The scholar politician

Until he breathed his last, Dr Dilli Raman Regmi advocated peace relentlessly. Though himself afflicted with a battery of ailments, the late Regmi called for peaceful tactics to resolve the raging Maoist insurgency. It was only a few months ago that the ailing octogenarian expressed his willingness to act as mediator to bring the insurgents to the negotiating table. Such was his passion for peace and reform. In his death, our country has lost a political luminary. Born in 1913 in the heart of the capital, Dr Regmi, follower of Gandhian non-violence, was one of the prominent pillars of the freedom movement that toppled the Rana oligarchy.

Historian, scholar and educationist, this dynamic man also played a remarkable role after the advent of the multi-party system when the country was wobbling towards full-fledged democracy. He served the nation in various capacities and left an indelible mark in whatever calling he took up. He eschewed active politics after the overthrow of the parliamentary order by the late King Mahendra. And though he did not take any ministerial berth after the reinstallation of multi-party democracy, he continued to exert a moral influence on our politics. His political career can be traced back to the Indian Independence Movement, which often got him into trouble. He also served several spells in prison. He was founder of the Nepal Rastriya Congress Party, which later on merged with BP Koirala’s Nepal Democratic Congress. A storehouse of wisdom and experience, his was indeed a towering personality, a subject of awe and inspiration for many. The avalanche of condolence messages and appreciation coming in from the various political parties is testimony that he was indeed a symbol of unity in our messy political landscape. In the course of his active years, he earned the reputation of being a reformist and a democrat, in the true sense of the word.

But with the onset of old age, his health deteriorated, which made him take frequent trips abroad for sophisticated and costly medical treatment. Revered by politicians and elites of all hues, he was taken as a symbol of moderation, to whom many turned for guidance. In tune with the respect and trust he had earned, this scholar cum politician set aside his political ideology and shared his ideas and analyses with one and all, cutting across party lines. At a time when endless and nasty bickering, within and outside the various political parties, has become a norm and when the public is becoming disenchanted with the functioning of multi party democracy, Dr Regmi’s contributions and principles should serve as a guiding light. Motivated by a deep-seated desire for charity and social work, he bequeathed a substantial part of his property and personal assets to a trust, and also established a library. Though he is no more amongst us, his contributions and principles will remain immortal.

Cities, class and marginalisation

By Jeevan Raj Sharma

Kathmandu like any other urban areas shares two very basic characteristics - one, a significant site of population concentration and second, it is being perceived as an ‘engine of economic growth’. The forces of globalization are rooted in cities, particularly in metro cities. From the economic and demographic view of cities, one critical aspect is that missing cities are also becoming centres of marginalisation. This is definitely a new phenomenon in a city like Kathmandu that is increasingly getting urbanized. The concern lies on understanding this phenomenon in the complexities of contemporary society and to see the impact of these on city and society.

The urban poor are getting marginalised as a result of the process of beautification of cities. There is very high degree of competition over resources the fast poor are losing. The move is towards beautification of cities, which is having a impact on the livelihood of the poor. Recently in case of river settlements in Kathmandu, the issue is getting manifested. The danger is that cities are neglecting the poor away and are not giving any physical, economic or political rights to the poor. The issue is that how can the poor in the city be made to live a decent life. The threat to city society is that it is leading towards a polarization, which can lead to conflict between classes.

Everybody knows that Bagmati, Bishnumati and other rivers in Kathmandu were once clean and famous as religious and cultural heritage but modernization and growing urbanization have heavily polluted these rivers. Now, in Kathmandu everyone criticizes and points out accusing fingers to the riverside settlers as the cause of river pollution.

Furthermore the authorities seem to have gone forward with inhuman practices like eviction and come up with modern projects like UN park and so on. But the reality is far different from this popular perception constructed by the advocates of beautification of cities.

It is not clear how many riverside settlers, known as Sukumbasis are actually landless. A large number of these riverside settlers are the products of urban poverty. Prevalent socio-economic data shows that most of them are migrants. All Sukumbasis are the poorest of the poor of Nepal. However, there is a need to see rural-urban interlinkage to understand this phenomenon, particularly urban poverty as the extension and manifestation of rural poverty.

