Nepali times #767 with supplement by Nepali Times

#767

17 - 23 July 2015

24+4 pages

Rs 50

Everything has changed, but nothing is different

epal has changed in 15 years, but the issues we were covering then are still here with us. It has been nearly ten years since the conflict ended. The war has been over for as long as it lasted. But the Nepali people never got to reap the peace dividend. Ostracisation and inequality persist. There is chronic mismanagement, poor governance and lack of accountability. This issue of Nepali Times from July 2001 (below) is headlined ‘Ke Garne’: the

helpless Nepali shrug. The cartoon on the budget to parliament. The Royal Nepal front page illustrates the post-royal massacre Army has been sucked into the conflict, political chaos. The bickering politicians are and is allocated 17 per cent more, the mostly the same ones still bickering. In a Nepal Police get a hefty 27 per cent hike. faxed interview the underground Maoist Nepal has been able to survive feckless ideologue, Baburam Bhattarai, maintains and incompetent rulers because Nepalis that the Maoists will never be a stopped expecting anything from parliamentary party. “That would be them long ago and built our own a great betrayal to the revolutionary coping mechanisms. aspirations of the masses,” he Nepali Times marks its 15 year says. Finance Minister Ram Sharan this week. We have had a ringside YEARS seat to war, a massacre of royals, Mahat has just delivered the war

the return to absolute monarchy, a people power uprising, ceasefire, and a prolonged political transition. We have witnessed deadly floods, avalanches, blizzards and an earthquake. In this Special Anniversary Issue we take a retro look at the past oneand-half decades.

nepalitimes.com  Interactive Timeline of Nepali history of last 15 years  Search Online Archive for milestones

2 EDITORIAL

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INTERESTING TIMES

Nepal has changed in 15 years, but the issues we were covering then are still here with us

SUBHAS RAI #30

‘S

ign of the times’. That was the title of an editorial of this newspaper on 19 July 2000. In it we had written: ‘A newspaper does more than hold a mirror to society. It is the mirror itself. Journalism is called history in a hurry. It is also culture, sociology, anthropology and philosophy in a hurry. Nepali Times will aspire to be a true reflection – an English journal to record the life and times of Nepalis in the decades ahead. This newspaper will seek to be informal, lively, clear and direct. Don’t be fooled by the tabloid format, this is a serious paper that tackles serious issues head-on. In a society cursed with extreme inequality, we will speak for the last, the lost and the least. We will be fair, and we will fiercely protect our independence. This is a modern newspaper for a new Nepal. A sign of the times.’ Today, these goals may seem rather lofty (some may even say prematurely self-congratulatory) but week after week for the past 15 years we have tried in these pages to be a chronicle of the times. And, just as the famous curse, what interesting times they have been. We have had a ringside seat to war, a massacre of royals, a ceasefire, a prolonged political transition, we have witnessed deadly floods, avalanches, blizzards and earthquakes. Through it all, we have tried to keep our heads above the water and be true to the tenets of our profession, standing up for and holding up the core values of democracy, press freedom and non-violence. It has been nearly ten years since the conflict ended. The war has been over for as long as it

lasted. But the Nepali people never got to reap the peace dividend. Ostracisation and inequality persist. There is chronic mismanagement, poor governance and lack of accountability. For about five years after the 1990 People Power Movement we were beginning to see that democracy delivered development, but narrow-minded and nearsighted politicians wasted the opportunity. They never grasped that true legitimacy in a democracy comes from performance, not just elections. The country may have gone from monarchy to republic, from war to peace, but the issues we were covering 15 years ago are the same: lack of the rule of law, political meddling, impunity, investment, infrastructure, devolution and the need for local elections. Nepal’s population has grown by 6 million in the last 15 years, 18 per cent of the people (mostly young men) are working abroad at any given time. There has been a threefold increase in petroleum imports from India in five years, mainly to pay for diesel to power generators. Look no further for an example of how we have squandered our potential to be self-sufficient in renewable energy. Even as we were struggling to find a political fix for these ills through a new constitution, the earthquake struck. A lethargic government was slow off the mark: rescue, relief and rehabilitation were tardy. There was confusion, indecisiveness and smug complacency about delivery. Counterproductive decisions to tax relief goods and turning back offers of help tarnished our image abroad. The government may be happy

15 YEARS

with the $4.4 billion pledged for reconstruction which makes a large chunk of this year’s budget, but there are serious doubts about whether we have the capacity to provide that help to people who need it the most without leakage and delays. However, the earthquake also brought out the best in Nepalis: our tenacity and willingness to help one another. Individuals and volunteer groups stepped in to fill the gap left by government. The mobilisation was possible because of the spread and reach of social networking sites. One of the most dramatic changes in the past 15 years has been the rise of the social web – nearly 5 million Nepalis now use Facebook. This has transformed the way we share information, get organised and even engage with politics. Nepal has been able to survive feckless and incompetent rulers because Nepalis stopped expecting anything from them long ago, and built their own coping mechanisms. Everything that has worked in Nepal in the past 20 years has the word ‘community’ in it: community forestry, community radio, community-managed schools and health posts. In Khandbari, a local cooperative sells electricity to the grid to finance two colleges. A returnee from Qatar has started a dairy farm in Nawalparasi that employs 100 people. A program to send young volunteers to teach in rural government schools has dramatically improved the quality of education. And that is what gives us hope about the next 15 years. The teetering edifice of national government may need retrofitting, but the foundation of Nepali society is solid.

YOUR SAY

THIS WEEK

www.nepalitimes.com

FIXING TOURISM Tourism alone can create millions of jobs for Nepalis (‘Fixing what’s broken’, Editorial, #766). The industry can be easily fixed and developed more if headed by the right people. What’s needed is also proper regulation to ensure quality is maintained. Kishor Gurung Who is going to fix it? If you mean

the current crop of leaders, please do not hold your breath. They had 25 years, look where we are now. Bikas DRAFT CONSTITUTION This draft should be thrown in the gutter (‘Egos at the door, please’, Bidushi Dhungel, #766). It is antiNepal and anti-Nepali. Gopal Prasad Upreti The leaders are trying to present a cut and paste version of the 1990 constitution as a new draft. It is a shame that most of the progressive constitutional clauses introduced in the interim constitution regarding women’s rights have now been removed. Yet, many of us are quiet. It is this apathy towards national issues that has helped breed a group of self-centered politicians who lack the vision to take this country forward. Damodar

Is Nepali politics controlled by

a remote control device form India? If no, then why are all the failed politicians of the major political parties going to New Delhi to meet with Mr Modi? Is this really the right time? Devika Shrestha NEPAL-INDIA Sounds too good to be true (‘India wants to start afresh in Nepal’, #766). Is this the same India that supplied weapons to the Maoists and sheltered them during the conflict? And remember the Rajiv Gandhi embargo on Nepal? Words are cheap. Puskar Thapa Modi offered to invest in Nepal’s

hydropower sector, was ready to buy electricity so that the Nepal government could earn revenue and generate employment for Nepalis. But the so called politicians of Nepal rejected the deal saying they didn’t want Indian companies to invest there. Nepalis have a tendency to protest everything India proposes. This mindset needs to go for Nepal to truly prosper. Vaibhav Does India want a fresh start

because it wants to limit the growing influence of China? While Indians have been dominating and bullying

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Nepalis over five decades, the Chinese have been helping quietly like a true friend. Jitu Thapa We need to get our own house

in order before blaming ‘the foreign hand’. Inclusion, education, health care, roads, communication, agro industries, tourism, there is so much work left to be done here. And to all those who think China is a real friend: read about their advances in the South China Sea. There are no friendships at governmentto-government level, only interests. Namah ZERO-COST MIGRATION This policy will not benefit anyone (‘Who is against zero-cost migration and why?’ Om Astha Rai, #766). The labour minister is making money now but once the MOU between Malaysia and Bangladesh gets signed, Nepali workers will bear the brunt. Yash Kumar FOREIGN AFFAIRS As a counselor the author could be more patient and considerate (‘Foreign Affairs’, Ask Anjana Anything, #766). You seem to have quickly concluded that this woman would like to leave her husband but for social reasons has not dared. At face value you could be right but you have an extremely

serious responsibility as an adviser here. Divorce can have a devastating life-long effect on the child, this woman may be worse-off in her new relationship, and she is still a relatively young woman who has the potential to gain maturity. She may learn with time that such feelings are common, that people don’t have an affair or divorce when they feel lonely and find a third person attractive, and may come to accept that commitment is more important than instant gratification. You could have advised her to improve her communication with her husband. Counseling is not about telling people what one thinks is the best for the person but giving her/him the options (without being influenced by one’s own values and beliefs) and supporting her to make a decision. The more serious the potential consequences of the decision your client makes (or the counselor influences to make) the more considerate and serious the adviser must be. R Rai ASS This is the funniest, most-biting satire I have ever read (Advisory on advisories, Backside by Ass, #766). Travel advisories are colonial hypocrisy. Ass, may I kiss you? Dina

Most liked on Facebook Local is best by Aruna Uprety

Magar

Most shared on Facebook The Tamang epicentre by Santa Gaha

Most popular on Twitter Advisory on advisories by Ass (54 retweets, 58 favourites) Most visited online page Advisory on advisories by Ass (1,881 views) Most commented “India wants to start afresh in Nepal” (21 comments)

Weekly Internet Poll #767

Q. Will the zero-cost policy be successfully implemented? Total votes: 36

Weekly Internet Poll #768 To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.com

Q. How will Nepal’s future fare in the next 15 years compared to the last 15 years?

Publisher and Chief Editor: Kunda Dixit Associate Editor: Tsering Dolker Gurung | Online Producer: Ayesha Shakya | Design: Kiran Maharjan Published by Himalmedia Pvt Ltd | Patan Dhoka, Lalitpur | GPO Box 7251 Kathmandu editors@nepalitimes.com | www.nepalitimes.com | www.himalmedia.com | Tel: 01-5005601-08 Fax: +977-1-5005518 Marketing: Arjun Karki, Surendra Sharma rachanas@himalmedia.com | Advertorials: Ram Krishna Banjara | Subscriptions: Santosh Aryal santosha@himalmedia.com Printed at Jagadamba Press | 01-5250017-19 | www.jagadambapr.com

OPINION 3

17 - 23 JULY 2015 #767

The Constitution as if the people mattered Top leaders have packaged greed and prejudice in a draft constitution, but there is still time to correct it

n my last column, I argued that the legitimacy and ownership of the draft constitution will be seriously questioned if major political parties try to ram through the process, overlooking concern expressed by other stakeholders including women and the Madhesis. Two weeks later, at least the NC and UCPN(M) leaders are unwilling to take the political risk of

BY THE WAY Anurag Acharya

passing the draft without broader consensus. To be sure, the decision to put constitution drafting process on a ‘fast-track’ was taken at a time when the Sushil Koirala government was still recuperating from the April earthquake. The pressure to raise funds for reconstruction and donors’ lack of trust in transitional government forced Koirala to strike a 16point deal, fully aware that its intent was more to propel KP Oli to Singha Darbar than to expedite statute drafting. The draft postponed federal demarcation, delegating it to a future commission.

