernmiddle class in a peripheralregion of the world. The newedition, with a more affordableprice tag than the ones normallyaffixed to volumes produced byWestern publishers, is targeted atthe English-speaking Kathmandumiddle class, the class that formsthe subject of the book. Itoffers them self-recognition andan understanding of how theyhave been shaped by thedemands of the new consumereconomy of transnational goodsand media.

A middle-class culture beganto develop in Kathmandu onlyafter the demise of the Ranaregime in 1951. Over the nexthalf-century all the oldrestrictions were demolished andNepal was flung open to an arrayof international influences,ranging from foreign aid, tourism,print and electronic mass mediaand English language education.The beginnings of a moderneconomy created new avenues ofprofessional and earningopportunity. These gave rise to anew social group defined more bytheir middle-class status than by

hen Robin Sitoula of Party Nepal met Indian singerMohit Chauhan in Delhi two years ago, they agreed

that Chauhan would come to Nepal to perform. It has takenthat long to arrange, but Sitoula has now confirmed that theformer Silk Route vocalist will play a set in Kathmandu on21 June, International Music Day.

“We had been thinking about bringing Mohit toKathmandu for a concert for a long time, and three monthsago everything fell into place,” said Sitoula. “Yamaha agreedto sponsor the concert to launch its new bike and the NepalTourism Board also offered its support. When Mohit agreed,we knew we could do it.”

Party Nepal, which is known for hosting parties andorganising events, is nevertheless sticking to its tradition of

caste or ethnicity, with valuesincreasingly defined more by aglobal capitalist consumer culturethan by traditional norms.

Liechty shows how the adventof a modern material culture canbe a profoundly disorientingexperience for a large section ofthe middle class. Accustomed to asociety where status is largelydependent on heredity, membersof the middle class findthemselves in a culture wherestatus increasingly depends onaccess to consumer goods (ranging

from private education to tv sets).An increasing number of

available and desirable consumergoods, and constant inflationcoupled with fixed incomes,releases deep anxieties about notbeing able to keep up. There isalso the feeling of being sweptaway by the demands and desiresof an alien way of life, of losingone’s traditional social moorings.

In the struggle to maintainbalance, the middle class createsstories about the suitability andrespectability of its class

position. It perceives itself assuperior both to the lowerclasses—identified by theirignorance and blind adherence totradition—as well as to the upperclasses—identified as having lostall traditional notions of decencyby having succumbed totally tothe vulgarities of a Westernconsumer culture.

Liechty’s observations arebased on more than 200interviews heconducted witha wide varietyof members ofKathmandu’smiddle class inthe early andmid-1990s. Hisquestions focuschiefly on their

self-perception and the meaningsthey assign to the clothing, films,music and other goods theyconsume. Extended quotes fromthese interviews are frequentlyinterspersed throughout the text.

There is a certain nostalgicpleasure to be derived fromspecific references from that era—the culture of video parlors, themusic show Sunday Pop onNepal that was so popular beforethe advent of satellite tv, andslang that has now becomeoutmoded. However, therelentless cataloguing of near-identical responses sometimescauses tedium. Theextended academic discussionson the nature and meaning ofclass are also not likely to inspiremuch interest in a generalistaudience.

But on the occasions thatLiechty offers sustained life-histories of particularindividuals, the writingtranscends the merely academic.Particularly moving are his storiesof two educated young men oflimited financial and socialresources who find themselvescaught in a nowhere placebetween tradition and modernity.One of them is a drug addict, theother unemployed. Both of themfeel that their education hasuprooted them but has notprovided them with anysustainable alternative. Throughdetailing the chasm between theirreal and imagined lives, Liechtyviscerally evokes the anxietyand fear this discrepancyprovokes.

A class struggle

The chasm between thereal and imagined lives ofthe middle class

Silk Route detour via Mt 8848

ADITYA ADHIKARI

Suitably Modern: Making Middle-Class Culture in KathmanduMark LiechtyMartin Chautari 2008 (Originallypublished by Princeton UniversityPress 2003)Rs 500

M

nurturing local talent, with local band Mt 8848 also on theprogram.

