#397 25 - April - 1 May 2008 16 pages Rs 30

Weekly Internet Poll # 398. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.comQ. Do you trust the Maoists when theysay they will support a capitalisteconomy?

Weekly Internet Poll # 397

Q. Should the NC and the UML join theMaoists in the government?

Total votes: 6,940

he final results of the 10April elections now in,the Maoists will be the

largest party in a hung assemblyand will need help to form a newgovernment.

In the past week, Maoistleaders have been engaged inhectic lobbying with the parties.They have also tried to reassurethe business community andNepal’s donors not to be spooked

by their radical rhetoric.Maoist chairman Pushpa

Kamal Dahal and deputyBaburam Bhattarai were invitedto a regular monthly meeting ofthe UN with the Nepal-baseddonor community onThursday. Diplomats quizzedthe Maoist duo about theparty’s policy on foreign aid,the budget, education policy,army integration and themonarchy.

Seats set aside at the closed

door meeting for representativesfrom China and India wereempty. American ambassador,Nancy Powell, was present butdidn’t ask anything. The USState Department said onTuesday that there was no moveto lift the Maoist terror tag, buthinted there could be a review.

“We reassured our foreignfriends that we are not adoctrinaire party, we are notagainst privatization andglobalization and will pursue amixed economy,” Dahal told thepress after the meeting.

Speaking at a paneldiscussion on Tuesdayorganised by Nepali Times,Maoist shadow foreign minister

C P Gajurel said his party wasgoing to be much more efficientabout using foreign aid. “Unlikein the past when aid did notreach the people because ofinstitutionalised corruption,every penny of foreign aid willhenceforth directly benefitNepalis,” he said.

Gajurel was sure his partywould lead the next governmentand stake its claim to the Ministryof Foreign Affairs, the HomeMinistry, Finance and Defence.

Also speaking in the panel wasMarkus Heiniger from the SwissForeign Ministry. “The lesson fromNepal’s peace process is that allstakeholders need to be included,”he said, “all the parties must be onboard as the government movestowards conflict transformation.”

Gajurel said his party wouldoverhaul the education system, butclarified: “It’s not our policy toclose down private schools.”

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

Let’s cooperate

T

ROUNDTABLE: Pushpa Kamal Dahal andBaburam Bhattarai with UNMIN’s Ian Martin and

the UN Humanitarian Coordinator, Robert Piper, ata meeting with the donor community on Thursday.

US ambassador Nancy Powell is at left, andChina’s empty chair in the foreground.

DEWAN RAI

EDITORIALPeace on a war-footing p2

Maoist leaders lobby the internationalcommunity for trust and support

2 25 APRIL - 1 MAY 2008 #397EDITORIAL

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PEACE ON A WAR-FOOTINGThe Maoists will soon be leading a government, and whether ornot they do that with inside or outside support of the NC, UMLor MJF is not so important in the larger scheme of things.

There are many reasons why the result of the 10 Aprilconstituent assembly election was a landmark, but the mostimportant is that it was a popular rejection of the status quo.Yes, there was some cheating. Yes, there was blatant andwidespread pre-poll intimidation of voters by the YCL, but theMaoists won fair and square.

There are plenty of lessons for the EC so mistakes thistime are not repeated in the next general elections. Theexcesses in the campaign period by over-zealous youngcommunists need to be meticulously documented. Lapses inpre-poll security has to be studied. There have to besafeguards in place to assure voters that their ballots aresecret and sacrosanct. Electronic ballots must be madenationwide next time and there must be provisions for absenteevoting.

There are three weeks after the EC declares the results tillthe time the constituent assembly meets. That isn’t much timeto sort out procedural issues like the exact sequence of eventsin replacing the monarchy with a new republican head of state,agreeing on a workplan for the assembly and setting up a newgovernment.

There will be strong temptation to be distracted by who getswhat ministry, whether or not other parties join in and if so whatportfolios they get to keep. We have to get out of the rent-seeking mentality that has traditionally made the division of thespoils all-important after an election.

Much more important this time, if this is truly a New Nepal,is not who gets to be ministers, but how they perform. Is there aproper policy framework guiding them? It would restoreconfidence in the Nepali people if the Maoists stayed above thewheeling-dealing to focus on immediate relief and give thepeople a tangible peace dividend. The smaller parties mustalso resist the urge to make political capital out of the Maoistdiscomfiture with being in the driving seat.

That would buy time for medium-term goals like massivejob-creation through food for work in infrastructure. In thelonger-term, we need a favourable investment climate soinvestors pour in money to develop hydropower, set upmanufacturing bases toexploit Nepal’scomparative advantage.We need peace anddevelopment on a warfooting, as it were.

From what we’veheard so far, the Maoistsseem to broadly knowwhat is wrong with thecountry. But they’ll needhelp in identifying whatneeds to be done, and beshown how to do itwithout making bigmistakes.

he fluidity in post-electionnational politics ismirrored in the Madhes.

All key actors are analysing theresults and what it means in termsof influence in Kathmandu. Mostparties are on wait-and-watchmode and only have a hazy idea ofwhat lies ahead.

The MJF is relishing itsvictory with ruthlessly ambitiousUpendra Yadav getting anotherboost. But the incoherence andcompeting ambitions within thetop Forum brass is already visible.Yadav sounds reconciliatory andcompletely willing to work withMaoists one day, the very next dayJ P Gupta takes a belligerent lineasking for immediateimplementation of agreementsbefore any co-operation.

The Forum needs to decidehow it understands this mandate.Is it to represent the Madhes ingovernment? Is it to continue theagitational politics of the pastyear? Will it do both (be inside,while continuing to be radical)like the Maoists in the past year?The third option seems the mostlikely: many in the Forum arekeen to be a part of the

Winners or losers, Madhesi parties don’thave a clear plan for the future

Poll post-mortem

TARAI EYEPrashant Jha

Kathmandu establishment torecoup their huge campaigninvestments. At the same time,they know distance from andopposition to Kathmandu ispolitically beneficial on theground. If they cosy up too muchwith the Maoists, the otherMadhesi parties will pounce onthe MJF base.

The defeat of the TMLP’sMahant Thakur was a blow to hisparty, Madhesi upper castes andlocal elites in Tarai towns. Somewithin TMLP are learnt to behappy, for this provides them anopportunity to wrest control ofthe new party. But most knowthat the party’s credibilitystemmed largely from Thakur’simage. His defeat means thatfuture defectors from NC willthink hard and prefer the MJFover TMLP.

Given that Thakur is notamong the most energetic leadersaround, he may pull back fromday-to-day politics. But if he hasthought of the TMLP as a long-term political project and ismotivated enough, the defeat mayactually be a blessing in disguiseand allow him to focus on party-building. There is no other leaderin the party who will be willingto spend time on the ground. TheTripathis and Shuklas are tooaddicted to power politics inKathmandu.

Sadbhabana (Mahato) is clearlythe real inheritor of the motherparty with the Shyam SundarGupta and Anandi Devi factionalmost decimated. But it is alsothe weakest of the three keyMadhesi parties. With 10 seats,they can play a bit in the CA butthe maneuvering space will belimited. Like TMLP, RajendraMahato and Anil Jha face adifficult choice. Do they want towork with the MJF, albeit asjunior partners? Will they projectthemselves as the opposition to

MJF in Madhesi politics?Madhes units of the NC are in

complete disarray and the blamegame has started. There are moredefections in the offing. Thereason for the dismal showing wasthe party’s arrogant andinsensitive handling of Madhesover the past year, and disastrousticket distribution. For NC leadersto now say they lost out becausevoting happened along ethniclines is foolish.

With a decline in the party’spatronage dispensation, the NCfaces a real threat in the Tarai. Aparty that does not respect andreward as popular a leader asGagan Thapa cannot be expectedto come up with imaginativesolutions to win the support ofMadhesi youth.

The armed groups in Madhesdo not know what hit them. Themassive turnout in polls, theMaoist victory, and a respectableperformance by the Madhesiparties are not happy signs for themilitants. As confrontation withthe Maoist government increases,and Madhesi parties engage incompetitive radicalism, they canmake a comeback. The militantsare also hoping that somedomestic or international powercentre -if it wants to give theMaoists a tough time -willsupport their armed activities.

In the entire intra-partydiscussions hovering aroundthese calculations, the Madhesagenda is only peripheral: to beused as a cover to push personaland institutional goals. Indeed,the Madhesi parties right nowneither have a roadmap forMadhesi representation or a clearvision of federalism. As importantas the immediate power gamesmay be, the Madhesi leadersshould begin their homework onsubstantive issues if they want tomake a real difference and changethe system.

T

STATE OF THE STATEC K Lal

ushpa Kamal Dahal needs to changehis dress designer. He wore a black-and-red track suit while talking to the

media during the central committee meetingof his party the other day. Good to see himso relaxed, but the man needs to startbehaving like a head of state (andgovernment?) that he is soon to be.

