Pandey’s Confession
A Blow To Corrupt Politicians

By Ram Kumar Kamat

LAST week Hari Prasad Pandey, former Minister of State for Water Resources gave a big surprise to many people. His revelation and confession of bribery hit the headlines of the newspapers. He, Perhaps, is the first person of his stature in the history of Nepalese politics to have made such self-damaging confession. He was Minister of State for Water Resources during the nine month government of the Communist Party of Nepal -United Marxist and Leninist (CPN-UML). As reported in the media, in his four and half hours long press conference, he confessed that on many occasions he bribed people to serve his business interest and evaded tax.

Before the convincing facts emerged to the public, people went on guessing as to what could be the motive and mystery behind the confession of Pokhara based industrialist Pandey. Some admired Pandey for his confession. Others ridiculed him. They said that he might have gone mad. Some others thought he might have been compelled by the terrorists to confess the crime of corruption. But when her wife came to defend his step, and none of Pandey’s family objected his disclosure, many people lauded his confession.

One more incident made the news: Industrialist Pandey went to the office of the Chief District Officer (CDO) demanding his arrest and prosecution. But his plea was rejected. The CDO was right to reject Pandey’s pleas of self arrest because under the existing legal provision, the CDO is the chief of Special Police Bureau who has no jurisdiction to prosecute the person of Pandey’s status who is a former minister of state. In such a case only the Commission of Investigation against the Abuse of Authority (CIAA) can prosecute the person. Now the CIAA doesn’t have to await any lawsuit or formal complaint to detain and prosecute Pandey since his confession alone is enough for CIAA to prosecute him.

Money, indeed is very dear to all human beings. Nobody wants to loose it no matter whatever the means-legal or illegal, genuine or bogus. But contrary to this belief, Industrialist cum politician Pandey has declared that he is ready to return almost 1/4th of his property, which he thinks, is not his genuine earning. He has property worth 40 million rupees. This is really a big offer from his part. But before we conclude that he really wants to help the nation in its crusade against corruption, we should wait and see how courageous and truthful he is. Corruption is generally committed by more than one person. Industrialist Pandey has already disclosed that he has bribed people. The people he referred to could either be government officials or the politicians. He is reported to have said that at appropriate time he would reveal the names of those who took bribe from him. If he is really concerned of the sorry state of the country and want to rid the country of political corruption Pandey must dare to disclose the names of the corrupts. If he doesn’t do that, then his confession can not be meaningful and some may term it as a ploy to draw media attention. His responsibility doesn’t end only in disclosing the names of the persons he bribed in the past. He should also help the legal bodies like the CIAA and subsequently the court by providing substantial proof of bribery or corruption. If he fails to do that, it will be difficult for the court to vindicate the charges and book the culprits.

If Pandey is not prepared to reveal the names of the persons involved in the corruption at this point of time and if he is awaiting the moment when the newly passed anti corruption bills receives Royal assent then we should really appreciate him. Then, Pandey would surely be considered government’s eye witness. Maybe Pandey is taking stock of all these things. Anyway he will have to disclose all the names involved in bribery. Only then his confession could earn him a heroic image.

On the other hand, his startling revelation came at a time when the high level commission constituted under the chairmanship of ex justice Bhairab Lamsal to investigate into the assets of public figures has already initiated its task. Some people are of the view that since the commission is told to inquire into the assets of all the ministers, former ministers and civil servants, it will be impossible for the commission to bring desired result and in that case the Commission will be meaningless as was the case with Mallik Commission. And, this logic holds some water. People have seen how some of the politicians have amassed property during the 12 years of democracy but the irony is that nobody can question them.

If Pandey has analyzed all this and finally has come to the conclusion that the public figures particularly the politicians should themselves confess their crime before the State nabs them, it is, indeed, a welcome step. If he wants to give the message to the public " If you want to change the society, first do it by reforming yourself," then we need, at least 100 more other people like him to cleanse the corrupt practices that are besetting our politics.

