Bhutia Busty Monastery in Darjeeling

Innocence aglore!

Young boys excited over being photographed

Tourists Trickle in Darjeeling!

Tourists dress takes photographs dressed in ethnic costumes

Photo by El Condor

Nepal: The Coming Constitution and the Issue of Transformation

FROM GROUND REPORT

BY MOHAN NEPAL

The Nepalis have never obtained an opportunity to draft their constitution by themselves. So far they have been ruled by the constitutions designed by individual elites and traditional power-wielders. In other words, feudal forces in different forms have ruled the Nepali society for centuries.

The historical mass movement of 2006, despite counterrevolutionary efforts to re-frustrate the Nepalis, has created in them a bright hope for total transformation of their lives. It is believed that the recently elected Constituent Assembly could be utilized for the long-waited transformation of the Nepali society.

Total transformation becomes an empty talk in absence of political, economic and social transformation.

There has been little debate about the political transformation in the country. Political communication has been a forgotten part of political affairs. Indeed, no democracy can thrive in absence of adequate communication on political transformation.

Some political parties mistakenly think that democracy is their own ascendance to power, continuous corruption, elections and the maintenance of status quo. But people’s life status teaches us many things regarding what is democracy and what is not.

In fact, political transformation mainly involves the task of transforming the mindset of political players. Building up healthy and morally cultured political players is inalienably concerned with the process of political transformation. Educating, re-educating and continuously refining political minds are essential for transforming political mindset.

A change-resisting mentality cannot address the latest needs of human society. Such a mentality is used to understanding socio-economic relations in a superiority-inferiority perspective. This perspective, disguised in subtle ways, basically works against the universal human values of equality, liberty and fraternity.

Besides, political culture is a vital ingredient of political transformation. A set of thoughts and behavioral codes can shape up political culture. So long as political leaderships cannot follow moral obligations towards people as self-guiding rules, a good political culture cannot grow in the country. But a politically untransformed political party cannot work to transform the country. It cannot give a clear vision for the people to go ahead.

Once political parties genuinely engaged in the process of transforming themselves, its positive impact will be seen on their regional, district and village units, which are people’s political channels. Thus, political transformation within political parties is closely related to the country/s overall transformation process.

The economic transformation of the country is impossible without political transformation because policy formation is mainly guided by political forces. In fact, economic policies reflect the nature of political mindset. The nature of economic policies further reflects the nature of class prejudices in the national economy.

Some people have the misconception that investment and technologies determine economic policy formulation. Investment and technologies influence economic policy formulation but do not determine it. Political forces are the chief decision-makers in the orientation of the country’s economy. In the context of Nepal, the prosperity concentrated among the elite members of society shows the lack of economic vision to economically empower grassroot people in the country. Nepal’s national economy is mainly based on personal commission-making that lessens the country’s production capacity as well as people’s creativity. When national economy is far more import-oriented, there cannot be balanced between consumption and production. Consequently, the nation becomes a mere consumer of the products and services of multinational companies. The productivity of citizens is used more on selling imported products than on producing to export. Because of this, the income out of the remittances of the Nepali citizens working abroad goes back to foreign countries.

Economic transformation is impossible without the control of all-pervasive corruption. Corruption does not cease to become a major disease of the nation without breaking its nexus with political leaderships. Thus, the issue of combating corruption cannot be alienated from the issue of political morality and culture.

Indeed, political decision-making plays a key role in designing economic policies aiming at transforming people’s economic status.

Similarly, all other successes can change into failures if people’s social life remains untransformed.

Bear Attack Mother and Son Duo in Darjeeling hills

Photo by Himalaya Darpan

Gurung Women gather to pray for Gorkhaland

Gurung Women gather in their ethnic costumes to participate at the prayer service for Gorkhaland

Serious Implications of the Presidential Election in Nepal

[FROM GROUND REPORT]

BY MOHAN NEPAL

The election of the first Nepali president by the recently elected Constituent Assembly has become an epoch-making event in the political history of Nepal. This is something that the 99.9 percent Nepalis, who voted for the republican structure of the country, cannot differ from. A Nepali citizen was able to claim and win the position of the head of the state. This is the basic fact to note.

However, most of the Nepalis could not enjoy and celebrate this history-making event. Why? No nationwide celebrations could be seen. The reasons are very serious.

Those who did their best to protect feudal monarchy throughout their political life were trying to displace the genuine repubican forces of the country. They did this in the name of electing the first president of the country. Ram Raja Prasad Singh, a veteran republican leader of Nepal, was the Maoist-backed presidential candidate. He was defeated by the mega-alliance among 23 parties. He would definitely win if he was backed up not by the Maoist party but by some other pro-India force.

A psychological reason defeated Singh. All the other 23 parties, out of 25 parties, believed the emergence of Maoists as a peaceful political force was a direct threat to their future. This was the reason for their alliance. There was no other notable factor. Politics of vendetta, it is.

