Predictable outcome

The predictable has happened. What Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala had proposed, the majority of the Nepali Congress (NC) barons endorsed. Despite disgruntled voices, he has emerged from the two-day NC jamboree, as if he were the only choice for the premiership. The hurriedly called meeting has proven to be nothing but an exercise in self-satisfaction. It ended on a predictable note, neither as a surprise nor as a disappointment. But former Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai’s conspicuous absence at the meeting, at a time when his party president is entrapped in a quagmire of controversies and scandals, has further accentuated the widening chasm within the NC. While Koirala reels under the weight of his own miscalculations, misjudgment and controversial decisions, Bhattarai does not appear in a mood to bail him out of the mess. It seems that the simmering intra-party squabbling is set to simmer on. The wrangling has spilled over into Parliament as well. The NC rebel camp has alleged that the Speaker of the House, one of their own party members, has been tricky and unnecessarily lenient towards the opposition.

Meanwhile, there has been a string of corruption scandals and misuses of power, involving ministers long known to be die-hard Koirala loyalists. Minister for Agriculture Jay Prakash Gupta and Minister for Local Development Govinda Raj Joshi are fresh names linked with charges of massive corruption. One of the two has also walked out on his long time mentor. Despite all this, Koirala is not making any prompt moves to restore his party’s waning popularity. The rival camp is also following suit, clamouring all out for the coveted post of Prime Minister.

With the opposition parties now threatening to take to the streets, and the Maoist insurgents stepping up their activities across the country, it will not be smooth sailing for Koirala. A cloud of uncertainty looms large over the whole country. For more than six weeks now, the House has been in deadlock. The country’s largest foreign exchange earner has been mired in uncertainty over its controversial inclusion under the Essential Service Act, the fate of the Sixth Amendment to the Citizenship Act is still undecided at the Supreme Court, not to mention the elusive hopes for talks with the Maoists. By now, most Nepalis have already drawn their conclusions as to what the high court would recommend over the highly controversial Citizenship Bill.

Despite mounting pressure from within and outside his party, Koirala is decidedly unwilling to hand over the reins of power to the second-generation leaders. His lust for power might prove costly for the country. What would happen to the country, if Koirala were allowed to remain in power, is anybody’s guess. In all fairness, it has to be said that the Koirala administration has fared even worse than that of Bhattarai, who was compelled to step down for failing to maintain law and order last year. Millions of Nepalis, disenchanted with the Koirala government, expect some light at the end of the tunnel, only when the incumbent Prime Minister retires gracefully. Difficult times call for difficult decisions. Koirala cannot keep putting it off for long.

Who is to blame for Taliban vandalism ?

By Dr Shreedhar Gautam

Intellectually, religious emotions are not creative but conservative. - John Dewey

Since the destruction of the grand statues of the Buddha in the Bamiyan region of Afghanistan by the Taliban a few weeks ago, the Taliban rulers have exposed their fanatic and dogmatic character But the world has overreacted to the incident in a hysterical and stereotypical way by terming the act as a sign of cultural vandalism and a disquieting development that can pose a serious threat to the tenents of Buddhism and humanity.

There is no need to debate whether the Taliban’s action is Islamic or UN-Islamic because no true religion believes in destroying idols worshipped by others. The Taliban rulers have destroyed the statues which were not the idols worshipped by anyone there. But they were fine specimens of sculpture and represented the century. So, it can be said that the world lost much more cultural assets when the Taliban were allowed to have their way. But to say that the vandalistic actions of the Taliban constitute an attack on humanity is something else. By over-reacting to their mindless deed, the world is giving unnecessary importance to the Talibans. In fact, they have felt encouraged and emboldened after gaining so much publicity worldwide, albeit adverse publicity. The incident should have been dealt with cursorily with a contemptuous remark, and without making much fuss.