When the draft was tabled in the Constituent Assembly on 7 July, it was criticised from all quarters. Even senior leaders within the ruling coalition objected to its discriminatory provisions and Madhes-based parties burnt and tore copies before walking out of the CA. Outside, civil society members and constitutional experts pointed out gaping holes. The draft has been criticised on two counts: failing to guarantee an institutionalised federalism in line with the letter and spirit of Interim Constitution, and for its discriminatory provisions pertaining to citizenship rights and representation in a future legislature. Former parliament speaker Daman Nath Dhungana told me: if you want the new constitution to gain legitimacy and ownership, ensure federal demarcation before promulgation. Dhungana recalls how the parties were forced to amend the Interim Constitution to incorporate federalism after it was torched by the Madhesis and there was an uprising in the plains. “The parties should be mindful that without federal demarcation many sections of the constitution will be dysfunctional which could paralyse governance,” he warned. Recently, President Ram Baran Yadav and Speaker of the House Subhas Nembang have both cautioned top leaders not to

DIWAKAR CHETTRI

overlook constitutional provisions and comply with the SC verdict while finalising the draft. These developments have renewed hope that a deal on demarcation could be reached before the promulgation of the statute. Discriminatory citizenship clauses that deny women from conferring equal citizenship rights to their children compared to men has alienated and angered many. If UML leader Bhim Rawal’s public justification is anything to go by, Nepal’s citizenship debate has been dictated by collective xenophobia of alpha male Bahun leaders presiding over the draft process. In a tv interview this week, former bureaucrat Surya Nath Upadhyay said Nepal’s citizenship woes are inevitably tied to our unregulated border

with India. For too long, women and Madhesis have suffered for the Nepali state’s diplomatic failure to negotiate mutually acceptable terms of border management. There is no reason why both countries cannot keep track of people crossing over into their territory, without necessarily hindering their safe movement as provided under Indo-Nepal Friendship treaty. Going through the draft one also comes to a sobering realisation that the document has provisions designed to institutionalise a centralised governance although in letter and spirit the country will be a federal state. Otherwise, how can one explain draft provision that only guarantees representation of 40 elected members from the federal states in the upper house,

compared to 275 elected at the central level in the lower house? Also, if representation in the lower house is along demographic lines, why the provision of arbitrary nomination in the case of upper house? Clearly, both provisions have been carefully put in place to benefit the centre’s numerical strength in the legislature, compared to federal units. This would have been still justified where the federal units enjoy greater autonomy in local governance. But the draft only seeks to perpetuate centre’s everyday hegemony over the federal units, undermining the spirit of local self governance that is centrepiece to federalism. We should not be surprised why Local Self Governance Act failed miserably in this country. In the next few days, the drafters will head to their constituencies to seek public input and comments on the draft. If exercised in its true spirit, it will help to correct many discrepancies in the draft and accommodate marginalised aspirations, granting legitimacy and ownership to the process. Nepal has written six constitutions in the last seven decades because the drafters failed to accommodate aspirations of the future generations. Sushil Koirala and his drafting partners have an opportunity to change that. @Anurag_Acharya

4 OPINION

17 - 23 JULY 2015 #767

Losing our young T

More than half the students who go abroad for higher studies never come back

he sight of hundreds of mostly young men lining up at Kathmandu Airport’s departure immigration reminds us of the country’s dire economy that forces so many to migrate for work. But there is another less noticed aspect of migration.

BETWEEN THE LINES

Tsering Dolker Gurung Walk down Putali Sadak any morning and starting 6AM, there are thousands of young students pouring into the education consultancies that promise students visas to Australia, New Zealand, Canada or Europe. The billboards advertising classes for standardised tests and foreign languages mostly feature Caucasian faces. Many are fly-by-night outfits charging hefty fees with no guarantee that students get admitted, exploiting the desperation of many Nepali parents to send their children abroad because being a student is the easiest way to obtain a visa to North America, Europe or Australia.

GOPEN RAI

Going abroad to study used to be the nearly exclusive privilege of Kathmandu’s well-to-do, today it’s turned into just another conduit for out-migration. As per estimates more than 200,000 Nepalis aged 18-24 have left the country in the past 10 years. So far this year the Ministry of Education has received 29,000 applications for ‘no objection’ letters required for a student visa – double the number for the same period last year. And that does not include students going to

India. Altogether there is an outflow of Rs 30 billion annually to pay for college fees and expenses. Nepalis are going abroad for higher studies because university education here is so uncertain, but what is worrying is that only less than half of the students return to the country on completion of their studies. That may not necessarily be a bad thing: they get an opportunity, so what? But like migrant workers to the Gulf, Malaysia and Korea who despite bearing

the brunt of government apathy help contribute 25 per cent of the country’s GDP and ultimately return, many of these students are actually migrating for good and many stay on illegally to work in the hope that they can turn their status to permanent residents. The government, instead of upgrading the quality of higher education or create jobs to keep young Nepalis here is just happy that they send money home. There are the occasional success stories about Nepalis achieving brilliance in their field abroad that makes us all beam a little with pride, but those are few and far in between. It is not different than finally finding a Nepali household help who is treated well by her employer in Lebanon, or the wonderful experience a Nepali worker has in Qatar where he is lucky to have a kind-hearted boss. A large population of Nepali students going abroad don’t always end up living the dream. A boy in his 20s from Kathmandu committed suicide last year after learning that the college he had applied to in UK had been blacklisted. Kathmandu-based consultancies sent 300 students to a college in Malaysia that didn’t even have an education license. And when authorities turn a deaf ear to their pleas, the students use social

media to send out distress calls. When 34 Nepali students who were promised British certificates and a lucrative job at the end of the degree by a college in Mauritius realised they had been duped, the group made an emotional video and posted it on YouTube. “Our money is running out, soon we won’t have much to eat. We just want tickets to go home and refund of our fees,” said one. The families of most of these students have sold ancestral property to fund their education, but many quit their studies mid-way because they simply can’t keep up with paying tuition working part-time jobs. A greater number of students fund their own education with only few going on full scholarships. And that leads to a domino effect. When they can’t continue their studies, they lose their visa status and are left to work illegally. This is not the picture painted by educational consultancies that dot New Baneswor or Putali Sadak. The posters give the impression students will be on vacation, posing in front of the Sydney Opera House. Like manpower agencies that exploit the desperation of migrant workers, a large number of these institutes take advantage of naïve Nepali boys and girls who see no opportunity here. A chance to study abroad can turn a student’s life around, but only if there is no pressure to make money or worry about not being able to pay bills. Unfortunately that’s not the case for a majority of Nepali students leaving the country by the hundreds every day. @Chenreeyang

17 - 23 JULY 2015 #767

6 NATION

17 - 23 JULY 2015 #767

Parasitic parastatals W

hen Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat presented the Annual Performance Review of the Public Enterprises (PEs)-2015 in the Parliament on 12 July and pointed out the staggering loss of state-owned ventures, many in the audience were asking: so what else is new? The fact that parastatals are making huge losses is no surprise. What is surprising is that they have been allowed to do so for so long. Every year, the people hear it just before the Finance Minister’s budget speech and forget about it for another year. No government has ever tried to reform, privatise or dissolve the loss-making PEs, which have been bleeding the state coffer dry over the last two decades. In the fiscal year 2014-15, the PEs’ accumulative loss rose to Rs 26.92 billion from the previous year’s Rs 20.61 billion. Only 18 of the total 37 PEs made net profits while 15 incurred losses. The status of 4 PEs was not included in the review report. Nepal Telecom, Civil Aviation Authority Nepal (CAAN) and some banks continue to make profits. But their achievement has always been eclipsed by huge losses incurred by other PEs. Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) and Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) top the list of losers. These two have accumulative losses at Rs 32.84 billion and Rs 17.94 billion respectively. Five other PEs have losses amounting to more than Rs

1 billion each. When PEs fail to make profits, the government has to provide loans – much of which is never paid back – to help them offset their losses. It could be justifiable to provide loans and subsidies to some loss-making but social service-oriented PEs like the National Food Corporation (NFC). But the government has been spending money from its state coffer to help some commercial PEs like the NOC, too. The answer to what ails the PEs can be found easily. Experts blame the political leadership for failure of commercially-viable PEs like the NOC. “If political leaders appoint competent people instead of their relatives, party members and henchmen, most PEs will start making profits,” says Bimal Wagle, Chief of Public Enterprises Board (PEB). “But they are not ready to reform PEs despite knowing what is actually needed.” Wagle says some PEs like the National Trading Limited cannot be reformed from within and need to be either privatised or dissolved. “The situation in which National Trading was set up changed a long time ago, private companies are now selling what it sells,” he says. “We cannot rescue these PEs without handing them over to the private sector. If privatisation is not possible, they need to be dissolved. But political leaders do not want to go for either option as long as they can milk them.” Om Astha Rai

KATHMANDU

The southwest monsoon took a short breather there, which was induced by an incursion of a low pressure system from the Arabian Sea that switched prevailing winds back from the west. This pushed back the moisture-rich air from the Bay arm of the monsoon. But at press time the bay of Bengal is reasserting itself and has a slight edge over the Arabian Sea. This see-saw will continue, but expect copious rain mainly falling at night into the weekend. This should make up for the July deficit so far so we can catch up with more normal monthly precipitation total.

FRIDAY #767

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17 - 23 July 2015

SONIA AWALE hose in Nepal watching Serena Williams playing her sister Venus at Wimbledon last week probably didn’t know that we have our own tennis sisters – and they are twins! Born into a family that was active in the All Nepal Lawn Tennis Association Mayanka and Mahika Rana started playing on clay when they were barely six. They haven’t looked back since. “Our parents introduced us to this game and we love it,” said Mahika, the younger twin during a water break from the practice at Satdobato this week. Over the years the twins have won many age group singles and doubles titles and national championships. In April Mayanka won the Sahabir Memorial Open where she defeated her twin sister in a

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tightly fought final match. The 14-yearolds also hold title of national doubles champions. The sisters are particularly fond of playing together as a doubles team and have accolades to prove their excellence in the court as partners. “I think we play great together, we understand each other well,” says Mayanka. But more often than not they have to play against each other in singles matches when understanding the opponent too well can also be a disadvantage. “We have played many times against each other. But I’m not as confident while playing with her as when I’m playing against others,” Mahika told us, with a wide grin. Last year they were selected to represent Nepal in the Asian Games in South Korea. Although they lost in straight sets in the first round, their coach Jitendra Pariyar says there is lot more to be hopeful about them given their age and level of their game. “They are working hard and the way in

SATURDAY

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SUNDAY

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which they are performing, we certainly have positive expectations,” says Pariyar, a national champion himself. “I believe tennis has a great future in Nepal because of how good these junior players are, of course a little more government support would help.” Tennis is often eclipsed by cricket and football and hasn’t gained mass appeal in Nepal. But back in 1984, Sujay Lama was selected in the Junior Wimbledon and ranked 50 in the ITF junior ranking. “Mayanka and Mahika may be twins but they play mirror opposite games. Mayanka is mentally stronger, prepares brilliantly for matches," says Pariyar, “Mahika on the other hand executes her shots a lot better and she is physically in better shape.” The twins’ mother, Jyoti Rana beams with pride as she watches her daughters practice at Satdobato. As a former player herself she knows the struggle the girls have to go through. “They are in Grade 10,

and they have to study and practice, but the school has been really supportive,” she adds. The twins are next headed to matches in Sri Lanka and Singapore. Says Mayanka: “I want to play like Federer one day.” To which Mahika quips: “I want to play in the grandslams.” With their goals set so high, we may as well start getting used to the names Mayanka and Mahika from Nepal in the international tennis circuit in a few years.

nepalitimes.com  Watch the Rana sisters on court

TENNIS TWINS

KUNDA DIXIT

Mahika and Mayanka Rana: you heard those names here first

8 MUSIC

EVENTS

Run Nagarkot, A fun 18km charity run to raise funds for rebuilding of quake-damaged Baluwapati Secondary School in Kavre. Route will go from Nagarkot to Dhulikhel. Rs 600 for Nepalis and Rs 800 for foreigners, 1 August, 7am to 11am, Nagarkot, 9851192617, for registration www.ultratrailkathmandu.com

Lato Mato,

Set in eastern Nepal, Lato Mato is a tale of four porters and their struggle to make ends meet. Directed by Kiran Chamling Rai and adapted by Yuvraj Ghimire. 16 July to 3 August, 5.15pm, Shilpee Theatre, Battisputali, (01)4469621, shilpeeetheatre@gmail.com, www.shilpee.org

