Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Dr. Basant Pant, Senior Neuro-Surgeon, Board Member, Nepal Health Research Council, currently at Kathmandu Model Hospital, Nepal

After five- and-a-half years of training at Hiroshima University, Japan, I returned to Nepal in March 1997. I worked in Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) as a volunteer for eight months. Although a paid position was offered, I thought it would be more meaningful to start a new program in a new place. I approached Kathmandu Model Hospital (KMH), an NGO-run hospital, since it had a unique vision and mission in regard to medical care in this country. After an emotional meeting with Dr. Saroj Dhital, the KMH decided to offer me their support. As the hospital did not have the necessary equipment to initiate the program, a policy of "growing over time" was adopted. For the development and maturation of this service, the father-like role of hospital Director Dr. Bharat Pradhan, the brother-like support from Dr. Saroj Dhital, and the encouragement from other KMH members have been instrumental.

My Early Days at KMH:

The hospital was located in a small rented house with primitive facilities. Our patients have had a hard time believing that major neurosurgical procedures could be performed in such a setting. Before my departure from Japan, Professor Kaoru Kurisu had advised me to start with less-complex cases, show good results, earn confidence, and then venture on to difficult ones. Unfortunately, we were only getting difficult cases rejected by others.

Here I want to describe one such case at the beginning of 1998. It was an eight-month-old-child with an extremely large brain tumor. I could not resist the urge to help him although he was already rejected as "probably inoperable". His mother knew that her child was going to die anyway if surgery was not performed, We put all our effort into the treatment of this child. The medical community was watching the surgery closely and it was a chance to help the child and prove ourselves at the same time. We designed a homepage and initiated international discussion on how to deal with this problem. Top neurosurgeons from different centers offered their opinions. We had very little equipment since the items donated by AANI, (Association For Annapurna Neurological Institute), were already given to TUTH (Teaching Hospital under T.U) before I left. So we had to design many pieces of equipment with the help of a blacksmith or silversmith. The surgery lasted 13 hours, yet we could only remove 70% of the tumor. Our team members were exhausted, though, and the small boy had suffered serious blood loss, so we decided to operate again a few days later. The Surgery was apparently going well, since the child cried afterwards and was moving all four limbs. We were thrilled with our success up to that point, but we were extremely tired and we virtually collapsed from exhaustion and stress. We were putting our entire careers into this case and we felt that we were accomplishing our mission. However, the next morning I was awakened by the sound of the telephone ringing-even today I remember that sound. I rushed to the hospital to find the child gasping for breath. While being fed, the child had vomited and aspirated milk into his lungs, a simple but catastrophic event. We did everything we could to revive the child but he died in my hands. This (sad) incident shocked me deeply. I thought I had lost all that I had worked for and that I would no longer be able to pursue neurosurgery. Before I realized it, I was crying over the child's body in front of the medical team and the boy's family. Soon after, though, I felt the mother's hand on my shoulder and she whispered, "Please don't cry. You did your best. This was simply the destiny of my child". At that moment I felt empowered and energized-and it was the last moment I ever felt this sort of hopelessness in my career. Since then, I have faced many difficulties, but I can still feel the blessing from that mother and it supports me in my work.

Evolution of Neurosurgery Services

There has been a gradual but steady rise in our work output since the inception of the department.

We have already provided services to more than 18,000 plus people through the outpatient clinic and have done more than 1500 operations. Although we can continue to expand our work output, we will need a larger team to manage this.

Our first resident, Dr. Bal Krishna Thapa, is working as an independent neurosurgeon in BP Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital, Chitwan, and two other residents, Dr. Prabin Shrestha and Dr. Hemav Rajbhandari, are receiving training in Japan and China, respectively. In addition, Dr. Pranaya Shrestha and Dr. Sudan Dhakal are waiting eagerly for the opportunity to begin their formal neurosurgery residency. Both of them are young and energetic and have considerable experience in case detection and management. We can see an increasing interest among young doctors to take up neurosurgery as their chosen career and this is a positive sign in the development of this field.