The chairman is known to be sensitiveabout his appearance. The gelled sweptback hair, the Stalin moustache are allcarefully planned. Without the dress,address and paraphernalia of voodoo, ashaman has no appeal. And so it is forDahal.

The list of miracles the Maoists need towork are lengthy. Dahal thinks thatintegration of his fighters with Nepal Army

Among the alchemistswill take place miraculously, Gyanendrawill voluntarily depart from Narayanhiti,political parties will be falling over eachother to assist him run the coalitiongovernment in the coming days. He thinkshe will attract foreign investment,encourage domestic industry, controlprices, rein in trade unions, ensure betterwages, respect private property, resettle thelandless and accelerate the capitalisteconomy even as he prepares the countryfor inevitable rise of ‘New Improved’ brandof socialism. Dahal studied agriculture atRampur Campus under American mentors,he should have also taken alchemy.

Baburam Bhattarai studied urbanplanning and appears to believe that a20 percent economic growth rate ispossible, trickle down economy will dowonders, and Nepal can ride the relativeeasy road to prosperity upon the vehicle ofhydroelectricity, herbs, tourism andentrepreneurship of Nepali industrialists.We have heard that before, and need to

know what has changed in the last twoyears to make it all possible now.

Shadow (and aspiring) foreign ministerCP Gajurel freely admits his party needsmiracles to happen. Apparently moreforeign aid will begin to flow because Nepalhas voted in the first ever Maoistgovernment in the world. Donor agencieswill forsake all conditionalities to supportthis blast from the past. Overnight, thebureaucracy will turn squeaky clean,traders will begin to pay taxes honestly, thearmy will agree to be frugal, and Nepal willbecome a country of milk and honey.

Hisila Yami believes that privatisationof water distribution in Kathmandu valley isthe first step towards social justice.Melamchi will come on stream because hertechnical advisers have assured her so,affluence will drive on the six-lane roadfrom Bhaktapur, and housing for the urbanpoor will materialise out of thin air. Whosaid the Maoists are atheists?

The grandstanding is aimed at the next

general elections. Dahal has declared thatthe new constitution will be miraculouslywritten within one year (InterimConstitution allows 24 months) and theelections to be held soon after will give hisparty the mandate to rule for another 40years. He has his plans of continuousmiracles for 10, 20 and 40 years. Heseems to have forgotten to factor in theNepali people, the real miracle-makers. IfMaoists continue to expect too manymiracles, it is doubtful any of them willcome true.

It’s a fractured verdict, the Maoistsneed the confidence of the other parties.Due to the drubbing they got at the polls, itwill probably take a while for the NC andUML politicos to collect their wits and talkto Dahal and his fellow magicians. Butthere is also the MJF now, and they canalways do to Maoists what Maoists havebeen doing to others for last two years:threaten to take to streets to pursue theiragenda.

Dahal looked more dependable in histurtle neck and beard. The Maoists need tosubject themselves periodically to a realitycheck. Perhaps the YCL still has its use, itcan be depended upon to declare war onthe party headquarters just as the GreatHelmsman commanded his Red Guards todo against “revisionists”.

Miracles won’t save us, a reality check will

P

ROBIN SAYAMI

325 APRIL - 1 MAY 2008 #397

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

dynamic. The people are ready for aradical change. Many NC and UMLcandidates were known to be corrupt,and this contributed to the parties’defeat.

P Adhikari, email

I find it funny when the Nepali mediablames the Tarai people for ‘voting alongethnic lines’, as Deepak Thapa did.Didn’t they elect NC and UML politicianstime and time again, who in turn alwayschose to favour their own aphno mancheand sycophants? Just look at GPKoirala’s constituency. What has he orany other Pahadi leader done forMadhesis or unpriviledged people in theTarai? Now it’s time for change and Ihope the media will bear the importanceof this in mind in the future.

Vivek Gupta, email

One does not know what to make ofso-called experts such as DeepakThapa. Two months ago, in your sisterpublication Himal Khabarpatrika, hewrote an article saying there wasgrowing disenchantment with theMaoists and they were victims of theirown ethnic politics. Now that the electionresults are in, Thapa says the Maoistvictory is ‘hardly surprising’. His articleattributes their success to theirorganisational skills, as if no one elsehad guessed this and you need to be anexpert to say it. What happened to hisclaim about Maoists and ethnic politics?I think Nepali Times should start an‘Expert Watch’ column so readers candecide for themselves who really knowswhat they’re talking about and who arereally just hangers-on and self-styledexperts.

Pooja Belbase, Kathmandu

ROAD FOR NEPALI think that Baburam Bhattarai’seconomic ideas are sound and practical(‘The investment climate will improve’,#396 and full version on Nepali Timeswebsite, ‘Radical democrat’), but I alsowish to make a suggestion. Nepalshould no longer be a dumping groundfor Chinese goods which have beenrejected by the rest of the world. It iswrecking our own production base, asanything our small country can make isimmediately swamped. I agree withmany others of his suggestions, but Ithink that the families of victims killedby both sides in the war should berecognised and compensated. This isimportant. Government should be moretransparent, and the police force shouldbe both cleaned up and strengthened toprovide real protection to Nepalicitizens. I think it’s better that Nepal’srevolution will now be a gradual changerather than a drastic, violentconfrontation.

Pradipta Rana, email

Baburam Bhattarai’s interviewreally depressed me. There is not oneiota of new economic thinking in hisagenda. What new or different views didhe give that NC or UML politicians havenot put forward already? Or that’s not inthe usual recommendations from theWorld Bank or ADB? I don’t see anyinsight in the economic thinking oragenda for the ‘New Nepal’. Anyway,how can we trust a party that calls itselfMaoist but is prepared to hobnob withall the big capitalists?

Samjhana, email

CK Lal’s reference to businessmenas ‘Kathmandu fat-cats and Lalitpur

Nepali people have elected the CPN(Maoist) enthusiastically, please respectthat. Do you recall the open letter youwrote to Prachanda asking him questions(‘Dear comrade’, #382)? Your questionwas very nicely answered by the Nepalipeople with the election result.

Pashupati Neupane, Syangja

I strongly feel that the CA electionwas more a populist and propagandistdisplay for the political class of Nepalthan any sort of necessity for the nationitself. There are many countries in theworld which are peaceful and developedbut never had a whole election just to

make their constitution.Rather, they preferred aconsensus constitution,written by legal experts,representing all politicalstakeholders of thecountry. Anyway,hopefully this chapter inNepal, alleged to bepending since 1950, isclosed once and for all.But who is happy withthe outcome? Trulyspeaking, no one. TheMaoists? Just look atthe u-turn in theirrhetoric on various

national and international issues.Pradeepta Sharma, Mumbai

HARDLY SURPRISINGCongratulations to Deepak Thapa for thisrigorous and unbiased analysis (‘Hardlysurprising’, #396). This election hasproved that you cannot survive in politicsanymore based on what you did 60 yearsago. Nepal has shown that like othercountries its politics are not static but

moneybags’ (‘The survival of the weakest’,#396) shows us the apathy that Nepalisociety at large has towards itsentrepreneurs. No economy can growwithout the contribution of its private sector.What people like CK Lal fail to understandis that wealth creation is necessary beforewealth distribution. A simple mathematicalexample for you, Mr Lal: zero divided by anynumber equals zero. It’s a good thing thatthe Maoists have realised this, or at leastare trying to show that they have realised it.

Swagat R Pyakurel, email

The constitutional assembly gives ushope to build a new Nepali nation state. Butwe also have to seriously considerwhat might happen ifthe future politicalsystem fails to meetpeople’s high anddiverse expectations.In this time it iscrucial that allpolitical pundits looktowards true andmeaningful democracy.The Mexicananthropologist BonfilBatalla said thatdemocracy can onlywork properly if itserves the benefit of allin the country, not just aminority or an elite. He also stresses theimportance of cultural pluralism. I think thisis especially apt for Nepal right now. Weneed to follow through on the agenda offederalism and self-determination both todecentralise power and empower minorities.

Prakash Thapa, Virginia, USA

Why are your views still so anti-Maoist? Please be positive. Now that the

4 25 APRIL - 1 MAY 2008 #397NATION

ach time Nepal Dairy makesa breakthrough, the effectscause a wide ripple in the

Nepali dairy industry, ultimatelybenefiting not only consumersand producers, but also thecompany’s business competitors.

But HB Rajbhandary, thecompany’s director, is notworried about inadvertentlyhelping his rivals, for him thecompany’s business and thenational interest go hand in hand.

When Rajbhandary set upfirst private milk company inNepal 25 years ago, it eased theshortage of processed milk, laidthe foundations for subsequentdairy businesses and providedadditional income for farmers.