Anyway Pandey’s revelation has exposed the flaws in our anti corruption laws. World’s examples show that no society is entirely free from corruption but it is also a proven fact that if some of the strict measures are implemented, its control is highly possible. Scandinavian countries are best examples in this regard . It is true that the laws that can comprehensively deal with the problem of corruption were passed only in the 21st session of the Parliament but that should not mean there were virtually no laws to punish the corrupts and control corruption earlier. There were/are some laws but never implemented effectively. If the politics remains purely politics and if the politicians have that willpower, nobody can dare to siphon government’s precious resources off and take personal benefit. But this is not an easy job to do. Today if there is any big problem in the society, it is with the contemporary politics and the politicians. The challenge that we confront today is to rid the country of over politicisation of each and every sector of the society and strictly implement the legal measures introduced to check corruption. Let’s hope that Pandey’s confession of corruption could initiate the process of breaking the vicious circle of corrupt practices so rampant in the country.

PM’s Visit Symbolic From All Fronts

By Nishchal Nath Pandey

PRIME Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is leaving for New York Sunday to participate in the special session on children to be held at the United Nations. The Special Session on Children is an unprecedented meeting of the UN General Assembly dedicated to the children and adolescents of the world. Apart from government leaders and heads of states, it is bringing together NGOs, children’s advocates and the children themselves at the United Nations. It is expected that this international meet will change the way the world views the plight of children and chalk out concrete ways to fix on those crucial issues that confront their daily lives. One of the major hallmarks of this session which is taking place after 10 years when the first world summit for children was held is that more than 300 children will serve as delegates, according to UN officials. This is probably the first time in the history of the world body that young people will actively engage in deliberations at a major conference in such large numbers.

"It may seem like common sense to invite young people to a conference completely dedicated to their well-being. But this is a radical change for such high-level meetings," said Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF. "Children will literally be rubbing shoulders with Presidents and Prime Ministers. They will have a chance to voice their concerns and influence the debate," she said. It is this that is giving this event such a special significance apart from the expectation to endorse a renewed agenda for children. His Majesty’s government’s continued commitment to children’s rights and welfare is one major facet in this regard as the Prime Minister himself makes his presence.

On his way to New York, Prime Minister Deuba will reach Washington and will have a meeting with President George W. Bush. He will be the second Nepalese Prime Minister whom the US President will meet at the White House, the first being Dr. Tulsi Giri who met and interacted with the then President John F. Kennedy. But that was forty years ago and times have changed to a great extent. With the horrific events of September 11 and the worldwide concern of terrorism inside the countries no matter their size and population having the same impact and forbearing on the United States as countries that are known to be hostile, the position has invariably altered. Prime Minister Deuba’s forthcoming meeting with President Bush is therefore notable at this hour. It must be underlined that the American assistance to the Nepalese government in order to fight the menace of the Maoist insurgency will be invaluable and it is widely hoped that the visit will further solidify the definitiveness that is coming about in Nepal-US ties. Nepal is seeking help from all friendly countries essentially from India and China-our two reliable neighbors. Thankfully, the response has been exceptionally positive. While condemning in the strongest possible terms the gruesome acts of terror, both our two neighbors have shown considerable understanding with the economic difficulty that Nepal is likely to face if the scale of mindless violence is to continue. We are a poor and developing country and it is a known fact that weaponry of war are for expensive from what our ailing economy can cope with.

At the same time, the visit is an indication that Nepal is not exclusively occupied with the counter-insurgency operations that are currently underway. We are a mature democracy and issues of our children, cruxes that are important for the upliftment of our export industries like carpet and garment and vital industries such as the tourism industry are still very much in our minds. PM Deuba, it is said will also meet senators and congressmen and high level officials of the American government in this regard.