The avalanche of international appeals for sanity has had no salutary effect on the Talibans. They were reportedly aghast that so much concern was poured over the stone figures and not over the economic plight of the Afghan people. They might have taken their calculated stand to draw world attention to their growing alienation. Moreover, they are already in great trouble following U N sanctions imposed against them.

Whatever the motive behind the action of the puritanical regime in Kabul, it is fairly certain that other countries condemning them are not much better paced in terms of understanding the real meaning of religion. Among others, America is in the forefront in slamming the Taliban leadership for committing a crime against humanity by ordering the destruction of the ancient statues. It is astonishing that we are hearing lessons of morality and humanity from America, which has surpassed all past records through its inhumane crimes committed in the Vietnam war and by bombarding Iraqi and Yugoslav cities ruthlessly over the last 10 years.

Moreover, it was the CIA, which worked in tandem with Pakistan to create today's Taliban regime. There is historical evidence to suggest that the US provided over one billion dollars for building up the Islamic groups in Afghanistan. The US was fully aware that these groups were fanatical in their religious belief. But it ignored them thinking that only fiercely fanatical Afghans would fight with the Russians. It is for this reason that America and other countries responsible for helping the Taliban, directly or indirectly, cannot be absolved of complicity for the present tragic scene in Afghanistan.

Like America, India is also not spotless in the matter of religious fundamentalism. Indian leaders in the past have resorted to the policy of placating religious communities and using one group against another out of narrow political interests. Now the Talibans are openly saying that the demolition of the statues' of Buddha is retaliatory action against the destruction of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya in 1992. India is morally bound to a great extent to confess failure in protecting the Babri Mosque. India claims to be a secular country, but secularism does not only mean the state giving equal respect to all religions or having no particular state religion. True secularism is that state of governance, where the rulers as rulers do not identify themselves with any religion and keep themselves away from all religious functions, organised by the religious communities. Rulers or political leaders can have their own religious belief, but they are not supposed to act on their belief in public life. But in India, leaders claiming to be secular are found visiting temples, mosques churches and monasteries to appease people belonging to different communities, especially during election time. By visiting places of worship or the religious teachers of these communities, the leaders are actually encouraging them to be dogmatic and fanatic.

What we have seen in Afghanistan is a sheer case of perverted religion. The Talibans are guided by the logic that their ‘God’ resides only in certain places. Like other religious groups in the world, they have simply exposed growing spiritual decay.

They are expressing their dogmatic sentiments through the language of destruction. Ironically, in India, the Shiva Sena and Hindu fundamentalists responsible for the destruction of the Babri Mosque in 1992, are vociferously decrying the Talibans move. Like Hindu fanatics in 1992, the Talibans are whipping up communal frenzy from a fundamentalis' stand point. Both are using tactics to introduce a perverse logic with the belief that people can be degraded into tools to serve the interests of fanatics. It is not sufficient to condemn the Talibans , because there are ‘Talibans’ in every fundamentalist religious community.

Before criticizing the Taliban, American and Indian leaders have to think twice whether they have any moral right to denounce them. Processions and demonstrations have taken place in many countries, including Nepal, almost in a ritualistic way rather than introspectively. It is high time the world community pondered the problem calmly and wisely. While directing our anger revulsion at the Talibans leaders, we should not forget those who bolstered the Talibans in the past, pushing the pluralist and tolerant society into a dark and dismal pit

Today, the Talibans control almost 90 per cent of Afghanistan, but there is every danger of the ‘Talibans’ emerging in other countries in different forms and colours. Bertrand Russell said that humanity is to be emancipated from the worship of power. As long as people worship private and temporary desires, the "Talibans" will continue to rise in future. If we want to make the world safe for future generations, we have to secure a certain degree of independence from religious bigotry, which Russell calls a free man’s worship.

If we continue to take certain rituals for religion, then there is no way to control the "Talibans" from taking over the world stage. We can prevent the "Talibans" from raising their heads in other countries by going against organised religion. Religion should have nothing to do with organisation. The great seers like the Buddha, Mahabir, Krishna, Mohammad and Christ never wanted religion to turn into an institution to fulfil the vested interests of some people. It is the perverted orthodoxy that is interpreting religion in a narrow sense.

