Missing uplink

Two Nepali language television channels are now being transmitted by satellite, making their programming available not only in all parts of Nepal but also over a large area in the Asian Pacific region. Nepalese living anywhere within the satellite footprints can now watch Nepali language programming. This will surely be a great boon to them as they have had to rely so far on foreign television channels, which have their own tilts and twists. The two channels transmitting via satellite are Nepal Television and Channel Nepal, the latter beating the former by one day to become
the first to broadcast Nepali programming by satellite. State-run Nepal television, being a creature of the government, has its own limitations and lack of scope. It will always have a bit of a credibility problem. The British alone in the world seem to be sophisticated enough to operate broadcast media in the public sector without committing the sin of interference in programming. The BBC is thus in a class by itself. For the rest of us the remedy lies in delinking television, and indeed all other media, from government. But this is something HMG finds difficult to do, thinking wrongly that government media alone can project HMG’s – and HMG ministers’ – views. HMG does not seem to care whether or not the people want to see, hear and read about the goody-goody goings-ons of HMG and its ministers. We also do not yet have in this country the readership and audience data to show how many people really read, hear or watch what government media have to offer. Such data might have been an eye opener for HMG. But the real test of the government’s democratic credentials lies in how it behaves with those who do not agree with the way it functions and are not afraid to say so.

Channel Nepal was to have started its satellite broadcasts from mid-April but could not do so as HMG stopped it at the last minute when all preparations had already been made. What is difficult to comprehend is how a government elected by the people could have done such a thing without convincing rhyme or reason. HMG needs to be quite transparent about this and take the nation into confidence. It needs to explain how a civilized government could have done what it did. For surely as everyone knows by now, the pretext of inspection under which Channel Nepal was stopped from uplinking was a very flimsy excuse for throttling the media. What is even more important for the people to know is whether pressure was being exerted on HMG by outside forces? One, of course, fails to see why anyone outside Nepal should have objections to satellite broadcasts within this country. In any case, even if there are objections, why should our government be bending over backwards to entertain them? HMG is doing the nation a mighty disservice by forcing Channel Nepal to uplink from Thailand. It is not only a monetary loss to the nation but also a big blot on our democratic credentials. This also sends out wrong signals to those who might want to invest in Nepal because they can see clearly how huge investments can be blocked almost on a whim in the corridors of power. Even though there are now two Nepali satellite channels, one uplink from Nepal is sorely missing. We hope for the sake of fair play and freedom of expression that HMG will soon realise its folly and allow the missing uplink from Nepal itself.

Agra summit and SAARC revival

By Nishchal Nath Pandey

Monalisa of architecture, also known as the Taj Mahal and Agra- famous as the ‘city of love’- have never had such hostile honeymooners visiting it as the Prime Minister of India and the President of Pakistan scheduled to arrive for a summit this month. But certainly, even before the memory of the summit fades away, one can assume that many such fruitful interactions will carry on by virtue of an "agreement for dialogue under certain framework" or even " a new vision and a strong sense of realism". Both leaders have tremendous political clout in their respective countries, and a dialogue between the two could never have been so plausible to expunge a half century old enmity and antigonism. Prime Minister Vajpayee has continued to remain in power despite frictions in the NDA coalition and it now seems apparent that without him the alliance can no longer hold itself together, and thereby giving way to mid-term elections. Besides, he has a long association with his country’s conduct of foreign policy, especially while dealing with Pakistan. General Musharraf is the Chief Executive, Chief of the Army, Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff and the President of Pakistan and has the means to sell back home whatever agreement is reached during the summit, despite reports of increased influence of religious fundamentalists in his country. In fact, the crucial talks, besides being a major media-event is being keenly watched, analyzed by the entire world especially by the remaining countries in South Asia and even in Central Asia. To a large degree, there is support for the two leaders for engaging in a positive political exercise to resolve all the impending issues that have lingered for long.

Cynics that do not foresee anything concrete from the up-coming summit base their glumness on the statements made by the two leaders in the recent days. Vajpayee has claimed that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and that the issue of Pakistan controlled Kashmir has to be on the agenda of the summit. Musharraf has stated that resolving the future status of Kashmir is an unfinished task of the partition. Whatever their stands, no matter what comes out of the summit, one aspect however is unquestionable. Only after the talks kick off, can a positive move be expected. Former Indian Foreign Secretary J N Dixit’s viewpoint is notable in this regard, "The initiation of a personal dialogue, is bound to project the image that India and Pakistan are capable of interaction with each other. The summit must generate the process of continuous discussion." True to his words, although a magic resolution to a fifty year old quandary cannot be expected even with the hypotic effect of the Taj, the revival of the Lahore process would eventually lead to results in the advantage of peace, security, stability and a better future for the entire region which has lately been notorious as ‘the most likely flashpoint in the world’.

