Weekly Internet Poll # 445. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.com

Q. Where is this country headed?

Weekly Internet Poll # 444

Q. What do you think of the Maoistsstopping the extension of tenure of eightgenerals?

Total votes: 3,601

#444 27 March - 2 April 2009 16 pages Rs 30

rime Minister PushpaKamal Dahal has said hisprimary mission during his

Nordic tour next week will be toencourage foreign investment,especially in energy and IT.

However, his hosts will alsowant to hear from him just howseriously he is committed toprotecting democracy duringNepal’s transition to peace, andthey will link his track record tofuture development assistance.Dahal will probably be able toconvince the Norwegians andFinns that he is serious aboutdemocracy, but he will have a

much tougher time withpotential investors.

“The investment climatedoesn’t look good at all,” said oneEuropean investor, “and what isworrying is that instead of gettingbetter it is getting worse.”

In Oslo, Dahal is set to meetexecutives from Statkraft, theNorwegian state-ownedhydropower company that partlyowns SN Power that is investingin the 600MW Tama Kosi III. Hewill be facing some toughquestions about security, legalstability, political andbureaucratic delays. TheNorwegians are said to besurprised that the minister of

water resources is not included inDahal’s entourage.

SN Power’s chief executiveNadia Sood was in Nepal lastmonth, and told us: “We arecommitted to continuing todevelop hydropower in Nepal, buta pre-condition to doing so is thatwe can rely on speedy, reliable andtransparent decision-making. Ourexpansion plans hinge very muchon these things being in place.”(See full interview: p4).

Indian companies like GMRand Sutlej, which had signedagreements for Arun III and UpperKarnali are said to be waveringbecause of security at the site.West Seti’s offices were

KUNDA DIXIT

RUNNING ON EMPTY: The Kulekhani reservoiron Wednesday is nearly empty despite thisweek’s rains which were not enough to raisewater levels. The six-month drought hasexacerbated government mismanagement,leading to a serious energy crisis.

KIRAN PANDAY

High and dryThe prime minister’s main priority shouldbe to restore investor confidence

P

vandalised recently in Doti andSanima’s Likhu III was alsoattacked by locals.

“If labour and security is notaddressed, no new foreigninvestment is coming into thiscountry and even the joint ventureswhich are here will quit,” saidone transnational representativein Nepal. Colgate Palmolive, whichwound up in Nepal earlier thisyear has issued a damning annualreport in which it cites ‘extortionand security’ as the main reason.

Besides security, hydropowerinvestors are also worried aboutcorruption in NEA, uncertaintiesin the Electricity Act and arbitrarytaxation. Local expectations havegrown with districts with powerplants and even householdsbelow transmission linesdemanding 24-hour power.

For the short-term India’sPower Trading Corporation hasoffered to sell up to 500MW ofpower to Nepal for IRs 3 per unit,but businesses say that unlessinvestor woes are urgentlyaddressed, Nepal’s economicfuture looks bleak.

2 27 MARCH - 2 APRIL 2009 #444EDITORIAL

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L E T T E R S

TMESSENGERS BEWAREThe Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has compared therelative dangers that journalists face around the world and hasranked Nepal seventh from the bottom for the killings of journalistsand the lack of prosecution of their murderers.

Rankings of this kind make snappy headlines but mask thequalitatively higher level of intimidation, violence and impunity invarious countries, and indeed within countries. These lists,however, do name and shame governments that show a consistentcontempt for the values of press freedom and the safety ofjournalists.

The only positive aspect of the CPJ list from Nepal’s point ofview is that there are countries worse than us: Iraq, Sierra Leone,Somalia, Sri Lanka, Columbia, the Philippines and Afghanistan.But the great shame about Nepal being in the ‘Bottom Ten’ is that itneedn’t be.

It all started out so promisingly three years ago with theceasefire. And last year’s elections was a moral victory of thenon-violent struggle for democracy and press freedom. Nepal wasthe touted as an international role model for conflicttransformation.

Yet, more journalists have been killed in the past three yearsthan during the war. Not a single murderer of a Nepali journalisthas so far been caught and tried. The side-effect of all thisimpunity is that self-censorship is now endemic. There is almostno investigative journalism, muckraking has become rare,corruption is almost never covered. Journalists have learnt thehard way not to write about cross-border crime, or about the waythe YCL and other militants control village and district-levelbidding process for development work.

Self-censorship is much more insidious than overt control. Itgives citizens the impression that the media is free when it’s not.Ultimately, this undermines democracy and favours those whowant total control.

That said, we in the media have to do our own introspection.Media can only protect its freedom by its maximum application.Our obsession with disarray and disorder is turning out to be aself-fulfilling prophecy. Shallow,sensational and lazy journalismspreads cynicism andperpetuates discord.

The CPJ report puts thespotlight on the Maoist-ledgovernment for allowing themedia environment to deteriorateso drastically, and will putpressure on it to prove itscommitment to press freedomwith actions. It also forces us inthe media to correct thedampening effect of the highthreat level against the mediawith even more fearless,meaningful and responsiblecoverage.

SHAREHOLDERS VS STAKEHOLDERSWhile I can agree with your call for avisible corporate responsibility in orderto have sustainable and profitableenterprises in Nepal (‘Shareholders vsstakeholders,’ # 443), I would still like toemphasise the need for a businessfriendly environment. Some may thinkresponsible corporate behaviour canhelp create a smooth businessatmosphere. But I believe it happens theother way round: we need to have asound business environment first.

This argument may soundexcessively driven by corporate interestbut let’s face reality here. What are ourareas of competitive advantages? Dirtcheap workforce (semi and low skilled),poor fiscal and auditing systems andmore importantly, insufficient propertyright laws to name but a few. These arealso the ills of our system.

Let’s not blame a businessman inNew Road who employs 10 workers butsticks to a little help from the above togenerate profit. His ability to create 10jobs and employ people is moreimportant than preaching to them aboutwhat they ought to do. But as a nation,

democratic country like Nepal theelected government representativesmake decisions, not army officers.

Pashupati Neupane, email

DISUNIONI completely agree with Mallika Aryal(‘Disunion,’ # 443)) that the mainagenda of these student unions isunfortunately not education butpolitics. In fact, the politics theypractise is raw and is driven byparent parties that are looking toexpand their reach. It is pathetic thatcolleges, that should be the place forlearning, have turned into the placefor politics. It is our generation’smisfortune to see students closingdown colleges, engaging in vandalismand hampering the studies andexams. The government is clearly notinterested in curbing politics ineducation or closing the gap betweenthe quality of education in private vsgovernment colleges. The irony ofthis nation is that these young peoplemay gradually make their way tomainstream politics.

Samyam Waglè, Canberra, Australia.

he Supreme Court’sdecision on Tuesday to“temporarily shelve” the

controversial decision by theDefence Ministry to not extendthe tenure of eight generals willquell the tension between SinghaDarbar and Bhadrakali for now.

But a lot will depend on how theMaoist leadership, and especiallyDefence Minister Ram BahadurThapa, react to the decision of theapex court. From Thursday’sprotests outside the SupremeCourt, it looks like they are nottaking it well (pictured).

The Maoists were voted ineven though they still havenearly 20,000 guerrillas in UN-monitored camps. For a groupthat suddenly went from war topower it may be difficult toswallow the decision, but being aconstitutionally electedgovernment it can’t ignore thecourt either.

Justice Kalyan Shrestha in hisruling said the 2006 decision by

GUEST COLUMNShiva Gaunle

the apex court to similarly rejectthe non-renewal of the tenure ofGen Pradip Pratap Bam Mallahad created a precedent. He alsosaid the government’s decisionto overturn the army’s requestwithout giving a reason wentagainst the principles of the‘terms’ and ‘balance’ of militaryservice.

The bone of contention iswho should have the right torenew the tenure of retiringofficers. The court decision willnow make it difficult for theMaoists, who still regard thearmy as an ‘enemy’ force, to takeuniliateral decisions and willset a long-term precedent. TheMaoist administration, whichhas been interfering in the army,police and civil service withoutany debate will now have to bemuch more careful aboutadhering to the rule of law.

The court will perhapsexplain in more detail what itmeans by ‘terms’ and ‘balance’,but we can speculate that thejustices are worried aboutunacceptable interference in thearmy’s internal rules andtraditions that have a bearing onmorale and discipline. It also

shows that theDefenceMinistry can’t dowhat it likes withthe national armybecause in thepresent state of thecountry it wouldmean anunacceptablepoliticisationof the military. Acivilian chain ofcommand isdesirable whenthings are stable.This fragiletransition is the

wrong time to tamper with theone institution that has so farbeen saved from politicisation.It would beextremely dangerous for ageneral at the Nepal Army HQto have to go to the Maoist HQin Buddhanagar to lobby fora promotion.