Perhaps Maoists, too, must have learnt something from this election. They might have developed a dominating attitude, disliked by other political forces. Although Ram Raja Prasad Singh had practically sowed the seed of republic during King Mahendra’s reign in Nepal, he had to accept the defeat jointly caused by former monarchists. He had challened the king at the time of taking oath—he had to swear in for dying for monarchy but he swore in for dying for the people of Nepal. This pro-public commitment challening the monarchy led him to prison. In 1985, Singh led a series of violent bomb explosions against the establishments of monarchy. The royal regime declared a death sentence against him and his colleagues. Influenced by Marxism, he never changed his stance for republic. On the contrary, many so-called prominet communist leaders had surrendered to monarchy and served feudalism.

A serious implication of the presidential election is the fact that the Nepali Congress and the UML will do everything they can to counter the Maoists’ move towards state power. They are seeking pre-guarantee that nothing will change with the Maoists in power. But Maoists have promised to the people that there will be something different to appreciate if they go to power. Their argument remains that the previously ruling parties want to prevent revolutionaries from implementing certain policies that could further consolidate their hold in power.

The anti-Maoist alliance in the presidential election shows the other parties’ fear. Another notable fact in the presidential election is the victory of Vice-President Parmananda Jha, a former judge questioned by the Supreme Court of Nepal for mishandling a drug deal case. He was demoted from the Supreme Court justice to the Appellate Court judge for his alleged involvement in releasing a Dil Bahadur Gurung imprisoned for drug trafficking.

Contemporary Nepali Literature: Fiction — the Short Story

By Mukul Dahal

Editor: Pen Himalaya

This essay is part four of the author’s “Contemporary Nepali Literature: A Bird’s Eye View.”

Nepali short story has achieved its present state of development in shorter time than other genres. This area of literature has already been enriched by a number of classic world-class short stories. The contribution of the figures such as Guru Prasad Mainali, Pushkar Samser Rana, Posan Pande, Indra Bahadur Rai, Biseswor Prasad Koirala, Bhimnidhi Tiwari, Bhawani Bhikshu, Paarizaat can hardly be exaggerated. The short story writers like Ramesh Bikal, Parashu Pradhan, Sanat Regmi, Dhruba Sapkota, Shailendra Sakar, Nayan Raj Pandey, Benju Sharma, Sita Pandey and their peers are those well esteemed writers who join the past with the present. These writers have written stories of artistic intent with themes related to Nepal and Nepali’s cultural life and have made short stories even popular among Nepali people.

In the ’60s Nepali stories saw a change in their characterization and tone. It was the most influential movement Teshro Aayam (The Third Dimension) that has its impact on short stories too. Indra Bahadur Rai, one of the trios to launch the movement is a very innovative short story writer. Although the Third Dimension triggered an intellectual debate in literary circles and provided a stimulus to Nepali literature, it could not produce a generation to follow it. So its impact gradually wore off. Indra Bahadur Rai has come up with Leela Lekhan (Leela Writing). It’s a literary theory to approach literary works and a philosophy in itself. His Kathputaliko Man (The Heart of a Puppet) is the first collection of short stories based on Leela Lekhan. Some writers are putting it into their works successfully.

Realism has been the sustained base of Nepali short stories from the past to the present. Other trends include progressive ideology, psychological realism and experimentalism. Leela lekhan and other post modernist experiments operative in the latest decade seem to shake realism. Writers are breaking away from the established norms and values and are seeking to explore new heights and new horizons. This group of writers has been providing Nepali readers with thoroughly new texts. Village life, life in Kathmandu and Darjeeling, the lives of women in a male-dominated society, caste, class, and ethnic relations, the Gurkha soldier, poverty, corruption and most recently the impact of technological development on life have been the recurring themes of Nepali short stories.

Contemporary Nepali Literature: A Bird’s Eye View — Historical Background

Having come through the history of over a century, Nepali literature stands by itself as a literature that offers distinct colors and tastes of this Shangri-La kingdom. It is a continuation from the past to the present. So, Nepali literature, like other areas of studies, cannot be viewed in isolation. The past has always influenced the present and the present has always sought to break away from the bondage of the past.

The first written literary work in Nepali was Bhanubhakta’s Ramayana (1883). The publication of the book created a stir in the Nepali society and marked the end of the ancient period and the beginning of the medieval. Because of the use of simple language and the rhythm easy to be picked by the common people, the Ramayana attained lasting popularity in Nepali society. The Medieval period to some extent was free from religious dominance of Bhaktikaal (Devotional Period). The period was so much bent on Shringaar (Romance). But the mythological tradition persisted through these times too. It saw an extreme of shringaar with the publication of Lekhnath Poudel’s Suktisindhu (1917) which was banned by the ruling Ranas. This was an important event that forced Nepali literature to turn to society and social life.