The supply of milk is oftenvolatile, and in periods whenthere is a surplus, somecompanies stop buying and callfor a ‘milk holiday’, which harmsmany producers who depend onbeing able to sell their milk.

Yet, Nepal Dairy, which hasbeen selected by Nepali Times asits May Company of the Month,continued to buy even more andventured into productdiversification as a solution.Today, in retail outlets across the

Nepal Dairy’s river of milk

country, he sells ice cream,cheese, pizzas and pastries. In theprocess, ND has createdthousands of jobs and given dairyfarmers a fair price for their milk.

Since its foundation, thecompany continues to enjoy anannual 10 to 12 percent growth inprofits. This is remarkable giventhe political instability of the waryears.

One difficulty Rajbhandary iscurrently facing, and this issurprising in a country which isburgeoning with youth, is agraying workforce. Nepal’s braindrain means many young andmiddle-aged executives have leftand there are only seniors whorun the company.

In an effort to bring in new

blood into Nepal Dairy,Rajbhandary recently opened hisdoors to college students trainingthem in the processes of the dairyindustry. He is now preparing tochannel a portion of Nepal Diary’sprofits into setting up a NepalDiary Institute of Technology andManagement.

This is because during the1970s when the countryexperienced a shortage ofprocessed milk, Rajbhandary–then general manager of the DairyDevelopment Cooperation and aPhD in Dairy technology–didn’thave the technicality to solve theproblem. “I only understoodthings theoretically,” he says. Hehad to seek help from countrieslike New Zealand and Denmark.

Nepal’s top private dairy is preparing a new generation of entrepreneurs

SHEERE NG

Hence, in an industry wheremany players prefer to keep theirmethodology hush-hush,Rajbhandary says that helping theyounger generation to get hands-on experience is a responsibilitythat established players shouldshoulder.

Asked what happens if thestudents decide not to work forthe company upon graduation,Rajbhandary shrugs: “They willprobably work for other dairycompanies. Nepal needsqualified, competent youngpeople.”

It is this ability to lookbeyond his company’s welfare tothe national interest that setsRajbhandry apart from many ofhis peers. He hopes that if the

training produces good managers,he can split the company intoseparate units such as fast foodand bakery sections, and expandeach one under separatemanagement.

The institute will also traindairy farmers to diversify theirproducts to encourageentrepreneurship in thecountryside. Rajbhandry says NDwill help with distribution.

At 75, Rajbhandary has theenergy, drive and vision of a manhalf his age. But he is determinedto pass the torch to the newgeneration. When Nepali Timescommented that he will bemissed, he laughed and said,“Maybe there are people who wantto see younger faces.”

E

SHEERE NG

525 APRIL - 1 MAY 2008 #397BUSINESS

STRICTLY BUSINESSAshutosh Tiwari

eading or watchinginterviews with Maoistleaders this week, one

could get the impression thatthey have won not the boringconstituent assembly electionbut the much sexier generalelection.

Instead of sticking primarilyto the task of making a newconstitution as soon as possible,and then going for generalelections to start the process offormally governing Nepal underthe agreed-upon rules (which, ifI remember correctly is themandate of the CA), the Maoistsare busy handing out platitudeson how they will address issuesaffecting Nepal’s all-rounddevelopment. It could just be aplay to the gallery. But if westart to forget what the CAelection was for, a worrying startof mission drift is likely to beupon us.

True, the CA electionsshowed that millions of poorand hitherto neglected Nepaliswant their concerns addressed.And the Maoists have wasted notime in assuring that they havethe right answers, even thoughreaching that ideal state ofcommunism will by their ownadmission require a century ormore.

But what’s forgotten in thisassurance game is that, just asGirija’s capstone contributionlay in ensuring the successfulcompletion of the CA election,the Maoists’ biggestcontribution ahead should be

delivering a new constitution tothe Nepali people within areasonable frame of time. Afterall, only when there arefundamental rules, enshrined inthe constitution, can thegovernment accountably get onwith the business of governance.

If they try to multi-task andbe all things to all people, theMaoists risk drawing out theprocess of constitution-makingto interminable lengths. If thathappens, it creates opportunitiesfor them to make up and enforcetheir own rules in the interim,which can then be potentially(ab)used to consolidate a holdon power for longer periods.

The other parties shouldlearn from recent history. Hadthe interim government focusedprimarily on getting the CAelections completed by theoriginal date of June 2007, a mere14 months after the second JanaAndolan, who knows what theelection results would havebeen?

But the government acted asthough it had won some kind ofgeneral election in April 2006. Ittried to multi-task. The longer itstayed in power, the furtheraway it moved from the mostimportant goal of holding the CA

elections on time. During itswatch, there occurred some ofNepal’s most shameful humanrights abuses in Gaur andKapilvastu. The Maoists walkedin and out of government. TheTarai problem grew worse, andthe CA elections werepostponed three times untilpressure from all quarters,including internationally, wasno longer resistible. No wonderits lost focus made the mainparties identified with it - theNC and UML - electorallyunappealing.

The public’s frustration atthis no doubt increased supportfor the Maoists, but theythemselves are already sufferingmission drift. Baburam wants toinvite foreign investors beforehe can even guarantee protectionof private property andindividual liberties. His bossPrachanda has promisedeconomic miracles before thereis even a clear expression in theconstitution about what kind ofan economic system New Nepalis going to have.

This is why the challenge forcivil society pundits, globalwell-wishers and the mediashould be to not get carriedaway with the grand rhetoric ofthe Maoists, and to keep asteady eye on the newgovernment so that the winnersof the CA elections focus on andspeedily deliver the actual taskfor which they were elected:making this country’sconstitution. Taking years to dothis will be just another familiarcase of mission drift -something Nepal can ill afford,or the people may get restlessagain.

Mission driftR

The newgovernmentshould notforget what

it waselected for

“We can allwin together”Management self-help guru, Shiv Khera, is an educator, businessconsultant and a much sought-after speaker. His clients includeLufthansa, Johnson & Johnson, Motorola, Nestle, GlaxoSmithKline Beecham, Tetrapak, Sanofi Torrent, Phillips, Gillette,Daimler Chrysler, HSBC Bank, Carrier, Deutsche Bank andGeneral Motors. He is also the author of the International BestSeller books, You Can Win and Living with Honour. Over 20,000people have attended his three-day dynamic workshopsinternationally. Khera will be in Kathmandu next week to conduct aseries of training sessions with Nepali executives and managers.Nepali Times conducts a curtain-raiser interview with him.

Nepali Times: Tell us about your life so far.Shiv Khera: My formal education stopped with B Com (Hons) atDelhi University. When coal mines in India were nationalised, wewere literally on the streets. I went to Canada and started a newlife, beginning with washing cars, then moving on to sellingvacuum cleaners and life insurance.

What inspired you to take up teaching management?I once attended a program by Norman Vincent Peale, the author ofThe Power of Positive Thinking. From Peale, I learnt thatproblems are a sign of life. We cannot solve all our problems, butwith positive attitudes we can handle them. Selling life insurancetaught me the quality of persistence, which helps people get backto their feet after setbacks.

Most of us know all this, but can’t seem to implement them.That's the most important thing I have learnt. Unless the successprinciples are put into practice, knowing them alone does not help.When I started applying what I learnt from people like Peale, I sawmy life changed. I realised it was time to give back to society. Istarted volunteering my time in maximum security prison in theUS and saw lives changing. Thereafter, I took my program to thecorporate world and wrote my book You can Win which has sold1.2 million copies in 11 languages.

To what do you attribute that phenomenal success?Corporate Executives all over the world are drawn to motivationalprograms because like our body needs food every day, our mindalso needs positive thoughts to stay motivated. Just like whathappens when we suffer from bad food or malnutrition, we becamephysically sick. Similarly, if we don’t feed our mind with positivethoughts, negative thoughts automatically enter and we becomementally sick. Hence, optimistic thoughts on a daily basis are foodfor the mind to remain motivated.

Yet not everyone can be a winner.There is a big difference between winning and being a winner.Winning is an event in life, whereas being a winner is about thespirit. Winning can become habitual to those who develop positivehabits in life. In the same way, there is a big difference betweenselfishness and self-interest. Selfishness is for me to win whileothers have to lose. Whereas self-interest is for me to win, but theworld does not have to lose. We can all win together.

So the proof of the pudding is in the eating?Exactly. The best prescription from the best doctor is uselessunless it is acted upon. Similarly, knowing the principle ofsuccess is not enough, but putting it into practice will trulymaterialise it.

Do you have different advice for Nepal?Nepali executives are no different than those in other countries. I

have worked in 15 to 20 countriesand found that human andemotional needs are identical.Integrity and cheating have thesame meaning in New York, New

Delhi and New Zealand.Somehow, right from my

childhood I have had aclose affinity to Nepal.

