Implement effectively

The government has introduced strong measures to curb the pollution level in the Kathmandu valley but has never implemented them effectively. As a result, petroleum dealers sell adulterated products on the market and banned vehicles continue to run on our streets. If the government had taken action against those involved in shady deals, the pollution level would not have become so grave especially in Kathmandu. This has happened thanks to the nexus between government officials and corrupt dealers.

With an aim to curbing pollution, the government banned three-wheeler smoke-belching Vikram tempos last September from the Kathmandu valley. Similarly, last November the government took a decision to ban vehicles older than 20 years including two-stroke engines, from mid-November 2001. Moreover, the government has also announced that the diesel-run Vikram tempos will not be allowed to run in municipal areas from the next fiscal year. These are the measures the government has taken to reduce pollution in the country. But will the government be able to implement them effectively? Has the government realized that the banned Vikram tempos are still running on our streets? Why has the government not been able to prevent the adulteration of petroleum products? These are a few questions that remain unanswered. The fact is that petrol distributed by the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has shown, when inspected, more than sixty percent adulteration. Obviously, transport entrepreneurs would not have protested against such widespread adulteration, had they not found particularly adulterated petrol on the market.

The Federation of Nepalese Transport Entrepreneurs’ (FNTE) insist that a probe into the widespread petroleum adulteration, is a matter that should be taken seriously. This is so because the government has given the right to distribute petroleum products to the state-run NOC. As a result, the petroleum dealers with the help of NOC officials continue to provide adulterated petroleum products to consumers. Here, what the government has failed to do is to privatize the petroleum distribution that has led to widespread adulteration in petroleum products sold on the market. The task of petroleum distribution cannot be left only to NOC, if the government intends to reduce petroleum adulteration as well as pollution. Neither can it revoke the decision taken against the pollutant vehicles.

The series of protests proposed by FNTE against the government decision will not help to reduce pollution in the city. It is estimated that there are over 1,200 vehicles older than 20 years running in the city. If the government really intends to curb pollution, it should not only improve the quality of petroleum products but also implement effectively the measures it has introduced so far. Only this can liberate the city from pollution.

A move against the race

By Madan Regmi

In total defiance of human rights, international laws, convention and morality as well as bulldozing the popular voice of the Nepalese people, the British Secretary of Defence, Geoffrey Hoon, during his official sojourn in Kathmandu recently, rejected the call to liberate Nepal from the bonds of the British Empire. Instead he announced, "furthering of 200 years of marvellous service the Gurkhas have given to Britain" and said, "we want to ensure the continuation of that service".

Mr Hoon failed to deny the charge against the British government that London had bagged billions of dollars from the Japanese government paid as compensation for the thousands of Gurkha prisoners-of-war in Japanese camps during World War II. His false assertion that the Gurkhas were "technically Indian Army Units" before 1947 and his government's still squirreling away the true record of Gurkhas who fell victim to the World Wars, only substantiate the doubt raised over the shady deals of the British with various governments for providing them the services of ex-British Gurkhas. Many a secret deal between the British and Nepalese governments from the early days of the recruitment of Gurkhas to when Geoffrey Hoon came to Nepal after visiting India, is yet to be known. However, it is no longer possible to sideline the fact that Britain and India, which are recruiting Nepalese Gurkhas into their armies in tandem, have been contributory to each other to exploit the Gurkhas. Hoon’s veiled bluster in Kathmandu, which also echoes Delhi, is no surprise. One can easily guess what might have transpired between Geoffrey and George.

The major problems emanating from the recruitment of Gurkhas into the Indian and British armies, which is an abuse of Nepalese sovereignty, remain unaddressed by the Nepalese government and by leaders whose loyalty to the nation is far less than their inclination to self-interest. So they prefer owing the imperialists to rejecting them. That the British are profiteering by providing the services of ex-Gurkhas from their army to different countries is something that can no longer be left on the back burner.

The Indians are also using the Gurkhas to crush liberation movements in territory including Darjeeling. The Nepalese government has shown the least concern towards this. When India and Britain are jointly intimidating the Nepalese people and recruiting them into their armies the so-called votaries of human right are turning a deaf ear. These are the reasons why the British Defence Secretary could put out the brazen lie that the Gurkhas were "technically Indian army units" before 1947 (The Kathmandu Post, Dec 14), and his little boy dared to suggest to the Nepalese government almost directly to take action again the Gurkha Army Ex-Servicemen’s Organisation which is fighting for justice and liberation. It will be better if the Defence Secretary goes through papers signed by previous governments of his own country.