The modernists’ tone was most apparently set after the advent of democracy in 1951 although its sparks were already in view right from the beginning of 1920s. Writers began to study new trends of literature in the West and write under their influence. Various literary movements including Boot Polish Aandolan ( Boot Polish Movement), Sadak Kabita Kranti (Street Poetry Revolution), Aswikrit Jamaat Ko Kabita (Poetry of the Discarded Community), Ralpha Aandolan (Ralpha Movement), Bhok Kabita (Poetry out of Hunger) and Teshro Aayam (The Third Dimension) that appeared in the Nepali literary scene substantially contributed to the modern Nepali literature. All these literary movements together laid a concrete base for the literature of the postmodern times. In this write-up, I have made an attempt to cast a humble and hurried glance at the Nepali literature of the post modern times. So it offers only a superficial study, not an in-depth and erudite one.

Contemporary Nepali Literature: Poetry

A distinction can be made between the group of writers and poets who were the noted figures of the modern times and still active in their literary output and another group of emerging new generation who are striving to establish a new trend of writing poetry. Nepali poetry has come a long way since Gopal Prasad Rimal (1918-1973) rescued it from the bondage of the past, writing prose poems dealing with contemporary problems and his successor Bhupi Sherchan made prose poetry popular among the masses. A few poets around their time led Nepali poetry to obscurity in the and distanced it from Nepali social life. Poets like Bashu Shashi, Krishna Bhusan Bal, Shailendra Sakar, Parizat, Sharada Sharma, Bishnu Bibhu Ghimire, Jeevan Aacharya, Meen Bahadur Bista, Manju Kanchuli, Shyamal and Bibas Pokhrel pulled Nepali poetry from the quagmire of obscurity and proved it a beautiful creation with subtle human feelings and concern towards social unrest. Some poets among them are actively creative till the date. So the contemporary scene of Nepali poetry is the continuation of the past on the one hand while on the other a journey to the new direction.

The newly emerging generation of poets includes Ramesh Shrestha, Bhisma Upreti, Shrawan Mukarung, Biplov Dhakal, Ramesh Kshitiz, Momila, Manu Manjil, Upendra Subba, Hangyung Agyat, Jyoti Jungle, R. M. Dangol, Byakul Pathak, Mukul Dahal and the like. They have several challenges in front of them. First they are trying to find, stylistically as well as thematically, a new trend of expression in their poetry. Next they are attempting to combat and break away from the hypocritical tradition that has eclipsed the literary sky. A host of literary artists are after so called power and have begun to believe more in the amount of sycophancy they render than in the quality of their writing. This has been rather negative enforcement and has misled new writers. The new generation of genuine poets and writers has to fight it tooth and nail.

The contemporary poets draw themes of poetry from their wounded sensibility caused by bloody insurgency at home. Their voice is that of discontentment, depression, hopelessness and satire and an ultimate desire for peace. Stylistically today’s poetry has departed radically from the trend of the 60s that was full of mythological references and apparently meaningless imagery. The contemporary poets explore and use personal imagery and symbols picked up from the world around them.

Contemporary Nepali Literature: Lyrical Poems (Ghazals and Lyrics)

Lyric as a distinct genre has a history of about five decades whereas ghazal has a history of over a century. Lyric existed as folk lore and religious hymns in the first half of the century. Lyric emerged as a literary genre in the fifties. Today’s lyrics sing not only of love and betrayal but also of social life and human suffering. Lyricists are conscious enough to imbue their lyrics with literary colors and contents. A trend of writing lyrics not only to be sung but also to be read has evolved in Nepali literature. Publication of the anthology of lyrics is on the rise. The noted contemporary lyricists are Kiran Kharel, Ratnashamser Thapa, Prem Binod Nandan, Yadav Kharel, Ishwor Ballaw, Kali Prasad Rijal, Kshetra Pratap Adhikari, Ram Man Trishit, Rajendra Thapa, Ganesh Rasik, Hiraya Bhojpure, Daibagya raj Neupane, Bhim Birag, Krishna Prasad Parajuli, Shrawan Mukarung, Sashwat Parajuli, Suman Pokhrel etc.

Ghazal has been the most vibrant area of contemporary literary scene. This genre has attracted an amazing number of literary artists from the new generation although certain structural rules are to be observed while composing it. This is quite positive sign for Nepali ghazal. Having made a long journey from Motiram Bhatta to Upendra Bahadur Jigar to Bund Rana, Gyanuwakar Poudel, Manu Brajaki, Lalijan Rawal and from them to the new generation, Nepali ghazal has gained a shape and artistry. Love and praise of beauty of the beloved and also of nature are the classic and most suited themes of ghazal. Apart from them ghazal writers today also use ghazal as a vehicle for satire on and criticism of the evil side of human nature and society. One most important aspect to be noted here is that ghazals are pouring into this field but majority of those trying hand at it lack consciousness to impart quality that includes choice of soft words and musicality in their ghazals. This quality is essentially sought in the genre like this. There are some established names who have been writing ghazals with this sense in mind. Such writers are Bund Rana, Lalizan Rawal, Gyanuwakar Poudel, Mun Poudel, Pramod Snehi, Manu Brajaki, Shrestha Piya Patthar, Dhruba Madhikarmi, Jainendra Jeewan, Manu Manjil, Bibas Pokhrel, Shreedhar Kattel etc.

