No worth noting

The New Year is a time to celebrate, meet with near and dear ones and exchange greetings with everyone, besides looking forward to what lies ahead. No doubt, the concern of all Nepalese is the well being of the country as well as the people. It is also a time for retrospection whether the year 2057 BS has brought much to be cheerful about. In fact, the previous year has had very little to offer us. Because the Maoist insurgents have intensified their "armed struggle" against the establishment and also because of the government action. In the process, many innocent victims were caught in the crossfire between government forces and the Maoists. Incidents of brutal killing and human rights violation have increased since early 2057. This apart, corruption has reached a new height and economic growth has suffered. The 19th winter session of parliament conducted no business at all as the opposition obstructed the House, demanding the Prime Minister’s resignation on account of the Lauda Air deal. The year 2057 ends with the Maoists clearly showing that they are getting stronger than ever before.

Most people now feel that the government has failed to maintain law and order, particularly in the western and mid-western regions. The incidents at Rukumkot and Naumoole, where almost 100 police personnel and civilians died within a week, are examples of how the government has been unable to provide security to the people. It is a fact that over 800 people, many of them innocent folks, have been killed in fighting the Maoist insurgents last year alone. And thousands of people in the Maoist-hit districts have been displaced as a result of the people’s war. There is much reason to believe that the government has done nothing to improve law and order in the country. The Maoist insurgents have not only stepped up their activities but also come to control one-third of the country. How the government plans to assess this situation still remains to be seen.

On the political front, Parliament not only ended without conducting any business but also witnessed disorder and confusion right from the day the 19th session began. On other fronts, the suspension of Indian Airlines flights for more than eight months led to a sharp decline in the tourism industry. Frequent strikes have not only affected economic activity but have also hampered the academic calendar. The state run corporations have been on the verge of collapse due to corruption and mismanagement. For much of the year, economic sluggishness, widening poverty and social insecurity threatened the democratic fabric. The onus of stopping the rate of killings and expediting the pace of development is on us. Let us hope that the New Year brings something worth mentioning. And we wish our readers a very happy and prosperous New Year.

Ailing democracy in Nepalese context

By Nagendra Prasad Shrestha

Nepal is a beautiful, tiny and landlocked kingdom bordered by India and China. There are numerous ethnic communities making up the 22 million population and speaking many languages. Nepal remains an only Hindu kingdom with its unique, harmonious blending of Hinduism and Buddhism.

Nature has adorned Nepal with the highest, majestic, Himalayan peaks, mountains, hills, valleys, and perennial rivers, lakes, waterfalls and plains. It has been a land of spiritual devotion through the ages for men seeking the highest kind of life and peace.

Nepal has the honour to being the motherland of Sita, the soul of the Ramayan, the Lord Gautam Buddha, the profounder of peace and non-violence, and also the world’s most disciplined and dutiful soldiers and warriors known as Gorkha, who come from its different villages.

Taking advantage of the difficult geophysical terrain of the country and the traditional confines of its dictatorial political outlook of the past, Nepal remained almost a forbidden land for more than a century.

After the early 1950’s with the inception of democracy, the country was opened to the outside world. Nepal has huge potential resources in rivers, mountains and hills, forests, Himalayan herbs, wildlife, nature spots for tourism, curio craftsmanship in stones and metal, agriculture and above all, its nice climate. These major resources have not been wisely utilized for the nation’s economy and the people have been living constantly in poverty.

The political scenario is not a happy one either. The feuds and quarrels of the political parties, and especially of the Koirala brothers, Matrika and BP, destroyed the hopes for democracy. The 1960’s to 1999’s period was spent on experimenting with the partyless Panchayat. The country did have some infrastructure in development, law and order, public education, some concern for basic necessities and generating of national feeling, but it could not do much for democracy and the economic front as promised and expected. Corruption and extra-constitutional powers were persistent.

Since the restoration of democracy (RD) in the 1990’s the hopes and dreams of democracy kept rising because of the people’s involvement in the movement and the towering personality of Ganesh Man Singh and Man Mohan Adhikari. During the interim period under the leadership of K P Bhattarai, the constitution was rapidly worked out and drafted within a short span of time between congress and communists with the help of legal experts in such a way that they got almost everything they wanted and demanded. Political parties under RD, perhaps, thought that ‘democracy’ in itself would work as a missile without knowing how to use it and also without trying to work out the requisite provisions for checks and balances needed in the constitution, keeping regard for the little experience of a country like Nepal in democracy.

After the first general election, the symptoms began to appear, between Prime Minister GP Koirala and leader Ganesh Man Singh, resulting in a dissolution of parliament. Ultimately, Ganesh Man was alienated unceremoniously and suffered in his old days from his own party and from men for whom he gave his whole life. After the demise of Ganesh Man, GP Koirala and KP Bhattarai have been successively engaged in feuds in the power game which continues even today.

