40th NC CWC Meet
A New Initiative

By Prem N. Kakkar

THE crucial 40th meeting of the Nepali Congress Central Working Committee ended on quite an optimistic note as movement for peace and generation of public awareness was given due focus and the decision taken accordingly.

The party’s general secretary Sushil Koirala proposed the said programmes. Herein it must be worthwhile remembering that top priority has to be given to maintaining law and order in the country and if public awareness is enhanced then many challenges in front can be tackled to the benefit of all.

The meeting was termed as crucial because it took place just a month ahead of the 10th General Convention of the party that is to be held in Pokhara. But the interesting thing remains that no mention of the convention was made at the meeting of the NC Central Working Committee.

In fact looking at the past few months and the intra-party wrangling, all the participants found the meeting without any inkling of the disputes that made headlines in the past. This must augur well when the party is all set for the convention. Hectic preparations are underway and it is to be hoped that harmony will prevail and NC will be able to take concrete decisions not only for the government to follow but also in the interest of the people and the country.

The law and order situation in the country is a matter of concern of all and the ruling party has to keep it on the agenda on a priority basis. This is the reason for the proposal on peace movement and generation of public awareness movement was passed by the meeting.

It is peace that fosters development. And Nepal is in dire need of accelerated pace of development to meet the aspirations of the common man. With the standard of living of the majority of the people not in satisfactory there is every need to focus on how the fruits of development can reach them. This is what must be borne by the government and it has well done to focus on peace.

For the past some time the situation in some districts of the country has not been conducive to development activities picking up pace. Many have been killed or maimed. The figure points to over a thousand killed in the insurgency. It was true that the Maoists had agreed to come to the table but they opted out of it at the last minute. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has time and again appealed to the Maoists to shun violence. This attests to the fact that the government is serious as far as maintaining law and order in the country is concerned.

The need grows for all to enter the mainstream of national politics. The government too has to make the atmosphere conducive for such to happen. There are things which cannot take place according to the Constitution. There is no two questions over it. In this context, there are people who are talking of the need to amend the constitution. And among the political parties, CPN(UML) is at the forefront. Truing to recommend for amendment in the Constitution for the sake of change is not a good reason.

The Constitution has been in effect for over ten years and in these years much has been learnt and the political leaders have become more mature and democratic norms and ideals are evident in every sphere of life. This is an important achievement, which cannot be denied. In the initial years there might have been confusion but such a situation does not exist at present. The Constitution itself has been the guide. But what matters is the implementation of the Constitution in accordance with its spirit.

The Nepali Congress does not have any such thing in mind though some leaders have expressed their opinion on the same so NC agenda does not include anything on this. In fact, much discussion has to be made before even deciding to make it a national level issue. At present, what many feel is that the implementation of the provisions in the Constitution must be given attention. Instead of talking about amendments, it should first of all be discussed how the implementation aspect could be strengthened.

The government is well aware of what is in the air. But the focus is on tackling the various problems facing the people and the country. This is the reason why peace and generation of awareness among the people received focus at the 40th Central Working Committee meeting. Now the thing is to make the movement a success with the mobilisation and participation of the people in all parts of the country.

Once the people realise and work for attaining peace then development will be an automatic result. This is the need of a country that is cash strapped and development has not reached many places. Disparity must be removed.

This can only be achieved when campaigns, which benefit the mass, are launched on a national level. The CWC meet of Nepali Congress by taking this initiative has done a good deed. Now it has to reach the mass and only through their participation will the campaigns be successful. Action more than words will be the panacea.

RANDOM NOTES

By Bijay Aryal

Eunuchs

I WAS very recently on a visit to India on a private business. Several times in the past I had been to India, often to South India. During my train journey I had never before met with hijara (eunuchs). But this time on both ways of the journey, I came across them on the train begging (rather demanding) money from passengers. I suppose they were from Andhra Pradesh where their number is said to be among the highest in India. I do not know how many such people there are in India, perhaps they run to lakhs. But they have organised themselves and have started fighting for their rights or privileges. But in Nepal their counterparts are little heard of perhaps they may be quite a few here.

A group of hijara entered the train brandishing notes of ten-rupee denomination in their hands and asking passengers to give them money. They did not accept 50 paisa or one rupee like other beggars. They came with their makeup in better dresses. And both their body and oral languages were earthy. Especially when in the company of women, you would like to get rid of them as soon as possible by parting with a few rupees rather than hear them. They use colourful language. A person showing unwillingness to oblige them met with, "We’ll pluck out your testes and you’ll be a hijara, too." another tried to embarrass a passenger by showing her midriff and was going through the motions of baring more. But the passengers gave in and they moved on to another possible prey.

They often dress like women. Perhaps this will allow them to take advantage better. A hairy hijara was also begging in a saree with a lot of makeup on his face. Here I have used both male and female pronouns freely to refer to them because they are sexless. There may be hijara with more female characteristics and those also with more male charac-teristics.

Then, fellow travellers started telling anecdotes about them. Even police do not interfere with them, except when they do something criminal, one said. Another said one hijara, initially barred from filing a nomination for a civic poll, finally got it when her fraternity staged a daily dharna. Another said one such candidate publicly said. referring to high leader of a prominent party," Your leader too is hijara because he’s unmarried, how can you know he is not so?" A wag piped in, "Once Lord Rama met a hijara on his way, and told her, "Sometime in Kali Yuga there will a hijra raj," Thus went on an hour of entertainment.

In the Indian state of Bihar, an eunuch has become an MLA. During my India visit, another hijra won an election and became mayor of Gorakhpur City by a margin of over 80,000 votes pushing aside the candidates of major political parties. They said she did a Nani Maiya there, bagging the protest vote of the electorate fed up with the performance of other parties. Most hijara people write both male and female names including the newly elected city father (or mother? or neither?) - Ram Vilas Yaday alias Asha Devi.

Sex Experts

During a one-way journey covering nearly 3,000 km, many house and boundary walls by the railway tracks were painted with advertisements of various kinds. But the most striking and the most numerous of them related to medical experts or quacks offering services for sex related problems. As the train passed out of North India, they seemed to disappear.

It was a good idea of the advertisers. Thousands of passengers are likely to see the ads from the train windows every day. Dr. Harbans Katiyar of Kanpur, Hakim Usmani of Nagpur, and Dr. So-and-So of Jhansi. They offer wide-ranging ‘solutions’ to sex-related problem from swapna dosh to infertility, from impotence to lack of desire.

It struck me as strange. Why did medical practitioners of other branches not advertise? There was no cardiologist, no neurologist, no general physician, no surgeon advertising their services. But why did the so-called sexologists advertise so profusely as to overshadow even other commercial campaigns on those walls? I smell a rat.