The other positive aspect ofthe Supreme Court order is thatit has rejected the irrationalpolitics of revenge. It was clearthat the defence minister wasitching to get back at the armyfor having stalled his attemptto stop the recruitment into thenational army, which itself wasstopped by an earlier courtorder. It was clear that theblocking of the tenureextension of the generals wasnot a decision of the defenceminister as a member of thecoalition government but wastaken by the Maoist party at aconclave of its own army.

If the Maoists are smart,they will not let thiscontroversy drag on and use theopportunity afforded by theSupreme Court decision toactivate the Army IntegrationSpecial Committee on which ithas been dragging its feet.UNMIN, which has a midtermreport due at the UN SecurityCouncil, is losing patiencewith the lack of progress onintegration, and the specialcommittee which meets only todecide to meet again. It isalmost certain UNMIN’s tenurewon’t be extended beyond Juneand it also sure that integrationcan’t be completed before then.

So the sooner the Maoist-led government and the armystart working together onintegration and not waste timeon tit-for-tat, the better it willbe for the peace process.

Enough tit-for-tatStop wasting time and get on with integration

we need law enforcement and regulationand the creation of a qualified workforce.That is not what the private sector shouldbe concerned with. Moreover, why do webelieve that a nation iscapable of getting rid ofall of its ills in a snap offinger? To foster asustainable businessenvironment that iscompetitive, we need tocure those ills. Wehave to root for change,we need concrete, boldaction.

Anjan Panday,Washington, DC

RESERVATIONSJB Pun Magar is tooquick to rejectreservations(‘Reservations about reservation,’ #442)and his argument could equally be spun toadvocate that there is not enough positivediscrimination in India. Reservations arehighly important regarding access touniversities and widening youth ambitions.Sure, there are plenty of strong examples of

minorities within the CA, but how manyDalits are there in leadership positions?Not enough is the answer. Reservationsare over-simplistic and have large

repercussions, butthey do changesociety, and moreimportantly, theyprovide a vent forminority tensionsthat stabilisessociety (somethingthat Nepal couldreally use rightnow).

Oliver Spencer-Shrestha, London

GENERALUNDERSTANDINGIt is a well-knownfact that the generals

of the Nepal Army have often misusedtheir high positions. (‘Generalunderstanding’ #443) The civiliangovernment under Prime MinisterPushpa Kamal Dahal has the courage tosay no to these excesses and demandprofessionalism from army generals. In a

LAXMI PRASAD NGAKHUSHI/KANTIPUR

327 MARCH - 2 APRIL 2009 #444OP-ED

STATE OF THE STATEC K Lal

nce again, Nepal’s young are knocking atthe Iron Gate of their future careers.This year 423,000 students are appearing

for SLC Examinations.Some of them will be declared ‘failed’, others

will pass, a few with flying colours. Once more,the results will illustrate the gross inequality inNepal’s education system. And what will theseyoung people do once they are out of school?

In these uncertain times, the general attitude(‘we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it’) has

its advantages.But thedecisionbecomes alittle

complicated when rivers are deep and the choiceinvolves building a bridge, waiting at the edgewhile you wait for someone to throw the rope, orjust jumping off the cliff and hoping for the best.No wonder students appear so stressed.

The last choice is the only one available tostudents stigmatised by society as failures, usuallyfor no fault of their own. In a majority of publicschools in rural areas, untrained and unmotivatedteachers struggle with syllabuses that have norelationship with the ground reality.

Other than the 3Rs of reading, writing andarithmetic, school education in rural Nepal teachno life skills. Students don’t learn about farming,how to make a plough, produce manure, keepgoats, build huts, grow trees, look after the elderly,attend to the sick, clean streets, dig wells, playdhime baja or organise village communes. The bestthat they can wish is a chance to take up the gunfor others, like the British or Indian Army, if theyare lucky. Or to migrate for work.

423,000 students will sit for theirschool exams this week

Mass producingmediocrity

There are private schools in urban areas thatteach to build bridges, but most churn out youthswith exaggerated sense of self-importance. For them,this country is beyond redemption. Their talentneeds a more conducive environment, so they troopoff to educational consultancies for student visas toAustralia, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark. Anywhere, aslong as they can escape the country that they thinkhas no future.

But even for an education system designed bydefault for the mass production of mediocrity, it’spossible to save seeds for the future of the country.Unfortunately, the post-school facilities of trainingthe willing are in equally bad shape, if not worse.For those who are fortunate enough to be declared‘passed’, technical schools are few, mostly of astandard that leaves a lot to be desired.

The intermediate level education of TribhubanUniversity and majority of +2 teaching shops aremerely places for the ambitious where they playactwhile they wait to be served with appropriate

opportunity: an admission intoprofessional colleges, a scholarshipabroad, a job through connections or acareer in politics. Very few have theconfidence left to begin a trade or join anoccupation by the time they finishsecondary education.

The main problem with Nepal’sschool system is that it churns outindividuals who wish to consume buthave little ability to produce. Evenamong the relatively privileged, somebecome cheerful robots of the NGO-industry. Many end up as no-collarautomatons at projects and aid agencies.Nepali economy is in doldrums. The

tragedy is that our youthful workforce lacks thewill–and tools–to pull it out of this rut.

In the Birth Centenary year of social thinkerRam Manohar Lohia, it may be appropriate to learnfrom the model he envisioned for his own country.Like India of Lohia’s time, Nepal is a capital-scarcebut labour-abundant country. Our problems arecompounded by the fact that generations of Nepalishave availed of the easy option of withdrawing fromthe national economy by becoming Lahures. Hadremmitances been the best way to build a country,Nepal would already be Switzerland of Asia and thePhilippines would be Japan. The hard reality is thatthere is no alternative to building a prosperouseconomy but pulling ourselves up by ourbootstraps.

O

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

4 27 MARCH - 2 APRIL 2009 #444NATION

PLAIN SPEAKINGPrashant Jha

A young banker says: “The Maoists cannot make thingsbetter. They are just too entrenched in corruption acrosssectors. All they have is rhetoric. The country is being run

by a mafia.”You can take that with a pinch of salt since bankers are

obviously not the Maoist core constituency. But the same evening,a civil society activist, with sympathy for the Maoist agenda,commented, “I have just got back from villages in Kabhre andSindhuli where even Maoist voters are disillusioned. What was thepoint of the war if JP Gupta and Krishna Bahadur Mahara are doingthe same thing in government?”

Talk to an urban resident and he will crib about the power andprice crisis. A poor rural family will talk about the food shortage. In

any of the ethnically chargedregions (eastern hills,eastern Tarai, and westernTarai) there is insecurity,alienation and deterioratinginter-community ties. And the

educated unemployed will ask that perennial question: where arethe jobs? The Maoists will get the flak because they are in charge.

But this doesn’t mean the Maoists are completely discredited. Ayoung migrant worker visiting his home in Chitwan said: “Everyoneis out to ensure they do not succeed. Give the Maoists a chanceand freedom to work. There is peace in the districts.”

The Maoist leadership point at the finance ministry’s trackrecord: revenues are up, minimum wages have increased andlabour is relieved. Old people are being given pensions. VDCgrants have increased. Self employment schemes have drawncrowds of young people and Baburam Bhattarai’s integrity is hardto question.

As for things they have not been able to do, the Maoists pointout they inherited a mess. And then they blame the bureacuracy,coalition partners, NC, army and internationals, especially India.

So the judgement is mixed. But any discussion on Maoist‘failure’ has to first confront the question: what does failure mean inthis context. Is it the failure, as a government, to give direction tothe country? Is it failure to meet standards of the middle class anddo what Kathmandu elite expected them to? Is it failure to live up totheir own promises and deliver to their own base? Is it failure, as aparty, to enhance power?

The paradox is that the Maoists have become immenselystronger in eight months of being in power even as their publiccredibility has dented, even if partially.

So they have succeeded in keeping the party intact, creatingopportunities for their cadre, infiltrating the state, co-opting evenerstwhile adversaries, delivering benefits to their core workingclass base and making money. But they have not changed thepatronage culture of politics or focussed on providing public goodsto a wider constituency. They have not politically engaged withgroups in the districts whose resentment against Kathmandu isturning into militancy, letting a general sense of drift pester. Andinstead of being reconcilers, they have tried to maximiseadvantages for the party.

This is because after winning the elections, the Maoistschanged track. If earlier they reached out to all those disaffectedand angry at the state in a bid to assume power, the Maoists nowbegan focussing on using the state in a bid to consolidate.

Critics will say it shows all the Maoists wanted was power forpower’s sake, not to bring about change. But there is a deepertheoretical underpinning. Classical Marxism in principle talks aboutstate control as necessary to advance a particular class interest.For Maoists who make no distinction between the party and theclass it claims to represent, this means using the state to advanceparty’s influence and interests.

But what the Maoists miss here is that most people who votedfor them in the last elections were not party members. The partyfaithful may stick on even though fissures are now emerging inside.But the supporters outside that framework are getting frustrated.Their challenge is to tackle growing disillusionment among thisbroader coalition that propelled them to power.