OTHER GENRES

There are other equally important and popular genres of prose one should not skip while discussing Nepali literature. Travel writing, which is one of them, is very popular and widely written in Nepal. Writers like Taranath Sharma, Ramesh Vikal, Ghanashyam Rajkarnikar, Madan Mani Dikshit, Shreekrishna Gautam and Manjul have written great works of travelogue. Bhisma Upreti, Yubaraj Nayaghare, Rashmishekhar, Gyanendra Bibas are some names from the younger generation.

Biography and literature for children demand separate space. I have not incorporated them in this brief write up. It is better to cover them in separate writing.

Nepali PM submits resignation

FROM PEOPLE’S DAILY ONLINE, CHINA

Nepali Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala Wednesday tabled his resignation.

Koirala submitted his resignation before the newly sworn-in President Ram Baran Yadav.

The octogenarian Nepali Congress leader had reached the Presidential residence at Shital Niwas in Kathmandu to attend the sworn-in ceremony of the newly elected President and Vice President.

A cabinet meeting held Wednesday decided that Prime Minister Koirala, who has already announced his resignation before the Constituent Assembly earlier, would officially offer his resignation.

After the prime minister’s resignation is formally accepted by the president, the interim government would also be dissolved from Wednesday.

However, the current cabinet would continue to function as a “caretaker government” until a new government assumes the office.

Ram Baran Yadav from Nepali Congress was elected president on Monday, while the Constituent Assembly last Saturday declared Madhesi People’s Rights Forum candidate Paramananda Jha the first vice president of the republican Nepal.

Meanwhile, the government announced a public holiday on Thursday.

Maoists not to join next Government in Nepal

FROM SOUTH EAST ASIAN MEDIA NET

Kathmandu, July 23 : The Maoists have said that they will now stay away from the process of forming a new Government in Nepal.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda said the decision was made by the party central secretariat to stay away from the next government after the Constituent Assembly (CA) members ‘rejected’ Ram Raja Prasad Singh in Presidential run-off election.

Nepali Congress (NC) candidate Dr Ram Baran Yadav bagged 308 votes while Ram Raja Prasad Singh ended up with 282 votes.

Prachanda said that his party considers the latest political developments and their nature as “counter-revolutionary’” despite the achievements of post Constituent Assembly (CA) polls.

He claimed that reactionary forces have been hatching conspiracies against his party in an attempt to derail the party’s right to lead the next government and write a new Constitution, which was mandated by the people in the Constituent Assembly (CA) polls.

He also said that Nepal’s first President was elected from the Madhesi community because of the Maoists’ idea of inclusiveness.

He strongly denounced the new alliance of the Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML and the Madhesi People’s Rights Forum.

Palace massacre: now eyewitness claims Dipendra was killed first

FROM INDIA ENEWS

By Sudeshna Sarkar

Was crown prince Dipendra wrongly implicated for the 2001 palace massacre that wiped out the royal family to protect the real assassins?

A Nepali tabloid claimed to have found an eyewitness who was present in the Narayanhity royal palace in Kathmandu on the fateful night of June 1, 2001 when sudden gunfire in the tightly guarded palace resulted in the killing of the then king Birendra and nine more members of the royal family.

The Naya Patrika daily Wednesday carried an ‘eyewitness’ account by Lal Bahadur Lamteri Magar, who said he had been deployed as an army havaldar at the palace on the day the tragedy occurred.

Magar reportedly told the daily that the first shootings were heard in the crown prince’s quarters, where Dipendra had gone to rest after being overcome by the drugs and drinks he had consumed.

According to his inference, Dipendra, the alleged perpetrator, was killed first, after which the assassin(s) went to the hall where the rest of the royal family had met for a usual Friday night get-together and let fly with guns.

Magar said he helped carry fatally shot king Birendra to the army hospital in Kathmandu. The king was still alive and moaning ‘It hurts, it hurts’ on the way to the hospital, where he was declared dead.

Later, when Dipendra was accused of being the gunman who created the havoc, the soldier said he and other soldiers had submitted a petition at the palace, saying what they had heard and expressing their sorrow at the unjust allegation.

The result, the soldier said, was frightening. He was arrested by the army, blindfolded and kept in detention for a month.