The general public has come to trust our services and the medical community has begun referring cases to us from all over the country. The government has also recognized our work and I have been appointed as a board member of the Nepal Health Research Council. This is an important responsibility, as the NHRC is the official body, which grants permission and maintains quality control over health research in this country. In order to expand neurosurgery into outlying areas and disseminate information, we have been working in Pokhara (200 km from Kathmandu) for the last five years. We work in Fewa City Hospital, make rounds in Green Pasture Spinal Rehabilitation Center, and help with cases in Western Regional Hospital. The surgeons there can now perform emergency neurosurgery and have more awareness of this science. We have also conducted three epilepsy camps and have provided consultation to many epilepsy patients, from which we detected eight cases needing surgery.

The Neuro-fund

To help poor patients' receive neurosurgery care, we established "Neuro-fund" six years ago. Ms. Masako Moriwaki, through an Osaka-based organization called SATHI, has been assisting us in this regard. Mr. and Mrs. Nishio from Hiroshima Jusho Kai have supported this program over the past three years and, recently, Kusna Nepal Koryu Kai has shown interest in providing assistance. Each year, we have helped more than 30 patients who could not otherwise afford surgical treatment. We are deeply grateful to all these people and organizations for their support, as are the patients and their families who have been able to receive treatment through this program.

Role of AANI:

The role of AANl has been integral to our achievements, with their involvement in the transfer of technology and professional training. Due to their technical support, we have been able to do more sophisticated surgeries, which have boosted our overall services. Their role in the establishment of epilepsy surgery, functional and minimally invasive surgery, and skull base surgery have provided service within the country for which people once needed to go abroad. At this point, we are capable of doing majority of these operations on our own. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the members and supporters of AANI for their help, without which we would not have been able to attain the kind of success we have today. As a result of the able leadership and tireless support of the president, Mr. Morinobu, and vice-president, Ms. Tomoko Watanabe-as well as the great legacy left by the late former president, Mr. Matsui--AANI has strengthened the friendship between Nepal and Japan through its activities in neurosurgery.

Plans for the Future:

I think it is now time to begin planning for a residency program in neurosurgery. For this, AANI's support will continue to be vital. Our motto for the next several years will be "more manpower" and "dissemination of knowledge". We need more neurosurgeons to perform the work available in Kathmandu and, eventually, in other parts of Nepal. Until we can start a formal residency program, we will need to send our residents abroad for further training. Since these doctors will become the leaders of this future residency program, they need to receive the best possible training. For this I request AANI's assistance in training the residents we have at present and serving as a source of support in starting a formal residency program in the future.

In the meantime, I would like to invite both young and senior neurosurgeons, paramedics, nurses, physiotherapists, and volunteers to visit Nepal and share their know-how, with us. Such exchange will enhance the knowledge of people here and it will be a learning opportunity for these visitors.

"Thank you very much"

It is time to say thank you to many individuals, groups, and institutions that have been offering us their support. First, I would like to thank two of my professors, Prof. Kurisu and Prof: Uozumi, for their continual support in the development of our service. Their strong leadership, excellent teaching, and good intention are reflected in our work output. Our special thanks also goes to Dr. Kazunori Arita who has been sharing his knowledge and skill with us since the beginning of this program. He is a great friend to our country and we think of him very fondly.

The chief editor appreciates the feelings of Dr. Basant Pant and hopes that his contributions to this country will attain a new height in the future-Upadhyaya.

BRIDDIM
A Sustainable Tourism model Village

-Hari Krishna Uprety, Nepal

A successful model of Community based rural tourism is in Briddim village of Rasuwa. Roughly, the village is in Z-­shape and is situated at an altitude of 2229 m. Home-stay management sub­committee has been formed in order to ensure the development and management of home-stay in a sustainable way. With the new concept of home-stay tourism, Briddim has been synonymously known as home-stay village in national and international tourism market.

Tamangs are the dominant ethnic groups in Briddim whose origin is believed to be from Tibet, thus their lifestyle and culture resemble with Tibetans. There are 43 households in total. Initially home-stay was started in 19 households and later 4 more were added after high acceptance of local, which now totals to 23. Each home stay has one separate room with two neat and clean bed so they all can provide hospitality to about 40 visitors everyday-says Ngwang Tamang, Chairman of home-stay management sub-committee.

We do not only take benefits of tourism but are equally aware of the fragile mountain environment-says Nurpu Tamang, advisor of Briddim home-stay. All of them are meticulously joining their hands and concerted efforts are made for resource conservation and development, he further adds. To curb the ever-increasing pressure on natural resources and sustain environment, home-stay sub-committee has adopted Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) principle and encourage home-stay owners to opt for firewood reduction alternatives while obtaining comfort for visitors and themselves. Now most of the home-stay owners use Improved Cooking Stove (ICS). It is expected to substantially reduce the indoor air pollution resulting healthy human resources in the future. This will also cut down the health expense. The saved money can be re­invested in productive sectors like tourism, education and other trade/business which ultimately will improve the livelihood.