In fact, bonds of friendship between Indians and their Pakistani counterparts must be made strong on all levels and not just on the political or bureaucratic levels. Both Lata Mangeskar and Mehidi Hasan have been approached to perform in Pakistan and in India respectively. Potential CBMs for both the two neighbours exist in dozens of other areas as well. India’s official export to Pakistan during 1999-2000 stood at Rs 4.05 billion, while the reciprocal turnover was Rs 2.97 billion. Textile, automobile, info-tech, entertainment and tourism have a promising future if they go in for free and direct trade. Both have nothing to lose in a normal relationship. Besides, there are no major technical obstacles for the construction of onshore pipelines to Pakistan and India from either Turkmenistan or Iran. In fact, analysts are pinpointing at this particular sector where the summit could make a possible headway.

If the CBM process can be set forth to areas like trade and regular interaction at diverse levels, political issues alone can no longer impinge on the bilateral relations. Hence, crisis reduction measures (CRM) will naturally be interposed. When the people of two countries start thinking in new ways, there will be pressure to pull back troops from Siachen, which is the world’s highest battlefield and where more soldiers are killed by the nasty weather than by mortars or bullets. They will demand open the Jhelum valley highway that connected Srinagar with Rawalpindi fifty years ago.

It is a well-known truism that due to the on-going dissension between these two largest members of SAARC, our regional organisation has been confronting unjustified repercussions in its activities, including dawdling of the summit scheduled to be held in Kathmandu. With the initiation of talks between India and Pakistan, one hopes that the SAARC process, which carries with it the torch of hope and desire for a better future of the teeming millions that live in our part of the world, will be revitalized. The Royal Address to the Joint Sitting of the two houses of parliament at its 20th session on June 29 also aptly mentions that "with a view to providing momentum and vigour to the concept of regional cooperation, my government shall continue its efforts towards the holding of the Eleventh SAARC Summit in Nepal as early as possible."

The entire region has been much disturbed with the never-ending strife between India and Pakistan, and now with the introduction of the nuclear factor even the thought of a likely scrimmage between the two stirs up massive fright and alarm throughout the world. Enough is enough. Both the countries must realize that enmity and hostility today can be much more costly than it was in the past. Hopefully, the romance of the Taj Mahal will at least help exterminate the ghost of a nuclear war in South Asia, if nothing else.

Bhasmasur’s menace

By Razen Manandhar

Bhasmasur was a deadly demon in Nepali mythology. He was born to tease and torment others. He used to become happy when he saw others crying for mercy in front of him. But he did not know how to pardon others.

Actually, the people helped him become a demon. Their blind faith that the lean and thin person would save them from all sorts of problems is to be blamed. That is how he went beyond the reach of the common people, norms of democratic principle or even the constitution itself.

His craze to see the people kneeling down in front of him was what brought him to Kathmandu from Aulo-hitten jungles of the Terai. He used to look from his castle every morning. Just like King Mahindra Malla, any happy scene used to annoy him. It was also his wish that democracy be granted to the people in his country. The Shastras did not note whether he enjoyed eating human flesh, like an African ruler, but numerous instances justified that squeezing people to the last drop of blood was his favourite pastime.

One day, his crazy desire reached the maximum point. With a secret wish in his heart, needless to say, a mischievous one, he went inside the jungle and meditated for years to have a darshan of Lord Shiva. He just did everything what Lord Shiva wanted. His devotion reached such a height that Lord Shiva had to grant him any thing he asked for.

Lord Shiva said, "Child, ask me what you want." "My lord. I have not many desires. I will ask you only if you promise you will not disappoint me."

"That’s okay. Now, go on."

"My Lord, give me a Public Security Regulation. It is just like touching his or head and turning them into ashes."

"Huh," Lord Shiva was shocked, but he was compelled to grant the boon. "Amen," he said.

But Bhasmasur was Bhasmasur. When he got it, he forgot that this might be dangerous for himself too. He just wanted to put all the people under his feet. But before anything, the wary demon wanted to test his newly granted power and asked permission to try his hand on Lord Shiva’s head!

The intoxicated Lord had never imagined something like that. He ran away with feet over his head. He then realised that giving power to a wrong body could be fatal to the whole country. Lord Shiva was later on saved by the Lord Vishnu. Disguised as a seductive woman, he came to save Shiva. She asked him to dance together and Bhasmasur did his best to twist his body in different angles.

"Now I teach you how to dance in a better way," the lady ordered him as he came under her spell. "With pleasure, sweet honey," he agreed.

"Put your left hand on your hip. And the right hand on your head.."

He obeyed promptly and you know the result: He himself became the first and the last victim of his diabolic power called Public Security Regulation — he turned into ash, burying a horrible history of calamity with him. Moral: Anybody should not posses any power with an intention of destroying others. The rights and powers Bhasmasur obtained through the Regulation can be lethal for him. And as a human being, one should not rule out the universal fact that death is inevitable.

