Traditional pomp marks Mahashivaratri festival

By Bikash Sangraula, Suvecha Pant and Tejasuee Rajbhandari

KATHMANDU, March 1 : Tens of thousands devotees offered prayers in the Pashupatinath Temple on the occasion of the Mahashivaratri festival today. People queued up from early morning and waited for hours to get to the main temple where adequate arrangements by the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) and elaborate security arrangements made the darshan much easier and systematic than previous years.

King Gyanendra and Queen Komal were among the thousands who paid their reverence to Lord Pashupatinath, the Hindu Kingdom’s presiding deity. During Their Majesties’ entry into the temple, the crowd was cleared and the nanga babas were specifically ordered to cover their bodies.

The Pashupatinath Temple, the renowned abode of the God of Mokshya and a world heritage site, saw a remarkable influx of pilgrims, both from the country and from outside. More than 200,000 pilgrims mainly from Nepal and India and some also from abroad to the temple, congregated at the Pashupati complex.

While elaborate preparations had been made by PADT, about 60 other organisations in the field to conduct the festival smoothly, the turnout was something more than they had expected.

Earlier in the day, devotees had gathered at Gaushala forming a gigantic mass of humanity that stretched upto Til Ganga. Traffic was stopped from Old Baneshwor, Til Ganga, Mitra Park to Chabahil in order to provide space for the pilgrims. Even that did not seem enough as more than 250,000 pilgrims ended up visiting the temple, according to police sources.

Right from the morning, 1200 armed security personnel and army patrols were deployed in the area. Similarly, over 1,500 volunteers were alert to relieve pilgrims of any inconveniences. No serious injuries and sicknesses were reported during the day. On the other hand, 10 people were arrested and held at the community police post, Gaushala, for ill behaviour, according to police sources. The loudspeakers of the community police post blazed time and again for the lost. Though official figures of the lost are yet to be ascertained, police sources say that there were a very insignificant number of cases.

While hundreds of thousands of Hindus stood on serpentine queues under the scorching heat of the midday sun, empty-stomached and patiently waiting for their turn to enter the temple, hundreds of tourists watched the spectacle from east of the Bagmati river behind the temple. They took snaps of devotees trying to navigate their way across the Bagmati river in a hurry to reach then temple. Many pilgrims were wearing rudrakshya and had ashes on their forehead, a gesture of respect to the festival.

The use of narcotics was considerably less this time, according to police officer Gautam Khatiwada, who has been providing security in the Pashupatinath temple during Mahashivaratri for the last eight years. "Due to the demolition of houses in the area, the management was relatively easier this time. There were a very few cases of citizens using narcotics and they were taken under control immediately," he said. On the other hand, the sadhus were given the concession of using narcotics this time as well, respecting tradition.

At the exit stood students from Ved Vidhyashram, distributing Shrikhanda to the pilgrims. Similarly, there were volunteers offering water to the thirsty at the main entrance of the temple. On the other side of the area, the hungry were distributed free food by the saints residing at the Akhanda Annapurna Ashram, bringing out the generous spirit of the occasion.

While the management was spic and span and there were hardly any pilgrims complaining about the arrangements, some visitors from the Terai were appalled by the polluted water at the Bagmati river. Traditionally, pilgrims are supposed to take bath in the river before entering the temple. This time round, hardly a few people attempted that gesture of purity.

Parents’ attitude towards daughters changing

By Sudha Shrestha

KATHMANDU, Feb. 27 : "Although I treat both my children equally, I love my daughter more because girls are closer to their parents as they get old," says Nimdeki Sherpa, a staff with Dalekhi School.

Not only women, the strong son-preference is no longer an obsession even among educated men today.

"Man should not take pride in just being a male child. There is simply no difference between the sexes," says Ram Prasad Sharma, a civil servant and also the father of a son who wishes he had a daughter.

This is the phenomenon that gender specialists prefer to describe as "a move towards equity-based society. A growing number of working and educated mothers in the city are catalysing the social change process by shifting from the traditional bias for preference.

Awareness of working parents, urban economic opportunities and joint family system slowly being replaced by nuclear families are major factors responsible for steadily erasing distinction between the two sexes, according to a sociologist, Dr. Krishna Bhattachan.

For Dr. Bhattachan, gender equity is already there in some indigenous societies of Nepal. "If we are really serious about gender equity, we don’t have to borrow the idea from the west but we can reflect on some of our own indigenous societies," he observed.

For sociologist Dr. Kailash Pyakurel, it is education that has brought change in the perception of the parents who previously regarded daughters as liabilities.

"As it is a competitive age, every parent today wants their daughters to be competitive and find a footing in the job market," he said, adding that the rising cost of living pushes everybody to the cities to work.

Positive societal changes, according to Dr. Pyakurel, should be speeded up to catch up with world trends. Not only in the cities, but also literate women in semi-urban areas are picking up the idea.

In a survey conducted last year by National Network Against Trafficking (NNAGT) in four VDCs of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, 164 male and 450 female respondents favoured the idea of equal treatment for both sexes.