Dream vision,

Share articles, poems, photographs, videos on the theme "How can we organise progress in Nepal?â&#x20AC;? Best

submissions will receive cash prizes. Deadline 20 July, 12pm, natalia@edgeryders.eu, matthias@edgeryders.eu, www.edgeryders.eu

Think and talk,

Suresh Poudel, a doctoral student from the University of Tennessee will speak on Proteomics Data Analysis. 24 July, 3pm to 5pm, Kantipur Valley College, Kumaripati, info@talkbiotech.org, www.talkbiotech.org

Kathmandu Kora,

Kids yoga,

Yoga workshop for children aged seven and above with a certified Sivananda yoga teacher. Rs 1000, 18 July, 10.30am to 12.30pm, Pranamaya Studio, Jhamsikhel, www.pranamaya-yoga.com

Nakhipot Urban XC,

A 4.35km trail race around Nakhipot, open to all. Registration deadline: 1 August, Event : 8 August, 7am, Nakhipot, 98020915 95, 9803661496

Join hundreds of cycling enthusiasts and ride for 50, 75, or 100 km to raise money for a birthing centre in Pyutar, Lalitpur. 18 July, 6.45am to 4.45pm, ride@kathmandukora.net, www.kathmandukora.net

Himalayan Glory,

Ready to bang some heads? UgraKarma, Plague Throat, Binaash, Kaal and Vomiting Snake live under one roof. 25 July, 12pm to 6pm, Purple Haze, Thamel

Critical mass,

A monthly meet up of cyclists who go on a ride, their purpose: reclaim the streets. 31 July, 5.30PM, Basantapur Darbar Square

Monsoon Dhoon,

Heritage poetry,

Poetry reading by Abhay K, music by Jason Kunwar and Deependra Bajracharyaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s photographs on exhibit. 17 July, 5.30pm, Theatre Village, Uttar Dhoka, (01)4001089, 9851038782

A musical fundraiser featuring Vairabi to help raise fund for treatment of cancer patient Rasma Maharjan. Rs 200, Rs 500, 17 July, 5pm to 7.30pm, Nepa Banquet, 9841155194

Plebeian Live,

Feel the groove with the Nep-Indie band Plebeian. 24 July, 7.30pm, Irish Pub, LaJimpat, (01)4416027

17 - 23 JULY 2015 #767

ust a few pages into Down History’s Narrow Lanes a sense of melancholy sets in, a feeling of loss wells up. Turning a page, we find that Desmond Doig’s exquisite line drawing of iconic Kasthamandap (right) is in the past tense. Doig painted and drew a Kathmandu Valley he loved to accompany text researched by Dubby Bhagat about the temples and shrines that were slowly being blotted by urbanisation. Now they lie largely in ruins after the April earthquake. Doig died in 1983, but left his sketches as a testament to the value of our civilisation in two books, Down History’s Narrow Lanes and the larger coﬀee table edition, My Kind of Kathmandu. But what earthquake couldn’t take from us are our heritage, festivals, and way of life. What it couldn’t shake is our faith. Doig was a renaissance man, and understood Nepal better than most Nepalis know themselves and their culture. Thirty years ago, he wrote: ‘Every monument in Kathmandu has a myth, every temple tells a tale.’ The Valley people still derive their rituals and festivals from them and their lives are irrevocably connected to them. The temples are just symbols, they may have come down, but the Gods in it are safe. The Machhindranath festival would have been in full swing at this time of the year, but the chariot is still in Chyasikot, exactly where

Saving what is left

REVIEW

it came to a halt on 25 April. Popular myths of doom and destruction have always surrounded Machhindranath if the journey is disrupted for any reason. In the chapter ‘The Jewelled Gift of a Snake God’ Doig and Bhagat take us on a journey to discover the myth of Machhindranath, the story of the fabled bhoto, and how a deity from Assam came to be associated with life-giving rain. For many Nepalis, Dharara was a

he owners of the newly opened Otafuku Okonomiyaki touted as the first Japanese fast food joint in Kathmandu had one goal: to make diners feel like they are eating in Tokyo. And that’s the feeling you get observing this neat looking cafe from outside. Kakemonos or Japanese scroll paintings decorate the exterior, there’s an open kitchen, and orders have to be placed on a ticket machine. Even the fans are Japanese. While we were feeling very much in the land of the rising sun, our hopes took a dip once we opened the menu. Only eight of the 40 or so dishes were Japanese specialities. The rest were a mishmash of the usual affairs served at nonJapanese fast food joints. Nonetheless we took it in our stride and ordered as much Japanese as we could. We started with the Veg Okonomiyaki

monument that represented Kathmandu. When it came down, killing at least 60 people, the symbol vanished. There were stories of tragic, chance deaths and also tales of miraculous survivals. Doig tells us in the chapter ‘Where the Serpents Breathe Fire’ that Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa originally built two towers to serve as gates to his palace and as military lookouts. They came down in the 1833 quake, and only

YEARS

one was rebuilt, which was also destroyed in 1934. Down History’s Narrow Lanes takes us back to old Kathmandu with Doig’s quintessential drawings of the Valley’s temples and monuments, and the tales that will spellbind readers. The fall of many of these monuments in the earthquake truly give us a feeling of emptiness. But not everything is lost. Bhaktapur, described as ‘The City Vishnu May Have Built’ is still magical in its unique charm despite the destruction in April. Of all the ancient cities of the Kathmandu Valley, Bhaktapur is the least changed despite the Valley’s unplanned growth. Nyatapola, built in 1702, withstood many earthquakes including the latest. The golden temple of Patan and the house of the Living Goddess in Kathmandu, both featured and sketched in the books, are intact, as are the stupas of Swayambhu and Boudha (albeit in scaﬀolding) with the Buddha’s eyes still piercing one’s soul. Down History’s Narrow Lanes and My Kind of Kathmandu transport us to the alleyways of Newar Kathmandu filled with ancient houses with intricate wooden carvings, farmers carrying fresh vegetables, traders selling ghee and oil in their clay pots and people walking down the streets in traditional haku patasi and daura suruwal. That Kathmandu is still there, despite the traﬃc and noise. The books tell us about the shrines we pass by every day, their tales and our beliefs, and teach us to treasure even more what is left. It reminds us that we are blessed with art, culture and history and we have it within us to rebuild ourselves what is ours.

Otafuku Okonomiyaki (Rs 300) curious to try a dish we had never before seen on any of the menus in Japanese restaurants here. This Japanese pancake takes its name from the words ‘okonomi’, OPEN FROM 10AM meaning ‘what you want’, and TO ‘yaki’ meaning ‘grilled’. Otafuku 10PM Okonomiyaki’s cook has well understood this concept. The pancake mixed with cabbage had an interesting Nepali flavour due to addition of paneer and spices. The sauce on top gave it PICS: STÉPHANE HUËT

My Kind of Kathmandu

An artist's impression of an emerald valley By Desmond Doig and Dubby Bhagat Harper Collins India 1994

Down History's Narrow Lanes

Sketches and myths of the Kathmandu valley, Kathmandu as it was then By Desmond Doig and Dubby Bhagat Harper and Row, 246 Pages, 2009 First published in 1999 and reprinted in 2009, both books now, more than ever before, should be an important part of everyone’s personal library for a chapterby-chapter guide to explore Kathmandu Valley. Sonia Awale Desmond Doig spent much of his life in Nepal. Dubby Bhagat lives in Kathmandu. Nepali Times carried weekly installments of Doig’s book from 2000-2005.

a savory taste. The noodles we felt were a bit unnecessary as the Veg Okonomiyaki is already satiating with its two pancakes sandwiching the stuffing. The dish can be easily shared between two people but if you are a hearty eater, it won’t take you long to finish it off. Our second dish was the Tamagodon (Rs 285) which is a rice bowl with a friedegg and a miso soup. The egg was creamy and perfectly cooked. But we felt the dish could have done with a little less dashing of soya sauce which made it too salty. Even the miso soup was a tad salty. For the meat dish, we tried the Katsudon (Rs 325). It is basically the same as Tamagodon but with slices of fried pork on top. The dish was rightly seasoned, the pork well cooked and very tasty. If refined Japanese cuisine is what you are looking for, then Otafuku Okonomiyaki is definitely not for you. But if you like to indulge in Japanese that bends a little more towards Chinese, then do step in. It’s an unpretentious restaurant, serving meals at great prices. The service is quick and if after a meal here you feel inspired to try cooking Japanese yourself there’s also a range of Otafuku products to be bought. Stéphane Huët How to get there: Otafuku Okonomiyaki is located on the Sanepa slope next to Hotel Summit.

10 HAPPENINGS

RSS

DELHI SHUTTLE: UCPN(M) Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal (centre) interacts with media before leaving on a four-day visit to India on Tuesday.

GOPEN RAI

BUDGET WATCH: Shopkeepers at Nakhipot in Lalitpur watch the live broadcast of the budget speech in parliament by Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat on Tuesday.

ROOM TO READ

CHANGE MAKERS: Room to Read founder John Woods (left) with Anil Chitrakar at a program to discuss his new book A Path Appears at Hotel Himalaya on Monday.

DEVAKI BISTA

QUAKE RELIEF: Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai hands over relief to a quake survivor at a program organised by local NGO Raksha Nepal on Sunday.

BIKRAM RAI

WHEEL OF LIFE: Visitors wait for their turn to ride the ferris wheel at the Kathmandu Valley Fun Park at Bhrikuti Mandap on Saturday.

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The Woman in Gold O

ccasionally Hollywood will churn out an imperfect film that is still utterly captivating. The Woman in Gold is one of those odd little films that could so easily have tended towards formulaic banality had it not been for the focused talents of its two main characters.

MUST SEE Sophia Pande

Based on the real life story of Maria Altmann, played by the wonderful Helen Mirren, the film deals with the epic case of Altmann’s fight against the Austrian government to retrieve enormously valuable paintings that had belonged to her family, a wealthy, immensely sophisticated Jewish industrialists living in Vienna, who lost everything they owned due to the advent of Nazi influence in Austria.Ostracised and impoverished, Altmann (née Bloch-Bauer, Adele was her aunt by marriage) leaves Austria behind with her husband for the United Stated determined to begin anew. It is only years later, with the help of Randol/Randy Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds) a lawyer son of another Austrian-Jewish friend, that she begins a decade long struggle to regain ownership of her family’s lost property. The case of the ‘Adele BlochBauer’ (or ‘The Woman in Gold’ as it came to be known) painting was a historic one for many reasons. After the war, the Klimt paintings commissioned by the Bloch-Bauer family were displayed at the famous Belvedere House in Vienna, quickly becoming synonymous with Austrian

culture. As a result, in addition to complex legalities, the Austrian government was also extremely reluctant to concede the moral and ethical issues linked to the public absorption of paintings seized during the holocaust, aware that returning the Klimt paintings to Altmann could set a precedent for hundreds of such claims in the future. While the legalities involved are fascinating, the film’s strength is in the wonderful and heartbreaking recreation of the Bloch-Bauer family’s lives in prewar Vienna, their privilege, their bewilderment at being victimised after having been integral in influential society solely due to them belonging to the jewish faith. Both Mirren and Reynolds shine in their roles as they battle both the legal system, and sometimes each other, clinging to the case that is so closely linked to the past of both families (Schoenberg’s grandfather was the famous Austrian composer and painter). For those who followed the case in real time, you will know that Adele Bloch-Bauer’s portrait now resides in New York in the Neue Galerie, bought by the Lauder family for an astonishing $135 million and put on permanent display at the request of Maria Altmann – a shimmering pleasure for all to see, and an incredibly symbolic victory for the Jewish people who lost so much during the war. While this film sometimes descends into self-indulgent sentimentality, the gravity of the situation and the history it seeks to portray makes it essential viewing.