From human rights to animal rights

By Shirish B Pardhan

Human beings are considered most sensitive and intelligent creatures on this planet. They are sensitive to the pains and sufferings of not only other people but of animals as well. This sensitivity makes them different from beasts. We, the human beings, are expected to be more responsible and more sensitive towards animals as we are at the top of the order of species. We must be ethical towards animals and be responsible in our behaviour. This philosophy has given rise to the concept of animal rights.

We in the developing world are speaking up for human rights, while those in the developed world have gone one step further to champion animal rights. Animal rights activists are launching campaigns to fight against the torture and cruel treatment of animals, wild or domesticated. Animals are not for us to eat, wear, entertain and taste, they argue. Animals are less sensitive than human beings and therefore, we should be more sensitive towards them.

In fact, the way we treat animals determines how sensitive and civilized we are. Man has come up from jungle life and he should learn to love those who were his jungle mates thousands of years back. Tens of thousands of years ago, when men also lived in caves, wild animals like tiger, elephant and lion were their competitors. The cave men had to compete with them for food and shelter. Now men have abandoned the caves and become civilized. Thus, wild animals are no more their competitors. Instead they are becoming extinct because of the excessive human encroachment of their habitat and uncontrolled hunting. Now men have come to realise that they should learn to live in harmony with other creatures and help preserve the biodiversity of this planet.

Love towards animals is preached to us by different religions. Buddhism advocates non-violence and teaches us to love all creatures. Similarly, the Hindu religion also teaches us to respect animals. All animals are our brothers and sisters. This is what the Hindu religion preaches. In fact, Hindus have respect for all types of animals, which is evident from our religious rites and festivals. We worship the cow as she is regarded as Goddess Laxmi, who gives us nutritious milk. Similarly, we feed snakes during Nagpuja and feed the crow, cow and dog during Tihar, which is very unique. This shows the love for animals, inherent among our ancestors.

But there are still some traditional beliefs which make us behave unkindly towards animals. The killing of animals for meat by Muslims by means of Halal (removing skin from a live animal) and the sacrificing of goats or buffaloes by Hindus to the Gods and Goddesses are some forms of orthodox behaviour, which animal rights activists condemn.

The animal rights activists advocate for not giving animals unnecessary pain. Animals should not be overloaded or forced to work under hazardous conditions. Animals also need comfort and leisure. That is what animal rights activists are campaigning for. In the west more and more organisations are being set up to campaign for animal rights. Treating domestic animals in an inhuman and uncivilized manner is termed an offence against animals. In some countries laws are being formulated to punish those who treat animals cruelly.

Vegetarianism is becoming increasingly popular among westerners these days. People are turning into vegetarians not necessarily because they love animals but because they don’t want any risk to their health from the animals we eat, many of whom are infected with one or the other kind of disease. Any way this has to some extent helped lessen cruelty towards the animals. In fact, humans were originally vegetarians as they did not posses long nails and sharp teeth like other carnivorous. Unlike meat eaters, they did not have a strong digestive system for meat intake. But later men learned to hunt and became non-veg.

All this does not mean that we should all become vegetarians but at least we can be friendly towards animals. We must not kill even an insect for no reason and should do minimum harm to animals. All the creatures on the earth are equally important and each of them performs some or the other kind of functions which help keep the eco-system of this earth perfectly balanced.

The way butchers in our country kill buffaloes, goats and hens is also terrible. We don’t have slaughter houses where animals can be slaughtered in a less painful manner. Slaughter houses also reduce the risk of contaminating the meat we eat. Most of the people running poultry farms treat old hens, which no more lay eggs, in the most inhuman manner. They hang hundreds of such hens on bicycles upside down and carry them from one place to another before killing them for meat, which is terrible.

Animal activists also oppose the use of animals in the circus or for other entertainment purposes. They oppose using animals for laboratory tests and using their fur for clothing. In some countries it is illegal to use for coats and other clothing using animal parts. Some animal rights activists are also against operating zoos where animals are kept under captivity to entertain humans. We cannot go that far but we can at least display responsible behaviour towards animals by not teasing zoo animals and by providing them a natural environment at the zoo so that they could find themselves as free as possible.

Putting heavy loads on donkeys or horses, beating domesticated animals and pushing them without food for not obeying orders are also other kinds of unethical treatment towards animals. Loving and caring for animals also help reduce our own tensions and make us feel pleasant. Doctors have suggested keeping pet animals such as lap dogs and rabbits for reducing risks of heart diseases.

We need to formulate necessary laws to prevent unethical treatment of animals. But that is not sufficient. We should change our lifestyle and learn to coexist with other creatures on this planet. Preserving biodiversity is preserving the beauty of this wonderful planet. By loving and caring for animals we will be loving ourselves and also proving the quality of our civilization.