I have alwaysadmiredcertain greattraits of theNepalis, suchas theirbravery,loyalty andtheir ability to

overcomeadversity. So I

am lookingforward to

visiting Nepal andhoping to see it as

one of the top nationsof the world withfoundations builtupon integrity,respect andresponsibility.

6 25 APRIL - 1 MAY 2008 #397FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

Nepali cartoonists had a field day during the electioncampaign and after, lampooning everything from theunexpected win of the Maoists, the bad losers in the otherparties and looked forward to the challenges of the parties.Poll toons

Party OfficeìI came here to resign because I lost in the election. Is there anyone here who has wonand can accept my resignation?î

Abin Shrestha in Samay, 24 April

ì We want the king to step down gracefully. î

Batsayan in Kantipur, 20 April

Rock: MajorityìWatch out! Watch out!î

Uttam Nepal in Rajdhani, 20 April

ìWe will not be defeated in the election, evenif we are, we wonít accept it.î

Suman Manandhar inNepal Samacharpatra, 5 April

Fear. Terror.Basu Kshitiz in Budhabar, 23 March

ì You didnít listen to us when we say donít watch tv. It is notthat you were defeated. The people are giving you theopportunity to rest.î

Uttam Sapkota in Punarjagaran, 22 April

Chair: CountrySpikes: Employment, price hike, economic development, foreign relations,army integration

Dewen in Kantipur, 16 April

725 APRIL - 1 MAY 2008 #397

hen the constituent assembly sits next month at the Chinese-built conference centre in Baneswor, the chamber will have afairer touch than previous parliaments. At least 200 of the 601

members will be women.Despite concerns before the election that women members might

not reach the 33 percent ratio stipulated by the interim constitution(‘Same old ‘menstream’ politics,’ #394), the latest results of the first-past-the-post ballot show that 29 women have won. The proportionalrepresentation ballot guarantees 168 seats for women, making the totalnumber 197, which is 34 percent of the 575 elected representatives.

“This is a great victory for all Nepali women,” says Sarala Lama ofSa-shakti Nepal, a women’s party that contested this election. Of the 29women directly elected, 23 are Maoists, two each are from the NC andMJF and one each from the UML and TMLP.

In constituencies like Gorkha-1 and Bardiya-1, which used to bestrongholds of the NC and UML, Maoist women candidates havetrounced veteran politicians like Chiranjibi Wagle and Bam DevGautam.

“In this election people voted for transformation, therefore it is notsurprising that Maoist women have defeated these old leaders,” saysSarita Giri of Nepal Sadbhabana Party (Anandidebi).

Advocate Sabita Bhandari Baral of the Nepal Bar Association agreesthat Nepalis were desperate for change, and it was the failure of the oldand male politicians to realise this that brought their downfall.

Some elected representatives are war widows. Experts on women’sissues welcome this, but also raise the point that that since the processof writing the constitution of a country is complicated, it is crucial tohave legal experts who understand women’s issues in the assembly.

But Giri isn’t so worried. Women were elected because people trustthem to be good leaders, she says, and anyone who says the electedwomen did not go to school is just trying to discourage them.

Sarala Regmi, who defeated UML’s Bam Dev Gautam (17,955 to13,773) is back in Bardiya, visiting voters in her constituency andthanking them for their support. Regmi has been with the Maoists sincethe 1990 People’s Movement but went underground when the NepalArmy killed her husband in 1998.

During the war Regmi used to go from village to village and got toknow many of her constituents. “It was extremely hard for somesections of our patriarchal society to accept that women were on thefrontline, sacrificing their lives,” recalls Regmi. “Now they doubt usand say we will not be able to write a good constitution.”

She is confident gender issues will be given high priority in herparty and trusts that some of her women counterparts will be leadingvarious committees.

Gender campaigners warn that women’s issues should not besidelined by party politics, and the rising profile of women brings anurgent need to restructure political parties to make more room for them.“The biggest challenge and obstacle for women is still the male-dominated leadership in the political parties,” says Giri.

Similarly, coordination between MPs and activists is imperative tolobby the government on women’s issues. Sushila Shrestha of theBeyond Beijing Committee says: “This group will not let any issue gooff its radar. We will work as a support system for women MPs, andhelp to push women’s agendas.”

Voters across Nepal made women win, now they wait expectantly tosee if that will make a difference in the way politics is done.

he constituent assembly will be radicallydifferent from any elected house in Nepalihistory.

Not only will a third of the members be women,but the sea of faces will also be morerepresentative of Nepal’s ethnic diversity. Tharu,Tamang, Dalit, Magar, Rai, Limbu, Gurung, neverincluded in proportion to their populations in thepast, will be present.

To be sure, the ratios will still not be completelyproportional, and the smaller among the 103 ethnicgroups in Nepal will not have a place. Still, mostrights activists say it is a vast improvement on theelite-dominance of past legislatures.

After the final results of the elections wereannounced on Wednesday, the final tally of janajaticandidates in the first-past-the-post ballot stood at81. Another 124 janajatis will be selected in theproportional representation segment, bringing thejanajati ratio to 34 percent of the 601-memberassembly.

This does not quite match the 37 percent ofNepal’s population which they comprise, but it is animprovement on their representation in parliamentsin the 1990s, which was never more than 29percent.

The majority of janajatis who won seats in theFPTP ballot are Maoists, with 51 candidates. Otherparties trail behind with 12 janajatis from the UML,10 from the NC, 4 from the MJF, 2 from the NWPPand one each from TLMP and Janamorcha.

Some janajati groups will have representationin parliament for the first time. Rama Nanda Mandalwho won in Morang-4 is the first ever MP from theGanagain community. Despite being the threelargest janajati groups in Nepal, Magars, Tamangsand Tharus never had proper representation inparliament, and that has changed this time.

Pasang Sherpa, president of Nepal Federationof Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN) says theelection results mark a great stride forward for thejanajati movement, but adds that simply beingelected is not enough. “Janajati MPs will now have

MALLIKA ARYAL

Third of the sky

High hopes ride on theunprecedented victory ofwomen candidates

to raise our issues and lobby to get them passed inthe assembly,” he told Nepali Times.

NEFIN”S agenda has long included ethnic andlinguistic autonomy with right to self-determination.The Maoists adopted a similar policy for theconstitution, proposing 11 ethnically-based federalstates.

Maoist representative Jayapur Gharti says:“Janajatis want their voices heard. We wantinclusion and participation at the policy level.”After years of waiting, she is hopeful that janajatis’grievances will be addressed this time. Dewan Rai

Rainbow assemblyT

Janajati candidates elected to parliamnent

Caste Population General CA

% Election Election(1999) (2008)

Magar 7.14 6 13Tharu/Chaudhari 6.75 9 14

Tamang 5.64 2 8Newar 5.48 11 14

Rai 2.79 5 8

Gurung 2.39 6 11Limbu 1.58 7 7

Sherpa/Lama 0.68 2Rajbansi 0.42 2

Sunuwar 0.42 1

Danuwar 0.23 1Thakali 0.06 1 1

Dhimal 0.09 1

Ganagain 0.14 1Total 50/205 81/240

(24%) (34%)

KIRAN PANDAY

W

Representation of women in parliamentGeneral Election (1999) CA election (2008)12/205 (5.8%) 168+29/575 (34%)

Getting a taste of NepalNepali cookbook wins international award

8 CULTURE

hen Jyoti Pathak(pictured, right) wentto live in the United

States 40 years ago, she did herhousehold chores, spending a lotof time in the kitchen trying tomake Nepali meals for her doctorhusband and three children.

There were not too manyIndian spice shops in the remotecorner of New York state wherethey lived, and Jyoti had to relyon friends and family bringingmasala, gundruk, maseura andtama from Nepal.

There were some Indian cookbooks in the bookshops, butnothing about Nepali cuisine.That is when the idea to write aNepali cookbook first came to her.

Today, nearly four decadeslater, Jyoti has been awarded theBest Foreign Cuisine book in theGourmand World CookbookAward in the US for her book, ATaste of Nepal. Jyoti was inLondon last week to receiveanother nomination for her bookto be declared the best foreigncuisine book internationally.

There have been quite a fewNepali cookbooks that have comeout in the past 15 years. And,marching with these moreinclusive times, there are booksnow on Newari, Sherpa and evenThakali cuisine. Jyoti’s bookweaves in Nepal’s history andculture and how the food here hasbeen influenced by Tibetan andIndian culinary traditions.

‘Nepali food is characterisedby its simplicity, lightness and

healthfulness,’ she writes, ‘atypical meal uses the freshestingredients, minimal fat andan artful combination of herbsand spices.’

Observing the mountains ofrice that people eat on the foodstalls along Nepal’s highways,however, one could argue that itis the sheer volume of foodingested that makes Nepali dietunhealthy. Nepalis may have alow-fat diet, but the middle classODs on carbs and does very littleexercise to burn it off.