For the Maoists it reallyabout staying in power

Successand failure

Nepali Times: As the new head of SNPower what are the areas you’d like thecompany to concentrate on?Nadia Sood: SN Power has a long-term visionabout its participation in the Nepali hydropowersector. As the new head of SN Power’s South Asiabusiness, I intend to keep SN Power focussed onparticipating in the development of Nepal’shydropower potential in a responsible andsustainable manner. As such, this will involveseeking out projects that are economically viable,which can help alleviate Nepal’s load sheddingproblems by allowing for export/import to andfrom India. The projects can be developed in linewith international standards for social andenvironmental sustainability.

What were your impressions from yourrecent visit to Nepal?I was struck by how much unrealised potentialexists in the country. Nepal seems to be poised onthe cusp of a great future, but significant workneeds to be done to ensure that the foundations fora healthy economy, that is, political will,acceptable infrastructure, prudent legal andregulatory framework, good governance, and anefficient bureaucracy are firmly established.

Have some of your plans for futureexpansion in Nepal changed after what yousaw or heard from policy-makers ingovernment?While I was in Nepal, I had the opportunity tomeet with all the ministries and departments,which have responsibility for or interface withhydropower development. During those meetings, Iemphasised that SN Power is committed tocontinuing to develop hydropower in Nepal. But apre-condition to doing so is that we can relyon speedy, reliable and transparent decision-making when it comes to the licensing andpermitting process. Our expansion plans hinge

very much on these things being in place.

How are preparations coming along forTamakosi II & III?Tamakoshi II & III is now in the feasibility studyand environmental and social impact assessmentstage. We are excited about the potential of thisproject, and look forward to working closely withthe government and the local population to see theproject through to completion.

What strategic direction would you like theNepal government take for the developmentof its water resources?Nepal needs to harness the potential of its waterresources to help build the foundations for healthyand robust economic growth in the future. Inpractice, the easiest way for it to do so will be for itto stimulate the development of hydropower andover time establish a open-access electricity tradingmarket both within Nepal and on a regional basis,similarly to what has been done in theScandinavian countries. The first steps required tomake this happen are strong focus on theestablishment of a strong political and bureaucraticwill, good legal and regulatory framework,reduction of red-tape and speedy decision-making.This will help attract foreign investors and openconstructive interactions with India.

How would you characterise the presentinvestment climate in Nepal, and whatwould you like changed?Although Nepal is striving towards politicalstability, the current investment climate in Nepalis still quite uncertain. Nepal is on its way toformalising a number of regulations and policiesthat will be critical to ensure that it can continueto attract foreign investors. We look forward tofollowing this development and will certainly bekeeping a close eye on it as we continue to considerour investment strategy.

Nadia Sood is the chief executive of the Norwegianstate-owned energy giant, SN Power. She was in Nepalrecently to meet government officials and inspect thesite of SN Power’s new project in the Tama Kosi basin.She spoke to Nepali Times about the investment climatefor hydro developers in Nepal and gave suggestions tomake the country more investor friendly.

Concern aboutuncertain

investment climate

KIRAN PANDAY

527 MARCH - 2 APRIL 2009 #444BUSINESS

ECONOMIC SENSEArtha Beed

MUMBAI: I was asking a youngcollege student about collegeelections in Mumbai and heresponded as if I was talkingabout something alien to him,saying they only happen in somegovernment colleges or in Bengal.Perception is more importantthan reality.

The recent fanfare aboutstudent elections reminded me ofmy years in Kolkata in themid- eighties where manystudents seemed to go to collegeto change the world rather thanconcentrate on studies. Whilestudents stuck to politics inKolkata, students in Karnatakadecided to further their studies inIT and leave politics alone.Twenty years on Karnatakaproduces the finest IT graduatesthat have converted Bangaloreinto a Silicon Valley whileBengal still produces studentleaders who never make it tonational leadership.

The growth of India is fuelledby the youth like those inMumbai and elsewhere that areobserving how change can takeplace and keeping up with itspace. Suddenly new airports arebuilt in couple of years, flyoverscommissioned in less than a year,

mass rapidtransit systemslike metro railbuilt in a fewyears. Youngstersin Mumbai talkof how India andChina willdominate theworld economicscene in thecoming decadesand how theywill lead the newworld economic order. They aretaking the general electionseriously, demanding morerepresentations from the youthand supporting initiatives likethe new party formed byprofessionals to fight theforthcoming federal elections.

For Nepal, there is a lot tolearn. Sloganeering for three orfive years in campuses leadnowhere till the youth finds itsvoice in the larger politicaldebate. Rather than fighting toothand nail with different politicallyaffiliated student unions, theyshould fight for their rightswithin their own parties so thatyouth leaders take responsiblepositions within their parties andfurther the political reformprocess in the country.

What does student unionpolitics mean? How many ofthese student leaders willactually find greater roles in the

national politics in a democraticrepublic? What is the point ofsuch student union elections andhow are they still relevant in thelarger political landscape? Whatdo the political leaders think ofthe role of the student unions?Are the students just a tool tofulfill their political ambitions ordo they still take note of thestudents shaping the future oftheir own political parties? Thequestions are endless.

The Nepali youth and studentpolitics need real reform toprevent Nepal from beingrelegated to another West Bengal.We need to learn from the youthleadership in places where it ismaking its mark and changing theeconomic and political landscape.Mumbai minus the sporadicextremism of some politicalparties could be a benchmark toexplore. www.arthabeed.com

Young people need to engage inpolitics but not on campus

Revisitingstudent politics

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NRNs as touristsA group of young people have started a tourism campaign, targetingNepalis living abroad for tourism year 2011. Titled ‘Jau hai Nepal’the campaign will include cultural shows with performances bySabin Rai, Komal Oli and Mantra Band in Australia, Hong Kong,Korea, Japan and Korea. In Sydney alone, there are over 150,000Nepalis.

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Targeting the citizenCitizens Bank International has launched a savings account thatoffers customers an eight to ten per cent interest for savings that aremore than a year old. Senior citizens can get a yearly interest of7.5 per cent on their current account.

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New prezShasin Joshi, CEO of NIC Bank has succeeded Bank of Kathmandumanaging director Radhesh Pant as president of Nepal Bankers’Association. Anil Shah, CEO of Nabil Bank, was voted vice-president at the annual general meeting of the association lastweek.

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Twenty twentyKIST Merchant Banking and Finances and Himalayan Bank haveboth opened their 20th branches in Koteswor, Kathmandu andChuchepati and Chabahil repectively.

6 27 MARCH - 2 APRIL 2009 #444FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

Nepal Samacharpatra, 24 March Do you recognise the person in the picture? It is Prakash Dahal, son ofPrime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’. The location isDhulikhel Lodge Resort. During their revolution, the Maoists bannedalcohol, a move that was appreciated by the people. A year hasn’t yetpassed since theMaoist chairmanDahal took overas the country’sprime minister.But his son, whoalso holds animportantposition in theparty, was caughtlast Sunday,drunk.

PM Dahaland FinanceMinisterBaburamBhattarai were inDhulikhel onSunday todiscussKathmanduUniversity andDhulikhelHospital. WhileDahal andBhattarai werebusy indiscussions,Prakash made merry. He coaxed party members, accompanying trafficpolice and journalists to join him. Prakash was even serving thedrinks. At the end of it, Prakash was so knocked out that he did noteven attend the dinner party. The journalists there could not ignorethis juicy piece of news and let their cameras roll. But Prakash’ssupporters pressurised them to delete the pictures and snatched awaytheir cameras. A journalist from a Maoist paper even commented thatsuch sights should not be recorded and the press should not focus on“negative issues”.

Heir apparent

Shree Krishna Anirudda Gautam in Nepal ,13 March

Nepal’s political system and its prevailingpolitics of ethnicity, regionalism and languageare inspired by Marxist ideology. It is theMaoists who have been raising these issues in aviolent fashion. It comes as no surprise to haveMaoist ideology dominating politicaldeliberations and ethnic-lingual issues comingto the fore when deciding the country’s federalstructure.

Some believe that basing provinces onethnicity could lead to the country’sdisintegration. Alternatives should bediscussed. Often by ensuring the rights of one

group, another will be deprived of its ownrights. The recent Tharu uprising againstMadhesi identity provides thelatest example. Except in the far west andMithila, there are no instances of a singledominant linguistic group.

Nepali diversity does not mirror that ofSwitzerland where ethnic and lingual groupsrarely overlap. There are no distinct units ofEnglish and French speaking groups like inCanada. Nepal can be compared with easternIndia to some extent but it is considerably morecomplex here when it comes to ethnicity. An

extensive survey is required to delineate theseethnic and non-ethnic settlements.

Unfortunately, the Maoist proposal to baseprovinces on ethnicity has lumped all ethnic andnon-ethnic groups together. Neither the Maoistsnor the groups struggling for identity have everthought about how to address the identity ofdifferent groups within a particular region.