After that, he was charged with a murder committed while he was under detention and found guilty by a district court, the soldier reportedly told the tabloid.

Magar is currently serving his sentence in Kathmandu valley’s Nakhu Jail.

Maoists not to join next Government in Nepal

FROM NEW KERALA

Kathmandu July 23 : The Maoists have said that they will now stay away from the process of forming a new Government in Nepal.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda said the decision was made by the party central secretariat to stay away from the next government after the Constituent Assembly (CA) members ‘rejected’ Ram Raja Prasad Singh in Presidential run-off election.

Nepali Congress (NC) candidate Dr Ram Baran Yadav bagged 308 votes while Ram Raja Prasad Singh ended up with 282 votes.

Prachanda said that his party considers the latest political developments and their nature as “counter-revolutionary’” despite the achievements of post Constituent Assembly (CA) polls.

He claimed that reactionary forces have been hatching conspiracies against his party in an attempt to derail the party’s right to lead the next government and write a new Constitution, which was mandated by the people in the Constituent Assembly (CA) polls.

He also said that Nepal’s first President was elected from the Madhesi community because of the Maoists’ idea of inclusiveness.

He strongly denounced the new alliance of the Nepali Congress, the CPN-UML and the Madhesi People’s Rights Forum.

Trafficking: Sans frontiers!

Whenever problems relating to the open border have been raised, leaders from both the sides have said it with immense pride that the open border is the symbol of friendship between the two countries and the problems in the area are very nominal and insignificant. But there are many significant problems stemming from the open border. From trafficking to smuggling and kidnapping to homicide, the bordering areas are increasing becoming crime hubs.

By Aruna Joshi

There are many advantages for a country whose southern neighbor is 21 times larger than it. But the problems and challenges seem to outweigh the advantages. A person walking on the streets of New Delhi would expect that the northern neighbour would benefit from the access to India’s burgeoning market. But what they turn a blind eye on is the many more problems that come with sharing a border that is not only open but is also notorious for having one of the highest criminal rates in the region.

Nepal shares over 1700 km border with its southern neighbor India. Since antiquity the cultural bonds between the peoples of the two countries have been very significant. The people of the entire region have been traveling around without restrictions since historic times. Nepalese history reveals that the early rulers of Nepal like Lichchavis and Shahs were original inhabitants of different parts of the subcontinent, now under India. In recent times India has become one of the safe heavens for anti-government groups from Nepal. The democratic forces amassed their strength in India to launch a revolution against the Rana regime establishment in Nepal. Although India does not accept (nor has it denied) the Nepalese press speculated that the Maoist rebels hideouts were in India. The historic 12-point deal between the then seven-party alliance and the Maoists was struck in an undisclosed location in India.

Whenever problems relating to the open border have been raised, leaders from both the sides have said it with immense pride that the open border is the symbol of friendship between the two countries and the problems in the area are very nominal and insignificant. But there are many significant problems stemming from the open border. From trafficking to smuggling and kidnapping to homicide, the bordering areas are increasing becoming crime hubs.

Around the world, every year, people migrate from one place to another in search of jobs that they think will change their lives for better. Even in countries where immigration is restricted, people find illegal ways (often risking their own lives) to get into foreign lands.  But the open border between Nepal and India simply undermines the risk. Even if the immigrants want to go unnoticed, there are more than 200 exit points alone in a small VDC like Pashupatinagar, Ilam district. This has made it easier for the criminals to evade the laws.

Of all the crimes trafficking is a crime that goes unrecorded by the local police in the border areas. The “Act to control of selling, buying and trafficking of human beings, 2064″ defines trafficking as the selling and buying of human being, human organs, and forcing for prostitution. Among all the issues of trafficking, trafficking for the purpose of prostitution has been the burning issue in the border area. In a study conducted by the students of Kathmandu School of Law, in January 2008, at Pashupatinagar, the police records showed there were not a single FIR (First Information Report) filed related to trafficking in the last six years. It might startle many Kathmandu based NGOs that earn their living by selling the notion that the border area is rife with trafficking incidents, they need not worry.

Nepal Foreign Ministry to begin working from Narayanhity Palace

FROM SOUTH EAST ASIA NEWS

Kathmandu, July 23 : Nepal’s Foreign Ministry will begin its work from the Narayanhity Palace from Sunday.

The Ministry is being shifted to a building within the Narayanhity Palace Museum complex as Shital Niwas has been turned into the office of the President.

“Since people seek services from these three sections (passport, consular and legal sections) the most, they will be shifted first,” nepalnews quoted Foreign Secretary Gyan Chandra Acharya, as saying.

Later, other sections will be transferred to the Narayanhity.

Deafening Indian silence on Nepal’s new president

FROM INDIA ENEWS

By Sudeshna Sarkar

Eyebrows are being raised in Nepal about India’s silence on the first presidential election in the Himalayan republic that saw a seasoned politician with Indian roots become the nation’s first president.