nepalitimes.com  Trailer

MYSTICAL MUSTANG

in the MONSOON

Tourist guesthouses in Upper Mustang are intact, but empty STÉPHANE HUËT in MUSTANG

his time last year, the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) had issued nearly 1,700 permits for Upper Mustang for the trekking season. This year, it is only 667. Although it did not suffer any damage in the 25 April earthquake the economy of this rugged and remote trans-Himalayan region has been hit hard by the fall in tourism. Only less than half the seats on a recent Pokhara-Jomsom flight were occupied. The only other visitors on a recent trek was a French couple, Camille Niguin and Thomas Peverelli, at a guest house in Dhee. “We had been planning a Mustang trip for over a year and didn’t feel there was any reason to be afraid or cancel,” said Niquin. “Two months have passed since the earthquake and the infrastructure here is just fine.” The couple were told by many locals they were the first trekkers to visit the region after the earthquake. The two are next headed to Dolpo on a 20-day trek. “The best way to help Nepal is to visit and consume local goods,” said Peverelli. While the French couple downplayed the fear of a bigger earthquake coming there are locals who are still worried. “We understand why tourists wouldn’t want to come at this time, even we are scared,” said

Kunga Gurung, a guesthouse owner in Ghiling who still sleeps in a tent even though no house in the village was damaged. In Lo Manthang, however, the royal palace is damaged and closed to visitors. Both the king

and queen of Mustang are now in Kathmandu. Shops here are deserted, but dejected traders keep them open hoping customers will show up. The Mystique Himalayan Hotel in Lo Manthang has received only

10 guests this year. Manager Ram Bahadur Gurung says last year he got ten times more tourists. “We had a lot of bookings for this season, but they were all cancelled after 25 April,” he said. The mood is even gloomier in

Dhakmar, famous for its red cliffs, where all hotels are closed and the owners have moved down to Pokhara. Some here say trekkers could be attracted if the government removed or reduced the $500

17 - 23 JULY 2015 #767

Head in the clouds T

he steep stairs that lead up and up towards the Annapurna Base Camp are in near pristine condition. The guest houses are all intact. There’s little sign of damage from the earthquakes on the trek from Ghandruk to Poon Hill. After climbing above 3,000m you leave the leeches behind, and hours of trekking are punctuated only by the smiles of local children Namaste-ing from the verandahs of guest houses owned by their families. For Rs100 you can enjoy warm tea and dry out your raincoat and boots by a fireplace before you head off again up the mountain. On the first day, after a lunch break in Ghandruk you head through thick rhododendron and oak forests to the Panorama Point Lodge in Tadapani. The late afternoons bring rainstorms that are shielded by the canopy above. #VisitNepal2015 5 EEverything is green, w wet and dripping. A At the guest house, th the weary walker is greeted with hot tea, steaming goat meat, and a warm dose of the local fermented millet spirit. Panorama Point Lodge sports breathtaking views on clear days, but during the monsoon it is only fleeting morning glimpses

through the rising mist of the fluted double summit of Machhapuchhre. The next day’s walk is an easy ridge trail through cloud-shrouded Deurali Pass to Ghorepani. Although some structures near the Ghorepani entrance gate have cracks, this town and all others along the Annapurna Trail have not suffered any damage at all in the earthquakes. Still, the fall in tourist numbers and the monsoon means that trekkers find themselves walking all by themselves these days. Ghorepani has plenty of places to sleep, eat, and even buy books. It would be a good idea to linger here, and just relax for a few days doing short day hikes to Poon Hill or Mohare Danda for spectacular sunrise views of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna South if you are lucky. It is surprising how, even in the rainy season, the snow peaks are visible and are all the more stunning because they make their appearances so briefly. If you want the trekking trails of the Himalaya all to yourself, now is the time to head up the Ghorepani Trail. Peregrine Frissell

SOLITUDE IN MUSTANG: (Clockwise from top) A lone trekker walking past the spectacular red cliffs of Dhakmar. Lo Manthang's shops are all boarded up. Guide Rupak Roka in Kagbeni with just one trekker. A stream near Ghami. Dhakmar's cliffs catch the late afternoon light.

ALL PICS: STÉPHANE HUËT

ACAP fee to enter this restricted area. ACAP’s Narendra Lama, however, is skeptical that the government will agree to reducing the fee to $100 as proposed by the Tourism Recovery Committee in

Pokhara. Rupak Roka, a local guide, put it in characteristically simple words: “Tourists should come now, they can have Mustang to themselves, and it is safe. This is the time to visit.”

MUSTANG Jomsom Ghorepani Pokhara Kathmandu

VIEWPOINT: The tower in Poon Hill which is usually packed with trekkers watching the sun rise over Dhaulagiri is deserted. A poster shows the view if there were no clouds.

14 NATION

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Back-stopping rescue W

ithin hours of the earthquake on 25 April, relief flights from overseas started arriving at Kathmandu Airport. Helicopters from India, the US, and China joined others from the Nepal Army and private operators in a major airlift to reach remote villages to pick up the injured and stranded, and drop off relief supplies and medical teams. In the first days after the earthquake some rescue and relief flights were finding it difficult to locate their destination in the 15 affected districts as they flew in unfamiliar terrain, or had to turn back because of bad weather. On 30 April within three hours of receiving a call from the Home Ministry, a team of atmospheric scientists from ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development) set up a temporary office at the Nepal Army hangar at Kathmandu Airport, and worked there from dawn to dusk until 28 May, helping helicopter pilots in their rescue and relief flights. The pilots needed GPS coordinates of their destination, which they had earlier tried to compute off paper maps using rulers. The ICIMOD team brought in Google Earth on big screens, helped find drop off points in remote locations, identified and evaluated landing sites for different helicopters, mapped potential flight paths, and

ICIMOD’s behind-the-scenes help with location and weather information was critical in increasing the reliability of earthquake rescue and relief flights

MULTINATIONAL CHOPPERS: MI17 helicopters of the Indian and Chinese Air forces (left, foreground) and Nepal Army (hovering) at Kathmandu Airport at the height of the earthquake rescue missions in early May. Arnico Pandey of ICIMOD carrying out a pre-flight briefing for a Nepal Army officer about a drop off point using Google Earth in a coordination centre at Kathmandu Airport.

ARNICO PANDAY / ICIMOD

SUBASANA SHRESTHA / ICIMOD

provided elevation information to calculate load limits. The pilots were provided colour printouts of customised maps showing 3-D

terrain images of their routes and destinations with GPS coordinates and elevations marked. Indian Air Force Wing

Commander Shiv Shankaram who flew in MI17s from Gorakhpur said elevation accuracy was very important in flying in the mountainous terrain. Since altitude affects the efficiency of helicopters, pilots need to know what height they will be flying in order to plan their load for delivery and pickup. He also said that the aerial maps they had been using to navigate over large distances were not detailed enough, making it difficult to assess altitude accurately and therefore the images provided by the team were of great help to them in relating to the nearby hills and rivers to locate villages accurately.

With the ICIMOD team assisting in flight dispatch and operations, flight times were significantly reduced and reliability in reaching destinations increased. As a result, the total number of successful rescue and relief flights per helicopter per day went up, totalling some 2,751 sorties during ICIMOD’s service period. “Right after the main shock ICIMOD appeared at the airport to help our relief flight movement. They were a blessing from the god,” said Col Dipak Karki, who was in charge of dispatching the helicopters. After more than three weeks of continuous emergency service at the airport, and once the number of helicopter flights per day slowed down sufficiently, ICIMOD experts initiated a phaseout plan, sharing data and files, and teaching Nepal Army officials how to use the online tools.

NATION 15

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emergency preparedness is a precondition for sustainable development. Whereas emergency preparedness focuses on various measures before a disaster happens, such as vulnerability reduction and capacity building, disaster response focuses on the rescue and relief operation after the An impartial review is needed to find out if the death toll in the earthquake occurrence of a disaster. The primary focus could have been reduced by implementing past disaster preparedness plans of the UN plan was on natural hazards in general and on earthquakes in particular. It was recognised that only systematic emergency preparedness efforts and an institutionalised disaster management system could mitigate the effects of a devastating earthquake in Nepal. Although the 25 April earthquake was of a much lower intensity than 1934, it still demands answers as to whether the government paid any heed to any of the recommendations it received over the years. If not, why? And where was the drag preventing it from preparing the nation for a disaster that everyone said was inevitable? An impartial and transparent review is also required to assess if the death toll, injuries and damage to the infrastructure BIKRAM RAI would have been significantly reduced if the recommendations had been diligently future and many earthquake experts around Tribhuvan International Airport, implemented. from all over the world believe a the runway was expected to buckle and the Such a review would prepare Nepal for major earthquake is likely to occur in airport to become unserviceable, isolating the real Big One that seismologists say is still the near future. It is thus considered Kathmandu from the rest of the world. pending, and make viable recommendations. serious enough to warrant active and Blocked highways and destroyed bridges The risk of a major earthquake with continuous readiness.’ would further cut the capital off. frightening humanitarian 2 ‘Since emergency A JICA team conducted a detailed study implications is so high that preparedness is much in 2000 of three fault models and calculated this country needs to maintain more effective and efficient the destructive force of future earthquakes. efficient emergency preparedness than disaster response, UN For comparison, a fourth scenario looked at and standing readiness. The Nepal gives the highest the damage if a 8.4 magnitude 1934 quake least the government can do is priority to developing and were to be repeated. The report said such to preposition stocks of food, implementing action plans/ a quake would result in 19,523 deaths and REBUILDING water, shelter, medicines, fuel projects which will support 136,474 damaged buildings because it OURSELVES as well as earthmoving and measures for vulnerability downscaled the potential of liquefaction in lifting equipments with adequate reduction and to capacity building, Kathmandu Valley. reserves of food in all population centres such as the preparation of this disaster and along vital highways and airfields. response preparedness plan.’ Even so, a month later, the UN issued a Disaster Response Preparedness Plan which Gyan Jung Thapa is an ex-Nepal Army The recommendations in the UN Plan stated: colonel and served with the United Nations followed the widely accepted principle 1 ‘No-one questions that earthquakes in Nepal, Gaza and Darfur. are an unavoidable part of Nepal’s that in any disaster-prone country,

Told you so T

ragic and destructive as the 25 April earthquake was, it wasn’t a surprise. Everyone knew it was coming. But question is whether the Nepal government heeded the warnings and the advice it had received. Would this have reduced the death toll, injuries and damage and possibly reduced the misery of thousands of families still living in shelters

GUEST COLUMN Gyan Jung Thapa

in the rain? As with all disasters, it was the poorest segment of society that bore the brunt of the consequences. Survivors initially went without food and shelter, and many are still at the mercy of the elements. It was back in 2001 that the UN’s Kathmandu Valley Earthquake Risk Management Project started preparations to upgrade the capability of the government and people to the expected Big One. Back then we estimated that if a 1934 Great Earthquake were to be repeated, there would be 40,000 deaths and 95,000 injured. More than 60 per cent of the existing buildings would be destroyed, many beyond repair, leaving 600,000 to 900,000 residents homeless. In Bhaktapur alone, more than 75 per cent of the residences would be heavily damaged. Half of the bridges and many narrow roads in the valley could be blocked to rescue vehicles because of debris. Even though the liquefaction susceptibility was deemed to be very low

16 INTERNATIONAL

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Departure of a South Asian Indian journalist and activist Praful Bidwai will be missed BEENA SARWAR

‘T

he funeral for Praful Bidwai is scheduled for the 27th June 2015.’ That blunt email announcement on 25 June came as a shock. How does one come to grips with the fact that this low-key but vital journalist, scholar and activist, one of India’s finest writers and columnists, a true humanist, secularist, and peacenik, is no more? Perhaps by remembering that the only thing certain in life is death. Bidwai had worked with the Times of India where he was a Senior Assistant Editor before embarking on a prolific freelance career with a long association with the wire service Inter Press Service (IPS). Besides being a journalist, Bidwai was a scholar with solid academic credentials. He was a Professorial Fellow at the Centre for Social Development, New Delhi, and a Senior Fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. He had served as a member of the Indian Council for Social Science Research, the Central Advisory Board on Education, and the National Book Trust.