Chauhan, widely known also as the singer who sang thesoulful “tumse se hi” in the film Jab We Met, is expected tokeep the audience on their feet for a full 90 minutes as heworks his way through his most popular numbers.

“Nepal has always topped our list of destinations for agig because it brings me closer to the mountains that I loveso much,” said a cheerful and relaxed Chauhan, clearlyexcited about his upcoming concert.

Mohit Chauhan and his band will perform at the JawalakhelFootball Ground on 21 June. Tickets are Rs 500 and thegates will open at 2PM.

W

14 20 - 26 JUNE 2008 #405CITY

KATHMANDU VALLEY

ABOUT TOWN

WEEKEND WEATHER by NGAMINDRA DAHAL

The monsoon is strengthening in its usual fashion, moving from an initially slowstart to its moderate and ultimately intense stages. We are already in thesecond stage, with rain on average every other day. The Valley has receivednearly half of this month’s normal quota. Satellite photos on Wednesday afternoonindicated the likelihood of heavy rain over the weekend. An active cyclone fromthe Bay is pushing moisture-laden clouds towards the northwest, which includesNepal. Monsoon rains typically occur during the night but extend into the daywhen a centre of low pressure comes close to us. After a four-day respite fromthe rains early this week, expect heavy showers over the next few days. Ouradvice: carry an umbrella!

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

In The Incredible Hulk, scientist Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) scoursthe planet for an antidote. But the warmongers, who dream of abusinghis powers, won't leave him alone. When he returns to civilisation, thedoctor is ruthlessly pursued by The Abomination (Tim Roth)-anightmarish beast of pure adrenaline and aggression whose powersmatch the Hulk's own. A fight of comic-book proportions ensues asBanner must call upon the hero within to rescue New York City fromtotal destruction. Bruce needs to make a choice: accept a peaceful lifeas Bruce Banner or the creature he could permanently become: theincredible hulk.

Fri Sat Sun

29-19 28-18 29-19

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

EXHIB IT IONSMaterialScapes 6th solo collage painting exhibition by GauravShrestha, until 30 June 10AM-6PM at Gallery 32, Dent Inn,Heritage Plaza,Kamaladi. 4241942Tattva multimedia and collage exhibition by Chirag Bangdel until18 July, 5.30 PM at Bakery Café, Pulchok.

E V E N T SFete de la musique music concerts presented by AllianceFrancaise, 21 June. www.alliancefrancaise.org.npShastrartha on free interaction with CAmembers, 21 June 4-6PM at Martin Chautari.Still Life, a film by Zhang Ke Jia presented byCine-Sankipa, 23 June 5.30 PM at Gurukul.44669566th Annual Wine Festival until September atKilroy’s, Jyatha. 4250440Tantric Dance of Nepal presented byKalamandapa, every Tuesday 7PM at HotelVajra and every Saturday 11AM at Patan Museum.

MUSICKJC Concert Series IV presented by Kathmandu JazzConservatory and US embassy in Nepal, 22 June 5PM atGyanodaya Hall. 5013554Live karaoke with special thai cuisine, every Wednesday atHoliday Karaoke Restaurant and Bar, Lazimpat. 4445731Rudra night fusion and classical Nepali music by Shyam Nepaliand friends, every Friday, 7PM at Le Meridien, Gokarna. 4451212Sufi music by Hemanta Rana, every Friday at 7.30 PM at DhabaRestaurant and Bar, Thapathali.Yankey and friends live acoustic music every Friday at theBourbon room Restro-bar, Lal Darbar.Anil Shahi every Wednesday and Rashmi Singh every Friday, liveat the Absolute Bar, Hotel Narayani Complex, 8PM. 5521408