As the jubilant country readied Wednesday for the swearing-in of Ram Baran Yadav Wednesday as head of state – he replaces deposed king Gyanendra – there was no congratulatory message from New Delhi, which had otherwise shown intense interest in the election.

In sharp contrast, two months ago, when Nepal’s newly elected constituent assembly formally proclaimed the Hindu kingdom a secular, federal republic, abolishing its 239-year-old monarchy, India was the first to send its congratulations.

The historic first sitting of the assembly May 28 started with acting chairman K.B. Gurung reading out the congratulatory message sent by his counterpart, India’s parliament speaker Somnath Chatterjee.

However, while the EU, UN, US and even Nepal’s northern neighbour China have sent public messages of congratulations on the successful first presidential election, India still lags behind.

The silence comes after growing allegations by Nepal’s political parties that New Delhi had tried to dictate who would be the first president of the new republic.

Maoist chief Prachanda, who relinquished his bid to lead the new government after his party’s candidate lost the presidential election, said New Delhi had ‘pressured’ the major political parties to nominate Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala as the first president.

At a press conference called in the party’s parliamentary office Tuesday to announce that the Maoists would now not form the government but sit in opposition, Prachanda said his party could not accept the Indian ‘recommendation’.

Nepali first president sworn in

Newly elected President Ram Baran Yadav (saluting) of Nepal, the world’s youngest republic, is sworn in at the office of president, Shital Niwas, in Kathmandu, July 23, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)

FROM CHINA DAILY

KATHMANDU, July 23 (Xinhua) — Newly elected President Ram Baran Yadav of Nepal, the world’s youngest republic, was sworn in on Wednesday at the office of President, Shital Niwas, in Nepali capital Kathmandu.

Chief Justice Kedar Prasad Giri conducted his swearing in. After the oath-taking ceremony, the president went to his office, delivering a speech to the country.

Shital Niwas, former office for the foreign affairs ministry, has been decorated to welcome the new president.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, ministers, chiefs and officials of constitutional bodies, leaders of political parties, security chiefs and journalists have been invited to participate in the swearing in ceremony.

A total of 60 staffs including one secretary and three joint secretaries have been deployed at the president’s office.

Monk inspires W. Van teen’s trip to Nepal

By Kian Khoshnevis, North Shore News

Brandon Ayers went five months without taking a hot shower. But that didn’t stop the 18-year-old from helping out children in need in Kathmandu, Nepal. [Inset: Brandon Ayers (centre) enjoys his time with students in Nepal. The North Vancouver resident spent a year in South East Asia where he helped teach English, social studies, sciences and computers.]

A resident of West Vancouver and a 2007 graduate of Mulgrave school, Ayers embarked on a year-long mission to South East Asia in July 2007, during which he volunteered for several aid organizations and sought to have a positive influence on people in need.

Ayers was inspired by another teenager, Tsering Dorje, an 18-year-old Buddhist monk from Nepal, who came to Mulgrave school on exchange in 2005, and stayed for two years with the Ayers family.

“Tsering had a big influence on me,” Ayers said. “Hearing him talk about his home motivated me to do something.”

Ayers embarked on his mission without knowing much about where it was taking him.

“I didn’t really set any specific goals for my trip, because when I went into it, I was pretty blind towards what I would be doing,” he said. “I didn’t really know whether I would be building, taking part in physical labour or teaching. I just wanted to get a feel for it and help in anyway that I could.”

Seventeen at the time, Ayers helped children learn in the small Himalayan village, teaching them subjects such as English, social studies, sciences and computers. He also taught first aid, worked in a medical clinic, and helped set up an earthquake evacuation program for the area while raising funds for supplies.

As a qualified lifeguard, he even created the area’s first swimming program.

Koirala to tender his resignation today

FROM PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Kathmandu, July 23 : Nepal Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala is all set to tender his resignation to newly elected President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav after the latter is officially sworn-in.

According to Nepalnews, Koirala will tendering his resignation today to pave the way for the formation of a new Government, a day after he accepted latter’s resignation from the post of General Secretary and general member of Nepali Congress.

The Nepal cabinet meeting held today had, by reviewing the works accomplished by the current Government that came into existence after the April movement, decided that Koirala, who has already announced his resignation before the Constituent Assembly (CA), would officially tender his resignation.

After the President Yadav formally accepts the Prime Minister’s resignation, the interim Government would also be dissolved from today.

However, the current Nepal cabinet would continue to function as a “caretaker Government” until a new government assumes the office.