Solar home systems (SHS) have been installed in all homes which have enabled them to work in evening and sometimes till mid-night. This has also prevented them from eye problems. Owing to the fact, all the people who own SHS can now give their saved time in social development, resource conservation and other personal enrichment work.

They have become able to support the forest conservation. This has significantly supported to replenish the forest and wildlife species which were on the verge of extinction. Thus gene pool of some of the rare species is increasing. Forest condition compared to similar other areas of the park is encouraging, says Lila Nath Nepal, Tourism Assistant at Langtang National Park.

Kagyalpu Lama also from Kyanjing of Rasuwa is a hotelier. He had started his hotel business before the inception of TRPAP. However, he took one hundred thousand rupees from VCF schemes of TRPAP when he wanted to improve accommodation facilities, provide adequate utensils and harness hot water from solar water heater (SWH) to ease and augment his business. Visitors started to stay in his hotel after adding the facilities. This has increased his businesses substantially, which enabled him to return back the VCF and pay the boarding fee of his one son at Dhunche.

It is obvious that hot water demand is high in Himalayan regions. Tourism further increases its pressure. To ease and obtain the comfort for tourist as well as local people without hampering forest resources, TRPAP/ Rasuwa has installed five units of copper fins SWHs in different community owned bathroom that gives 250 liter hot water of 60°C everyday which replaces about 26,588 kg of 27 tons of firewood annually that sequesters about 11 tons of carbon emission in addition to improved health, hygiene and sanitation condition of local people. This will reduce adverse climate change impacts on fragile mountain.

Toilet connected biogas in high altitude is already been successfully implemented. Expansion of such plants would reduce firewood use, which will open the avenues for carbon trading.

Lhosar is the main festival in Himalayan belt where local people change prayer flags hanging in wooden pole annually to usher good luck. For this every house used to cut down the young tree. After replacement of wooden pole by permanent iron pole, substantial amount of young species are saved and have helped to enrich forest stock. This has improved habitat of wildlife, which will attract wildlife viewers in future.

In the absence of waste management systems, any route and destination may fall in risk of epidemic outbreak. To reduce the possibilities of such outbreak, stone paved trails, drinking water supply and waste collections bins are properly placed and collected wastes are managed locally ensuring good health and sanitation - says Yutung Tamang, Vice Chairman of the home-stay sub­committee.

To control the conventional system of human waste disposal, septic tank toilets are encouraged to build in home stay, local houses and lodge/hotels which has gradually reduced the possibilities of expansion of infectious diseases says, Ram Chandra Sedai, Village Tourism Advisor, Rasuwa.

With the view of generating low volume of tourism related wastes and high retention of tourism receipts at local level, diversification in local foods are encouraged and cooking-baking training are conducted. Selling of imported packed foods is gradually being replaced after cooking-baking training and every visitor can notice its impacts in terms of food diversification of volume of waste generation.

Text courtesy: Nepal Traveller, March/April 06 issue. Thanks the author and NT-ed.

Why does the world not notice the political situation in Nepal for so long time?

Frank-Christoph Sinn(former internal of FES Nepal)

Exactly two years ago, I returned from Nepal. I experienced this country during an internship at FES, Kathmandu. Besides my practical studies I travelled to the Himalaya, to the Chitwan National Park in the south and to the countryside, situated in between. Nepal is a fascinating country with warm-hearted people - conditions that are destined to feel independent and free. I was impressed and with me a lot of people who visited this country at that time. No other region is a similar metaphor for freedom and open mind as the Himalaya region. The so-called “roof of the world” connects us with the eternal universe. But for the Nepalese people this must be a legend of former times, because actually they experience contrary feelings: fear and suppression.

I was there as a guest. I enjoyed the uniqueness and beauty of this country on one side, but I also had the chance to look under the surface, to see how the every day life of the people was influenced by a steady concern for peace, livelihoods and security. The conflict between the Royal Army and the Maoists can take place at anytime and anywhere. I felt it on my own body during an excursion to the Annapurna region. Nobody seems to have complained there in public. Only during the last week when I was in Kathmandu, demonstrations for democracy were organized.