D I N I N G30/30 Enhanced Buffet percent discount on entire bill for a groupof four or more for the month of June at The Fun Café, RadissionHotel. 12.30-2.30 PM and 6.30-10.30 PM, Rs. 800. 4411818Lajawab tandoori and kabab festival, 7-10 PM every Friday at theHotel Himalaya, Rs 550.Japanese lunch set, Rs 445 at Shogun, Babar Mahal Revisited.4263720Home made pasta at Alfresco, Soaltee Crowne Plaza. 4273999Hot summer spicy food at the Jalan Jalan Restaurant, KupondoleHeights. 5544872The Kaiser Café open now at the Garden of Dreams, operated byDwarika’s Group of Hotels, open from 9AM-10PM. 4425341Mango étagère mango delicacies, 4.30-6.30 PM at the Lounge,Hyatt Regency. 4491234Steak escape Kathmandu’s premier steaks available for lunchand dinner at the Olive Bar and Bistro, Hotel Radisson. 4411818Bourbon Room Restro-bar now open for lunch and dinner withover a 100 cocktails, Lal Darbar.Cocktails and grooves with jazz by Inner Groove at Fusion-thebar at Dwarika’s, every Wednesday, at Dwarika’s Hotel.Cocktails, mocktails and liqueurs at the Asahi Lounge, openinghours 1-10PM, above Himalayan Java, Thamel.Continental and Chinese cuisine and complimentary fresh brewedcoffee after every meal a Zest Restaurant and Bar, Pulchok.Illy espresso coffee at the Galleria cafe, every Friday espressococktails.International buffet at the Sunrise Café, and Russian specialtiesat Chimney, Hotel Yak and Yeti. 4248999Local Drinks Cocktail selection of favorite cocktails with localflavors while watching EURO 2008 on the big screen at Rox Bar,Hyatt Regency. 4489361Jazz in Patan with coffee, food, drinks and dessert at the NewOrleans Cafe, Jawalakhel. 8.30 AM-10PM. 5522708Saturday special barbeque, sekuwa, momos, dal-bhat at The TeaHouse Inn, Windy Hills, Nagarkot every Saturday. 9841250848.Scrumptious wood fired pizzas, cocktails and more at Roadhouse,Bhatbateni 4426587, Pulchok 5521755 and Thamel 4260187.Retro Brunch Barbeque with live acoustic music by SoundChemistry, every Saturday, 12-3PM at LeMeridien-Kathmandu,Gokarna. 4451212Dhamaka Nepali style barbeque with a pan-Indian fusion at theSplash Bar and Grill, Hotel Radisson Rs. 1399 7PM, everyFriday. 4411818Starry night barbecue at Hotel Shangri-la with Live performanceby Ciney Gurung, Rs. 666.00 nett. per person, at the ShambalaGarden, every Friday 7PM onwards. 4412999Kebabs and curries at the Dhaba, Thapathali. 9803158592Lavazza coffee Italy’s favourite coffee at La Dolce Vita, Thamel,Roadhouse Café Pulchok and Thamel. 4700612Pizza from the woodfired oven at Java, Thamel. 4422519

20 - 26 JUNE 2008 #405 15HAPPENINGS

DRAMA QUEEN: Minister of Water Resources Hisila Yami improvisesdialogue for the BBC World Service Trust’s radio drama Katha MithoSarangi Ko, where she responds to a victim of war who has lost land,property and family on Thursday at the ministry.

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

STRIKE RESPITE: Security forces at Satdobato take a break onThursday during a Lalitpur banda called by the Nepali Congress toprotest Minister for Forests Matrika Prasad Yadav’s locking up of a LocalDevelopment Officer on Tuesday night.

KIRAN PANDAY

WHAT A WASTE: Garbage piled up in the Valley once again asOkharpauwa residents refused to let the municipality unload garbage atthe Sisdol landfill site unless their demands were met. On Tuesday,locals reached a tentative agreement to allow 10 days of dumping whiletheir demands were being considered.