Showcasing writing skills

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

LINK SHARED BY AARDEE

A national level inter-school essay competition for students from Class VI to XII was hosted by the Tata group. Now, in its second edition, the Tata Building India Essay Competition was held amongst schools in 12 cities across the country and 26,270 students across 50 schools in Kolkata participated in it. Winners from each city will now vie for the national level recognition. The Tata Group felicitated the young creative minds of Kolkata at the city level awards function of ‘Tata Building India Essay Competition’ held at the Birla High School Vidya Mandir auditorium.

The chief guest for the evening, Dr Surabhi Banerjee, Vice Chancellor- Gour Banga University, gave away the trophies and certificates to the students. The winners of the three categories – Junior, Middle and Senior level were Ruchi Todi from Loreto House (Middleton Row), Mitul Islam and Debomita Chakraborty from BD Memorial Institution, respectively. Tata Building India National Essay Competition is a unique initiative by the Tata Group to provide a platform for encouraging the young leaders of tomorrow to showcase their skills while expressing their vision of the India of the future.

The winners were recognised for their creative and thought-provoking ideas on ‘Nation Building’ put forth in the essays. The winning essays from Kolkata will now be judged with winners from across 11 other cities – Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Chandigarh, Jamshedpur, Darjeeling, Indore, Ahmedabad, Pune and Mumbai for the National level scheduled to be announced in August 2008.

‘Nation Building’ is the theme for this essay competition and the topics given to students across all the 12 cities were “What must we do to make our education system prepare us for better tomorrow” and “India in the last 60 and next 60”.

The runners up of the Tata Building India Essay Competition— city level in Kolkata across the 3 categories were: Junior Level—Mitrajyoti Ghosh from BD Memorial Institution, Middle Level — Farhad Khan from The Park English School and Senior Level Aniruddha Dey from Don Bosco Liluah.

GJMM to observe Shahid Diwas

FROM THE STATESMAN

DARJEELING, July 23: The Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha will re-christen the 1200 GNLF martyrs of the 1986 Gorkhaland agitation simply as “Martyrs for Gorkhaland” depriving the GNLF the sentimental advantage it enjoyed in the Darjeeling Hills for the past two decades. “These people laid their lives for the cause of Gorkhaland and hence they should bear no political party tag. They will now be known simply as martyrs for Gorkhaland,” declared GJMM general secretary Mr Roshan Giri today.

All martyr columns and cemeteries would be painted white and a white flag planted alongside indicating “peace” on the eve of ‘Shahid Diwas’ to be observed by the GJMM on 27 July at JB Thapa Park to commemorate the martyrs. “No party flag would be seen fluttering in their cemeteries which would be painted white. A white flag would be planted as the Shahid’s should not be tainted by any political party’scolour,” Mr Giri stated.

The GJMM has formed a seven-member committee to co-ordinate the Shahid Diwas preparations to be observed in all areas of the proposed state of Gorkhaland. The observance will start with a prayer followed by lighting1200 lamps in memory of the martyrs. “These martyrs have not been paid a true tribute till now and we intend to take up from here,” Mr Giri said.

However, there is still no indication whether the GNLF would hold a parallel ceremony to commemorate the martyrs like it did until last year.

Late comers!

FROM THE STATESMAN

SILIGURI, July 23: The Siliguri District Hospital is in the thick of a controversy again with a section of the outdoor patients alleging that attending physicians reported late subjecting the patients to inconvenience.
“The Siliguri Hospital outdoor unit never starts at the fixed time, which is 9 a.m. and we have to keep standing in the queue for some time before the on-duty physicians start arriving,” the patients alleged in unison. A section of hospital employees also slammed an allegation against the Medical Superintendent that he was accustomed to rebuking the lower category staff for dereliction of duty but never raised question with the late arrival of the doctors.

Resentment seems to be growing amongst the outdoor patients, coming for treatment from far-flung areas of the Siliguri sub-division over the late start of the outdoor department. “The delayed arrival of the doctors and the late start of the Siliguri hospital outdoor is not a novel experience for us. We are habituated to it. But we still come much before 9 a.m. to avoid the rush for tickets. Most of the on-duty physicians start arriving at around 10 a.m. and the outdoor opens after 10 a.m.,” alleged Mrs Sukha Oaraon of Salbari. Another patient, Mrs Manjusri Goel of Ranidanga alleged that some doctors were wont to leave the outdoor in a huff and returned after some time at their own sweet will. “Besides, treatment has reduced itself to a routine affair, devoid of affection and care for the patients. We come here with great expectation, but we go back disillusioned,” she said.

The Medical Superintendent Dr Prodip Kumar Sarkar said that physicians coming late was not in his knowledge. “The doctors might have some practical problems once or twice a week, but the outdoor starts not later than 9.30 a.m,” Dr Sarkar claimed.

CPI-ML protest against N-deal

FROM THE STATESMAN

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SILIGURI, July 23: The CPI-ML (Liberation) today staged a sit-in-demonstration at Hashmi Chawk in Siliguri protesting against the Indo-US Nuclear deal and the unabated hike in price of the essential commodities. Some members of the CPRM, the breakaway group of the CPI-M in the Darjeeling hills, also participated in today’s demonstration.