Officially, Nepal is a democratic monarchy, but only the expression “democratic” sounds well. In connection with the existing government, democracy is just a superficial part of political concept, but not reality. So was the conclusion of my stay: What must still happen that the Nepalese people raises its voice?

Back in Germany I was eager to get information on this country from our journalists. But there was nothing in political sense. What media report are just “curious” or “exotic” things, but only in our European point of view - for example about Buddha-boy Ram Bahadur Bomjan or about a woman who had killed a holy cow and was punished for that.

Other reports deal with touristic aspects, information about hotels or consequences of the tsunami in the Southeast with the result that Kathmandu is a non-save city because there is a risk of earthquake.

What I am missing are reports about the political situation, is a global view basing on the historical background of this country. It is the task of the democratic movement to explain and transform it to Western understanding and thus make aware of this country. Journalists are to create consciousness for the country’s situation inside and outside. They can support the democratic movement by involving the Western democracies. Before I had not visited Nepal I had no ideas, which are the conditions of life there. Just if there is a connection between the Nepalese situation and our life, we take notice and we are interested in what media report.

We will be informed that in Nepal it is a matter of freedom and the values of democracy. European people for example are born in these values and they cannot comprehend what it means to lose these values. For us these values are inherent part of our life and just therefore we do not take notice of them, paradoxically. The democracy movement must be anchored in a global understanding, and the pressure for change must come from inside and outside. The absence of lived democracy must be classified as a danger for the people like an earthquake or a tsunami. Nepal must be embedded in our Western everyday life. We must get familiar with this country so that it does no longer deliver stuff for “curious” reports. First of all, we must take care of the process of democratization.

Since one week, I can recognize a change in the kind of reporting. The Western world now informs more and more about the “political” Nepal. I don’t know how people feel who are not involved in this subject. For me, it seems that with every report the democratic movement is coming on.

But we have to keep in our mind that the whole Nepalese people must be taken along with the democratic movement. Those who are responsible for a possible change must look for the minorities that had not appeared until now. You can say that Nepal is in the early stages of a movement into the right direction. If the process succeeds, the metaphor of freedom will be not only a legend or a surface illusion, but a real thing.

Wild Side of Tiger Tops

By Trishna KC, Nepal

When it comes to comfort and good food in the jungle the name that comes ahead is Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge. Located at the heart of Royal Chitwan National Park, Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge, Tiger Tops Tented Camp and Tharu Lodge are the places which are absolutely perfect to experience the feel of jungle and wildlife activities. The place serves its guests with the best hospitality and excellent services. Maintaining standard and providing quality services have always been one of the major focus of the Tiger Tops group. An utmost priority has been given to provide a first rate wildlife experience to its guests.

Tiger Mountain started the concept of Jungle Lodge in Nepal in the year 1964. Situated 75 miles southwest of Kathmandu. RCNP-Royal National Chitwan Park- is considered as one of Asia's richest and most spectacular wildlife sanctuaries. And in this picturesque jungle setting Tiger Mountain operates two of its finest jungle lodges and a tented camp.

Started with eight rooms initially now the Lodge has altogether 20 rooms. The Simal Bungalow has eight rooms and the Thulo Bungalow 12 rooms. Besides that 2 rooms have also been allocated for VIPs and 2 rooms for senior citizens. All the twin sharing rooms in bungalows are well furnished using the materials taken from the forest like cane, wood, hay etc. Solar power having a capacity of generating up to 3.3 kilowatt of electrical energy has been used to generate electricity for lighting, ceiling fans and solar heated showers attached in modern toilet.

The Gol Ghar at the centre of the lodge features the dining and lounge area. With its huge domed roof and central open hearth, it is a special place for relaxation. Nepalese and Western cuisine is served and a fully stocked bar is open 'till the last guest retires to bed'.

The activities at the lodge includes elephant safari, land rover drive, river safari, jungle walk, bird watching excursions, wildlife viewing and photographing from machans, expeditions by land rover and evening slide shows. Tiger Tops has altogether 14 elephants. There are experienced naturalists, some of whom have over 30 years' experience, to guide one to the fantastic array of flora and fauna.