Two British choppers arrive

Post Report

KATHMANDU, March 1 ; Two MI-17 helicopters provided by the British government to Nepal arrived here today.

According to a press release issued here today by the British embassy, each chopper has a capacity to carry 4,000 kgs internally and 300 kgs under-slung.

The helicopters have undergone extensive maintenance overhaul programmes, according to the release.

The decision to provide the helicopters to Nepal was announced in July 2002.

The release also said that the Nepal government has agreed to restrict the use of the choppers to logistical, medical and humanitarian purpose only.

"The helicopters will be able to make significant contributions to activities in these fields," said the release.

The aircraft will complement MI-17 aircraft already in operation of the Royal Nepal Army.

The helicopters are designed for logistical lift operation and ideally suited to humanitarian tasks, said the release.

The British government has provided the helicopters as a part of British government’s Global Conflict Prevention Fund.

Pun-headed commission ‘sole’ state representative to negotiate with Maoists

By Sudheer Sharma

KATHMANDU, March 1 : Maoist ideologue Dr Baburam Bhattarai hates his movement being referred as the ‘Maoist problem’. He has written several articles, given scores of interviews and issued many statements that the movement is not a ‘problem’, but a ‘solution ‘ to the problem facing the country.

What could indicate his flexibility more than agreeing to negotiate with the government body called ‘Maoist and National Problem Solution High-Level Commission’. Dr Bhattarai is the designated leader of the negotiation team appointed by Maoist chairman Prachanda.

According to the information available, the little known commission has Physical Planning Minister Narayan Singh Pun as its convener and is representing the state in the peace process with the Maoists. "Pun is directly interacting with the palace, and not with the Council of Ministers," a source who did not want to be identified told The Kathmandu Post. Maoists have, however, expressed their resentment on time and again for not appointing other members of the commission who would be negotiating with the rebels.

After detailed discussions on the draft ‘code of conduct’ forwarded by the commission, Maoists have handed over a 20-point modified charter to Pun. The source said the rebels have also submitted a list of what they feel the government should do before the formal talks begin. The army should stop arrest of people and continued checking, return to the barracks at the earliest and the process for release of Maoist leaders and activists should begin - the list of demands include.

The source claimed that the Maoists agreed to announce the ‘truce’ only after they were told that Pun would play a role till the ‘round table conference’ was called. The behind the scene parleys had begun soon after the October 4 royal move, and subsequently, they stopped using derogatory and defamatory language against the king. Although the Maoists appointed their negotiation team way back on November 3, lack of response from the government was seen with suspicion by the Maoists. The formation of the commission with Pun as the convener was apparently aimed at addressing Maoists’ grievances and suspicion.

Following his appointment, the Pun commission handed over a letter to the rebels dated January 17 with dispatch No. 1-2059/60 in the commission’s letter head with a formal proposal for the talk. The rebels had also been asked to maintain confidentiality regarding the formation of the commission.

In fact, Maoist chief Prachanda responded to the letter two days after he received it and put forth demands that the government should take Maoists off the terrorist list, remove the price tag on some leaders’ head and annul the red-corner notice issued for some of its leaders worldwide as a precondition for dialogue. As the government was silent over the Maoist chief’s letter for a week, armed police chief Krishna Mohan Shrestha was assassinated in order to create pressure on the government under the express order of the Maoist high command, the source claimed.

The cabinet fulfilled Prachanda’s demands within 72 hours of Shrestha’s assassination, followed by announcement of the ‘cease fire’. While the Maoists intimated about the cease-fire to Nepali Congress chief Girija Prasad Koirala a couple of hours in advance, they informed CPN (UML) general secretary the next day. The government side, on the other hand, is believed to have informed some diplomatic missions, prior to the official declaration of the ‘cease-fire’.

Interestingly, Pun is believed to have tendered his resignation from the Council of Ministers after his appointment as convener of the commission on the ground that it was not accountable to the cabinet. "The resignation had been forwarded to the king for acceptance by the Prime Minister, but he was instructed to continue in the ministry and contribute to the peace process," the source said. Some retired officials from the army, police and the civil service are part of a separate ‘experts group’ to assist the Pun commission.

Home Ministry notice

KATHMANDU, March 1 (RSS) - The Home Ministry has, in a notice published today, said collecting of donations without permission from His Majesty’s Government is illegal and anyone found doing so will have to face action as per the law. Information has been received of some persons collecting donations in the name of the late Yogi Naraharinath, adds the notice.

Their Majesties grace Army Day function

KATHMANDU, March 1 (RSS) - His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev and Her Majesty Queen Komal Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah graced the Mahashivaratri and Army Day celebration ceremony organised by the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) at the RNA pavilion, Tundikhel this afternoon. A 31-gun salute was presented to His Majesty the King on the occasion. His Royal Highness Crown Prince Paras and Her Royal Highness Princess Himani Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah were present on the occasion.