The Prime Minister is likely to hold interactive session with a large number of Nepalese living in the United States. Slowly but inevitably, Nepalese are coming up in virtually every profession in the land, which is known to be "full of opportunities." With the recent decision of the government to ease administrative procedures for Non Resident Nepalese to invest in Nepal, they could be of immense use at this hour when their help is required. In addition, some of them have been very active in acquainting the American intelligentsia, academia and think tanks regarding the events in Nepal and the likely direction that it is likely to head. They must comprehend that it is their nation afterall and how they present Nepal’s case has much weight in front of the American audience. The Prime Minister’s visit is expected to encourage more and more Nepalese living in the United States to support Nepal in whichever way they can. All in all, it can be stated that the visit is symbolic, indicative of the blooming of Nepal-US relations.

Glimpses Of Medieval Nepal IV

By Guna Dev Bhattarai

THE medieval society of Nepal was dominated by religion. The rulers, courtiers and even commoners were god-fearing and religious-minded. Many Hindus who were scared of being converted into Islam migrated to Nepal from India. Some Muslims were allowed to settle in the Nepal Valley but they were strictly prohibited to do anything contrary to the codes of the Hindus. The Christian Missionaries were permitted to carry out their activities but were not allowed to eat beef or to enter the Hindu Shrines. Cow slaughter was strictly prohibited. Persons found guilty of Cow slaughter were given capital punishment.

Even witchcraft was tolerated as long as the persons did not do any harm to others. A witch or wizard found guilty of committing any wrong was to be banished.

In those days the people of the Nepal Valley had full respect for gods and goddesses." Some benevolent persons and kings in particular would donate land for religious purposes. Influential and honest persons were the trustees of such land, popularly known as the Guthi i.e. trust property.

A murder of a human being was regarded heinous and the murderer was awarded with capital punishment. Murder was considered Mahapapa great sin. But Brahmins and women were not given death sentence in case of murder but they were degraded from their caste or expelled from the country. Suicide too was regarded as a crime and a sin.

Pusnishment varied from one caste to another in case of assault or abuse. The lower caste people were given severe punishment in comparison to the higher ones. Persons charged with stealing royal or state property were beheaded or had their hands chopped off. Persons who were involved in kidnapping girls of high caste were given capital punishment. Burglary was considered a serious crime as it would endanger the lives of the concerned persons. Cheating and fraud were considered anti-social and the persons involved in such things were punished in keeping with the codes formulated by lawyers.

Sexual offences committed by lower caste persons were severely punished whereas high caste persons and the Brahmins in particular were mildly fined. If the higher caste males cohabitated with the Shudras, they would be degraded to the caste of the females.

Non-payment of tax, customs, use of false weights and measurements, non-payment of debt were liable to be punished on the basis of the gravity of offence.

Women in particular would consider their first duty to visit temples and worship their deities. They seldom kept servants and as such performed their household affairs by themselves. Mothers, daughters and daughters-in law would cooperate in keeping their houses clean. They together cooked food, washed clothes and the like.

The Valley rulers had a close contact among themselves on various occasions and in particular during the crowning ceremony of a successor. Whenever there was a special ceremony or worship of a deity in any state, the kings and ministers of other states were invited to attend.

Anybody found guilty of spending Stridhan wife’s property was ordered by the concerned authorities to refund or be punished according to the laws. If there were some understanding between husband and wife, the latter would voluntarily let the former spend some cash from the Stridhan. The widow would pass her remaining life by spending her Stridhan which could not be shared by her relatives without her consent.

In a joint family system the property of the deceased father was equally divided among the sons.

Each of the towns had its own drainage system. The Vishnumati, the Bagmati and the Hanumanti were the rivulets of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhadgaon respectively. They were regarded sacred and the people used them for bathing and irrigational purposes.

The commoners were forced to work in gratis for the construction of forts, bridges and the like. They were ready to cooperate with the government when the state demanded their help. That is why peace, goodwill among the people prevailed all over the Nepal Valley, during the medieval period.