While ethnic autonomy seemed to workunder communism in the former Soviet Union,Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, it ceased to workwhen communism collapsed and the countriesdisintegrated. The Soviet Union and Yugoslaviahave now split into different independent states.While the breakup of the Soviet Union andCzechoslovakia was relatively peaceful, theslaughter and ethnic cleansing in the Balkanswill haunt us for centuries to come.

There is still time for federalism experts tomake a comparative analysis of differing federalstructures and to carve out a suitable one for us.The political parties should not delay in agreeingon a stable federal structure taking culturaldiversity into consideration. The delay mightunleash a series of demands like Tharuhat inMadhes and Greater Kirat in Limbuwan. Thecurrent climate of identity politics will open thefloodgates to more and more demands fromdifferent communities.

Federalism based on single ethnic identityand the concept of sub-nation could result in aprolonged period of instability and anarchy inthe country. The Maoists must understand that itwill be difficult to meet the conflicting demandsof sub-national ethnicities.

The communists must turn democratic nomatter how difficult it is. By doing so, they canset an example to the world. They can assure thatNepali people, who are still terrified by theprospect of becoming a 21st century Yugoslavia,feel they are safe. For that, they should correcttheir past mistakes, dump the single ethnicitybased federal units and draw up a map of multi-ethnic federalism.

Multiculturalfederalism

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MistrustEditorial in Naya Patrika,23 March

PM Prachanda has claimed thatthe restructuring of thegovernment will take placewithin the next month and thatthe NC will also be joining thegovernment.

If the PM’s promise turnsout to be true, then Nepal’spolitical future looks brighter.But it remains to be seenwhether the PM will fulfil hispromises, judging by his trackrecord. If he doesn’t, theconsequences will bedisastrous.

In Nepal’s present context,it does not necessarily matterwho leads the government. Butit is vital that the main partieswithin the government workand cooperate with each otherto complete the constitution.

It has been clear from thebeginning that the UML andNepali Congress do not see eyeto eye with the presentgovernment. Even though theUML is a part of thegovernment, they have alwaysbeen critical of the Maoists.Many of the commissions stillhaven’t been formed, and theones that have are incomplete.So far, they haven’t even beenable to utilise the developmentbudget. Without any capitalinvestment there is no hope of

generating employment andboosting economic development.For this, all the parties of thegovernment have to work together.

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CommissionsKantipur, 23 March

Formed1. Land reform commission2. Administrative restructuringcommission3. Commission for the landless4. Inclusiveness commission5. Commission of the freedKamaiyas

To be formed:1. State restructuring commission2. Commission to investigateforced disappearances3. Truth and reconciliationcommission4. Labour commission5. National Muslim commission

BINOD NEUPANE

MARTY LOGAN

727 MARCH - 2 APRIL 2009 #444CONSTITUTION 2010

Teachers, businessmen, general workers, entrepreneurs,social and political activists of Dipayal gathered lastweek to discuss the new constitution. Extracts:

What do you think of the situation the countryis in since the formation of the CA?

Nara Bahadur Dhant (socialactivist): The Maoists have notlived up to expectations but seemto be trying to reform. Althoughwe are more assured of securityand progress, there are examplesof countries turning autocraticeven after the formation of aconstituent assembly.

Sita Pokharel (healthworker): The situation is gettingcomplicated. Trust in thegovernment is eroding every day.Things will not get better just byreplacing the present governmentwith other parties. The politicalparties do not seem to have thenecessary vision to deal withethnic issues.

Dipak Shahi (politicalcadre): The government hasfailed to deliver. Finance MinisterBaburam Bhattarai last monthannounced he would mobilisethe YCL to collect tax fromprivate schools, which showshow democratic the governmentis. The Maoist leaders threaten torevolt. What is important now is

the Maoists’ commitment to democracy and peace, whichcan ensure the new constitution is written on time.

Gopal Suchikar (painter):The political parties are fightingfor power instead of givingpeople hope of progress andwriting the constitution. Theruling party and the oppositionare constantly trying toundermine each other. This is not

the right time to do so. All political parties should focuson writing the new constitution.

How do you think the federal structure shouldbe created? In which province should Doti be?

Dipak Shahi: We want Doteli province of Seti andMahakali zones. Dipayal is equidistant from all districtsso it should be the provincial capital. It is practicable todivide provinces vertically from the mountains to Taraithroughout the country. So there can be six to sevenprovinces altogether. The mountain, hill and Tarairegions are rich in different resources. Creating provinceson the basis of geography can strengthen national unity.

Laxmi Roka Magar(entrepreneur): I was born inRolpa but migrated to Doti. Now, Ibelong nowhere. Doteli peoplethink I belong in the east andpeople in Rolpa call me awesterner. This issue of identityshould be taken into accountwhile creating provinces. Creatingprovinces on the basis of ethnicity

and language might create tension and lead to communalviolence. I am against it. It would be wise to createprovinces based on the present political division ofthe country.

Sita Pokhrel: It is not a bad thing if autonomy withright to self determination is given to ethniccommunities, backward regions and the oppressed. Theimportant thing is to manage it well. I am a Brahmin fromKailali. I don’t mind Kailali under Tharuhat province butone Madhes, one Pradhes is unacceptable because thereare different ethnic groups living in the plains from Jhapato Kanchanpur and to recognise their identites, theremust be many federal units in the Tarai.

What if we give the provincesdifferent names - not basedon ethnicity or language?

Ramesh Joshi: In the past, therewas a Doteli state. The language isstill alive. It is practicable thatthis region should be Doteliprovince in all respects.

In a multi-culturalcountry like Nepal,what’s importantwhen formulatingpolicies regardingreservation? Willpolices of positivediscrimination beeffective to end theexisting

discrimination and deprivation?I feel you are using ‘reservation’ and‘positive discrimination’ as synonyms, likemany do. We first need to understand thedifference between the two. Positivediscrimination entails not just establishingequality legally but also ensuring that thesocial structure allows that change to occur.Reservation is simply one of the methods toachieve positive discrimination and shouldin fact be the last. It ensures that someseats are ‘reserved’ in education andemployment for the discriminatedcommunities to guarantee inclusiveness.Here, like in India, caste represents socialdisparity and can be used as a basis forreservation. But to consider caste as theonly basis would be a mistake. Have the Indian marginalised communitiesachieved their aim after 50 years of

Tarai-Pahad unityGopal Suchikar: If there is real decentralisation,there is no need for federalism. On the basis oflanguage, we would create more than 100 provincesand just as many based on ethnicity. There is nomixed settlement of different castes but no particularcaste has a majority in any particular place. Socreating provinces on the basis of language andethnicity is impractical.

Narabahadur Dhant: The provinces should becreated on the basis of ethnicity, religion andlanguages. National interest should be at the centre.Population, geographical situation, economicinfrastructure and resources should be taken intoaccount. Each province should encompass themountains, hills and Tarai, which will make five tosix provinces.

Purna Joshi: The existingdevelopment regions canbecome the new provinces. Ifwe opt for provinces based onethnicity then the minoritycommunities will remainminority forever and bedeprived of their rights.Mountains, hills and Taraishould be combined to form

the provinces, thereby ensuring a spread of naturalresources. Ethnic division could well lead tocommunal enmity and disintegration of the country.

What provision should be made in theconstitution to improve the lives ofunderprivileged communities, women and thelower castes?

Purna Joshi: Education has been mentioned as afundamental right in the interim constitution andshould continue to be enshrined in the newconstitution. The constitution should guaranteethat women are not exploited in the name of religionor caste.

Laxmi Roka Magar: If we put together a Dalitbillionaire of Kathmandu and a Bramhin pauper ofBajhang, we find the answer. This is a class issue.Therefore, there should be special provision andprograms for those who fall behind.

reservation policies? Or did they take anunexpected turn because of this system?The positive discrimination policy adoptedin India has not only allowed the Dalits andAdhivasis to make themselves heard in thesociety but also given them good leaders.The middle class has been born in India.Caste is slowly ceasing to be an indicationof social, economic or political standing. Butthis does not mean reservation is a magicsolution. Inequality still exists in India anddiscrimination is still a problem. But withoutthe positive discrimination policies, thesituation could have been worse.

Some say that reservation has only givenbirth to new feudalists. Others feel thatreservation is a necessary and effectivetool to bring the discriminated and themarginalised community into mainstream.Where do you think Nepal stands withinthese two thoughts?I cannot answer this without understandingthe complications of Nepal’s social system.What has worked in some other countrymay not work here– we cannot use acookie-cutter approach. The policies herehave to reflect Nepal’s society and context.

Any positive discrimination policy is

Reservation- not a magic solutionAn interview with Yogendra Yadab, an Indian social and political analyst

caught in a debate because it seeks tochange the existing social power structure.Those who previously enjoyed privilegesare sure to make arguments against suchpolicies, but they have been proved wrong.However, there are also people who demandreservations in every field.