An interesting insight is that, many riverside settlers are found to be actively engaged in river resources, performing tasks either collectively or individually, which constitute efforts at management and improvement. Planting vegetation and patrolling their settlement for illegal riverside jumping and halting solid waste dumping on the banks are common practices. They are also found to be building riverside retaining walls to prevent flooding and further bank erosion. Several communities have basic amenities obtained through social action and self help. Many of these settlers are found to have put their investments, in terms of time money and labour in river-related practices. It is very important to note that these are not only the indicators of awareness activity and interest, but also a symbol of property claiming common among these settlers. It is, therefore, necessary to acknowledge and consider riverside settlers as stakeholders in the process both from the human habitat perspective and river restoration and conservation perspective.

The experience all over the world clearly shows that it is not just possible to ignore the existing complexities and go ahead with environmental restoration projects. In cities like Mumbai, the schemes such as slum redevelopment and rehabilitation schemes are getting popularity, which considers slum inhabitants as a part of the city. The authorities in such cities provide basic amenities through various schemes. However, in our case some policymakers seem quite critical about providing services to the poor.

If one is dreaming of a sustainable city development and management, the planners and policymakers need to find space for the poor within the city. The exclusion could aggravate the problem lead to conflicts and struggles.

The project plans should be able to articulate how human communities situated in such areas will be affected or managed in order to achieve the restoration goals of the project. It show be clear that a river restoration process is not merely an engineering process but also a social, cultural and ecological process. This definitely underlines the need for more research before project roll out on baseless assumptions. In a context where government and donors have started using pro-poor language, such anti-poor policies should be challenged. One should be able to analyse the organised stand taken by riverside settlers or Sukumbasis in this process as a polarization between the classes in a globalising city.

Message to our leaders

By Purushottam Kattel

Looking at the present political crisis, Nepal is going through a difficult and critical period. The fight to restore democracy in 1990 was not as difficult as today's crisis. The Maoists have launched a war, not against the established values, but against poverty and anomalies.

If we look back at those crises Nepal faced during the last 50 years, a solution was always brought to the fore. Demanding an absolute authority to solve it was one of the criteria. But such is not the situation at present. Only a selfless, honest and sensitive devotee can rescue the nation from this crisis which seems to be heading fast towards a complete collapse.

Now both sides - the government and the Maoists held the first round of talks at Godavari village resort but the question remains: Will the peace prevail in the nation?

Let us hope something concrete comes up after a few rounds of peace talks to avert an Afghanistan-like fate of this country. The government -- if the talks fails despite efforts to resolve -- will try to demolish the Maoists and in turn the Maoists will certainly show their strength.

Who will be the suffering calf in a fight between two Chicago bulls? The answer is crystal clear - Nepali commoners - be they police or the Maoists. Please, do not drag the poor Nepalis, who are already fed-up with several political dramas.

In the process of peace talks, both sides should be cautious to grant relief for the public. It should not be the matter of ego or power show but it should aim at ending the pain of Nepalis.

There is a hearsay that the Maoists have brought radical changes in our society and they are getting a great support from the public. But any "threatened support" the Maoists does not reveal their real strength.

Let us assume that the Maoists brought a radical change in our society. Unfortunately, this revolutionary approach has brought about more social, economic and political problems than solutions. Among the most visible drawbacks is the gun-totting-culture. If Dr Baburam and comrade Prachanda agree to join the mainstream politics, a group will continue to succeed them in raising guns against the innocent people. History speaks
like a mirror and tells us that no leader of any calibre has the magic wand to resolve the main problem of Nepali people. Again, frustration will invite more gun groups with different ideas.

However, the situation is not as devastating as expected. Leaders should be sincere to come to a point to end violence. After all both sides should try to bring smiles on the lips of all Nepalis. This is what every Nepali is waiting for.