The leaders of political parties are only talking of democracy and accusing the past but they themselves are not walking. Their very method of party organization is not founded on democratic traditions, with loyalty to the democratic institutions of the constitution, values and morality. A strong tradition of democracy demands accountability, honesty and public morality from whoever holds public office.

The Mahabharata is considered the Magna Carta of ethics and morality, and Dhritarashtra not heeding Vidur’s wise counsel brings on the Mahabharata tragedy. These lessons have no relevance for our politicians. The ideal king Rama’s strong tradition of ethics does not find any place in the land of Sita and in the conduct of democracy. Mahatma Gandhi never tired of praising Rama’s ethics. How profound he was, even uttering the holy name ‘Ram’ with his last breath when he was killed.

Nepal could not substantially utilize the five decades, 1950s to 2001, for democracy and remained far behind the contemporary nations of the world. Politics has been treated here like an ordinary earning profession for life’s comforts, for the family, relatives and those who gratify the politicians. The tendency of the party in power to become an elected dictatorship after completing the formality of elections, disregarding all the essential fairness of a democratic election process needed for a true mandate of the people, is becoming a dangerous phenomenon and majority rule has become a tyranny without regard for the importance and niceties involved in the issues. American Ambassador, Mr Ralf Frank, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of UASAID on 30 January, expressed serious concerns over growing corruption. The Maoist insurgency, a growing atmosphere of lack of credibility of the government, lack of commitment to good governance by leaders and officials and prevailing negative attitudes are harmful factors, both for development and foreign aid help for Nepal. The Maoist insurgency is an example of expression of political disagreement. It was good of the ambassador to point out strong indicators of misrule before the host country, the Head of State and the Head of Government. Intellectuals have been raising the issue of mismanagement of the economy, growing man-made problems of population and the urban areas, the rivers and rivulets of the capital, mismanagement of water and electricity distribution systems, neglecting of the basic necessities of the people and above all, the issue of politicization virus in public sectors of vital importance like education, government employees and other areas, costing the nation very dear. It is a very dangerous trend and any attempts on army will be devastating.

To conclude, in short, the country’s problem in many sectors is so immense that it is beyond the capacity of the government in power to resolve the present misrule, mess and state of anarchy. Existing democratic institutions like parliament seem to have been ineffective and inadequate. But there is a ray of hope coming up, slowly perhaps, towards the right direction, the voices of national consensus from all concerned including leaders of the Maoist’s insurgency for working out a solution. The government in power should take the initiative for facilitating such consensus without entangling itself over petty interests. One should also take the leaders of the Maoist insurgency into confidence and make an approach for the wise guidance of the monarchy. Certainly, the monarch can help in relieving and resolving these present difficulties. The present king has the capacity, long experience as Head of State, resourcefulness and wisdom. Our leaders and intellectuals should not hesitate over this opportunity and should have the confidence to ask the helping hand of the monarch and his cooperation for saving democracy and the country. One should not forget that the king is also a patron of the present constitution.

An enlightening night

By Jureli Pun

It was an April night. The air had started to get sticky and lots of mosquitoes were starting to appear out of nowhere. My concentration in sleep broke and I got up in the middle of the night. This is very unusual as I am a person whose sleep is very profound and I seldom get up at night. At first I thought the mosquito’s bites must have woken me up. I could hear a mosquito’s high-pitched voice near my ear. It was full of triumph and I thought that it was trying to tell me it had been successful in sucking my blood. It had won. But then I heard a sound, a sound like plates being clashed together. That may sound noisy but the sound that my ears heard was very melodic and catchy. Slowly the sound came closer and closer and I could even hear faint human voices. I could feel the presence of human kind near by.

Then it occurred to me. This was a jatra. The music was so melodic and tempting that I jumped out of my bed only to trip on a stack of books. After finally recovering from my fall, I made my way to the top of the house, the roof, without bothering to switch on the lights. It was hard to move in the dark but I made it to the roof without falling down again. I searched for the source of the music. It was hard to find its direction because of the echo.

Finally I traced the crowd, and one look at it and I wanted to jump off my roof and go join them. The whole thing looked so tempting. In fact I would have gone if only I were a bit older. I listened as the vivid sound started to fade and become vague. I felt helpless. Here I was, wanting to keep listening to the music so badly and there it was, fading away like the paint on an old painting. All I could do was just sit there and listen like a handicapped person.

I came back to my bed and tried to regain my sleep but to no avail. I could still hear the distant ringing of the plates. The more I thought about what had just happened, the guiltier I felt. I felt ashamed to realise I could get so fascinated by my own culture. I felt like a tourist who had come to Nepal for the very first time and had just seen a temple. I felt like an alien in my own world. I knew that these kinds of jatras happened at night too but I had never seen one. It was like knowing what a yak was but never having seen one.

I felt lucky for I had been able to realize the beauty of my culture. The influence on today’s generation of the west is so strong that we often seem to forget the value of our own culture. In fact most people like me don’t even bother to find out what our culture comprises of. That night I learned that no matter what your conscious mind might be made to think, the love for your culture in your heart can still be found in your unconscious mind. Deep inside your heart, it’s there. It lies there hidden beneath the brainwash done by western culture. If you bother to dig a bit deeper then you’ll find it.