The wildlife of Chitwan includes endangered greater One-Horned Rhinoceros, several species of deer, sloth bear, wild boar, fresh water dolphin, the marsh mugger & gharial crocodiles, over 500 species of birds, leopards and the elusive Royal Bengal tiger. Tiger Tops has also presented itself as an exemplary leader in environment and nature conservation. Tiger Tops has been supporting the Nepalese government in research, poaching activities and conservation education, as well as contributing to local communities by providing employment, welfare schemes and selling handicrafts.

Dhan Bahadur Tamang, a Naturalist at Tiger Tops, says, " I have been working here for more than 30 years. After the establishment of Tiger Tops, poaching has been controlled to a large extent because of which number of animals has been increasing. In the beginning it was even difficult to see rhinos but now we don't have to go that far to see animals."

Almost 45 minutes drive and 15 minutes walk through the jungle will reach you to tented camps. The camp consists of twelve large safari tents carefully sited to maximize the sweeping views over the tall elephant grasslands, Reu River, middle hills and the white Himalayas beyond. Each safari tent is furnished with comfortable twin beds and is complete with an attached bathroom.

The place is idyllic for those who enjoy escorted walks with the trained naturalists or spending the day in specially constructed machans relaxing, reading, viewing and enjoying the jungle sounds. Most of the nesting of birds lies near this area. The verandah too offers view of the vast grasslands where animals are seen moving as the wildlife carries on with their daily activities.

Yadav Bantawa, Manager, Sales & Reservations says, "The place is meant to give guests absolute ambience of the perfect jungle. One who wants to experience the adventure of being at jungle mostly visits this place."

Another lodge within the area of Tiger Mountain is the Tharu Safari Lodge, which lies in Nawalparasi district. To get to Tharu Lodge one has to do 45 minutes drive, 1 hour boating and 15-20 minutes Bullock Cart ride. It can also be reached directly from Kathmandu within six hours drive but the experience of boating on Rapti and Narayani River will be excluded.

This lodge situated at the edge of the national park showcases the rich lifestyle and culture of the indigenous Tharu people. Built in traditional architectural style, the lodge consists of two `long houses' constructed with local materials such as timber, grass reeds and clay. Altogether the lodge has 12 spacious rooms and has attached bathrooms with solar heating panels.

In addition to prime wildlife activities, other attraction al the Tharu include boat trips, riverside picnics, bullock cart rides, walks to visit the lodge's organic farm and to local villages, a full size swimming pool, horse and pony riding, cultural programs, tennis and badminton courts. Table tennis and other activities are also available for children. The Tharu Lodge is an excellent destination when combined with a few days at Tiger Tops Lodge or Tented Camp. Because of the facilities and activities provided at the lodge, Tharu has always been favorite for families.

The fastest way to reach RCNP is to take the 30 minutes flight to Meghauly. For those who prefer to travel overland, Tiger Tops is accessible from Kathmandu or Pokhara by road within six to seven hours drive. A more exciting option is via two-day raft trip on the Trishuli or Seti River. This provides a thrilling introduction to whitewater followed by a scenic float through the gorges and middle hills dropping onto the Terai plains.

Text courtesy: The NTTR October 10 - 23, 2005. Thanks the author and the NTTR-ed.

The First Wave for Democracy in Nepal (1950)

-Dr. Prem Sharma, T.U

King Prithvi Narayan Shah, the ancestor of the present king, had unified several tiny principalities (more than 4 dozens) to form the present state of Nepal in 1768 AD. The kingdom remained uncolonized even during the expansion of East India Company in the south. But, Nepal's royal families engaged themselves in frequent court intrigues giving opportunities to a person like Jung Bahadur Rana to emerge as a powerful prime minister in Nepali politics, who not only took the state power in his own hand but also established a linage of hereditary prime minister for 104 years (1846 to 1950) that followed.

It is obvious that the quit Indiamovement (Indian Congress 1885) had inspired young Nepalese political activists to raise their voices against Rana autocracy in the early twentieth century. The Nepalese youths formed various civil and political societies which intended to reform the society through social awareness proved to be the root causes of the down fall of Rana regime *(see in reference), aiming to eradicate Rana autocracy and establishment of democratic system (Sharma 1979: 376).