An anti-dote for trade impasse

By Bhaskar Sharma

It was in 1989 that India and Nepal had a trade stalemate. The 15-month long impasse was undoubtedly costly for Nepal. It was then that Nepal decided to be a party to a large trading system, a system wherein Nepal can ensure its safety from such unilateral trade impasses and sanctions. And more than a decade after applying to obtain the membership of General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT), the nation, presently in an observer’s status, is all set to join the global rules-based trading system.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO), which came into being since the signing of the Murrakesh Agreement and implemented since January 1, 1995, is a conglomerate of the most diverse and ambitious agreements ever drawn. The concept of global trade, which came up as early as in 1947, at the time of inception of GATT, in the form of International Trade Organization (ITO), though it never materialized, has finally taken the shape of WTO.

Though WTO pushes for a global free and fair trade, promoting liberalization and widening market access of goods and services, there is still room for skepticism over its attitude towards the interests of a Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and developing countries. The reason is the simple - existence of a number of agreements under the WTO proscenium, many of which are directly against the interests of LDCs, questioning the raison de etre of the WTO.

The North has provided a period of transition for the South to get adjusted to WTO. Furthermore, it has even proposed to extend special and preferential treatment for the protection of poorer economies. However, does WTO in principle try to uplift the poorer economics? Or is it just a decoy used by the developed countries to pursue their interests? This is still a raging topic of debate across the globe.

It is an open secret that most WTO agreements were pushed by developed countries to protect the interests of their Trans-National and Multi-National Companies (TNCs and MNCs). And when developing and underdeveloped countries opposed, the North threatened to impose unilateral sanctions against the South. A classic example is the TRIPs agreement that made it to the WTO framework despite much opposition. In this case, it was the United States that pushed for the inclusion of TRIPs agreement, threatening unilateral sanctions against protestors like India.

With many agreements biased in nature, in favour of the developed world, there is bound to be disputes in the WTO fora. And for the purpose, though WTO has formed a Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) to settle multilateral or bilateral disputes, can a third world economy have the time and resources to pursue the same? Certainly not.

Also, the Doha ministerial meet is just around the corner. The developed countries are lobbying for the inclusion of such issues during the meet. Apart from the built-in-agenda for the meet, developed economies are trying to put issues such as the relation between trade and labour and trade and environment on the agenda. Various developing countries are, on the other hand, demanding that the unfulfilled promises pending since the Uruguay round be addressed first. This may lead to another talks debacle just like in Seattle in December 1999.

In the age of globalization, Nepal cannot stay in isolation, especially when 142 countries have acceded to WTO agreements. And moreover, it would be wrong to argue that everything with the WTO is not right. Only that the negative impact needs to be assessed and preparations done accordingly.

And it is in this respect that preparations back home is needed. The government, in most of the past years, hooked on petty issues such as binding and applied tariff rates, with the sole invention of acceding the WTO as early as possible and left the possible impact of WTO agreements largely unaddressed. Though this attitude has seen some positive shift in the last one year, Nepal’s preparation to accede to WTO agreements is far from enough.

As an eye-opener, it was only in the beginning of 1999 that the government started undertaking serious studies to identify areas where WTO agreements likely to hit hard. However, the progress made, so far, has been sluggish, and it has covered only a few areas including regional trading, trade in services and tariff related measures. It was only recently that a study was conducted to assess the possible impact of the Agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) - the most controversial agreement ever drawn in WTO - on Nepal.

It should be understood that neither TRIPs agreement nor the agreement related to trade in services is the only agreement that adversely affects Nepal. The government is yet to probe into issues such as sanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, textile and clothing, competition, anti dumping, safety measures and investment, among others. All these agreements would be effective as soon as Nepal joins the global trade regime. And since the accession is likely to take place before the end of 2002, the final preparations must begin now.

There is still some time left and it must be optimally utilized. If Nepal is prudent enough to carry out research in these areas, the accession would certainly be much smoother and more beneficial. And if all is done with commitment and sincerity, despite the current row over the proposed review in the Trade Treaty between Nepal and India, episodes such as those of 1989 would never repeat.