How do we respond to reservation

demands of so many groups? We face the same problem in India:

there is the need to address inequality notjust on the basis of caste but also genderand class. We are now calling to revise andupdate the reservation policy. Thereservations should not be limited to justcaste but other social dimensions as welland should be sensitive to the weightedinequality between the groups. It should bebased on proper verification documents.

After the problem is identified, we haveto come up with a broad solution. We haveto formulate time-based strategies. There isa danger that a group may be divided intoseveral sub-groups. We have to work insuch a way but still remain united.

Positive discrimination is not a politicaltool to satisfy certain communities. Rather itis an instrument to free the society from thevicious circle of inequality anddiscrimination.

KIRAN PANDAY

8 MUSIC

azz, more than any musicalgenre, defies definition. Mostmusicians define it is an

improvisation of the idea that isformed in the head and laterexpressed through music.

Ozma, the French quintet jazzband define jazz simply asfreedom.

“For us it is the artisticfreedom to incorporate ourpersonal influences which couldbe funk, rock or even hip-hopthrough the five differentmusical instruments we play tocreate our sound,” says StéphaneScharlé the drummer of the band.“Today’s jazz doesn’t sound likethe jazz you’d hear 40 years back,”says sax player David Florsch,“it’s constantly evolving and as ajazz band Ozma’s goal is to createa fusion of the influences andimprovise while having fun.”

“Jazz has no boundaries andthat’s what makes it enjoyable,”adds David.

Ozma is currently inKathmandu as a part of theongoing week-long ChevroletMiles Music Festival whichstarted on 21 March. Jointlyorganised by The Kathmandu JazzConservatory, Alliance Françaisein Kathmandu and InfinityInternational. The festival aimsto provide a platform to exchangeideas and explore Nepalitraditional music alongsideOzma’s music.

The band was initially formedby three Strasbourg Conservatorystudents namely AdrienDennefeld who plays the guitar,Edouard Séro-Guillaume whoplays the bass and Stéphane in2001. Guillaume Nuss, thetrombone player and Davidjoined them in their jam sessionsa few times before they wereinvited to join the group in 2004.

“We felt a little lonely,” saysStéphane jokingly but on aserious note adds, “We wanted toadd a melodic dimension to ourmusic. When it was just the threeof us, one took the lead and itwas difficult for the other two tostep away. With five , its easier.”A year later they released theirfirst album and in just two yearswere named the Best FrenchGroup at the National JazzCompetition.

They put their sync andstrength down to their greatfriendship. “We’ve known eachother for around nine years andthis sort of friendship is very rarein jazz . Most musicians cometogether for a very brief period oftime and then go their separateways,” explains Stéphane who

Jazz evolution in Kathmandu

SHITU RAJBHANDARI compares the band’s friendshipto that of rock bands . “It is thiscompatibility as friends that isreflected on stage,” adds David.

Other than that their musicis also characterised by the hugedose of humour that’sincorporated into their sound.“We are happy guys,” saysStéphane, “who make darkmusic, as paradoxical as thatmight sound.”

So what is Ozma’s soundlike? In their own words–it is‘jazz metric-rhythmic-swinging-warmly-festive-dynamic-rough-explosive-music.” Or we couldjust say radical, at least forNepal.

Often their soft, melodic andat times melancholic andincomprehensible tones each

weave out fairytales, which startout with ‘once upon a time’ andend with ‘happily ever after’.They have spent two yearsworking on some of them.“During rehearsals we sit togetherand just start playing withouttalking to each other at all,”reveals David. These rehearsalsare recorded and replayed, thenedited. Pieces are either added toexisting ones or a new piece iscreated around it, like building aLego house.

“Adrien is the composer. Welisten to his creations and givehim our honest opinion–whetherto scrap it or work more on it,”informs David. “All the decisionsare very democratic and involve alot of brainstorming,” addsStéphane.

In the course of the festival,Ozma has been practising withNepali musicians such as flutistRubin Shrestha, tabla playerNawaraj Gurung, sarod playerSuresh Bajracharya and ishrajplayer Santosh Shrestha for aspecial repertoire concert on28 March. “We have no idea whatto expect but definitely knowthat we are going to createsomething new and special,” saysthe drummer. To which David

adds, “no matter what we create itwill be music irrespective ofgenres. It will be a result of anevolution of thoughts and that’swhat jazz is, evolution.”

Ozma Concert27 March, 6PMArmy Auditorium- Shava MandapRs 800 (1st Row), Rs 400 (others)*Tickets available at AllianceFrançaise in Kathmandu (AFK),KathmanduJazz Conservatory (KJC),Siddhartha Art Gallery, TheBakery CaféChez Caroline Restaurant,Sangeeta Thapa (9851030873),Pratima Pandé (9851022365) andthe Army Club on the evening ofthe concert)

Ozma and Nepali musicianA unique shared-repertoireconcert28 March, 7PMDhokaima Cafe*Contact AFK or KJC to book

French quintet jazz bandOzma, find freedom in Nepal.

J

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

927 MARCH - 2 APRIL 2009 #444

ast year, Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory (KJC) launched a newmusic festival, the Nepal Jazz Jatra, with the aim of providing aspace for predominantly Nepali musicians to come together and

fuse various forms of music and create a different sound. The festivalwas a success. This year KJC has changed the name of the festival toMiles Music Festival, dropping jazz from the title to encourageinteraction between various genres of music. And why Miles? BecauseMiles Davis was an innovator and a pioneer of fusion.

Miles Music Festival (MMF) is about the human interplaybetween musicians. The idea is to have a Nepali rock group play witha tabla or sarangi player. The festival is about music in general ratherthan a certain genre. It should be accessible to everyone–the festivalwill offer a bit of everything–performances, workshops, movies,lectures and concerts.

KJC was launched in October 2007 to support music and giveprofessional music education in Nepal. It currently has more than180 students learning instruments, music theory, ear training,ensembles, audio engineering, electronic music and video editing.Apart from teaching music, KJC also stages concerts in which manynational and international artists such as trombonist JeremyBorthwick, vocalist Sachal Vasandani and saxophonist Jorge Pardohave performed.

Miles Music Festival brings together three events: Women inConcert, OZMA (collaborating with Alliance Française in Kathmandu)and Miles Festival itself. It’s not about being better than otherfestivals in Nepal, but about planting the seed of culture and unitingpeople with music.

In the past decade or so jazz music has put down a very strong andsolid root in Nepal. Many youngsters are getting hooked on knowinghow it works and how much fun it can really be. The other reason forjazz’s popularity among the youth is the realization that it is flexibleand easy to fuse with other genres.

KJC believes that Kathmandu can be the capital of the arts inSouth Asia and this requires a higher level of musicianship: toachieve that we must share our knowledge. 28 March- Chevrolet Concert at 1905 Restaurant

KJC ComboBaja Gaja with international guests (Nepal and France)Astha Tamang Maskey Group (Nepal and Canada)Kathmandu Empress with Nick Jost on bass and Eric Slaughter onguitar (Nepal, Norway, Spain and US)Pousie and the Fags (Nepal and Netherlands)

MARIANO ERNESTO ABELLO

Rock weds withtabla and sarangi

Many youngsters are gettinghooked on knowing how jazz worksand how much fun it can be

L

10 NATION 27 MARCH - 2 APRIL 2009 #444

n the evening of16 February NarendraKhati had just stepped

out of his house for a walk whenhe was shot dead by assailantsbelonging to the JTMM (JwalaSingh).

Khati, 40, worked at thestate-owned Janakpur CigaretteFactory and had a wife, twodaughters and a son. Likehundreds of other families in theeastern Tarai, Khati’s brotherYubaraj has decided to move the

The brutal slaying of journalist Uma Singh on 11 January cast a pallof fear over Janakpur that has still not lifted. The message from thekiller was in the method of her murder, and it has had a dampeningeffect on press freedom nationwide, but especially in Janakpuramong Uma’s colleagues.

Since January numerous journalists in Janakpur have beenassaulted and threatened. But it speaks of the courage of thejournalists here that the radio stations and newspapers continue toreport under very difficult circumstances. Women journalists havebeen under pressure from families to give up the profession, andsome have decided to stay home.

Five people are currently under detention awaiting charges:Lalita Devi Singh, Nemlal Paswan, Shraban Yadav, Bimlesh Jha andAbhishek Singh. Lalita Devi is Uma’s sister-in-law and wife of herbrother who was disappeared by the Maoists in 2007. Her arrest hasbeen made on the evidence of the number of telephone calls shemade, prior to the murder to Umesh Yadav, a former Maoist who isstill absconding. He is now known to be with the Jwala Singh group.

Shraban Yadav is a Maoist who police suspect was involved inthe disappearance and suspected murder of Uma Singh’s father andbrother three years ago. Lalita Devi is known to have been close toShraban, who is a Maoist. Nemlal Paswan and Abhishek Singh areknown local criminals with several indictments against them.

