Bhutanese Refugee Dilemma

By C D Bhatta

CREATION of refugees by a state or states within or outside its periphery has become a major phenomenon of the modern political dimensions and a dilemma in international relations. Its root causes are embedded against the norms and principles of the civilised society and that of the universal declaration of human rights. The largest numbers of refugees are normally seen during the war times and natural calamities. For example, during and after the First and Second World Wars thousands of people had left their home country for the fear of being victimised. However, even in 1990s, that is, after the end of the Cold War, the world saw the highest number of refugees in Africa, Middle East and Balkan regions mainly due to the ethnic conflicts and the wars. They were basically the result of the legacy left by the Cold War to some extent.

Classic

The case of Bhutanese refugees does not resemble with these. It is a classic example in the modern history of refugees where the acts perpetrated by the state to the selected community have forced thousands of 'bonafide' citizens to flee their homeland and compelled them to stay as refugees in Nepal. Today these very persons are on the verge of becoming 'stateless', if international community does not pay any heed to this grave problem.

Since 1989, when the refugee problem first cropped up in Bhutan, more than one hundred thousand Nepali speaking Lhotshampas of Southern Bhutan have been living in various camps of eastern Nepal. The discriminatory policy adopted by Bhutan against the Nepali speaking communities was the cause behind the flow of the refugees. The figure states that one sixth of the total population of the Kingdom is refugee. This makes Bhutan one of the highest per capita refugee generators in the world.
Various rounds of negotiations took place at different levels between the government of Nepal and Bhutan to solve this crisis. But the dragon land has never ever sincerely taken this issue for its solution. It seems Bhutan deliberately wants to 'dispose and discard' in order to get rid of them.
While discussing the case of Bhutan, it can be said that various ethnic groups and people have been living together without any major communal, ethnic or religious conflict.

The present King himself in a speech in 1977 spoke on the authenticity of those living in the southern part of the country and said they are genuine Bhutanese citizens and there is not any reason to be feared of. Nevertheless, during the 1980s the government of Bhutan introduced controversial rules and acts that sowed the long lasting seeds of conflict in Bhutan's geopolitics thereby imposing biased policies towards Lhotshampas. As they said, these people have become a threat to the nation and termed them as illegal settlers. It is a dilemma, how the people who have been living in a country since 16th century become illegal while the present ruling Wangchuk Dynasty was installed by the British empire and came to power only in 1907.

The draconian 'Marriage and Citizenship Acts' are the main formulas adopted by the Bhutanese government to evict the people with Nepalese origin or Lhotshampas. They are/were better off in society compared to Drukpas and others, but they were not a problem rather, contributing significantly to the society for its betterment for centuries. The Marriage Act has had severe affect as it was designed discriminatorily against Lhotshampas women and their children, in order to reduce their numbers.

The Act also declared all foreign wives of the Bhutanese citizens as non-citizens, despite the fact that most of them were already granted citizenship as per the previous citizenship laws. The Act is very much in contravention of all international treaties and against the very norms of the human rights values and violates all types of rights as it denied several thousands children (born out of marriages between Lhotshampa husbands and Nepali speaking wives from Nepal or India) of their right to nationality by birth. They were expelled along with their parents, despite Bhutan being a party to the various United Nations treaties.

This was a gross violation of human rights norms propagated by the state and sheer challenge to the international communities. Nonetheless, to our dismay, Bhutan has been able to win international sympathy as it repeatedly claims these people economic migrants and hence illegal.

The double standard behaviour of the Drukpa regime has made thousand of people to live a miserable life. Everyday a child is coming on the earth as a 'stateless'.

Bhutanese has been successful in manoeuvring its diplomatic tactics against Nepal. Whenever, she had to face with international community, Bhutan proposes for the negotiations in one way or the other and tries to come to the terms but once it is out of this, it completely fizzles on the promises made. One such example is the recent approach by Bhutan, which was mainly nitiated citing the impending donors meeting. Nepalese diplomats have worked hard to sort out this problem but all in vain.

Unbearable

It is too much now, how long these people have to live as 'stateless' in this civilised world. The crisis has reached to its all time peak and is unbearable now for those who are living in the camps, for the UNHCR and other aid agencies for Nepal as well. And also, it is crystal clear from the past experiences that the 'shuttle and summit diplomacy' between Bhutan and Nepal is in no way going to solve this looming humanitarian crisis unless there is an international mediation. So isn't it time to completely internationalise this problem for the sake of the refugees and humanity and for our own national interests?

Modern Interior Designing

By Pranita Upadhyaya

THE history of interior designing had started a long time ago. In fact, nobody can tell when the technology of fermented food production began and when the human civilisation actually started. The same is the case with the Interior designing.

Technical

Interior designing is a subject that deals with the arrangement of the furniture and decoration of the room. In a way it is a technical study that even includes idea about the foundation of the house, types of bond in wall, use of different types of windows etc. In short it deals with everything required to make a house, office, hotel and showrooms comfortable and attractive. It's a creative work that helps make your body and mind relax.

Designing is a creation of one's imagination mixed with some technical ideas. Every person has his/her own way of thinking for making the life comfortable and relaxing. Systematically categorising one's myriad essentials and accessories involves both dexterity and aesthetic appeal. A house should be such that the settings that surround you should speak themselves. To be very precise, using the strokes of design, enriched by a passion for the innovation, embellished with pure colours in countless variation, the house should reflect a singular life style. Not only the furniture but also every simple matter like the painting in the wall, type of flooring and its colour, use of lights etc. affects the mind of a person.