Is govt doing enough to safeguard heritage sites?

The Kathmandu Post and Mercantile Communications conducted a survey on the topic "Is the government doing enough to safeguard the country’s heritage sites?" The survey was done on the Net last week. Of the total 741 respondents, 91.4 said "No", 7.4 said "Yes" and 1.2 said "Don’t know".

We regret the inconvenience, if any, due to original names being kept back by some respondents.

Definitely no. The proof is the garbage dumping in and around all the heritage sites and stinking environment just in front of the old Basantpur palace at Kathmandu Durbar Square. The government has not been able to impose any strict rules on those polluting the vicinity of this palace, which is considered as an important tourist place of Nepal itself.

- Basanta Plaza

No, never, the government and its agencies have been weeping like crocodiles. They show their such tears while on foreign trips, but back in the country they ignore these sites. From Sundhara to Lumbini, all reveal government’s inability. All trusts have been looted by chairholders or political workers. Had the government been sincere, our heritage sites would have been unique places in the world. See where is the pipal tree in Lumbini? Look at Pashupati Nath and the Bagmati. The government does not want to make good laws and if it does, then it does not want to enforce them. I believe, we all are facing the sin of such actions. All our heritage sites are survivors of their own enigma. It is very, very unfortunate that we take pride in them for doing nothing. It is shameful.

- Surendra Devkota

As the heritage sites go, so goes the country. Everything in Nepal is in a state of rapid decline. There are no leaders, none effective enough to even order that the streets be swept. This sad state of affairs will continue as long as Koirala and the boys are in the seat of power. Nepal needs a clean sweep.

- Kiran

Neither any Panchayati nor Democratic Party is doing any program to preserve and save the Heritage sites. If this situation continues and government does nothing to solve this problem after 20 or 30 years, that day will come and people will start to tell once open a time there was a temple city in Nepal. Sagarmatha will be standing just to see how the political party will sale or make a deal for him.

- Binod Mudvari

In Kathmandu we only have heritage sites meant for tourists. Except Bhaktapur Municipality, no one has shown deep concern to safeguard heritage sites. The government is showing less interest for preserving these heritage sites even though they should be as precious as our culture and tradition. Unless and until we have leaders who are educated, we shall continue to find them in a dilapidated state.

-Jeeniv

The Panchayat protected these heritage sites more than successive governments of the post restoration. In fact, the present government has not even realized how important these sites are. I guess the new generation will safeguard at last.

- Khanal

Women who are sold in Bombay and other places are also our heritage. Govt. should also safeguard fellow Nepalese women being sold in India and elsewhere. There is no discipline in the country. Panche, Congresse, Male, Eemale, Maobadi, Sadbhawana all and Nepalese people who do not raise voice and concern for protecting cultural heritage are to be blamed.

- Daijhi

Just look around yourselves for the answer to this one. In the past ten years the whole cultural fabric of the country has been sacrificed for the plunder of business. I expect the remaining heritage sites will soon be sold to American Hotel companies for luxury accommodation. But we need more than words to save Nepal.

- Manish Thapa

First ask yourselves what little you can do to save our culture and our heritage. The government is messing up a lot of things so get real and do in your own little way to help make a better Nepal.

- Indra Giri

No. The government is not doing enough to safeguard the national heritage. Let’s look at the examples of Bagmati river, near Pashupati, Hanumandhoka, Durbar squares and different ancient temples in Kathmandu valley. Many ancient temples are in danger of destruction at any time due to lack of proper maintenance. Nothing has been done to preserve the environment of the very famous Nepalese heritages which are also listed in world heritage sites. These sites could be out from the world heritage list if the government fails to comply with their renovations to safeguard them. These heritages are our assets in terms of traditional architecture and they are also the main source of tourist attraction. So we and the government must do something to safeguard those as these are our traditional architectural pride (some of those are religiously important) and a source of foreign currency.

-Pravesh Saria

Whoever thinks that they are the so-called government body, they are not concerned of anything apart from their personal heritage. Heritage sites are maintained for tourists who would intend to come to Nepal for a peaceful and quite stay here. But unfortunately, the so-called government is not even being able to safeguard the interests of its own people, what would it do with the foreign tourist. Since they are not even being able to protect the nation's sovereignty and integrity, how will they protect the heritage sites? If culture and tradition is protected, the heritage sites would be protected by themselves.

- Pra

If the government was to act upon saving the Nepali heritage then all of the statues that are in London would be presently in Nepal. The government in Nepal would sell their country to make more money so forget about whether the heritage is saved or not think about when are the other valuable statues going to be sold.

- Sandep Poudel

No, Because the government seems to do nothing about protecting national heritage sites as day by day the amount of pollution around the sites is increasing and there is no sign telling this is a heritage site, protected area or nothing like that. Lots of items have been stolen from those sites and government seems to do nothing about it.

- Arun