Jyoti’s recipes include thesimple mutton curry, and sheuses the elaborate and exoticsounding Dahi Haleko Boka-Khasiko Masu which is

guaranteed to make the diasporaNepali’s mouth water just hearingabout it. Then there are themomos and raw marinated waterbuffalo and even the Basi BhatBhutuwa, the ingenious Nepaliway to re-use leftover rice for anappetising snack.

A Taste of Nepal doesn’t leaveout the ingredients and recipesthat make Nepali food differentfrom Indian or Tibetan: AluTama, Gundruk Bhatmas ko Jhol,Maseura Alu, Jimbu, Lapsi koAchar, Kalo Dal. Nepalis abroadmay find it difficult to find theseingredients, but with 15 percentof Nepalis now living outsideNepal it is only a question oftime before stores spring up

A Taste of NepalHippocrene Books, 2007Hardcover 470 pagesISBN – 10: 078181121X

stocking up on jimbu andlapsi too.

Jyoti held long-rangeconsultations with her familyback home in Nepal andresearched the 350 recipesthoroughly. “I used to cook witha pinch of this and a dash of that,but in preparing the book Iactually had to go out andmeasure everything,” she says.

Because it is primarilywritten for the western audience,the book has made it easy byincluding the masalas usuallyfound in the ethnic food sectionof any US or Europeansupermarket. www.tasteofnepalcookbook.com

W

he first time I came toNepal I was kind ofintimidated by the food.

Placed in front of me was a platepiled so high with rice that Ifeared having to reject half of it,

an act which many have told mewas one of the worst insults aperson can commit in thiscountry. Having managed to eat itall somehow, I had to fast for aday afterwards.

A friend in Kathmandudoesn’t eat rice because she isallergic to it. I am impressed sheis able to survive in Nepal. Theonly places where you can dothis are big cities, or ironically,the poorest villages on theMahabharat Lekh and remotestmountain districts, where peopleeat dhido or potatoes.

It’s a shame that people lookdown on alternative staples likemakai, alu and kodo, as poorman’s food. All of them areactually more nutritious thanpolished rice. Many rural Nepalisknow this too, but those withoutkhet would still rather sell cashcrops and buy rice than eat makaiday in day out, even though theyremember that they used to be

Speaking in tongues

How can the glory of gundrukbe explained in words?

KHAIRE BHAITom Owen-Smith

T

925 APRIL - 1 MAY 2008 #397

stronger on a maize diet. Isuppose rice is more prestigiousthan maize and the rest, and ifyou’re eating the same every day,it tastes more interesting.

Nepali cuisine does not havethe glamour which is afforded tothat of certain other countries.Some people regard it as the poorcousin of Indian food, but thisview is ignorant of the subtletiesof Nepali gastronomy and isunfair.

The problem is that the mostdelicious Nepali foods are reallyhard to explain to theuninitiated. How do you explain

what gundruk is like? Bydescribing the preparation?“Well, it’s kind of half-fermenteddried spinach.” By describing thetaste? I don’t think there arewords in English to describe thebouquet of gundruk ko jhol.Many foreigners are initiallysuspicious of gundruk, but oncethey have tried it lose their heartsto it.

The same can be said for tama.The first time I had it I wassomewhat perturbed to find out Iwas eating bamboo. But now just

which are specific to that areaand unknown elsewhere. I havehad foods in Panchthar whichpeople had not heard of even inIlam.

Many – not all – ‘Nepali’restaurants in England serveIndian food. A token hat isdipped to Nepalipan byincluding momos in the menu.But then again most UK Indianrestaurants don’t serve realIndian food either. They conform

to British expectations and tastes,which are used to canonicalvindaloo, madras and tikkamasala.

Hopefully with time and thespread of the diaspora, the profileof Nepali cuisine will riseinternationally. Sadly, many ofthe local ingredients which makethe food special in each place arenot available outside the country(some are not even available inKathmandu).

I just hope Nepali fooddoesn’t sell out, and remains trueto its salty, sour, and other tastesthat I can’t even name. The worldwill eventually understand thegenius. Let them come.

thinking about alu tama withgolbheda ko achar makes mymouth water.

There is also something lost intranslation when they tell yousekuwa is “burnt meat”. Onlythose who have tried it (preferablywith jad or tongba, which I amsaving for another column), knowthat pork sekuwa at the AirportSekuwa Pasal can be one of themost delicious dishes in theworld. Who cares about thetapeworms?

Part of the reason for Nepalifood’s low profile outside ofNepal is translation problems. I

have been served things in Nepalfor which there is no word inEnglish, or probably any otherlanguage.

Some of these I have onlytasted in one or two households.Although the holy trinity of dal,bhat and tarkari holds sway inmost of the country, itspreparation varies betweendistricts, villages and even fromhouse to house.

Many of the real Nepalidelicacies are home recipes,sometimes made from ingredients

10 25 APRIL - 1 MAY 2008 #397NATION

ohan Kumari Shakya neverthought that she would live to seethe day where she would reach a

polling booth to vote, and be part of Nepal’smost historic moment. Not in this life.

Late one night four years ago, she washit by a bullet during the Maoist attack onBeni. The intense battle raged all night.Bombs were going off on the street below,bullets were ricocheting off the walls andhitting metal utensils in the kitchen.

“We had never experienced such athing in our lives,” recalls Mohan Kumari(left), “we hid under our beds all night.” The63-year-old didn’t even realise she hadbeen hit in her wrist until she was drenchedin blood. Shrapnel wounds covered herface and hands.

It was only in the afternoon of the nextday that it was safe to come out of thehouse, and Mohan Kumari was rushed toPokhara Hospital.

Now, four years later and thankful to bealive, she says she will support theMaoists even though they had started thewar. “They’re our fellow villagers,” sheexplains. ”They must be given a chance toprove themselves.”

She adds: “Innocent people like mehave suffered because of their war. Now theMaoists have won the elections theyshouldn’t go back to their old ways.”

The Maoist candidate who won inMyagdi, Govinda Paudel, blends easily intothe crowd and looks like any other man onthe streets of Beni.

But when talking politics the soft-

Ready to put the past

“They say the two armies aregoing to be one now, maybe thatis why no one ever comes to askabout us anymore,” says 30-year-old Harimaya Magar, who hasn’tseen her husband since soldierscame to the house and took himaway one night five years ago.

Hari Bahadur Magar wasaccused of carrying weapons forthe Maoists and wasdisappeared along with sixothers from Titrigachi inSunsari.

Hari’s 70-year-old mother,Padamkumari, watchestelevision all the time just incase her son appears on thescreen. She goes to all Maoistrallies hoping to catch a glimpseof him.

Harimaya’s son Nishan wasborn after his father disappearedand has never seen him. Thefive-year-old says: “Daddy hasgone to Dharan, he will bring meclothes and biscuits.”

Machindra Limbu lives nextdoor from the Magar householdand his only son, Uttam, wastaken away the same night asHari.

After five years with noanswers, Machindra joined the

GOPAL DAHAL in SUNSARI

The dreadedWith elections over,

families of thedisappeared hope

someone will tell themwhat happened

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

spoken man radiates energy. Hepassionately explains that it was hisdespair at Nepal’s economic disparitiesand social injustice that led him to join theMaoists.

“He’s simple and sincere, nothingfancy, that’s why he is popular,” saysmanager Shiva Paudel. “He speaks ourlanguage,” says teacher Roshan Rana,“he came to my place for tea and when wesat and talked, he listened andunderstood.”

Paudel’s rented home in Beni bajar isaustere. His house in his village wasdestroyed by the army and he himself wastortured in the jungles. Sitting on a sukulin a narrow balcony, Paudel says hissacrifice and those of his comrades wereworth it because Nepal now has a chanceto prosper. “Their blood will not bewasted,” he says, “the killings will stopnow, we do not want to fight on. To getsomething, you have to lose something.”

Paudel admits that the people’sexpectations are very high. “It will be achallenge to change things overnight, butthings will change even if it takes time,”he says. The Maoist plan for Myagdi is totap the district’s biodiversity andhydropower wealth for economicdevelopment.

“We don’t just have natural resources,we also have people, he says, “manypeople in Myagdi work abroad and bringback experience. We can be aSwitzerland.” Wong Shu Yun in Myagdi

M

PICS: WONG SHU YUN

1125 APRIL - 1 MAY 2008 #397NATION

he Maoist sweep has been not altogetherunwelcome here in eastern Nepal, butveterans of the British and Indian armies are

worried that the new Maoist government mayterminate Gurkha recruitment.

‘Shameful activities like the employment ofNepalis in foreign armed services like the BritishGurkhas need to be stopped. All Nepalis shouldtake up respectful and useful jobs inside thecountry itself. Necessary steps will be taken tocreate the proper environment,’ says the Maoistelection manifesto which has a Prachanda-for-president photo on the back cover.