A decisive revolution was started against autocratic Rana regime in 1947. At the beginning, the Rana government was sporadically able to suppress the movement but it was intensified across the country in no time. New reforms such as Nepali Baidhanic Kanun (on 26 January 1948) the ever first Constitution of Nepal was declared by PM Padma Shumshere. It had provisioned fundamental rights, executive house, Panchayat (at the local level) and legislative house and judiciary. The ruler intended to handover the power to the people’s representatives in installment, within 3 to 5 years time (Sharma 1979: 387-88). But the liberal PM Padma Shumshere was forced to quit from his post. Mohan Shumshere, a hard liner Rana general succeeded him.

But a problem was there to have a single, unified and integrated institution to stumble the autocratic Rana regime because most of the political activists had their own type of nature, ambition and career interest. A separate identity and self-leadership was their hobby, which is a true character of Nepalese political culture till today. A convention held in Calcutta on 9 April 1950 merged two Congress parties (Nepali Prajatantra Congress and Nepal Rastriya Congress) into Nepali Congress(NC). The plenary session of Nepali Congress (on 26-27, Sept. 1950) held in Bairgania declared armed struggle across the Kingdom. King Tribhuvan, with an intention of helping the insurgents, left Narayanhiti palace on 6 Nov. 1950 and took asylum in the Indian Embassy. He was flown to New Delhi on 10 November 1950.

The Indian government led by PM Jawaharlal Nehru fully supported the popular movement of Nepal. A tripartite agreement mediated by Nehru among King Tribhuvan, Rana government and Nepali Congress finally transferred the 104 years autocratic rule to the consensus of popular stakeholders- common people, monarchy and the Rana oligarchy. The movement ended in a compromise. But the civil society movement continued even after the introduction of democracy in 1950 (sic)1951. The procession organized by Nepal Students Federation in 1951 showed its dissatisfaction with the Delhi Agreement in which Chiniyakaji was shot dead by the new government (Khanal 2001: 60).

Nepali politics actually swings King to prime minister and people to monarchy retreatingly. The circular magic chair empowers these three institutions rotating in different modes of democratic struggle. To their blindness each of them lose the power and struggle to recede it. Therefore, there always appears more than one power centers which are illogical. The residue is till today- the monarchy, constitutional political parties and the insurgency. In a democratic system, more than a single power center should not exist. The King in the parliament, if there is, and the parliament in the sovereignty of a popular mandate must work. The dictatorship of popular mandate should chart out the guiding principle of the country. But the thing has not been turned up yet.

During 1951 to 1959, the country remained in abasement of politics sans an assertive leadership and intra-party tug of war. The tests and the trials of primeministership were conducted where half a dozen leaders became prime ministers. By and large, the general election of 1959 was held under a constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal for multiparty parliamentary system. Nepali Congress party led by B. P. Koirala overwhelmingly won the election with two third majorities (74 seats out of 109). Discrepancies followed due to immaturity, sans penetration of political parties at the grass-root level. Then the popular government was sacked by King Mahendra and banned the political parties thereafter. It was a great setback to multiparty democracy which took three decades of struggle to restore. Eventually an active monarchy led the country introducing a partyless Panchayat system. The ousted government dispensation and political parties could not mobilize their fresh voters against the step of the King. Even the armed struggle led by Nepali Congress could not avert the royal coup. The activities of the Nepali Congress following the coup till the 1990 Jana Andolan, under went six distinct periods: (1) effective resistance, 1960-62; (2) disillusionment, 1963-67; (3) loyal cooperation, 1968-69; (4) renewed confrontation, 1969-75; (5) reconciliation, 1976-1989; and (6) final confrontation, 1990 (Baral 1977: 66-80, quoted in Khatri 1992: 11).

Panchayat system and its dispensations became absolute after the 2 nd amendment of the Constitution of 1962 which had empowered ‘Go to the Village National Campaign’ (GVNC) a political bureau and six class organizations which had bared the independent and pro party candidates in the elections. It provoked dissident groups within the system and helped anti elements (pro party activists) to go against the system.

In 1980s, the self-exiled leaders returned to the country and the others were freed from jail. They once again reenergized the pro-democratic movement. University students (protest against the hanging of Pakistani PM Z.A Bhutto in 1979) started a movement against partyless Panchayat system. The absolute power of the King was challenged. He was compelled to hold a national referendum. A slant majority (54.7%) favored a timely reformed Panchayat system against multiparty system. Obviously, big multiparty voters (46.3%) were an immediate threat to the Partyless system.

Excerpts from a paper presented by the author at the BHU, India, recently-ed.