Mr Basudeb Basu, a CPI-ML (Liberation) state secretariat member, said that the topical issues apart, today’s demonstration marked the centenary of the first strike called by the working class in India. “The working class ventilated political protest for the first time in the country when the legendary leader Bal Gangadhar Tilak was arrested. A six-day industrial strike was called in Mumbai on 23 July, 1908,” Mr Basu said.

Addressing the gathering another CPI-ML leader Mr Abhijit Majumder said that the political class of the country seemed desperate to sink the glorious history of the workers’ movement. “This is natural as they are surrendering before the growing pressure of the imperialism,” Mr Majumder said.

He further said that there was a distinct connection between the undisguised surrender before the US imperialism and the spiraling hike in prices. “The political class is becoming indifferent to the plight of the suffering mass, particularly the working class,” he said. Mr Taramoni Rai, Mr Arun Ghatani and Mr Kailash Khawas, all from the CPRM, also addressed the congregation.

More casualties in man-elephant conflict

FROM THE STATESMAN

SILIGURI, July 23: The man-elephant conflict continues in north Bengal with five human casualties in the last 15 days.  In the wee hours yesterday, a speeding train mowed down a wild pachyderm near the Gulma station in Siliguri, but later in the evening a marauding tusker trampled a man to death at Kalchini block in the Dooars.

According to locals of Garam Basti village at Kalchini, the lone tusker forayed into the village from the adjacent Damanpur forest and crushed Robin Sangma (27), who was walking along the village trail. The youth died on the spot.

The tusker also decimated three huts before returning to the Damanpur forest.

Angry villagers of Garam Basti blocked the NH 31C for about an hour this morning. The blockade was withdrawn after forest officials assured adequate compensation for the dead man’s family.

With this, the number of human casualties caused by wild elephants in north Bengal has shot up to five in just the last 15 days. Of these, four people were killed in the Dooars.

On 7 July, a man was trampled to death by a wild tusker at Gayerkata. On 9 July, a male tea worker was trampled and killed by a tusker at Satali tea estate under Kalchini police station.

Then on 13 July, a tusker from the Budhaganj forest raided a village near Raninagar in the Jalpaiguri plains and trampled a jute farmer to death. Again, on 15 July, a marauding tusker killed another tea worker at Nangdella tea estate in the Dooars.

At least nine wild elephants too have died unnatural deaths in north Bengal in the past 45 days by way of electrocution, poisoning and train accident.

Meet to preserve wildlife

FROM THE TELEGRAPH

SILIGURI, July 23: It was a condolence meeting with a difference!

To generate awareness among the young generation in the region about the need to protect and preserve wildlife, the students, teachers and staff of the Baghajatin Vidyapith in Pradhananagar organised a condolence meeting yesterday to mourn the death of a wild elephant mowed down by a speeding train near the Gulma Station inside the Mahananada Wildlife sanctuary on 21 July.

Informing this, Mr Debopratim Saha, a Zoology teacher of the school, said over 700 students took part in the meeting, the main objective of which was to create awareness about the need to maintain ecological balance and to inspire people as well as the administrators to devise ways to prevent the frequent deaths of elephants and the other wild animals in the region.

Bangla body to raise volunteer force to counter GPL

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SILIGURI, July 23: The Bangla O Bangla Bhasa Bacho Committee (BOBBBC) – a Bengali nationalist outfit based in Siliguri has announced to raise a volunteer force to counter the Gorkhaland Personnel (GLP) of the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM).

The decision was announced by the BOBBBC president Dr Mukundo Mazumdar during a ‘citizen’s convention’ held at the Ramkinkar Hall in Siliguri today. Representatives of the Bharatiya Banglabhasi Mahasabha, Jana Jagaran, Jana Chetana and other individuals attended the convention.

“We are naming it the ‘Bengal Volunteer’ and the process for enrolment of volunteers would begin by next week. The primary task of the BV would be to fight the demand for further division of Bengal in a peaceful manner, as also to increase public awareness against the separatist claims,” Dr Mazumdar elaborated. Initially, the organisation is eyeing to enroll 100 volunteers in Siliguri sub-division and then spread recruitment to the Dooars and other parts of the state. The organization, however, has not yet decided whether to equip members of the ‘Bengal Volunteer’ with any sort of weapon or not. “We have not yet taken a decision on it, but the volunteers may be allowed to carry batons at best,” the BOBBBC president said.

The Darjeeling based Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha is fighting for a separate state of Gorkhaland and is raising the GLP as a volunteer force to carry on its struggle for the separate statehood. The BOBBBC on the other hand, is opposed to the Gorkhaland demand and has been persistently campaigning against the GJMM campaign in this regard.