The Gurkha Army Ex-Servicemen’s Organisationhas taken strong issue with this. “If the Maoistsstop recruitment, it would be a great loss for thecountry,” says Gajendra Isbo of GAESO. “TheGurkhas do not earn peanuts.The money they send backkeeps our economy going.”

Remittances haveincreased in the past fewyears as the Britishgovernment raised the salaryand pensions of Gurkhasafter protests by ex-servicemen. Ex-Gurkhas nowalso have the option of settling permanently inBritian (see ‘Ae Gorkhaliharu’, #391).

Much of Dharan’s economy survives onremittances that soldiers serving abroad send home.Ex-servicemen form a vital part of the city’s societyand have strong political clout. After the manifestocame out, influential ex-Gurkhas made a lot ofnoise, putting pressure on the Maoist-affiliatedLimbuwan National Liberation Front, many ofwhose own members are ex-servicemen.

The agenda is not new. The UML has also beenagainst Gurkha recruitment, but that never stoppedDharan from being a UML stronghold.

The British started recruiting Nepalis into theirarmy in 1815, and Gurkha soldiers fought for themin various insurrections in British India and duringboth world wars. After India’s independence in1947, under a Tripartite Agreement between India,Nepal and the British government, Nepalis were

behind

“Just let them try”formally integrated into both the British and theIndian armies.

This almost 200-year history of Nepalis fightingfor foreign countries has become a tradition as wellas an institution. For many of the so-called ‘martialraces,’ like Rai, Limbu, Gurung and Magar, it is amatter of pride and prestige to become a ‘lahure’.

Every year thousands of young men aged between17 and 21 try out for the Gurkhas. Only 294 arechosen, out of which 230 join the British Army and64 for the Singapore Police. The Indian Army alsorecruits heavily from Nepal and currently hasapproximately 100,000 Nepalis in 44 battalions.

“Right now it is impossible to stop recruitment,”says Ram Narayan Kandanga, an ex-British Gurkhawho is researching a doctorate in British-Nepalirelations. “It would not solve anything, in fact it

would only complicatematters.”

The Maoists probablyrealise this, and say theywill not implement theprovision in the manifesto.“On behalf of my party, Ihave made clear that therewill not be an immediateclosure of recruitment,” says

Akkal Bahadur Manangbo of the Limbuwan Frontand Maoist PR candidate.

Manangbo himself was a British Gurkha and saysit is indeed “shameful” that Nepalis serve in foreignarmies and that it needs to be stopped. But notimmediately. “We want to scrap the unfair tripartitetreaty. After that, if the youth still want to go intoforeign armies we will let them. But as our economybecomes stronger, we will not need this kind ofslavery,” he told Nepali Times.

Many here will be relieved that the Maoists donot intend to enforce their agenda. “Many Gurkhasvoted for them,” says Parbat Rai, instructor at a localtraining institute for British Gurkhas. “But if theystop recruitment, we will kick them out in the nextparliamentary elections.”

It doesn’t look like the Gurkhas will give upwithout a fight. Says aspiring British Gurkha, SalilThakuri: “Just let them try.”

RABIN GIRI AND PRANAYA SJB RANA in DHARAN

Ex-Gurkhas areworried about

Maoist policy onrecruitment

T

Out of control“You dirty dogs, eat all of these,” shouted the YCL cadre at NCsupporters at a campaign rally in Padsari VDC of Rupendehi on6 April.

Rama Aryal Sharma was singled out because she is the leader ofthe women’s wing of the NC. About 40 Maoist youths came in twojeeps, ravaged through lunch packets that Sharma and her colleaguehad brought, scattered the food and tried to force them to eat it off thefloor.

“This area is under our control and you dare hold a meeting here,”they said. Sharma argued that nobody owned the place and thateveryone had the right to be there. She tried to reason with them, but itwas obvious to her they wanted to disrupt the meeting.

The YCL pulled her by the hair and neck and pushed her into theirtruck while the other women tried to get her out. The police cameshortly, and chased off the YCL with tear gas and blank fires.

The threat has not gone away with the news of the Maoist win in theelections. On 14 April, Maoist leaders demanded the release of 31YCL cadres who were held under probation by the police atRupendehi for carrying weapons.

“I’m not afraid of them,” says Sharma, “we are prepared to facethem again.”Wong Shu Yun in Rupendehi

Maoist-affiliated LimbuwanLiberation Front and was fullyengaged in campaigning duringthe elections. “I campaigned forthe Maoists because I wantedthem to win, so they’d let meknow what happened to myson,” he told Nepali Times.

Machindra is also thesecretary of the Society of theFamilies of the Disappeared inSunsari. Uttam’s motherDhanmaya attended all theMaoist campaign rallies, not somuch to show support buthoping against hope that shemay catch a glimpse of her son.

Besides Hari and Uttam, atleast 19 other young men fromSunsari were disappeared duringthe conflict. Only six of them areknown to have been killed.

Families of the disappearedhave nearly given up hope, butmany just need to know whethertheir sons and husbands are aliveor dead. With the Maoists'election victory, they hope theywill finally be told.

Officially, there are 1,100cases of disappeareds all overNepal, but human rightsorganisations say the numbermay be double that. Activistsand families are both worriedthat despite talk about a Truth

and Reconciliation Commission,the warring sides will try tosweep past atrocities under thecarpet.

“We have gone and staged sit-ins in Kathmandu, we went tothe army, we went to the Maoists,no one has shown any interest infinding my son,” says 82-year-oldMankumari Bhandari, whose sonPushpa was a Maoist trade unionactivist in Itahari before he wasdisappeared in 2003.

Most of the disappeareds werealso the sole salary earners of theirfamilies who are now destitute.Besides their psychologicaltrauma, many now face economichardships.

“For many of these families, itwould actually be a relief if theywere told that their relativesdied,” says psychiatristPramodmohan Syangbo, “withoutclosure, they are forced to grieveevery day.”

Somraj Thapa is with thehuman rights group, INSEC, andsays there is no exact figure forthe total number disappeared inthe eastern region. He says: “Thefact that the state and the formerrebel forces have shown nointerest in telling the truth provesthey are guilty of human rightsviolations.”

truthFACE OF TRADITION:

A freshly paintedGurkha portrait on the

window of a British Gurkhatraining centre in Dharan.

The Maoist called theemployment of Nepalis in

foreign armed forces“shameful”.

SAM KANG LI

12 25 APRIL - 1 MAY 2008 #397INTERNATIONAL

s the world reacts toChina’s crackdown inTibet, one country is

conspicuous by both its centralityto the drama and its reticence overit. India, the land of asylum forthe Dalai Lama and the angryyoung hotheads of the TibetanYouth Congress, finds itself onthe horns of a dilemma.

On one hand, India is ademocracy with a long traditionof allowing peaceful protest,including against foreigncountries when their leaders comevisiting. It provided refuge to theDalai Lama when he fled Chineseoccupation of Tibet in 1959,granted asylum (and eventuallyIndian citizenship) to more than110,000 Tibetan refugees, andpermitted them to create agovernment-in-exile (albeit onethat India does not recognise) inthe picturesque Himalayan hilltown of Dharamsala.

On the other hand, India hasbeen cultivating better relationswith China, which humiliatedIndia in a brief border war in1962. Though their bitter borderdispute remains unresolved, andChina has been a vital ally andmilitary supplier to India’senemies in Pakistan, bilateralrelations have grown warmer inrecent years.

China has now overtaken theUS as India’s largest single tradingpartner. Tourism is thriving.Indian information technologyfirms have opened offices inShanghai, and Infosys’sheadquarters in Bangalorerecruited nine Chinese this year.India has no desire to jeopardise

I n May, there will be three interesting celestial eventsheralding the arrival of a ‘New Nepal’. We have a meteorshower at the beginning of the month, Mercury will be

gleaming bright in the evening sky, and the crescent moon willcross the red planet Mars.

In May, we see the sky moving into its summer phase. Acouple of hours after sunset, the brilliant star Vega will be rising inthe east, an event which signals the arrival of summer. The mostprominent constellations from east to west will be Hercules,Bootes (with the bright star Archturus), Leo the Lion and Geminithe Twins. The great Saptarshi (Big Dipper) will be dominating the

northern sky. If you are in areally dark location, you willalso be able to see the fainterconstellations of the northernsky, like Draco the Dragon,and the Little Dipper which

contains Polaris the North Star. (See star chart.) Unfortunately thepre-monsoon sand haze from the desert has reduced visibility.

Among the planets, Mercury is a great sight this month. On14 May, it reaches its greatest eastern elongation and will set anhour and a half after the Sun. If you have children, don’t miss thechance to show them this elusive little planet with the help ofbinoculars. Look towards the western horizon about an hour aftersunset.