However, in a report last week, the International Federation ofJournalists (IFJ) concluded that Uma Singh was killed for herinvestigative journalism which was embarrassing to Maoists andformer Maoists in the eastern Tarai.

See also: ‘Flame of truth’, #434 ‘Press post mortem’, #443

The wild east Is the violence in Janakpura sign of things to come forthe rest of the country?

DAMBAR K SHRESTHAin JANAKPUR

REEL LIFE: Arickshaw withposters advertisesmovies currentlyshowing in Janakpur,which reflect thetown’s epidemic ofviolence and crime.

“I will hire 10 hit menfor protection, but I’llstay in Janakpur.”

Former mayor, Krishna Giri

“We can’t live here anymore.”

Kamala and Kritta Khati, wife and son of Narendra Khati,who was killed by the Jwala Singh group last month.

entire clan, including his 72-year-old father, to Kathmandu.

“The Jwala Singh group hadwarned they’d kill a person ofhill origin to mark theiranniversary, and they made myinnocent husband the target,”says Khati’s wife, Kamala.

The war has never ended herein the eastern Tarai. But in recentmonths, fear of criminal gangs,terrorist and political militantgroups has increased the exodusof families. Local and nationalmedia, wary of unleashing abacklash against Madhesis in the

hills, have under-reported theextent of this internaldisplacement.

No one is keeping exact count,so reliable figures are hard to comeby. There is anecdotal evidencethat out of the 900non-Madhesi families in Janakpurmunicipality, 700 have left. CDOSambhu Koirala estimates thathalf the hill-origin people fromMahottari have moved north.“Those that remain are living infear and terror,” he says.

A 70-year-old man who haslived in Janakpur’s Pidari Chokmost of his life has just sold hishouse for Rs 2.2 million eventhough it would have fetched Rs4.5 million. He is now living in arented flat nearby. “My sonsmoved to Bardibas, but I don’twant to leave, this is my home,”he says.

Indeed, at this rate, Bardibason the East-West Highway couldsoon have a larger population thanJanakpur. The highway has nowbecome the de facto borderbetween the Madhes and the restof the country.

The government's recentdecision to classify 92 groups as‘Madhesi’ not just fuelled theTharu movement this month, butalso made people of hill-origineven more insecure.

The police seem incapable ofdealing with the criminalisedpolitics. “Even if we nab someone,we have to let him go because ofpolitical pressure,” says policeinspector Yadav Raj Khanal. Policesub-inspector Bigan Ram Yadavconcurs: “There are more gunsconfiscated in Janakpur than inHanuman Dhoka.”

Former Janakpur mayorKrishna Giri, whose family haslived here for two generations,

“I am from Mahottari,but even I am thinkingof moving out.”

Janakpur Zonal police chief,Gopal Bhandari.

says for every one Pahadi that hasbeen killed by a Madhesi group,two Madhesis have been killed byMadhesis. Yet he says the level offear is greater among people ofhill-origin.

Brij Kumar Yadav, Editor ofJanakpur Today says that thecrime rate has gone up since themurder of his colleague, UmaSingh, in January. He says: “Thecriminalisation of politics hasfostered impunity.”

O

Life after Uma

RADIO ACTIVE: Seema Sharma and Gayatri Mishra, in the studio ofRadio Today radio hosting the show Ajab Gajab, the hard-hittingprogram Uma Singh used to broadcast.

ALL PICS: DAMBAR KRISHNA SHRESTHA

1127 MARCH - 2 APRIL 2009 #444NATION

oting in the by-election in six constituencies on 10 April isgoing to be different from the last April election ofConstituent Assembly. The ballots will all be cast in

Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and voters are required to produce acitizenship card for voting.

After a successful experiment with the EVMs in Kathmanduconstituency 1 during the CA elections in April last year, the ElectionCommission had decided to go digital this time. “Electronic voting ismore cost-effective, efficient and prevents rigging,” says electioncommissioner Neel Kantha Uprety.

The by-elections will be conducted in Dhanusha-5, Morang-5and 7, Kaski-1, Kanchanpur-4 and Rolpa-2. There are 139 candidatesrepresenting various political parties including 54 independents.

Uprety says political and technical preparations are complete andcampaigning, voters’ education, supervision of the code of conduct inthe constituencies began this week. Officials and volunteers havestarted visiting door to door with dummy voting machine for trainingvoters on the use of the machines.

The EC received 197 ballot units and 676 control units required forthis election were gifted by India. A single ballot unit canaccommodate the serial number, names of 16 candidates and theirelection symbols. When there are more than 16 candidates, two EVMsare connected.

Single ballot unit will be used in Rolpa-2 and Kanchanpur-4,double ballot units for Morang-5, 7 and Kaski-1 and triple ballot unitsfor Dhanusha-5, where there 46 candidates. There are altogether 490poll centres.

The EC has barred public office bearers including ministers andchairman and deputy chair of the CA from being involved in publicitycampaigns. It has raised concerns of political parties but the EC iscommitted to enforce the code of conduct to make the election free,fair and credible by avoiding possible misuse of governmentresources. However, they can visit the election constituencies ascommon citizens.

To make the election fair, the EC has made citizenship certificatesmandatory for voters. The political parties had asked the EC either tointroduce voters’ identity cards or check their citizenship certificatesto avoid possible rigging in the polls. However, the political partieshad mixed opinion on the EC´s decision. Chure Bhawar Rastriya EktaParty and Sadbhabana Party, among others, present at a meeting withthe EC on Monday had said making citizenship certificate mandatoryfor voting could deprive some genuine voters from their right to vote.

The EC has asked the political parties to educate the voters to bringalong their citizenship certificates for exercising their franchise. TheEC has asked school teachers in the villages to participate in educatingvoters about the use of EVMs.

“This is a learning process,” says Uprety, “we will takefeedback from this election, and then we can go nationwide infuture elections.”

DEWAN RAI

ElectronicelectionThe by-election next month willbe Nepal’s first all-digital voting

V

KIRAN PANDAY

12 NATION 27 MARCH - 2 APRIL 2009 #444

lthough two years havepassed since BikashSherpa and his friends

returned to Nepal from Singapore,they still speak Singaporean slangand the Singlish lilt.

The teenagers were born inSingapore and grew up therewhile their fathers served in theGurkha Contingent of theSingapore Police Force.

But when they reached themandatory retirement age of 45,the family had to return.Children, like 18-year-old Bikash,often find it hard to adjust to lifein a homeland where they havehardly spent any time.

“I thought I was ready to leaveSingapore, but I wasn’t preparedfor life in Kathmandu,” saysBikash.

For starters, they have to getused to the pollution inKathmandu and the overall dropin hygiene standards. Then, thereis the language problem: they lookNepali but can’t speak it verywell. Which means they getcheated in shops because they aretreated like foreigners.

Being suddenly cut off fromfriends and familiar surroundingsmakes their new life inKathmandu harder, especially forDino Gurung, 19, who now keeps

in touch with his Singaporeangirlfriend by chatting online andwriting emails.

Last January, he was able totake a two-week holiday toSingapore and visit his girlfriendand go to his old favouritehaunts like East Coast Park, aseaside beach popular withSingaporeans.

Sujita Gurung says the

extreme boredom of the first fewmonths here were the hardest tobear. Her parents, afraid shewould get mixed up with badcompany in her newenvironment, forbade her to goout with friends during the firstmonths of returning.

“In our Gurkha camp, therewere all sorts of sports facilitiesand friends to hang out with,

but suddenly I had to stay homeall day,” says the 19-year-old.Thankfully, this group of friendsare now in different colleges inKathmandu studying for theirA levels. But even in school, theysay they had to overcomeperceptions that they were spoiltchildren who were used to acushy life overseas and notinterested in studying. Most of

Strangers in their own landthem were able to complete theirO levels in Singapore and hadplans to continue their studiesthere, but had to come back aftertheir fathers retired.

“The Singapore governmentshould have at least allowed us tocomplete our education beforemaking us leave,” says Sujita. TheNepalis were doing well instudies and were involved inextra curricular activities. UmeshRana was a staff sergeant in theyouth military corp, Milan ThapaMagar held the same rank in theequivalent police organisation.Milan still keeps the badges heearned during his time inSingapore.

Though disappointed thatthey are unable to stay inSingapore for a longer period oftime despite their fathers’ serviceto the city state, it is clear theystill harbour good feelings aboutSingapore. And food is what getsthem really excited. Ramesh Punsays: “Before I returned to Nepal, Iwent all around Singapore havingmy favourite dishes one lasttime.”

But mostly, one suspects theysimply miss being in theircomfort zone, in the place wherethey grew up. One of themjokingly asks a Singaporeanjournalist: “When you leaveNepal, can you pack me in yourluggage and take me with you?”

Children of Gurkhas who grew up in Singaporefind it hard to adjust back in Nepal

CHONG ZI LANG

A

CHONG ZI LANG

1327 MARCH - 2 APRIL 2009 #444REVIEW

his month during the evening, the ringed-planet Saturnappears in the east, the elusive planet Mercury in the westand a meteor shower later in the month.