The most important part of designing is the game of colours. Colour, as we all know, can affect a man's physical as well as mental well-being. While some colours arouse warmth, others generate feelings of coldness or coolness. Colours speak an emotional language that is at once bright or depressing, pleasing or irritating, relaxing or exciting. Because of what psychologists have termed 'conditioned responses ', an even greater factor that influences the human psyche is 'association'.
Selection of colour for home or any interior is usually done in accordance with the choice of the owner depending on his/her interest. But painting is not merely for the looks. It has its own significance. Blue is associated with the sky, water so can be used in hospitals and nurshing homes as it creates a pleasant environment. Use of green colour is more suitable for school and the working area, as it is a most pleasant colour in a colour scheme associated with the nature. So everything must be taken into consideration while designing the interior.

The other important factor that governs the designing is lighting. It should be done according to the mood of the rooms. Lighting in a home must do more than dispel darkness. Most rooms benefit from a combination of functional and decorative lighting-relying on the former to set the scene and the latter to add interest. So every room must have primary as well as secondary lighting. The primary lighting fixtures are essential for daily household chores like cooking and reading but for dramatic effects, shades and shadows. Secondary lighting (spotlights, dimmers, uplighters, chandeliers ) is extremely important. One's choice and the fashion of the furniture varies. Carved and heavy furniture were in fashion in the ancient time. But the concept change, as it was quite difficult to clean and displace such type of furniture. As people are becoming busy and love to change their living style light furniture is widely accepted. Even though some love to give ancient look to some part of the room, the fusion of ancient and modern furniture gives a mesmerising look to the room.

In the beginning the designing was also done by the architect but the tradition has how changed. Now there are many professional designers in this field as it has come very popular. The use of designers in the hotels and offices was started some time ago. Although it sounds new and unnecessary to hire an interior designer the mentality is changing slowly. As the people have started to realise the fact that the designer not only help to decorate the house but also actually arranges the things in proper way. It is a technique that gives a good look to each and every corner of the house. One of the important factors that is helping to raise its popularity is the space problem. Due to the problem it is being more useful in compartment. It is, therefore, quite important to utilise every space wisely so that the furniture must not look overcrowding and each and every necessity is fulfilled.

The ideal space is that area which is perfectly designed ethnically and functionally. The perceptions of perfection varies from person to person but generally an interior environment reads like an autobiography of the person who lives there, Home reflects a blend of styles. Space constraints have made people to search for innovative new materials for interiors.

New Concept

Limited land space and rising costs of building material has led to smaller and taller houses, many of them two or three storeys high with little or no garden space. This is in sharp contrast to the erstwhile single storeyed spacious homes with large gardens that were common a few decades ago. The result is that new house builders are now turning their attention to interior designer to create an illusion of space and light, bringing gardens inside their homes to make up for their absence outside the house. This growing emphasis on home interiors has led to a whole new concept in the field of the art of interior.

Valentine's Day

By Netra Subedi

TODAY is the Valentine's Day, the lovers' important festival. The people, especially the young are celebrating the Day with much fanfare worldwide. The Nepalese youths are also marking it. Though majority of the village youths do not know what Valentine's Day is, what its significance is, among the city youths, greatly influenced by the western way of life and love, it has become extremely popular in the recent years.

It is the Day to exchange and share their feelings of love by presenting roses and post cards with memorable words. Not only unmarried but also the married ones also mark Valentine Day as their love festival.

Though true lovers need no particular day and time to express their feelings, all people give due respect to this day.

There is an interesting history about Valentine Day celebration. Roman Emperor Claudius was very stern in the matter of love and marriage. He did not allow his soldiers to love and marry, thinking that married soldiers would lose confidence and will power. He had even declared death penalty to those who didn't follow his rules and orders and marry.

Then Valentine, a clergyman was so much impressed by the love affair of young people that he disobeyed the King and arranged the marriage of some eight couples in the church. But unfortunately, he was given the death penalty. He got the death sentence on February 14th, 269 AD. He was given death sentence at Valenta which now lies in Italy. This place gets highly decorated on Valentine Day Celebration. Many married and unmarried couples visit it on this Day.

Valentine Day stands for the heralding of autumn, the season of merry making, happiness and love. Many countries declare holiday on this Day. Many couples get married and begin their matrimonial life as well. Our teenagers and matured ones seem to be much interested in this all. It would be difficult to say whether it is good or bad to celebrate it in Nepal, a nation rich in diverse cultures and traditions. But it is obvious that there is a quest for new way of love and marriage among the young generations. Maybe the satellite TV channels and Internet services have inspired the Nepalese to celebrate the lovers' day.

We have innumerable symbols of love all over the world. Taj Mahal in India is an outstanding symbol of love. Napoleon Bonaparte's love letter to his beloved Josephine from the battlefield is also a masterpiece of its kind. In oriental civilisation, love before marriage does not get enough consideration. Yet nobody can stop loving because love knows no boundaries and nothing can stop one from loving a girl or boy. Many people believe that life partners selected and wedded on this day are likely to enjoy lasting happiness.

It is difficult to say how this festival entered Nepal. However foreign TV channels and Internet have played a key role to make it popular in Nepal. Quest for liberalisation and frankness in love are other causes.

But within a few years, Valentine's Day has dramatically become popular among the Nepalese youths, especially in Kathmandu. The stalls displaying several colourful Valentine's Day cards in every nook and corner show this. Many a youth have arranged different programmes to mark the Love festival. Some may visit hotels, others go to restaurants to exchange their feelings of love. Indeed, it is love that gives life to one and the entire civilisation. That's why Valentine's Day is celebrated.