Venus will be rising less than half an hour before sunrise butwill be difficult to see this month. Mars moves from Gemini toCancer and will dim slightly as it reaches aphelion - its greatestdistance from the Sun - on 13 May. Jupiter, in Sagittarius, is highin the southern sky at dawn. You cannot mistake it for anythingelse. Saturn is sitting in the midst of Leo and is overhead aftersunset.

On 10 May, the Moon passes very close to Mars and will bevisible crossing the red planet at 8PM. Don’t miss this greatcelestial spectacle. It’s also best viewed with binoculars.

Celestial fireworks will entertain us in early May, when theEarth passes through the centre of a debris trail left by Haley’sComet (which last visited us in 1986). The Eta Aquarids meteorshower will begin in the last week of April and climax on 5 Maywith a peak rate of up to 30 meteors an hour. Look towards theconstellation Aquarius in the eastern horizon at 3AM.

May skyStars over a New Nepal

STARGAZINGKedar S Badu

India’s DalaiDilemma

any of this.India’s government has

attempted to draw a distinctionbetween its humanitarianobligations as an asylum countryand its political responsibilitiesas a friend of China. The DalaiLama and his followers are givena respected place but told not toconduct “political activities” onIndian soil.

When young Tibetan radicalsstaged a march to Lhasa fromIndian soil, the Indian policestopped them well before theygot to the Tibetan border,detaining 100. When Tibetandemonstrators outside theChinese Embassy in New Delhiattacked the premises, the Indiangovernment stepped up itsprotection for the Chinesediplomats.

The Dalai Lama’s curiousposition has complicated India’sdiplomatic dance with China. Heis simultaneously the mostvisible spiritual leader of aworldwide community ofbelievers, a role that Indiahonours, and a political leader, arole that India permits but rejectsin its own dealings with him.

As a Buddhist, the DalaiLama preaches non-attachment,self-realisation, inneractualisation, and non-violence;as a Tibetan he is admired bypeople fiercely attached to theirhomeland, with most seeking itsindependence from China andmany determined to fight for it.

The Dalai Lama’s message ofpeace, love, and reconciliationhas found adherents amongHollywood movie stars, Irish rockmusicians, and Indianpoliticians. But he has made noheadway at all with the regimethat rules his homeland. Hissermons fill football stadiumsand he has won a Nobel Prize, but

political leaders around the worldshirk from meeting him openly,for fear of offending China.

Indians are acutely consciousthat, on this subject, the Chineseare easily offended. While Indiafacilitated the highly publicisedvisit by Nancy Pelosi, Speaker ofthe US House of Representatives,to the Dalai Lama in Dharamsalalast month, it almostsimultaneously canceled ascheduled meeting between himand Indian Vice-PresidentMohammed Hamid Ansari.

When China summonedIndia’s ambassador in Beijing tothe foreign ministry at 2AM for adressing-down over the Tibetanprotests in New Delhi, Indiameekly acquiesced in the insult.Though Prime MinisterManmohan Singh has publiclydeclared the Dalai Lama to be the“personification of nonviolence,”India has let it be known that itdoes not support his politicalobjectives. Tibet, India’sgovernment says, is an integralpart of China, and India lends nosupport to those who wouldchallenge that status.

The stark truth is that Indiahas no choice in the matter. Itcannot undermine its owndemocratic principles and abridgethe freedom of speech of Tibetanson its soil. Nor can it afford toalienate its largest trading partner,a neighbour and an emergingglobal superpower, which isknown to be prickly over anypresumed slights to itssovereignty over Tibet. India willcontinue to balance delicately onits Tibetan tightrope. (Project Syndicate.)

Shashi Tharoor, is a novelist andcommentator, and former UnderSecretary General of the UnitedNations.

Can’t embrace him, can’t reject him...

A

ANALYSISShashi Tharoor

25 APRIL - 1 MAY 2008 #397 13REVIEW

As the Maoist landslide hasunfolded, Kathmandu’spetit bourgeoisie has riled

quietly in an identity crisis. Noone says it, but they are scared,unsure what this victory maymean for their life-sustainingpredilections. Never mind thevital differences our home-grownrevolutionaries may have with theoriginal Maoists, the moreparanoid minds may have alreadyconjured up images of a Chineseor Russian-style purge of thebourgeoisie.

Suddenly now, the class lineswhich affect everything frommembership of the intelligentsiato the peace process are becominguncomfortably apparent. Where,in these nail-biting times, is apetit bourgeois to find somesolace, and see his core valuesreflected and vindicated? Ifcinema can do the trick, allow meto recommend the perfect nerve-soother: Dai Sijie’s Balzac and theLittle Chinese Seamstress.

Adapted from the bestsellingsemi-autobiographical novelwritten by director Sijie himself,the movie will transport you tothe maelstrom of China’snotorious Cultural Revolution in

Petit bourgeois pride and prejudicethe early 1970s. Our heroes Luo(Chen Kun) and Ma (Liu Ye) aretwo city boys whose refinementand bourgeois ways havedispleased the Party, and who aresubsequently sent off for ‘re-education’ to a remote village inSichuan. In what must be thesesons of urban professionals’ worstnightmare, they are condemned tofour years of hard labour heavingspattering buckets of humanmanure, their passion for Mozartand connoisseurship of high artsacrificed at the altar of peasantrevolution.

But don’t be alarmed yet.Indignant as the city boys may beat the repressively ‘bad-mannered’and ignorant ways of therevolutionaries, the film isultimately about the triumph ofcivility. The urbane charisma ofLuo and Ma is an object of mildcuriosity for most villagers, butfor one particular granddaughterof a local tailor, our namelessLittle Chinese Seamstress (ZhouXun), it is a matter of profoundfascination. The boys woo her byreading her Balzac from a stolenstash of banned books, stirring inher desires and dreamsunthinkable within the dullconfines of the village.

In the midst of a ‘revolution’which enforced conformity andmonoculture, Sijie dares to implythat true liberation comes from

the discovery of art and literature,and individuality. And he does sovery touchingly. In fact, Balzac isone of the most tender andpersuasive defences of the power ofart you will ever see.

Quite expertly, Sijie manages toidentify his love for Frenchliterature with the universalcondition of being human. There isa point to be made here –something which I think even KarlMarx himself would have admitteddespite his copious writings oncold, hard dialectical materialism.It is art which moves us above thesheer drudgery of subsistence, andbrings us closest to our nature. ForMarx this insight came from anattention to human labour; forSijie, it comes from an idealism ofmiddle class life.

Thank God, the Nepali Maoistsof the present day barely resemblethe Chinese ones of the early1970s. But the Kathmandu petitbourgeoisie, still reeling from theelection result, may still find inthe travails and yearnings of Luoand Ma some comfort that they arenot alone, and there are peopleout there who hold their valuesdear.

BALZAC AND THE LITTLECHINESE SEAMSTRESSDirector: Dai SijieCast: Chen Kun, Liu Ye, Zhou Xun.2002. 111 min.

Love and literature in thetime of revolution

CRITICAL CINEMADiwas Kc

KATHMANDU VALLEY

14 25 APRIL - 1 MAY 2008 #397CITY

ABOUT TOWN

WEEKEND WEATHER by NGAMINDRA DAHAL

The dry spell is likely to continue in eastern and central Nepal withhot, dry wind blowing in from the southwest. This is also bringingin wind-blown sand up to an altitude of 3,500 m. The haze filterssome of the sunlight, so it should've actually been hotter this week.This pattern is expected to continue because there is very littlemoistrue in the air for mountain convection systems to triggerstorms. High mountain valleys will see some brief local showers,with clear mornings. In the Valley, expect a sultry weekend.

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

The film tells the story about call centre executiveJimmy Cliff (Saif Ali Khan), gangster BachchanPande (Akshay Kumar) and Pooja (KareenaKapoor), a girl who can’t be trusted. The three ofthem are on a dangerous journey across India,which will alter the course of their lives in moreways than one. And to top it all, there is the evileye of Bhaiyyaji (Anil Kapoor), a maverickgangster who enjoys killing people as much ashe enjoys speaking English.