The world is an ugly place today because of so many organized and institutionalised religions. History shows that a thousand wars broke out in the past centuries in the name of religion. The threat of the "Taliban" will continue in this or that way, as long as Gods are prayed to out of fear. The world will be a safer place without the fanatics like the Talibans only when people start worshipping their inner ideals.

War against open space

By Razen Manandhar

Money makes the world go around. Making a shopping complex should be the best step to make money in this period of political uncertainty and procrastination.

This is why this Amaravati Kantipuri Nagari is changing into a conglomeration of small shopping complexes everyday. Whatever has been achieved is the result of individual brains.

Now, its time to see some extraordinary joint ventures. This will certainly help the country to redefine the meaning of preservation of the ancient city, nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

After building a 100 feet business complex in Tundikhel, stampeding out the utility of a 150 year old water spout, the government, the Department of Archaeology, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City and the Karmachari Sanchaya Kosh are collectively going to make the whole Tundikhel the biggest open space of Kathmandu. (Tundikhel was known as the biggest parade ground of Asia during the Rana period).

Time never remains locked; we must let it move free. If the Talibans can demolish Buddha statues in Bamiyan despite international outcry, the Nepali government also can destroy Tundikhel which is the playground of legendary demon Gurumapa, the sunbathing yard of tantric Surat Bajra and residence of protector deities: Mahakal, Sankata and Bhadrakali and some family idols. As the Taliban has defied the existence of pre-Islamic civilisation, this government also needs to show a similar courage by bulldozing the pre-squatting civilisation.

The construction of the RNAC building was perhaps the first step towards changing the face of Tundikhel. Then came the General Post Office, Nepal Telecommunication Corporation building, Nepal Electricity Authority Buildings, City Bus Park, City Hall, Bhrikuti Mandap, Sajha Clinic, Nepal Tourism Board and many more. Among them, demolishing the seventh century waterspout to replace it with a useless subway crossing and another construction of a complex at Sundhara are some remarkable steps in this field.

All these government offices or institutions became rich with the ‘Aputali’ (heirless property) the government distributed randomly. Once you own land, you can also exchange the land with other fortunate parties. It’s your choice how to make maximum utilisation of the land by either opening a rental space, where some Tom, Jack or Harry can throw a wedding party at the Royal Nepal Army, or at the sky-scrapper at the Karmachari Sanchaya Kosh.

Coming back to the shopping complex, what facility this building will have is still unknown. The big complex, sprawled over hundreds of ropanies, will quash all rules regulations or building codes, the government has formulated with the help of international assistance.

It is not all necessary that it should abide by the regulations. Because it is a government building, and therefore, there is no need for a government building g to obtain the Metropolitan Office's approval. Dear urbanites, just keep your fingers crossed and see what changes you will see in the only big public open space of the capital, where over a million people reside.

Food politics in market-oriented economy

By Prativa Subedi

Of late, life has become more complicated as work done by the family is influenced by various market activities. Up until the 1960s, Western (Northern) people were spending time together with family members. In today’s world, some Western people want to return to a more simple life, such as growing food, cooking food, and washing dishes by hand. In contrast, women in Nepal are tired of this type of work and are looking for improvements and efficiency in cooking, cleaning and food processing. Eleven years ago, when I visited the USA, I saw people eating lunch in restaurants and I thought that the US women were very lucky. They don’t need to spend all their time in kitchen preparing food. But some Western people think that no one should be spending a good share of their income buying from the supermarket and daily essentials from the shopping mall.

The economy of many developing countries is a subsistence economy where people grow about 80 percent of their food supply. In spite of this, the market oriented economy has destroyed the production and consumption patterns of the people. Even in these places, the influence of junk food and Coca-Cola has been felt, even though the people are demanding to have their basic needs fulfilled. In addition, the branches of some of the multinational corporations have been established in Nepal also.