His books included An India That Can Say Yes: A ClimateResponsible Development Agenda for Copenhagen and Beyond (Heinrich Boell Foundation, New Delhi, 2009) and the critically acclaimed New Nukes – India, Pakistan and Global Nuclear Disarmament, co-authored with Achin Vanaik (Interlink, 1999). In 2000, the International Peace Bureau awarded Bidwai and Vanaik the Sean McBride International Peace Prize in recognition of their work opposing nuclear weapons development in South Asia. As an activist, Bidwai was one of the founders of the Movement in India for Nuclear Disarmament (MIND), a member of the International Network of Engineers and Scientists against Proliferation, and one of the leaders of the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace, India, set up after India’s nuclear tests in 1998. Bidwai was busy writer in the causes he took up. His syndicated columns were published in over 20 news outlets around the globe. The subjects he took up ranged from climate change, to nuclear (non) proliferation, and human rights

issues such as discrimination against Muslims and Dalits in India. In a recent piece, he invoked the civil liberties movement of the United States that as he pointed out ‘had to wage a prolonged and bitter struggle to achieve de-segregation’. Along the same lines, he argued for an anti-discrimination law to stop the ghettoisation and the growing Hindu-Muslim segregation in Indian cities. He urged the launch of a special initiative by civil liberties groups, and conscientious

citizens ‘cutting across religion, to file criminal complaints’ against companies that openly discriminated. They should also, he argued, ‘petition the Supreme Court to seek clarification that the spirit of the Constitution’s anti-discrimination and equaltreatment-of-citizens articles applies to non-state institutions too. That will help prepare the ground for the legislation India sorely needs’. There is little doubt that he would have been at the forefront

of such a movement, supporting it through his talks and writings and providing guidance where needed. His advice would also benefit activists in other South Asian countries, including Pakistan, where discrimination against one or other community regularly takes place. Karachi-based activist Karamat Ali who travelled to Delhi for Praful’s memorial remembrance held on 8 July says: “We must remember him for his tremendous contributions towards peace and friendship between India and Pakistan and the people of South Asia.” A true nationalist — not the flag-waving kind but someone who sincerely loved India and wanted to see her people prosper and be treated with respect and justice — Praful Bidwai was a flag-bearer of the anti-nuclear and anti-communal, leftist movements at home and abroad. He stood for human rights for all, regardless of nationality, gender, religion, caste or sect. Praful Bidwai’s departure is not just India’s loss, but a loss for secularists and humanists everywhere.

(A version of this article first appeared in The News on Sunday, Lahore.)

OPINION 17

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A little cup of self love Many women grow up wishing their waists were narrower, their eyes bigger, their legs longerwishing they were someone else

hen you suddenly gain a lot of weight, your life changes and so did mine. I went from 48 kgs to 72 kgs in just three months. Right now, it’s not about how I let it happen but what I learned in the process. One important lesson was how differently people treat you. Sometimes you are in a room full of people and feel invisible because no one wants to be seen next to you or talk to you. I had people tell me what my ‘fat’ nickname was. They thought it was funny, I didn’t.

ASK ANJANA ANYTHING

Anjana Rajbhandary Very few people are aware of how often I cried in my room because I was embarrassed of myself. Many associated my weight gain to an eating disorder, western influence, insecurity. I got the guidance I needed eventually, but it took me years. It’s necessary for young women to have positive role models who can help them prioritise what is important, such as intelligence and kindness -- not the size of their jeans. It’s unfortunate that in a majority of women food generates guilt and they cannot look in the mirror without first finding fault in their appearance, something that I am still guilty of at times. Many women grow up wishing their waists were narrower, their eyes bigger, their legs longer- pretty much wishing they were someone else. We feel we are either too fat or too thin, but never just right. Body shaming and stereotypical

prototype of a body size promoted in media can do a lot of damage to one’s self esteem and we need to teach our daughters, sisters and nieces to have a positive outlook about themselves from a young age. We need to teach them to focus on having a healthier attitude, not a lower weight. Self love comes from self acceptance. Looking at the grand scheme of things, this problem is very negligible but as women we have a tendency to let it consume our lives. I know I did, fluctuating almost 30 kilos is not a tiny nudge. Through tears and sweat, every stretch mark I have tells a story of the struggle, the pain and the victory, but is a constant reminder of my uphill battle between my body image and the perception of society. It took me decades to love myself. This came with a bonus of letting go of unnecessary pride, hatred, and envy. Many societies prioritise physical beauty as a barometer for being accepted, which is a sad and skewed view on life. The truth is no matter how much you change or do not change, there will always be people who will find fault in you but there will also be people who will always love you -- and it’s a waste of time trying to figure out why either group feels the way they do. For me, the definition of beautiful is a kind heart, a smart mind, pure soul and a strong drive. True beauty comes from within and more people need to realise that. The people who matter will support you, literally, though thick or thin. Don’t bend over backwards to fit the unrealistic archetype of what a woman should look like. I changed to be healthy, not to fit in. I am honest and I do not bow down to society’s standards, and never will. This is my body and my life, and I do not allow anyone to belittle me for who I am. @AnjyRajy

18 NATION

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Yakyetiyak B

etween 2001-2002, Nepali Times carried the Yakyetiyak cartoon strip by Miku every week. The two characters in the strip are an existential Yeti and a talkative Yak who bounce jokes off one another, subtly exposing societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hypocrisies and human idiosyncrasies.

Yakyetiyak had a cult following among readers of the newspaper who sought comic relief in its self-deprecating satire as Nepal was mired in deeper crisis.

15 YEARS

nepalitimes.com ď Ž To view Yakyetiyak cartoons, go to pdf Archives

BUSINESS 19

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BIZ BRIEFS

Better plane

Tara Air, a subsidiary of Yeti Airlines, flew in its latest Twin Otter Dash-400 on Wednesday evening. This is an upgraded model of the de Havilland aircraft which is manufactured by Canada’s Viking. The plane will service remote area STOL airfields.

Burst of flavours

Dabur Nepal has launched two new variants under Real Burrst fruit juice. The new apple and litchi flavour comes in 200ml packs and is priced at Rs 23.

German tech

Soaltee Crowne Plaza in Kathmandu hosted the launch of Buzil Rossario- a German jointventure that produces cleaning solutions, disinfectants, and fabric care and food safety products.

Youth heroes

Jagadamba Steels as part of its CSR campaign ‘Nepal is Steel Strong’ has announced the ‘Nepali Yuva Ratna’ award which will be given to a young Nepali who made outstanding contribution to the society in the aftermath of the earthquake. Nominations can be sent to the oﬃcial page of Jagadamba Steels until 26 July.

Insured credits

Prabhu Bank has signed an agreement with Prime Life Insurance to provide Credit Life Insurance to customers availing home and auto loans. As per the agreement, in case of the demise of the person who stands surety for the loan, the insurance company will pay the original amount to the bank.

20 FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

Toon times

15 YEARS

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From its very first issue in July 2000, Nepali Times has been translating relevant reports, op-eds, editorials, radio programs and interviews from the Nepali language press and social web. We reprint below some of the more memorable cartoons from the last 15 years.

#48

“Parara…” Now in English: “Rat-tat-tat…” Sushil in Drishti, 19 July 2001

#295

“Check.” Abin Shrestha in Samay, 27 April 2006

#161

Rabin Sayami in Himal Khabarpatrika, 2-17 Sep 2002

#251

Sign: Chief Editor (In) Batsayan in Kantipur, 4 June 2005

nepalitimes.com  Visit Online Archive for more cartoons

#582

Sack: Rehabilitation Package Road sign: Peace and reconciliation Deven in Nagarik, 7 December 2011

#767

“There go the leaders, flying to their constituency for public consultation about the draft constitution.” Sign: Nepal Airlines flight Kathmandu - Delhi Batsayan in Kantipur, 12 July

FROM THE NEPALI PRESS 21

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Two translations from the Nepali press that appeared in Nepali Times, including this one from Jana Astha that was printed in the edition on the morning of the royal massacre on Friday 1 June, 2001.

nepalitimes.com  Visit Online Archive for more translations

A suitable prince Jana Astha, 28 May 2001 Preparations are underway to celebrate the 31st birthday of the heir to Nepal’s throne, Crown Prince Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev. With this royal birthday around the corner, people’s attention is focused on the crown prince. People are asking why the crown prince is unmarried at this age, and whether his future as the heir to throne is in danger. This is not an uncommon worry for the Nepali people, who have a lot of faith in and respect for the royal family. Crown Prince Dipendra is perhaps the first member of the Nepali royalty to break tradition and not be married even at 31. The Royal Palace is also concerned about the Crown Prince’s marriage. But many do not know where the crown prince’s heart lies. People close to the crown prince speak of two women he has an emotional relationship with. According to them, one is a childhood sweetheart, while his relationship with the other began when he was older. “It might be that the crown prince is finding it difficult to choose between the two,” jokes a palace employee, adding, “But he does not support bigamy.” Crown Prince Dipendra has a romantic nature, and he loves to joke around and be open. His professors say he is uninhibited and has the poetic talents of his grandfather, the late King Mahendra, although his poems have not been published yet. Some people say the crown prince is against parliamentary democracy, but in reality he supports it wholeheartedly. He wants the Nepali people to have social discipline and responsibility. The crown prince is also very studious, his favourite subject being Nepal’s geography. He does not read a lot of fiction but devours non-fiction. He also painstakingly reads all the major newspapers. Crown Prince Dipendra also engages in discussions about how to boost the nation’s economy. He often quotes slokas from the Gita during discussions, but has a vision for the future. The crown prince usually likes to dress in informal and colourful clothes. His favourite is a brown daura-suruwal, says a source close to him. The crown prince is very conscious of the Nepali dhaka topi and if he particularly likes one, will wear it until the colours fade. Crown Prince Dipendra’s most gentlemanly quality is that he never leaves if someone is speaking to him, even though he is often constrained for time. Although he is very interested in matters of governance and state administration, he does not wish to see the monarchy heading the politics of the country. He maintains his stand that the monarchy must play a major role in social development. The enthusiasm he displayed in the SAF Games is proof of his belief. Another professor close to the Crown

Prince says Dipendra views his grandfather, the late King Mahendra as a “communist with a crown”. He does not believe any of the communist parties are real communists, except the extreme leftists. The crown prince likes to talk with Krishna Prasad Bhattarai and admires his wisdom and ability to be light-hearted. His relationship with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala is, however, just cordial. Crown Prince Dipendra turns 31 on 27 June. It is high time His Royal Highness got married. The Nepali people wish to celebrate his marriage soon and in the grandest manner. Everyone is worrying about when this will happen. #45

An emerging Nepal Editorial in Kantipur, 9 November 2006 The agreement on the political roadmap between the seven party alliance and the Maoists reached at midnight on Tuesday in Baluwatar has given Nepal a historic opportunity to take the country towards a modern democracy. At surface level, this agreement is only a political roadmap to steer Nepal towards a constituent assembly election but it is a constituent assembly

that will decide Nepal’s future. Then an emerging Nepal will depend on the victorious representatives of the people and the collective wisdom of the political parties. The Maoist leadership has wisely chosen to cancel its planned mass gathering after realising that the strategy to pressurise Valley residents into giving their cadres food and shelter was not just unpopular but was also sparking resistance. By signing the agreement the Maoists have consented to