The treaty between the government of the United Kingdom and the government of Nepal signed on 30th October 1950 is one of the papers that reveal the reality. This document unequivocally underscores that until 1947 a nation with the name India never existed in this hemisphere. It also dismisses the claim that India was divided. In the third paragraph of this treaty it is written, "considering that in the consequence of the establishment of the two independent states of India and Pakistan certain of the provisions of the treaty singed at Kathmandu on 21st December 1923 and prior treaties are no longer applicable between governments of the United Kingdom and Nepal."

This treaty also stipulates that with the creation of India, Nepalese land annexed by Britain after the war of 1814-16 though the treaty of Sugauli is automatically liberated for its peaceful reunification with motherland Nepal. This treaty of October 30, 1950 signed by the then Prime Minister of Nepal Mohan Shamsher and L S George Falconer (Lt Col), His Britannic Majesty’s Ambassador at the court of Nepal, is irrefutable evidence for rejecting the claim of the British government that the British Gurkhas were part of the Indian army. This pre-empts the absurd argument of British officials. How can an army belong to a nation which did not exist at all? The naming of conquered territories as British India is another testimony that Britain never faced a country with the name India until it by coercion created and named it as such. If we go back to the pages of history, the Greeks referred to the entire area west of the Indus River (Sindh river in local terminology) as Ind as they couldn’t pronounce Sindh. But by Ind they never meant a single nation, but rather a region. The Muslim rulers named the part of South Asia they conquered as Hindustan and after the British replaced the Mughals, they followed the Greek usage and named it British India. During their campaign of conquest Britain compelled major and minor independent kingdoms to sign documents of self-capitulation and entered into different treaties with them. Among these were the kingdoms of the Sikhs, Marathas and the Muslims (Oudh). Kashmir and Hyderabad were provided a different status. Nepal was indirectly colonized by Britain and placed in a position worst than a colony.

The British are well aware of this history. And they know that India is their own creation. They also know that during the days of the Magadh rulers, their empire was initially limited to the present day Indian state of Bihar and King Chandra Gupta Maurya’s mentor Chanakya in his book "Kautilya Arthashatra" has categorically written that the Magadh kingdom used to import woollen carpets from Nepal. But the world is changing. Nations big or small that fail to flex their muscles are bound to bear the burnt. Now it is up to the brave Nepalese people. They have to choose fast. Continuation of the recruitment of Gurkha soldiers, whether by India or Britain, is to further erode Nepal’s independence and sovereignty. Henceforth this recruitment must be stopped at any cost.

Recipe for parents

By Sujata Rai Dewan

At 3 a m this morning I was rudely shaken out of my slumber. It was my five-year-old - he was almost in tears. I feared that he must have tumbled from his bed and injured himself or that he was suffering from a bad stomach, which was normally the case with him. So I asked him a little apprehensively, whether he had hurt himself, the answer to which was negative. Then I asked him if he wanted to use the toilet. He shook his head again. My patience was quite exhausted when he finally blurted out that he had to finish his holiday homework and there were only twenty six days left. I felt a sharp pang almost pierce my heart. My precious five-year-old had been robbed of his sleep, had braved the dark and walked down a flight of stairs at 3 in the morning, for fear of failing to finish his homework! I think I ought to have felt proud of the fact that at five my child had already imbibed a sense of duty. I was saddened that his sense of duty was acquired at the cost of a carefree childhood. I guess it is only natural for parents to expect their children to excel, but then little do we realize that the price is not always worth it.

Today, we have become obsessed with getting what we think is the best for our children, especially when it comes to the choice of school. Then there is a general tendency to look for schools whose curriculum includes lessons in almost everything under the sun, so that the children are busy most of the time. Considering the number of schools springing up every day, the task of choosing a "good" school is indeed a Herculean one. In this age of competition, schools vie with one another in the wide range of activities they can include in their curriculum. What’s more - with the opening of winter camps and summer camps in every other house we hardly suffer from a lack of places in which to dump our children during their vacation. If nothing else, it will, I assure you, ease your guilt at spending little time with your wards.

The world has indeed advanced scientifically and technologically, and as parents we feel that in giving our children the best (the best in this instance being not a result of our judgemental capacities at work, but a general supposition) we are enabling them to become well equipped for the future. The big question is, are we really? Will the horse-riding lessons taken as a toddler help when one grows up? Will the computer lessons taken in primary school ensure a mastery of information technology? Or will the child struggling with his piano lessons to the point of emotional breakdown ever come to love music?

Doubtless, there are children with greater aptitude and there are those who are geniuses. But personally I feel it is indeed a pipedream to expect genius out of an average child by cramming a recipe of all imaginable ingredients into his childhood. For in the process we quite forget the ingredients.

It’s not that parents shouldn’t make an effort to give the best to our children, but what we ought to consider is whether what we assume to be "the best" is conducive to their physical and emotional well being. I think we could start by having a copy of the Child Rights Charter hung up where we get to see it every hour - for it isn’t easy for everyone to coax a fretful five-year-old back to bed at three in the morning.