The April night sky also displays a variety of stars andconstellations. During the evening, the Winter Hexagon will bedominating the western skies, where you can still enjoy theconstellations Orion the Hunter, the V-shaped Taurus the Bull andthe Pleiades (Seven Sisters) star cluster. Starting next month,many of the brilliant stars and star clusters of the Winter Hexagonwill become lost in the glow of the setting Sun. So take some time

this month to view theseinteresting sights. In theeastern sky you can see theconstellations Leo the Lionand Virgo the Virgin. Saturn isjust to the south of Leo and its

incredible moons can be seen through the telescope. In the northeastern skies, you can easily identify the Big Dipper, Saptarshi.

The Lyrid meteor-shower is active during the third week ofApril, peaking probably on 22 April. The meteors seem to radiateoutwards from a point in the constellation of Lyra, close to thebright star Vega, which is high in the south-east after midnight. Thebest time to look is in the early hours, before the sky grows brighttowards dawn. We might expect to see one Lyrid every 10 minutesor so, and there will be little interference from the waning Moon.

This month amateur astronomy groups in Nepal will beorganizing star parties for the public as part of the InternationalYear of Astronomy’s (IYA 2009) four-day event from April 2-5called '100 Hours of Astronomy.' Designed to bring astronomy tothe public around the world there will be public stargazing eventsthroughout the world. Those of you who wish to participate in thisglobal event, please visit: www.100hoursofastronomy.org

Other Highlights for April:Mercury is at it greatest elongation east of the Sun on 26 April, sothis month we have an unusually good chance to spot this elusivelittle planet, in the western sky after sunset. Binoculars will helplocate it, but it should be visible to the unaided eye once you knowwhere to look.Venus was at inferior conjunction (almost directly in front of theSun) on 27 March. Throughout April it is rising in the east about anhour before sunrise. Although the 'morning star' is very brightindeed, it will be hard to see it, very low on the eastern horizon atdawn.Mars is still rising only a few minutes before sunrise. We won’t begetting good views of the 'red planet' until after the summer.Jupiter is rising about an hour before the sun, so it’s very low downat dawn and not so bright. However, as the month goes by, Jupiterrises earlier every day. By the end of April, Jupiter will be easier tosee though it’s still quite low in the south-eastern sky at dawn.Saturn is more conveniently placed for evening viewing. It rises inthe east in mid afternoon, and will be overhead by late evening.Don’t miss observing Saturn on 6 April, when it will appear closeto the Moon.

Meteor shower can beseen later in the month

Mercury’sreturn

T

STARGAZINGKedar S Badu

Spicing up the food variety intheir menu has always been aHyatt specialty whether it isthrough their monthly foodpromotions or introducing newchefs. They believe that withso many people travellingabroad and getting moreattuned to cuisine over theworld, bringing in exciting newflavours is a big priority.

This month Hyatt Mumbaichef Jean Christophe Fieschi,who has worked in Hyattbranches all over the world,ran a training program for thechefs at the Kathmandu hotel.

“Attention to the smallintricate details makes all the

CRITICAL CINEMAA Angelo D’Silva

rowsing through abookstore in Mumbairecently, I asked the

convivial proprietor whether hecould recommend a title on thehistory of Pakistan. He hadn’tany, and instead recommended abook on the history of IndianMuslims, then a book on

international terrorism, followedby a new title on the recentMumbai bombings, and finallyThe Kite Runner. It was abemusing episode, almostcomical, if it weren’t so tellingabout the strange and troublingconstellation of related images theIndian Muslim is identified within India: foreign, dangerous,untrustworthy and un-Indian.

With Firaaq, taking theaftermath of Gujarat riots of 2002as its starting point—riots being awholly inadequate word for thesystematic violence that claimed3,000 Muslim lives with theapparent support of the stateapparatus—Nandita Das, in herdirectorial debut, highlightsanother designation that theIndian public may not readilyacknowledge—that of the ‘victim’.

Firaaq is primarily a project ofwitness, an insistence ofremembering both one particularevent and the violence that seemsto recur only to quickly recedefrom memory. Yet, by shifting ourattention post-violence, Das

Post Traumatic Stress

explores the climate that chokesthe victimised, the lingeringeffects on the psyche and thesimmering suffering, rage, guiltand frustration on one hand,and the nonchalance or evenapproval on the other. Theopening scene depicting a massburial provides a sickeningpunch suggesting a level ofaggressive confrontation Firaaqsimply cannot maintain.Instead it is a prologue thatcontextualises the one day amonth later where Firaaq’scharacters navigate the tinderboxof their homes, city,relationships and their ownpsyche.

Reminiscent of Crash in itsstructure, subject, and approach,Firaaq follows multiple andintersecting storylines cuttingacross class and community.One Hindu household has itsmen disparage the news of thecarnage even as it becomes clearthey participated in theviolence, while the wife playedby Deepti Naval is wrought withguilt and empathetic remorsethat frays at her very sanity.Elsewhere, an elderly andrespected Muslim musician isshielded from the events of theriots by his protective caretaker.An upper-class Hindu-Muslimcouple agonise over theirdecision to relocate to Delhi. Agroup of young angry Muslimmen are keen on meting outvengeance for the loss of life andhome. Munira, a young Muslimwoman and mother suspects herfriend, who comes to her aid,

knows something about thedestruction of her home. And alost and possibly orphaned youngboy wanders the streets. In thatdense list of characters, it is to Dasand her co-script writer ShuchiKothari’s credit that Firaaqdoesn’t feel crowded or the plotconvoluted, but it would beoverly generous to say that eachsegments works equally well.

Firaaq is capablyphotographed with the aid ofcinematographer Ravi Chandran,but it is the performances of itslarge ensemble cast that Das seemsto have most skillfully managedwith a particularly insightful andelevating performance by Naval.There’s a touching tendernessbetween Naeeruddin Shah playingthe musician and his loyal servantplayed by Raghbir Yadav. AndShahana Goswami (Rock On’sDebby) is excellent as Munira. Yet,the theatrical styling also hassome pitfalls. The exchanges,particularly with the upper classcharacters, have an overly scriptedfeel, and statements that mighthave been poignant if deliveredfrom a stage have an awkward andsometimes unauthentic twang onscreen.

Some critics will undoubtedlydismiss Firaaq as narrow andunbalanced, (as if a Hinduaudience cannot identify with thecharacters who don’t apologize foror perpetrate the violence) butthrough its subtext, Dasappreciates the oft-quoted‘banality of evil,’ whichuncomfortably situates theresponsibility in the mainstreamand the ordinary. It cannot passwithout comment that the releaseof the film coincides with thepeak of India’s election season. Itis an important reminder in therecent jingoistic expressions ofpride in Indian democracy, howdangerously frayed is India’ssecularism, its foundational andconstitutional tenet.

Director: Nanadita DasCast: Deepti Naval, ShahanaGoswami, Naseeruddin Shah,Raghbir Yadav, Paresh Rawal,Tisca Chopra, Sanjay Suri2009, 101 min

Bon Appetitdifference when enjoying anevening out”, says Fieschi. Whiletraining the staff at the Hyatt, heconsiders each aspect includingpresentation and ambiance. Withany food, the basic thing that heteaches all chefs is "keep itsimple”. His training is also aboutencouraging chefs in Nepal toexperiment with fusing global andlocal flavours.

If more small innovativeprograms like this are organised,Nepal will be able to develop amore global food experience. ChefFieschi says, “I see a lot ofpotential in Nepal’s food market.People are gradually getting readyto try new things.”

B

14 27 MARCH - 2 APRIL 2009 #444CITY

KATHMANDU VALLEY

ABOUT TOWN

WEEKEND WEATHER by NGAMINDRA DAHAL

Yes, finally the weather pattern has changed since last week when thehistoric drought broke with the arrival of light rains. Since then afternoonthunder claps followed by drizzles or short showers have been the pattern ineastern and central Nepal. The Kathmandu Valley has also receivedseveral scanty rains totalling 2.1 mm. Wheat farmers, however, arestil l desperately waiting for a good amount of rainfall as a lastchance to save their crops. The satellite picture of Thursdayafternoon shows fresh westerly fronts flying in clouds in multiplestreams- first one, heading over the Pamir and southeast China,second one over Kashmir and the third, over Pakistan and Afghanistan.Conclusion:The Valley residents may expect double digitmorning temperatures, sunny intervals and afternoon thunders followed bylight rains.

KATHMANDU

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

In Videsh- Heaven on Earth, Chand, a bubbly girl from Ludhiana,India is married into a family in Ontario, Canada. Chands’ optimismfor her new life ends when she realises that she has married intoa dysfunctional and miserable family, where her husband Rockyis the sole bread earner. Unable to express his anger with hisdire situation, Rocky releases his frustrations on Chand. However,hope does come to Chand in the form of Rosa (Yanna McIntosh),a tough and savvy Jamaican woman who works alongside Chandin a factory. Rosa gives her a mystical root that makes therecipient fall in love with the giver. Chand then gives it to herhusband and surreal incidents begin to happen.