Fri Sat Sun

30-14 29-14 29-15

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

EXHIB IT IONSDouble vision photographs by Nepali and international students,until 27 April at New Orleans, Patan. 5522708Masks – Expressions We Wear an exhibition by Soo Jin Oh, from20 April-5 May, 10AM-6PM at the Gallery 32, Dent Inn.Collection One paintings by Amir and Anup Chitrakar, until10 May, at the Saturday Café, Boudha. 9851106626

E V E N T SAbako Nepal an exclusive program by Arohan-Gurukul withpaintings by Kiran Manandhar from Dhara heights, street playMithila Natya Parishad, classical music by Sukarma, poetryrecitation by renowned poets in Dharahara, Sundhara from5:30 AM-6:30 PM on 25 April. 2101332KJC concert Series III by Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory, 26 Aprilat 1PM in the premises of Gyanodaya College, Jhamsikhel.To be and to Have, free screening by Candid Society, 27 April at6PM at Alliance Francaise.Annual Spring Fair at Kathmandu International Study Centre(KISC), Dhobighat from 12:30-4PM on 27 April. Entrance feeRs. 100 for adults and Rs. 50 for students.Tokyo Story a film by Yasujiro Ozu presented by Cine-Sankipa,28 April, 5:30 PM at the Rimal Theatre, Gurukul. 4466956School Bullying a talk program by Rakshya Nepal, 30 April at TheNew Era, Battisputali. 9851023958Don’t worry, be happy spring concert by the Kathmandu Chorale,3.30 PM and 6PM on 3 May at the British School, admission free.Tantric Dance of Nepal presented by Kalamandapa, everyTuesday 7PM at Hotel Vajra and every Saturday 11AM at PatanMuseum.Toastmasters a communication and leadership program,organised by Kathmandu Toastmasters Club every Wednesday6PM at Industrial Enterprise Development Institute (IEDI)building, Tripureswor. 4288847

MUSICA funky reggae party with Pachooka at Moksh on 25 April.5526212Paleti with MP Gurung from Shillong, 25 April, 6PM at nepa~laya‘r’ sala, Kalikasthan, Rs 565. 4412469Sundance music festival, a weekend full of live music, great food,camping accommodation, sauna and plunge pool at the LastResort from 3-4 May for Rs. 2000. Tickets available at Moksh,5526212 and The Last Resort, 4700525Rudra night fusion and classical Nepali music by Shyam Nepaliand friends, every Friday, 7PM at Le Meridien, Gokarna. 4451212Sufi music by Hemanta Rana, every Friday at 7.30 PM at DhabaRestaurant and Bar, Thapathali.Yankey and friends live acoustic music every Friday at theBourbon room Restro-bar, Lal Darbar.Anil Shahi every Wednesday and Rashmi Singh every Friday,live at the Absolute Bar, Hotel Narayani Complex, 8PM. 5521408

D I N I N GThe Kaiser Café open now at the Garden of Dreams, operated byDwarika’s Group of Hotels, open from 9AM-10PM. 4425341Sunday jazz brunch design your meal with pastas, salads andbarbeque, with jazz by Mariano and band, at the Rox Garden,Hyatt Regency. 4489361Steak escape with Kathmandu’s premier steaks available forlunch and dinner at the Olive Bar and Bistro, Hotel Radisson.4411818Bourbon Room Restro-bar now open for lunch and dinner withover a 100 cocktails, Lal Darbar.Cocktails and grooves with jazz byInner Groove at Fusion-the bar atDwarika’s, every Wednesday, atDwarika’s Hotel.Cocktails, mocktails and liqueurs at theAsahi Lounge, opening hours 1-10PM,above Himalayan Java, Thamel.Continental and Chinese cuisine andcomplimentary fresh brewed coffee afterevery meal a Zest Restaurant and Bar,Pulchok.Spit BBQ with barbequed wild boar and lamb, salads and dessert,Rs. 650 plus tax at The Summit Hotel on 25 April.Illy espresso coffee at the Galleria cafe, every Friday espressococktails.International buffet at the Sunrise Café, and Russian specialtiesat Chimney, Hotel Yak and Yeti. 4248999Roasts and reds fine roasts and red wine at the Rox Restaurant,Hyatt Regency, 15 April-6 May. 4489361Jazz in Patan with coffee, food, drinks and dessert at the NewOrleans Cafe, Jawalakhel. 11.30 AM-10PM. 5522708Saturday special barbeque, sekuwa, momos, dal-bhat at The TeaHouse Inn, Windy Hills, Nagarkot every Saturday. 9841250848.Dice-licious brunch at Kakori, Soaltee Crowne Plaza, roll thedice to the number of the day and get 50% discount on anindividual meal, Saturdays and Sundays, 12.30-3.30 PM.4273999Scrumptious wood fired pizzas, cocktails and more at Roadhouse,Bhatbateni 4426587, Pulchok 5521755 and Thamel 4260187.Starry night barbecue at Hotel Shangri-la with Live performanceby Ciney Gurung, Rs. 666.00 nett. per person, at the ShambalaGarden, every Friday 7PM onwards. 4412999Kebabs and curries at the Dhaba, Thapathali. 9841290619Lavazza coffee Italy’s favourite coffee at La Dolce Vita, Thamel,Roadhouse Café Pulchok and Thamel. 4700612Pizza from the woodfired oven at Java, Thamel. 4422519

25 APRIL - 1 MAY 2008 #397 15HAPPENINGS

TRICK OF THE WIND: Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal flanked bydeputy Baburam Bhattarai (face in flag), UNMIN chief Ian Martin andUNDP's Robert Piper speak at a press conference at UN House inPulchok on Thursday morning.

KIRAN PANDAY

OLD GUARD: PM Koirala shakes hands with army chief RukmangadKatawal at an army display at Tundhikhel on Wednesday, Loktantra Day.

KIRAN PANDAY

FRIENDLY GESTURE: Maoist leader, CP Gajurel (left), speaks at a panelon Tuesday to discuss foreign aid and development. The other speakerwas Markus Heiniger from the Swiss Foreign Ministry (middle). Thesession was moderated by Kunda Dixit, the editor of Nepali Times,which organised the program.

DROPPING OFF: Sher Bahadur Deuba (left) was feeling tired at theLoktantra Day reception at Shital Nibas on Wednesday. The primeminister seemed more alert.

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

KIRAN PANDAY

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25 APRIL - 1 MAY 2008 #39716 BACKSIDE

ass(at)nepalitimes.com

ho on earth has beenbriefing the UN SecurityCouncil on Nepal? In

New York this week DumisaniKumalo asked “all politicalparties in Nepal to accept theelections results”. Get outa here.Hasn’t UNMIN told him yet thatparties here accept the results?By the way, how come UNMIN isstill adding staffers, vehicles andplanes when it’s time to pack up?

First it was the Eurocopterillegally touching down on top ofMt Everest three years ago andmarking the highest-ever chopperlanding in world history. Since themanufacturers, EADS, didn’thave official permission to landon the summit, the feat was neverofficially recognised. That didn’tstop Eurocopter from putting avideo of the landing on theirwebsite, though(www.eurocopter.com/everest/).

Prachanda pratapi bhupatiThen last week anotherEurocopter sneaked into Nepal,violating our sovereign airspaceand landing at Kathmandu airportin a threatening manner. This timeit was a US-registered AS365 andthe Crooked AviationAuthoritarians of Nepal (CAAN)have impounded the helicopterand put the three-member Indiancrew, who couldn’t explainwhether their flight was anexcursion or an incursion, underhotel arrest.

The Ass smells a rat. In otherwords, the donkey finds it fishy. Itwas a Eurocopter in bothincidents, but the timing wassuspicious--just before theOlympic Torch is being taken tothe summit of Mt Everest. Isanyone putting two and twotogether? If this was indeed a dryrun to test Nepal’s air defenceradar for another summit landing,then it succeeded. It proved wedon’t have one.

If we are to prevent futurealien aerial invasions, we needan air force pronto. And maybeanti-aircraft batteries on theWestern Cwm.

You must hand it to thecomrades, they are leaning onthe Oily Corporation to raisepetroleum prices right away,before they come to power.They also have an astoundingability to be everything toeveryone. Comrade Awesometold Kantipur in an interview in2005: “Even if we come topower through a constituentassembly, we will not be tryingto be president or primeminister we will send youngercomrades to government. Wewill display statesmanship.” Atleast he got that part aboutwinning the CA right.At a public hearing at the KhulaMunch last week, Comrade

Dina was grilled by his own YCLand asked to clarify why the partywasn’t allowing them to say“Down with American imperialismand Indian expansionism”anymore. His reply: “The contexthas now changed.”

After Fearsomeoness addressedBig Business the other day andbasically came out of the closet tosay that he has always been asecret admirer of Ayn Rand hisdisciples weren’t too surprised.They seem to have been in on itall along. But it did get the UMLcomrades muttering under theirbreath at the Shitall NibasLoktantra binge: “They went towar and had 15,000 people killed,for this?”

So how come Kamred Laldhoj isnot living in the Pistachio Palaceanymore and has moved in with

W

Ananta at Quiet Corner? Hasco-habitation ended evenbefore it began? All has notbeen well since PKD foundout that if he became the firstpresident of the Republic ofNepal and BB became primeminister, he’d just be aceremonial prez while JitBahadur would be chief exec.Even if the interimconstitution is amended, thehead of the state will stillbe afigurehead.

In a few weeks, Nepal will gofrom being a quasi-kingdomto a capitalist people’srepublic. And in the palace,Sri Ek is supposed to betrying to cut a deal in thebackroom: he’ll step off thethrone in return for atimetable to vacateNaryanhiti, his assetswill not be confiscated,guaranteed a privypurse, get to go to anytemple he likes.