Why NC had to go for open ballot ?

The Kathmandu Post and Mercantile Communications conducted a survey on the topic: "Should the no-trust vote against Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala in the Nepali Congress parliamentary party have been held under a secret ballot system?" The survey was done on the Net last week. Of the total 776 respondents, 68.3 percent (530) said "Yes", 29.5 percent (229) said "No" and 2.2 percent (17) said "Don’t know".

We regret the inconvenience, if any, on account of original names being kept back by some respondents.

Parliamentarians are the lot who should always be very clear, decisive, and transparent in their political move, at least in their intra- party affairs. Conspiracy and clandestine deal should not figure in free and fair democratic practices. Let them understand that the change in leadership has no meaning, if it does not bring about any visible changes in peace and prosperity of the poor nation. Can any one now dare say, "I am the one not tested for governance?"

- Tanka Khana

No! The PM should know his fellows who are hatching a conspiracy against him. Open ballot provides him to identify faces behind the curtain. Secrecy for what? There were already 56 parliamentarians who had signed their names to change the leadership of the Nepali Congress party. Open ballot prevents horse-trading among MPs. And it encourages the commitment of the MPs to PM.

- KP

Open ballot system - a transparent democratic exercise within a party will check money game in politics. As we know, the rival group is infamous for such horse-trading. The proposal of no-trust motion came at a wrong time when unruly mobs had taken to the streets to unleash violence and discredit the government. Moreover, the rival camp in NC is the motley gang of corrupt whose only mission is to capture the chairs at any cost.

- SRD

Sher Bahadur Deuba, former prime minister, claims that he is a younger leader of Nepali Congress. But does he carry the views of the younger generation ? Is he not the other side of the same old coin? When the country was burning, he was playing his dirty game for the PM’s chair ? And by the way, what’s wrong in open ballot system?

- Anu Jha

The constitution of NC has clearly mentioned that such a proposal will be put to an open vote ? Hence, the dissidents’ demand for secret ballot is not the right thing. As far as the no -confidence is concerned, it is a prerogative of parliamentarians. Once you signed "for and against" of the motion you should not be afraid of exposition. If your conscience is clear and for the best interest of nation and party, you should be bold in your stand. And it is the true quality of democracy and democrats. People’s mandate in the last election was clearly for good and stable governance, but not for squabbles within the party, that too, for power ? Nor was the mandate given to certain family members and their sycophants to treat others as their slaves. Hopefully, the recent no -confidence filed at the parliamentary party will teach a good lesson to all parties.

- Balmukund Joshi

Since the NC lawmakers used a secret ballot system during the election of its parliamentary party leader, a similar poll would have been more democratic in a no-trust move against the thus-elected leader, Girija Prasad Koirala, the most inefficient and corrupt leader of the country.

- Arun Sharma

Girija Prasad Koirala had lost the confidence of nation in the very first term of his priemiership. This is the fact. Now, he has lost the confidence of the majority of parliamentarians of his own party. That is why he stuck to the open ballot, least he lost the motion.

If he had the confidence, why did not he allow a secret ballot? In the democratic system, ballot is always held in secrecy. I remember in former communist countries (still in some of them) leadership was selected by raising hands, that’s why the leaders used to get 100 per cent votes even though everybody hated them. This is a Stalinistic practice. Koirala has adopted the Stalinistic practice because he knows that the majority of his lawmakers hate him.

- Sashi

Yes, the ballot should have a secret one. What was the point in intimidating those who did not want to identify themselves to pro GP Koirala? In the worst outcome, they would have been thrown out of the party. At the same time they would have been more than convinced to vote against him. Why do people fear this old man so much?

- Anil

While the election of the leader was allowed to be secret to ensure fair play, a no-confidence motion against the PM is a serious business that should be brought about in grave emergencies only. And when such a grave emergency arises, those voting against their PM should openly do so, if they are so disenchanted with him and his performance. Otherwise, there will be a no-confidence motion against every PM every six months! A no-confidence motion can be registered by only 25 per cent of the legislators. Given Nepal’s political scenario, that is not difficult at all. Our parliamentarians are behaving in a most irresponsible manner. If they are so sure that they have the votes against their PM, they should openly vote against him and, then, explain their action to their electorates back in their own constituencies.

- Nepalson

I think that there should have been a provision for secret voting so that the true feeling of the person can be known. Otherwise, voters will not be able to express his decision honestly.

- Sameer

Voting must be held under a secret ballot system in the democratic system. In our country most of the party members do not have guts to vote against their
leader even if they are damn wrong.
Open voting means the prime minister watches every voter. Who votes for
whom? If someone goes against him,
then he can make his life hell or even easily take that as there is no law and order for them.

- Nepali Nagarik