Excessive consumption patterns and lifestyles of many Western people and a few rich people in developing countries have become a major problem. The over consumption patterns of the North (West) and rapid population growth of the South contribute to the main problems of today’s development. If we think and plan accordingly, indigenous knowledge and modern technology should go side by side. In our country, the economic growth rate was 3 percent and the population growth rate 2.6 percent. According to recent data, our policy makers say that things are improving regarding the economic and population growth rates. In our day-to-day lives, the people in Nepal have not been able to feel these improvements.

People’s lives in the West have been changing dramatically as family farms have transformed and absorbed by multinational corporations. In order to produce corn, beans, peas, potatoes, tomatoes, and other vegetables in huge amounts as cash crops, more pesticides and fertilizers are being used. Biotechnology and genetically altered food crops are replacing naturally occurring varieties.

Modification of wheat, soybeans, and other crops through genetic engineering continues to increase production. For example, soybeans have been genetically enlarged. Chicken, turkeys and cows are altered by hormonal and antibiotic treatments. Their original shapes and structures have been destroyed to meet market needs. In the West, farmers are pushed to pay large amounts of money for feed and medicine in order to stay competitive in the market. For example, dairy farmers are given quotas for milk production, which makes them feed their cows accordingly, including adding antibiotics to their diet.

Most foods that are imported into the North are exposed to radiation to kill harmful bacteria, but this kills useful bacteria as well. Tobacco companies can pack more nicotine into cigarettes without any hesitation. In one case, the British American Tobacco Company was sued by consumers because of the cigarettes it was producing. In this way, all things are being driven by money and the market economy. Economic activities in the North have also been affecting the developing countries of the South. We in the South should not copy all this is in the name of economic liberalization and market economy. Government policy should be clear and strongly in favour of the people. Now, the question arises as to how it will be possible in today’s world to feed this growing population by applying only organic methods. The "North feeding the North" concept should be promoted.

The market began to shift in the North when organic vegetables were exported from Canada for consumption in Japan. The exportation of pack beef meat from African countries to the North has replaced the agricultural patterns of African countries. If the Japanese curtailed the use of chopsticks and packing papers, forests in other countries would be saved. In the Philippines, artificial sugar production has replaced real sugar production. This in turn has forced farmers to end their sugarcane production and related activities.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Bangladesh earned millions of dollars exporting frog legs to the restaurants of Europe and North America. For more than a decade, the farmers of Bangladesh scooped up frogs by the bucketful from their paddy fields. By the late 1980’s, more than 50 million frogs were being killed each year. In 1989, the Bangladesh government stopped the trade when it realized that the country was not benefiting. Because frogs are voracious insect eaters, they were controlling the insect population that damaged the crops. In Kathmandu, the situation is similar. With the construction of buildings in each and every corner, the fertile land for vegetable production is being destroyed. As a result of this urbanization, useful insects are disappearing and the overall biodiversity is decreasing.

In our country, the use of chemical fertilizers and improved seeds began about three decades ago. With only partial or positive information on chemical fertilizers and improved seeds and pesticides, our farmers were encouraged to use them. The importance once given to cow dung and other organic manure made of decomposed material, suddenly shifted to these new chemical fertilizers. However, due to the intense use of chemical fertilizers, the fertility of the soil has now actually depleted. Because of the prevalence of such practices, farmers and the communities are now suffering. It is the poor nations that make the most use of chemical fertilizers. Just a few years ago, Nepal had been one of the major exporters of rice. However, it has now reached the point where it has to import rice. Despite the continuous flow of huge foreign loans, production has not been able to boost our economy.

Political commitment and political stability can play a positive role in reforming economy and reducing such activities. Economists, policy makers, and government officials should bring such issues to the attention of the public. In addition, consumer associations and people’s organizations should play an important role by expressing their views strongly.