15 YEARS

accept the wishes of the people. Now the other parliamentary parties also need to prepare a taskforce for progress and speed up the process of reform. The responsibility for transforming the country falls on the shoulders of the representatives of the people and the political parties, which must be willing to change, respect the voice of the masses, be democratic, transparent, and visionary. The eight parties must now make it their chief responsibility to ensure a constituent assembly takes place. Unless the parties implement the agreement in action, the roadmap itself will remain unclear. #322

22 NATION

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The lost decade-and-half OM ASTHA RAI

“U

se electric heaters, consume more electricity.” What if the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) asks us to use electric heaters so that more electricity is consumed? At a time when Nepal suffers eight hours of power cuts daily even in the rainy season that sounds like a daydream. But that is exactly what the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) was exhorting us to do 15 years ago. After Kali Gandaki–A added 144 MW hydropower to the national grid in August 2000, NEA had a surplus of electricity. The Nepali Times had just started, and an NEA official was quoted in the #102 edition of August 2002 as saying: “We have to trade the surplus that has started to accrue in the system.” Needless to say, the euphoria over surplus electricity was short-lived. The NEA could not meet the rising electricity demand, the

conflict and mismanagement delayed new projects, and heavy loadshedding started in earnest in 2006. Nearly a decade on, power cuts have become such a part of life that no one bats an eyelid when the lights go out even during important functions. Last week, the government unveiled a plan to restrict load-shedding to eight hours a day in the winter of 2015 – and it touted it as if it was a major achievement. Hydropower is just the most glaring example of governance

failure in infrastructure in the past 15 years. Most development projects that were launched in or before 2000 are still incomplete or suspended, and we are now forced to deal with a string of shortages: from energy to water and food. These failures are all the more glaring because Nepal has actually made dramatic progress in reducing the poverty rate, improving maternal and child health and school enrollment. But when it comes to economic indicators, the years between

2000 and 2015 were worse than ever before. Govinda Raj Pokhrel of the National Planning Commission says the last 15 years were disastrous in terms of economic indicators. “It is as if we are now stuck where we were two decades ago,” he told us in an interview this week. “Progress in social indicators is probably the only thing which we can be proud of.” In the 1990s Nepal’s annual economic growth rate was increasing. The government adopted a liberal economic policy that encouraged investors, created jobs and led to economic growth. Multinational companies started to invest in hydropower and in manufacturing, development projects were launched and Nepal’s economic growth rate reached a blistering 7.5 per cent. The contribution of manufacturing sector in the GDP hit 14 per cent. Annual economic growth is down to barely 3 per cent, and

manufacturing’s share of the GDP is 6 per cent. The decline in manufacturing is due to low investment, which translates into fewer jobs and contributes to the outflow of able-bodied migrant workers. One of the factors that took Nepal down was the Maoist conflict. Not only did the war kill 17,000 Nepalis from 1996 to 2006, but also destroyed physical infrastructures, scared away investors and forced the youth to migrate abroad. “The war’s economic cost was so high that we are still struggling to overcome it,” Pokhrel said. When the Nepali Times YEARS was launched in July 2000, it looked like the Melamchi project was finally going to be completed. In December that year, the Asian Development Bank approved a $120 million loan for the project to bring in fresh water through a 26km tunnel to Kathmandu. Fifteen years later, the tunnel isn’t even half complete. Meanwhile, Kathmandu is heavily dependent on tankers for water supply. Once a selfsufficient in food, Nepal is now importing rice and other staples to feed its people. We have built transmission lines to not export electricity, but to import from India. Nevertheless, preparations to pass a new constitution next month have raised some hope that political stability will once more restore economic growth and investment. But the constitution is in itself no panacea if political leaders continue to behave as they have for the last 15 years: fighting over turf and appointment, politicising everything from education to health, and neglecting the economy. There has to be a whole new way to politics and governance if we are to graduate as planned from the status of a Least Developed Country (LDC) by 2022.

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Flying to eat egg. And after swallowing the mushroom-and-onion-fluorobiphenyl hexa-propylene tetrachloride omlette it was hard to keep my tray table stowed and my seat in an uptight position for very long without having to make mad roundtrips up and Excerpted from Kunda Dixit’s column down the aisle to the fore and/or Under My Hat in #61, 21-27 Sep 2001. aft lavatories. The column ran from 2000-2006. Speaking of eggs, RA hasn’t yet settled which came first: egg or omelette. But being an equal opportunities employer, t is a well-established fact Royal Nepal is going to strictly of life that airlines and fine monitor poultry farm conditions dining do not necessarily go to ensure that our two-legged together. One does not fly to eat, feathered friends (be they just as one does not eat to fly -broilers or layers) enjoy the basic unless one is oneself personally a rights enshrined in the Universal fly in which case one flies while Declaration before the time eating. comes for them to be converted Royal Nepal Airlines is our into airline food. And here we national fly carrier, and whatever must also think of the rights of else one may say about it the unborn chicken, viz: the egg. confidentially in adult company Chicken rights activists are after a few drinks, culinary also rightfully up in arms about extravagance is not one of them. fowl language that employs There is something poultry terms like ‘chicken’ about the omelette served when we mean ‘coward’ on the early morning -- this callously stereotypes RA205 shuttle to Delhi the essence of chicken and that is so sublime it defies YEARS is an insult to all roosters. description. Obviously, as Phrases like ‘chick’ are the Great Helmsman himself ageist and are used derogatorily instructed, an egg or two had to be to describe young women. ‘Henbroken to make that omelette, but pecked’ is an insult to hendom which proportion of what Royal in general and animal husbandry Nepal considers a ‘non-vegetarian in particular. Even ‘cocks’ get breakfast’ is actually the embryo a raw deal when used to refer of a fowl yet unborn and which unkindly to one’s twinkies. And should rightfully belong in the what of ‘cockpits’, the arenas cracker unit of an oil refinery is where warlike roosters with hard to tell. sharp blades tied to their feet are In fact it was only after I made to fight each other unto had eaten halfway through the death by humans who gamble on styrofoam tray while at cruising the outcome? altitude Somewhere Over the I was looking out at Western Sector that I suddenly Dhaulagiri and musing on all realised I was gnawing no more this, when the flight attendant at said omelette but was wolfing came down the aisle to ask: down the plastic plate. If I may be “Black coffee, white coffee, or so bold as to say so, the receptacle black-and-white coffee, sir?” I actually tasted more like an

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thought: same difference, yar, why not give it a try. The fluid that was served had a taste that was hard to pin down with any degree of accuracy. So, when she came around again, I said: “Miss, if that was coffee, give me tea. If it was tea, give me coffee.” That is the great thing about our national flycatcher: it is full of surprises.

It was when the plane had started making its descent into the Indira Gandhi International Airport that the pilot came on the intercom: “Ladies and gentlemen this is your captain speaking from the arena where warlike roosters with sharp blades tied to their feet are made to fight each other unto death by humans who gamble

on the outcome. We hope you have enjoyed our in-flight service today, we would like to ask you to stow your tray table for landing. That is, if you haven’t eaten it already.”

nepalitimes.com

 Visit Online Archive to read other Under My Hats

CDO Regd No 194/056/57 Lalitpur, Central Region Postal Regd. No 09/066/67

www.nepalitimes.com

24 UNDER MY HAT

2000 6 August: Musician Praveen Gurung is killed in a hitand-run allegedly involving Paras Shah, sparking public outrage and street protests. 22 September: Maoist insurgents attack Dolpa district capital Dunai, killing 14 policemen. A Royal Nepal Army detachment nearby didn’t come to the rescue. 14 December: A rumour that Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan insulted Nepalis in a tv show spread like wildfire, triggering anti-Indian riots. 21 December: ADB approves a $120 million loan for the Melamchi Water Project.

2005 1 February: King Gyanendra stages a military coup, dismisses Deuba government, puts political leaders under house arrest and imposes censorship on the media. 16 February: Army-backed vigilantes in Kapilvastu district kill 42 people, mostly poor villagers. 6 June: Maoists blow up a passenger bus in Madi, killing 37 passengers and injuring 70. 22 November: Seven parliamentary parties sign a 12-point agreement in New Delhi with the Maoists against King Gyanendra.

2010 19 March: Demise of Nepali Congress President and former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. 6 May: The Maoists call off indefinite general strike on sixth day after hundreds of thousands wearing white shirts protest.

2001 25 February: Maoists introduce the Prachandapath doctrine, a mish-mash of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism. 1 April: Maoists kill 31 policemen in Rukumkot, take 23 hostages. 1 June: Crown Prince Dipendra kills King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya and seven other royal family members. He is declared king even though in a coma. Gyanendra enthroned on 4 June after he dies. 22 June: Census result: Nepal’s population 23 million. 26 November: Peace talks fail, Maoists for the first time attack the Royal Nepal Army.

2006 6 April: Pro-democracy protests begin and turns into the19-day April Uprising. Gyanendra goes on tv near midnight to reinstate parliament. 25 April: The Seven Party Alliance chooses Girija Prasad Koirala to head the new government. Victory rallies across Nepal. Political detainees released. 18 May: Reinstated parliament votes to declare itself supreme and cut off royal powers and privileges. 23 September: A helicopter crash in Ghunsa kills most of Nepal’s senior conservationists including Harka Gurung, Chandra Gurung and Mingma Sherpa. 21 November: A Comprehensive Peace Agreement ends the decade-long Maoist war.

2011 22 June: Census result: Nepal’s population 26.6 millions September: Nepal gets international recognition for its progress in maternal-child health. 8 November: The Baburam Bhattarai government asks President Yadav to pardon Bal Krishna Dhungel.

2002

2003

16 February: Maoists attack Achham, killing more than 100 soldiers, policemen and government officials. 2 May: Army kills more than 100 insurgents in Lisne Lekh of Rolpa as the war escalates. August: Bharat Dutta Koirala receives Magsaysay award for professionalising Nepali media and pioneering community FM radio. 4 October: King Gyanendra sacks PM Sher Bahadur Deuba saying he is ‘incompetent’ in dealing with the Maoist insurgency, assumes executive power and asks political parties to recommend an ‘untainted’ cabinet.

2007

30 April: Bomb in Janakapur kills six people. 27 May: The first CA dissolved after four years. 22 June: The UCPN (Maoist) splits. Mohan Baidya-led faction announces a new party. November: Sita Rai, a young Nepali woman returning from Saudi Arabia robbed and raped.

10 April: Elections to the first Constituent Assembly held, the Maoists emerge as the single largest party. 28 May: The first meeting of the first CA declares Nepal a republic, abolishes the 250-year-old monarchy. Gyanendra vacates palace. 21 July: Ram Baran Yadav becomes Nepal’s first president. 18 August: The Kosi river breaches embankment, floods Sunsari and the Indian state of Bihar, displacing 50,000 in Nepal.

3 May: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal sacks Army Chief Rookmangud Katawal, but he is reinstated by President Yadav. Dahal resigns. 11 June: Janakpur journalist Uma Singh is murdered, allegedly by the Maoists. May-June-July: Cholera epidemic in Jajarkot kills 300 people, mainly children. 27-30 October: A Global Tiger Workshop in Kathmandu pledges to double population of wild tigers by 2022. 4 December: Nepal holds cabinet meeting at Kala Patthar ahead of the Copenhagen climate change summit to highlight melting glaciers.

2014

14 March: Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi is sworn in as the Chair of election government formed to hold the CA-II elections 16-17 June: Mahakali River flood sweeps away 158 houses in Darchula and displaces hundreds of families. 19 November: UCPN (Maoist) defeated in second CA elections. NC and the UML form coalition.

20 March: Maoists launch massive attack on Beni, hundreds killed. 3 June: King Gyanendra reappoints Deuba Prime Minister. August: Death toll in Maoist conflict crosses 10,000 mark. 7 September: Tv footage of 12 Nepalis executed in Iraq leads to arson attacks and riots in Kathmandu.