MUDDY WATERS: Farmers in Lalitpur take advantage of the arrival ofthe monsoon to start planting rice on Monday.

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

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20 - 26 JUNE 2008 #40516 BACKSIDE

ass(at)nepalitimes.com

T hanks to loyal readers in Derbyshirefor alerting the donkey to the MaoistSummer Camp in the Peak District

on 4-8 July. Book early because the slotsare getting filled up fast. The summer campis being organised by Turkish Maoistcomrades who say in a Yahoo groupposting that it will be open to ‘Maoists andtheir families, friends and sympathisers’.The purpose will be both political andsocial, and emerging trends within theinternational Maoist movement will bediscussed and analysed.

However, it looks like the RevolutionaryInternational Movement, COMPOSA andComrade Azad of the Indian Naxalites aren’tall that enthused about the Maoist electoralvictory in Nepal and have accused our veryown respected Comrade Chairman ofdeparting from the script. ‘You’re supposedto grab power by the barrel of the gun, notthrough elections,’ Azad is quoted assaying. The Naxals are also shaking theirheads in disbelief that the Maoists aregoing to lead the government in Kathmandu.

A suitable presidentThe whole point about Mao’s doctrine ofperpetual revolution is that it’s never overand, according to Azad, The Fierce Onehas broken that cardinal rule.

Now that UNMIN is about to UNWIND andleave the People’s RevolutionaryInternational Convention Kendra (PRICK), itwill free up space for the ConstituentAssembly secretariat. Meanwhile, NYHQ isreportedly looking at retraction andreinsertion of peacekeepers for firefightingduties in the Gorkha Hill Council which hasbeen reeling under an indefinite bund. Afterall, UNMIN is already there in Jhapa, a hop-skip-and-a-jump away from Siliguri.

Maoist Minister of Deforestation andLandslides, Matrika Yadav has a knack forgrabbing headlines for all the wrongreasons. He also seems to have a fetish forpadlocking people inside lavatories. Barelytwo months after locking his Nepal Armybodyguards in the urinal, he did it again thisweek by locking up the Lalitpur LDO in the

arsenal. The positive side of Yadavsir’ssystematic decimation of Nepal’s remainingforests is that the Maoists now have nojungles to go back to.

So far, this country has been ruled mainlyby octogenarians, but we are about to takea great leap forward if Ram Raja PrasadSingh becomes constitutional president.We will be entering the age ofnonagenarians. Singh may be the frontrunner for president, but it’s not his ripe oldage of 90 that is his major liability, it’s hisname. Unless he drops ‘Raja’, I’m afraid wecan’t take him as a serious candidate.We’ve just got rid of one raja, we can’t haveanother one.

The Ass is pleased to announce theresult of this week’s New Name Contest.The winning entry for renaming Gyane-sworis Prachande-swor.

As the negotiations drag on at Baluwa-tar-tar-tar, it seems the main obstacle to findinga suitable president is not the deadlock

between the Maoists and the NC, but thedeadlock within the UML betweenproponents of Sahana-for-president and theMakunay-for-president lobby. And the mostvociferous opponent of Girjau as presidentis not Awesomeji, as we may imagine, butKoirala-bashers Sher Bahadur, Gagan andNarahari.

No, sorry to disappoint some of you whothought two-time Fijian coup-maker SitiveniRabuka was here to be the compromisecandidate for president. He’s just visitingan orphanage run by friends.

So the Regmi Peace Prize for this year hasgone jointly to Jimmy Carter and ComradeDreadful. Excellent choice. Carter got theNobel for the Camp David Accord andworking for Middle East peace, and 20years later they’re still fighting. Carterpronounced our April elections free, fair andlovely even before the final results wereout, and even while his own field personnelhad amassed data on systematicintimidation. And there is no one moredeserving of the peace prize than ComradeChairman because hewas responsible for the war thatallowed 15,000 Nepalis to restin eternal peace.