Fri Sat Sun

29-10 28-9 27-10

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

'MANDU MANDALA by PRERANA PAKHRIN

EXHIBITIONSCeramic works - an exhibition by Patrice Rouby & BarbaraWeibel and Kathmandu University Students at Siddhartha ArtGallery, Babar Mahal Revisited, till 29 March, 11AM-6PM.4438979.Shaastra, art exhibition by Ramesh KC, Lazimpat GalleryCafé, 29 March. 4438549

EVENTSPaleti with Yogesh Baidya, 27 March, 6PM, Nepa-laya r sala,Rs 565, 4412469The Wrestler, starring Mickey Rourke, 28 March, 6PM,Lazimpat Gallery Café. 4428549The First Annual Garden party, Lazimpat Gallery Café,29 March, 5.30 PM.Community Animal Treatment (CAT) Volunteer training –28 March-3 April (afternoon). 9841745913Call for entries for Film South Asia till 31 May, documentariesmade in and after January 2007 qualified. 5552141

MUSICOZMA concert at the Army Club Auditorium, 6PM, 27 MarchChevrolet Miles Music concerti, 28 March, 5-10PM,1905,Kantipath, Rs. 600Fusion Finale Concert, 29 March, 6.30 PM, Dhokaima Café,Rs.999.Sunday Jazz brunch barbecue and live jazz music at theTerrace, Hyatt Regency from 12-3.30 PM. 4491234Jazz evening at Delices de France Restaurant everyWednesday, 11AM-2PM. 4260326Strings Band live every Tuesday at G’s Terrace Restaurantand Bar, Thamel.Wednesday Melody at Jazzabell Café, Happy hour 6-8PM andTGIF party with live band Epic every Friday at 8PM. 2114075Some like it hot every Friday BBQ and live music by DineshRai and the Sound Minds, 7PM onwards, Rs 899 at Fusion,Dwarika’s Hotel. 4479488Happy cocktail hour, 5-7PM, ladies night on Wednesday withlive unplugged music at Jatra Café & Bar.Live Sensation, performance by Yankey every Saturday, 9PM,Hyatt Regency, Kathmandu. 4491234.Fusion and Looza Band every Friday night, Bhumi RestoLounge, Lazimpat. 4412193Fusion and Classical Music by Anil Shahi every Wednesday,rock with Rashmi Singh every Friday, sufi & raga with HemantRana every Saturday, 8PM onwards, Absolute Bar. 5521408

DININGDhaba, Indian food festival, 27 March-11 April, Garden terrace,Soaltee Crowne Plaza, 7-11.45 PM, Rs 1200.Australian Food Promotion, 3-12 April, from 6PM onwards atHyatt Regency. 4489362Gourmet trout at Olive Garden, 6PM onwards at Rs 850+,Radisson Hotel, Lazimpat. 4411818Chez Caroline for French and Mediterranean cuisine, BabarMahal Revisited. 4263070High tea with scones and sandwicheseveryday at the Lounge from 4.30-6.30 PM, Hyatt Regency, Kathmandu.4491234Mediterranean cuisine every Fridayfrom Greece, Italy and the Middle-East at The Café, Hyatt Regency.4491234Nhuchhe goes Thai at Nhuchhe’s ThaiKitchen, Baluwatar. 4429903Fusion of Marcela Ragan’s new menuand Manny’s new bar at DhokaimaCafé. 5522113Plat Du Jour at Hotel Shangri La, Kathmandu, Rs 600.4412999Pasta pesto passion at La Dolce Vita, Thamel. 4700612Home made pasta at Alfresco, Soaltee Crowne Plaza.4273999Reality Bites, The Kaiser Café, Garden of Dreams, operatedby Dwarika’s Group of Hotels, 9AM-10PM. 4425341Cocktails, mocktails and liqueurs at the Asahi Lounge,opening hours 1-10PM, above Himalayan Java, Thamel.Starry night barbecue at Hotel Shangri-la withlive performance by Ciney Gurung, Rs 999, at the ShambalaGarden, every Friday 7PM onwards. 4412999

27 MARCH - 2 APRIL 2009 #444 15HAPPENINGS

ESSENTIAL DEMANDS: UML activists protest against loadshedding,inflation, and lack of drinking water and security at a rally in Ratna Parkon Tuesday.

KIRAN PANDAY

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

HARD FACTS: Activists and locals lobby for improvement of waterquality to mark World Water Day at Swayambhu Nath on Wednesday. Atleast 10,500 children die annually due to unclean drinking water in Nepal.

THE BEEB TRIUMPHS: The drama team of BBC World Service Trust,Nepal celebrates in Kathmandu after winning best non-English productionand best team at the BBC Global Reith Awards in London earlier thismonth for their radio play Katha Mitho Sarangiko.

VISION FOR THE FUTURE: A visually impaired student, Imran Ahamad,sits for the SLC exams assisted by ninth grade student, Biju Maharjan, atLalitpur on Wednesday, the first day of the SLC exams.

BANNER MAN: Laxman Singh Khadka, self-proclaimed cleaner ofNepal, decorates the statue of Jung Bahadur Rana at Sahid Gate onTuesday.

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

KIRAN PANDAY

ISSN

181

4-26

13

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

27 MARCH - 2 APRIL 2009 #44416 BACKSIDE

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he good news this week isthat the rain raised thelevel of Kulekhani

reservoir by 1cm. The bad news isthat the level went down by 50cmthe very next day because thewater was drained to generatepower. What all this means is thatwhen Kulekhani goes completelydry, NEA is going toscrap its loadshedding schedule.After that, instead of the powergoing off at 4PM and coming backat midnight like clockwork, theNepal EletrocutedAuthoritarians will surprise usby turning off the power anytimethey like.

The most sensational bit of newsthis week was the antic of FirstSon Prakash in Dhulikhel wherehe got himself plastered andwas photographed in an advancedstage of inebriation while Daddyand Uncle Babu were meeting KUhonchos. (Editor’s note: The PMOhas clarified that the Tremendous,Jr had “dozed off.”) Even so, theHeir Apparent was overheardexhorting the PM’s bodyguardsand security to join in the merry-making. The second generationcomrades are really making up forlost time for having tried to turnthe whole country dry duringtheir revolution.

What’s with clown princes inthis country anyway that they allend up turning into spoilt brats,at best, or mass murderers atworst? Immediate parallels wereof course drawn between Prakashand Paras. And speaking ofwhom, the ex-CP was seenrecently at a Burgis St wateringhole swinging back one too manySingapore Slings and essentiallymaking a donkey of himself.If he gets another speeding ticketon the PIE they may actuallycancel the registration of hisLamborghini, and there’s no wayhe can bribe his way out of thatone. At the rate the ex-prince isgoing, it appears he is personallyworking towards making the BabyKing proposal a reality bydisqualifying himself from thecontest.

Is Comrade Shock & Awethinking of setting up a parallelYCL? Probably not, but it wasdisconcerting to see him givingthe three finger salute wearing aneckerchief and merit badges at ajamboree of Nepal Scouts theother day. Lt Gen Robert Baden-Powell must be turning in hisgrave, or maybe he is prettychuffed that someone actuallywants his former guerrillas tobecome Boy Scouts? But the

YCLs just doesn’t sit when thechairman tells them to sit. Theleaguers aren’t going after wilfuldefaulters with toxic assets, theyare still on the rampageterrorising multinationals andschools, still confiscatingproperty and conductingwallaby courts in rural areas. Nowthat the media spotlight hasswung away from Pashupati,YCL-backed goons are nowextorting money from peoplewishing to perform pujas by thebanks of the unholy Bagmati.There is a standard rate ofRs 5,000 for Indian pilgrims andRs 2,000 for locals. If you don’tcough up, well, you can’t say“Om Nama Shivaya” because theYCL control the gates of heaven.

We now have it on fairly goodauthority that Nepal is likeRwanda. Although Comrade Naviwas quoted out of context, shewas obviously trying to make apitch for a three-year extensionfor OHCHR mandate in Nepal byimplying that things ain’t allhunkydory in the boondocksyet, the gaffe may have actuallymade it easier now for NHRC toattain its goal to drive out thehigh commission.

US embassy officials, always veryobsessed with security aroundthe Maharajganj Fortress,apparently haven’t been able todo anything about a huge

Toxic assetsbillboard that has sprouted onthe south side of the embassyparking lot put up by aneducation consultancyadvertising colleges in Australia.The advertisement is obviouslyaimed at Nepalis wishing to go tostudy in the US whose visas arerefused. So, if the gloves havecome off in the War ofOverseas Education, can weexpect the Americans to retaliateby putting up a neon sign up theroad opposite the Ozzie Embadvertisingconsultancies thatoffer to smugglepeople to the US viaMexico?

ass(at)nepalitimes.com