2009

2013

2012

22 January: Constitution deadline expires, Maoist-Madhesi and Janajati members vandalise CA as NC-UML pushes vote on constitution. 25 April: A 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocks central Nepal, kills nearly 9,000 people, injures more than 22,000 and destroys about 600,000 buildings. 8 June: NC, UML, UCPN (Maoist) and MFJ-D sign 16-point constitution deal to fast-track constitution and form national unity government. 7 July: The CA endorses the first draft of new constitution, negotiations ongoing.

29 January: Royal government declares ceasefire. The government withdraws the terrorist label and bounty on capture of Maoists. 29 May: 50th anniversary of the first ascent of the Mt Everest. 17 August: Army executes 39 Maoists in Doramba. Ceasefire collapses, army base attacked in Dang. 10 September: Nepal joins the WTO in Cancun.

2008

11 January: The proposal for UNMIN is presented to the UN Security Council for budgetary approval with the mandate to monitor arms management and elections to the Constituent Assembly. 15 January: The Interim Constitution-2007 replaces the 1990 constitution, which was, to an extent, the seed of the Maoist insurgency. 16 January: The Madhesi Janadhikar Forum launches agitation in the Tarai. 21 March: Gore in Gaur: MJF and the Maoistaffiliated Tarai Mukti Morcha clash, 28 Maoist cadre and civilians killed.

2015

2004

18 April: 16 Nepali high altitude workers killed by an avalanche at Mt Everest. 2 August: Landslide kills 156 in Jure. 3-4 August: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Nepal, fast-tracks energy and transportation. 14 October: Blizzard kills 43 Nepali and foreign trekkers in the Annapurnas.

YEAR TIMELINE

The last 15 years of Nepali history from the pages of Nepali Times. A full interactive timeline is on www.nepalitimes.com

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Covering the Maoists DEEPAK THAPA

y the time of the launch of Nepali Times, the Maoist conflict had been going on for four years. The indiscriminate violence of the security operations had been backfiring, and serving only to bolster the ranks of the Maoists. Reportage of the conflict, still confined to the western hills, had long become a regular feature. The police had begun consolidating their strength by withdrawing from outlying posts but to no avail as the attacks continued without let. The overrunning of Dunai in September 2000 proved to be a wake-up call. The ability to mount a direct attack on a district headquarters provided the Maoists with the kind of leverage that resulted in the first face-to-face meeting between the government and the Maoists a month later. The present editor of Kantipur, Sudheer Sharma, was a reporter with Nepali Times’ sister publication, Himal Khabapatrika, at the time, and slowly beginning to make a name for himself as a knowledgeable analyst of the Maoist conflict. Sudheer had travelled to the conflict zone but his understanding of the Maoists extended beyond field assessments and it was in deference to that I recall asking him a simple question: Do you think the Maoists will not ultimately go the UML way? After

all, when the UML came into the scene after 1990, they, too, were considered a revolutionary force. That was something many of us were grappling with. The violence was sickening no doubt but the issues being raised by the Maoists were genuine enough. Even the-then American ambassador conceded to Nepali Times: ‘I think most sane people would agree with a large percentage of it [the Maoists’ original 40 demands].’ There was also the view that the Maoists were simply using the widespread disgruntlement to catapult themselves to the political centre-stage. Hence, my query. Come to think of it, it was quite an unfair question to ask of anyone but Sudheer who believed that the Maoists would be different if only because of all the bloodshed that had resulted (the number of the dead stood around a thousand then). The death toll would rise 15-fold by the time the fighting ended in 2006, and the manner in which all the political forces that had united to defeat a resurgent monarchy began working together to create a New Nepal seemed to indicate that the Maoists had succeeded by far in their ostensible mission to create a more just and equitable Nepal. Granted, that they were not all too happy that a parliament that had yet to accommodate them took most of the progressive steps they believed, rightly so, was their agenda. Thereafter, instead of capitalising on the goodwill they

had at the time, the Maoists set about self-destructing. Whether it is the high-handedness of the party’s youth wing, their halfbaked notions around identity politics, or the bourgeois decadence of the leaders, they soon lost a lot of credibility. And, so, in the years since 2006, all that we have left of the Maoists is their rhetoric, some of which they managed to insert into the preamble of the draft constitution and which, sadly, is the only achievement they can boast of. The rest of the document looks more like a reversal to the pre2006 status quo, and the Maoists have been left owning that. Nepal has changed greatly since the end of the conflict and while the progressive agenda may face setbacks, as seems to be the case with the draft constitution, movement can only be forward. The danger for the Maoists is of becoming irrelevant in the new political environment. The suspicion back in 2000 that the Maoists would become just another leftist force in the political landscape is being confirmed. But, unlike the UML, it does not even have an organisational base to bounce back from. The Maoists have probably outlived their purpose.

Deepak Thapa was Desk Editor at Nepali Times for its first year in 2000.

ANAGHA NEELAKANTAN

SUBHAS RAI #52

Nepali society, politics and mainstream culture. Fifteen years ago, NT’s attention to some issues may have seemed whimsical or notional or academic. Yet some of the paper’s early concerns are today’s most pressing debates: what does it mean to be Nepali, for example, and how different communities relate to each other; and the urgent need for people-focused disaster preparedness, and fair, environmentally and culturally appropriate urban planning and development. Looking back, the early Nepali Times seems cosy, like a garden party, lots of clever, witty people gathered under a marquee on a late spring day. The war certainly changed that over time, and NT’s coverage was sharp and at times essential. It is no longer possible — if it

hen Nepali Times started in the summer of 2000, the country was in the throes of an armed conflict. While images of young women Maoist guerrillas in military fatigues with rifles slung over their shoulders were jolting our common conscience and forcing us to rethink women’s role in society, the newsrooms publishing these photos and stories remained firm bastions of male privilege. In the 15 years since, the number of women in print, broadcast, and online media has flourished. As writers, editors, anchors, and producers we have fearlessly covered the power corridors in Kathmandu as well as given voice to the most neglected communities and issues. The advent of community radio, in particular, has allowed women at the grassroots to improve awareness and engage with locals like never before. Even as women journalists chip away at the glass ceiling, however, mainstream media is still largely an old boys’ club: controlled by men at the top with an insidious masculine culture. The willful undermining of our intelligence and abilities, the tolerance of casual sexism and harassment in the workplace, and the lack of mentors who believe in making the newsroom more gender-friendly and inclusive are clearly hindering our progress. Manik Jha from Janakpur started her journalism career in radio at 17. As a young girl from Madhes, where women who step outside their houses are frowned upon, she says the initial years were immensely challenging. Neighbours would reprimand her father for letting her work, and question her character because she travelled and worked alongside men. Jha’s relation with her community became so fraught people stopped talking to her. The situation within the newsroom wasn’t any better. “I have always been very blunt and am not afraid to speak my mind. But my no-nonsense personality got me into a lot of trouble early on because my male colleagues didn’t want to hear a woman’s opinion,” recalls the 26-year-old who is now with the Annapurna Post. “Junior men were given attention, but my views were just not important.” Even today Jha says her presence at press conferences elicits double takes. Bhrikuti Rai, formerly with the Nepali Times and special correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, says that while reporting on the earthquake she was constantly accosted by male journalists curious to know what she was doing in the field. “I wanted to shout: the same job as you. There was also an Army man who asked me why as a Rai daughter I chose to be a journalist. That’s sexism and racism rolled into one,” she explains. Once the surprise of seeing women journalists wears off, then begins the doubt over our skills and motives that our male counterparts are mostly immune from: is she smart enough to write on matters of national importance, can she grasp difficult concepts, can she handle herself when talking to those in power, is she in journalism for the long haul or just to pass time? This is one reason why women are often assigned ‘soft’ lifestyle or only women-centric stories regardless of our interests. Or why colleagues and

Cheeky, provocative still don’t know why Kunda Dixit thought a shuffling 23-year-old USeducated Indian would be a good copyeditor for an A-team of Englishlanguage Nepali journalists. But I am incredibly grateful that he did and that in the autumn of 2000 I started on an intense, life-changing crash course on Nepal at the cheeky, provocative new weekly, Nepali Times. The remarkable diversity and talent in the newsroom and among the columnists gave me an enduringly valuable appreciation for Nepal’s profound social and political complexity, as well as a less salubrious fondness for sugary lemon tea and Wai Wai noodles. Colleagues down the hallway at Himal Khabarpatrika, Himal South Asian and Wave were an invaluable source of edification and amusement, particularly during the early Deadline Wednesdays. NT set out to do a new sort of journalism — incisive and critical, but also light-footed and entertaining. It was the weekend paper, yes, but it made readers think about uncomfortable things and insisted that they shed lazy or outdated habits, including using the word “Nepalese”. As much as Kunda protested that he just wanted to put out a fun paper, the editorial aim was also to illuminate the subtle and obvious tendencies, issues and schisms that define

Girls who’ll run the world W

ever was — to hold on to the idea of cosy, coherent Nepal except through nostalgia. But Nepali Times was also early to suggest that Nepal could look inwards, at its own rich linguistic, artistic, architectural and other cultural traditions to define its new contours. It has also nearly always given space to sharply-held opinions it disagreed with. Here’s to the next 15 years, NT. May a diverse clutch of clever, witty, young writers always find room under your tent. As for the asses, there’s plenty of room in the backside. Anagha Neelakantan was Desk Editor at Nepali Times from 2000-2003, and Executive Editor from 2006-2007.

YEARS

people we interview find it completely acceptable to address us as ‘nani’ or ‘nanu’ thereby telling us that we are less than professionals. Women have become so inured to snide remarks about our appearance, choice in clothes, marital status, and unwarranted suggestions of how we need to switch to more ‘ladylike’ careers, that most of the time we simply ignore them. But when these little microaggressions go unchecked, they lead to larger problems like physical and sexual harassment. “Whenever senior men get caught inappropriately touching or looking at junior girls, I have to speak up on their behalf because they are young and don’t know who to talk to or how to deal with the situation,” says a female journalist who has worked in the broadcast media for 15 years. Just like the burden of highlighting women’s voices remains on our shoulders, so does the burden of fighting against harassment in the workplace. “Men will apologise on their colleagues’ behalf in private, but not in public. Maybe they don’t want to be seen as too much of a feminist or they’re too scared to upset the fraternity,” says a young woman journalist who was hounded by male reporters on social media for an article criticising their boorish behaviour during foreign trips. This culture of a revered masculine space also means that women are often seen as threats rather than equal partners and their progress is seen as coming at the expense of men’s well-being. “While working as the only female reporter in a newsroom of about 20, I realised that no matter how progressive they think they are, most men still believe that women should not or cannot work as well as them,” admits a fellow journalist. In a country where people hesitate to interact with the opposite sex, women are put at a great disadvantage and miss out on important discussions and decisions because they cannot openly socialise and network in a male-centric space. Even if they do feel comfortable, their social reputation is unfairly at stake. When women in the media are asked what they think will improve their workplaces, they unanimously say: more women to balance the playing field and influential mentors, who set the tone at the top, democratise the newsroom, and help and encourage young reporters navigate their way through. When many of us started our careers in journalism, we were shy, unsure of ourselves, and easily intimidated. To have a senior woman in a position of power who is assertive, who will advocate on your behalf, who knows how to push the right stories, can be very empowering. Men can also fulfill this role, but they first need to learn to be in tune to women’s needs from small issues like placing waste bins in our toilet, to bigger ones like introducing maternity leave policies. Manik Jha, who is now a well-known journalist in Dhanusha and who has become a role model for families with young girls, says: “There is nothing women cannot do. The future editors and publishers of this country are among us.”

Trishna Rana was Desk Editor at Nepali Times from 20112014.

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The Pyschology of Preparing to Inevitable Earthquakes be prepared Nepalis saw disaster coming. Why wasn’t more done to prepare for it? URI FRIEDMAN

veryone knew the Big One was imminent. And no one was quite ready. That’s the unshakeable impression you get from the archives of the Englishlanguage Nepali Times, which make for eerie reading in the wake of the 7.8 M earthquake.

In 2004, shortly after an earthquake in Iran, the Nepali Times noted: Given Kathmandu’s rampant growth and flimsy housing, the next big one will kill at least 100,000 people. Those who die may be the lucky ones.

a variety of explanations, not least Nepal’s dysfunctional political system, which has remained polarised since the country’s 10-year civil war ended in 2006, and rapid, slapdash urbanisation without corresponding government enforcement of building codes. But there’s another factor, bound up in all the others: Nepali attitudes toward the Earthquake That Was Due. These attitudes are reflected in the prophesies of the Nepali Times, which wrestle with thinking

and Pakistan, more than 40 percent of Nepali respondents reported that they would blame themselves if an earthquake destroyed their houses and killed some family members. Hardly any Nepalis, in fact, mentioned the government. It was perhaps another reflection of despair with the country’s authorities, but also a clue to how earthquakepreparedness campaigns in Nepal could be improved. The strategy the researchers suggested was to bypass government and instead directly

A selection of coverage from the last 15 years of Nepali Times of the need for earthquake preparedness. These and more stories can be searched and read in the online archives on www.nepalitimes.com Nepal is on a major seismic zone, the mountains are young and exposed to heavy monsoon erosion. We know this, so it should not be a surprise to us when earthquakes happen or when landslides occur. What we have to ask ourselves is this: what are we doing to prepare ourselves for future calamities that will surely come? Editorial, #6, 23-29 Aug 2000 An earthquake of similar, if not greater, magnitude as the one that hit Gujarat last Friday can hit Kathmandu anytime. Studies reveal that about 60 percent of Valley buildings are non-engineered. An official at the Building Permit Section in Kathmandu revealed that almost a third of the houses constructed are illegal. Quake alert, by Hemlata Rai, #28, 2-8 Feb 2001 What is frightening to many is not the memory of that fateful day 70 years ago in January 1934. Many were reminded just how bad it could be when they watched the devastation of the Iranian city of Bam last month, where 50,000 people were killed. Given Kathmandu’s rampant growth and flimsy housing, those who die here may be the lucky ones. Seventy years after, by Naresh Newar, #178, 9-15 Jan 2004 Up here in Florida, for the third time in a little over a month, people were asked to leave their homes in threatened areas. I wonder at times like this about Nepal and its earthquake preparation strategy. I can hear people snorting into their tea all over the kingdom. Preparation? Strategy? Yet, if Nepal doesn’t take its earthquake scenarios seriously, it is well and truly doomed. The Big One, by Daniel Lak, #215, 24-29 Sep 2006

In 2008, following an earthquake in China: [My] thoughts turned immediately to Nepal and the unthinkable: a similar quake hitting Kathmandu. A Big One in Kathmandu is not a question of if. It is a question of when. …. Nepal’s planners must start thinking about rescue, relief, rehabilitation, retrofitting seismicresistant schools and hospitals and enforcing zoning laws. In 2010, after an earthquake in Haiti: Like Haiti, we have no disaster preparedness plan. Nepal and Haiti are both the poorest countries in their regions. Both have unplanned and BIKRAM RAI haphazard urban growth. Port-auPrince’s advantage is that even if the airport is destroyed, relief can come from the sea. Our only advantage is the knowledge that the next ‘Big One’ can happen any day. And just this year: Nepal as a nation does not seem to believe in Murphy’s Law which states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong, which in this case is the high probability of an earthquake. Rather than taking concrete action to avoid the catastrophe, we believe that a little help from astrology and the usual ‘Ke Garne’ attitude will be sufficient. In April, the Big One finally came, 81 years after the bigger Big One. It’s not as if Nepalis, in government and out, were doing nothing to prepare for the next earthquake. But why weren’t more buildings constructed not to collapse, and why wasn’t there a better plan to mitigate the food and water shortages now threatening survivors? There’s

“The thing we learnt from Haiti is that preparedness can make a difference. But to take that commitment and turn it into practical action, that’s a little tougher. How do you bring a new paradigm, a new approach to disaster preparedness?” “Doing nothing is not an option”, Interview with American ambassador Scott H DeLisi, #536, 14-20 Jan 2011

about the unthinkable. “Literally until three days ago it was extremely difficult to get the Nepalese government really interested in this business of preparedness,” Jon Bennett, who has worked with the British government on earthquake preparedness in Nepal, told the BBC. “After all, they hadn’t had a major earthquake for 80 years. And if you’re in a poor country you have far more other priorities to take care of rather than speculating as to whether or not there’s going to be an earthquake.” That 80-year interval between Big Ones matters, too. In a 2012 study in the Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies, researchers at Japan’s Chiba University found that residents of the Kathmandu Valley who had experienced an earthquake in their lifetimes were more likely than those who hadn’t to be concerned about the damage earthquakes cause. In a 2007 survey conducted in Nepal, Bangladesh, Turkey

lobby and train local craftsmen and the residents themselves, since many heads of households believed they were ultimately responsible for the safety of their homes and family members That’s roughly the approach that Kunda Dixit, the editor of the Nepali Times, advocated in January 2015. “When (not if) the next big earthquake strikes Nepal, don’t ask what the government can do for you, ask what your community can do for itself,” Dixit wrote, lamenting the country’s “endless political gridlock and dead-end development.” He quoted one engineer saying that given all this, Nepal’s “best option is to decentralise risk management to the household, village or municipality level.” Three months later, the Big One struck.

This piece is excerpted from a longer article originally published in The Atlantic Monthly.

Thousands of children were killed in the Sichuan earthquake because of corruption and shoddy school construction. A 1998 study of nearly 400 government schools in Kathmandu Valley showed that a 1934 type earthquake would kill nearly 30,000 students and teachers outright and injure another 43,000. Since that survey, the number of schools has more than doubled. After a quake, the injured can’t be rushed to hospitals because roads will be blocked and hospitals will have also collapsed. Editorial, #587, 14 -20 Jan 2012

Most earthquake experts have given up on the government getting its act together quickly enough on enforcing building codes to prevent future earthquakes from killing people. They are focusing on the aftermath: planning for rescue and relief, but even that will be a daunting challenge. Where the quake will hit hardest, by Rubeena Mahato, #587, 14 -20 Jan 2012

YEARS

It’s that time of the year again, as Nepal gears up to mark another anniversary of the devastating 8.4 magnitude earthquake that struck Kathmandu at 2:30 pm on 15 January 1934 and killed at least 10,000 people. But the consequences of an earthquake of similar strength are so unthinkable that no one seems to know where to start. Thinking the unthinkable, by Kunda Dixit, #638, 13-19 Jan 2013 We call them ‘natural disasters’: earthquakes, floods, landslides. Yet, earthquakes don’t kill people, unsafe buildings do. Most disasters may be natural, but the casualties are largely manmade. Disastrous management, Editorial, #722, 29 Aug - 5 Sept 2014 Endless political gridlock and dead-end development has distracted government attention from preparing for a long overdue mega-earthquake in Kathmandu, a city that experts say is the most vulnerable in the world to seismic risk. A bill to set up a Disaster Risk Management Commission is stuck in parliament, and a turf war between line ministries has left contingency plans in limbo. Preparing to be prepared, by Kunda Dixit #720, 9-15 Jan 2015

17 - 23 JULY 2015 #767

Plus ça change Time waits for no-one and as Nepal stagnates, India and China progress

n your columnist’s perpetual quest for clues as to what makes this place tick, discovering Nepali Times on the news-stands 15 years ago came as a windfall. A journal in the language of foreign hands and imperialists that shed light on

Foreign Hand

the murky, inscrutable world of local politics was most welcome and the fact I’m still clueless after all these years (despite being a frequent reader and occasional contributor) should be blamed on nobody but me and the politicians. Nepal has gone through more historic changes since this newspaper began than most countries experience in a century or more. Perhaps that’s why the year 2000 seems like a lifetime ago, a distant era when the country was a monarchy, war raged in the hills, people knew their neighbours and the economy still produced and exported something other than desperate workers. Since it seems so remote, one assumes things were very

a mythical constitution and the recent devastating earthquake… the mind boggles. Logically speaking, such historic events should be more than enough to usher in epic, ground-breaking change yet somehow Nepal’s remarkable ability to foster dual realities trumps logic once again, proving the French expression that the more things change the more they stay the same. Look no further than the leaders of our once esteemed political parties. The same old reprobates still pilot the same old parties, who doggedly continue the same old tactics of undermining each other at the country’s expense. Within each party the same old rivalries continue to fester, constant and eternally futile, as the same headlines and faces of a decade ago are repeated in today’s edition. In most democratic countries party leaders resign after losing an election but our chiefs cling on shamelessly forever. It seems much has changed until we notice our politicians, their policies and anything else related to governance. The New Nepal, once heralded as an inclusive state created to uplift the masses, has only managed so far to include one new group at the government

15 YEARS

#333, 26 JAN - 1 FEB, 2007

MOVING TARGET

different in the Old Nepal, but how much has really changed? And have the changes benefited anyone beyond the elite? A lot of water has certainly passed under the bridge, much of it toxic, as anyone who’s smelled the once holy Bagmati will agree. Since Nepali Times first appeared in July 2000 Nepal has had 14 governments, including 2 periods of ‘direct rule’ from the palace, 2 terms each for Girija and Deuba, and 1 caretaker ‘nongovernment’ under Chief Justice Regmi. Everybody who’s anybody in the political spectrum has had their turn, from RPP stalwarts Surya Bahadur Thapa and LB Chand on the right to Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai on the Maoist left, with the UML and Congress seizing opportunities from the center. We can assume each of these worthies cashed in on their brief spells in power, benefiting their party and nobody else, before getting evicted. Royal massacres and coup d’etats, a parade of delusional governments, 6 more years of pointless war, a Peace Agreement that solved little, militant unionism and waves of extortion, the collapse of the national economy, a king deposed and republic declared, endless quibbling over

feeding trough (high caste Maoists). Janajatis, Dalits and everyone else are still excluded from power, the status of women looks to get worse under the new constitution and the poor remain hopelessly neglected. Corruption, rife in 2000, has recently spiked courtesy of the foreign donor’s disaster relief. Things may have improved for a few (witness the plethora of new, expensive restaurants and fancy cars) but the Hand suspects the quality of life for many has deteriorated. Internal migration, spurred on by the war, overwhelmed Kathmandu Valley, leading to environmental degradation and overcrowding on a massive scale. The lack of opportunity (because not one of

the 14 governments ever created any new jobs) has seen countless families sundered as the breadwinner is forced to work abroad in difficult conditions, which is sure to have unfortunate consequences on society. Prices rise while wages stagnate or disappear. Export mainstays like carpets, garments and handicrafts that once employed hundreds of thousands have all but collapsed and can’t be easily rejuvenated since most skilled workers have left the country. Many of the small industries closed by Maoist unions never re-opened and probably never will, leaving a nonproductive remittance economy at the whim of foreign hands/ employers. Those of us suffering from the Logic Syndrome (the persistent compulsion that things must make sense) are frustrated by the fact not one of the parties has allowed a talented, non-geriatric leader to rise to the top. The odds alone dictate an occasional hero would emerge after so many villains, but the hierarchy that’s wrecked the country for decades continues to hold sway and keep progressive individuals at bay. Meanwhile, time waits for no-one and as Nepal stagnates, held hostage by its worse-thanuseless politicians, India and China progress, improving the lives of many millions. Instead of following the trend and capitalising on the country’s strategic location Nepal is held back at every turn, and seems less prepared to face the challenges of the 21st century now than at the turn of the millennia. Needless to say, it should never have turned out this way.